Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3)

by L. E. Thomas

  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.

  Yes, there would be time later. Maybe on a day when they could look back on their time on the Formidable with joy, and this would just be part of their story.

  She rounded the corner and headed for the Star Runner briefing room.

  The briefing room hatch opened. Major Ty Braddock stood in front of the darkened holographic projector. Captain Doug Lord leaned against the wall, his black Tarnex uniform nearly causing his body to disappear in the low light. Lobera Captain Lo Talad sat in the front row with his legs stretched out in front of him.

  She blinked. “Am I late, sir?”

  “Not at all,” Braddock said. “We started a few minutes before we called you.”

  “I see,” she said, although she didn’t entirely understand.

  “You had a patrol only a few hours ago,” Braddock said, his voice softening. “I wanted to make sure you had some rack time before I called you to this meeting. Well done organizing the recent patrols. Your squadron is operating with efficiency and professionalism.”

  “Thank you, sir.” She moved and sat in the front row two seats across from Talad. “And to what do we owe the pleasure of this meeting?”

  Braddock nodded, his gaze falling to the floor. He paused for a moment. “Commander Horace has informed me the Formidable has received new orders. Later today, the Stalwart will be arriving to relieve us here along this sector of the border now that the Ramelle is well underway and starting normal operations.”

  Braddock stood up straight and activated the projector. The device hummed to life. The image of the science station and the Formidable appeared above their heads. Captain Lord moved from the wall and sat near Ryker.

  “Once the Stalwart arrives,” Braddock said, his voice gruff and authoritative, “we are to curve to this point along The Fringe.”

  “We’re being taken off the Zahl border?” Lord snapped, leaning forward in his seat. “Are they sure that’s a good idea? With everything going on?”

  Ryker looked at him, saw the tension lines in his face. As the situation between the Legion and Zahl Empire continued to deteriorate and the Wraith attacks continued to worsen, Lord had been calling for a more aggressive patrol of the border between the two factions. In recent weeks, Braddock had been forced to call for a defensive approach to protect the Ramelle from any further attacks. Lord still pressed the matter often.

  “Command seems to think we need a break,” Braddock said. “I tend to agree. Your people have been stretched, and we need to continue our patrol of Fringe space in the event any of that rabble decides to take advantage of the heightened tension between us and our Zahlian friends. Don’t think they haven’t noticed.”

  Lord sighed but nodded in agreement. “I understand, sir.”

  “Good.” Braddock turned back to the hologram. “We are going to make our presence known here in the Binus System. We’ll curve to this lifeless rock here and patrol the system for three days. Intelligence has reason to believe there has been some increased activity here, maybe a forward pirate base or possibly something more. We need to check it out and make sure whoever is operating there knows the Legion is present. During that time I want our standard patrols operating around the clock.”

  “Known operators in the Binus System?” Talad asked.

  Braddock glanced at his tablet. “Two smuggling groups have been spotted over the past year, probably some scavenger activity. Should not be much of a surprise.”

  “Very well.” Talad nodded.

  Braddock cyphered through the endless flight schedules and administrative duties required to make the Formidable’s space operations function properly. Ryker did her duty, answering questions and taking the appropriate notes. Her mind wandered. Her thoughts drifted to the recent Wraith attack and the fact Austin had nearly been killed when he tried to fight. If she had lost him …

  She remembered him turning around in the cave on Flin Six, the relief surging through her broken body at the sight of his smile. He had risked everything to save her that day. Nubern owed him his life as well. She had known Austin was special since she saw his ability on the Earth servers. Unlike other potential Star Runners who had fizzled once they arrived in school, Austin had excelled.

  But it was more than his skill, more than his ability as a Star Runner.

  She couldn’t imagine life without him anymore, and she didn’t want to go back to a world without him in it. Without even realizing it, she had lowered her defenses and let him in. Then, like an idiot, she panicked. She let him go because she was too afraid to admit she cared about him.

  “Scorpion?” Braddock asked, breaking into her thoughts. “Does that make sense, Captain?”

  “Ah, yes, sir.”

  Braddock held her gaze. “All right then. One more thing and it’s important. I want you to try and steer any conversation away from the talk of war. The one thing going for us out here is that we aren’t inundated with a constant media barrage clamoring about impending conflict. We’ve got enough to worry about out here without having to battle all the ‘what ifs’ going on in the universe. Let’s concentrate on the task at hand. Got it?”

