by J Palliser
He'd even managed a few kills: one by winging a fighter's fuselage with a shot probably meant for his wing-man, and the second by ramming a different Defender sideways with his ship. His Valkyrie's shields had held – the unshielded Defender had not. The little ball-like craft crumpled beneath the blow and bounced into one of the canyon walls. While unconventional, it was a perfectly valid tactic. Syrrha had even given him extra points for taking advantage of the opening, rather than trying to over-correct.
Overall, it wouldn't have been a bad run... if he hadn't caught a wing on the lip of the canyon when he tried to pull up. He'd crashed into the reddish rock, wrecking his fighter and most likely killing his digital self. He might have survived a real crash, assuming none of the debris caught him and the Defenders didn't circle back around to finish him off.
His expression sank even further as he clambered out of the simulator, standing more-or-less at attention as he waited for her to tell him his score. It looked like he suspected the same thing Syrrha saw when she glanced down at the readout on her smart-pad – even with bonus for unconventional tactics, his scores were still at the bottom of the squadron charts.
Looking back up, Syrrha smiled. Positive reinforcement – remind him what he did well before reviewing the mistakes. "Not bad. Two kills and extra points for keeping control after ramming that one Defender." "You should be happy. You're getting better at this."
He shrugged, and looked back down at the simulator behind him. "Guess I'd just like to survive a mission for a change."
"It's still an improvement over your last run. Keep this up and your scores will match the rest of the squadron in no time."
Jaun nodded sullenly but didn't speak. Biting the inside of her cheek, Syrrha reconsidered her approach. The blonde boy wasn't the worst pilot she'd ever seen. He didn't have a firm grasp of the fundamentals, but she could fix that, given enough time. It was his tunnel vision that was the immediate problem – he had good tactical sense, but his inability to focus on anything other than the target right in front of him kept him from using it to his advantage.
Okay. New tactic. "Sit down for a second," she said and gestured over to one of the briefing tables. He followed her to the chairs, then slouched in the padded seat, bracing himself for what he seemed to think would be a dressing-down.
Setting his scores aside, Syrrha place her elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Jaun, why did you enlist?"
"Sorry?" "You've gone through flight training, gotten all the way here – that's no small feat." Syrrha frowned as he winced again. Something about bringing up his accomplishments... Maybe he thinks it just puts more pressure on him? "So, what made you want to be a pilot in the first place?"
Jaun was quiet for a long moment before he spoke. "My grandfather fought in the First War." He merely shrugged when Syrrha shook her head. "Yeah that's... not surprising. Anyway, he was a pilot – a pretty good one too. Enlisted with the Reich defense forces and shot down every ship sent his way. Me and my sisters heard all sorts of stories from him growing up."
"Sounds like quite the hero." "He was." Jaun nodded, eyes staring through to table at something far away. "The war ended, but he'd spent too much time among the stars. He traveled for a while, ended up settling on Agmar and raised a family, and he was good at that too. Then the first Reich-Tungari conflict happened and he said my dad should enlist, and grandpa said the Reich needed good men like him to turn it around."
"I take it he didn't?" Arch shook his head. "Dad stayed home. Kept his head down. Stayed safe."
"There's no shame in that." "Maybe, but I can't spend the rest of my life as a farmer or a bilge driver. The Tungari Empire's wrong, and I..." he broke off, his eyes staring past the wall, past the bulkhead behind it, at something far more distant. "I need to be here to stop it. I need to know I did something important. That my life actually mattered."
Syrrha held back the comment so many trainers gave to so many hopeful fighter-jocks–that serving as an navigator or a helmsman was just as important as jumping in the seat of a snub-fighter. That their service to the Reich was no less heroic. But every pilot dreamed of winning the Iron Cross and of being heralded as a hero of the Reich. They forgot how many snub-fighter pilots died anonymous deaths, remembered and mourned only by their fellows and their families. It was easier to romanticize the job – but Jaun would have heard that speech by now.
