Star Runners: Scorpions

Chapter 16

16

Alarms sounded with an ear-bursting screech. Flashing lights washed the hangar in the color of blood.

“ALL STAR RUNNERS TO THEIR SHIPS!” a voice boomed over the intercom. “ALL STAR RUNNERS TO THEIR SHIPS! INCOMING FREIGHTER UNDER ATTACK! ALL STAR RUNNERS TO THEIR SHIPS!”

Austin snatched his black flight suit from his locker and pulled his helmet from the overhead shelf. The room clamored with activity as Star Runners rushed to get ready. The message repeated, blasting from the speakers.

“Fun way to wake up in the middle of the night,” Bear grumbled, locking his gloves into his flight suit and making a fist. “Having a good dream, too.”

Austin smiled, remembering the night they left Tizona Academy in the wee hours. “You always were a morning person.”

He rolled his eyes. “Right.”

“You two never change,” Skylar said, grabbing her gloves. “I mean seriously. You never change.”

“All right, Scorpions!” Senza yelled, hurrying into the room. “Get to your ships! Those people out there needed us two minutes ago! Move!”

The Star Runners sprinted into the hangar and made for the Tridents. The maintenance crew opened the enormous door, allowing the humid Omeya air to flood inside. Wind shot a pair of leaves around the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Major Wilkos boarding a Trident.

“Looks like we’re all going up!” he yelled, slapping Bear on the shoulder as he ran for his Trident.

His boots pounded on the steel ladder as he ascended to the cockpit. Collapsing into the seat, his fingers swept over the control board. The crew had already prepped the engine the moment the alarm sounded. As he activated the onboard systems, the engine’s whine grew to a roar. Putting on the black helmet, he locked it into place and plugged his flight suit into the fighter. The rush of fresh air surrounded him as he lowered the canopy.

“—pions, this is Blade,” his gamma wave sizzled to life. “Tower is transmitting a current report to your birds. Give it a look and prepare to follow on my command.”

Austin’s seat rumbled. He gave a thumbs up to the crew, and they pushed away the ladder. The men and women responsible for maintaining the squadron scurried across the deck as the hangar filled with the force of the Tridents prepping for launch.

The signal from the tower filled his control board. A convoy of eight freighters with two Trident escorts inbound for Omeya had come under attack. A force of a dozen bogeys swarmed around the ships like flies over a carcass.

“We don’t have a lot of time! Let’s go around the horn!” Wilkos barked. “Sound off! Blade, ready to launch!”

“Spinner, ready!”

“Chrome, ready to go!”

“Sparrow, ready!”

“Bear, spooled up and ready!”

“Cheetah, ready!”

Austin grabbed the stick. “Rock, ready!”

“Giggles here,” Sorn transmitted, a trace of worry in his voice. “Engines are sputtering. Think I’ve got a flameout.”

“Try again!” Wilkos yelled.

A pause. Austin craned his neck, staring over at Sorn’s Trident. The light from the twin engines flashed, and darkened.

“No go,” Sorn said.

“Scrap your mission and sit this one out,” Wilkos said. “Continue the sound off, Scorpions.”

“Roger,” Sorn said.

Austin glanced over at Sorn’s cockpit, saw him pounding the control board.

“That’s it, Scorpions,” Wilkos said when the final Star Runner confirmed readiness. “Follow me!”

Wilkos’ Trident lifted off the deck and hovered toward the open door, followed by Senza. On his left, Skylar glanced at him and pressed against her canopy, giving a thumbs up. She lifted her visor and mouthed the words, “Stay frosty.”

Nodding, Austin pointed at her with his index finger and raised two fingers. She grinned and winked.

A second later, she lifted off the deck and flew out. The force of her engines rattled against his fighter.

My turn.

He rubbed the top of his control board. “I’ve got you, sweetie,” he said, tapping the stick. “Let’s do this.”

Pulling back, he lifted his Trident and turned it toward the hangar door. The vast star field glowed. A burning line of the preceding Tridents lifted into the darkness, the twin engines like sparkling embers soaring into the sky.

