Star Runners (33 page)

The sound of electronic feedback filled the air. Austin winced at the screeching in his ears, wanting nothing more than to rip off his helmet and scream. The high-pitched wailing seared into his ears.

The noise ceased.

"Now that I have your attention, Rock, I hope that you will listen to me."

Austin recognized the voice of Dax Rodon.

"We know you followed your comrade to this planet. Very brave. In fact, we would like to offer you the chance to join us." There was a pause. "Scorpion's fighter and escape pod have been recovered. Normally we would leave the site and let her die on this lovely world, but you decided to come down here. That gives us the great opportunity to get a fresh, undamaged Legion Trident fighter for nothing."

Austin clenched his fist. They tracked him down here. That meant fighters waited for him in orbit. If he tried to lift off and escape, they would swat him down like an annoying insect.

He rolled over and started following the trail, a couple feet at a time.

"Here is what I will offer you. Turn yourself in now and you will be spared. We will even welcome Scorpion, should he so desire."

Austin hesitated, his eyes wide. So they didn't know Scorpion was a woman? Interesting.

"Turn yourself in Rock. In time, once you have proven yourself, you will be welcomed into our organization with open arms. Elude us and you will be die on this worthless rock and I'll find the fighter anyway. Turn yourself in. Much easier and faster."

Austin shook his head and moved through the trees.

*****

The trees became thicker the farther he walked from his ship. The bag carrying the extra air tank dug into his shoulder. He sat at the base of a particularly thick tree, checked the whisper. Silent once again. What if Scorpion was dead and he was going to die alone on this planet in the middle of nowhere? What would they tell his mother? And why did he go all this way, accomplish what he had only to end up here, sitting at the base of a stupid tree on a stupid planet only to die searching for a pilot who might not even be alive? Why did he have to go through this?

Stop it, he cursed at himself. Keep moving.

But the gauge read five minutes. If he didn't turn back soon, he would run out of air on the return trip.

He looked up into the sky. Rodon's fighter hovered over him. Rodon repeated the message a dozen times, offering to take in Austin as one of his own. The memory of his last night during the Gauntlet rushed back. The teachers and Nubern announcing Skylar's capture, his Mom's fabricated emergency call and all the other lies. They eventually cracked him and Austin let his whole class down.

Not this time.

He stood and followed the winding path. Something metal on the ground caught his eye. Brushing the sand away, he uncovered a circular metal cap of an expended oxygen container. He exhaled and closed his eyes. Scorpion was alive. She came this way, stopping here to open another oxygen supply. She probably brought the container, thinking she had removed all evidence of her stop, and continued on.

Austin rushed over the tracks.

His HUD flashed.

Ten hours had passed, leaving him with ten more hours of oxygen to make it back to the fighter and Nubern. He tossed his bag onto the ground. He had failed her and Scorpion would die alone, cold and hungry.

The bag turned over in the sand, the Tizona sword logo facing the sky.

Wait a minute.

He cocked his head to the right and stared at the bag carrying a first aid kit and an extra supply of air. If he could use that air when he ran out, he could search for Scorpion for another ten hours before having to head back. But what about his fighter?

Keying his tablet, Austin remotely checked the power on the Trident. The shroud could keep the fighter hidden for another twenty-four hours.

He didn't have to head back. He had twenty more hours to search if he drained this current supply and switched to the fresh one when he was done. Scorpion would have her own supply, she would have definitely brought that with her when she left the pod. Wouldn't she?

He slung the bag over his shoulder. He would find her, she just had to hang on a little longer.

He lost the trail.

One minute it was in front of him, the twists and twirls evident in the sand, but then it disappeared in the ground. The moment boulders appeared in the sand, he struggled to find the trail as it led into the rocky hills away from the strange forest. Now, after eight hours, he couldn't see anything at all.

The light continued to fade, but night had not come. The wind smacked at his flight suit as he dragged his boots across the rocks. He collapsed on the flat surface, exhausted.

Rolling over on his back, he checked the whisper again. Nothing. The air in his tank would be used up in four hours, leaving one final tank. The fighter had more than enough oxygen on board, if they could only get there. If Scorpion didn't have her own supply, they would both die on the way back to the fighter.

He gazed into the sky. The pirate fighters searched the forest behind him. Three miles from the escape pod's landing site, an active group of ships clustered in a circle. Austin slid onto his stomach, grabbed the binoculars from his survival kit and scanned the horizon.

The pirates emerged from a cloud of dust, pieces of Scorpion's Trident lifted from the surface in a dozen claws just like the one used to transport the escape pod. The group lifted into the sky and disappeared into the clouds. The Tyral pirates had themselves the Legion Trident. Austin sighed as two fighters lingered over the forest.

They were going to search for him. Hopefully they didn’t already have Scorpion. And hopefully he was going in the right direction. He didn’t have a very good track-record when it came to navigating terrain.