Laying her hands on the table, Syrrha tapped the metal until Jaun looked her in the eye. "Okay. Next time you get in the cockpit, think about that. Think about why you're here, what you're trying to live up to. Then, as soon as the simulation starts," she napped her fingers. "Let it go. Keep the drive, but let go of everything outside the scenario."
"You think that'll help?"
"I do. And it can't hurt." Especially since what's holding him back is his inability to keep track of his surroundings. If he keeps his head on what he's doing, Jaun might start to develop the situational awareness he'll need.
Standing, she tucked the smart-pad back under her arm, and gave the young man an encouraging look. "Think you're up for one more run?"
Arch looked down at the concrete floor, then back up at Syrrha, holding her gaze as he nodded. "Yes ma'am."
*** It took Command three days to finish the unit roster. Weis spent most of that time tinkering with the Defender sim and running simulations. Apparently several unit commanders were eager to send their pilots against the Valkyrie killer, and Weis did her best to make sure she kept that reputation. Lieutenant Lilana Lao popped in every few runs, taking a spare bomber or fighter when she wasn't busy with her other duties, running backup for Weis' Defender and laughing the entire time. From what Weiss saw, the blonde Lieutenant loved nothing more than shooting Admiral Raeder's trainees out of the sky.
It was just after one of those simulations, her hair still messed by the flight helmet, that Weis' comm finally beeped, summoning her to one of the base's briefing rooms. By the time she got there, almost all of the squadron had already arrived. Most were sitting around the white domed room, talking quietly with each other. Lilana was seated near the front, next to a calm-looking woman with red hair and a captain's insignia on her uniform.
Looking around, Weis realized a little under half of the pilots were female, most she hadn't seen before. It wasn't surprising that she didn't recognize them – she'd been too busy modifying the simulator to track down the other squadron candidates.
Isn't that the point though? she thought, angry with herself for that brief flicker of unease. I defected because I wanted things to be different. This is different. And on a practical level, it's why they're winning. The Reich fleet, the debacle at Knorr
– half of the Reich's victories happened because they allied with alien species the Tungari Empire never would. It'll take some time to adjust, but I'll get used to them soon enough.
A flash of movement caught her eyes, and Weis looked over to find Lilana waving from the front row. Weis paused
– she'd planned to just sit in the back – and then shrugged. The Sungari was the only other member of the squadron she'd met apart from Commander Mueller. There was no reason to completely antisocial.
"Hey short stuff," Lilana said as soon as the white-haired pilot was within earshot, ignoring the glower Weis shot at her. "Come on, we've got maybe a minute before the briefing starts."
The woman beside her cleared her throat. Looking chagrined, Lilana laughed and shifted back in her chair. "Right. Haven't introduced you yet. Weis, this is Captain Niles."
"Captain," Weis saluted, holding it until the she returned the gesture. It was the first time she really looked at the red-haired woman, and it took the breath from her throat.
She definitely was beautiful. Deep green eyes sparkled beneath sharp, crimson hair. She was tall, with cheekbones made for romantic dramas and the body of an athlete. Even under her uniform, Weis could see how the cloth clung to her biceps and her shoulders, narrowing as it followed the curves of her body down to
a tight and undoubtedly muscled waist.
The captain smiled and held out her hand, and Weis felt her heart jump in her chest.
"Syrrha Niles. Sorry we haven't met before now." Weis' mouth was dry. Swallowing, she shook the offered hand and forced herself to nod. "Not a problem. I know my transfer orders came late."
A door whooshed open behind her, and Weis glanced over her shoulder to find Commander Mueller walking into the room. Glancing over, Captain Niles flashed her another brief smile and settled back in her chair.
"Sorry to cut this short, but we'll have a chance to talk after the briefing. The three of us need to go over the training schedules with the commander anyway."
Nodding absently, Weis sat on the other side of Lilana and tried to school her features into something vaguely professional. Training schedules had never sounded so good.
The squawk of a voice amplifier pulled her attention to the lectern standing at the front of the room. Settling herself behind it, Commander Mueller cleared her throat and switched on the mic.