He tilted the nose back and slammed down on the throttle. The force smacked him into the seat, his helmet shaking as the powerful new Legion fighter shot into high orbit. As his entire body shook, he grinned. This baby can move.

Risking a quick glance right, he watched the Omeya surface fall away and out of sight. His altitude reading vanished from his HUD as the Trident swept into high orbit and moved away from the planet. The life support hummed. The control board whistled.

I’m back where I belong.

“Form up, Scorpions,” Wilkos said.

Austin glanced at his sensors, saw the convoy eleven hundred MUs from their position. Looking up, he could see faint flashes of laser fire in the distance.

The squadron formed in a spread formation. Austin slowed, allowing his Trident to slip into the position they had practiced countless times in orbit of the Scorpions’ Nest.

“Maximum intercept speed—go!” Wilkos yelled.

He buried the throttle, and the Tridents catapulted forward in unison. A piece of space debris flashed off his shields. He didn’t flinch.

Six new contacts appeared on his sensors, coming from Omeya. Austin frowned, watching as the signals squawked Legion codes.

“Blade, Rock,” he transmitted. “You see our trailers?”

“Roger. Jameson and company are watching the store while we’re out.”

He winced, thinking of the Tizona captain thrusting a gun in his face and remembering the officer’s twitching cheek.

Shaking his head, he focused on the convoy ahead. Only one escort Trident remained against six bandits—three pelting the rear freighters while three more scrapped with the escort.

“I’ve got eyes on enemy marauders from the Fringe,” Wilkos said. “Spinner, take Rock, Cheetah, Chrome, and Warthog on the rear. The rest of you—come with me!”

“Roger, Blade,” Senza said. “Rock, form up on my wing. The rest of you hang back and catch any of these bandits slipping away.”

“Got it,” Austin said, meeting up with Senza as they bore down on the bandits.

Senza’s Trident soared to his left and below, the engines burning bright as they flew at full throttle. He glanced at his sensors: Two hundred MUs.

“Rock, Spinner,” Senza said, “we got three bandits ahead. I’ve got the leader. You lock his wing and take him. Fastest shot takes the final bandit.”

“Roger, Spinner,” he said with a smile, “like fish in a barrel.”

“Repeat your last?”

He clenched his jaw. “Stay frosty, Spinner.”

“You got it, Rock.”

The distance dropped fast. A line of fire and gas trailed the rear freighter, pieces of the hulk blasting into the void as the vessel made for Omeya at its best possible speed. Craters covered the hull, releasing gasses and more clouds of debris. The bandits unloaded a flurry of laser fire into the freighter’s stern.

Austin moved his crosshairs onto the leader’s wing. The moment his lock attempt hit the fighter, he broke off the attack and launched into evasive maneuvers.

“Got a live one,” he said, adjusting course to stay on the bandit’s tail.

“He’s not going to just sit there, Rock,” Senza said.

A second later, she released two missiles. The flashes illuminated the darkness, sending two glowing trails off toward their target.

He shook his head. She is good.

His crosshairs pulsated yellow as the bandit shot in and out of his target area. Come on, come on.

Rolling, he anticipated the enemy pulling up and heading back toward the freighter for an attack. Leading the target, he pushed his crosshairs ahead in hopes he would bear down on the freighter.

But the bandit continued heading away, making for deep space. Had he been wrong?

Suddenly, the enemy looped and headed toward his prey, directly into Austin’s field of fire. Smiling, he led the crosshairs ahead until the image burned red. He squeezed the trigger twice. Two missiles shot in rapid succession, screaming hard for the target. His opponent panicked, spinning and diving as he tried to elude the two deadly projectiles pursuing him.

A second later, it was over. Two explosions filled the darkness before vanishing. Austin pulled around, heading back toward the battle.

He shook his head.

No signals appeared on his scope other than the convoy and Legion Star Runners.

“You don’t waste any time, Spinner,” he said.

She laughed. “Life’s short.”

“All right—cut the chatter!” Wilkos said. “Convoy is clear for landing at Gen’s Folly. Clear skies all the way home. Spinner, take your people for escort duty on the final leg. I’m taking the rest on a patrol of the Omeya moon to search for lurkers. Well done, Scorpions.”

