Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3) (38 page)

“Everyone strapped in?” she asked.
 

“Copacetic, Captain,” Towers shot back. “Let’s do this.”

“Copy. Tower, this is Angel One. We are ready for take off.”

“Angel One. Traffic is clear, and you are good to go. Hangar doors will open once all personnel are clear. Happy hunting.”

She pulled gently back on the stick, bringing the Karda into the air. Warning lights flashed red throughout the hangar, and the crew scattered to their protective zones before the vacuum of space filled the area. She pulled back on the stick, tilting the nose up toward the hangar doors. The warning lights stopped flickering, offering now a constant crimson light.
 

The outer doors parted slowly, revealing the black of space. She shot through the opening, bringing the Karda into the blackness. Above, two Tridents flying CAP soared past and out of her view.
 

The artificial gravity of the
Formidable
faded away, replaced by the familiar feeling of weightlessness. She relished in the humming sound of her ship, the constant whine of the electronics and the drone of the engines. She never tired of leaving the carrier and flying amongst the stars. She figured she never would.
 

The navigation computer pinged, and she keyed in the preloaded coordinates that would take the Karda through the curve and directly into the upper atmosphere of the moon.
 

“Angel One, this is Tiger,” Braddock said into her earpiece. “As we discussed, maintain radio silence unless absolutely necessary. Go in, drop the
Serpents
, and get out. Should take less than three minutes.”

“Yes, sir. Will do.” She placed her hand on the curvature drive lever. “Prepping the drive now, sir. Departing in thirty seconds.”

“Happy hunting,” Braddock said and killed the transmission.
 

Ryker pulled back on the lever. She watched the space around the spacecraft waver and glow, the stars shimmering like rings in a pond.
 

“Ready back there?” she asked.

“Green,” Towers said. “Let’s go.”

Easing forward on the throttle, she brought the Karda through the curve.

*****

Instead of the black of space she was accustomed to seeing through a curve, she squinted at the bright light of the atmosphere. The Karda bounced, the
Serpents
in the back grunting hard against their safety harnesses. The turbulence smacked her head forward against the dashboard so hard she saw stars. Forcing her body back into the seat, she gripped the stick and buried the throttle. The Karda leaped forward, screaming hard into the moon’s atmosphere.
 

“Report!” Towers yelled from the seats inside the cargo area.
 

Ryker blinked hard, staring at the sensor readout. The preprogrammed beacon seared an emerald green in the center of her screen, eight-thousand MUs from their position. Balancing her power distribution, she made sure the shield power matched her engines and took all power away from the lasers. With the amount of power packed by a Zahlian Interceptor, she wouldn’t last long in a scrap with one of them—much less an entire squadron.
 

“Forty-five seconds!” she yelled over the rush of the atmosphere clashing with the shields.
 

“Roger! Get ready men!” Towers screamed. She heard the
Serpents
grabbing their gear and standing, their hands grabbing the safety handles lining the top of the Karda. “Let us know when we are ten seconds out!”

“Copy!”

She pushed forward on the stick, bringing the Karda at a sharper angle through the thick atmosphere. She gripped the stick so hard her joints ached. The clouds shot past the canopy, revealing her first true view of the planet’s surface.
 

Green land rolled through hills like a carpet leading toward jagged mountains. She searched for the river she had seen on the scans of the planet in the precious minutes provided for planning on the
Formidable
. Nothing yet.
 

She glanced up, searching for any sign of the Zahlian forces who undoubtedly knew of her arrival. Somewhere up there, the
Dauntless
was scrambling Interceptors onto her position.
 

Don’t think about that now.
 

The river emerged in the midst of a forest like a piece of black rope draped across the land. She banked, hard, bringing the Karda to bear on the river that would lead her to the canyon where the asset was hiding. Easing back on the stick, she brought the Karda under fifty MUs of the planet’s surface. The
Serpents
couldn’t jump from this height—they needed to be higher. She glanced at the beacon, saw the canyon rapidly approaching.
 

“Ten seconds!” she yelled.
 

“Roger!”

“Good hunting, Captain!”
 

She reduced her speed, allowing the Karda to fall within acceptable risks for the
Serpents
to make their drop. Her sensors wailed—four Zahlian Interceptors broke through the clouds to the East, bearing down on her position. They were too far out for guns, but missiles might …

Five seconds.
 

She heard the men slide back the doors on both sides of the Karda. The wind howled, blowing through the inside of the Karda.
 

“Standby, men!” Towers yelled.

Here we go, she thought.
 

The mountains loomed directly ahead, closer, closer. At the last moment, she yanked back on the stick. The Karda accelerated into the air, bringing her the altitude she required for the
Serpents
’ suits to work.
 

“Now!” she yelled, leveling out her trajectory as the Karda shot over the canyon.
 

Come on, come on.
 

She glanced back, caught a glimpse of Captain Towers leaping out into the air, leaving the inside of the Karda empty.

They were away!
 

She banked, rolling the Karda away from the canyon and spinning toward the western hemisphere of the planet.
 

