by Sarah Noffke
Unable to pull himself back up, Eddie finally let go and slid to the mat. The crowd hollered with excitement, many of them urging him to go again. Lying on his back on the mat, Eddie heaved in a breath, his eyes on the ceiling. He got to all fours before pushing to his feet and throwing both hands over his head to encourage the audience.
“All right, moment of truth,” said Lars, looking at the screen to the side of the bull that displayed the rider’s time.
The screen blinked several times, then two numbers appeared.
5.4
“Yeah!” cheered Julianna.
Knox laughed. “Five and half seconds. You called that one, Commander.”
Lars stood up reluctantly, but had a small smile on his face. “All right, you got me this round.”
“Time to take your punishment,” said Julianna. “Get up there and ride that beast.”
He strode toward the bull, and as Eddie passed him he patted Lars on the shoulder. “Hold on tight, there. That bull ain’t playin’ around.”
Buzzing with excitement, Eddie returned to the table and took the seat next to Julianna. “You had me figured, didn’t you, Strong Arm?”
“I had your shoes figured, mostly,” she said, pointing to the tight leather shoes.
“Ha! Yeah, that’s exactly why I got bucked off. Good call,” he said, glancing down at them.
Knox had turned around completely and was watching the activity in the bar. He always appeared to look at things with fresh eyes. Julianna guessed he hadn’t been in places like this much. Onyx Station hosted things that weren’t found anywhere outside Federation space.
“I got us another round,” said Julianna, indicating the beer she’d gotten for Eddie.
“Why, thank you kindly, Sally. After a long day at the census bureau, I can’t think of anything I want more than a cold beer.” Eddie picked up the mug and took a long sip.
Julianna’s dropped her eyes as a weird thought occurred to her.
“What’s the look for?” asked Eddie, catching the change in her expression.
“I was just thinking how strange it would be to have a normal job like that—one with set hours where you go to the same location,” said Julianna. It really seemed as foreign of an idea to her as sleeping in on weekends, or having actual weekends. What day was it, anyway?
Eddie laughed, then leaned close to her and whispered, “To be honest, it sounds horrible. I don’t think people like you and me are well-suited for normal jobs.”
“Yeah, there’s not much normal about me or my life,” said Julianna.
Eddie was still leaning in close, but was now studying Julianna. She pulled back a couple inches to get space.
He tapped his chin as if he were contemplating something. “You ever want that? A normal life? Wish you could have it if you wanted?” asked Eddie.
Julianna picked up her drink, but didn’t take a sip. She thought honestly about the questions.
Before she could answer Eddie continued, “You know, a steady job, a family, a mate?”
Julianna threw her head back, emptying her glass. “No. I love my job, and I’ve never been the family type. Well, unless you count the crew and the squadron.”
“And what about a mate? You ever get lonely? Space can be a lonesome place,” said Eddie, looking like he was playing a game with her with this questioning.
Julianna shook her head. “The Federation made me who I am and I’ll always be grateful for that, but I’m very different from most because of it. No one could ever be right for me, not now that I’ve changed.”
“Because you’re enhanced?” asked Eddie.
She paused, but then shrugged. “Something like that.”
Eddie nodded, his eyes dropping to his half-drunk beer.
“And to answer your question,” said Julianna, “no, I don’t get lonely. I don’t allow myself the opportunity.”
Chapter Eighteen
Intelligence Center, QBS ArchAngel, Paladin System
Eddie rolled his shoulders, glad to be back in his normal clothes. He’d slept fitfully the night before, maybe from being back on Onyx Station, maybe something else. There was a feeling in the back of his head, something he couldn’t place.
Julianna and Eddie stood shoulder to shoulder as Jack bustled into the Intelligence Center with a worried expression in his eyes. Jack often looked focused, but rarely did he appear like this. Anxious.
