by L. E. Thomas
Austin tapped his canopy and gazed into deep space. A blinking pulsar caught his eye below, and he pressed his helmet to the canopy for a better look. Moving his eyes back toward the Naroovian Salvage Yard surrounding the small moon behind him, he sighed and leaned back.
To conserve fuel, the fourteen Scorpions remained parked at the edge of the floating field of forgotten spacecraft. After negotiating the three curves from the carrier, three Kardas had successfully arrived from the Formidable shortly after the Tridents had returned from their role as “pirates” in the mission. The Kardas refueled the Tridents and drones loaded missiles on all the Scorpion fighters.
Once the Lure came with the prisoners, the Kardas would dock with the freighter and take the Serpents and former captives onboard. With the prisoners safely onboard the Kardas and away from the freighter, burdened with the slower Lutimite Drive, the entire team would curve away from the shipyards and begin the long journey home.
It sounded simple, but the past hour had dragged. With waiting, came doubt. Austin stared back in the direction of Nesteel, merely a pinpoint of light at this distance, and knew Ryker was out there. The Serpents had to have reached her by now, but all he could do was wait.
He stared over at the Trident fifty MUs to his right, knowing Bear was at the stick. At moments like this, Austin wished his friend would utter one of his goofy comments. Captain Senza had ordered radio silence, and he understood. Still, Bear being Bear always helped pass the time and ease the tension.
The HUD flashed, and his contact alarm wailed in the cockpit. Sitting up straight, he checked his sensors and pinpointed the incoming ship. Coming in fast, it registered as a vessel using Lutimite propulsion. He stared at the projected location. Four seconds later, a freighter descended into standard space and floated two thousand MUs from their position.
“Contact,” Senza said, breaking her enforced silence, “bearing seven-four-zero-seven. Transponders read it’s our Lure—Powla Prize. All fighters, move in and patrol around the freighter. Kardas, be ready to move in on my command.”
With his fingers flying across the control board, Austin brought his Trident back from standby. The electronics whistled to life, and his engine rumbled the entire craft. In one fluid motion, the Tridents moved toward the freighter. As they neared the ship, Austin’s heart rate increased. Was Ryker on board?
“Lure, this is Predator Lead,” Senza transmitted in the open. “Are you reading me?”
“Copy, Predator Lead,” Captain Reece Towers shot back. “Glad to hear your voice.”
“Feeling’s mutual,” she said, her voice rising. Austin pictured her smiling at the stick of her Trident. “SITREP?”
Towers grumbled. “We have the total prize on board, but they kicked the hell out of us on our way out. We had two bandits flying CAP that got smart to us fleeing, pummeled us. We’re trailing gasses, and our shields wouldn’t stop a kid’s toy laser. Lutimite Drive is toast without a complete overhaul. This baby’s not moving out of this system. We need the transfer done ASAP.”
“I copy, Lure. Get in there, Kardas. We’ll cover you.”
“Copy, Lead,” the Karda pilot responded. “We are en route.”
The Tridents encircled the Lure as it came to a stop and the Kardas moved into position. As Austin banked around the freighter he hoped carried Ryker, he shook his head.
I can’t believe this crazy mission worked, he thought.
When Captain Senza had first proposed the operation, he’d never expected Commander Mitchem Horace and Major Cayo Wilkos to go with it. Even though Horace refused to bring the Formidable into Zahlian Space, he’d still transferred three of his Kardas to Scorpion Command for the mission.
Austin’s HUD flashed red. The new contact alarm wailed in his helmet. Verifying the signal, he stared at his sensor scope on his controls. Not believing what he saw, he rechecked.
“Oh, no,” he said out loud, his eyes drifting toward the projected coordinates. “It can’t be.”
Space flashed once, and a Zahlian All-purpose Response Cruiser filled the area three thousand MUs outside the salvage yard. Austin’s jaw dropped as the ARC listed to the side and righted itself. The transponder code showed the ship to be the Enforcer. The ARC from Nesteel had somehow followed the Powla Prize.
