A few minutes later, I stood beside Clark in the infirmary and patted his hand while Phillip used nanites to mend a gash above his eye and then reset his nose. Selecting a pain patch, I affixed it behind his ear. “I’m fine,” Clark grumbled.
“Alright. I’ll leave you in Phillip’s capable hands.” He winced a little when I kissed his cheek, but for the sake of his pride I pretended not to notice.
Yukihyo was waiting for me by the lift. Taking the arm he offered me, we went up to the observation deck. The stars deserved to be stared at with an adoration which our swift passage didn’t allow. Taking a seat, Yukihyo patted his thighs for me to sit on his lap. Once I’d made myself comfortable, we called the children and listened while they told us about Milk and Flake.
“Sorry, Daddy,” Neema said sadly as she held up what was left of Yukihyo’s favorite pair of boots.
“It’s alright, but try to keep them out of our room.”
“Yes, sir,” she said. Then, to make it better, she kissed the view screen.
Losing interest in us, the children started building a fort out of one of the couches. Fitz looked exhausted. “Peter has an obsession with climbing. We can’t keep him out of Thunderdrop’s tree sculpture.”
“Has he hurt himself?” Worry twisted up inside of me.
“Not yet.” Fitz rolled his eyes. “I had it moved into storage as a precaution. However, Peter cried and cried as if I’d broken his heart. He was inconsolable, so Xavier and I returned it to its original position.”
Over his shoulder, Xavier’s white and black eyes came into view. “Boys need to play like boys. He loves climbing that thing. If he hurts himself, Dr. Savelli can fix him, but Peter’s heart isn’t getting bruised on my watch.”
“Well, his head could be. Tell her how he leaps and glides from the top of it,” Fitz snidely prompted.
“You just did. Anyway, he lands on the couch most of the time. He’s fine. You’re overprotective.”
The words “most of the time” seared my brain, and I was about to interject when Nico roared from behind them, “I’ve been fined six hundred thousand credits by the Laconian Sector for unnecessarily scattering hazardous radioactive materials across their space! How’d they find out about it so fast if they weren’t spying on us?”
“Those fuckers!” I exclaimed. “The Militia dumped it in the first place!”
Yukihyo asked, “Are you going to pay it?”
Fitz handed Nico the vid-screen. My general had an expression on his face which answered the question for us. “I’m seeking legal counsel.”
“Oh, from whom?” Yukihyo asked.
Grinning, he asked, “Well, we’re on our way to Arachne, so who do you think?”
“Gina?” I asked.
He nodded.
The Lady Gina Montgomery was formidable. If anyone could argue us out of being forced to pay the unfair and astronomical fine, it was her.
Yukihyo asked, “Can we countersue?”
Nico said, “We’d need to prove it was deliberate.”
Xavier said, “Oh, it was, but we won’t find any proof. Eric made sure of it.”
After our call ended, I was about to call them back to ask about the “most of the time” comment when Yukihyo distracted me.
“What do you think of expanding Ponidi Propulsions?”
“I’d be willing to make a sizable investment, but I think it’s Zeth who you might want to ask.”
He gave me a sexy smile and kissed my lips. I was slipping my hand down his pants when I saw a shadow above us, blotting out the stars. Ship-wide alarms blared.
Chapter Nine
Standing, we looked through the viewports. Fighters spilled out of the unidentified ship and swarmed Cormac’s warship. We hurried into the lift. “Who the hell are they? That’s not the Constantine.”
“Pirates,” Yukihyo answered.
“Are they lunatics? Don’t they recognize a Parvac warship when they see one?”
Before the lift doors closed, we saw two more pirate cruisers joining the first. “All pilots, report to the flight deck. Repeat. All pilots, report to the flight deck,” a bridge officer announced.
I hit the lift command to take us there.
“What are you doing?” His deep monotone held a hint of worry.
“You heard him.”
“Teagan, no.”
Angrily, I said, “You either believe in my abilities, or you don’t. We’re under attack. I intend to fight back. I’m not a victim.”
He gently gripped my arms and stared down into my eyes. I could feel him soothing my anger, and I fought against it.