“Copy, Blade,” Senza said. “You heard him, people. Take up escort positions. Rock, you think you can handle the the final position?”

“Oh, I can handle it, Spinner.”

“Good.”

Wilkos led the rest of the Scorpions toward the Omeya moon. Austin watched the eleven departing Tridents, wishing he could join them on the patrol. The major must have a hunch or, more likely, he didn’t feel like flying a boring escort mission.

That’s fine, Austin thought, settling into his seat and gripping the stick. Easing back on the throttle, he brought his Trident to the back of the convoy and took in the sight as the cluster of ships lumbered toward Omeya. Gas trails and debris filled the space as he watched the other fighters take their escort positions.

“In place, Rock?”

“You got it, Spinner.”

“All right. Stay frosty back there.”

He shook his head. In his wildest dreams, he never would have thought a cheesy line between him and Josh during their online gaming sessions would’ve spread across the squadron. “Roger, Spinner.”

Doing a quick calculation on his control board and taking into account the maximum speed of the wounded convoy, Austin estimated it could take nearly one hour to reach Omeya. He took a deep breath and stared out at the stars.

The Omeya moon hung like a white pearl, and he wondered what his comrades might discover out there. Exploring and discovering planets fascinated him. Ryker often spoke of exploration and dreamed of a day she would be able to use her talents in the cockpit for something other than war.

During his leave on Oma, he had read about the latest news in the Legion Navy. One article, in particular, caught his attention; the story about the Legion Star Runner Scouts. According to the article, Scouts spent their tours in small groups or entirely on their own in special deep-space Tridents rigged for extreme distance curves. Becoming a Scout had been one of Ryker’s dreams.

He smiled. While the excitement of space combat had certainly played a significant role in his initial interest in the Star Runners game, he transitioned toward more meaningful pursuits. While he’d been told the marauders and pirates of the Fringe were the lowest scum in the galaxy, comprised of thieves and murderers, he never forgot each exploding fighter meant the death of its pilot.

Debris particles showered across his forward shields, the minor collision sending a ripple around his ship like the surface of a pond disturbed by skipping rocks. Omeya grew closer, the planet’s drab surface filling his canopy.

“Rock, Spinner.”

He frowned. “Go ahead, Spinner.”

“I’m picking up the 54th Tizona moving into high orbit. They’re not responding to my hails.”

“Strange.”

“Exactly.” She sighed, her breath causing static on the transmission. “Break off from the escort and see if you can communicate by sight. If they need our help, let me know.”

Austin’s stomach turned at the thought of helping Jameson and his thugs. “You got it, Cap. Be back in a jiffy.”

“A what?”

“Nothing.”

Getting a bearing on the six Tizona Tridents, he changed course and headed away from the convoy. The Tridents flew in an inverted “V” formation, skipping across the atmosphere over the eastern hemisphere of Omeya. The terminator line swept across the planet’s surface. Morning light would soon fall onto Gen’s Folly and Fortson Base. Squinting, he saw the position lights of Jameson’s six Tridents twinkling like pulsars in the distance.

Their position dropped to five hundred MUs. Austin keyed for a transmission on numerous frequencies simultaneously.

“Slug, this is Rock. Are you having comm difficulty?” When no answer came, he repeated the transmission and added, “Please respond. Over.”

The space between the Tizona Tridents magnified, the “V” arching out over the planet. They hovered at the edge of the atmosphere, the fighters moving farther apart.

“Rock to all Tizona Tridents in Sector Four over Omeya,” he said, the hairs on his neck tingling. “If you’re having difficulty with your comm or cannot respond, please send a light pulse signal. Do you copy?”

A shiver crept down his back. The Tizona Tridents continued spreading out as he bore down on their leader.

“Rock, Spinner,” Senza said, her voice crackling at the long distance. “We’re beginning our descent. Any luck?”

He shook his head. “I don’t understand—”

The wailing sound shocked him. A missile warning?

With his eyes bulging, he looked at his sensors. Three missiles inbound.

Dive!