He looked around at the surrounding rocks. He scowled as he sat, bringing his knees to his elbows. He switched on the whisper beacon and listened to the crackling. If he didn't return to the fighter, Nubern was going to die, too. His captain was still wounded in the trainer seat, might be dying now. He knew where Nubern was ... he had no idea where Scorpion had gone.

And that made the decision easy.

I'm sorry, Ryker. I let you down. I couldn't find you. I've failed you.

He thought of the oxygen tank piece in the sand, remembered his excitement in thinking he would soon find her. And then the rocks came, covering all sense of a trail.

It was over.

With his eyes burning, Austin stood after resting a moment. He keyed in the location of his fighter and let the tablet plot his return journey. He made an adjustment to the course, keeping himself under the cover of the trees for as much of the journey as possible, and took a step toward his fighter.

He paused and turned around, staring into the rocky hills possibly holding the remains of Scorpion.

He sighed and trudged down the hill toward the forest.

Think of Nubern, he is counting on you now.

He walked for another hour. Austin dragged his feet, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other. Going back was much worse than coming through the forest. He tried to keep his spirits up, but stopped at every tree and leaned, struggling to stay awake. Fatigue threatened to overtake his consciousness.

Darkness fell in from the corners of his eyes and he tumbled to the ground.

*****

He dreamed of home, of his mother. She cooked him breakfast. It was Christmas, and the red table cloth held all the treasures of that early morning meal. Sausage egg casserole emerged steaming from the oven, filling the room with its heavenly aroma and rumbling stomachs from miles around. The fluffy, white biscuits coming apart like clouds with thick gravy lathering the insides beckoned him. Beyond the dining room twinkled the tree and the mountains of gifts. The classic music played softly in the background as his father told stories of the days before, when his love for his mother was still fresh and new like the speckle of powdered snow on the grass.

He pried his eyes open. The images came to him blurred, faint. As he focused, he saw the scratch down his visor and the familiar brown sky, the swirling clouds. The strange black trees surrounded him. How much time had passed?

Pain shot through his body.

He yanked the sensor to his visor. Eleven hours before he would run out of air. He still had time to get home.

He scanned the skies. More ships coming?

He saw nothing so he risked leaving the cover of the trees. Still nothing. Standing in one place for several minutes, Austin strained to hear something other than the wind, but only heard silence.

The pirates had left. They must have run out of fuel or perhaps they gave up. They might be going to refuel and come back. Maybe they finished their salvage operation and gave up on finding Austin's fighter. He froze.

If they found his fighter, he would die here.

But what about Scorpion? They must have found her.

He whipped out the whisper beacon and keyed for it, trying to keep his expectations reasonable.

Silence.

He reached to turn it off when the signal boosted, a slightly higher pitch wailing on the gamma wave. Austin leaned forward. Please answer, Ryker. Answer.

"... attent...sss...chhhhh..."

Startled, Austin jumped at the sudden noise in his ear piece.

"Attention, this is a downed Legion pilot, serial number three-nine-three-oh-two-two-five-one." It was Ryker, her voice low and weak. "I have been marooned on Flin Six. If you are receiving, I need assistance ASAP."

Austin stood, searching his mind for the proper protocol on an encrypted channel. He should have paid more attention in the whisper beacon instruction, but he never thought he'd actually have to use it. If he responded incorrectly, the message could be intercepted and transmitted. He keyed in his own serial number and traced the signal. The image showed brown land as it zoomed across the hills, zeroing in on a nearby location. It was only three-hundred yards away, back toward the rocks.

I don't believe it, he thought as he stared back at the rocks. He checked his oxygen. He had enough time to make the journey and return to the ship, barely. But if Scorpion was out of air, there would be no way to...

Don't think, go.

Mustering his remaining strength, he turned back toward the rocks. His stomach ached, adding to the growing number of complaints throbbing around his body. He hadn't eaten since Tarton's Junction. How many days had it been? Two? His mind washed in a brown haze, brown like the clouds of sand surrounding him as another sandstorm kicked up.

After covering the same ground he had walked twice in recent hours, Austin stood at the base of the rocky incline where he had lost Scorpion's position the previous time. He checked his tablet, held it close to the visor so he could see the details. The signal came from forty yards to his left, parallel to the incline.

He sighed, thankful he didn't have to climb the rocks again.

The boulders formed a solid wall until he came to a crevice he did not see before. The crack split and led into the ground. He pulled his sidearm and activated the light at the base of the muzzle. Taking one last look at the sky to verify the pirates had truly left the area, Austin stepped into the crevice.

For the first time since he had landed, the wind ceased howling against his helmet. Water droplets splattered on his visor and ran down the glass. He flashed the light high and low, wondering if he would encounter any of the planet's wildlife. Once again, nothing but the rocky cave leading down. The sand was disturbed. Not a track exactly, but something had split through the thin layer covering the rocky floor of the cave.

The tight crevice opened wide after twenty feet, the top of the rock stretching out into a wider space.

