Sponder dipped his chin, although I doubted he had a deferential bone in his body.
The general opened her mouth to respond, but Mia beat her to it. “If he hacked your security, Captain, that is more proof of exactly how talented an MCS he will be. Either that or you badly need a lesson in security protocols.”
“No, sir.” Sponder might challenge me but even he wasn’t stupid enough to disrespect or disobey an unknown Starfighter MCS in front of General Jennix. He was a spiteful, bitter man, but he was not suicidal.
“Both excellent points, Starfighter,” Jennix agreed as she returned her attention to Sponder. “I’ll send an audit team to Eos Station first thing tomorrow to review those protocols.”
“Yes, General. Thank you.”
I bit back a laugh. Mia had basically just blamed my hacking on Sponder and made known that he was at fault for having lax security. And now he would have to deal with the bureaucrats. Velerion auditors would pick apart his entire system, interview everyone under his command, rewrite his programs, and reorganize his access controls. Sponder was going to be in a living hell for weeks.
Captain Sponder’s security was excellent. Hacking the system had taken concentrated effort over a span of days. His system was top-notch. I was better.
“Starfighter Kassius Remeas is required to report for duty immediately,” General Jennix advised, then looked at me. “In fact, I need you to confirm acceptance of the pair bond now so I can transfer control of the Phantom immediately.”
Mia looked confused. “The Phantom?”
“Of course. That is the name of your ship, is it not?” Jennix asked even as she shoved a tablet toward me.
The smooth screen split to show one half with my face and the other half of the screen displayed what looked like part of the training program. Mia’s avatar and her training stats were listed as well as the fact that the training had been completed, she’d graduated, accepted the role as MCS, and accepted the pair bond with me.
My stomach dropped as if I’d been sucker punched. Mia had said yes—obviously, since she was here. I’d known she was mine, but seeing it on the screen? Her acceptance sent me reeling. All that was required was my final confirmation. I placed my palm on the screen, and certainty settled over me. This was real. Final. No one could take Mia or the Starfighter rank from me. Ever.
Sponder snatched the tablet away. “General, I beg of you. Please listen. This recruit entered the training program without approval. He should be in the brig, not promoted to Starfighter MCS.”
I smirked as Sponder continued his ill-advised rant.
“I will return to Velerion, to Eos Station with the pilot and take care of him for you,” he continued. “He will be demoted for his blatant disregard of a direct order as well as a long list of other infractions.”
Other infractions? I refrained from rolling my eyes, but it took an act of will. No doubt this “long list” would be created on the shuttle ride from Battleship Resolution back to the surface.
I wanted to punch the asshole in the face, but doing so in front of General Jennix wouldn’t be a smart move.
“How he entered the system is irrelevant,” Jennix said, and I inwardly sighed in relief. “We need Starfighters now. You’re aware of the current state of affairs with the Dark Fleet. The IPBMs and where they are made needs to be discovered immediately. We need fighters like Kassius and Mia or Velerion as we know it will not survive. Captain Sponder, Starfighter Kassius Remeas is no longer under your command. I expect you to return to the surface, to Eos Station, and await further orders.”
“Yes, sir,” Sponder grumbled, recognizing he could do no more.
She looked at me and then Mia. “Starfighters, my office within the hour. Graves?”
The tech who had originally greeted us stepped forward. “Yes, General.”
“Show them to their quarters. I’ve had enough bullshit for one morning.” Jennix left without another word, and an awkward silence descended.
Mia tilted her head to inspect Sponder from head to toe. It was disappointing that he was the first one she’d met here. “Well, that didn’t go well for you, did it?”
Sponder stiffened and turned on his heel.
I pursed my lips to stifle a smile. “Enjoy the audit, Captain,” I called.
He halted in his tracks for a count of three, refused to face me, and walked away so stiffly I was sure he would compress carbon into a diamond between his ass cheeks.