"For all of you here today," Sonya paused and scanned over the assembled pilots. "I want to commend you for managing to make it this far in our selection process. Now, we are working out some of the last few particulars for this unit, but for the foreseeable future, the people sitting around you are your squadron."
Nothing new there, Weis thought, glancing over her shoulder at the rest of the unit. It seemed like more of them had assumed the same – no one, apart from the human male in the middle of the pack, looked even remotely surprised.
"Traditionally, we would all be flying the same model of fighter, if only to give our mechanics less of a headache. Unfortunately, since our squadron is the unloved little sister at the moment, we're catching the hand-me downs. A few of you actually have fighters already assigned to you, so rather than try and switch those out, we've decided to go for 'mismatched but effective.' As a result, most of you will be flying Valkyrie's, overseen primarily by Captain Niles and myself."
Sonya nodded over towards the three officers sitting in the front row. "Lieutenant Lilana Lao is a Warthog ace, and will be handling the training for our unit's bomber pilots, who will be flying our three .
"I'm also demolitions when we're on the ground," the blonde chirped, turning to face the pilots seated behind her. "So if I start yelling 'run,' just do it and don't ask why."
The commander raised an eyebrow at Lilana before turning back to the others. "Last among the ranking officers, I want to introduce Lieutenant Sylvania."
A short wave of murmuring started at the mention of her name. Keeping her eyes forward, Weis tried to put it out of her mind. At least they sounded more curious than actively hostile.
"As our Tungari tactics expert, she'll be in charge of drilling you to counter Tungari strategies and running simulations against the rest of you, which is the best news you'll receive all day. If you can survive an ex-Tungari ace in an 'Valkyrie Killer,' hopefully you'll stand a chance of making it home in one piece."
"Before I read off the roster, I want to remind everyone that under Admiral Raeder's orders, we're testing out the new 'Achilles Training Protocol' – despite the name, basically, you're all guinea pigs to see if these types of experimental commando-pilot units can actually work.
"For the rest of you, I'll just go down the line for wing assignments. Flight Officer Scarlat, you're Wolf Two and my wing, as well as our code-slicer." A Centuri nodded briefly, looking a little uncomfortable as the rest of the unit's eyes turned to her and visibly relaxing when the commander moved on.
"Yatshi, you're Wolf Three, with Sage as Four and your wing-man." The towering Saurians nearby nodded to each other, both looking completely satisfied with the pairing. "As a Saurian, Yatshi is considerably stronger than the average human, and capable of infiltrating Reptilian communities if that ever comes up. Sage is our medical officer, and in charge of re-attaching any limbs that Yatshi rips off."
There was a short round of laughter – the joke about Saurians ripping off arms was an old and tired one, but it still managed to get a chuckle out of most of the pilots. The fact that most of those stories involved removing the limbs from Imperial taskmasters probably helped.
"Captain Niles is Wolf Five, paired with Arch, Wolf Six and our communications officer." Weis thought she saw a flicker of annoyance in the commander's features when she looked at the blonde man, but it vanished just as quickly. "Nora Vale is Seven with Ren as Eight, and our heavy weapons specialist and intrusion expert respectively."
"Rylana Lao, you're Wolf Nine, on Lieutenant Sylvania's wing as Wolf Ten. Lao is also our unit sniper, should the need arise, and our backup mechanic. Bella Dona, our other backup mechanic, and a former resistance fighter, as well as Wolf Eleven and wing-mate to Lieutenant Lilana Lao, Twelve."
Weis glanced over at Wolf Nine. Another human, this one with a bob of dark hair shifting to red at the tips. She looked young – too young in Weis' opinion. Fresh from the flight academy, and for an experimental unit like this... well, she had better be a damn good pilot.
The girl met her eyes and smiled, waving happily from across the room. For a second, Weis didn't know how to respond – Should she nod? Wave back? – until she felt her chair shift as Lilana turned to wave. Well, at least they know each other.
Setting her misgivings about her wing-mate aside, Weis turned her attention to the last member of her flight, and swallowed.