Slapping the throttle forward, he plunged into the atmosphere. The shields buckled, surrounding the fighter with fire. The force of the maneuver pressed against his skull, weighing on his body until the edge of his vision went dark like staring through a tunnel.

Come on, stay awake.

His earpiece screeched into a scrambled mess. He diverted all shield power to the front, rolling the Trident as it shot like a meteor toward the surface.

Glancing at his readout, he dropped chaff and hoped for the best. The missiles lost whatever meager lock they had obtained in the blind shot, spinning into the atmosphere. Where had they come from?

Blinking away blurriness, he stared at his sensors. He almost wished he hadn’t.

Six Tizona Tridents formed up behind him, swarming on his tail like sharks on a blood trail. Flashes surrounded him like lightning. Even through the disruption of the atmosphere, Jameson was coming for him.

Adrenaline shot him. Austin shook his head. They’re trying to kill me.

Grinding his teeth, he stabilized his rear shields and brought his Trident through the atmosphere. He descended through thick clouds, passing through the early morning light. A bead of sweat trickled down his back.

Laser fire splattered into his rear shields. He jerked his head back, saw a Trident right on his six.

That’s it, he thought. Chase this!

Diving toward the planet, he fell into a stomach-churning drop. The clouds disappeared, revealing the barren and scarred plains of Omeya. The altitude signal popped on his HUD, dropping fast.

The ground’s details came clear. He saw a mining crew scurrying across the surface. Laser bolts ignited the air as he rolled the Trident, the missed fire erupting towering clouds of dirt into the air.

Now!

He pulled back on the stick. His Trident IV negotiated the maneuver, sweeping a mere three hundred feet from the ground.

Gravity forced his head down, and he struggled to keep his helmet up enough to look forward. Two Tizona Tridents disappeared from his sensors, colliding with the ground.

He glanced back, saw two clouds of fire and smoke mushrooming skyward. Dirt swept away from his engines’ thrust so close to the fields.

But one Trident stayed on his six, the guns eliminating his remaining rear shields.

Shifting reserve power to the rear shields, he gave the engines all the energy he could muster. The ground shot past in a blur, like a swirl of paint. He banked right, left. The pursuing Trident stayed on him. The safety harness dug into his shoulders as he zipped across the surface, negotiating the rolling hills while he hugged the ground.

There had to be something he could do.

The gamma wave! He had turned it to a different frequency when he was trying to contact Jameson.

Switching back to the Scorpions’ frequency with his free hand, he tensed. A hill approached.

He pulled up, the Trident sweeping over the ridge. His pursuer stayed right on him, spitting laser fire. Pushing forward on the stick, he brought his fighter down.

“Spinner!” he yelled, grunting as he rolled. “Spinner! Rock! Need a little help!”

“Rock!” Senza yelled. “What are you doing?”

“Fleeing!”

“Marauders?”

Austin banked left and pulled into a horizontal loop. He grunted, his teeth piercing his bottom lip and spilling blood on his chin.

“No! Jameson!” he yelled, unable to say more.

A pause. “Copy! We’re inbound!”

He leveled out and increased altitude. Ahead, the flat plains split like an immense wound had cut into the planet’s surface. A canyon. If he could—

Lasers vaporized his rear shields. Sparks shot from the control board and bounced off his helmet.

“Enough of this!” he yelled, taking all energy from the lasers and pouring them into the engines. “Come and get me!”

Even at these supersonic speeds, the Trident lurched forward as the additional power fed into the engines. He rolled and banked, making his fighter an impossible target.

But the Trident stayed on his six. It had to be Jameson.

All right, old man. Follow me now.

Pushing on the stick, he bore down on the canyon ahead. Feigning as if he headed into the chasm, he allowed his fighter to dip.

Jameson took the bait, diving into the gorge. His laser fire exploded rocks and dirt, missing Austin’s wings by inches.

Now!

Using the maneuverability of the Trident IV to his advantage, Austin pulled out of his dive and shot into the sky. The fighter launched into a quick loop, the morning sunlight spinning around his cockpit. He leveled out, shaking his head and blinking away the maneuver’s effects.

It worked.