With a grin, I saluted Sponder’s retreating back for the final time. The action held no respect. I wasn’t going to miss that face, but I had a feeling this wasn’t over between us. It didn’t matter. I didn’t need to be his friend. Hell, I didn’t even care if I was his enemy. I had what I wanted because I’d made it happen. I had won.
“You hacked into the system to be added as a Starfighter candidate?” Mia murmured.
“Oh yes.”
“Huh. I guess you’re good at computers.”
“Not as good as you are.”
The compliment made her smile, which made me want to kiss her. But then I always wanted to kiss her. Among other things.
“If you would come with me, Starfighters, I will show you where your quarters are, then lead you to the general’s office.” The tech was a saint. He had watched the byplay between all of us with a carefully blank expression.
“You work directly with the general?” I asked as we followed him down a series of halls. I allowed all thoughts of Sponder to disappear.
“I am her personal emissary. Lieutenant Graves, at your service, sirs.”
“Thank you, Graves,” Mia said.
Graves lifted a brow at me. “You made an enemy today, sir.”
I shrugged. “It wasn’t today.”
“Assholes don’t make good friends anyway,” Mia commented.
I lifted her hand to my lips and placed a kiss on the back of it. “As always, my Mia, you speak the truth.”
“Indeed.” Graves’s face resumed its blank expression as he led us out of the landing bay to start our future. Based on the haste of the general, it was going to be action-packed.
5
Mia
* * *
All I saw of the battleship was Graves’s back and lots and lots of corridors. To say that I felt as if I’d stepped into a sci-fi movie was an understatement. I felt like I was on a battleship. It was massive. I’d need a GPS and a compass to work my way around, and we’d only switched floors twice.
People—Velerions and others most likely in the Galactic Alliance—passed and nodded their heads respectfully. I felt as if they were eyeing me funny, but I had on the same uniform they did. Well, except theirs didn’t have exactly the same Starfighter emblem. When I’d first put the new uniform on, I’d felt like I was dressing up for Halloween. I’d twisted my hair into a knot and slid my feet into the pair of boots exactly like the ones my character wore in the game. Except this was real. The fabric was soft but strong. Apparently both fire- and bulletproof, at least partially.
I would have refused to wear it, but Kass sported the same clothing, both of us in fresh uniforms he’d had ready on board his shuttle. A matching date costume then. But when we’d descended the ramp and ran into that jerk Sponder, it had all become real.
We’d barely stepped foot into our new quarters, which looked like an expensive suite in a five-star hotel. Really posh living quarters for soldiers. When I asked Graves about it, he’d shrugged.
“Starfighters are rare. Special. We take care of them the best we can.”
I didn’t have time to explore, but the rooms Kass and I would, apparently, be living in from now on were luxurious, far better than my apartment in Berlin. And we were in space. On a battleship, for God’s sake.
“How many Starfighter pairs are on this ship?” I asked.
Graves didn’t hesitate. “Two pilot pair bonds and the two of you.”
“Three?”
“Yes. After the Starfighter base attack last year, th
e pilots were shared strategically. You are the first and only Starfighter MCS pair we have.”
“On the ship?”
“In the Velerion fleet.”
Oh shit.
“Your arrival is fortuitous. The general is anxious to task you with discovering the source of the new attacks. With no MCS team, we have been unable to track Queen Raya’s forces or pinpoint the location of their production facilities.”
Kass walked through the rooms as I spoke to Graves. “They’ll bring our belongings?”
Graves nodded. “Your personal items have been removed from Eos Station and will arrive shortly. Starfighter Mia Becker, your items will be off-loaded from the shuttle and delivered before you are done with the general.”
“Very well. Let’s go talk to the general.”
Graves led the way through another maze of corridors and down two more floors to Jennix’s office. He hadn’t spoken more, thankfully. I would have been overwhelmed if he’d given us a running commentary. I was aware Kass was new to this assignment as well, but I had no idea if he’d ever been on this ship before or if he was mapping in his head as I was.
