“You’re dead, how would you know if I did that or not?”
“I am confused. Is this considered normal conversation between students and teachers?”
Urdet broke the mood, of course, and Ciangi cleared her throat. “More humor, my very, very dry friend. Anyways, if you all will look to your panel, you will see the ignition switch. Please press that while turning the engine readout to five.”
I took a deep breath and did as she instructed, feeling the rumble of the fighter below me. We hadn’t lifted off yet, but my heart was already pounding with anticipation. I had never flown myself and now I was training to fight a war. Great. Talk about jumping in feet-first.
“Alright, I’m going to engage your vehicles to get you into space. Be prepared for a whole lot of g-force coming at you real fast.”
Sure enough, we all started to lift off. Although I was protected by some serious hardware, I could still hear the massive thunder of our fighters all taking off at once. Funny how those sounds didn’t really travel in space.
And by funny, I meant absolutely terrifying.
I had never really been a nervous flyer before, but I had never been expected to fight an entire space battle with an unknown alien species that had a definite technological edge on us. So, in other words, I was pretty much screwed.
But I wasn’t backing down.
We shot up through the sky, my skin pulling back from my face. The entire vehicle rattled way harder than I remembered it doing during our landing, and I was beginning to wonder if Ciangi and Bahn’s ‘upgrades’ were really going to be a good thing after all.
I heard the cries of several of the mimics coming through the comms, some elated, some terrified, and some just confused, but the clamor calmed down as we finally breached the atmosphere and launched ourselves into space.
The rattling and shaking ceased and once more, I was surrounded by pure darkness, with Mimic’s planet down below us. It was the same view we’d had when we first returned from stealing the fighters, but for some reason, it seemed different.
“Alright, I’m continuing your autopilot to get you all a good distance away from each other, so we don’t have any whoopsie daisies. Just sit tight.”
“How does one sit tigh—”
“Colloquialism, Urdet,” Mimic said quickly. “Colloquialism.”
“Ah, of course.”
We all drifted apart from each other and I looked out my window to see if I could catch a glance of Mimic, Bahn, Eske or Gonzales. We had all been spaced fairly far away from each other, so the younger mimics could look to us for guidance and morale. And, try as I might, I wasn’t able to spot anyone through the glace of their nav-window.
After a few minutes, our ships stopped moving and the hum of the engines quieted just slightly.
“I’ve turned the auto-pilot off now. You’re all in control of your own vessels. Now, I do have some fail-safes built in, so hopefully, you all won’t crash into each other in a fiery blaze brought on by a lack of dexterity, but still try to keep your distance from each other, okay?”
“Yeah, not filling me with the most confidence here,” I said, gripping the controls.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll all be fine.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re down on the planet.”
“Anyways, if everyone wants to take a hold of their nav-controls, take yourself into a dip downward.”
I did so, and I underestimated just how much kick the engines would have. One moment, I was sitting there, and the next, I was hurtling downwards fast enough to make my cheeks pull back and my eyes dry almost instantly.
“Whoa, pull up there, Higgens, Astaroth, and, um, Viggo! You’re all going way too hard on the throttle there. Ease it back. And, er… Madsley, I believe, you’ve careened too far left. Adjust your course.”
I let go of the controls for a moment and my ship stopped its suicide plummet. The mild break gave me a second to breathe, and I tried again.
This time, I didn’t sink like a stone and instead glided downward like a knife through butter.
“There you guys go. Very good. Now I want you to pull up in an arc.”
This time, I didn’t just yank it in a direction, but instead urged the controls in a gentle, swooping motion. Sure enough, I completed the maneuver rather smoothly, if I did say so myself.
“Huh, you know pilots go to school for a couple of years. It’s kinda amazing that we’re even able to do this at all, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Well, Bahn and I programmed a sort of smoothing algorithm into all of your navs. It tempers your more extreme motions and helps with linear movements.”
“Ah. So, I probably shouldn’t let this go to my head then.”
“Nope, probably not. Um, Bahn, you did more of a ninety-degree turn rather than a swoop. Can you try again for me?”
“Of course.”
A few more seconds passed, and then we heard Ciangi again. “Alright, and now you guys are going to pull off some rolls. This is difficult because it is an intense pull on your wheel, but it is measured and consistent. You do this to get out of the direct line of fire if you have a ship following you.”
“And by ship, you mean another small fighter, like us? We wouldn’t necessarily be able to dodge the blast of a full battleship like the one that crashed into the mountain?” Eske asked, and I could just envision her adjusting her goggles as she did so.
“Well, we don’t know if they’re going to have single-man fighters or small-team fighters. If they do, you all have the immediate order to return to the shielding of the capital. We don’t have enough of you, and there’s just not enough time to train you properly for a proper space firefight. Your job is to distract a full battleship and nothing else. You all got that?”
“Oh…” Eske muttered. “I didn’t know that?”
“Yeah, I mean, you guys are smart, and I have no doubt that you’d all make excellent pilots, but you’re only getting a day, maybe two, to learn how to utilize the equipment you’ve been given. There’s only so much that you can do.” The blonde took a deep breath that I could hear even over the comm. “Now, who’s onto the next phase of your little lesson? Only six more hours to go!”
