Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3)

by L. E. Thomas

  He checked his sensors, saw two Interceptors two-hundred MUs to the north and closing fast. Bringing the Wraith out over the canyon, he accelerated to the east. Firing up the lasers and checking his missiles, Austin reached twenty MUs from the canyon and looped around. He pressed on the throttle, the Wraith rattling.

  He knew Captain Towers had told him to leave. He knew the Captain didn’t want him to risk his life to save theirs.

  Austin didn’t care.

  Towers could yell at me later, he thought.

  He eased forward and set up at a slightly downward angle, preparing for the ground attack.

  The Wraith’s crosshairs aimed at the forest in front of the cave. Laser fire flashed red across the battered land between the Zahlian Marines and the embattled Legion Serpents. Explosions covered the rocks around the cave, the Zahlian forces apparently not holding back in their attempts to wipe out the Legion ground forces now that the Wraith was airborne.

  At this speed, Austin couldn’t see Towers and his men. He activated the missiles and pulled the trigger. A white trail shot from the Wraith’s wing, the missile striking the forest and sending a wave of energy from the blast points. Clouds of fire and dirt erupted into his path. He banked right, lining up with the troop carrier module on the river’s edge. He fired another missile. The troop carrier exploded, two Marines diving into the woods. Switching to guns, Austin lined his crosshairs up with the edge of the burning forest and pulled the trigger. The pulse lasers fired fast—quicker than the Trident’s guns. A steady stream of scarlet execution let loose on the ground below, sending a storm of fire and across the landscape.

  The HUD shimmered red, indicating a surface-to-air missile attempted to lock.

  Austin snorted. Got your attention, didn’t I?

  He slammed the throttle forward, the force striking him back into the seat. He rolled the Wraith, the ground spinning around the canopy. He yanked back on the stick, and the fighter shot up at a ninety-degree angle from the ground. At the same time, he dropped his lone spread of countermeasures. The incoming missile focused on the chaff now filling the air, losing its lock on the Wraith’s engines.

  Austin risked a glance over his shoulder, twisting his neck around to catch a glimpse of the battleground. The forest in front of the cave burned. The wind whipped the area into a wild blaze. But there was no more firing, no more battle he could see from this height. Perhaps he had made a difference. Maybe, just maybe, he had been able to save Towers and his men.

  He turned and faced forward, the atmosphere rapidly transitioning from blue to the black of space. The sound of wind rushing around the canopy faded, replaced by the hum of life support and the constant dull roar of the engines. The HUD showed his power levels at eighteen percent. He had fired two missiles and had two more as well as two stunners. He frowned.

  No more countermeasures. Not enough power to activate the Wraith’s shroud. He knew Tulin would be able to visually track his movements if he wasn’t able to use the shroud.

  He exhaled, Josh’s voice suddenly in his mind once again.

  Just fly faster, he thought. Stay frosty.

  Verifying his position, he took a quick glance at the situation. Two Interceptors were right behind him, trying hard to close their position. They fell away, the Wraith’s speed too much for them to overcome.

  Austin grimaced as the Wraith launched into the upper atmosphere. An entire squadron of twelve Interceptors spread out in front of him in an attempt to block any escape path. Their insect-like silhouette filled his view like a swarm of angry wasps heading in his direction, ten-thousand MUs, and closing. He still had two stunners on board that he hoped would incapacitate enough of the fighters for him to punch through. The Interceptors were not his primary concern.

  The greatest danger was the Dauntless.

  The ARC moved into place in deep orbit, looming behind the spread of Interceptors rapidly descending on his position. He studied the sensor readout of the capital vessel. Although it had an impressive array of weaponry, Austin knew Tulin wanted the Wraith captured intact. The fighter was impervious to stunners, so they would have to disable the Wraith with conventional weapons. If he ran out of power, however, none of this would matter.

