Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3) (46 page)

Austin stared at Ryker’s casket, hoping this situation had been like his own “funeral,” and that she would be sent off on a covert mission like he had just accomplished. The officers and other Star Runners moved around him like water passing around a boulder in the middle of a river, yet he could not pull his attention away from the casket. Her body had not been recovered, but Major Ty Braddock said this was a normal occurrence during battles taking place in deep space. Austin sighed, his throat constricting.
 

She had died for him, launching her Trident between him and the incoming missiles.
 

And now the mission would be classified, all documents about Mission
Wraith
would be buried so deep the press would never be able to find it. The Star Runners, Ryker included, would be listed as “Missing in Action.” Austin clenched his teeth. She deserved better. They all did.
 

“Lieutenant?”
 

Austin didn’t turn, knowing the voice behind him all too well. “Major Braddock.”
 

“You are dismissed.”

“I know.”
 

Braddock shifted on his feet, moving next to Austin and clearing his throat. “We have some things to discuss, Stone.”

Austin sighed. “I’m sure we do, sir.”
 

“We will be docking with the
Tizona
later today, and the crew will be released for a brief two-day shore leave after that.”

“Sure.”
 

“Your situation might make things a little different.”

Austin turned to face the Major, his energy fading as the events of the past month weighed on him. “My situation?”

“Your record has been filed under ‘Deceased.’ That’s something we will need to address.”

“What does that mean?”

Braddock looked at the ground for a moment. “Well, you will be given alternate papers for your shore leave, traveling under an assumed name for the time being until command decides what to do with you next.” He eyed him. “I have been told you will be receiving a commendation for your performance—secretly, of course.”
 

Braddock leaned in closer. “I never told you how well you did, Austin.”

Austin blinked. Braddock never called him by his first name. “Oh?”

“During the Battle of Atlantis,” Braddock said, a grin moving across his face. “I know you have had trouble dealing with your good fortune that day.”

Austin looked at the deck, uncomfortable with the subject being brought up in the open.
 

Braddock took a step toward him and placed his hand on his arm above where Austin’s laser burn had been bandaged. “Good fortune and luck always plays a part in what we do out there and probably had a role in your survival of those odds on Earth.” He lowered his gaze, pausing until Austin locked eyes with Braddock’s. “But luck is not the only thing. You’re a Legion Star Runner, and a good one. Don’t forget that.”

Braddock slapped his shoulder hard enough Austin winced, and marched out of the room.
 

The room emptied. Austin stared at Ryker’s casket. For a moment, he saw a figure linger at the corner of his eye as if wanting to speak with him, but they walked away.
 

*****

Austin stared at the stealth fighter; the lives extinguished for the capture of the
Wraith
passing through his mind one at a time. He focused on remembering their faces, recalling every detail he could recollect. After all of the effort to steal this fighter, it now sat parked on the hangar deck of the
Tizona
, awaiting transport back to the core Legion worlds for study and analysis. The
Formidable
had docked with the
Tizona
two days after Mission
Wraith
was successful. He had managed to provide a debriefing to Commander Horace and Major Braddock but had rested in his quarters the rest of the time, ignoring any knocks at his door.
 

Most of the crew had emptied the
Tizona’s
hangar. The
Wraith
sat quiet and alone. After receiving so much attention, the fighter had no one crawling over it for inspection. It sat parked in front of him. He still felt drawn to the fighter. Somehow it was better than hanging out with the rest of the Star Runners.
 

“They told me you would be here.”

The tension left Austin’s face. A frown he did not know he had been carrying around softened, melting away at the soft but familiar voice behind him. He turned slowly, his eyes falling upon the kind face of Jonathan Nubern.
 

“Major?” he asked, whispering.

“Austin.”

He leapt forward, embracing his mentor. Austin released the feelings he had tried to suppress, weeping into Nubern’s shoulder.
 

“I’ve tried, sir. I’ve tried so hard to be something you would be proud of, something you could admire.” He inhaled. “I’m so sorry. I never wanted anyone to see me like this. I just … I miss her, sir.”

“It’s all right, son,” he said. “It’s all right.”

*****

After Austin had recovered himself, he felt a weight lift from his chest. He and Nubern strolled between the hundreds of Tridents onboard the massive
Tizona
, talking about the recent events both personal and within the Legion.
 

Nubern had arrived for the funeral of the Star Runners, especially Ryker’s. He had received an encrypted communication from Major Braddock, explaining Austin had not been killed in action.
 

The tensions between the Zahl and Legion had fallen back to the level experienced before the threat of the Tyral Pirates had all the politicians pointing fingers. Nubern said a Cold War still existed between the two governments, but the looming threat of war had subsided. With Tulin out of the picture, the warmongering parties in the Zahlian government had lost their figurehead. It would take time for them to regain their momentum, if they ever did.
 

Nubern said the
Wraith
would be sent back and studied. With any luck, it would be reverse engineered and could forever change the way space war is fought in the galaxy.

“Your mother wanted to be here, too,” Nubern said as they rounded another corner of parked Tridents. “Her ship had been out of communication range on The Fringe at the opposite side of Legion space, assisting with a plague outbreak. She’s now in quarantine and forced to remain there with her crew for observation.”

“Fun.” Austin thought of his mission. “Had she been told of my funeral?”

Nubern smiled. “Her ship has been so far out that no communications had reached her, yet. After she is cleared from quarantine, she will receive all transmissions that were stored in their ship’s system when they arrive back in the core worlds. Once I heard about the situation from Major Braddock, I knew I wanted to prevent word from getting to your mother, so I took leave and went to deal with the situation.”

