by REM
“I don’t know—I’m in a world of trouble!”
“Is anyone else nearby?” Josh transmitted.
There was no response.
Jill’s striker was hightailing it in an isolated direction.
“Bring him toward me, Jill!” Josh transmitted.
“It’s hard—I can’t afford to slow down! This Mercen’s too good!” she responded.
“Grrr,” Josh let out, zooming after her. He felt a sudden guilt at being so far off from the main fighting, even though Jill was in a dire predicament. It took a few seconds, until finally her dot made a one-eighty on his radar screen, with the shadow fighter closer than ever to her striker. That’s it! Bring him to me!
“I’m coming, Josh! I’m coming your way!” she transmitted.
Josh felt his hands surging with energy, gripping his controller tight, and readying for a shot. His eyes flicked wide at seeing beams crash against Jill’s craft. Her shield burst into nothingness. Josh stared hard. Jill and the shadow fighter were almost in range. “Cut right, in three, two…” he said.
KABOOM! Jill’s striker burst into a fireball.
No! thought Josh, seeing the shadow fighter slash off toward the distant battle, and slicing after it. Nooooo!
Particles drifted where Jill’s striker had once been.
You son of a bitch! Josh kept glued to the shadow fighter’s trail. It tried snaking, then cutting up and down, but Josh didn’t blink. His arms trembled. He curled his lips tight without knowing he’d done so. The shadow fighter veered right. Josh punched his throttle, cutting sharply in pursuit—again at a speed much higher than normal for the angle taken. His striker shook but remained under his control. “Wretched snakes!” he muttered, snarling with his eyes still locked on the enemy craft ahead.
The shadow fighter dove into a reverse slant. Josh tore after it, never giving up space. He wrestled furiously with his controller to line up a shot. As soon as the targeting circle had locked onto the enemy craft—Josh jabbed his trigger and sent twin beams flashing into the shadow fighter’s thrusters—and blowing the Mercen ship into smithereens.
Downing the shadow fighter gave Josh no real satisfaction. Jill was gone—and he knew there was no bringing her back.
“Josh, where are you! I’m in deep shit!” Hoss transmitted.
Josh snapped from his daze and peered at Hoss’ location on radar. “Jill… She’s gone,” he transmitted.
Maya gasped over the channel.
“Stay focused!” Ace transmitted. “Hoss, Josh, you need to get back over here to the main fighting. We’re losing badly on the shield race.”
Josh glanced at distant explosions where the main battle was taking place. He saw Hoss trying to head in that direction far west from where he was flying. “I’m coming to you, Hoss. Keep heading for the cruiser!” There were still two shadow fighters on the big fellow’s tail. Josh watched lasers zip past Hoss’ striker—coming within inches of hitting.
They were getting closer to the main fighting. Josh had given his thrusters all they had in trying to catch up. He was making slight gains, but still out of attack range.
Thoot! Thoot! Thoot, thoot! Lasers whizzed by Hoss’ cockpit—then exploded against the top of his striker. His shield shattered upon impact. A burst of flames and thick smoke streamed from where his right wing joined to the fuselage.
“I’m hit! I’m hit!” Hoss transmitted, fighting to keep control of his severely damaged ship.
Josh fired wildly at the shadow fighters on Hoss’ tail, but was just too far out of range for any of his shots to land. He felt a turning of his stomach at what he knew was coming.
Thoot! Thoot!
Lasers from Tomlin’s and another striker flashed at the Mercen fighters that were on Hoss’ tail, forcing them to veer away. Both strikers then chased after the shadows fighters. Hoss had made it to within close proximity of the main flying.
“My ship’s going to blow!” Hoss transmitted.
“See if you can make it to the cruiser’s hangar!” Tomlin transmitted.
“Command, we need emergency access to the cruiser’s bay! Requesting an emergency landing!” Ace transmitted.
“Don’t you die, Hoss!” Maya transmitted.
“This is command. Request granted. Follow the beacon into the hangar.”
“Josh, get on that Mercen cruiser’s shield!” Ace transmitted.
“I can escort Hoss to the hangar. I’m right by him!”
“We need you fighting and on that shield! Hoss will have to make it on his own!” Ace responded.
