Star Guild: Episodes 1 - 3 (Star Guild Saga)

by Brandon Ellis

broken.”

  “I said, hold on to something!”

  “Huh? Where are we?” She pinched her nostrils shut with her thumb and index finger, doing her best to stop the bleeding.

  “I'll explain later, hold on to the HDC column!”

  Daf slid over and wrapped one arm around the column, using her other hand to maintain pressure on her nose.

  Crystal leaped her Mech high into the air to jump over a huge boulder, reaching the Mech's peak jumping capacity at twenty two feet. Crystal watched as the ground rose quickly toward her as she automatically pressed an air compression function on her HDC, causing air to blow out of two metal hoses attached to each side of the Mech's ankles, slowing them down as the Mech descended, making the impact soft and easy.

  Sweat started dripping from Crystal's skin as she continued the Mech's fast pace. Another look at the HDC told her that unidentified craft were coming closer, although they were still miles away.

  “Where are we going, Chief?”

  Crystal peered down at her friend. Daf was still holding her nostrils tightly, blood having trickled down from her nose to her forearm.

  “To the mountain.” She pointed, forgetting to turn the parrot switch off, noticing her Mech pointing as well. Daf stood up and peered through Crystal's window.

  “I see it, but why are we going there? Take us back to the warehouse.”

  “I know some hiding places at the base of the mountain.”

  Crystal pounded the Mech forward, hoping to get there before the incoming enemy found them.

  “Hiding places?” asked Daf, still clearly confused by what was going on.

  Crystal shot her a look, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. “In case you forgot, Mechie, we're under attack! For all I know, we're the only survivors!”

  Daf's mouth dropped open. “Wha...” She dropped her arm from the column, suddenly remembering the events just before she had blacked out. So it wasn’t just a nightmare. It was real. “I thought you were dead when I picked your Mech up and dragged it to the warehouse.”

  “The universe isn't that lucky, Daf.” Crystal glared at the HDC. The enemy crafts were now only several miles away, though coming from the other side of the mountain, blocking Crystal and Daf's Mech from their view. She didn't know, though, if the enemy used heat sensors to find their targets. If they did, Daf and Crystal were probably going to be at the bad end of a strafing run, and very soon.

  She sprang her Mech over another boulder, landing skillfully in stride. She took another glimpse at the HDC. “How much time until I'm to Mount Gabriel?”

  The HDC computed and blinked 11 seconds.

  “How much time until the unidentified craft reach Mount Gabriel?”

  13 seconds blinked on the HDC.

  Crystal took a deep breath. You have to get this right, Crystal. You have to be perfect. No screw ups. Keep the Mech upright.

  Since the enemy was coming from the opposite side of the mountain, Crystal figured that if she could get to the base of the mountain before the enemy crafts, they could hide and shut down the Mech, just in case the enemy did indeed use heat sensors.

  “Hurry up, Mech. Go!” Crystal leaned forward with rapt intention, focusing on every movement. She jumped again, leaping over another boulder. She glanced at the HDC.

  3 seconds.

  She gasped out loud.

  Coming up to the base of the mountain, she spotted the hiding spot she had known about for years—a thick ebb formation with two large rocks jutting upward, and a huge rock slab sitting horizontally on top of the two, acting like a roof. It had been a place to rest when the storms came, a safe place where she parked her Mech to watch the rain and lightning crash down from the sky.

  One second.

  She reached the rock formation and hid under it, immediately shutting down her Mech and hoping it would cool down sooner than later.

  Daf pointed to the sky. “Whoa!”

  One by one, enemy craft zipped overhead as Crystal sucked in her air, not daring to let it out. There were so many. Where did they come from? Why were they here? Crystal turned the parrot switch off and wiped the sweat from her brow. “I need some water.”

  ∞

  “Matrona jumped! I repeat, Matrona jumped!”

  Admiral Byrd jumped out of his command chair and rushed over to Brigger's HDC. “Where are they?”

  On the HDC, Brigger pointed to an area between Brigantia and the pyramid-looking star ships.

  Before Admiral Byrd could react, two red dots beeped on the HDC. "What are those, Brigger? Zoom in.”

  The screen zoomed in, showing two large, blue orbs approaching Matrona. They had bluish-white tails and looked like comets.

  “Those are torpedoes, sir!”