When he reached the front of the room Jack cleared his throat, pulling everyone’s attention to him. “Thank you for joining me. Some intel came in while you were on Onyx Station. I had Chester look into it, and he’s been able to pull quite a bit of information. Fortunately, we now know exactly what Felix and the Brotherhood are up to. Unfortunately, it’s not good at all. I daresay it’s worse than I originally envisioned.”
Juliana stiffened beside Eddie, her jaw clenching.
Jack gave Chester a brief nod and he dutifully pulled up an image on the main screen. A small blue and green planet with purplish clouds rotated on the monitor.
“Felix has a project in the works, something he’s taken to calling “Domination”, and it has just one purpose,” said Jack, angry heat in his voice. “He’s trying to take over a planet.”
Julianna tilted her head to the side as if she hadn’t heard Jack correctly. “But why? What’s the purpose of taking that particular planet? I thought he wanted to make the Federation pay for something the General did. How is this related?”
Jack nodded. “That’s exactly what he wants, and this is the way he’s attempting to do it, utilizing the Brotherhood.” Pointing to the screen, Jack flicked his eyes in the direction of the small planet. “This is Nexus. It’s a fairly obscure world, but rich in certain resources. Furthermore, the people are at a major disadvantage. From what we can determine the Brotherhood have landed on Nexus and made it their central base of operations, at least for right now. They are enslaving the human natives to serve them. Capable men are being enlisted to fight as grunt soldiers, while others are forced to serve in the local mines.”
“And the people are just accepting this?” asked Julianna, disgust in her voice.
“Actually, they aren’t,” said Jack. “There’s now a war on this usually peaceful planet, although I don’t expect it to be long before the Brotherhood overpowers them. At that point Felix will have tripled or quite possibly quadrupled his army, and he’ll have a powerful home base outside Federation space. If he succeeds in taking over Nexus, he’ll be in a position to attack the Federation.”
“How’s that?” asked Eddie.
“Nexus isn’t far from Federation space, sitting somewhere between the Kezzin and Trid empires,” explained Jack. “It’s the perfect staging ground for a full-on assault.”
“Why hasn’t anyone stepped in?” asked Marilla, who was sitting at her desk.
“No one knew what was going on until just recently,” explained Jack. “Besides, we believe the local governments in this region have been paid off by Mr. Castile. Were it not for Ghost Squadron’s efforts we would not know any of this, not before it was too late.”
As Eddie studied the planet’s image, a chill ran down his back at the idea that Felix had almost successfully taken over a planet right under their noses.
“You have a mission for us?” asked Julianna.
“Yes. We need to act fast, because Felix has made a fair amount of progress according to the images Chester has found,” said Jack. He pointed to the hacker, who sat behind his workstation twirling his pencil.
“When do we go?” asked Eddie.
“You depart at thirteen hundred hours. I’m having ArchAngel send over the details for the mission, so you have just enough time to meet with your team, debrief, and prep,” said Jack.
“There’s something you’re not saying, Jack,” said Julianna.
Eddie had sensed that too. It was something in his demeanor. A hesitance, perhaps.
Jack let out a long sigh and threw his hand out. “This mission
—it’s exactly why we need to grow this team faster. We need more pilots and we need a ground force, but we don’t have all that in place right now. It’s going to take time.”
“Felix planned this perfectly,” said Eddie, seething at the words. “He must know about our team and what we’re doing, and he’s trying to act before we have time to prepare.”
“That he did,” said Jack, his tone full of fury. “Since we don’t have the numbers we need, we’re going to have to rely on strategy. Felix is counting on the Brotherhood to control this region, but that power is centralized in Commander Lytes, not Felix himself. If we take Lytes out, at least, it should dissolve the Brotherhood, but getting in there to do that will be a big problem. There’s a war on that planet.”
“Could we partner with the natives to increase our numbers?” asked Eddie. “Drop in covertly and start a resistance?”
