22
The clouds broke, the land stretching out beneath him. Rolling hills of reddish dirt continued in every direction as sand storms raged on the horizon. Pockets of vegetation peppered the otherwise lifeless ground. Austin lowered the fighter a little, still too far from Ryker’s beacon to begin visually searching for the crash site.
His face, still dripping with sweat, itched underneath the helmet. His flight suit stuck to his skin, his pants clinging to the back of his legs.
The current mission duration was four hours. In that time, they had lost Etti, Rolling, Nubern, Snake, and probably Skylar and Braddock. Bullethead must have bugged out with the other students and led them back to Tarton’s Junction.
Or had they been destroyed…
Oh, God, why did they have to take Skylar? After the