Nubern’s grin grew wide. “I have some pull, you know, so I was able to prevent the news from reaching her before it is downloaded. I will tell her what has happened, but in person. This was a black ops mission, but she deserves to hear the truth and not some cold message from the Navy.” He shrugged. “Anyway, her ship will soon be on the way back to the core worlds. I think she is handling her transition to the Legion Navy really well. She really loves you, Austin. Before she was out of communication range, she would write about you all the time.”

Austin eyed him. “So you two have become close then?”

Nubern sighed, his eyes rolling. “I suppose we have, son.”

Austin let his gaze on linger on his mentor. “I think that’s great, sir. I really do.”

“Okay,” Nubern said in that certain way to suggest he wanted to change the subject. “You know where you're headed next?”

“With my current situation, I have no idea. The
Formidable
is shipping out at the end of the week. I hope I’ll be on board.”

“I do, too. Let me know what’s going on when you get a chance.” He gestured to the left. “By the way, is that it?”

Austin followed his gaze. There at the end of the row of fighters was the
Wraith
. They had walked around the entire hangar.
 

“Yes, it is.”

“Braddock told me a little about what you went through to get it,” Nubern said with a sigh. “Beautiful fighter.”

Austin took in a slow breath. “It sure is, sir.”

Nubern stared at him. “Are you doing fine? Are you taking leave with the rest of your squadron?”

He shrugged. “I’m heading down to Oma, but I’m going alone.”
 

Nubern frowned. “I had heard you’ve been spending a lot of time in your quarters since completing your mission.”

“And?”

“Don’t make it too much of a habit, that’s all. Make sure you leave yourself some time to recover from what you’ve been through, but there’s no reason to always be alone. People care about you. Make time for them.”

“I’ll make the time.” He smiled weakly, a plan forming in his mind. “I think I know where I’d like to go first.”

Nubern placed his hands on both of Austin’s shoulders. “You know I’ve always been proud of you. Don’t you?”

Austin felt his face warm. “Yes, sir.”

“But what you have accomplished at such a young age …” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I don’t have the words. You are, well, you have become my hero.”

Austin nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

They embraced. Nubern squeezed him, holding him close for a moment.
 

“I’ll see you soon,” Nubern said as they parted. “I have to head back to Quadrant Eight.”

Austin smiled, the mention of his home quadrant bringing a flood of nostalgia. “Tell Earth I said hello.”

“Will do.” Nubern held his gaze a moment longer, then marched out of the hangar. His boots echoed as they drifted farther away until Nubern disappeared through the hatch and into the busy corridor.

“Lieutenant,” a deck officer called, rushing across the hangar floor. “Your shuttle is departing for Oma in a moment.”
 

Austin held up his hand. “I’ll be right there. I want to see this.”

The deck officer seemed miffed at being told to wait but held his tongue.
 

Austin turned his attention back to the
Wraith
, looking out of place next to a line of Legion Tridents. A lift hoisted the black fighter into the air, and the crew pushed it onto the transport ship. Austin looked at the sleek design one last time, not knowing if he would ever see the stealth fighter again. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but the fighter lifted twenty feet into the air and moved toward the transport.
 

Braddock had said the
Wraith
would be secretly sent back to the Legion core worlds for study and reverse-engineering. With any luck, the Legion would be able to create its own stealth ships before the Zahl Empire recovered from this setback. Although the Zahlian Empire had said nothing of this incident, they did mention the loss of the
Dauntless
due to a reactor accident that claimed Sector Regent Tulin, who had been aboard. With Tulin’s death, the tension between the Zahl and Legion governments should subside.
 

He studied the
Wraith’s
smooth surface, didn’t see a scratch.
 

I did it, he thought. I got you.
 

Turning to the deck officer, Austin nodded and followed him toward the departing shuttle.

*****

Austin dangled his feet in the warm waters of Seaside, his thoughts on Ryker basking in the sun. He had arrived two days ago, renting the same room they had used after dancing at the Glistening Orb. Other docks lined the waterway, stretching into the distance and disappearing into the morning fog.
 

Although he had tried, he hadn’t been able to sleep much. Falling into restless naps a couple hours at a time, he had been ripped from sleep by horrible nightmares. They had changed now, however, no longer about the fires and the Battle of Atlantis. Now, he awoke with no memory of the dream, only a passing feeling of depression.
 

He had pressed his face into the pillows, wondering if he could smell her hair. He knew it was crazy to try, but he didn’t care. When his father died, he could smell his Dad everywhere. The smell lingered for months, but slowly faded with the passage of time.
 

There had to be a mistake. His mind convinced him several times each hour his death was an error. Dad hadn’t died. The doctors had been mistaken about their entire diagnosis. This lasted for weeks, and he found himself doing the same thing with Ryker.
 

Austin shook his head. He had read the encrypted after action reports Nubern had sent him, saw there were no beacons or escape pods found on long range scans. A physical search of the area was impossible since the moon had been located just inside Zahlian territory.

He stared over the water, remembering their time here. It had been before the promotion, before she allowed the pressure to get to her and throw up her defenses. For the first time, Austin realized he never blamed her for calling off their relationship. He understood.
 

Staring down into the water and watching the daylight flicker over his feet, he wished he could have told her he knew her secret. She had the rest of the fleet fooled into thinking she was a hardened warrior. Part of her was this facade and always would have been an incredible Star Runner, but there was another side, a softer side Austin thought she saved for him.
 

And now she was gone.
 

The bell on his room’s door pinged. He ignored it, dipping his hand in the water and taking in a breath of the sea air brushing over him.
 

Perhaps a swim was in order …

The door pinged again.
 

Sighing, he leaned back on his hands. “Enter!”
 

The door opened with a rush. Soft footsteps entered and stepped out onto his dock.
 

“Austin?”