  Austin adjusted his course, aiming for the Interceptors at the edge of the formation. If he could incapacitate enough of them with his two stunners, that should provide him the escape route he needed. Using the two remaining missiles wouldn’t make a difference against the horde of Interceptors. That would be the final stunners he had on board, forcing him to utilize the Wraith’s remaining power to escape the situation and use the Lutimite Drive to flee. He activated the stunners, the projectiles coming to life under each wing.

  The distance to the enemy dropped.

  Ten thousand.

  Eight.

  Five.

  His fingers rested on the trigger. The group of Interceptors shifted, reacting to his trajectory. Austin stayed on his course, programming his stunners to detonate in the center of the body of fighters.

  The distance dropped to under one thousand, in range for the stunners. He fired twice, the projectiles zipping toward the Interceptors. The Zahlian fighters scrambled, scattering like prey fleeing a predator. They shot across deep orbit, attempting to flee.

  The stunners exploded as he had commanded. Two blue surges rippled through the Interceptor formation, waves of energy soaking the fighters and overloading their circuits. The Interceptors tumbled and rolled, some colliding as they lost power. His eyes widened.

  He saw the opening he needed.

  Austin threw all his power to the engines, heading for deep space in between the powerless Interceptors. Turning to his navigation computer, he entered the coordinates for the rendezvous. Slowing the Wraith to conserve power, he distributed some of his remaining power to the Lutimite Drive.

  He didn’t have much time.

  As he slowed his speed, the two Interceptors pursuing him from the moon’s orbit closed in on his position. As he passed the ARC’s position, the Dauntless unleashed a flurry of cannon fire in his direction, the darkness of space flashing like lightning. Lethal shots filled the space around his craft, some exploding a surge of energy near his ship. One bolt seared his rear shields, the protective energy wall fizzling out. Sparks erupted from his dashboard. The navigation computer went dark.

  No, he thought. It can’t be.

  He smacked the computer’s screen, but the Lutimite Drive computer had faded, seared by the fire from the Dauntless. Without choice, he rebooted the computer.

  Verifying his shield levels, he saw his engines were vulnerable.

  He checked his power levels. Five percent.

  The Lutimite Drive required at least four, maybe five percent of his remaining energy to make the FTL journey to his rendezvous. He did the math and sighed. Even if he activated the Lutimite Drive, he wouldn’t have enough power for life support let alone land the Wraith. He didn’t have the power to regenerate his shields and he didn’t have the power for a dogfight with the incoming Interceptors. If he shut down everything but the life support and navigation computer, the Wraith’s inertia might be enough to get him away from the incoming Interceptors long enough for the computer to calculate his escape.

  Since he required all remaining power for the engines to continue his escape and he had no remaining countermeasures, he was dead in the water and simply a target for the Interceptors once his engines gave out. His two remaining missiles wouldn’t be of much use against an entire squadron.

  As the HUD ticked down to four percent total energy, he maintained his course for deep space as the navigation computer calculated the best course to lead him to his coordinates. He might risk activating the Lutimite Drive. The power wouldn’t get him to his coordinates, but it would at least get him away from here and buy him some time. After everything else he had been through, his life now depended on the speed of a navigation computer.

  He sighed.

  I shouldn’t
have launched that attack on the Marines in front of Towers and his men, he thought. Then I would have had enough power.

  Using the power for the attack and evasive maneuvers to avoid the surface-to-air missile had used up his chance for the shroud and burned up the power for his engines.

  No, he thought, I did the right thing. I probably saved their lives by taking out the Zahlian forces. With the Wraith gone, the Marines would have launched an all-out attack on that position and killed the Serpents.

  Austin smiled at the thought of Towers standing in the midst of enemy fire.

  He froze.

  Towers had said to send a message if all else failed.

  Austin punched the gamma wave frequency he had been instructed to use for emergencies, praying someone was listening on the other end. If the message was received in time and help did arrive, it would provide him the chance to escape.

  “Mayday, mayday,” he said, “this is Lone Wolf. I repeat; this is Lone Wolf requesting assistance.”

  “We received the signal!” Major Ty Braddock yelled. “Move it!”

