EV Nova Manual

1 Welcome to EV Nova Charlie deftly twisted the flight yoke, his hands a blur of motion over the various switches and buttons that make up the cockpit of a Federation Anaconda. Three Auroran Firebirds disappeared in a hail of fire and explosions, and Charlie pulled a tight victory roll, exulting in the thrill of combat. From the port side another gaggle of Firebirds jumped out of hyperspace. Charlie glanced down, and wondered how he was going to survive with only two missiles left. The Aurorans closed in, and with a savage turn, Charlie swung his fighter onto the tail of a squad of Aurorans. He opened fire, and one of the Aurorans dropped away, his fighter flaming and disintegrating, effectively out of the fight. The second fighter broke right, and as Charlie maneuverered to follow, white hot chain cannon rounds whizzed past the canopy. His shields glowed blue as they absorbed the blows, but the HUD showed that there was only 20% shield power left. The temperature rose as Charlie banked, snapping off a missile at the Auroran breaking off before him. The missile streaked towards the Fighter, only to turn away as the Firebird's jammers confused it. Cursing, Charlie dodged and wove, as his shields hit 10% power. Radar showed that he was outnumbered 15 to one, and that the hope of a Federation reinforcement fleet jumping in to save his bacon was next to zero. Things were looking grim, and Charlie was fighting for his life. Another element drifted across Charlie's nose. A quick burst of blaster fire sent one of them to a fiery death, and Charlie swung onto the other's "six". Rapid fire reduced it to smoking debris, but the odds were starting to tell. Chaingun rounds scored along the Anaconda's hull, and the radar shorted out in a shower of sparks. Craning around in his seat, Charlie saw five Firebirds closing in for the kill and he knew that all too soon, things were going to be coming to an end. In a desperate move he savagely swung the fighter around 180 degrees, letting its forward momentum carry it in a straight line. It meant that there was no more dodging, but it also meant that the fighter had all of its weapons firing in defense of what was the tail. One of the Firebirds exploded, but the combined fire of the other four quickly had rounds punching into the Anaconda's nose. Flames burst through the main systems, and the ship exploded. For Charlie, there was a brief moment of shock, a flash of bright white light, as the words "GAME OVER" slid across the screen. He had reached to level eighteen, which was five more than any of his friends could reach. He was the champion of his class, but when you're only in grade three, it isn't hard to get excited about such things. Charlie loved to play "Firebirds of Fury", and he hoped one day to join the Federation Navy. Most of his friends wanted to join up too. It was far off dream for a nine year old, but hopefully he could convince his parents to sign the early release form, so he could join up at ag…