I wanted my anger because it kept the fear away. “I’ve spent too much of my life living in fear. I need to fight.”
“Alright, Lady Wife, I’ll agree on one condition. You fly, but you turn weapons over to me.”
Some odd feeling washed over me, leaving me feeling powerful yet fragile. Yukihyo believed in me. The lift opened onto the flight deck. Some pilots shot their fighters from the ship and out into the fray while others hurried to do the same. An officer was barking orders, but I followed Yukihyo to the lockers where we stripped and quickly dressed in flight suits and boots. Having seen us, the officer strode over to us with a red face. He looked ready to order us to leave. A sharp whistle got his attention.
It was Dario. He had paused while climbing into the cockpit of a fighter. “She knows what she’s doing and can handle it.”
I clenched my teeth together and held my breath. Ensigns of the Inquisitors Academy didn’t cry. Dario had faith in my abilities, too?
The officer gave Dario a nod and pointed us to a fighter. Yukihyo and I hurried over to it. The docking crew helped me with my pre-flight inspection and nervously waited for me to ascend into the cockpit. After Yukihyo had taken his seat, to placate them, I let them help me up. Compromise never hurt. Sealing the hatch, I powered up, activated our communications, and waited for my signal to launch. My heart thudded in my chest while I waited for the green light to appear on my console. Cormac could override the approval Dario had given for me to enter the fight. Tactical showed me a total of four pirate ships attacking our warship, not to mention all of their fighter ships.
All hands aboard were either flying or arming themselves to fight. I took note of the swarms of fighters and their ever-changing positions, engaging in battle directly in front of the flight bay doors. Our fighters were sleek, black, and deadly. Those belonging to the pirates were an eclectic mix of technologies but still destroyed our fighters with deadly, vicious precision. Sick dread settled in my guts as I watched one of ours being blown apart. This wasn’t a game. We were fighting for our lives.
When the green light appeared, I almost didn’t believe it but didn’t dare hesitate. Flying from my berth, I took us out into the fray and straight for an enemy who was firing at Dario’s engines. I flew in so close that I almost clipped it, giving Yukihyo an easy target. He fired his weapons, and sparks flew as the fighter’s fuel combusted and quickly died out. The fighter listed to its side and then dropped like a stone out of the fight. Dario saluted us and took his fighter off into a spin. I followed his flight with my eyes.
“Shit. Looks like we’ve got some playmates,” I told Yukihyo. Pirates were firing on us. I took us down and beneath the fighter we’d just disabled.
“Tag seems to be a popular game amongst the children. Perhaps, the pirates will enjoy it.”
Unfortunately, the pirates didn’t care about their pilot. I must have taken out an unpopular guy. They fired upon his ship to get to us, blowing it apart. Taking us straight up through the debris, I spun my fighter. Yukihyo took advantage and fired. Explosions burst around us before lack of oxygen snuffed them out. I checked my sensors.
“Boarding parties,” I warned.
Shuttles were latching onto various sections of the hull. The pirates were attempting to board Cormac’s ship.
“Let’s do them a favor and keep them from being greeted by what awaits t
hem inside,” Yukihyo suggested.
“Copy that.” I flew straight for the nearest shuttle. Yukihyo fired at it, but it wasn’t enough to dislodge it. I had to circle back. “Husband, I’ve got an ugly fucker on my ass.” I dipped my fighter in time to avoid a blast that streaked over the top of the cockpit. A black blur sped by and blew our attacker to bits. Rounding back, I got as close to the shuttle as I dared. Yukihyo opened fire and dislodged the shuttle. Its nose lifted up while the rest of it scraped against the hull before drifting free. An enemy fighter narrowly missed impact with it. Once they’d cleared, we could see pirates dressed in mismatched environmental suits clinging to the warship’s hull with magnetic gloves and boots. “They’ve got cutters!” I warned.
Yukihyo fired a warning pulse at them. Getting the message, the pirates threw their tools out into space. They’d be lucky if they survived the battle, but we wouldn’t be the ones ending them.
