Chapter 1
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Cadet Valerie Adriano lay on her bed, unable to sleep, staring at the remarkably
featureless ceiling of her cabin. West point military academy was, in her opinion, a truly
remarkable and inspiring place, but it was about as impressive to look at as the cargo hold
of an ALG Waste disposal freighter. What was inspiring, were the tales and recordings of
previous battles and acts of courage and bravery which she was determined to emulate, no
matter how corny it sounded when she said it to herself. Her thoughts then returned to the
reason why she was unable to sleep; graduation was coming, but before it came, The Trial
as it was affectionately called by many a sadistic instructor had to be completed. This
ritual involved every cadet in their final year being given a Patriot class light fighter
and set loose into the Badlands to kill a Liberty Rogue or two, thus, theoretically,
preparing them for anything which the future held. Unfortunately, there was always the
possibility that a Liberty Rogue would kill a cadet or two, despite the fact that the cadets
from West Point had received the best training from the best instructors in Sirius, and the
Liberty Rogues were infamous for their pitiful flying abilities. Screw this, she said to
herself, if I cant sleep Ill wander, maybe Ill wear myself out or something. Valeries
thoughts were silenced by the blinding effects of her cabins lights on her eyes as she
flicked her light switch. Shielding her eyes with one hand, she searched the floor for her
clothes with the other. Her eyes adapted to the light quickly enough and the search became
much simpler, once she was dressed, she switched off her lights and went forth into the
corridors of the academy.
The corridor was, as usual, deserted, due to the
late hour, as was the lift which went to the bar. Valerie found that this made a refreshing
change from the ten or so cadets who were usually crammed into the elevator with her. There
were a large number of nervous, sleepless cadets in the bar. This was hardly a surprise. Her
and her classmates had been worrying about the Trial for weeks, and since it was scheduled
for tomorrow, it was no surprise that no one could sleep. Hey Valerie, over here! Boomed a
voice from the far side of the room. Valerie turned her head to see the weary, smiling faces
of her friends Eliza Peters and Mathias Cavallo. Valerie quickly stepped across the room and
took a seat at the secluded table which her friends had chosen, morbidly, they had chosen a
table which gave them a faint, yet unmistakable view of the Badlands, in which their prey,
as opposed to their killers hopefully waited. Couldnt sleep either? came the rhetorical,
conversation starting question from Eliza. Can anyone? Valerie replied whilst indicating
to the other cadets in the room. Sure, Mathias began with a hint of loathing in his voice,
surely youve heard the boastings of the overconfident, Greater then thou types. Im sure
theyre all fast asleep, having wet dreams of effortless victory. The sad thing is, Eliza
said with the same loathing that Mathias had used, theyve proclaimed their own greatness
so much its gone to their heads. Well, I guess the best thing we can do is put up with it
until a few dents in their hull prove to them that theyre mere humans after all. Valerie
added Or we can go one better and hope for a malfunction in their life support systems
said Mathias with a slight grin. Grim laughter met this statement, as did more yawning.
Eventually, the trios fear gave way to their fatigue and they soon returned to their
cabins.
Morning came and Valeries eyes shot open as she heard the ever
annoying shrill of her alarm clock. Not wanting to be late for her hunting trip, she quickly
donned her uniform and went forth into the corridor which was full of excited and nervous
cadets. Everyone tried to look calmer then they actually felt and most failed miserably. In
groups of twos, threes and fours the cadets entered the main briefing room, which was
usually used for simulated missions, and took a seat. Valerie was soon joined by Eliza who,
whilst struggling to keep a lid on her fear, was also vehemently guarding the seat next to
her in anticipation of Mathias arrival. Neither she nor Valerie said anything to each
other; they simply smiled and wrestled their own fear. It was the same with Mathias when he
arrived. Fear was easy to spot on the faces of most cadets, even the Greater then thou
types were revealing signs of worry under their cocky facial expressions. Eliza switched
randomly from one random thought to another in an attempt to distract herself from her
training mission, as it was officially known. One thing or another however always sent her
mind back to the trial. Valeries brain was frantically trying to remember bits and pieces
of advice and information from previous combat training lessons and simulations. It was the
same technique that she had used to prepare for High school tests in the minutes before they
began. This was bound to be harder then a Liberty history test however. The room fell silent
at the arrival of Admiral Walter Evans, the current academy commandant; he was a tall man
with greyish hair and a stare that could send shivers up and down your spine for a week.