“Go, Josh!” Hoss transmitted.
Josh stared to the chaotic circling of craft; frantic laser fire. He knew Hoss’ chances of crossing through the battle without being killed were close to none. Sparks and even denser smoke was coming from the big man’s striker. Fuck! he thought, thrusting his stick left, roaring toward the fighting around the Mercen cruiser.
There were multiple explosions Josh saw take place on the Creston cruiser strikers’ side of fighting. Then… boom! Flames erupted not far from where he was flying.
“Franklin’s down!” Reserve Pilot Womby transmitted.
Josh tilted left and right to evade enemy fire. He glanced at the cruiser shield indicators on his dash, at the same time Captain Sterk transmitted: “Our shield is at fifteen percent! We’re reaching critical mass!”
Josh saw that the Mercen cruiser’s shield was at forty percent. We’re going to lose… he thought, already feeling a swarm of dreaded emotion drifting through his chest.
“This is it, guys! If we don’t step it up big time, we’re all done for! We’ve got to dig deeper; stop these fuckin’ Mercens!” Tomlin transmitted.
“Give it everything!” barked Ace.
Josh saw Womby’s striker slash down into a curve, and fire on an enemy craft. Two strikers were on his rear. Maya’s striker zoomed into sight. She tried peeling one of the shadow fighters off of him. Another enemy fighter zipped after her. Everything was happening so fast—yet at the moment, it felt like slow motion to Josh. Lasers zipped in all directions. The cruisers fired heavy cannons back and forth at each other, bursts of red, blue, and green energy dissipating against their shields. Josh’s eyes found their way back down to the indicator. “I’m going for it!” he transmitted.
“Going for what?!” Ace responded.
“What the hell is he talking about?!” transmitted Tomlin.
Josh slammed his throttle to its max. “I’m going for the Mercen cruiser’s rear!”
“There’s too many fighters back there! You’ll get focus fired down by the Mercen cruiser’s rear cannons,” Jekel transmitted.
“What other choice do we got?!” Josh responded.
“Take down more shadow fighters! And blow off more of the enemy cruiser’s cannons!” Ace transmitted.
We’ve tried that strategy! thought Josh. A miracle is what we need!
“Lost my shield!” a 1st squadron pilot transmitted.
Josh zoomed into a scattered mess of tangling fighters. He fired at a couple, but never fully engaged. His only goal was to make it to the Mercen cruiser’s rear. Thoot! Thoot! A shadow fighter swooped down behind him, discharging blasts. Josh tore into a tight spiral evading the shots—some whizzing dangerously close. He slashed to his left and curled into another tight twist. More enemy beams flashed in his direction. Then, a stream of fiery bullets blew the enemy craft into flames.
A quick glance at his radar let Josh know it was Jekel who’d come to his aid. Fuckin’ sav, he thought, veering back on course for the Mercen cruiser’s rear.
Thoot! Thoot! Thoot! Blast from the Mercen cruiser’s cannon flashed in Josh’s direction. He dove toward the enemy vessel and fired at its powerful shield, skimming its surface by only a few feet, but keeping himself untargettable by the cruiser’s weapons. He weaved here and there to avoid parts of the ship that were sticking out.
Three shadow fighters were coming in at his ten. Josh knew he was going to ha
ve to pull up and take them on. Lasers from the craft flashed at his striker. That’s it; take out your own shields, dumb shits!
Josh yanked back on his stick and soared up at the three enemy fighters. He tilted vertically to avoid a shot, then fired back to try and shake them up. It worked. The shadow fighters coiled in different directions, at different angles. Josh raced up into a slanted loop—but broke off from it halfway, and gyred into a frantic tangle with the three enemy craft.
Boom! Out of nowhere—one of the shadow fighters exploded. Kyle’s striker zoomed into the mix. Josh hadn’t even noticed him on radar.
“I can take these two. Go for the rear!” said Kyle.
Josh was stunned by the young pilot’s appearance. “You sure about this, Kyle?” he asked, eyes opened wide.
“Go,” said Kyle.
Josh thrust his stick to the corner and headed for the Mercen cruiser’s rear.