There was a communal groan, but then, she was already moving on.
I got the lessons fairly well, with only a few fumbles here and there, and I began to wonder if I might maybe stand a chance at this space fight thing with all of the coin twins’ buffs.
But, as accomplished as I felt, I was still exhausted when Ciangi finally initiated the sequence to have us land. It was only slightly less stressful than our takeoff, and when the hatch finally opened and I clambered to the ground, my legs felt like jelly.
“Well,” Eske said, coming up behind me. “That was eventful.”
“It certainly was,” Mimic agreed. “By the way, I had a thought.”
“What was that?” I asked, turning to shoot her a smile.
“This could very well be out last night together. I thought that perhaps we should commemorate the event with a nice meal in each other’s company?”
“Are you suggesting a type of last supper?” Gonzales asked, raising her brow.
“I prefer to think of it more as a supper that could possibly be our last but may also be the start of a new chapter in our history.”
“That’s a little wordy,” Gonzales countered. “So, let’s just go with last supper.”
“If that is what you wish.”
“Are you sure we can spend that sort of time?” I asked with concern. Sure, it sounded like a nice way to bond with my friends, considering we had been so split up and busy over the past week or so after our arrival, but we were down to a single day, or day and a half, before our alien not-so-friends came rolling in with vengeance in their eyes. Assuming they had eyes, that was. Spending several hours together just eating and talking sounded like several hours we could better spend prepping ourselves.
“Aren’t you the one that told me we should cherish these times
while we have them because we don’t know if we have tomorrow?” Mimic shot right back, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Not in those exact words,” I responded stubbornly, although I knew I had already lost. “But it sounds familiar.”
“I think Ciangi would love that,” Bahn said, coming up alongside us. “She said that she’s been feeling a bit isolated from the group as it is.”
“Then it’s settled,” Mimic said. “We all will return to our respective duties until sundown. And then, we will dine with each other. Higgens.” Her eyes flicked to me. “Will you be able to comprise a meal from the fabricator on your ship? I will cover for you on your duties with the barricades.”
“Sure,” I said, trying not to chide myself on the fact that I was so easily replaced. I’d already lectured myself on that yesterday and I didn’t really need to go over it again.
“Very well then. I will see all of you tonight.” With that, Mimic gave us a little nod, then marched past us, no doubt to head toward the section of the barricades I had left the junior mimics working on last. That seemed to be the signal for everyone to get to it, and we all split up to our respective duties.
Well, if my job was to program a feast into our fabricator, then I was going to program a feast that they would remember for the rest of their lives.
Which could actually be not that long anyways.
6
An Honor and a Pleasure Serving Together
Night fell much more quickly than it had any reason to. But that was how time seemed to go nowadays. Always rushing for a point that would utterly change the rest of all our histories. But, even with the hours slipping away, I managed to program an entire feast and transport it to Mimic’s house.
Of course, I had a bunch of smaller mimics to help me out, a group of them following me curiously as they tried to figure out what I was doing and what I was holding. It was funny to see them sniff, crawl around, and ultimately carry some of the dishes. It seemed that while Mimic had taught them plenty about our culture, she hadn’t quite gotten to our many different ways to sustain ourselves.
I was the first one there, of course, and I set everything up in a way I hoped everyone would love. I had made old-fashioned pizza, a roasted turkey with stuffing, a full green salad with fresh chicken and other veggies, a rack of ribs, steak, a full platter of fresh fruit, and a bunch of fancy cheeses.
It was amazing the types of molecular recipes the fabricator had on the up-to-date, new and improved battleship we had stolen. Much more than we could ever hope for on the old mining ship, or any of the other vessels we had stolen. I guessed there were perks to having tons of government money, and one of them was getting a super high-powered food-maker.
Surprisingly, it was Eske who came in first, covered in sweat and with dirt all across her upper body.
“Oh, my goodness, it smells amazing in here!”
“Thanks. But what happened to you?”
“What do you mean? Oh, this?” She laughed and dusted herself off a bit. “One of the middle ones gave me quite a good toss a bit ago. Happened to hit a mud patch, of course, so here we are.”
“Well, why don’t you wash up and by the time you’re done, hopefully everyone will be here.”
“Right. Good plan. Do we still have any jumpsuits?”
“Yeah, there’s a stack right by the door to the bathroom in one of the crates.”
“Awesome, thanks.”
Ciangi and Bahn were up next, carrying a huge mass of wiring and other tools between them.
“Hey! No work at the table!”
“We know,” Ciangi shot back, sticking her tongue out at me. “This is for after, since this might be our last night.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Um…a bomb.”
“A bomb?”
“Yeah, we figured that we could possibly need some small smart bombs for, you know, reasons.”
“I don’t know if Mimic would like that. Bombs are just as likely to kill us as any invaders.”
“That is correct,” Bahn said quietly. “But it is also just as beneficial to have a backup plan.”
I sighed and shook my head. “Just put it in your room. Hopefully, you won’t blow us all to pieces before we actually get to the battle.”
