by C. R. Daems
"If my mom and dad could see me now," Todd shouted back. I couldn't help a laugh. My thoughts went to my parents and my regret I couldn't have said goodbye and given them the comfort that I lived and was happy and healthy…for now, I amended. Ironically, I wasn't afraid or worried. I was satisfied with my choices and committed to protecting the Phoenix vision. Todd and I shot into the room and raced toward our fighters. I had painted the black and orange image of a Pitohui on the side of my fighter. Everyone laughed as they tended to choose birds of prey. What they didn't realize was that the New Guinea bird was the only poisonous bird on Earth. I kind of liked the idea that gives: I'm small but not to be fucked with.
I jumped in and immediately donned the protective equipment meant for actual combat. Like a bullet-proof vest, they provided additional protection if the cabin was breached by laser fire or shrapnel from exploding spacecraft.
As I dressed, Bradley's voice boomed from the fighter's speakers.
"Attention, Saker pilots. A Tullizor cruiser has been identified entering Anixia space. They are currently one light minute from Anixia, or about eight hours from the planet. We will meet the Crowned Eagle two hours from now at five hundred kilometers overhead. We will discuss our attack tactics when we are aboard the Crowned Eagle. Form up on your squadron leaders: Simon, Tebos, and Calum." As Bradley talked, I could see fighters being propelled out of the cavern.
"Team one, this is Tebos, your team leader. If you are hearing my voice, you are in team one. Form up on me." He waited several minutes as eight of us joined him. When he had us all, he began climbing into the night sky. Two hours later, I could see an Anixia cruiser with lights blinking. One by one, we approached the open bay and were gently pulled in.
"We have three teams on board the Crowned Eagle, each in a separate bay. That is insufficient to take on a Tullizor cruiser, but they are preparing another cruiser to support us. As we speak, the Kestrel House is preparing to join the Haast. They will be about two hours behind us. The Tullizor usually has thirty to forty fighters that they send out in waves of eight, each three to five minutes apart. They send their newest and least experienced pilots first, keep their best in the last two rows. Normally, our teams are a mixture of experienced and newbies. This time, Bradley wants to see how the new pilots and particularly Kayla's unorthodox style works against the Tullizor–Saker newbies against Tullizor newbies–"
"We are being hung out to dry because Kayla can't face a fair fight," Carl snarled.
"Carl, there is no such thing as a fair fight," Tebos said in a normal voice. "You kill the enemy, or he kills you by any means you can. The Tullizor are beating us consistently. Yes, this team is an experiment. We are not the first, nor will we be the last. Necessary experiments if we hope to survive. It is not like you haven't had training and many hours of practice. You have probably had more training than the Tullizor you will be facing. Consequently, your odds of surviving are better than his." He paused, eyes glazed over as if listening to something. "I'm told we should encounter the Tullizor in about three hours and twenty minutes. Get some rest. It will be a long engagement."
"Mount up," Tebos shouted, jerking me awake. I was surprised to find I had actually fallen asleep. The thought I could die, and I could kick ass fought to a tie, and my tiredness from the day's activities had been victorious. Fully awake and feeling alert, I went through my mental checklist and found everything normal. Seconds later, I was pushed out the bay, and I fell in at one end of the formation. My hologram showed the Tullizor cruiser discharging fighters like angry bees out of a beehive. As Tebos had said, one group formed a line then began moving forward as a second group began forming up. The first group was now over one thousand five hundred kilometers distant. Tebos had told us to proceed at two thousand five hundred kilometers per hour–about Mach 2 on Anixia. Given the Tullizor matched our speed, we should clash in approximately eighteen minutes. At seventeen minutes, the two lines were eight kilometers apart, and I thought close to targeting. So I broke formation, heading for the outer two Tullizor fighters while spinning to avoid being targeted. At thirty kilometers distance from the front line, I targeted one of the newbies fighters and fired, then veered away from the Tullizor line, but to my surprise, no one followed although I had destroyed one of their fighters. I shrugged and began a backward loop that would take me back into the Tullizor line. As I completed the loop some two kilometers above the advancing Tullizor fighters, I again targeted a Tullizor fighter, fired, and accelerated away. This time, two Tullizor fighters took chase.