One of the two remaining shadow fighters clipped after him. It fired un-locked shots, but with almost deadly precision. Beams zipped within inches of Josh’s striker.
Hot damnit! he thought, wrestling his stick to avoid being struck. He twirled his striker—then slashed left, to evade lasers from rear cruiser cannons. A part of him was starting to believe it truly was suicide to keep on.
Boom! A burst of orange light flashed from behind. Kyle had nailed the shadow fighter chasing Josh, dead center. Josh glanced into his rearview and saw Kyle being forced to pull off. Cruiser fire was spraying at his ship, and the other enemy craft was hot on the young pilot’s tail. He wasn’t sure if even Kyle could recover after giving up that type of positioning—but Josh knew he had to block out the thought, to carry on for Creston’s sake.
“Shield’s at five percent!” Captain Sterk transmitted.
Thoot! Thoot! Thoot! Lasers flashed at Josh’s striker—until at last, he shot past the cruiser’s engines and curled back around. He aimed just to the right of one of its massive thrusters, and fired everything he had. First lasers, then a cluster of missiles exploded against a section of metal he’d deemed from prior combat studies to be an integral part of the cruiser’s shield generator. There was flickering from its shield, and bursts of small flame from where Josh’d struck—but the Mercen cruiser’s defenses remained intact.
Damnit, almost there. One more round! he thought.
Thoot! A searing beam grazed the top of his wing. Sparks flew toward his cockpit. Josh cut to his right, then bent up at a slant. A shadow fighter had appeared from seemingly nowhere, and was right on his tail. It was the same predicament he’d just seen Kyle get into. Oh hell… he thought, trying to shake the fighter from his rear. He veered right, inverted, and dove straight down. But the enemy fighter stayed right on Josh’s trail. Damn, he’s good, thought Josh, blazing into another swift curve.
Lasers flashed out from the shadow fighter, and blew off one of the fins atop Josh’s craft.
“Fuck, that was close!” Josh corkscrewed frantically. When coming out of it, he dove at a high-thrust, trying desperately to bank around to the Mercen’s rear.
Again… the shadow fighter remained glued in its relentless pursuit.
More beams flashed Josh’s way.
It’s now or never! he thought, rolling his striker twice hard-right.
The shadow fighter swerved after him.
Josh kept his craft straight for a couple secs—then rolled his striker hard-right for a second time.
The shadow fighter slashed after him, firing another round.
Both missed, but were within a few feet from landing.
“Filthy snake!” Josh muttered, his teeth gritted. He rolled right—but instead of going for a second whirl—Josh cut left, making a short, swift one-eighty, while pressing a side trigger on his stick. Missiles zipped out at the shadow fighter. Without a second’s respite—Josh jabbed down on his lasers and sent searing beams exploding into the enemy craft, just as its mini-missiles had been deployed. He swerved in an opposite direction, as the Mercen fighter blew into a thunderous fireball.
“Triple cross, bitch!” said Josh, scrunching his face angrily. He hooked toward the Mercen cruiser, firing multiple lasers—and every last one of his missiles into the enemy ship’s rear. Fires erupted aside it powerful thrusters. Streaking flames burst into space. And then… its shield flickered away. “I did it!” he transmitted.
“The Mercen cruiser’s shield is down!” Captain Sterk responded immediately after. “Fire weapon black!”
Weapon black? thought Josh, pulling away from the massive cruiser.
“I’m on it!” Tomlin transmitted. “Pull off fleet!”
Josh saw something black shoot out from the main battle. It was surrounded by a beam of clear energy similar to the ones he’d known the Mercens to use when delivering terra-fumes. The fire coming from the projectile’s rear burned bright as it zipped toward the Mercen cruiser, until striking it hard, and exploding into a clear, pancake-shaped blast that shot out to both sides of the cruiser, knocking most of the power from the massive craft. The Mercen cruiser’s cannons stopped firing.
“Their cruiser is defenseless! Finish them!” Captain Sterk shouted.
Of course, thought Josh, remembering the shock missile Commander Clint had shipped from Skurier onto the Rampage.