  Ryker gripped her helmet and jumped from her seat in the ready room. Ever since Commander Horace placed the entire wing of the Formidable on alert status, Braddock had been leading the briefings and addressing all available Star Runners. He had been light on the details of why they were on heightened alert at the edge of the Zahl-Legion border but had provided mission parameters. She had dropped the team of Serpents on the moon to assist the asset, but Braddock said the same ship was still in trouble. Long range scans had provided a sketchy view of the situation. One Zahlian ARC was in pursuit of the fighter.

  The mission was simple. Ten Tridents, four Corvo missile boats and one Karda would curve in between the fighter and the Zahlian forces by using a linked navigation computer. The Star Runners would be a mix of Tarnex, Tizona, and Lobera squadrons. The Karda would provide assistance to the Legion agent piloting the asset, and the rest of the Legion forces would protect it.

  Although Braddock hadn’t confirmed the details of the asset, scuttlebutt on the carrier had it the fleeing fighter was the Wraith. The normal laughter and insults prevalent between the Star Runners had disappeared in the past few hours, replaced by a quiet sense of determination. Ryker had seen it before on the eve of battle, the seriousness of men and women who knew they were about to face combat.

  And then they were forced to wait until Braddock made the announcement. The mechanics had been busy scraping all identification marks from the Tridents, Corvos, and the lone Karda. All of the Star Runners had been ordered to leave all forms of identification in their quarters.

  As they sprinted out of the briefing room toward the launch tubes, Ryker checked her pockets once again. A few Star Runners spoke softly as they ran toward the launch tubes.

  “What good are ten Corvos against an ARC?” Skylar asked, hurrying to keep up with Ryker.

  “Major knows what he’s doing,” Ryker said, hoping there was a sliver of truth in what she said. Corvos packed a punch, but she had never seen the Zahlian ARC in action before. “You understand your role in this?”

  Skylar nodded quickly, her eyes focused elsewhere as if she ran through a mental checklist. “Providing escort to the fighter against the Zahlian Interceptors.”

  “Right.” Ryker glanced at her as they entered the catwalk above the launch tubes, the familiar smell of fuel and burning electronics filling the air. Their boots clanged on the steel grating. Gasses hissed up through the air. “But just think of them as bandits, not Zahlian Interceptors. You’ve done this before. This is no different.”

  Skylar smiled. “Thank you, Captain.”

  Tridents lined up on either side of the walkway. As they marched through, Star Runners reached their Trident and dropped down to their fighters. The whine of engines increased as more Tridents prepped for launch. Ryker reached her Trident, swinging around the ladder and descending to the cockpit. She locked her helmet into place, felt the cool metallic air rushing into her flight suit, and placed her flight tablet into its slot. The HUD flashed to life. She stared through the digital readout, looking into the long red launch tube. A raw chill ran across her body. Battle awaited at the other end of the tube.

  She finished her flight prep. The canopy lowered.

  “Knight Four, ready to launch,” she transmitted, using the callsign specified for this mission in the event the enemy monitored gamma waves.

  “Copy, Knight Four,” Braddock said. “Knights, this is Knight Leader.”

  The Star Runners responded one-by-one. The Corvos using the callsign “Archers” and the Karda labeled “Savior.” The gamma waves crackled over one another, filling her earpiece with static and voices.

  “Prepare to launch on my command,” Braddock said. “Remember these aren’t pirates or lousy marauders from The Fringe we’re about to take on. These are battle-hardened pilots of the Zahl Empire. Be ready. Don’t let your guard down for an instant.”

  Ryker rested her right hand on the throttle. She took a deep breath. She had scrapped with Zahlian Interceptors once in her first tour, but it had been a brief skirmish with no fatalities. Somehow, she didn’t think this day would have the same outcome.

  “Launch!”