Seeing one of our pilots under attack by four enemies, I sped to assist him, dipping my wings from side to side to avoid blasts as I did so. My proximity sensors blared warnings at me. “Yukihyo, we’ve got one on our ass coming in hot.” I felt a moment of fear when the enemy fighters before and behind us started firing.
Yukihyo yelled, “Do what you have to do! Leave them to me!”
Trusting in his abilities as he trusted in mine, I took her straight up, giving her everything she had. The enemy fighters came after me. Slamming down on my controls, I flipped her, and with her nose now pointed at them took her into a spinning dive.
“Whew! Hoo!” Yukihyo yelled. His shots spiraled out around us, and in our wake, we left destruction.
The ship we had aided fell in at our side. Taking point, I flew back toward our warship in time to see Dario shooting to deflect a missile aimed at her engines, but the pirate ships had more of them. Cormac was taking evasive actions, but the pirate ships were working together.
Yukihyo said, “We need to take out their weapons.”
“Do we have the firepower to do it?”
“No, but if our friend in the other fighter helps us, we can accomplish it together.”
Hitting communications, I signaled the other pilot. “Request assistance.”
“Copy that.”
“Shoot where I shoot. Over.” I flew us through battling ships and only took one scorching blast over a wing in the process. Luckily, it burned itself out and only caused cosmetic damage. “I’m taking us in.” The enemy ship loomed above us. It had seen space battle before and had the mismatched hull to prove it. They’d probably repaired their hull with finds from stations like Luna 241. “They’ve spotted us. Get ready,” I warned.
Fighters tore away from the battles in which they had been engaging and dived toward us. I flew in a sporadic zigzag to keep them guessing before doubling back and flying full-speed for the vessel’s weapons. Yukihyo didn’t wait for an invitation. He sent our missiles straight for the target. Realizing our intent, a pirate shot one of our missiles off course. The explosion which resulted took out two of their fighters, but our other one along with those of our partnering pilot struck home. Hoping to avoid the coming blast, I changed course. Taking her up, I gave her everything she had yet again and felt it in the wing that had been scorched previously. The damage was worse than I had thought. It had put ripples and dents in her skin, affecting how she flew. The other pilot stayed at our side, as well as friends and foes alike who had seen what we had done.
Beneath us, space lit up for a few heartbeats. The pirate ship was exploding. The back of my ship lifted, forcing my nose down, as the percussive blast pushed us forward. Struggling to stabilize her, I adjusted our course in time to fly with the debris hurling toward us faster than we were going. Bits and pieces pinged against our shields, and my engines whined with strain, but I kept pushing her until we were in the clear. Then, I turned around and flew back. Parvac pilots were picking off the stragglers with unmerciful, methodical precision.
From the distance, we watched while Cormac fired upon and destroyed one of the pirate cruisers. I’d done all that I could, but my fighter was damaged, and we’d used our best missiles. If we were to hang back, it would put a target on us as easy kills. I did the rational thing and flew back to Cormac’s flight bay which was a challenge in and of itself.
“Are we done fighting?” Yukihyo asked. He sounded relieved and disappointed.
“Yes, our wing took some damage. I have to take her in.”
“You sound disappointed, Lady Wife.”
“You feel disappointed.”
He chuckled. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the thrill of battle.” He kept firing on enemy ships until we neared the warship where gunners protected us as we docked.
Taking her to her berth, I powered down. Removing my helmet, I put it in its place and pushed sweaty hair away from my face. A docking crew rushed over to assist us, but Yukihyo insisted on being the one to help me down. Like mine, his hair was plastered to his head. I let out a breath and reported to the officer on duty.
“Good job, Ensign, but you’re done.”
“I can do more. Give me another ship.”
He gestured around us. The crew had already begun making repairs to my fighter in a rush to get her back out. “The only ones I’ve got took hits and damage. Dismissed.”
Standing at attention, I saluted him and went to the lockers with Yukihyo at my side.
“We make a good team, Lady Wife.”
Winking at him, I said, “We always have.”
Putting our flight suits into a cleaning unit, we dressed in our own clothing and returned to the Imperial quarters where we joined Tracy on a couch. She nervously watched the battle on the wall-mounted vid-screen.