  The captains nodded and sat forward in their seats.

  “All right, see
to your squadrons,” Braddock said. “We’ll be curving out of here in a few hours. Dismissed.”

  *****

  Ryker slipped her tablet into her satchel as she stepped out of the briefing room, taking one last glance at Major Braddock and Captain Lord chatting about personnel issues.

  “Quite a pep talk,” Lo Talad said under his breath as they walked into the hall.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Half the ship’s talking about the Wraith. Other half’s talking about a war. I don’t know how we’re supposed to prevent our pilots and crew from talking about it.” Talad shuddered. “I’ve never seen a ship so tense.”

  “We’ve never dealt with rumors of war this long, either. Usually, a hot spot happens fast and it’s over fast. This is different.”

  “Remember the Carmicha campaign?”

  Ryker gazed at the polished deck of the Formidable, her mind on the Zahlian Interceptors from her first combat tour. On that tour, she had discovered quickly the Interceptors maneuvered faster than any makeshift pirate fighters or scavenged marauder craft. Zahlian Interceptors were an incredible challenge, striking fear throughout the universe in a way the Legion Trident never had. A thousand unfortunate worlds had discovered what it meant when Interceptors arrived in their orbit.

  They had curved into the Carmicha System to deal with an extremist revolt, and no one ever knew why the Zahlian Interceptors arrived on scene. Some believe it was the first covert action by the newly elected Sector Regent Tulin, but the incident with the Interceptors had been buried and covered up like so many other skirmishes.

  “I’ll never forget it,” she said.

  “And I’m hoping we won’t have to relive it. Most of my Star Runners have seen action before, but I have a couple from Tarton’s Junction during your time there who are greener than a Rockar seedling.” He glanced at her as he moved out of the way of a crew pushing equipment toward engineering. “You familiar with Nicholas Pavolosky?”

  “Scrappy?” Ryker thought back to Austin's mess hall fight with Pavlosky. “That guy was some trouble back at Tarton’s Junction.”

  “Yeah. Started out that way here, too, but the guy’s all froze up now. He was out there during one of our visits with the Wraith when Fish bought it. Guy hadn’t been the same since.”

  “Sorry.”

  “You have time to talk with him?”

  Ryker blinked. “Me?”

  “He was one of your students, right?”

  “Well, I didn’t know him all that well. Kept to himself most of the time and acted like he didn’t need the instructors.”

  “Oh.” Talad smirked. “I thought you were close to those students during your tour on Tarton’s Junction.”

  “I care about all of my students.”

  “Some more than others.”

  Ryker’s stomach twisted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Means I’ve heard you were close with your students there. That’s all.” He lowered his gaze. “Not all of us spend so much time getting to know our Star Runners personally. Some even say it makes it difficult to lead with those types of distractions.”

  She paused in the hallway and turned to face him. She felt heat pulsating from her cheeks. “I’ve always done my job to the best of my ability. You want me to talk with one of your Star Runners—fine. But don’t bring any crap to me questioning my integrity. I didn’t come through tours and years of training to put up with it. Got it?”

  Talad held up his hands in a mock surrender. “Don’t blame me, Captain. I thought you could help. Anyway, I’ve got a squadron to see to.”

  He disappeared into the rapidly filling hallway. She controlled her breathing as she remained in the center of the corridor, seething as she watched Talad walk away. Who did he think he was, questioning her ability to lead effectively? Did he know about her relationship with Austin? Taking a deep breath, she continued walking toward her quarters to begin planning the new patrols.

  The crowd of people filling the corridor suddenly parted. Ryker froze, slowing to a stroll in the center of the hallway.

  Wearing a pristine Tizona blue flight suit, Austin marched through the sea of the crew with his flight tablet tucked under his arm. He marched with confidence, nodding at the crew he passed. His lean face had matured since he first arrived on Tarton’s Junction, a steel gaze replacing that of the wide-eyed youth who had first approached her after class. The transformation had occurred in less than two years, but it felt like a decade. It was more than the experience, more than age. The wonder of the job had faded, replaced by a hardened determination to get the job done. He had become a warrior, a true Star Runner.

  Their eyes met.

  Ryker swallowed, staring at the man she wanted so much to be with, to talk to and discuss all that had happened. They had not spoken at all in several weeks, other than when she risked mouthing words to him following a briefing. Although she struggled to fight back the fear of losing Austin out in the stars, she had to admit it was a terrible possibility plaguing her mind with every patrol.