"Sveiki!"

Austin froze. The pirates had him.

"Kas ten?"

The voice echoed in the cave, splitting the silence behind him. He took one hand off the pistol and raised it.

"I don't understand," he said, wondering why his translator wasn't working as he turned around. "Please."

He braced himself for the shot, knowing whoever had lured him into the cave would soon fire. But they didn't.

As he turned in a full circle, he gasped. At the base of the rock near the opening to the cave, dressed in a torn blue flight suit and wearing a battered helmet, sat Scorpion, her gun trained on Austin. She exhaled as if she had been holding her breath, a slight smile evident through the cracked glass of her helmet.

"Good God, are you alright?" Austin rushed toward her, holstering his gun.

Scorpion shook her head and tapped the side of her helmet. "Mano vertėjas yra pažeistas."

Austin shrugged. "I don't understand Lianese."

She pointed at her helmet and turned her head slightly to the right. Austin saw the translator in her ear, the normal faint red light completely dark.

Their translators were dead.

"Okay, I got it," Austin said reaching down. "Let's get you on your feet."

He pulled her up, lifting her arm around his neck.

"Steady? Good."

Austin braced her against the rock wall of the cave. She leaned as if she would collapse without it. Austin checked the torn flight suit and saw no punctures or blood, but she could be bleeding internally.

The oxygen gauge hanging from her back showed she had three hours remaining. In theory, they could breathe for thirty, maybe forty minutes, with the air already pumped into their helmets after the gauge read zero. They would make it, if they moved now.

"Alright come on," he said, turning her helmet to face him. "Look at me! I know you're in pain. I know it's going to hurt and I'm sorry, but - look at me! Keep your eyes open! We need to move now. My fighter's just over that ridge."

"Miegoti?" she asked, her eyes softening.

He squeezed her hand and pressed his helmet against hers.

"No," he said, shaking his head slowly. He looked into her eyes. "No."

She nodded.

The wind blasted the air as they exited the cave, slapping sand and small rocks against their flight suits. She leaned hard on his shoulder. At least one of her legs must be broken, Austin thought as he led her through the strange forest of rubbery trees. She fell several times, her cries of pain striking Austin in the gut. He wanted to make it all go away, the pain, the wind, but he could only help her along.

Minutes stretched into an hour, and Scorpion fell into the powdery ground.

"Aš negaliu padaryti!" she yelled. She fell on her face. Austin turned her onto her back, and she slapped his hands away. "Austin, jūs idiotas! Sakiau atidaryti kreivė! Aš negaliu padaryti. Palikite mane čia!"

"No!" Austin fought to grab her wrists. "No! I don't care what you're saying! Get up!"

He clasped down hard on her hands and, slowly, she stopped fighting him.

"If you're telling me I shouldn't have come back, you can lecture me later. I wouldn't leave you here." He swallowed and stared down at their gloved hands intertwined.

"I would never leave you," he said, almost as a whisper.

She closed her eyes, tears breaking through her eyelids and sliding down her cheek.

"Ačiū," she whispered, nodding. "Ačiū."

Austin shook his head, glanced at his own oxygen gauge. "No. No! Come on now!"

He yanked on her hands, tossing them over his back and pushed his shoulder into her torso. With one pull, he hurled her body over his shoulder. He grunted and yelled when he stood, Scorpion hanging over his shoulder.

"We're going home!"

He took each step carefully, squeezed her leg to let her know it would be okay. She weakly squeezed his arm, speaking softly in her own language. It sounded like a prayer. When he wanted to fall, he used her voice for strength knowing if he fell, they would both die.

His boots sunk into the sand and he kicked them out with each step, sending more dirt into the atmosphere. Balancing himself, he pulled out the tablet with his free hand to check his position. He exhaled and smiled. "Almost there, Ryker!" he yelled, even though he knew she couldn't understand.

She murmured.

His body fought him with each stride. His muscles throbbed, but the hunger in his stomach faded, replaced by a fierce pain like he needed to vomit. Sweat burned into his eyes, his skin crawling under his flight suit.

The rocks ahead flickered. The tablet display showed the shrouded Trident directly in front of him, and he still had eight minutes of oxygen. Without the pirate fighters hovering overhead, they had made great time on the return trip.

He keyed the tablet for the canopies to open. The glass split in midair, the fighter still covered in the reflecting shroud. He paused for a moment, staring at the Trident. He had traversed this planet and somehow found Ryker. Now at the end of his journey, he wanted to fall into the dirt. He would have to carry her up the ladder to the trainer canopy and winced at the thought. How was he going to do this with Nubern in the back?

Scorpion would have to ride with Nubern in the canopy. It would be tight, but it was their only choice.

Each step up the ladder felt like a victory. She encouraged him in her own language, the words beautiful even though he didn't understand. As gently as he could manage, he pulled her body over the edge of the cockpit and rested her down in Nubern's lap. He plugged her suit into the fighter's life support.