"That damn coward bitch is running," Doug shouted into the Team one channel.
"Focus, Doug," Tebos said. "You are only seconds from contact with the Tullizor."
I kept taking defensive maneuvers as we moved further from the two formations and increasing my speed to maintain a several-kilometer separation. Finally, when I was sixty kilometers distant, I began a backward loop and was pleased when the two Tullizor followed me. Unfortunately for them, they didn't tighten their circle, and in less than a minute, I was behind them. I targeted one and pressed the button to fire the Swift missiles. We were so close the explosion was almost simultaneous with pressing the button. The second fighter made no attempt to break the loop, and I was able to target him and fire. I broke out of my loop and headed for the Tullizor formation, increasing my speed to three thousand six hundred kilometers per hour. Within thirty seconds, I was able to target a fighter in the back row–the experienced row–and fired. Targeted another fifteen seconds later and fired. Two kills, and the formation continued on like a Roman Phalanx as I swept past. This time, I had three fighters on my tail. I waited thirty seconds then performed a backward loop with the three trying to follow. When I saw the Tullizor cruiser on the hologram, I broke the loop and headed straight for it. I had a good lead on the three following me as breaking out of a loop can be tricky because half of the time, you are upside down, and all your reactions are reversed–up is down, right is left. I maintained a steady sequence of jogs left and right, rolls and twists as I knew the ship had missiles and lasers that would be trying to target me. At fifty kilometers, I fired all four of my Vulture missiles and immediately went into a backward loop to return. The hologram showed three missiles had scored hits, and the three Tullizor fighters were still chasing me. I passed over them upside down and several kilometers above them. They turned to give chase, but since they didn't perform a backward roll, their speed took them twenty kilometers off course. As I neared the rear of the Tullizor formation, I managed to target another fighter as I streaked for the Crowned Eagle for more missiles. I didn't have enough to take on multiple fighters.
"Look, the bitch is deserting the fight," Carl screeched. I ignored him as I continued. Suddenly, our third row accelerated over the Tullizor formation and headed for the Tullizor cruiser. The second row accelerated ahead into the Phalanx. The result was chaos as the Tullizor lost its formation.
At the Crowned Eagle, I was pulled into the bay. I popped the hatch and shouted, "I'm out of missiles," which got me a thumbs up, and crews began opening the side panels while others were loading the Vulture missiles on anti-gravity movers. They had just finished when Bradley's voice sounded on the all-squadron's channel.
"All squadrons return to the Crowned Eagle. The Tullizor are retreating, and the Haast is in pursuit."
I exited the Pitohui, gave her a kiss for good measure, and stood watching the Saker fighters returning. Every fighter had signs of laser hits, a few minor but many moderate to major, three were missing, and at least eight pilots needed immediate medical attention. Carl was one of the more seriously wounded. As I watched, Doug came running toward me, screaming.
"The fucking coward almost got us all killed." He looked like he planned to attack me, so I prepared myself, and my hand fell to my laser in case he drew his. But before he reached me, Bradley's voice cracked like a whip.
"Doug, strike her, and I'll have you removed from the House of War." All talking and activity cease
d as everyone's attention turned towards Doug, who had stopped within a meter of me. "Saker pilots are family. If two people can't get along, then one must leave. We have to depend on each other in war. If we can't, we are doomed."
"The bitch left formation, then deserted when the Tullizor attacked her, then left us to return to the safety of the cruiser. She's a worthless whore and should be banished."
"When we return to Anixia, we will review the battle and each fighter's black box, which will reveal what each pilot did and whether they earned any kills. It is important that we understand what we did right and what we did wrong if we are to survive the Tullizor. Today, one cruiser and its fighters caused a Tullizor cruiser to retreat. I would say that makes today a fantastic day."