That same stare was responsible for silencing the last few tenacious talkers.
Good
morning cadets, he began, graduation is in sight, but as you know there is one final
obstacle you must overcome before you earn your rightful places in the Liberty Navy. Im
sure that many of you are nervous, I did too when it was my turn, just remember, you have
received the best and most thorough training you can hope to receive in Sirius, just keep
your wits about you, and youll be fine As the Admiral continued his motivational
speaking, Valerie tried to reassure herself by remembering some of her simulated battles
against Liberty Rogues and Outcasts that had been shuttled to West Point from Huntsville and
Sugar land. The purpose of this was to provide a realistic combat experience. Valerie had
beaten the shit out of every criminal she had fought in the simulator. However, they were
all out of practice, and the fact that you cant die in a simulator has a habit of removing
the fear of death from a combat situation, which robs it of some of its realism. Well,
thats pretty much all I have to say. Captain Findley will now brief you on the mission
specifics. Her attention returned to Evans as he took a seat at the left hand corner of the
room. Part of her felt slightly guilty for ignoring the Admirals speech, but this was
quickly expelled as Captain Jason Findley activated the briefing rooms display screen. As
the images on the screen appeared, so did Valeries fear about the upcoming trial.
Good morning cadets, Findley began, after we launch well be taking the old trade
lane to Ithaca research station. The mention of the word Ithaca caused the screen to zoom
in on an image of the dead, twisted mass of metal that was once Ithaca research station.
Each wing shall consist of three cadets and one of the combat veterans which weve
gathered. Specific flight group assignments will be displayed on the screen after the
briefing is over Sighs of relief met this sentence. The idea of having an experienced
combat veteran with them in the inevitable battle was much more preferable to the idea of a
handful of rookies trying their luck with the beasts of the badlands. There shall be 40
flight groups in total. Groups one to twenty shall launch at oh eight hundred hours, groups
21 to 40 shall launch at fifteen hundred hours. Each group will be given a specific,
circular, six point patrol route. Until every cadet in your group has torched at least one
criminal, you may not return to West Point. There were some cadets in the ranks who had
hoped to avoid the grisly task of killing anyone and just get through their patrol in one
piece; every one of them grimaced at this news. Listen to your flight leader, Finley
continued, and do exactly as they tell you if you want to survive. Your performance in this
exercise will strongly affect what posts you receive upon graduation, A grin found its way
onto the captains face, so dont screw up. Questions? Yes sir, squeaked Michelle
Simmons, a short, almost underweight cadet with a voice that was virtually ultrasound. More
then one cadet had been known to laugh when they heard it on the radio. Yes cadet. Im
aware that this is unlikely sir, but if we come across the rumoured Liberty Rogue base in
the badlands, what should we do? Isnt it obvious? Findley remained silent for a few
seconds, as if he was willing Simmons to answer his rhetorical question, if you do find the
Liberty Rogue base cadet, you are to follow your flight leader to a safe distance and wait
for the re-enforcements that he or she will call in. Once they arrive, you are to help keep
the fighters at bay whilst torpedo bombers torch the station to a grim memory of a
migraine. Yes sir. Simmons sat back down and Findley invited more questions, silence was
his response. Very well then, on behalf of myself, Admiral Evans, and the entire command
staff, I wish you all good luck and good hunting. Dismissed. The display screen flickered
suddenly and began to display a list of names, all of which were attached to a group of
four. Every cadet in the room charged at the screen, regardless of the fact that a huge
crowd would just make everything ten times more difficult then it needed to be. Valerie and
Mathias had the good fortune to be placed in the same group. Eliza however was placed in a
group with two people she hardly knew. Her group was commanded by Admiral Evans himself
however, this was immensely re-assuring. Admiral Walter Evans was one of the most decorated
officers of the Liberty navy, as well as a level 25 pilot. Valeries group was commanded by
Lieutenant Janet Carter, a disturbingly optimistic level 15 pilot. She wasnt the most awe
inspiring of West Points veteran collection, but she was no where near the worst either.
The third cadet in their group was Nathan Remington. He was a quiet person who spent most
off his time in his cabin. Originally, it was thought that
this would make him a
target for bullies, when he broke the nose of the only person to ever insult him however,
opinions quickly changed. With the tension building within them, Valerie and Mathias walked
with the other cadets in the first twenty groups to the equipment room.