Toom! Toom! Powerful blasts from the Creston cruiser’s heavy cannons slammed into the Mercen cruiser in various spots. Strikers broke free from their tangling and swooped in on the primary vessel, unloading everything they had.
Fuck yeah! thought Josh, bending back around and tagging the Mercen cruiser with streams of lasers. Flames burst from all over the Mercens’ massive ship. Shadow fighters had already started to break off in retreat.
The Creston cruiser hammered away, over and over with heavy blasts. A chain reaction of explosions happened all throughout the enemy cruiser.
“Pull off! She’s going to blow!” Captain Sterk shouted.
Josh belted off from the Mercen cruiser at max speed. The rest of the Creston fleet were doing the same. A large eruption happened at the front of the Mercen cruiser. Multiple others followed—until at last, the Mercen cruiser blew into fiery chunks!
“3rd squadron, report,” Ace transmitted, over a 3rd squadron channel.
“Josh, here,” Josh responded.
“Maya, here,” said Maya.
“Nate, here.”
“Kyle, here.”
Josh smiled at hearing the young pilot’s voice. I didn’t think he’d pull through.
There were no other 3rd squadron responders.
Captain Sterk came through over the transmission: “Congratulations, pilots. This victory has eliminated the final Mercen stronghold in the Cosmolis, and helped to ensure Creston’s safety!” His tone became briefly sorrowed. “I know we have lost lives in this fight—but you all fought to save many, many more. I can assure you our fallen friends wouldn’t have wanted it any other way; that is why we are all here. I’m proud to have fought beside each and every one of you!”
Ace transmitted to Josh on a private channel, “That was a bold move, Josh. We would’ve lost that battle if not for you.”
Josh waited a second to respond. “Thank you. Kyle was just as important in seeing this through. So was Jekel. You all were.” He saw the transmitter light go off and felt suddenly alone. This is crazy… he thought, staring dazedly at his dash. A pilot in deep space… Here today, gone tomorrow. He felt tears forming around his eyes—but forced them back. His head drooped momentarily. Then he re-raised it, gazing all throughout space. But this is a job we have to do… We’ve got to keep Creston safe!
The Cosmolis
Epilogue
The 1st and 3rd squadrons were flying from the Cosmolis en route to the M.N. Rampage, when Josh heard Ace’s voice over the channel: “I’ve just received a transmission that Hoss is alive and safe on the Creston cruiser. He’ll be flown home to the Rampage as soon as he’s been treated for minor wounds suffered during his crash landing.”
/> “Yes!” transmitted Maya, ecstatically, joined by cheers from the rest of the squadron.
Josh couldn’t help but to smile.
More from R.E.M.
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Void Zone Series
Book 1: Void Strikers
Book 2: Deep Space
Book 3: The Cosmolis
Book 4: Shadow fighters (Spring 2019)
Brief book 2 refresher
In Deep Space, book 2 of the Void Zone Series, Josh and his crewmates searched for old Smokey who’d been shot down and crashed landed on Jaken moon. New recruits Ven and Jill arrived to the M.N. Rampage. A Mercen base was discovered on planet Zint in the Cosmolis. Terra-fume; the cross between terra-mites and a toxic agent that infects the mites, which then mass breed into fast-moving clouds of infectious parasites, was used by the Mercens to destroy thousands of lives on planet Talee. Creston black ops and standard military efforts led to the finding of another secret Mercen base deep in Creston territory. Josh and a fleet from the Rampage attacked the base on the liquid planet and destroyed the terra-cannon before it could strike Josh’s home planet. Reena was shot down in the fight, but was recovered by Nate.
Light character details
Name Height Build Hair
Josh 6’0 average dark brown-crewcut
Maya 5’8 average brown-medium cut
Reena 5’8 average brown-pixie cut
Nate 5’10 average brown-short
Hoss 6’2 muscular dirty blonde-buzz cut
Kyle 5’7 average brown-short
Ace 5’11 average black-crewcut
Smokey 5’10 a bit overweight grey-peppered-long
Tor 5’10 average brown
Jill 5’8 average blonde
Ven 5’11 average dark
Rolly 5’10 average dark brown-normal
Clint 5’9 big-boned peppered-normal
Scope 6’2 slender black