The bay erupted in cheering. Doug stood glaring at me, barely able to keep from lunging at me. Eventually, he gave me a hate-filled smile and left as Bradley approached.
"Doug doesn't seem to like you, Kayla. In his defense, you did leave the formation and did return to the cruiser while everyone was engaged with the enemy." He held up his hand to forestall me commenting. "Our review tomorrow should be interesting."
Chapter 15
What We Did Right And Wrong
I knew I didn't run from the enemy, but Bradley's last words bothered me. That damn Doug was making what should have been a new and exciting life into a life of stress. It was like I was on trial, and I had to prove I was innocent, while Doug was guilty and was presumed innocent. It felt like my last year on Earth before they discovered I had glioblastoma. No one was listening then, and now they were listening to Doug. Well, there was nothing I could do about it then or now.
I skipped breakfast, feeling nauseated over the upcoming debriefing. I reported to the fighter training area a few minutes early and saw Doug grinning. Not a good sign.
Bradley wasn't smiling when he nodded to the chairs. I took a seat, exhausted to the point of not caring. "It is important for us to review what we did right and what we did wrong because the Tullizor are not going away anytime soon. To put things in perspective, I attached each of squadron one's black boxes to a separate monitor showing the pilot's console and the hologram of the outside world. I will run the tapes together until the action starts, then we will focus on each fighter–"
"Confirming that women don't belong in fighters," Doug blurted with an amused tone. Bradley said nothing, and I began to wonder if his Quaker upbringing and bias against women participating in war might be influencing him and giving him an opportunity to get me reassigned.
Bradley let the tapes run until my fighter accelerated. Then he stopped all but my tape. It showed my spiraling movements as the fighter raced toward the Tullizor line, my targeting locked onto one fighter, and the fighter's subsequent explosion as I banked right away from the Tullizor.
"There." Doug stood, pointing at the monitor. "She panicked, got in one lucky shot, and deserted us."
Bradley said nothing, letting the tape run. Several seconds later, it showed my loop back into the Tullizor line, targeting another fighter, and its destruction as I again flew away from the Tullizor; however, this time, I had two Tullizor fighters chasing me. A minute later, it showed me executing a backward loop and taking out both fighters. That elicited clapping and hoots. Then it showed me racing back towards the Tullizor formation, targeting the rearmost line and destroying two fighters as I passed. Now I had to smile as everyone was standing and talking. The hologram showed three fighters chasing me as I continued away from the main Tullizor formation. Then several minutes later, another loop, but this time, I broke out and headed a max acceleration toward the Tullizor cruiser in the distance, releasing all four of my vulture missiles and scoring three. Bradley stopped my black-box tape.
"The tape shows the nasty little Pitohui returning to the Crowned Eagle to replenish her missiles." Bradley smiled. He had obviously reviewed my black-box tape last night. "Kayla, you have six confirmed kills–"
"That's another record, Kayla," Jesso shouted. "Another one I doubt will be broken anytime soon."
I blushed when everyone, except Doug, stood and clapped. I sat through the rest of the debriefing at peace, just like when Dr. Carlson had confirmed my malignant brain tumor.
When the Saker's second line saw my missiles hit the Tullizor cruiser, Squadron Leader Calum gave the order to jump past the Tullizor formation and pursue the cruiser. In the end, they got an additional six hits on the cruiser and forced it to retreat. The Tullizor fighters had attempted to follow Calum's squadron, but Simon's squadron followed them, which made for easy kills. Doug claimed he had stayed behind to help Carl, whose fighter had taken considerable damage. An act which was against war-time orders and bordered on cowardice–the wounded was someone else's responsibility.
"Kayla, what are your observations?" Bradley asked when all the tapes had been reviewed and the kills confirmed.
"I think the Tullizor are trained in formations, like the Romans, and are a poor second to Saker pilots if you disrupt the formation. For example, the loop. They will follow you into one but have difficulties getting out of one or tightening it when I did."
"I agree," Jesso said. "When we jumped over them, their formation broke down."
"The cruisers don't like Vulture missiles," Calum said with a snort. "Anixia is no longer a free candy store."