  Austin slowed as he approached, the tension lines in his face softening. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but closed just as quickly.

  She wanted to talk to him. “Lieutenant,” she said, but no more words came from her lips.

  Austin tilted his head slightly. “Captain.”

  “How are you?”

  “Fine. On my way to meet with Major Braddock.”

  Ryker blinked. Austin seemed to be meeting with other officers often lately and, at the same time, had become more distant from her. She never saw him speaking to the other Star Runners, not even his best friends like Skylar and Bear. “Oh?”

  “Yes.” He looked at her, his face without expression.

  She lingered for a moment, her eyes locked with his. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask if there was something more she wanted to say. Remembering what Talad said about her time teaching students, Ryker blinked twice and looked down at the floor.

  “I hope it goes well,” she said, barely above a whisper.

  “Thank you, Captain.” Austin snapped his boots against the deck and marched around her. He stopped. “Captain?”

  “Yes?”

  His eyes like ice. “You don’t do this, do you?” he whispered, pointing between the two of them.

  She remembered their repeated conversation on Oma, how they had reminded each other this was a first-time relationship for both of them as if it would suddenly disappear.

  “No,” she whispered back. “I don’t.”

  He held her gaze a moment longer, spun on his heel, and marched down the corridor.

  She stared at the wall for a moment, thinking of all the actions she would had done differently if given the chance. Perhaps they should have stayed on Oma when they had the chance, given up the life of a Star Runner and transferred to a desk job. Quadrant Eight had many positions of monitoring the servers on dark worlds, searching for the next batch of Star Runners. She could return to Earth with Austin, leave the life of a Star Runner behind. Maybe they could do that after this tour. Maybe they could be together then.

  Her eyes watered. He might not ever forgive her.

  Shaking her head, she headed back to her quarters to begin planning the flight schedule for the new patrols along The Fringe.

  *****

  The door pinged.

  Pulling herself away from star charts and pages of flight schedules and personnel profiles, Ryker stood from the small pull out table at the corner of the room. Her back felt stiff. She stretched and felt her joints pop.

  The bell in her quarters pinged again. She exhaled and glanced at the clock—six hours until her flight schedule began. Who would be disrupting her at this hour?

  She pulled back the hatch.

  Lieutenant Skylar Kincaid stood in the hallway, wearing her Tizona workout sweats damp with perspiration. Her blond hair pressed against her scalp and a white sweat-drenched towel around her neck.
>
  “Lieutenant,” Ryker said, glancing around the empty hallway. She blinked, her brow wrinkling. “Is everything all right?”

  Skylar gripped the towel around her neck with both hands and sighed. “Do you have a moment?”

  “Of course.” She gestured toward her quarters. “Come in.”

  Skylar had been relatively quiet since they had boarded the Formidable. During flight school on Tarton’s Junction, she had been a steady presence during the competitions and showcased her talents during the Rockshot. Since the recent events of the Wraith threatened to unravel the composure of even the ship’s most seasoned Star Runners, Ryker had expected Skylar to struggle with the pressure—especially given her pampered background from Earth. But she had excelled, even improved during the looming threat of the Zahlian super-fighter.

  “I don’t want to seem out of line,” Skylar said, turning as Ryker shut the hatch to her quarters, “but I didn’t know who else to talk to about this.”

  Ryker frowned. “I’m your CO. You can talk to me anytime. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. In fact, it doesn’t really have anything to do with me.”

  Crossing her arms over her chest, Ryker leaned her back against the cool metal of the hatch. “Very well.”

  Skylar looked at her. “It’s about Austin.”

  “Oh.” Ryker glanced at her hands, wondering if she should tell Skylar she had work to do. “What about him?”

  Skylar held up her hands. “This has nothing to do with … personal issues, Captain. I assure you.”

  Ryker felt the tension in her chest ease, but only slightly. She didn’t know where Skylar was going with this conversation. “I understand. Go on.”

  Skylar sighed. “He hasn’t been the same in a while.”

  She blinked. “The same?”

  “He seems distracted all the time. He hasn’t been eating with the rest of us. He’s been spending all his time studying in his quarters and has been working out at odd times. I’ve seen him in the sim pods for hours at a time. He’s said he doesn’t want to network a training simulation with the pods like we used to do. I’m worried.”