by L. E. Thomas
One pursuing Trident overshot his former position, pulling up on a course parallel to the moon. It wasn’t enough. The Trident must have passed over the safety line. Space around the fighter glimmered and it slipped through a curve.
The second bandit launched into a smooth turn, staying right on Austin’s tail. He turned around, diverting energy into his rear shields.
It was too late.
Laser fire ignited the space around his fighter. Simulated damage filled his control board. A second later, the entire fighter shuddered and space glowed.
He was “dead.”
Austin smacked the side of his canopy, shaking his head. He was destroyed in another exercise, the third time this week. Replaying the final maneuver in his head, he tried to assess what he could have done differently as the automated sequence brought him to the far side of the moon.
He couldn’t help but smile. Whomever the Legion had recruited to be part of these Scorpions, Austin had learned over the past months they were the best pilots he had ever seen.
Right now, he just wanted to know one thing: who was the Star Runner who had destroyed him today?
The canopy opened. After taking off his helmet, Austin leaned back in the cockpit, watching as the final victorious Trident landed next to him. Peering through the tinted canopy, he saw the pilot taking off the helmet. The Trident’s canopy opened, revealing the Star Runner at the stick.
Austin shook his head when he saw the smile.
“Nice try, Lieutenant,” Captain Manami Senza grinned, her ruby hair falling onto her shoulders like a wild animal. “It’ll take more than a mission parameter line to get me.”
Unhooking his gloves, Austin stood in his cockpit. “I can see that.”
The Star Runners climbed down from their Tridents, making way for the maintenance crews swarming toward the fighters. Senza strolled toward Austin, her helmet tucked under her arm.
“I think you’re getting better,” she said, her large blue eyes looking at him with concern. “You’ve been working well without the sensors the past couple weeks.”
He stood transfixed by her attention. While Senza seemed focused at all times on training the Scorpions, she had occasionally spent extra time consulting him on his maneuvers. He didn’t know if she had been ordered to do it by Major Wilkos, or if it was something she had taken upon herself.
Shaking his head, he looked away. “To be honest, I can’t believe how good you guys are. Best Star Runners I’ve ever seen.”
She shrugged, raising her eyebrows. “That’s why we’re here, right?”
“Sure.”
Lingering beside her Trident, Senza took a deep breath. “The major suggested we may be getting our first mission soon.”
“Oh yeah?”
She nodded, her eyes meeting his own. “It’ll be nice to move beyond training for a while.”
Austin smiled. “I thought you said, ‘We’re always training.’”
Senza pushed his arm. “So you were listening.”
“Of course.”
The Star Runners filed toward the locker room. Lieutenant Dimas Sorn walked next to Austin and pushed his shoulder.
“You got me out there, man,” he said.
Austin smiled. “That I did. Think I owed you for that maneuver of yours last week. Dumb-fired two missiles into my face, right?”
“Oh, did I?” Sorn grinned.
In the past months, Sorn had dropped the combative stance he had taken toward Austin. He knew egos were a part of living with Star Runners every day, but he was glad to see the posturing had ended. Perhaps it was the extreme running punishments handed out by Major Wilkos. Whatever the reason, it made Austin happy to move past audible potshots and get to work on becoming better Star Runners. Austin hated to admit the running had succeeded during the first couple weeks, but he had noticed the Scorpions gelling as a unit.
Skylar and Bear met them at the end of the hangar deck.
“Hey,” Sorn said, pulling at Austin’s arm. “This isn’t easy for me to say, but you did well out there.”
Austin felt his face warm. “Thanks, man.”
“No, seriously. You’ve come a long way since we first got here. I guess I never thought you could be any good at your age, but I was wrong.” He slapped Austin’s shoulder. “You’ve come a long ways, kid. I am happy to serve with you.”
Sorn walked into the corridor and disappeared into the locker room. Bear and Skylar leaned closer to Austin, both of them glaring.
