Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol

by L. E. Thomas

  These walls better hold.

  An explosion rumbled, this time closer than before. He reached for the hand railing to balance. Sparks showered onto him, fizzling out when they hit the water. He kept making his way toward the civilian hangar. He hoped that Nubern—and the Tridents—would still be there.

  Water fell from the ceiling, hitting his face, feeling like ice. The Tyral Pirates had destroyed the main hangar in their first move and tried to take out command. If the recent explosions had come from the civilian hangar, Austin could be rushing to his death.

  He pressed the headset to his mouth as he ran. “Officer Brannen, do you copy? This is Lieutenant Stone.”

  “Copy Stone. Go ahead.”

  “More explosions on this side of the base. Should I proceed?”

  “Affirmative. We destroyed an inbound bogey.”

  Shutting the headset off, he turned the corner, saw the hangar door, and exhaled.

  As he reached the hangar door, he stopped. Dirty blackish water covered the floor, washing debris in all directions. A freighter burned to his left. A beam from the hangar’s ceiling had fallen onto the hull. Most of freighters from the previous time he came through the hangar had left. The six Tridents remained parked at the far side of the hangar. Crew hurried over the hulls, running through the startup sequence.

  “Stone! Get over here!”

  Austin saw a figure, hands on his hips, standing on the nose of a Trident. He couldn’t make out the face at this distance, but knew it was Nubern. He ran through the water and across the hangar.

  “Captain,” he said, breathing heavily, “ready to assist, sir.”

  A red gash split Nubern’s cheek. His flight suit a dark blue and dripping water. “Any idea on the recent explosions?”

  “The cannon and alert fighters have taken out an inbound vessel.”

  “Alright, Stone,” Nubern said as if he had not heard Austin speak, “you’re just in time. We’re prepping the six Tridents we have in reserve for defense and we have four pilots—now five.”

  “Five against fifty?”

  Nubern blinked. “Who said anything about fifty? Before our sensors were knocked out we saw six vessels coming in on the ocean floor. Where did fifty come from?”

  Austin frowned. “Six under water and fifty in orbit.”

  “My God,” he breathed. He straightened his flight suit. “Where are they headed? Base Prime?”

  “No. Here.”

  Nubern looked at him. “Here? Atlantis?”

  Austin nodded. “That’s the target. Fifty pirate fighters are coming in. We’re all that’s left to defend Atlantis.”

  “If that’s the way it has to be then.” Nubern dropped down into the cockpit. “Take number three, Stone. It’s time to go.”

  Austin sprinted to the number three Trident fighter. A crewman handed him a Lobera green helmet. Austin frowned, but glanced at the other four pilots boarding their Tridents. Two red flight suits from Excalibur squadron, a green Lobera recruit, and Nubern in his Tizona blue.

  “Where’s the pilot?” Austin asked, turning back to the crewman.

  The crewman glanced over at a fallen beam and debris. “He’s not flying today.”

  Austin swallowed. “What’s your name?”

  “Crewman Tyce, sir.”

  “Got it, Tyce. I’m Rock.” Austin nodded and sat in the cockpit of what was now his Trident. “Let’s start preflight and let’s do it fast.”

  The whine of Trident engines filled the hangar in minutes. The crewman slapped Austin on the helmet and climbed down from the fighter. Austin gave him a thumbs up and closed the canopy. The hum of electronics replaced the roar of the engines. Austin finished his startup sequence and put on his helmet.

  “Rock, this is Talon. You ready?”

  Austin slapped down his visor. “Yes, sir.”

  “Attention all of you,” Nubern said over the radio. “I’m Captain Nubern and I’m in charge of this flight. I just spoke with Command. We have been ordered to engage the incoming fighters.”

  “What about the ocean floor attack?” another pilot, sounding much younger, asked.

  “We concentrate on the fighters coming in. They’re entering the atmosphere as we speak, heading directly for our location. Let Atlantis defend itself down here or there won’t be anything left to defend. We’re better than they are. These are pirates. We’re Legion Star Runners. Let’s get up there and show them what that means.”

  “I count fifty-three,” the same pilot said. “What good are we going to be against that?”