Jack nodded. “That was the idea. Back on Earth, a ruler named Napoleon would enter his enemy’s country and start a civil war before attacking it. It was very efficient.” Jack flashed them a cunning smile. “Between this and a few other strategies we’ll run simultaneously I think we can get in swiftly and, more importantly, succeed, so long as everything comes together at the end. Just remember, we want Commander Lytes above all else. We need the Brotherhood disbanded.”
“You can rely on us, Jack. We will do everything in our power to free the innocent and bring justice to Commander Lytes,” said Eddie.
“Good,” said Jack, a serious look on his face. “Because if he and Felix are successful in taking over this planet, there won’t be anything we can do to stop the war that follows.”
Loading Bay 02, QBS ArchAngel, Tangki System
A row of modified Black Eagles sat on the front line, each pilot standing at attention. She had only briefly met these new recruits and it pained her, because Jack was right. They were understaffed for this mission, all because they hadn’t anticipated what was about to unfold.
Julianna stared at the small fleet, the Eagles barely recognizable with their new design. Hatch had modified them so no one would be able to tell these ships had come from the Federation. In time, of course, their squad would only use Q-Ships, but they had to make do with what they had right now.
Behind the Black Eagles stood the two Q-Ships. Eddie was checking over his Alpha-line model before the mission and Hatch waddled beside him, explaining many of the changes he’d made to the ship to bring it closer to the Omega-line. The Stingray was at the back with Lars in front of it, feet shoulder-width apart and arms rigidly crossed.
“You all have your orders,” began Julianna, speaking directly to the pilots. Eddie looked at her with a fierce expression on his face. “This mission isn’t going to be easy. Actually, it’s fucking complicated, but that shouldn’t matter. What matters is that people’s freedom is at stake. Some have already been stripped of that natural right. We can’t let Felix Castile’s influence spread any farther than it already has.”
Julianna began to pace, hands behind her back. “No one knows who we are or why we fight.” She halted and stared at the men and women before her, who were all new recruits and all pilots. But they had proved they were hungry for justice, same as Julianna and Eddie. “But you all know what Ghost Squadron’s mission is, am I right?”
There was a collective “Yes” from the group, and Lars answered from the back.
“We do what we do because it’s worth fighting for,” continued Julianna. “We hide on the fringe, punishing those who think they can bully the Federation. The people we are going to help are not a part of the Federation, but their freedoms are at stake or have already been stolen. If we don’t fight for them today, they could be us tomorrow. We are all at risk of losing the one thing that truly matters. Freedom is not a gift, it is our birth right. I want you to go out there and help us protect the people of Nexus. I want you to help us to disband the Brotherhood, but even after we are successful there will still be more battles to fight. However, we will have defeated one more bully. We will have sent them an important message: The Federation may not have been able to stop you, but Ghost Squadron will.”
“Nice speech,” said Eddie when Julianna met him by the Q-Ships.
“Thanks,” she said, acting indifferent.
He’d never seen her quite like that—overcome with passion. It was inspiring, and had been perfectly executed. Concise and powerful. “I didn’t know you had that kind of speech in you.”
“How do you know I didn’t just regurgitate something I’ve used before?” To his surprise there was a playful smile on her face, although her eyes were serious.
“Did you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. Our squadron is about to risk their lives under our command, so they deserve to hear something from the heart.”
Eddie smiled, feeling an immense amount of pride. “I agree. Our squadron…” It was surreal to think they were in charge of this group, but it felt right.
“You ready to go, Captain?” asked Julianna, looking his ship over.
“You know I am. I was born for this mission, and for the next. And the next,” said Eddie, the adrenaline spiking in his blood.
“Be swift. Get in there, and get out. Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” ordered Julianna, her voice serious.
“Aw, shucks. From the sound of it, Commander, you’re worried about me,” said Eddie.
“We all have a dangerous mission, but I think we both know you have more at risk,” said Julianna, insinuating Eddie’s vulnerability.
“Don’t worry, Jules, I’ll be back on this deck with you by the end of the day, ready to throw back some drinks.” Eddie held out his hand to her. “Safe flying, Commander. Watch out for yourself as well. You may be strong, but we all know that no one is invincible.”