“What is it?” Austin asked.
Bear shook his head. “Doesn’t that piss you off?”
“What?”
Skylar glanced over her shoulder. “Don’t you want to tell these guys what you’ve been through—what we’ve been through?”
Austin shrugged. “Not really. No.”
“They treat us like we haven’t done anything,” Bear said through clenched teeth. “Been listening to it for months and it’s getting old. What about Atlantis? And the … other mission? Every time they bring up the possibility of a Zahlian stealth ship I just want to tell everyone what you were able to do.”
Austin shrugged, the details of Mission Wraith cycling through his mind. He thought of Tia with her wild hair and neon lipstick. And Val, who had lived for years on Claria to get the chance to make a difference against the Zahl Empire. Both of them died to allow him to complete the mission. They were both gone, and he was still here.
And that wasn’t even including Ryker.
“Let me shoot straight with you guys,” he said, lowering his voice. “I’d honestly rather forget about that ‘other mission.’ Being here has given me something to work toward.” He stared at the floor, the image of Ryker’s face flashing in his mind. “I don’t want to live in the past.”
Bear frowned. “I’m sorry, man. I just mean—”
“It’s nothing, buddy,” Austin said, raising his hand. “Seriously. After talking with these other veterans, though, I’ve started to realize living long enough as a Star Runner means you’ll be going through some crazy stuff. I think we are just beginning.”
Skylar smiled, shaking her head. “You’re probably right.” She nodded toward Captain Senza on the hangar deck, who had paused to chat with Major Wilkos. “What’s going on there?”
Austin frowned. “Huh?”
She looked at him with a mischievous grin. “You already looking around?”
Austin took a deep breath, clenching his teeth as his throat constricted. He thought of Ryker, her smile and the way she looked right through him. Honorable as her final sacrifice had been, he would still trade with her in a heartbeat.
“I’m not looking,” he said, his voice cracking. “I don’t think I’ll ever look.”
Wiping at his mouth, he hurried toward the locker room, his eyes on the floor.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Any questions then?”
The Scorpions glanced around the briefing room. Major Cayo Wilkos placed his hands on his hips and took a deep breath, the hologram of his instructions still glowing behind him. It all seemed pretty simple for the squadron’s first mission.
A Fringe warlord just over the border of Legion space had been curving over the line to harass shipping lanes in outlying planets, and it was within range of the Scorpions’ Nest. This warlord—Wilkos said they believed the man’s name to be Jezzie Daln—had united two planets in his campaign to tame the wilds of the Fringe. Lately, he has been using his mercenary forces to flex his muscles into Legion space and this was just the sort of mission Command thought would be a great test of the Scorpions.
Still at the front of the room, Wilkos chomped down on his bottom lip as he surveyed the Star Runners before him. “This is our first time out there, people. I’m aware of that. But all of you have seen combat before. Command will want to review gun camera footage following any engagements. Good hunting and, per our standing squadron rules, leave all forms of identification back here at the Nest. Best we get used to it. Understood?”
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The Scorpions grunted an affirmative and came to life following the hour-long briefing. The Star Runners grabbed their flight tablets, conversing in soft tones. Bear moved next to Austin.
“Think it’s too late to go back?” he asked.
Austin frowned. “Back where?”
“Tarton’s Junction for a trip back to Earth.”
“You serious?”
Bear stared at him. “No.” He smiled. “You really believed me?”
Austin shrugged. “I guess I did. Thought you might be wimping out.”
“For this?” He gestured toward the hologram. “We’ve scrapped with low-level pirates and mercenaries before. Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“No,” Austin said, taking a deep breath. “Shouldn’t be at all.”
“Come right for a direct line to Alpha Point,” Wilkos transmitted over the gamma wave. “Team Two, move for Beta Point and continue your final leg. Hound out.”
