Jedi Teddington And The Albatross.

[Jediteo]

Jedi Teddington and the Albatross.

The late morning sun was shining and Jedi Teddington walked up his trusty SPAD XIII. The smell of petrol and motor oil filled his nostrils as went through his thorough checklist. The damage from the day before were now repaired, and the SPADs exquisitely doped wings shone in the light. Feeling a bit warm in his leather coat Jedi prepared for takeoff. While the June sun was warm on the ground, at altitude the temperature could be slightly nippy. Jedi loathed not being able to shave in the morning, due the effect of the cold wind on the skin. Well there are some sacrifices in war he mused to himself. The engine roared to life in front of him and Jedi had a wry smile. There are few things as beautiful as the sound of the Hispano-Suiza engine in front him. The smell of burnt oil residue filled the cockpit on the takeoff roll. With a slight pressure on stick the SPAD soared skywards, almost sprinting on its own toward the clouds, like an overly eager dog lunging at its breakfast.

With the morning sun barely hidden by the top wing, the collection of fabric, steel and wood that was the SPAD, Jedi Teddington went east on his solitary hunt. Surely there would be a Hun or two aloft this most wonderful of mornings. He waved to the crew of an observation balloon as he passed them, his mind gently acknowledging the fact that he just passed the front. Below him were a few outposts, unlike the gaping wound that were the series of trenches he was so accustomed to seeing below him. This part of the front had not seen any intensive action and the landscape seemed almost untouched by the flame of war. As Jedi looked around the sky he spotted a lone balloon in the distance, and Jedi smiled to himself. “Another easy target” he said to himself as the cocked his two Vickers machineguns and heard the most exquisite sound as the first round goes into the chamber. Adjusting his scarf and goggles, Jedi closed on the balloon. Gently leaning over to his right gun he depressed the trigger and fired a short burst. The pale white tracers hit the top part of Drachen balloon and it seemed an eternity until the fabric of the balloon was set ablaze. A curious thought sprang into Jedi’s head, where was the ack ack? Normally attacking a balloon was an invitation to dodging the protective fire of anti-aircraft artillery, yet none of the characteristic black puffs were around. Something felt amiss, yet the young pilot ignored that particular thought.

Too preoccupied with looking at the falling burning carcass of the balloon Jedi failed to notice a glint in a nearby cloudbank and Jedi kept his course. Again he saw a glint in a cloud in front of him, and a bitter taste filled his mouth as roaring out of the cloud a pale yellow aircraft appeared. Jedi turned quickly to avoid colliding with his foe, the black cross on the top wing of the Albatross filled him vision as he looked up. After the two aircraft had merged Jedi inverted and dove attempting to put some distance between him and the dastardly German this however was a mistake, as the Albatross swiftly turned and unleashed a hail of bullets on the diving SPAD. Several bullets tore though to fabric of the wing and Jedi felt the air shoot out of his lungs, as one of the bullets had scraped against his stomach.

Trying to follow the German was difficult, as moving the rudder pedals brought a sharp pain to his abdomen, Jedi started to feel a bit light headed. The two aircraft were twirling around the air, each trying to follow the other. Yet the heavy SPAD was no match for the menacing Albatross. Jedi dove for the green fields below him, passing through several tall trees hoping this would buy him some time and distance from the German. With sweat pouring from his brow and hands cramping he dove. The Albatross was not as fast as the SPAD, and the hundreds of yards between them grew. In the chaos of the dogfight Jedi had become disorientated and saw the sun in front of him, and a terrifying thought hit the young pilot, he was flying in the wrong direction. With great effort he swung the plane around and pointed directly at the black spot, which was growing larger and larger.

The outline of the Albatross grew in the ring of the gun sight and Jedi held his breath. The aircraft fired almost simultaneously however, the SPAD was backlit by the sun and the tracers streaked past Jedi by a few yards. The two combatants passed each other and Jedi swiftly looked over his shoulder and saw the Albatross in a gentle dive towards a row of trees. Turning his aircraft around while his eyes were fixed on the diving foe, Jedi was just above the Albatross when it hit the ground with a barely audible thud. Flying just above the ground, merely feet above the field, Jedi saw the smashed remains of the Albatross, its wings broken and its pilot slumped over. A peculiar feeling washed over him as he turned to the west, this broken pilot below him had been the best adversary he had encountered and an Jedi felt a strange twinge as he turned for the aerodrome, taking one last look at the broken aircraft below.

The flight home lasted for what seemed an eternity, with Jedi barely being able to remain conscious as he felt the warm wetness cover his abdomen. At last the aerodrome was in sight and the SPAD touched the grass of the field. After rolling to the hangar, Jedi just had enough time to cut the fuel to the engine as darkness descended in front of his eyes and he slumped in the chair. The last thing Jedi noticed as he lost consciousness were the shouts of the ground crew and the gentle singing of the birds in the trees not far from the aerodrome and the gentle calm set in.

The above is an historical account from a couple of minutes ago on an online server in Rise of Flight.

[MadTrooper]

HI Jedi,

WOW, excellent story ! You should become a writer my friend. Well done.

MT

[BadAim]

This is why we do this eh? Nice writing, Mate. You definitely have a talent.

[DD_Arthur]

with Jedi barely being able to remain conscious as he felt the warm wetness cover his abdomen.

Blimey! He's D.H. Lawrence tonight.

[Sid]

with Jedi barely being able to remain conscious as he felt the warm wetness cover his abdomen.

Blimey! He's D.H. Lawrence tonight.

Here's me thinking that line meant he was a little over excited.......

[Jediteo]

It is supposed to be blood, nothing sinister or particularly funny. I thought of writing a comedy piece, but it was far too early in the morning to be funny.

[DD_Arthur]

Sorry Jedi. I thought you were describing having your knackers shot off.

Nice bit of fiction btw. You have got yourself a certain style there.

[Jediteo]

I did not specify where the dude got hit, readers choice .