Julianna eyed his hand before wrapping her fingers around his. They shook briefly, eyes locked. “Will do, Captain.”
Eddie climbed aboard his Q-Ship, giving Julianna one last look as she did the same.
When the squadron had departed the loading bay felt strange, and too empty. Hatch eyed the crew, who were working on another Q-Ship. He opened his mouth to tell them they were doing something wrong, but slammed it shut. What was the point? It wasn’t that the crew was incredibly incompetent. They were actually normal. Average…but that was the problem. Hatch liked to work alone, because he had zero tolerance for “average.” He’d never known what it was like to perform typically. Pip kept telling him his expectations were too high, but that wasn’t something one changed overnight.
He waddled over to a set of workstations where he was constructing engine parts to be installed in the new Q-Ships.
Someone was already there, he quickly realized. It was the kid with the black Mohawk. Knox, he believed his name was—the boy he had talked to about his car collection.
Knox dropped something on one of the tables and clumsily shuffled backward. “Sorry,” he said.
“What are you doing back there?” asked Hatch.
Knox looked up, his face startled. “I was… I just… I saw those parts sitting there… I’m sorry.”
Hatch eyed the engine parts on the table. They weren’t how he’d left them. He stretched one of his tentacles toward the table and picked up the part, which had been put together…correctly.
“Did you do this?” asked Hatch, narrowing his eyes at the kid.
“I’m sorry. Yes. I was just messing around, and before I knew it I had done this. I apologize if I messed it up. Please let me fix it,” said Knox, his voice frantic.
“Fix it? How can you fix that?” asked Hatch, his tone still brooding.
“I can take it back apart.” Knox hobbled behind the table again, still seeming really clumsy—like he was hopping. “Please, I’ll do whatever you say! Just don’t tell the Commander or the Captain I messed up your parts. They’ll kick me out. They’ll make me leave.”
Hatch regarded the turbo pump in his tentacle, trying to hide anything that mig
ht be in his expression. “You think they’ll kick you off the team?”
Knox nodded. “I’m still new, and on a trial basis. I’m really sorry. I don’t know why I messed with your engine parts, it’s just, they called to me. I should know better.”
“You should definitely know better,” said Hatch, turning the connected pieces over in his tentacle to inspect them. “These parts called to you, you say?” The form wasn’t standard. It was clear this boy had never assembled a piece like this before but he’d found a way to do it, making it just as efficient as if Hatch had done it himself. For someone with no experience, this was impressive. “Who showed you how to do this?” Hatch asked him.
The boy shook his head. “No one did. It was like a blueprint appeared in my head. Something makes me think I know how to put things together. I know it’s dumb. I don’t even have any formal schooling,” said Knox, “not like the people on your crew. My old boss Mateo taught me how to fix my ship, so I guess you could say that was how I learned the basics.”
“You’re right. My crew all has engineering degrees, although most of them have more credentials after their name than brain cells in their heads,” said Hatch.
“Oh, right. Well, I won’t touch your stuff anymore. I won’t even come down here again. And if you want me to, I’ll fix what I’ve done,” said Knox.
“Fix? There’s nothing to fix,” said Hatch, laying the turbo pump back down on the workstation.
“Wait, there isn’t? What are you saying?” asked Knox, his eyes wide.
He was just a kid, but there was something perfect about the young. They hadn’t been corrupted by other people’s practices or taught the wrong way to do things at some stuffy school. They hadn’t been taught to trust textbook practices over intuition and gut instinct, which was why Hatch had patented so many inventions. For a lack of a better phrase, he thought outside the box. Hell, he lived outside the box, as far as his thinking went.
“I’m saying that you constructed this turbo pump correctly. Not only that, but you connected them perfectly. Usually a newbie…or a member of my worthless crew,” Hatch yelled loudly enough for the crew shuffling around behind him to hear, “fits the bearing on too tightly or cross-threads it.”