Fifteen minutes prior to launch, many cadets were on the flight deck conversing with
friends or receiving last minute instructions from their Wing leaders. Valerie was searching
the crowd for Mathias, whom she had lost in the sea of cadets. Excuse me! Shouted a voice
directly behind her, she turned to find an unfamiliar looking male staring at her. Are you
Valerie Andriano? The voice shouted over the noise of the crowd. Yes, replied Valerie
slowly, wondering who this stranger was, how he knew her name, and why he was talking to
her. Nathan Remington, he said with an obvious Bretonian accent whilst extending a hand,
I wanted to wish you and, uh, Mathew Crain I think, good luck before we launch. Oh,
Valerie replied whilst shaking the pre-offered hand, Thank you and good luck yourself, by
the way, its Mathias Cavallo, not Mathew Crain. I knew I got that wrong, I dont suppose
you know where he is do you? Havent a clue, Im looking for him myself actually. Oh
well, good hunting, if you see him; wish him well from me would you? With this, Nathan
Remington disappeared into the crowd. So that was Nathan Remington was it? Mathias half
shouted over Valeries left shoulder, making her jump. How long have you been there? She
asked irritably. Not long, came the devious response. Before he vanished, said Valerie
who was searching the crowd for Nathan, but to no avail, he wanted me to wish you luck.
Hes not at all what I expected. Let me guess, Mathias said, you expected a hissing,
snarling beast you lashes out with his mighty claws when spoken to. I doubt Id say it
with such eloquence, but yeah, thats more or less it. So does everyone. The sudden noise
from behind made Valerie jump again. Turning round, she saw that Nathan had re-appeared, and
seemed to be holding back the urge to laugh. As Mathias and Valerie started to mumble some
rushed apologies, he raised a hand.
Dont worry about it; the persona of a
snarling beast is the price I pay for clouting that arsehole in the kite, not that it wasnt
worth it mind you. There was a slight pause, am I right in assuming that you are Mathias
Cavallos then? Its Cavallo, and nice to meet you. Likewise, speaking of, wed better
get to our ships. The three began to walk towards their assigned fighters, Mathias and
Valerie received a momentary break from the fear by trying to figure out how walking to a
fighter could be connected with it being nice to meet someone. To Valeries surprise, Eliza
was waiting for her on the flight deck. Valerie had expected her to have sealed herself in
her cabin and bite her fingernails in anticipation of her own trial later today. But there
she was, staring at one of the Patriots as if inspecting it for dust. She appeared to be
close to tears, but his it well when she saw her and Mathias however. So, she began, Hmm
came Valeries equally insightful response. Yep, Mathias added. After a few uncomfortable
seconds, all three burst out laughing, which was closely followed by Eliza throwing her arms
around Valerie, thus restricting her breathing. Dont do anything stupid. She whispered
tearfully. Well be fine Eliza, Valerie replied, stop worrying about us and start
worrying about your own trial. Thanks, now I feel a lot better. Eliza said, trying to
force as much emphasis into her sarcasm as she could muster. She actually managed to laugh,
despite her own feelings of fear and concern. Mathias paced a hand on her shoulder after a
few seconds of silence and tried his hand at being reassuring. Besides, he said, these
are Liberty Rogues were talking about; weve got a better chance of being killed by a
toothbrush. Eliza spat out a small amount of laughter and released Valerie from her vice
like grip. Weve got to get going, said Valerie with traces of concern finding their way
into her voice, youll be alright wont you? Yeah, Eliza replied, feeling amused,
concerned and slightly embarrassed, I should be going too, good luck guys. Same to
you.
Lieutenant Janet Carter was a short woman, and almost everything about
her from her piercing stare to her overly bony fingers portrayed the image of someone whod
happily ram those fingers in your eyes. Am I right in assuming that you three are Nathan
Remington, Valerie Andriano and Mathias Cavallo? She said. Yes maam. Came the
simultaneous response. Good, now youve already been given the appropriate information by
captain Findley, and our specific patrol route has been uploaded into our neural nets. Just
dont loose your heads and follow my orders with slave-like devotion, and well come home
just fine, and several criminals wont. Grim smiles were shared with all four members of
Group 14; it was unspeakably difficult to feel sympathy for the criminals that infested
the badlands, especially after hearing about some of the atrocities that they had committed,
which was an all too common feature on the Colony News network. Any final questions
before we set out? Carter asked, Nathan, Mathias and Valerie all remained silent. Good,
well then, lets go shall we? Valerie inhaled slowly and walked towards the disturbingly
large, light fighter that had been assigned to her. Here goes nothing were her thoughts as
the canopy
closed.