With all their confidence in the mission, the presence of the ARC meant they had failed. A sinking feeling fell into his stomach, a sense of imminent failure.
More signals filled his sensors as the Enforcer launched fighters and bombers. The smaller craft swarmed into a precision formation around the ARC, creating an entire wing bearing down on their position. He had never seen such a strike force assembling—the ARC must have launched their full complement of spacecraft.
“Contact,” Senza whispered even though Austin was sure all the Scorpions had seen the Zahlian capital ship enter the system. “Lure?”
“I see it, Predator Lead,” Towers said, a tone of resignation filling his voice. “You’d better get out while you can. They aren’t coming for a chat.”
“No.”
Towers exhaled into the transmitter. “Repeat your last?”
Senza cleared her throat. “No.”
“What do you mean?”
Austin stared at the incoming fighters for a pair of heartbeats. What did Senza expect them to do against such odds?
“Alright,” Senza said, her voice full of energy, “here we go, Scorpions.”
Smiling at the fact she had disposed of their “Predator” designations, Austin gripped the stick and awaited her instructions. Of course, using Scorpions might mean Senza expected failure and wanted to go out in a blaze of glory.
“Cheetah,” Senza said, “I want you to take seven Tridents and lead the Lure deep into the salvage yard for cover. Once you deem it safe, get the Kardas to carry out the rescue.”
“You want us to head into the salvage yard?” Skylar asked. “Won’t have much room to maneuver in there.”
“Neither will they. Go!”
“Roger,” Skylar said, her voice cracking. “What about the rest of you?”
Austin watched the seven Tridents and three Kardas veer off toward the salvage yard with the freighter limping behind it.
“Rock, form up on my wing,” Senza said. “Bear, Zipper, Sparrow, Hellcat, Blue Jay, and Giggles, spread formation. Line up to engage the incoming bandits.”
It’s a suicide mission.
Swallowing, Austin felt a shiver slide down his back. “Roger, Spinner.”
The Tridents moved into their attack formation, heading away from the freighter and the rest of the Scorpions.
“We’re not going to last long out here,” Bear said.
“We’re buying the Lure time to complete its operation,” Senza said. “Let’s hope they get cover in those wrecks. Everybody in position?”
The Scorpions acknowledged.
“All right, people, get in and get kills! Go!”
Senza’s Trident shot forward. Austin followed suit, slamming his throttle forward. The rest of the Tridents soared with them. He glanced over his shoulder, saw Bear’s Trident in perfect formation on his right. Lowering his gaze, he focused on the mass of enemy ships closing in. An entire squadron of Interceptors spread out in front of the rest of the formation at fifteen hundred MUs from their position. Fighter-bombers lingered behind the fighters, lowering in an attempt to fly under the Tridents.
“Spinner, Rock. You see the bandits below our primary target?”
“Roger. All Scorpions with me, blast through these fighters and head for their friends! Copy?”
The Scorpions screamed an affirmative in unison.
Switching his shields completely to the front, Austin held his breath as the MUs dropped to target.
“Give’em all you got, Scorpions,” Senza transmitted, ignoring normal communication protocol.
Glancing at her Trident at the front of their formation, Austin shook his head. She might be the bravest commander he had ever seen.
He thought of the freighter limping into the temporary safety of the salvage yard. They had to give the Kardas time to remove the prisoners from the ship. Senza had made the right call.
Stay focused, he thought. Keying for the gamma wave, he said, “Stay frosty, Scorpions.”
Bear exhaled. “You know it, buddy.”
Range to target dropped to three hundred MUs, one-fifty, one-hundred.
“Engage!” Senza yelled. “Fire at will!”
Sensors shot across the area between the two forces, seeking out a lock. Austin adjusted his crosshairs on an Interceptor focusing on one of his comrades and got a lock. He squeezed the trigger, releasing the weapon. An instant later, the expanse between the two groups filled with missile trails crisscrossing the sky. The gamma waves burst into activity, Scorpions shouting out kills and suffering hits. Explosions filled the air on both sides.