“Is Jazon out there?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Eli ordered your Imperial Guards to confuse the minds of the pirates who are attempting to board us.” Her solid-black eyes were frightened.
“Where is Phillip?” Yukihyo asked.
“He reported to the medical bay.”
“Chitter clack chirp.” Thunderdrop was annoyed with me.
“Yes, I know you wanted to go with us, but Jazon needed you to stay and protect Tracy.”
“Chitter clack.” He didn’t believe me.
“Alright. The truth is that I forgot all about you and rushed off to help. If there’s a next time and you want to come with me, be on my shoulder.”
He blinked his eight eyes at me. “Chirp.”
Grabbing my vid-screen, I called Quaid. He answered with a mischievous smile from his station on the Hadrian’s bridge. His expression changed when he took in my disheveled appearance. “What the actual fuck, Quaid? We’re under attack! We have casualties and are taking heavy damage!”
His eyes turned solid-black, and he tapped away at his console, confirming my report.
I could hear Eric barking out orders. “Hail the Constantine!” he yelled.
I gripped the couch and dropped my vid-screen as a hit had our warship shuddering. Yukihyo stabilized Tracy and me. Thunderdrop jumped to the back of the couch and chittered. On the wall-mounted vid-screen, we watched as two additional pirate ships loomed into view.
“Oh, no! There are more of them?” I began to panic as fear set in that I’d never again see my children. “Yukihyo?”
Cormac’s voice came over the ship-wide announcement system. “All hands, brace for impact.”
Yukihyo put his arms around us and held us to his chest. The impact made the warship rattle. Dishes fell from the kitchen cabinets, and Tracy’s terrified cries were heard on the Hadrian’s bridge. Yukihyo picked up my vid-screen. “Quaid, they have us outnumbered. This attack was planned and coordinated. Is the Militia behind it?”
“No!” he yelled.
Eric stated, “The Constantine’s estimated arrival is ten minutes. She was ordered to guard the Empress and reestablish contact with you on Arachne. We don’t have any other ships in the sector. Yukihyo, take them to an emergency es
cape pod and keep them there.”
“Ladies,” Yukihyo said as he stood with his arms around us.
Clinging to Yukihyo when another explosion rocked the ship, we made our way into the Emperor’s quarters, around which an escape pod had been designed. He pulled chairs over to the wall where consoles were hidden and activated a viewer. Those ten minutes in which we waited for the Constantine’s arrival felt like ten hours. The warship shuddered with each missile attack that Cormac was unable to evade. Tracy and I clutched each other’s hands in terror while Yukihyo did all he could to soothe our emotions.
After failed diplomatic attempts, Captain Espanoza tired of her efforts to peacefully end hostilities and deployed her fighter ships and missiles. The battle raged for another hour before the pirates scattered in what ships they had left. They weren’t stupid and assumed where one Galaxic Militia ship appeared, more would follow, which was fortunate for us but in this particular case was an incorrect assumption.
When the flashing red alert lights switched to yellow, we left Papa’s quarters in favor of the sitting room. In the aftermath, we learned that seven pilots had sacrificed their lives in our defense. Not knowing who they had been made me feel sick. Knowing I needed to stay busy to keep my mind off of it, I went to the kitchen and forced my help on the chef, who had blasters holstered at his sides and a rifle holstered down his back, ordered to protect us should the need arise. I placed broken shards of plates and cups into a crate. He’d adamantly refused to allow me to touch any of the shattered glassware. With the large pieces cleared, the floor bot was able to clean up the smaller pieces and tiny slivers which remained.
Finally, Eli, Drex, Dario, Zared, Clark, Jazon, and Phillip trickled into the Imperial quarters to check in. However, the mood wasn’t celebratory. Each of them in their own ways was coldly furious. Izaac was otherwise occupied but okay.
“If the Militia didn’t send the pirates to steal the alloy from us, who did?” Eli asked.
It would take time to answer his question.
Later that evening, the crew gathered in the ship’s cafeteria to share a meal and remember the men whom we had lost. Cormac spoke profound words of farewell to the brave pilots who had died defending his ship. I wiped at my eyes and huddled against Yukihyo’s side for comfort.
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