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Chapter 2 - Out of the flight deck, into the fire
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Group 14 this is West Point, you are cleared to launch, good flying. Valerie watched West
Point steadily grow smaller in her rear view display. She had no time to dwell on this
however, as the voice of Janet Carter suddenly kicked in over the radio.
All right
cadets, form up on my four, six and eight and follow me to the trade lane. So far so good
thought Valerie after her first 10 seconds in space. She took a position directly behind
Carter and watched with growing tension as the trade lane, which would fling her into the
badlands at some unholy speed, grew ever closer. Initiate trade lane sequence, now! Carter
said over the radio. A flick of a switch was followed by group 14 flying down the bright,
shimmery cylinder of the usually inactive trade lane. Soon enough, the four arrived in the
badlands. The dark, stormy and God forsaken appearance of the place only seemed to add to
the fear that was felt by every cadet in the group had no shortage of to begin with.
Sensors show no enemy presence. Carter almost whispered. The quiet tone of her voice
forced Valerie and Mathias to wonder if she was talking more to herself then to them. Nathan
on the other hand had his eyes glued to his contact list, and didnt allow himself to
entertain such thoughts. Cadets, activate cruise engines and proceed to waypoint one. Mr.
Cavallo, you take point. Valerie watched as Mathias fighter overtook Carters and positioned
itself at the front of the group. She found that now she was in the badlands, much of her
nervousness had begun to give way to objectiveness. Despite this, part of her mind was
telling her that she would feel a lot better after she watched some Liberty Rogues explode.
Enemy contacts detected!
Valeries head snapped round to face her contact list and
nerve shattering anticipation filled her after hearing Mathias message over the radio.
Before the enemy entered her sensor range however, Mathias started speaking
again.
It looks like two Liberty Rogue Bloodhounds. Could be worse, she said
quietly to herself, that means two of us per
Bloodhound; theyre as good as dead.
Make that four. Mathias said. Thats not a problem, she began again, one ship apiece
and you outgun and outclass them. Make that twenty! Mathias virtually shrieked. Valerie
stared at her contact list, desperately hoping that this was all some sick joke on Mathias
part. The list simply confirmed his report however, and furthermore, she could see all
twenty sets of red brackets on her view-screen. Valeries mind froze; this wasnt supposed
to be happening. The Liberty Rogues were a motley collection of thugs who were supposed to
be easier to defeat then a pestiferous Los Angeles Cummings weed. For a very short moment,
she was reminded of the late captain Marcus Walkers warnings about underestimating the
enemy. This was the result of such a mistake. A momentary flash of pain passed through
Valerie as she
remembered her deceased mentor. This was quickly banished however;
this was no time to grieve. The truth of the situation was clear, and it was also heading
straight for her, and before fear had a chance to set in, Janet Carter was shouting new
orders over the radio. All ships, run! The word run triggered a reflex action in all of
the cadets and each of them re-activated their cruise engines and turned a very quick 180
degree turn. Repeat, to all Liberty Navy, Police and LSF ships, this is Lieutenant Janet
Carter; we are being pursued by a fleet of twenty Liberty Rogue fighters, requesting There
was some momentary static and then a different, deeper and almost terrifying voice emerged
from the radio.
Did you honestly thing that we would simply bow to your
will and die? We know all about this trial of yours. What you dont seem to know however,
is that the badlands belong to the Liberty Rogues and the Outcasts; they are not your
personal hunting grounds. Your deaths and the deaths of those you brought with you will help
to prove this point to the rest of Sirius. Valerie stared at the image of the Liberty Rogue
on her HUD in sudden shock as she realised that this was the face of a man who was trying to
kill her. Four years of academy training however, and the anger she felt at being forced to
run by an enemy she had come to believe wholeheartedly was inferior, gave her the strength
to focus her mind on more important matters, such as running, and more running. Im picking
up a new group of signals. Mathias aid calmly, having seemingly recovered from the shock of
seeing 20 enemy fighters. This amazed Valerie for a few moments. Mathias was one of the most
emotional people she knew, for a few seconds, she remembered how he had once shouted at a
lifts call button for not working. Her mind snapped back to reality shortly after it had
left it however. Four Outcast daggers Mathias said in the same, eerily calm tone of voice.