  The catapult shot her Trident forward like it had been shot out of a cannon, flinging her into her seat, the force pressing down on her. She buried the throttle, adding to the speed as the lights of the launch tube shot past her canopy. The Trident burst into open space, the entire launch sequence taking no more than two seconds. She checked her sensors, lining up her position with the other Tridents as they erupted from the Formidable’s launch tubes.

  “Knights, form up on my mark,” Braddock said. “Archers to the rear. Savior, form up in the center and make for our target ASAP once we pass through the curve. Curvature drive is warming up.”

  The Star Runners acknowledged, forming into a tight formation just off the starboard bow of the carrier. The HUD indicated she had fallen into her position. She interlocked her fingers and popped her knuckles. They were about to curve into hostile territory, breaking the territorial treaty with the Zahl Empire to save one of their own.

  “Looking good, Knights,” Braddock said. “Prepping the curve. We’ll be outnumbered once we curve through, but they won’t be expecting us. Good hunting to all of you.”

  Ryker shifted her shields to the front and balanced her power distribution levels between her lasers, shields and engines. Her HUD indicated the navigation computer was being accessed by Braddock’s Trident as planned. Her curvature drive warmed.

  “Passing through in ten seconds,” Braddock announced. “Here we go.”

  The space in front of her shimmered and wavered. Ten seconds and she would be in the battle zone. She rested one hand on the stick, the other on the throttle. Here we go.

  “All right, Knights,” Braddock said. “On the other side of this curve is an enemy ready to kill you. Be prepared.”

  Ryker nodded.

  Three seconds.

  She glanced at her missiles.

  Two seconds.

  She checked her power levels once more. All systems looked good.

  One second.

  The space around the Trident lit up, flashing and bouncing the fighter. She closed her eyes, knowing all the Tridents passed through the curve in space at the same time. In her other tours, she had never been on a mission like this—a mission where they all had to fly in secret, not carrying the Tizona symbol into battle.

  The space around her Trident normalized, and she was through.

  *****

  The Tridents passed through first, appearing in front of their mission. Ryker recognized the Wraith the moment the space had normalized around her Trident, the familiar inky hull in the shape of a horseshoe crab flying toward them. Ryker tensed, her finger resting on the trigger as she saw the Wraith flying in their direction. Nothing appeared on her scope.

  Yes, she thought, it was the Wraith.

  �
��There’s our mission,” Braddock said. “All Knights, report in.”

  The Star Runners acknowledged as they passed over the Wraith. In the distance, Ryker saw the Zahlian Interceptors and ARC bearing down on their position. The ARC was still too far away for missiles but was driving hard to get into range. The lone Karda arrived next, followed by the ten Corvos. The space behind them transformed to normal, a few final flashes of light dissipating in the vacuum.

  “Knights—engage!” Braddock barked a second after the curve closed.

  “Copy!” a dozen Star Runners responded in unison.

  The Tridents shot forward, heading directly into the mass of Zahlian Interceptors. The enemy, in formation when they arrived, scrambled in all directions at the arrival of the Tridents. Ryker picked out her target, a fast-moving Interceptor at the top of the formation. The bandit seemed to be trying to move around the incoming Tridents.

  “Savior, commence with your mission,” Braddock said. “Archers, space is too empty up ahead. Let’em know we’re here.”

  “Knight Leader, Archer One. Firing.”

  The Corvos set up position in front of the Wraith. A moment later, all four ships unleashed a barrage of missiles. The missile tubes flashed like a strobe light. The space in front of the Tridents filled with projectiles as they crisscrossed toward their targets. The Interceptors responded with their volley of missiles. Projectiles filled the space. The Interceptors met with Tridents, crashing into a dogfight filled with missiles and laser bolts. Two explosions lit the sky to Ryker’s left, but she stayed focused on the Interceptor in front of her. She tried for a radar lock, the crosshairs blinking yellow.

  A bright light emitted from the distance, filling the space with a burning flash for a full second. Ryker’s HUD went dark, her sensors failing. She squinted, slapping the dashboard. This disruptor was more powerful than a planetary version, affecting a massive expanse in and around the dogfight.