"All right, I suggest we work on Kayla's loop, and we rethink our tactics."
Chapter 16
The Eye Of The Storm
The next three months went by in a flash. I was busy helping pilots master my reverse loop maneuver, which was being called Kayla's Loop, participating in the tactic's discussions, and visiting the other three Houses of War to explain what had occurred at our last Tullizor engagement. Every other day, I worked on police training. I was now theoretically qualified with the laser but wasn't comfortable with it. I could only see myself using it if my life was in imminent danger. To be honest, it took me too much time to aim. In a rush, I would be more likely to kill someone I was trying to wound. I much preferred the Buzzer baton. It gave a fifty-thousand-volt shock that could knock a bull on its ass. Keyed to me, it was also safe since only I could activate it. It also substituted as a club in less serious encounters, to block kicks and punches, disarm knife wielding opponents, and as a reminder I was the police, armed, and potentially dangerous.
I was officially promoted to the police unit after I had completed five months of training and had passed the official test, which included armed and unarmed self-defense matches and qualifying with a laser.
"Congratulations, Kayla. You have done remarkably well considering how frightened you were of physical violence. You still aren't comfortable with fighting, but you are adequate," Joseph snorted, "actually more than adequate with the stun baton." He laughed. "I would like you to fill in at least once each week for a month or two so that the residents get to know you and you the residents."
"What are the rules we are supposed to enforce?" I asked. I knew the basic rules but wasn't sure if there were things I should be looking for.
"We are here to protect the residents from being abused and for violations of the Anixian's rules. Mostly our mere presence keeps the peace. Our real purpose is to keep our eyes open for suspicious activities that could be a prelude to insurrection." Joseph's face hardened. "It happens to some extent with almost every crop of new recruits."
"What am I to look for?" I asked, not sure how people in the military acted when they were about to revolt.
"If something appears out of the ordinary or different, report it to me. Usually, we detect the threat by observing many small insignificant events that are individually unimportant but collectively signal a plot. Don't worry about it. You will know when you see it."
On my first shift as an official policewoman, Victor, who had two-year's experience, accompanied me.
"It's easy, Kayla," Victor said. He was a good-natured man in his late twenties and had been a beat cop in Boston before he came down with
Trachea cancer which wasn't discovered until it was in stage four and affecting other organs. He was tall, lanky, and good-looking with a constant smile. "We walk around and talk with folks. Well, actually, it's best if we listen. You don't learn much if you are doing all the talking. Our job is to identify problems early on when there are options."
It proved an interesting shift. When you are in a house, you forget representatives from every other house are there supporting you: records to keep your personnel records, support to maintain the facility, medical to maintain everyone's health, and weapons to fix and introduce new and modified ones. Until this tour, I hadn't realized how large the Saker's compound was. It was actually separated into two sections: war and supporting sections. It made me realize the various houses were distributed across Anixia for protection and the reason for the underground railway.
The next week, I took the shift alone. At first, I was a little apprehensive and on high alert for Doug and Carl, who had been hospitalized for two weeks but who appears to have made a complete recovery except for a few scars. Then I realized the two had been like ghosts, staying quiet and inconspicuous during the training sessions and avoiding me. They were acting like model citizens. Then Joseph's remark struck like a hammer. You will know when you see it. The only reason Doug and Carl would be model citizens would be to avoid attention. The question was, why? They had to be hiding something. I felt it in my bones.
Consequently, I volunteered for a few extra shifts and made sure my rounds included multiple trips to the fighter unit's area, including the sleeping quarters. I saw nothing, including Doug and Carl. Of course, random surveillance was a hit or miss tactic and would require a large dose of luck to produce results, even given that I was right and the two were up to something.
A month passed, and I was not any closer to solving the reason the evil duet was keeping an abnormally low profile. Then serendipity interceded one evening on my way to the dining hall. I saw Carl leaving his and Doug's quarters with three men and a woman. I quickly activated my camcorder, knowing it would capture identification data from their Sleeves.