The repeating beep of radar lock pounded in her ear. Here they come.
 

Perhaps they were still far enough away that she could lose them. She pulled back, sending the Karda at a ninety-degree angle away from the planet’s surface. Gravity pressed her back in her seat, darkness threatening to overtake her as the G-forces thrust against her. She fought the urge to close her eyes. The maneuver worked, the radar lock slipping away. She dropped countermeasures to be safe and keyed for her curvature drive to activate for the preset coordinates leading to the
Formidable
.
 

Two more Interceptors descended from deep orbit, heading directly for her position. She leveled out at the edge of the atmosphere, bringing herself away from the incoming bandits. The attempt at radar lock once again filled her ear piece. Massive laser bolts ignited the atmosphere in front of her, too large to be from the Interceptors. Below her, she caught a glimpse of the mushrooming clouds of dust and fire.
 

The
Dauntless
was trying to swat her back down to the surface with its ARC Cannon, a weapon she knew was utilized for planetary bombardment and creating an electro-magnetic pulse.

She pulled back on the curvature drive. The sky around her wavered and flashed.
 

The radar squealed, announcing an incoming missile. They were too late.
 

Clenching her teeth and allowing a tight smile, she pushed through the curve, escaping the danger and hoping Captain Towers and his
Serpents
had landed safely.
 

The flash of light in the eastern sky caught his attention. Lieutenant Austin Stone glanced into the clear blue sky, searching for another pair of Interceptors. Instead, he stared at the sky in awe. His jaw dropped open. He blinked several times, unsure if his eyes played tricks on him.
 

 
What looked like a Legion Karda shot through a curve in the atmosphere, blasting across the rippling sky like a flaming missile. A white trail followed the vessel as it accelerated, soaring faster than the support craft was ever meant to fly. The curve shimmered through the clouds as it closed, sending waves across the atmosphere like a fish jumping out of the water. The Karda righted itself, banking hard toward the canyon. It changed course, diving for the surface and out of sight because of the canyon and the forest.
 

Austin breathed for a moment. The Legion had sent a rescue party, but it was a small one. The Karda could hold seven or eight people plus some equipment.
 

He stared into the sky. The ARC lurked somewhere in orbit, watching the scene play out. Tulin’s crew had undoubtedly seen the Karda enter the atmosphere. As if they heard his thoughts, the sonic boom sounded as two Interceptors flashed like lightning in the distance, heading toward the incoming Karda from the west. He instinctively leaned forward and paused.
 

There was nothing he could do.
 

The
Wraith
’s power had drained to the point he had less than three hours. If he took off now, he might be able to take out a couple bandits, but then it would be all over. Tia, Val and the entire crew of the Chow Hall tug would have died for nothing. He made a fist and squeezed, bringing his knuckles to his lips as he stared into the sky. The clouds flashed like a strobe, probably laser fire.

Austin rocked in the cockpit, his eyes searching the sky for any sign of the Karda. If the Interceptors had shot it down, what would happen then? Would he be captured? Would Regent Tulin torture him until he revealed the plan in detail, explaining how the
Wraith
had been stolen?
 

He held the suicide cylinder in his palm, allowing it to roll. Shaking his head, he slid the cylinder back into his pocket and focused on the sky.
 

A moment later, the Karda shot into view from behind the mountains, driving hard for altitude. The Karda slowed, passing over the canyon at a slow enough speed Austin could see the details of the vessel. The crew mutilated the vessel's hull, all forms of identification and markings of any kind looked to have been burned off. A gradual realization fell over him as the Karda flew over the canyon, a sickening feeling burrowing into his chest.
 

This is not a Legion Karda. It belonged to a pirate outfit, or maybe smugglers.
 

No, he thought, more likely they were scavengers sent here to pick up a downed fighter and had the misfortune of running into the
Dauntless
. His hand rested on the pistol in its holster on his hip. He would go down fighting if it came to that, preferring to get shot than live the tortured life of a prisoner.
 

But how did they find him? Did they track his transmission?
 

Not possible, he thought, shaking his head. The
Dauntless
was unable to track the encrypted transmission he sent hours before, and they were in orbit. So how did they find him?

The Karda’s side doors opened, and Austin realized the “how” didn’t matter. Whoever they were, they were coming. He saw movement inside the vessel. A man wearing a strange suit stepped to the edge of the door. He wore a black helmet and clear goggles with an array of equipment strapped to his chest and back. Austin sneered, his hand gripping the pistol. They didn’t plan to land. This man planned to jump.
 

But it wasn’t high enough for a parachute, was it?

The man on the Karda leaped out into the air and stretched his arms, fabric stretching between his arms and legs. He soared down into the canyon like a hawk, swaying back and forth in the wind. Another man fell out of the Karda, followed by another. Six men soared into the canyon. One more jumped out of the Karda, flipping backward before extending his body’s wingsuit. The Karda banked away from the canyon, spinning away from the area and driving hard for altitude. The engines glowed blue, a burst of fire blasting the ship into the upper atmosphere and leaving contour trails across the sky. Two Interceptors followed in pursuit.