  The Admiral shook his head, having known what they were the moment he saw them. “Launch countermeasures!”

  Brigger leaned back, whispering into the admiral's ear, with fright in his voice. “They won't get there in time.”

  “Don't question, Brigger—just do it!” Admiral Byrd backed up and walked around to sit in his chair, fidgeting with his shirt, and then slamming his fist against the arm rest. “Launch them!”

  “Launched...” Brigger turned his head and looked at the admiral, noting the fidgeting. “Launched, sir.”

  “Open com link to Eden,” ordered Admiral Byrd.

  “Open, sir.”

  ∞

  A crackle came over Eden's com link. It was Admiral Byrd. “Eden, we have inbound countermeasures.”

  She glanced at her HDC, knowing full well why they were launched. She saw the torpedoes on her HDC screen the exact moment they became inbound. She shifted her Thunderbird, heading toward them. “The countermeasures won't make it in time, admiral.”

  “We have no choice,” he replied. “Get the Thunderbirds out of there. If Starbase Matrona is destroyed, all nearby crafts will be hit. Take your teams to our landing bays.”

  “Yes, sir.” Eden clicked on all open lines. “Attention all birds, shake your attackers, finish your targets and immediately head to Brigantia's landing bay.”

  Eden pushed the throttle forward, speeding her Thunderbird faster toward the torpedoes, as she watched them draw closer and closer to Matrona. She sighed. She had to do this. She eyed her HDC, clicking on her weapons and waiting for the lock.

  Weapons off line, blinked across her screen.

  “What the hell?” she clicked on her weapons again.

  Nothing changed. Still off line. It was like a bad vid. This couldn't be happening now. Did she melt her cannons somehow?

  “Eden,” said Admiral Byrd. “Turn around and head to Brigantia. There is nothing you can do from this point forward.”

  Eden pushed on the throttle even more, hurtling even faster through space, watching Matrona come closer, wanting to position herself between the starbase and the torpedoes. Her fingers trembled and she squeezed her muscles tighter, forcing herself to remain conscious. She was putting her body through “G's” that it wasn't used to, that no human was used to.

  “Eden! Get back here! That's an order!”

  She heard his voice and heard her own breath inside of her helmet. She ignored the admiral's pleas. There was no explaining herself, nor would it matter if she did. He wouldn't hear her, he wouldn't understand her motives, and would think her decision unwise, although she knew he'd do the same.

  Her lips quivered and tears welled in her eyes. She didn't want to say goodbye, and as she passed Matrona, seeing more of it as a blur versus anything else, she took her Thunderbird to a speed most pilots wouldn't dare to attempt. She clenched her teeth, doing her best to keep her body intact and her mind aware. She veered off, heading directly at the torpedoes, seeing them glow a hazy blueish-white. Her HDC blinked red. Impact was in thirty one seconds. She needed to go faster, needed to put as much distance as possible between her and Matrona.

  Star Guild, what am I doing?

  By now, the admiral knew her plan and that he could
n't talk her out of it, so it was okay when nothing came over her com link. It was okay that silence filled her cockpit. She knew they were with her—the bridge of Brigantia—watching her on the vid screen. Some most likely looked at her as insane, others, such as Admiral Byrd and Captain Stripe, probably figured they would do the same if they were in Eden's spot. They would think there was no other choice than to save the fleet, to save the people and families they loved.

  Star Guild, a family. My family. She smiled at the thought. In her young life, she always thought of having a partner and children, retiring as a flight commander, living the rest of her life in nice quarters snuggled up to the biosphere inside the starbase, where she could watch her children grow, then her grandchildren, and her grandchildren's children. They would play in the forests, the beautiful meadows, the rivers and hills, just like she had done while growing up. And, she knew, in a way, that it did happen. Star Guild had become that family she had been wishing for. It was always there, at her fingertips. The admiral, Brigger, Captain Stripe, and the rest of the crew were always with her, either in her thoughts or in person. Like a good family, they watched each other's backs. Some had shoulders to cry on, others were the kind to slap her on the back, saying wipe the crying piss out of your eyes. True brothers and sisters. Personalities, all different from one another.

  Her cockpit highlighted blue and her head drew back stiffly. The torpedoes were nearly on her. This was it, her big moment. Death. For an instant, she thought about ejecting, pushing herself far away from the explosion, but it wouldn't matter. Impact was