Focusing on another enemy fighter, Austin closed to gun range and emptied his energy banks, expelling laser bolts into the Interceptor. Suffering several hits, the bandit pulled away from the engagement. Lowering his fighter, Austin moved to engage the bomber group in the distance.
“Two on your tail, Rock!” Bear yelled.
Austin glanced over his shoulder, saw a flicker of movement. “I see them, I’ve got this!”
Rolling his fighter, he diverted his shields to the rear with his free hand. The space around his Trident filled with laser bolts. Two bolts struck his rear shields, reducing them to eight percent.
“Break left!” Bear yelled.
Austin didn’t have time to question his friend. Yanking the stick left and back, he maneuvered into a good firing position for Bear. He didn’t have to wait long.
Two flashes of light and the trailing bandits disappeared from his sensors.
“Nice shot, Bear!”
“It’s what I do, man.”
Austin took a second to look at his sensors. He immediately wished he hadn’t.
Although they had destroyed a dozen Interceptors, three Scorpions had been taken out, and another squadron of bandits was bearing down on their position.
“I’m hit!” Dimas “Giggles” Sorn’s voice blasted into his headset, ripping Austin away from his sensors.
“Position?” Austin asked, searching the melee.
“Above the bombers!” he said, his voice laced with tension. “They’re right on me!”
Searching the area, Austin found three Interceptors trailing Sorn’s Trident.
“Bear, let’s help him out!”
Flying side-by-side, Austin and Bear moved into position on the bandits’ six. Balancing his shield energy with the recharging lasers, Austin decided on using his missiles.
“Take the left bandit,” Bear said. “I’ve got the guy on the right.”
“Roger.”
Austin moved his crosshairs on the enemy. The moment they hit the bandit’s sensors, the Interceptor broke off the pursuit and launched into evasive maneuvers.
“Got a slippery one!” he yelled, trying to maintain position. The crosshairs burned red and he squeezed the trigger.
The Interceptor launched countermeasures, but it was too late. The fighter disintegrated in a spectacular flash of light and fire.
“It’s too much!” Sorn yelled. “I can’t—”
Sorn’s Trident vanished from Austin’s sensors. He checked on Bear just in time to see his friend destroy the bandit he had been pursuing.
“Nice shot, Bear,” he said, his adrenaline draining as he thought of Sorn and the other Scorpions who had already fallen to accomplish this mission.
With a brief instant to think, Austin looked at the battle to his right and the ARC to his left. Only Senza, Bear, and Austin remained of the team selected to buy time for the Kardas. There were too many bandits to engage. Far in the distance, the broad salvage yard stretched around the moon.
“Scorpions, Spinner,” Senza’s rattled voice hissed over the gamma wave. “We can’t hold them. Break off and head for the salvage yard. Give the Kardas their time. I’ll cover you.”
“Roger,” Austin said, bringing his Trident to bear on the salvage yard. Transferring as much power as he could into his engines, he shot away from the battle. “You coming, Spinner?”
“I’m hit,” she said. “I won’t make it back, but I’ll give you time. They’ll be sorry.”
Austin opened his mouth to protest, but knew better than to argue. He swallowed, thinking of Senza and her smile, the red curls framing her face.
“It’s been an honor, Spinner,” he said, his voice cracking.
“Take some out for me,” she said. “Now, go!”
“Roger. Bear, let’s do this!”
Bear and Austin shot back toward the salvage yard, the Interceptors and bombers engaging with Senza’s Trident. Watching his sensors, he saw Senza flying in and out of the enemy formation, making their numbers work against them. Not since Ryker had he seen such talent behind the stick, the Trident moving like a vengeful ghost amongst the bandits. One by one, Interceptors broke away from the action, too damaged to continue the fight.
And then a dumb-fired missile exploded near Senza’s Trident, the shockwave sending it spinning away. The Trident didn’t recover, and Austin wondered if she had been hit by shrapnel.
It was the opening the enemy needed.
Laser fire blasted the Trident into pieces a second before the fighter exploded. Austin closed his eyes for a moment before looking at his sensors.
The battle had only lasted minutes.