The entire time he was at my side. Holding my hand. Watching me. I hadn’t missed how he’d blocked Sponder’s access to me, but I didn’t need protection from a guy like him. I worked in the law enforcement and intelligence communities. Assholes didn’t exist solely in space. Even then, better to deal with an asshole than an evil monster. We had those on Earth, too.
I kept firm control of my mind, refusing to allow my tendency to overanalyze everything to take over. The ship, the crew, the reality we faced was a lot to absorb. This wasn’t Germany. This wasn’t Earth. This wasn’t even Velerion. We were on a battleship floating in outer space!
“Starfighters, General,” Graves said as we entered her office, then disappeared to tackle some other duty.
“Mia!”
Before I could even nod to my new commanding officer, I was wrapped in a huge hug.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here! Isn’t it crazy we had to meet in space instead of on Earth? We were supposed to take this meeting via comms, but I refused. I had to meet you in person. I mean, it is crazy but—”
“Let your friend breathe, bonded one,” a voice gently chided.
I was pushed back, and I could now see more of the hugger than just her brown hair. It was the voice that was familiar first, but then the face. Or it was the avatar of her I knew.
“Jamie?” I wondered, eyeing my long-lost friend up and down.
She had dark hair, a round face, and a huge smile. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she could barely contain herself.
“Yes! Can you believe it?”
I looked to the man beside her. I recognized him from the game as well. “Wow,” I said, letting my brain catch up. “You’re Alexius.”
He nodded and grinned. “I have heard much about you from Jamie these past few days. You look just like in the training program. I’m eager for combat with you. Your MCS skills are brilliant.” Alex turned to Kass. “Another pleasure. We are lucky Velerions to have these women as our pair bonds.”
Kass set his hand on my shoulder. “Agreed.”
Jamie took my hand and tugged me to a chair. “I watched as you beat the game,” she said.
I remembered the feeling when I won, when Lily was shouting in my ear. As I wondered where Jamie was—and it turned out she’d been watching all along. “I didn’t know where you went. I looked everywhere for you.”
She looked sheepish. “Except space.”
I nodded. “Except space. Why couldn’t you have left a note?”
“And say what?” she asked, arching a dark brow. “The game is real and I’m going to Velerion with Alex?”
“Yes. I texted Lily so she wouldn’t worry when I disappeared, too. Also to let her know Darius was going to come knocking.”
Jamie laughed. “Oh man, I wish I could see that. Lily is going to totally freak.”
“What are you doing here on the battleship? Kass said you were on some moon base and the general mentioned you’d intercepted a bomb of some kind.”
“You know about the IPBMs?”
I nodded. “Well, I didn’t know what they were called, but the last training mission in the game changed and included a ship loaded with bombs that could destroy an entire planet. I thought it was in-game, science-fiction bullshit.”
“They’re real.”
“Great.”
She frowned. “They’re no fun. But I don’t have to tell you they’re real. It took me a while to grasp that everything up here is real. Everything we encountered in the game is real. Every moon base and asteroid and planet out here. It’s like living in the game. I even got to meet Queen Raya, personally.”
I stared at her. She’d met Queen Raya? Scheisse. “And?”
“Psycho bitch, per the usual crazed, power-hungry megalomaniac.”
“Does she look the same as well?”
“Right down to the dramatic, dark gray trench coat.”
“Well, it won’t be too much of a leap for me. I believed it was real when Kass showed up.”
“When I showed you my scar,” Kass added. “And other parts of my body.”
He winked.
I blushed.
Jamie grinned.
Alex leaned in and said something to Kass I couldn’t hear, although if the smile on his face was any indication, he was amused.
I pursed my lips in fake annoyance, but I wasn’t embarrassed. The way Alex was looking at Jamie indicated their relationship was as hot as mine with Kass. And they’d been together two weeks longer.
