Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3) (19 page)

“Ship got burned pretty good now,” he said, glancing at his controls, “but she’s flying.”

“Stunner?”

“Affirmative. Hit me up close, too.”

“All right. You have permission to break formation and head back to the
Formidable
.”

“It’ll be all right—”

“It’s an order, Rock.”
 

Austin pressed his lips together, staring at the supply ship for a long moment. He wanted to get back in formation in the event the
Wraith
tried to return. The familiar unsettling feeling of allowing unfinished business to escape through his fingers filled his gut. It reminded him of the times Dax Rodon narrowly escaped his crosshairs, and he didn’t like how it felt then, either.

“Roger, Scorpion,” he said with a sigh. “Heading home.”

*****

A shower of sparks shot from his dashboard as he brought the Trident to settle on the landing deck of the
Formidable
. The old girl had been through quite an ordeal during its tussle with the
Wraith
. The controls felt sluggish, a noticeable delay in the maneuvering thrusters during the landing procedure. Austin’s muscles and joints ached. Even with the cool metallic air rushing around him from the fighter’s life support system, his flight suit filled with perspiration and felt slick against his skin.
 

During his landing, he listened to the Star Runners complete the mission of escorting the supply ship to the science station. The
Wraith
had disappeared, taking at least one more Star Runner with it. Even though Austin felt the secret Zahlian super fighter would return, nothing more occurred during the docking procedure. He snorted. If it had, he wouldn’t do much good here on the landing deck.
 

The carrier’s roof closed, the landing deck’s lights transitioning from crimson to white. The crew rushed out onto the deck like worker bees. Austin opened the canopy, the servos whining with the movement. A crewman pushed the ladder to the side of Austin’s Trident.
 

“Hell of a fight, Lieutenant.”
 

Austin turned his helmet, releasing a quick hiss of gasses. “I guess you could call it that.”

“Are you all right, sir?” the crewman asked, his tone laced with concern.

“Sure.” Austin shrugged, twisting around to descend to the deck. “Why?”

The crewman released a sound that must have been a laugh. “Check out your fighter when you get down.”

Austin hit the deck, his helmet in his left hand and his flight tablet in the other. As he stepped around to the front of his Trident, he stared at the blackened hull. Streaks of dark bands covered the surface, erasing the blue Tizona insignia. He rubbed his gloved hand across the nose, the reality of the situation settling in. Fatigue washed over him, and his eyelids suddenly felt very heavy.

Thank you for bringing me home, he thought as he tapped the Trident’s nose once more.

The crew studied the fighter, ascertaining the best way to carry out repairs. Austin ripped off his gloves and tossed them into his helmet. The
Wraith
nearly killed him like it had the others—and there was nothing the Legion seemed to be able to do about it. Seething, he stared at the fighter a moment longer before marching across the deck and toward the Star Runner locker room.
 

Austin hurled his helmet at his locker. He spun around and slid against the steel door to the floor, burying his head in his hands. He thought of Gan, the shy pilot he’d never see again. Gan’s cold body remained on a steel slab in the ship morgue because the
Formidable
could not afford to risk a funeral at the moment. Lieutenant Akiko Kato or “Crusher,” had already been killed on this tour. Carlin “Star” Lively and Tarek “Reaper” Mongo died today—Austin had been close enough to the explosion of Star’s Trident to blind him before he pursued the
Wraith
through the convoy. Bear had a close call as well.
 

Austin leaned his head back against the locker, feeling the cool of the steel against his head. The hum of the ship surrounded him. He had the locker room all to himself.
 

He stripped off his flight suit and took a shower, the hot water streaming around him. The water allotment ran out long before Austin was ready, but he took what he could get. He changed into his uniform, picked his helmet up off the floor and strolled into the debriefing room.
 

He stopped.
 

Commander Mitchem Horace stood at the front of the room facing Austin, his hands clasped behind his back. Captain Ty Braddock stood next to the Commander, his chiseled face grim.
 

Austin swallowed, wondering if he had done something wrong in his pursuit of the
Wraith
. Or perhaps they knew of his visit with the counselor? Were they going to ground him until he stabilized? He instinctively snapped to attention and saluted.
 

“At ease, Lieutenant,” Braddock breathed. He locked eyes with Austin for a moment, then turned to Commander Horace. “Anything you’d like to start with Commander?”

Horace shook his head sharply. “Let’s just get started.”

“Very well.” Braddock stared at Austin. “You seem angry, Lieutenant?”

“Sir, if this is about me throwing the helmet in the locker room, I apologize and—”

“It’s not about that,” Braddock snapped, “but you should control your emotions. They have no place out here on the border. Outbursts could get you and your fellow Star Runners killed.”

“I understand, sir. I just feel like we’re nothing but targets out here. Firing the disruptor seemed to help, but we’re all blind out there. The
Wraith’s
too good and too fast. It’s frustrating, sir.”

“That’s enough.”
 

Austin sighed, still standing at attention. “How is this happening?”

“What’s that, Lieutenant?” Horace asked.
 

