ASMSG Scifi Fantasy Paranormal Emagazine April 2015 | Page 30

As I clambered down into the hangar through a
section of twisted bulkhead I was horrified by what I
saw. All around me were destroyed ships and dead
crew. One section had escaped relatively undamaged.
It held a wing of scout ships that were still
operational. Some of the surviving pilots were trying
to put out the fires or help their injured crew mates. I
recognised one of them as Wilby and ran over to her.
“Is your team ready to fly?” I asked. She looked at the
pilots and their ships.
“We’ve got five Lonestars left, but only four pilots.”
It seemed like fate was pushing me towards the one
thing I’d been fighting for months.
“Go,” I said to Wilby, “don’t wait for launch
clearance.”
“Commander Veros is dead; his ship’s over there,”
she offered. Then she shouted out the order to launch
to the other pilots and climbed aboard her own craft.
I made for the ramp of Vero’s ship, the Star Chaser.
I did the short version of the startup procedure and
watched Wilby’s ship, the Star Runner, blast out of the
hangar at top speed. I knew if I stayed my career
would most likely be over. I would be found guilty of
insubordination in my absence and all my many
achievements would be erased. My name would mean
nothing. I throttled up for take-off and followed the
others and left the Talisman behind.

Of the initial six groups of attack ships, the Bodarians
had lost three. What remained of one group was now
mounting a boarding action on the Talisman. The
others had turned to pursue the scouts. Each
Lonestar was equipped with a single-use hydrive, just
like a galactic hydrive, but with a shorter range. It was
a one-way trip. They were charged up on the carrier
and their launch point was pre-calculated to trigger
when they reached a waypoint some distance from
the carrier.
I got in behind one of the Bodarian ships on Wilby’s
tail and lined him up, then opened up with everything
I had. I took out half of the rear end of his ship.
Wilby hit the jump point and vanished.
I checked the other three had got away then lined up
for my own jump.
My radio crackled with an incoming transmission.
“Honey, what are you doing out there? You can come
back in, now, okay? Look, I’m not mad at you,. You
were right, I should have listened to you.”
I couldn’t bear to hear his voice. He would talk me
out of leaving. I shut off the comm unit. The Star
Chaser hit its jump point and the hydrive triggered.
My trajectory was set; soon I would be in another part
of the Galaxy, somewhere so far away that even
getting home would take years. Even if I’d wanted to
go.

You can continue to read the Scout's Tale for Free on Luke Bellmason's website.
Read Part II Here

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