  “Then we better see how many we can drop on the first pass. Let’s go!”

  The Tridents lifted off simultaneously, flying toward the hangar’s airlock. One-by-one, the fighters locked into position in the smaller airlock created for interplanetary shuttle traffic rather than the freighters. Austin cracked his knuckles as the hatch closed behind them. His heart raced, thumping through the flight suit. He took a deep breath.

  “Telmi, Dart,” Nubern said, “check your sensors. See these bandits drifting off the pack and trying to attack from the west?”

  “Copy,” the two Excalibur pilots answered in unison.

  “I want you two to head in that direction and drop what you can. Those are stolen Tridents. They have the only shields capable of withstanding the depths of Atlantis. They could dive and attack from below. They must be taken out at all costs. The other bandits will most likely bomb from the air.”

  Austin looked at the sensors. Six bandits moved away from the pack, heading on a direct course with the ocean.

  “Rock, you take the bandits to the east. The rookie, Dizzy, will stay with me and take’em head on.” Nubern took a deep breath. “Once this airlock hatch opens, I want you screaming hard for the surface, top speed you can manage.”

  “Yes, sir,” Austin said, his throat swelling up.

  “Do what you can,” Nubern said. “I know it looks grim, but we’re all that’s left. Do this for your comrades in the hangar. Do this for the officers still fighting on board Atlantis. Do this for yourselves. Without us, the Legion will lose Atlantis and Earth today. That’s not going to happen.”

  “No, sir!” the other pilots yelled, screeching static into the headset.

  “It’s been a pleasure, sir,” Austin said softly without transmitting.

  His fingers rested lightly on the stick. He fingered the throttle with his right hand. Water bubbled over the canopy. Not long now.

  The blue lights of the airlock transitioned to yellow. The airlock hatch rumbled open.

  “For the Legion,” Nubern said.

  The lights went green. Austin slammed his throttle forward. Bubbles and white water swirled around the canopy as his Trident shot into the darkness. He focused on his sensors and navigated the dark, cold depths of the Pacific Ocean. It felt similar to flying through space. The Excalibur pilots scrambled toward the west as instructed. Nubern and the rookie remained in the center. Austin altered course, bringing his nose to bear on the fighters moving in from the east.

  Austin had faced worse. He and Josh overcame impossible situations every time they played on the Star Runners elite server. These mercenaries would lack the training of the Legion Navy. They would lack the discipline. They would be no different than the newbies on the server. Right?

  The situation differed now, he thought. Josh did not fly on his wing in one of the Tridents, and he did not know if these pirates had any skills. In two minutes, he would find out.

  Light from above shifted the water from blackness to a dull blue. The Trident burst into the sunlight, free from the resistance of maneuvering through water. He spun his fighter through the air, maintaining his nose his assigned targets. Beads of water clumped on his canopy before clearing. Fifty-three tiny dots appeared in the sky like black stars.

  This is suicide.

  He shook his head, gripping the stick tighter. He transferred most of his power to the lasers. With this amount of potential incoming fire, shields
wouldn’t make much of a difference. He would just make himself impossible to hit.

  For the first time all day, he smiled.

  Having mercenaries and pirates shoot at you on the ground is one thing, but this is different. This is almost unfair.

  For them.

  He smiled. I know I can take all of these bandits myself. I have to stay frosty. Hit’em and move. Hit’em and move. Don’t stay on one target. Move and move fast.

  He had missed flying. He had missed it so much.

  “One minute to engage,” Nubern said. “Good hunting!”

  The distance closed. Austin risked a glance at the target identification. He grinded his teeth. So it was true. After all of their speculating and wondering, the evidence swarmed directly in front of him.

  Tyral Pirates.

  How did they get here?

  The captured Sabre flashed in his mind. He thought of Josh being executed by pirates and thugs. His best friend dying at the hands of the garbage of the universe.

  “Why aren’t they firing missiles?” Dizzy asked.

  “We’re not waiting to find out,” Nubern said.

  Thirty seconds.

  “This is it!” Nubern barked.