If Kass and I had sex within ten minutes of meeting, we could have too many orgasms to count by day fourteen. My body was still sore from the hard ride Kass had given me at work. And at my apartment. In my shower. On my couch.
On Earth. God, that seemed so far away.
“You never answered my question. Why are you here? On the Resolution, I mean.”
Jamie looked up at Alex. “We completed our shift on IPBM watch, and we heard through comms about the new Starfighter MCS.”
I took her hand, gave it a squeeze. “It’s good to see you. To meet you. Here. God, this is insane,” I said, my heart pounding. It was exhilarating. I was able to share this with one of my best friends.
“How’s Lily?” she asked. “I’m sure she will win soon and join us.”
“Yes, but she’s worried about you. And now me probably as well.”
“But you said you texted her. What did you say?”
“I told her to beat the game, that Velerion was real, that you were already here, and I was leaving Earth with Kass.” My smile grew. “And I told her Darius was going to come for her.”
“The sooner she finishes, the sooner—”
“We can have another Starfighter Titan team on the ground. We need Titan units to protect our infantry and pound the enemy into dust,” Jennix finished, coming into the room. I turned at her voice. “Just like we need more Starfighter MCS teams and Starfighter Pilots. Welcome to Velerion, Starfighter Becker.”
I was pretty darn sure that wasn’t exactly where Jamie was going with her statement, but we shared a grin. We both knew what happened when a smoking-hot fighter from Velerion showed up on a girl’s doorstep.
Jamie stood. I mimicked her. Kass was at my side, and Alex moved to flank Jamie.
The general glanced between us. “I am pleased that you have had a reunion,” she commented, walked around her desk, and sat. I only sat once the others did, unsure of protocol. “But that’s going to have to wait. I’m sure Starfighter Miller told you about how they intercepted the latest IPBM aimed at Velerion.”
Kass nodded and so did I. We didn’t have details, but I knew enough.
“Starfighters, please catch the others up on what’s happened lately.”
Alex began. “During our escape from Queen Raya’s base on Syrax, the queen deployed a new weapon. We discovered she has IP
BMs, interplanetary ballistic missiles, powerful enough to blow up Velerion.”
“Or Earth,” Jamie added. The grim look on her face told me there was more to this story.
Alex continued. “The two IPBM launches that day were destroyed. Since then we’ve had Starfighters in the air around the clock to ensure when the queen uses another, we destroy them before they reach their target.”
“Has she?” I asked.
“Three,” the general added.
We turned to face her. “Starfighters Jamie and Alex will return to Arturri for their standard sleep requirement. In the meantime you two will head to a heavily traveled trading route, in stealth mode. We have multiple reports of Dark Fleet ships moving from outside the system to Xandrax.”
I must have looked confused, because the general clarified.
“The Dark Fleet and its most powerful members are not from our system. Queen Raya’s involvement with them is relatively new, as is their support for her attempt to conquer Velerion. They would love to have this system under their control and Queen Raya is playing a very dangerous game in choosing to deal with them. The IPBM technology was banned by the Galactic Alliance treaties centuries ago and should the Alliance systems decide to get involved, our war could expand to include multiple galaxies and hundreds of star systems. The Galactic Alliance does not want that to happen.”
Wait, what? That wasn’t in the game. “So how did Queen Raya get her hands on the IPSMs?”
“We know she is in league with the Dark Fleet. But as to how the weapons actually arrived in our system and where she is hiding them? That’s what we need to know. The Dark Fleet is quick to send ships and spies, but they do not normally risk war with the Galactic Alliance. We could be dealing with an independent party, or the Dark Fleet could be testing the Alliance’s willingness to go to war over two small planets.”
So, arms dealers in space. Pissing contests. Politics. Posturing. Sheesh. People were people and war was war and there were asshole bad guys in space, too. Hopefully I could do my job right this time and not get anyone else killed. Or an entire planet of anyones.
Starfighter Command Page 5