Austin adjusted his course, tightening up the spread formation of Team Two as they shifted in unison toward the last waypoint of the exercise. The Warlord Jezzie Daln and his band of mercenaries had thus far not made an appearance. Major Wilkos had divided the Scorpions into two teams patrolling the shipping lane near the Legion border where Daln’s forces had been active. Wilkos took Team One and Captain Manami “Spinner” Senza led Team Two in this boring patrol.
He sighed and watched his scope sweeping in an arc in front of him, bringing back nothing but a field of black.
Thirty minutes to go, he thought. In a way, this patrol reminded him of the months on Tarton’s Junction after the Tyral Pirates took Josh.
Fly to this point. Good. Fly to this point. Stay in formation. Good. Fly to this point. Come home so we can talk about it in the classroom.
While the classes have been more intense with the Scorpions, much of this assignment hadn’t been too much different than—
Warning bells sounded, and his HUD burned blood-red. He frowned at his sensor readout.
“Spinner, Rock. Picking up a strange signal.”
“I don’t see—wait.” She paused. “Thought it might be space debris, but something’s bearing down on Team One.”
Austin swallowed, staring at the green cloud on his sensor. “It’s something big.”
“Right.” A click sounded on the gamma wave as Senza switched to the long-range Whisper. “Hound, Spinner. We’re picking up a large force bearing down on you.”
“We got it, too,” Wilkos shot back. “Just appeared on our scopes. They haven’t responded to our communications. We’re moving to intercept.”
As the eight Tridents from Team One changed course and headed for the bogeys, Austin studied the massive force bearing down from the Fringe. To appear in the way they did meant the incoming ships might be using a curvature drive rather than the Zahlian Lutimite Drive. Something seemed strange about the bogeys’ trajectory.
“Roger, Hound,” Senza said, excitement filling her voice. “Team Two, get ready to move in. All power to your engines on my mark.”
Austin looked at his sensors, frowning as he tried to figure out what was odd to him about the bulk of the incoming ships. Then it hit him: The bogeys were heading directly for Team One.
“Spinner, Rock.”
“Go ahead, Rock.”
“They don’t see us, yet.”
“Repeat?”
“The bogeys. They haven’t changed course. They only see Team One.” He glanced over at Senza’s Trident and could just make out the captain’s helmet in the canopy. “They probably don’t have long-range sensors, or they’re hoping they can take out Team One before we get there. Either way, they think they have the jump on our friends.”
Senza said nothing for a moment. “What do you suggest?”
Austin considered the question. “Split up our team.”
“That’s crazy. I’m not splitting us up.”
“Hear me out.”
Senza’s helmet turned toward his Trident. “We don’t have time. Bogeys are moving in on Team One right now.”
Austin smiled. “Permission for Bear and I to curve to the far side of the enemy force.”
“Repeat your last?” Bear asked.
“Cut the chatter,” Senza said, her Trident banking slightly toward Austin’s. She held this position for a pair of heartbeats. “You sure about this, Rock? No one curves that close to an enemy. You’ll be disoriented. You miss your calculation by a fraction of an MU, and you’ll be out of action for this engagement.”
Austin pursed his lips and cracked his knuckles. “Absolutely.”
Senza sighed. “Permission granted. Bear, Rock, break formation and set your curve. The rest of you—set full power to engines and follow me.”
The Tridents of Team Two shot away, leaving Austin and Bear.
“What the hell did you just do?” Bear asked, his voice low.
“All right.” Austin swallowed, ignoring the feeling of dread building in his gut. Reality washed over him the way it always seemed to do after he had made a decision—and it was too late to take it back. “Shut up.”
Austin plotted a course for the far side of the enemy force and watched the computer calculate the movement. He looked to Bear’s Trident as it moved in on his wing. “Once we go through the curve, I want you to reverse thrusters and head back toward the bogeys. Don’t delay.”
“You think I’m going to delay?” he grumbled. “Look at that force on your sensor—there have to be a dozen of them.”
