Gamma Raiders: Storm Squadron Alpha: Scifi Alien Romance Novel (9 page)

Kira frowned. Something about it didn’t sit right with her. “It would take something pretty heavy to cause a full system slowdown,” she said.

“It’s been doing that a little more often lately. Nothing to worry about, I promise. We haven’t upgraded the infrastructure to keep up with growing demand of the all the new recruits. And Captain Adaar has been chewing up a huge chunk bandwidth in his negotiations with the Human Systems Alliance. All their communications are running under a new heavy-encryption protocol that’s taking up more than its share of system resources.”

“Even so, it seems a little strange that it would affect the system this much. I mean, that would make it hard for the captain to talk to the Alliance, right?”

“Everything from the CIC gets priority transmission. Just because things are slow for the rest of us doesn’t mean they’re having any issues.”

“So they’re in a conference now?”

Tyrus pulled his fingers wide, enlarging the bandwidth charts. “It doesn’t look like it. That’s odd.” He swiped a few times, studying the data in front of him, scrunching his smooth, gold-tinted face into a frown. “I guess the new encryption protocols are still running in the background. It takes a lot of horsepower to disguise our system.”

Kira sat back on her bed, resigned. So much for distracting herself from her fantasies about Ja’al. “So there’s nothing you can do then?”

“I don’t know why the encrypted channel is still open. They probably just didn’t shut everything down properly. And after I worked so hard to teach them the procedures. Guess I’ll have to remind them. Again.”

“Ah, the glorious life of a tech,” she said, realizing her mistake a moment too late. She didn’t want Tyrus to feel abandoned.

But the young Kamaran rebel only smiled. “I’m glad you stepped up, Kira,” he said. “You may be a great tech, but you have a sense of people that’s going to take you far. Good things are going to happen for you.”

She smiled and bit her lip. “Thanks, Tyrus. I’m doing my best out here. But Storm is out of my comfort zone.”

Tyrus nodded and looked at her knowingly. She got the sense he would have hugged her if he wasn’t just a glowing projection in the air in front of her. “Hang in there, Kira. I’m sure you’ll be crushing the leader board in no time.”

“I’m sorry, the what?”

“You know, the leader board. All the performance scores of Storm pilots are broadcast to the crew.”

“Oh, lovely,” she said. She felt the color drain from her face, and the sickening sensation she’d swallowed a bitter ball of Yordaskian black tar flooded her stomach.

“Maybe I could still come join the mechs, after all.”

Tyrus shook his head. “Nope. Sorry. I’ve got too much riding on you. You’re going to win me a giant pile of credits. So you’re not allowed to quit.”

“You never did have a sense of a losing bet,” she said.

“I believe in you, Kira.”

“You’re not mad?” she said. “I mean …”

“No way,” he said. “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. As long as you still stop by for Traps every once in a while.”

“Thanks, Tyrus.”

“And don’t worry about that bandwidth issue. I’m going to look into it. I can’t believe someone was careless enough to leave that channel open. But we’ll get it sorted out. Thanks for the heads up,” he said.

“Glad to help.”

“And hey,” said Tyrus. “Take care of yourself out there. I hear the combat raids are pretty intense.”

Combat raids? She swallowed hard. As if she didn’t have enough to worry about. But then, no one ever said this would be easy. She lifted her head high and smiled wide. “I won’t let you down, Tyrus.”

Chapter 9

The orders flashed onto her holoscreen in the middle of the night. Meant to simulate the chaos and surprise of an actual battle situation, the cadets weren’t given any advance notice. If it weren’t for Tyrus tipping her off that the ground simulations were coming, Kira would have been wholly unprepared for the mission that followed. Even with the heads up, the suddenness of her call to action took her off guard.

With no time to collect themselves of gather the necessary supplies, the Storm cadets rushed to their shuttles and departed for the nearby forest world of Orvantis.

Kira gazed out the window of the cramped shuttle craft as the planet came into view. Sweeping white patches of cloud danced along the vivid green hue of the trees rushing past in a blur. Uncomfortably sandwiched between Reina and the wall, she was grateful that the flight was almost over. The shuttle crafts were designed for efficiency. The comfort of the passengers mattered little. They were soldiers. Focused on the mission ahead. They didn’t need to be coddled.