The enemy Trident flew into the canyon in front of his crosshairs. He dumb-fired his two remaining missiles. Jameson pulled up, the first missile sailing beneath its wing. The other smashed into its left engine, sending the Trident into a flat spin toward the plain. The fighter crashed into the dirt, catapulting a flurry of rocks and debris across the ground.

“Got one!” he yelled. “Spinner, Rock. I have taken out one…one bandit.”

Gasping, he increased altitude and circled the crash site. The Trident had broken in two pieces, littering the barren landscape with metal and smoking pools of fuel. The smashed canopy opened.

“Rock,” Senza said, “we’ve met the remaining rogue Tridents. They suddenly crashed into the ground when we engaged. I…I don’t understand.”

“I copy, Spinner. I’ve eyes on Jameson. Looks like he survived the crash.”

“Stay on him.”

A whoosh of static shot into his ear. “Rock, this is Blade inbound above your position. SITREP.”

“Blade, I’ve eyes on—wait!”

Jameson, his flight suit charred and burnt, stumbled from his cockpit and fell to his knees. He reached toward the heavens, his mouth opened in a scream Austin couldn’t hear.

Placing his hands to his face, Jameson shook his head. A violent surge ripped through his body, and his muscles went still. His arms dropped to the side as he toppled into the dirt and remained still.

“Rock, report!” Wilkos yelled.

“Sir, I think we need to get down there.”

“Permission to land granted. I’ll be there in three minutes.”

Fires crackled on the dry surface. Black smoke rolled along the flat land. A charred scar etched along the Trident’s path of descent. The smell of burning fuel filled his nose as Austin unscrewed his helmet and exited his fighter.

He pulled out his sidearm and gripped it hard.

A distant explosion jolted him. He recoiled, remembering the last time he’d been in a firefight with the Serpents.

But this sound came from far away. Craning his neck, he scanned the horizon. Four towers of smoke lifted into the morning sky.

What happened?

Inching through the Trident’s remains, he kept his gun pointed down. He looked up, saw the glint of metallic objects descending toward him. Wilkos was on his way.

Austin stepped through the crash site. He halted.

The Trident’s crumpled nose was unmistakable. The canopy was nothing more than shattered pieces. Raising his pistol, he moved to the far side of the cockpit.

He froze.

Jameson was lying on his face. Dirt caked his flight suit, now torn and ripped. Dark blood, almost like oil, seeped from his ears and formed puddles in the soil.

“Captain?” he whispered, his voice cracking. “Jameson?”

Stepping forward, he nudged Jameson’s shoulder with his boot. He didn’t move.

Keeping his gun focused on the man’s head, he used his free hand to turn Jameson over on his back.

Austin recoiled, his hands shaking. Holstering his weapon, he knelt on one knee. Regardless of how he felt about the man, Jameson was still a Star Runner. His stomach turned, and he closed his eyes.

The Tridents landed around him, the powerful engines shattering the silence. Wilkos sprinted toward him with his gun in hand. Several other Scorpions ran behind him, their eyes on the dead captain.

“What happened?” Wilkos asked, his eyes falling to Jameson. “Is that…oh, my.”

He nodded. “This is how I found him.”

Wilkos offered a hand, helping Austin to his feet. “What happened?”

Austin shook his head. “They attacked me. They just…tried to kill me. I…”

He wanted to say more, but the words didn’t come.

Wilkos squeezed his shoulder. “You did well, Rock.”

He stared at the horizon, his mouth hanging open.

“You okay, man?” Bear asked, pointing to Austin’s face. “You’re bleeding.”

Bringing his hand to his chin, Austin saw blood on his fingertips. He remembered biting his lip during his evasive maneuvers. “I’m all right.”

Bear studied him for a second, his brow wrinkling.

“This man didn’t die from the crash,” Wilkos said, kneeling next to Jameson. “Blood’s coming from his ears like something in his brain exploded.”

Bear’s expression faded. “Say what?”

Wilkos slid his hands over Jameson’s eyes, closing them, and stood, his gaze fixed on the captain. “Yeah, we need to have this man examined ASAP.”