“But they don’t know we’re coming. We’ll take them out before they know we’re there. They’ll be too scared to react.”
“You know that for a fact, huh?” Bear grumbled. “If your calculations are wrong, and we end up in front of them, I’ll be too scared to react.”
Austin shook his head. “We’ve seen worse.”
“No,” Bear said and grumbled. “This is worse.”
Austin glanced at his computer. “Ten seconds. Warm the drive.”
“Copy.”
The Trident vibrated, the wings glowing as surrounding space wavered. He stretched his fingers one more time, feeling sweat on his palms. Swallowing, he cleared his throat as the drive ticked down.
“See you on the other side,” he said, closing his eyes and saying a silent prayer.
“You got it, buddy.”
The curve in space opened in front of his Trident’s nose. The fighter passed through. Light flashed like a thunderstorm around his cockpit for an instant. Space glowed, and normalized.
“Now!” he yelled.
Yanking back on the throttle, he pulled back on the stick. The Trident looped around before the curve completely closed behind it. He slammed the throttle forward, knowing if his calculations had been wrong his fighter would be near the enemy force. The Trident shot through the remnants of the curve, flickers of light spinning into the darkness.
He shook his head. The Trident’s thrust slammed him back into his seat. His vision returned to normal. Although he had been training to fly without his sensors, he risked a glance. Fourteen bogeys loomed in a line, heading away from their position. Bear’s Trident formed on his left, the wings rocking.
“Bear, you with me?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Copy, Rock.” He paused. “Missiles warmed and ready.”
“You take the left of the formation. I got right.”
“Here goes nothing.”
Austin took one glance at his friend. “Happy hunting.”
Bear didn’t respond.
Lowering his gaze, Austin veered toward the formation’s edge. The force looked like a mismatch of stolen Tridents and other small craft. Any second, the enemy would notice the two bandits on their six. Team One and Two were still out of range.
His crosshairs fell onto the closest bogey, blinking yellow. The bogey panicked, pulling away from the formation.
Surprise.
The crosshairs burned red. He squeezed the trigger, moving immediately to the nex
t, not watching his missile scream toward its target. Working his way up the line, he fired until he extinguished his missiles. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw projectiles filling the darkness from Bear’s position. His friend added to the carnage, unleashing a barrage of missiles into the formation. Fireballs flashed, the warlord’s fighters spinning in all directions in fiery deaths.
Switching to guns, Austin moved into the scene of destruction and pulled in behind two bandits pulling up and away from the rest. Looked like a modified Trident and a smaller triangular fighter. He poured all remaining power into the engines. The Trident roared, filling his canopy with a whooshing sound.
“Two trying to leave the party,” Austin said, his helmet shaking as the Trident increased speed. “I got’em.”
“Copy,” Bear said, his voice rising in pitch. “Got one fleeing below.”
“Go get’em, Bear.”
“You know it.”
The smaller triangular vessel broke off from his wingman, panicking as Austin’s crosshairs fell onto his tail. Squeezing the trigger, Austin released a laser barrage into the fleeing bogey. Three bolts crashed into the fighter’s engines, erupting a shower of fire and sparks. The fighter twirled twice, spinning end over end before it exploded.
“Ha!” Austin yelled, adrenaline surging through his body.
He pulled up, moving his Trident behind the final bogey. The modified Trident in front of him launched into evasive maneuvers, zipping back and forth across his canopy. As he pursued, Austin preserved the remaining energy in his laser banks in hopes he would get a clean shot.
But this final bogey was good.
“Splash one!” Bear yelled.
Austin didn’t respond, leaning forward in his canopy as he worked to stay on the final bogey’s tail. He fired, the bolts missing low and soaring into infinity. The bogey fired reverse thrusters. Austin’s eyes widened as the bogey shot overhead and landed behind him. Pulling up, he tried to compensate for the sudden maneuver, but the bogey stayed right on him.
Caught me sleeping, he thought.