Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3) (11 page)

“Welcome,” Braddock said softly. “Some of you may know me. I’m Major Ty Braddock, and I will be your CO for this tour. It is a great honor to lead all of you. I feel we have been very fortunate with an incredible space wing on this tour.”
 

He held the room with his eyes for a moment before continuing.
 

“All of you have the pleasure of leading our tour’s first patrol beyond normal carrier patrol. Star Runners, I don’t think I have to tell you that there will be many, many sorties in your near future with the state of events the way they are. That’s where we begin today.”
 

The dull green light of the room faded as a hologram of a star chart filled the air over their heads. The chart’s focus lingered on the border between the Zahl and Legion space. A bright green triangle blinked at the edge of the border.
 

“This is the
Formidable
,” Braddock said, gesturing with his laser pointer. “During the night, we curved here to Quadrant Four where we will be patrolling the edge of
 
Zahl space and the edge of The Fringe. Commander Horace expects us to be here for some time. Just across the border is the Clarian System led by Sector Regent Knox Tulin, known by some as Warlord Tulin.”
 

The star chart shifted to display an image of Tulin. His black hair slicked back like he had dipped into a tank of grease. A long hawk-like nose protruded out from the center of his gaunt face, outmatched only by a bulkier chin.

“What I am about to tell you is top secret,” Braddock said, lowering his gaze. “This means you are not to discuss this outside of this room, and any mention of Tulin and what I tell you next will be censored from your outbound communications. You read me?”

The Star Runners nodded. Austin opened his tablet and started typing notes as Braddock spoke.
 

“Tulin’s file is being downloaded to your tablets labeled, ‘CST1.’ The bottom line is Tulin has a great deal of clout in the Zahlian Government, and he’s been very busy.” The star chart swept across the stars to Quadrant Eight. Austin saw the sun at the edge of the quadrant. “We have intelligence linking Tulin to the efforts to destabilize Quadrant Eight. It appears it was Tulin who had been supplying the late Dax Rodon—a known scoundrel and pirate leader—with supplies and weapons to lead an attack on Earth.”
 

Austin felt the other Star Runners glance at him. He focused on the hologram, trying to avoid the eyes of his comrades.

“Fortunately, this attack was fought off. However, Tulin lost nothing in his efforts. For those of you who don’t know, Tulin is the head of the so-called ‘War Faction’ in the Zahl Empire. These politicians, military leaders, and corporate tycoons believe the best days of the Zahl Empire might be behind them, so they are calling for expansion.” The chart zoomed out to display known space; the massive Zahl Empire was looming like a red cloud over the room. The much smaller Legion and Shoborian territories lingered below the Zahl. Animated arrows moved away from the Empire’s territory. “Thanks to the efforts of Tulin and others, the Zahl Empire has been aggressively expanding into The Fringe, Primal Space and the unknown on a scale never seen before in recent history. Our government has long believed this expansion would eventually lead to conflict between our governments, hence the increased recruitment on dark worlds recently. So where does that leave us on the
Formidable
?”

The star chart zoomed into the carrier’s location. “We are positioned along this border, as I already stated. We are to conduct patrols along the edge of Quadrant Four and Zahl space until further notice. Since the incident on Earth and the alleged capture of our spies on Claria, tension is high. Any action by the Zahl will likely happen on the border since Tulin took years to manifest his relationship with the Tyral Pirates behind our lines. Any action he takes this time will most likely be directly against our borders.” Braddock leaned forward. “Needless to say, I want you people on your toes. Something could happen at any moment. If it does, it’ll be up to Star Runners like you to be on the front lines.”
 

Austin swallowed. He knew the intelligence Braddock spoke about referred to what his best friend Josh had witnessed during his escape from the hidden asteroid base utilized by the Tyral Pirates. Josh had barely escaped with his life, but Austin never believed the information he brought back could have been so important.
 

“On to our assignments today,” Braddock barked, bringing Austin’s thoughts to the present. “Rock, you ready to fly?”