Lilana's partner was Wolf Eleven, the Katharian. Even sitting down, Weis could tell she was tall – definitely taller than her, and probably just shy of Syrrha and Lilana.
She turned, and by accident or instinct she met Weis' gaze. Sharp, emerald eyes sparkled, it made her already intense stare downright piercing.
Weis blinked and looked back at the commander, her mouth suddenly dry. Sonya was still talking – and Weis had missed every word she'd said. Shaking her head, the former Defender pilot focused on the commander and just managed to catch the end of her briefing.
"When we break by groups, I lead One Flight, Syrrha has Two Flight, and Lilana takes Three Flight. If we need to rearrange into specialized units, Lilana takes the bombers, and the rest group up on Captain Niles and me. Any questions?"
The room was silent while the more expressive pilots shook their heads. "Wonderful. You're dismissed until oh-eight hundred hours – take the chance to get some rest. The Captain and I will be putting you all through your paces soon enough."
A number of the other pilots laughed or cheered, their chairs scraping the floor as they stood to leave. Weis stayed where she was – she hadn't spoken to the commander since their first interview, and Sonya was already making her way down towards the ranking officers.
Sonya stopped a few feet away, waiting for the rest of the pilots to start clearing out before she addressed the three women.
"Sorry we haven't had a chance to speak," she smiled and nodded to Weis. "I hear your Defender sim is considered public enemy number one among the base trainees." "Just glad it works, ma'am." "I won't keep you any longer. I know we wanted to work through the training regimen today, but... well, something came up. Take the time to relax – and that's an order, Lieutenant. I know you've spent every waking hour on the Defender. I'll see you all at oh-six hundred tomorrow and we'll start then."
Lilana groaned at the early time while Syrrha shrugged from her other side. Weis tried to ignore the brief flash of disappointment; she'd been looking forward to working with the Captain, and as ridiculous as it sounded, she was sorry she wouldn't get the chance until tomorrow.
"One last thing." Sonya turned her attention back to Weis and tapped her smart-pad. A second later, Weis' own personal pad chimed the short little note for a new message. "Intelligence just sent this through. It's not a surprise, and I'm sure you knew this was coming, but Tungrian Command has officially put out a death mark on you."
Weis looked down at the message. It wasn't long. Just the usual accusations of treason and insurrection that she'd seen
on other warrants when she served with the Tungari Fleet. The 'grand theft' charge was less common, but she'd expected something after stealing top-of-the-line military hardware. And right at the bottom, in the perfect, exact handwriting she'd recognize anywhere, was her father's signature.
She had known something like this was coming. The furious, ranting message her father left for her after she defected made that perfectly clear, along with exactly what he'd do to her if he ever saw her again. If anything, she'd assumed there'd be more. Some cover story painting her as a mental patient, or accusing her of crimes heinous enough to make even a seasoned SS trooper pause. Even for an official notice, it just seemed too... impersonal.
"Like you said," Weis murmured, trying to keep her face straight as she met Commander Mueller's searching look. "It's not really much of a surprise."
43
Forty-Two
Down Time...
2232 hours.
"You doing okay?" an annoyingly chipper voice said an inch away from Weis' ear. Weis resisted the urge to jump – she'd been so focused on the Imperial Tungari warrant that she hadn't heard the blonde Sungari coming up beside her.
"I'm fine." "You sure?" Lilana asked. "I mean, when you leave the Tungari Empire, you kinda expect to get a death mark. You know, for the desertion and the sedition and the whole treason thing. But seeing your father sign off on it-"
"I'm fine," she snapped, turning her smart-pad off as Lilana glanced over her shoulder. "It's nothing I didn't see coming." "Still," the blonde trailed off, falling into step beside the shorter woman. Suddenly, she nudged Weis' arm with her elbow, bouncing forward until she could turn and look Weis in the eyes. "Hey, d'you want a drink?"
"Not really." Honestly, what she wanted to do was lock herself in a simulator and blow a few hundred AI out of the sky. Wouldn't change anything, but at least it'd let her feel like she was doing something.