Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3) (45 page)

“I see. You heard him.” Braddock made a sniffing sound into the microphone. “I don’t expect you are going to fill me in on your little plan.”

Austin shook his head. “Not on an open channel. I’ll cue you in. Form up for an attack. They won’t take your actions seriously. Why would they? Agreed?”

“Your show, Lone Wolf.”

“Let’s do this.”
 

Lieutenant Austin Stone lurked behind the Zahlian ARC, close enough the light from the engines played across his canopy. His eyes widened, taking in the massive size of the capital ship.
 

After telling Major Ty Braddock to remain on standby, Austin had taken the shrouded
Wraith
in close. Five Interceptors, those apparently flying CAP, lined up to land in the
Dauntless
’ bays. He was close enough to see their position lights. He held his breath, instinctively afraid they would somehow hear him in the vacuum of space even though he knew the thought was ludicrous.
 

He had thought the ARC would have to drop its shields to allow the Interceptors to land similar to the
Formidable’s
landing procedure. But as Austin closed on the ARC and studied the vessel, he noticed space debris flashing off the deflector shields. When he dropped inside one-hundred MUs, a bluish haze surrounded the aft section of the ARC. Austin sighed.
 

The aft shields were still up.
 

Somewhere behind him, Braddock formed up with the Tridents and the two crucial Corvos. With the missile boats using their small ordinance on the Interceptors, Austin knew they would still have a full load of torpedoes to launch into the
Dauntless
once he made the first move.
 

But all of this was a moot point if the ARC didn’t drop all of its shields before it left the area. He might have to reposition himself, but the Corvos and Tridents wouldn’t be able to do so with the ARC flying in the opposite direction.
 

What if the ARC didn’t need to drop its shields before heading into FTL travel? It was a new vessel, perhaps the Zahlian engineers had developed something more advanced than other ships? The Legion’s curvature drive prevented the shields and the shroud from operating properly. He had always heard the energy shields wouldn’t sustain FTL. It was in one of the first flight school lessons in Ryker’s class.
 

His felt a twinge in his stomach.
 

Ryker.
 

Don’t think about her, he thought. Stay frosty.
 

Even as he told himself to concentrate on the mission, his eyes welled up with tears. He shook his head.
 

Concentrate, man.
 

The final Interceptor disappeared into the landing bay. Austin armed his missiles. He rested his finger on the trigger while placing his free hand on the level to deactivate the shroud. Still nothing. The haze flickered over the engines, protecting the ARC from a rear attack.
 

It wasn’t going to work. His spontaneous plan to take out Tulin and his flagship had failed. They had the opportunity to avenge the Star Runners who died, the men who sacrificed themselves so Austin could somehow live during the Battle of Atlantis and take all the credit. He couldn’t avenge the suffering Josh had been through at the hands of the Tyral Pirates. He couldn’t avenge Etti and the others who died in orbit above Flin Six.
 

And, of course, Ryker.
 

He owed them this victory. He owed it to himself.
 

But the
Dauntless
was about to flee.
 

The engines glowed, the Lutimite Drive apparently firing up. The blast shields around the engines expanded, the ship preparing for FTL. The landing bay doors shut.
 

His eyebrows raised as he watched the ship.
 

Please give us this chance.
 

He took his finger off the trigger and held it over the transmission button, preparing to call off Braddock’s attack. Tulin would escape, allowing the threat to bleed into another series of attacks and projects just like the
Wraith
or worse.
 

The shields flickered twice, catching Austin’s eye. He squinted, watching the shields waver over the engines. They flickered again, then faded out completely.
 

He hesitated, staring in shock.
 

Snap out of it!
 

He pulled back on the shroud, the
Wraith
materializing just off the aft section of the
Dauntless
.
 

“For Ryker,” he whispered, the crosshairs setting on the engines of the
Dauntless
.
 

Moving his hand back to the stick, he pulled the trigger twice. Two missiles ignited from beneath the wing, flashing toward the ARC’s engines.
 

The ARC couldn’t react, the missiles probably appearing to come from nowhere. He didn’t wait for the impact, pulling back on the stick to take the
Wraith
above the
Dauntless
. He leveled out, banked to the left and watched the missiles smash into the unsuspecting vessel.
 