Austin perked up, sitting straight in his seat and leaning forward. “Yes, sir.”
 

“All right, you and I will take our patrol out to these coordinates—Point Echo—right to the edge of The Fringe. These patrols will consist of sensor sweeps and monitoring gamma waves. Slippy, you and Epic will be taking these at Point Bravo.”
 

Braddock went through seven other patrol assignments before pausing on the final pairing.
 

“Scorpion, I want you and Cyclone to take Point Alpha up here.”
 

“Of course, sir,” Ryker said.
 

Braddock rubbed his hands together. “One more topic; Some of you have been likely wondering who would lead the thirty-second Tizona in the event of Major Nubern’s promotion. I have decided to promote Lieutenant Zyan to Captain, effective immediately.”

A shock traveled from the top of Austin’s head straight to his gut. He thought he was going to be sick.

“Thank you, sir,” Ryker said softly.

Austin stared at her but saw no hint of surprise on her face.
 

“Congratulations, Captain,” Braddock said. “This is well-deserved.” He looked up, addressing the rest of the room. “Any questions? Alright people, stay awake out there. Let’s show Commander Horace he’s got the best damn wing in the Navy. Dismissed.”

The Star Runners stood and gathered their belongings. Austin slowly stood, his cheeks still burning from the news. She was now his commanding officer.
 

He shook his head and stretched, taking one last look at the flight plan for his patrol.
 

Braddock stepped in front of Austin. “I’ll see you at the launch tubes at 0600. Don’t be late. And don’t forget to use the facilities before you board.”

Austin snorted. “Of course, sir. See you then.”

The room emptied except for Ryker, who lingered in her seat. Tucking his flight tablet under his arm, Austin stepped in front of her.
 

“Congratulations, Captain,” he said.
 

Ryker slapped her tablet shut and stood in front of him. He moved to hug her, but she raised her hand. “Thank you.”

Austin frowned. “What is wrong?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “I think you better get down there. You don’t want to leave the Major waiting on your first flight out. Be safe.”

“Hey,” he said without thinking, “did you know about the promotion?”

She held his gaze a moment longer, the compassion gone from her face, replaced with a cold, hard devotion. And Austin knew this devotion wasn’t to him or even to herself—it was to her new command.
 

“Braddock let me know after we first boarded.” She clenched her jaw. Her eyes focused on the wall. “Be careful out there, Lieutenant.”
 

The words burned into his ears. “I will, Captain.”

She stared at the wings on his shoulder for a long moment. Her lips parted as if she was about to say something, but she cleared her throat and marched out of the room.

*****

The catwalk above the launch tubes smelled of oil and sulfur. A bright crimson light bathed everything in sight. Four ladders descended to Tridents tucked into their tubes. Austin had learned from the ship’s map downloaded to his quarters that the
Formidable
had four more identical launch tubes on the port side of the ship.
 

Braddock slapped him hard on the shoulder of his flight suit, nearly knocking Austin’s helmet from his hand. “You’re flying my wing today, Lieutenant. I don’t want any mistakes.”
 

“I appreciate the honor, sir.”

They marched side-by-side toward their ships. Their boots pounded along the steel grating. After rubbing his nose and clearing his throat, Braddock put on his helmet and locked it into place. He moved the face plate up above his head and fiddled with the sidearm at his belt.

“Don’t go getting a big head about it,” Braddock grumbled. “I haven’t flown into battle with many of these other Star Runners. Since you and I did so recently, it just felt right to kick off this tour with someone familiar.”
 

Austin frowned. How sweet, he thought.
 

“This is me,” Braddock said, swinging around the steel ladder and beginning his descent. “Get checked in. We’re right on schedule. Grease lykers have already prepped your bird—she’s ready to launch.”

“Copy,” Austin said, locking his helmet into place.
 

He stood above his Trident and gazed down at her. The wings folded above the fuselage and made the fighter seem smaller. The cockpit was open, and he could just make out the glow of the control board.
 