“Cheetah, Rock,” he transmitted. “They blew right through us. We’re heading back to assist. What’s your status?”
“First Karda has just finished its operations.”
Austin felt a rush of adrenaline. One Karda out of three. They weren’t going to make it.
“Head deeper into the salvage yard!” he yelled. “Get into those wrecks as close as you can. It’ll make you harder to hit and find. We’re trying to keep them off you.”
“Wait a minute,” Skylar said, “what about Spinner?”
Austin swallowed. “We’re all that’s left.”
She paused. “Copy. Moving into the salvage yard.”
“Good,” Austin said, pursing his lips. “Once you’re in, we need to defend the Lure at all costs.”
“Rock,” Bear said, “we won’t last long in there in a dogfight.”
“We won’t last long in the open, either.”
The HUD flickered, and the alarm signaling a new contact wailed.
Austin shook his head. What now?
Staring at his sensors, he saw a massive formation of incoming bandits flying toward their position from the salvage yard moon. He leaned back into his cockpit.
It had been a trap.
The Zahlian forces had an entire wing of fighters on the moon, waiting and drawing them into this trap. How could they have been so arrogant to think they could complete this mission? He pushed the voice of defeat from his mind, but it was too loud, too persistent.
We’re all going to die.
Slapping the side of his cockpit, he gripped the stick. “Scorpions, we have a new enemy force coming in. Let’s give the Lure as much time as we can. Our people deserve that much.”
Bear grumbled. “You bet … Rock.”
The gamma wave crackled as a signal came in from the incoming force.
“Scorpions, do you copy?”
Austin’s jaw dropped. His eyes widened. It couldn’t be …
“Talon?” he whispered and cleared his throat. “Is it really you?”
“The one and only,” Major Jonathan Nubern said. “Boss thought you might need some help. He’s on the far side of this moon. Let’s clean this up.”
Feeling lightheaded, Austin shook his head as his Trident neared the salvage yard. The transponders on the incoming force blinked onto his sensors. Three squadrons of Tridents and Corvos entered the salvage yard. Commander Mitchem Horace had changed his mind.
The Formidable was here.
/>
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“We’re low on fuel,” Lieutenant Austin Stone said as he and David “Bear” Keller came into formation alongside Major Jonathan Nubern’s Tridents and the Corvo missile boats in the midst of a field of dead and forgotten ships. “We can’t stay with you long.”
“Help’s just on the other side of the moon in the middle of this garbage,” Nubern said, “and Hound is taking six Tridents and escorting the Lure back. We only have to buy a little time.”
“Linking up with the Lure now,” Major Cayo “Hound” Wilkos said before Austin could respond. “You boys have fun out there. Watch your six.”
“Copy that,” Nubern said.
Weaving through the immense field of dark ships, the largest Legion force Austin had ever seen assembled dodged the hulking forms of former capital ships and bulky freighters. The Tridents soared out above and in front of the Corvos, providing them space to establish a long-range lock on the vast incoming Zahlian forces driving hard for their position.
“All right, team,” Nubern said, “form up on my wing. I see we’re outnumbered here. Let’s draw them into the salvage yard. Use the dead ships to your advantage. Don’t bunch up.”
“What about those gunboats?” a young Star Runner from the Formidable asked.
“They won’t be able to get a lock if you stay in here. Keep your eyes open and don’t let anything past you. Remember the enemy is here for the Lure. Let’s make sure they don’t get it!”
Austin dipped under a massive capital ship and checked the situation. A red cloud of hostile fighters entered the salvage yard two hundred MUs from their position.
“Corvos—fire when ready!” Nubern yelled.
When the Zahlian force entered the salvage yard, the Corvos unleashed a salvo of missiles into the fray. The forces clashed at the edge of the collection of abandoned ships. Lasers and missiles filled the space, exploding without prejudice into live targets and floating relics. Fighters bounced off the debris like fiery ping-pong balls, spitting sparks and flame until exploding. The gamma wave erupted into a burst of static, full of the terror and excitement of rookie Star Runners in the midst of their first battle.