All fighters follow me said Janet Carter as she veered to the right so as to avoid the
newcomers. The cadets followed suit shortly thereafter. This is Navy patrol Delta 13, the
sudden appearance of a friendly voice brought relief to Valerie that was surprisingly,
almost frighteningly strong, especially considering the fact that she wasnt out of the
metaphorical wood yet, we are en route to assist you. Well be there in five minutes, try
to hold them off. Two similar messages, one from West point group 7, and another from LSF
patrol Gamma 12, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Kendra Peterson arrived shortly
after the first message, and a very different feeling began to swell inside of Valerie;
Bloodlust. Just a few more minutes, she told herself, just a few more minutes and well
be able to show these pathetic wankers that no part of Liberty space belongs to them. They
are just a minor annoyance wholl wither and die when
our forces finally learn the
location of their base. After that, well hunt down the survivors one by one and, oh for the
love of, WAKE UP VALERIE! We dont have time for this!
Such was the way of
most of Valeries present thoughts. It was hard to focus when all she wanted to do was watch
as her lasers tore into a pirates fighter. She only had to run for a few more minutes, but
those minutes were filled with fear, anger and an overpowering desire for vengeance, and
because of this, they were agonisingly long. This is Navy patrol delta 13, engaging enemy.
West Point group 7, ready to assist. This is LSF patrol Gamma 12, engaging hostiles.
This is freelancer Edison Trent, Im here to help. Acknowledged, good to see you, came
the jubilant response from Janet Carter, Cadets; take your pick. Valerie, Nathan and
Mathias broke formation almost instantly and followed the nine Navy Defenders, ten
patriots, and the one Eagle into the wall of Liberty Rogue ships. The usually dark and
lifeless badlands were lit up by the countless laser blasts. Valerie dodged the enemies
fire as best as she could by strafing left and right. The occasional hit damaged her shields
so pitifully that it barely registered on her shield health display. Valerie passed her
target and quickly swung round so as to position herself behind the slow, clumsy Bloodhound
that she had chosen as a target. The two advanced starbeams and the two lavablades which
constituted her ships weaponry, (with the exception of twenty five seeker mines,) were
more
then sufficient for the task ahead of them. Her targets shields fell within a
matter of seconds. This was followed an instant later by the shock, joy and confussion that
accompanied Valeries first kill. The pirate simply exploded in the time it takes to blink.
The pilot didnt even have time to blink. Valerie was too shocked to move for a few moments,
a few hits to her shields quickly brought her back to reality however. Mathias could only
feel frustration. The damaged Outcast he was pursuing continued to evade his fire, he only
needed only one more good hit to destroy the pestiferous pirate, but this hit was proving to
be hard to achieve. Fortunately for him however, the pirates were mainly focusing their
efforts of the Defenders and Trents Eagle. This left him free to attack his target, and
the other friendly fighters free to destroy those who challenged them. Nathan was having a
fairly hard time evading yet another dagger that was firing at him.
He was
trying every evasive manoeuvre he had been taught in an effort to loose his pursuer, but to
no avail. As things began to look their most grim, inspiration struck. Nathan cut his
engines and watched as the Outcast overtook him, quickly begging to veer to the left, but
not knowing that it was too late. Nathan opened fire, and the Outcasts fighter rocked as
one of its wings was torn off, closely followed by another, which was followed by a final
explosion that took out what was left of the ship. Nathan recovered from the shock of his
first kill by noticing that two Liberty Rogues had appeared behind him. As the battle
progressed, the pirates began to take steady losses, without even so much as a hull fracture
on the friendly vessels. Soon enough, the surviving six Bloodhounds began to retreat. So,
began Valerie, theyve finally come to their senses. Now this is as it should be. This is
Lieutenant Kendra Peterson, these Liberty Rogues might us lead us to their home base, all
fighters pursue. Valerie wasnt sure whether or not to feel exited or frightened. The first
wave of enemy vessels had gone down easily enough, despite having superior numbers. Logic
dictated however, that the Liberty Rogues and their friends the Outcasts would defend their
base with everything they had. In spite of her apprehensive feels however, Valerie activated
he cruise engines and followed the others in the direction of the fleeing pirates. Obviously
if they followed too closely, the enemy would just scatter so as to protect the location of
their base, or wherever it was that they were flying, hence they had to rely on a waypoint
which showed the enemies vector. Im getting something said one of the LSF officers
suddenly.