“Sir, yes, sir!” the blond chirped with a mock salute.
I sighed, rubbing my temples. Those two were certainly something, even after all this time. But before I could really expound on that idea, Gonzales was strolling in, dark circles under her eyes and an expression on that said she could really use a good meal.
“Hey,” she said, sidling into one of the makeshift chairs with an aching sigh.
“Hey,” I answered back, not quite sure what I should say and what I shouldn’t. We hadn’t had a good conversation since we were on the ship we had hijacked, and I couldn’t help but feel partially responsible for her discomfort, even if I didn’t know exactly how I had caused it.
“Man, this looks awesome.”
“Thanks,” I said, shooting her a cautious smile. “I do say I might have out done myself.”
“Well, the fabricator outdid itself, but you did a pretty good job of programming it.” Her eyes roved the table that I had laid out before brightening suddenly. “Oh! Is that steak?!”
She reached out and I had to bat her hand away. “Hey, wait for everyone else.”
“Fine.” She sat back and crossed her arms. “Am I the only one here?”
“No, you’re actually the second to last,” I replied. “Eske is washing herself up and the twins are upstairs with some gadgetry.”
“Ah, of course they are. And why is Eske washing up? Is she sweatier than usual?”
“Apparently, she took a faceplant in the dirt today, courtesy of one of her trainees. Got all sorts of mucked up.”
“Hah, of course she did. Wish I was there to see it.”
“I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities to watch Eske get thrown in one way or another, considering her hobby is literally fighting people.”
“Will there be?” Gonzales asked, her dark eyes growing serious.
“…that’s what I hope.”
The tiniest of smiles crossed her features. “Hope. What a strange idea. I think I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like.”
I could only stand so much of my friend looking melancholy and miserable, so I sat next to her and looked her in the eye. “What’s going on, Gonzales?”
“What do you mean?” she replied flatly.
“You know exactly what I mean,” I said without faltering. “You’ve been hurting ever since we came back, and isolating yourself from all of us. It’s fine if you need space, but I can clearly see that you’re hurting.”
“I…” She sighed. “It’s nothing. Honestly. I’m just going through some emotional stuff and its silly. I’m sure I’ll be over it soon.”
“You don’t have to do this alone, you know. You have all of us.”
“I know, I know. And I know that you would do pretty much anything for me. But that actually kind of makes it worse. It’s just something that I have to go through alone.”
“If you say so, but please, know I’m always here.”
“I do.” To my surprise, she reached out and put her hand over mine. “But you’re in love with Mimic, and she’s in love with you, and that is that.”
But what could that have to do with anyth—
Oh.
Oh.
I got it. With sudden, glaring clarity, I got it. My face paled and I felt my palms get clammy as I realized that the reason Gonzales was upset was because she had feelings for me.
…wow. I was an idiot.
How could I have missed it? How could I have been so dumb?! Now that I knew, it was obvious. Everything that she had said abruptly fell into place and I opened my mouth, not knowing what to say but feeling like I had to say something.
“Sorry for my late arrival, one of the barricades was giving us considerable troub
le.”
Of course, that was when Mimic would walk in. Gonzales jerked her hand away. Just like that, the moment between us was over and everyone was converging in one spot.
“Dude, this looks totally fantastic,” Eske said, practically jumping into a seat. “I couldn’t really see it with my goggles so dirtied up, but this is the best fabricator-fare I’ve seen since I worked on a high-level diplomat’s ship.”
“Thank you, thank you,” I said with a mock bow as the coin twins rushed to sit next to each other. “Since everyone’s here, let’s dig in!”
“Wait, what about drinks?” Eske asked, looking around as if she was missing something.
“That is a surprise.” I said, crossing over to the large vat of cool spring water that was kept at the back of the house. Reaching in, I pulled out two bottles of sparkling cider I had found in the captain’s quarters of the battleship. When I brought it back in, a cheer echoed from around the table and our feast truly began.
Everyone dug in, even Mimic taking part in the meal even though she technically didn’t need our food, and soon our mouths were full and our teeth were busy chewing.
Of course, that didn’t mean we stopped talking. No, the jokes, puns, and teasing didn’t stop, and several times, I found myself laughing around mouthfuls of food.
“Do you remember the time you first met Higgens?” Eske said, leaning over the table with a large chicken drumstick in her hand. “Did you have a feeling about him, that he was going to be such an integral part of your lives? Or was it just like any other day?”
“You wanna know the truth?” Gonzales said.
“Yeah, of course.”
“He was weird. Like, really weird. I went to introduce myself to him, because you know, I’m friendly like that, and a bunch of water just came rushing out of his mouth. He wiped his face and then tried to shake my hand with his wet palm.”
I blushed vermillion at the memory and looked down at my full plate of food. “I had been drinking from my canteen when you surprised me. I tried to play it cool, but I, uh, didn’t.”
“Yeah, you most certainly didn’t.”
That started another round of laughter that went on for far too long for me to be comfortable, so I desperately tried to change the topic.
Mimic Goes to War (Space Shifter Chronicles Book 5) Page 4