Austin shook his head, wishing he had kept his mouth shut. “It feels like we’re on the losing side. And I thought this was the right side.”

Commander Horace crossed his arms, but when Austin met his piercing eyes, there was no anger behind them.
 

“Throughout history, the victor of any conflict is never decided by the one who is right or the one exhibiting more sincere morals than the rest.” Horace’s gaze narrowed. “The victory is decided by the powerful, by the one able to wield their power effectively. And right now, we are not the powerful.”
 

Braddock took a deep breath. “You told me recently that you would be willing to do anything to help if the time ever came. Is that still true?”

Austin nodded, unsure where the Major was going with this conversation. “Of course, sir.”

Braddock folded his muscular arms across his chest. “I’m not going to mince words. Whether you accept it or not, Stone, you are the best Star Runner on this carrier. Maybe even the best in the Legion Navy, but you lack confidence.”

He sighed, staring at the floor for a prolonged moment. Glancing at Horace, he continued speaking in a low voice.

“Your experience and natural talent mixed with our carrier’s proximity to the target area make you a prime candidate.” He eyed Commander Horace. “I see no alternative.”

“Pardon me, sir,” Austin said, his weight shifting on his feet, “but a prime candidate for what?”

Braddock sighed. “Close the hatch behind you and lock it.”
 

Captain Ryker Zyan marched through the nearly empty halls of the
Formidable
, the reason for the late night summons plaguing her mind. Major Ty Braddock had been brief in his call, the sound of the incoming transmission waking her from a restless sleep.

Her mind instead lingered on Austin. She would never tell him so, but she had heard he had been to visit the ship’s counselor several times over the past months. You couldn’t hide anything on a ship, but she hoped the visits to the counselor hadn’t been because of anything she had done. Surely he understood why they had to put their relationship on hold. It simply couldn’t work while they were on tour.
 

But there was the fact she treated him awful and tried to disguise and hide their relationship from the rest of the ship. She missed Austin terribly.
 

Perhaps his visits to the counselor were about the nightmares he mentioned during their leave on Oma? She knew the ordeal had taken a greater toll on him than anyone else understood. Instead, the other Star Runners whispered about the heroic Rock and his victories against the Tyral Pirate scourge. If they only knew, he hated the attention.

She nodded at a crewman who passed, bringing her thoughts back to the present. The man seemed determined to get to wherever he was going, a concerned look on his face. Everyone seemed concerned lately, the fog of uncertainty and dread had fallen over the ship in the past weeks. Regular patrols were scheduled around the science station, policing the blackness for any sign of the mysterious and lethal
Wraith
. But with all their diligence, all the extra hours spent in the sim pods fighting without sensors, Star Runners were being killed.
 

Shaking away the uneasy feeling in her gut, she gripped her tablet tighter. Worrying about what could happen is no good to anyone—especially the Star Runners under her command.
 

Her command.
 

Out of the fifteen Star Runners under her command, two were cold in the morgue, and one was in sick bay recovering. She had been captain for exactly three months on this tour and already lost two of her pilots. She had failed them completely. The realization of this failure kept her up at night, forcing her to request mild sleeping aids from Lieutenant Carpenter.
 

The Thirty-Second Tizona, her Star Runners, depended on her to make the right decisions. They had been with her since training on Tarton’s Junction, been with her every step of the way from the sim pods to the Rockshot competition. They expected—no, demanded—great leadership from her. She had sacrificed … so much for them.
 

And she had failed. She immediately thought about Austin.

Countless times over the past week, she had wanted to talk with him. The thought of his face when she ended their relationship … had been seared into her mind. The pain in his eyes, the now lifeless expression he had during their briefings. He never looked at her, truly looked, anymore. His gaze focused on nothing. His kind eyes had lost the innocence they once held. Austin had never spoken to her again after she told him they could no longer be together. Instead, he focused on the tasks at hand. And there had been plenty to worry about since arriving at the border to patrol the space around the
Ramelle
.
 

In addition to his time with the counselor, Austin had been locked into the sim pods for hours at a time. She had noticed Austin and Braddock engaged in intense conversations outside the sim room. She found it strange Braddock hadn't mentioned anything about special training with Austin. Twice she had noticed them walking down the hall, engaged in quiet conversation. When Austin noticed her coming the other way, he nodded without expression or any other word.

He had to understand why she broke it off … right? The time on Oma had been the most special of her life. Never before had she felt so completely fulfilled, the emptiness of living in the universe alone had faded, at least for a moment. She had never known her family, never known the love of parents or the happiness of a home she had heard other Star Runners speak about during her time with the Legion. She never had family dinners or family reunions full of laughing siblings and cousins. Never had she experienced love or companionship beyond that of her fellow Star Runners.
 

But Austin had given that to her on Oma, made her feel like she belonged with him. He was home.
 

And now it was over.

While the Legion frowned upon fraternization with subordinate officers, it was not a hard and fast rule. Still, as a new captain, Ryker didn’t want to rock the boat. Maybe there would be time later.