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Chapter 3 - Test of character
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There was a seemingly endless pause after the LSF officer had given his report,
Valeries eyes were glued to her contact list with almost religious zeal but she was too far
behind for her sensors to register anything. Her eyes were brought to the view screen when
she saw the ships at the front of the group come to an abrupt stop. After a moment of shock
she halted her own vessel and checked her contact list once again. What she saw was
impossible. A Liberty battleship, listed as the LNS Valiant was sitting just four kilometres
ahead of Valerie and the other ships. It was surrounded by forty Bloodhounds and five
Wolfhounds. What the hell is going on? Spoke a quiet voice over the radio. This is the
Liberty Rogue battleship Valiant. The voice that had appeared on the radio only seconds
after the question was filled with smugness, and what sounded like repressed laughter. You
stand no chance against us, lower your shields and prepare to be boarded, or, if you
prefer,
fight us and die by the hands of your former ship. The radio fell silent for
a moment, after which it was buzzing with
various, nervous questions. Howd the
Liberty Rogues get a battleship? Why werent we warned about this? What now? Shut up!
Kendra Petersons voice cut through the others like a knife, West point group 14 patriot
Alpha three, (Mathias ship), retreat to a safe distance and call for re-enforcements. When
youre certain that enough ships are on their way, join the fight, everyone else, lets get
em.
Mathias fled the scene as the other fighters charged at the wall of
Liberty Rogue fighters that were already moving to intercept them. Mathias was furious that
he had been ordered to run whilst his friend was fighting for her life; it was all he could
do not to turn back round and fight. Lucky git whispered Valerie to herself as she saw
Mathias vessel fly away to safety. This thought was quickly banished however as the enemy
fighters entered firing range. She had a much harder time dodging the enemys fire this
time, as did everyone else. In spite of the odds however, the Navys technological edge
remained, and it was this that led to the early deaths of four enemy fighters. The Navy
vessels almost constantly had to dig into their supplies of shield batteries and nanobots.
For every enemy ship they destroyed, two more Liberty Rogues seemed to appear behind the
ship that had destroyed a pirate. Valerie tried as best as she could to block out the
chatter and screams that plagued the intercom, a single second of distraction could result
in a fiery end for her, hence she found herself unusually focused on her duties, until she
heard a familiar scream that almost stopped her heart. Janet Carter was dead. Valerie spent
a handful of seconds, which to her felt like hours, doing nothing except staring blankly at
the view screen; once again, it was a few hits on her shields that brought her back to
reality. Nathan was slightly better then Valerie at blocking out the voices
remained
in blissful ignorance of Janet Carters death. His attention was focused on the battleship
that was steadily creeping into firing range, once it was close enough, things would get a
whole lot tougher. Come on Mathias. Valerie, having recovered as best as she could from
the shock of Carters death, was trying to destroy an unscathed bloodhound while at
the
same time trying to dodge the two behind her that were firing at her. She had
used up her ships compliment of shield batteries and her supply of Nanobots was dwindling.
Her ship rocked as another round of lasers smashed into her hull, forcing her to abandon her
previous target. She was not so lucky as to loose her pursuers in the process however. She
deployed the
three mines that she had left, and as they were harmlessly blown away,
Valerie watched as the impossible happened.
The surviving Navy pilots
cheered over the radio as the guns of twenty-five Liberty Defenders tore at the Bloodhounds,
many of which were destroyed almost instantly, having already received battle damage. Others
fled to the Valiant for support. Valerie stared at her contact list with a mixture of
confussion and joy, unable to understand how so many ships had reached the badlands so
quickly, as the Valiant came into view however, she suddenly stopped caring. Now was the
time for vengeance. The remaining fighters burned and exploded as Navy fighters dropped in
behind them and fired. The Valiant did not have the firepower to defend itself against so
many torpedo carrying vessels, and as the last of the Liberty Rogue fighters died, the
surviving 39 Liberty fighters opened fire on the battleship with everything they had. Gun
turrets and sections of the hull peeled away from the main body of the ship and incinerated.