  To the west, the sky ignited in laser fire. The Excalibur pilots engaged the pirate Tridents, the fighters swarming together like gnats. Austin chose his target, clicking on the distant outline of a Tyral Pirate fighter with his thumb on the stick. A red bolt shot past his canopy.

  Here we go.

  Austin dropped within range, the laser fire surrounding his fighter, but he waited for missile lock. He rolled, trying to make his fighter a more difficult target while maintaining his lock on the bandit. The pirate maintained his course directly for Austin. The range dropped. Closer. Closer.

  The pirate fighter pulled up, ending the game of chicken. Austin squeezed the trigger, unleashing a lethal missile shot into the enemy fighter’s belly. The fighter vaporized in a ball of fire and light. Fragments shot across the sky.

  “They’re too fast!” yelled the rookie, Dizzy.

  “Stay with me!” Nubern barked. “Bandits! Below you! Dizzy—roll! Roll!”

  “I’m hit! I—“

  Dizzy’s transponder disappeared from the sensors.

  “Heading your way, Talon,” Austin said, biting his lip.

  Austin pulled back on the stick, finding another target. He steadied his course, centering his crosshairs on another enemy. He fired his lasers into the pirate. The fighter exploded the same as the last. He fired again and again, his lasers and missiles finding targets wherever he found them. He rolled. He dropped. He looped. Targets filled the sky. The minimal power left in the energy banks for his shields crackled, burning as the bolts surrounding him like a meteor shower. The shields dropped, fizzled and faded. But he slid between the crackling laser bolts and blindly fired missiles.

  Telmi disappeared from the sensors. Austin clenched his teeth and closed in on a damaged enemy fighter. He pounded his target with laser fire, following him nearly to the ocean surface. Austin pulled up. The pirate craft smashed into the water, sending debris flickering across the ocean’s surface.

  As Austin pulled up and shot into the sky at a ninety-degree angle, he allowed his laser energy banks to recharge. He shot through the chaos. An orange ring flashed across the sky, transitioning to a black cloud.

  “Talon, Dart,” the gamma wave crackled. “I’m hit. We let a Trident slip through. It’s heading for the surface.”

  “We’re on it,” Nubern said. “Pull out. Get to safety.”

  Dart vanished from the sensors.

  “Dart?” Nubern asked. “Dart?”

  “He’s gone!” Austin yelled.

  “Rock, can you get that last Trident?”

  “I’m on it.” The G-forces pushed Austin back into his seat, his helmet rocking.

  He pulled away from the fighters he had engaged, locking his targeting computer on the enemy Trident descending toward the ocean. Swinging his fighter around, Austin powered forward toward the bandit.

  The enemy Trident flew directly into the ocean, disappearing into the dark blue water.

  “He’s gone deep,” Austin said, transferring power into his shields. “I’m after him.”

  “Hurry,” Nubern said, his voice straining. “That’s the last fighter they have that can withstand the pressure. If he gets in close, he’ll be able to join in the attack on Atlantis.”

  “Roger.”

  Austin dropped his crosshairs on the position where the enemy had submerged. He braced himself, resisting every urge to pull up. With his shields nearly at maximum, Austin’s Trident flew into the ocean. The impact slowed his descent, but the shields pushed the water away from the ship. Austin’s head moved forward. He sat up straight, and stared at the targeting computer.

  Directly ahead, the enemy fighter zeroed in on Atlantis. The fighter seemed to be heading for the civilian hangar. Looking up from his sensors and peering into the ocean’s darkness, Austin couldn’t see anything, relying solely on his sensors. The crosshairs blinked yellow as it searched for a lock.

  “Come on, come on,” Austin said. He keyed for transmission. “Atlantis, Rock. You have an incoming bandit. Looks like he’s headed for the civie hangar.”

  “Roger, Rock. We’ve got the defense cannons ready.

  “I hope you don’t need them.” Austin adjusted his course. The enemy Trident stayed on course, unaffected by Austin’s search for missile lock. The pirate must not know how to detect an attempted missile lock.

  The crosshairs turned blood red. “Got you.”