The eruption was more than he could have hoped, the two warheads exploding inside the exhaust. One entire engine broke off, the energy wave from the missiles ripping through the hull, sending a section of the fuselage burning away from the ARC. The power fluctuated throughout the ship, the running lights flickering twice as the
Dauntless
listed forward, tilting into a slow spin.
 

“Knight Leader, you are clear for your attack run,” Austin said, trying to prevent his emotion from showing over the gamma wave. “Happy hunting.”

Switching to guns, Austin dove toward the ship. Debris shot from the ARC in a series of secondary explosions. He reached under one hundred MUs and fired his lasers, unleashing all his anger, all his frustrations into the crimson bolts as they ravaged the hull. Fragments blasted off the side of the ARC, spinning fiery debris off into the blackness of space. The
Wraith
zipped over the
Dauntless
, strafing the entire length of the ARC until his energy banks ran dry. He rolled away from the ship, evading any impending counterattack.
 

The
Dauntless
responded, peppering the sky with glowing yellow bolts from its defensive batteries. The fire surrounded the ARC with a cloud of chaff designed to block incoming missiles. But none of the defense laser cannons had fired.
 

Braddock led his Tridents in, some firing their final missiles into the
Dauntless
. Austin saw at least four make it through the chaff cloud. Explosions lay waste to the once mighty ship, erupting across the hull like the surface of a volcano. Cries of victory crackled over the gamma wave, loud enough to cause static in Austin’s ears.

“We’ve caught’em flatfooted!”
 

“They don’t even know what’s hitting’em!”

“I’m going in with guns—cover me!”

The Tridents moved in close, pounding the side of the ARC with laser fire. Smaller explosions joined, forming bursting spouts of flame and debris over the ARC’s surface. The Tridents broke off from the attack, banking and rolling away from the
Dauntless
.
 

He brought himself in a wide circle around the ARC and allowed his energy banks time to recharge. He couldn’t help but smile at the flaming ship, the ship with the commander who had been the cause of everything he had been through since he first arrived at Tarton’s Junction, the ship that had been responsible for nearly killing his mother and best friend … the ship that the woman he loved perished to destroy.
 

The Corvos moved in next, unleashing a flurry of torpedoes that filled the sky like a white meteor shower descending on the dying vessel. Austin watched as torpedoes exploded into the landing bay doors, preventing the ARC from launching any alert fighters. Escape pods shot away from the ARC like hornets escaping a falling nest. The main body of the ARC lurched and buckled, the back of the vessel appearing to collapse. Austin saw raging internal fires through the portholes on the side of the ship as it spun out of control.
 

“Knight Leader, Lone Wolf,” Austin transmitted from his position away from the battle. “I think we got her.”

“I copy,” Braddock said. “The Lutimite Drive is going to blow. Knights, break off the attack or we’ll get caught in the explosion!”

“Copy, Knight Leader!” Skylar yelled.
   

Austin pressed forward on the throttle, shooting away from the
Dauntless
. The five Tridents and two Corvos scurried to a safe distance just as a bright light emitted from the center of the ARC. A wave of energy exploded from the sides of the
Dauntless
, splitting the ship in half a second before it exploded. The blast wave outstretched in a circle around the ship, sending debris and scrap in every direction.
 

Spinning his
Wraith
around to face the explosion, Austin leaned back in his seat, watching the
Dauntless
in its final death throes. The bow of the ship tumbled away from the main explosion, sparking and burning like the embers floating away from a fire.

“Lone Wolf, Knight Leader,” Braddock’s voice cooed in his ear piece.
 

“Copy, Knight Leader,” Austin said, fatigue washing over him.
 

“Well done, sir.”
 

A Trident pulled up next to Austin’s fighter. He thought he saw Braddock’s helmet and a two-fingered salute.
 

“Thank you, sir.” Austin took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Let’s go home.”
 

“Dismissed!”
 

The officers dispersed, the movement preventing Lieutenant Austin Stone from zoning out. The group made idle chat as they filed out of the
Formidable
hangar. He had not heard one word from Commander Mitchem Horace or any other officer during the funeral for the Star Runners lost during Mission
Wraith
.