As the fire from the Valiant became more sporadic, the bright blue explosions that signified
torpedo hits became a more and more frequent occurrence. Within minutes, the Valiant was
reduced to a crippled mass of metal. The voice of the Valliants captain re-appeared on the
radio, the smugness seemed to have given way to coughing, and there was no image on the HUD,
which suggested that the enemys communications were damaged. You know, it croaked, I
thought this might happen, call me a bad loser if you must but Ive set the ships
autodestruct to detonate, soon. Also, I made sure that the ships cargo holds were jammed
full of explosive gasses before we left, this ship was meant for a different role, but I
wont go into that Run! Shouted Kendra Peterson over the radio. Valerie was sceptical at
first, this seemed like a trick that would give the Valiant time to escape, but the results
of her cargo scan quickly changed her mind however. This is Ensign Jennifer Baird, my
cruise engines are damaged and I will be unable to escape the blast, good luck to all.
Valerie stared in sudden shock as the distance between her and Jennifer Bairds crippled
Defender steadily increased. This is Lieutenant Peterson, the battleship is going to
explode in a matter of seconds and we barely have enough time to escape the blast radius as
it is. Do not attempt to go back for Ensign Baird.
Valerie knew that there
was nothing she could do, she even shouted it to herself, but she reversed her course
anyway. Valerie, what the hell are you doing? Screamed Mathias Get back into formation
cadet! Screamed Peterson. Im sorry Mathias, she replied, get clear with the others.
Before Mathias could say anything, Valerie shut down her radio and
continued towards
the defender. Within seconds, she was within tractor beam range. Maam, eject and Ill
tractor you onboard. Are you crazy?! Get out of here cadet before Just do it! The fire
in Valeries voice, and the realisation that this was her best chance at survival, however
slight it may be, got Jennifer Baird moving, within seconds she was in an escape pod in
Valeries cargo hold. Valerie was able to fly for ten seconds before the Valiant exploded.
Shes waking up. Came a soft, yet at the same time exited voice, which Valerie recognised
as Elizas. Taking a few seconds to wake up properly, and
realise where she was, she
began to ask questions. What A sharp pain in her side forced her to stop speaking. Easy,
youve got some pretty nasty injuries. That voice belonged to Mathias. What ha The same
pain cut off Valerie again.
I think you mean what happened right? Nathan Remington
asked, suddenly appearing on Valeries right, well lets see, you saved the life of a naval
officer, disobeyed a direct order, got caught in the explosion of a commandeered battleship
of all things, are to be given the rank of Lieutenant after graduation and posted onboard
the battleship Missouri along with Mathias here, and finally, youre to be given the Lone
star for bravery, not bad mate. Valerie grunted in a mix of amazement, joy and pain that
came when she tried to move.
It was close, Mathias began, your ships so
badly fucked up that itll be lucky to avoid getting shoved in the Detroit Debris field. As
for yourself, well, I doubt I need say anything. Oh by the way, Jennifer Baird sends her
thanks, shell need a new arm but otherwise shell be fine. Good to hear, groaned
Valerie, how long am I gonna be stuck in the infirmary? Three of your ribs were
shattered, and you received a concussion. Not to mention some internal bleeding. Valerie
stared at Eliza in sudden panic, Dont worry, theyve fixed the worst of it. But it looks
like youll be stuck here for a week at least. Fucking hell, staring at these four walls
for a week is going to bore me to insanity. Nathan, who had disappeared from Valeries
sights for a reason that was known only to himself, spontaneously re-appeared in Valeries
line of vision. Youll be amused to hear, he began, that the LSF was able to dig up some
information on the Valiant. Apparently, it was decommissioned five years ago; the Liberty
Rogues found it, dragged it into the badlands and filled it with ancient parts and equipment
so that it was barely flyable. They were planning to fly it into Newark station before we
showed up. Valerie was silent for a few seconds, her semi-conscious mind was having a hard
time accepting the information that Nathan was spurting at a ridiculously fast speed, once
she realised what his message was, she spoke again. And now theyre dead. So, anything
interesting happen on your trial Eliza? Not really, the Liberty Rogues were somewhat
reluctant to show up after they got their arses kicked so thoroughly by you and the others.
Grins broke out on the faces of Valerie, Mathias and Nathan. The trial, as it would
appear, had succeeded in preparing them for whatever the future held. Well be back first
thing in the morning Valerie, Eliza said, placing her hand lightly on Valeries shoulder,
by the looks of things, you need your rest. Goodnight. Said Mathias, Sleep well.
Followed Nathan as the three walked to the door. Before Valerie fell asleep, her mind
conjured up one final thought, That was fun.
The End