He felt a familiar twinge, a shiver running down his back.
 

He was about to fly again.
 

Austin hurried down the ladder, his boots clanging loudly above the already noisy launch tube. Gasses hissed around the Trident. Machinery rumbled, enclosing the area with a constant commotion as he settled into the cockpit.
 

“Hello, sweetness,” he whispered, touching the side of the fighter. He locked his flight suit into the onboard life support and felt the fresh air hiss into his helmet. The cool oxygen filled the suit around his body, immediately dispelling the stifling effects of being hot and sweaty inside the equipment. He placed his flight tablet into the port on his left and downloaded his flight plan. The coordinates appeared on his HUD when they loaded. He cycled through his preflight and closed the canopy. When the canopy whistled into place and locked, the sound from the launch tube disappeared.
 

Finally, he thought, back where I belong.
 

“Rock, Tiger,” Braddock’s voice blared into his ear. “Do you copy?”

Austin turned the internal volume down a bit. “Loud and clear, boss.”

“Good.” He cleared his throat. “Tower, this is Tiger. Requesting permission to launch.”

“Copy, Tiger,” a male voice hissed quickly. “You may launch when ready. Good hunting.”

“Roger,” Braddock responded. “After you, Rock.”

Austin’s chest swelled. “Roger.”

He pushed his throttle forward. The power surged from his engines. The red numbers on his HUD counted down from three … two … one.
 

The launch tube lights dimmed. The force yanked him back in his seat, the lights flickering by his window. His helmet rocked. Within a second, the lights of the launch tube disappeared, replaced by the black of space. He got his bearings as the wings lowered into place and locked. The position lights blinked on the wings as he looked around.
 

Nothing distinguished the space around him.
 

No planets.
 

No nebula.
 

Nothing but the void.
 

He twisted his neck to see the carrier but it was no longer in view. It wasn’t much different than flying on the ocean floor around Atlantis, just quieter. He focused on his sensors to get his bearings.
 

“Rock, I’m on your six,” Braddock announced, his voice popping over the gamma wave. “I’ll let you take the lead. Head for our first patrol point.”
 

Austin eased into his seat. He flinched as a particle of space debris flashed off his forward shields but soon settled into the flight. The other Tridents launching for their patrols soon vanished from his sensors. The
Formidable
remained on his long-range sensors, but no other contacts appeared on his scope.
 

They were alone.
 

It took two hours of flying parallel to the Zahl-Legion border before they reached their destination. Austin’s mind wandered during the flight, his thoughts shifting from Mom and her debut voyage on the medical frigate to Skylar’s recent attitude toward him. His stomach turned when he thought of his friend, realizing he had hurt her.
 

But he thought mostly of Ryker. The promotion would reshape their relationship, but he knew it would work out. Despite the fact she was now a captain, he believed they would remain unaffected. They had something special, didn’t they?

He brought his attention back to what he was doing as the flight plan pinged on his HUD.
 

“Tiger, we are two-thousand MUs from The Fringe,” he said.

“Copy.”

“Roger.”
 

Austin peered out at deep space. Their trajectory had them flying parallel to the border and turning around just before they reached the point where Zahl and Legion space met The Fringe. Other than the instrumentation in his ship, there was nothing defining where Quadrant Four ended.
 

The scope pinged, startling him. A signal appeared on his long range sensors, originating from The Fringe and bearing down on Legion space.
 

“Tiger, Rock. I have something on my sensors.”
 

“I see it.”
 

Austin squinted. “I can’t get an ID. Should we investigate?”
 

Braddock grumbled. “That’s why we’re here.”

“Roger.”

His fingers tingled as he pushed forward on the throttle. His speed increased. The MUs to target dropped. Whatever had appeared on his sensors, it was a long way from nowhere. Just like them.
 

A familiar, uncomfortable feeling drifted over him. Fear. The creeping realization he was mortal. He had felt it when Nubern crashed into the ocean during the Battle of Atlantis.