  Austin pulled the trigger. The missile launch rocked the fighter as it shot away from the Trident. He pulled up, heading back for the surface. Glancing back at his targeting computer, he watched as his missile crashed into his enemy. The dark ocean water lit up, a shockwave rippling out from the remains of the pirate Trident. Austin smiled.

  “Atlantis, Rock. Forget about that incoming bandit. He’s gone.”

  “Copy, Rock,” Brannen said, her voice cracking. “You need to get back to the surface. They may be dropping blind shots into the ocean, but these fighters are dropping too many missiles for us to get them all. We don’t have much time.”

  “I understand.” Austin swallowed. “Are you picking up any more Tridents?”

  “Negative.”

  “So there are no more fighters capable of entering the ocean?”

  “Correct.”

  Austin lowered his gaze. With no more fighters able to descend into the water and attack Atlantis, the remaining Tyral Pirates would have to fire from the air. And the only defense above the ocean’s surface was Austin and Nubern.

  “I’m going back,” he said. “We’ll take them out.”

  He looked at the sensors; the Tyral Pirates were dropping dozens of missiles into the water. Nubern’s transponder moved between the cloud of pirates. Austin sighed. He’s still alive, he thought.

  “Talon, let’s close it up,” Austin said, the Trident bursting through the ocean’s surface and flying hard for empty sky.

  “Roger,” Talon snapped. “Turn to four-oh-six. Be there in a bit.”

  Austin glanced back at the mass of enemy fighters. The majority made for the ocean’s surface. Missiles shot into the water, sending white plumes into the sky.

  “I took out the last Trident,” Austin said. “They’re hitting Atlantis from the air. That’s why they saved their missiles.”

  Nubern grumbled. “There’s too many of them.”

  The two Legion Tridents soared side-by-side for a moment. The sun beamed behind them, the fighters heading away from the main engagement. Austin took in a deep breath and stared at the burning wreckage from the fight falling into the ocean. At least forty pirate craft remained in the skies over the Pacific Ocean, most of them firing missiles in the direction of Atlantis. Austin knew they had to continue, knew they couldn’t sit there and allow this to happen.

  But two versus forty?
/>   He glanced at Nubern.

  “Ready for another pass, Talon?”

  “After you, Rock.”

  Austin cracked his knuckles and gripped the stick. “Here we go.”

  He pushed down on the stick. His stomach lurched. The pirates massed together as they tried to form up for another assault on Atlantis.

  “I’ll take the grouping to the west,” Austin said, his voice straining as the force of the engines pressed him into his seat.

  “Roger, I got the east.”

  Austin locked a bandit, unleashed a missile. Without waiting on the result, he moved his crosshairs to lock another pirate. Nubern did the same, firing two missiles. Austin maintained another lock and fired his final missile. White trails shot forward ahead of their fighters. Explosions lit up the sky like fireworks. No time for celebration. Austin switched to lasers.

  Nubern and Austin blew through the mass of pirate fighters. The attempted formation fell apart. Fighters filled the sky in chaos. Laser fire lit the sky. Two bolts fired into Austin’s rear shields. He grunted, yanking the stick to barrel roll away from the fight.

  “I’m hit!”

  He balanced power to the shields with his left hand. The Earth spun around his cockpit. Laser bolts flashed like lethal strobes.

  “Lost shields,” Nubern said in an odd, quiet voice. “I’m heading for the deck.”

  His vision blurred, but Austin could just make out Nubern’s Trident screaming hard for the ocean’s surface. Six pirate craft trailed him, lighting the air with laser fire.

  Afraid he would pass out from his evasive maneuvers, Austin straightened his flight path and turned back. Nubern pulled up and flew parallel to the surface close enough to send water shooting into the air.

  “Turn to the east,” Austin said. “I can cover you from above.”

  “Don’t bother. My computer’s fried. Down to one engine. Take out as many as you can, Rock. You hear me?”

  Austin shook his head. “No.”

  He pulled back on the stick, forcing the Trident into a sharp loop. Leveling out, he brought his crosshairs to bear on the pirates descending on Nubern. The rest of the pirates fired missiles into the ocean while Austin zeroed on Nubern’s attackers. Sure would be nice to have a missile right now.