As they neared the planet, Ja’al explained the parameters of the mission. The training exercise simulated a raid on an enemy base. The cadets would have to fight their way through the enemy guards, infiltrate the compound, and secure control of the central comm terminal to complete the mission. The Rebel marines, playing opposite Storm Squadron, would do everything in their power to stop them.

When the shuttle finally touched ground, the cadets collected their weapons and gear. Worried that she might betray her feelings for him to the group, Kira avoided eye-contact with Ja’al when he handed her the pulse rifle. Still, she allowed her hands to linger on his arms when she took the weapon from him. Hearing the authority and unquestionable certainty in his voice as he gave the orders to his crew warmed her insides.

She couldn’t wait to get him alone again. Maybe when the raid was through, she’d find an excuse to draw him away from his duties for a few minutes. She smiled at the thought.

The cadets lined up at the edge of the forest, inspecting their gear as Ja’al explained the details of the operation.

“The object of this mission is simple,” he said. “Locate the enemy base, get inside, and assume control of the central terminal. Tap into their communication system and radio back to us.”

“This is a waste of time,” said Jomanak. “When are we ever going to be on the ground infiltrating an enemy base?”

A handful of cadets nodded and mumbled in agreement. He has a point, Kira thought.

“Even the best pilots get shot down,” said Ja’al, masking his irritation. “And when your ship is a pile of debris on an alien planet, you’ll need to know how to survive. How to contact the Rebellion to get you home. Or to get us critical intel on the enemy. You’re a pilot first and foremost, but we don’t have the numbers of the Imperial forces. Not yet, at least. And in the meantime, we need all of our recruits to be able to handle themselves in any situation.”

“Why not just teach us this stuff back at Dennegar?”

“This is a practical exercise in leadership and survival,” said Ja’al. “A critical part of any Storm Squadron pilot’s training is knowing how to improvise. How to make decisions under pressure. And how to lead a team to victory. The way you handle yourself during this mission will impact your leader board positions and the future of your career. You’d be smart to accept that, difficult as it may be for some of you.”

Jomanak cracked his knuckles and glanced around the camp. “I can survive. It’s not me I’m worried about.”

“Alright, survivor,” said Ja’al. “You can handle yourself, then. The rest of you can split off into teams of two. The mission begins at sundown.”

***

Kira burst through the outer door, crouching low as she charged into the darkness of the compound, and waved Reina in behind her. Without a map of the base, they’ve have to search for the central comm hub. None of these places had a predictable layout, so they needed to make their best guess about where to look. And hopefully avoid having to search through one room at a time.

Inside the base, a large central hallway led back through the building, while two smaller passages split off to each side. Kira took the lead, moving slowly through the darkness ahead. After the explosion she’d rigged to distract the guards, she guessed that the majority of the marines would be outside, trying to hunt down and eliminate the cadets before anyone made it inside.

But undoubtedly, no shortage of marines remained behind, and Kira didn’t want to draw their attention. The longer they remained undetected, the better their odds of winning this thing.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Kira peered down each of the three hallways. The comm station could be anywhere. A dim light flickered ahead, seeping out from beneath a door at the end of the central corridor. Probably the security station, she thought. They’d have video feeds from most of the base, if not a map of the whole place. There would also be guards inside.

Glancing up, she saw the security camera on the ceiling. There was a fair chance they’d already been spotted. So much for the element of surprise.

As if reading her thoughts, the door burst open. Kira reacted instinctively, pulling Reina back around the corner and out of immediate view of the doorway. The heavy thud of boots echoed through the hallway, charging toward them.

Kira swallowed hard, her body tensing for action. She tightened her fingers around the pulse rifle. This was no time to hesitate. She nodded to Reina, signaling her plan to open fire around the corner.

With a deep breath, Kira crouched low and reached around the corner, firing a barrage of pulses down the hallway before retreating behind the corner.

A flash of crimson lit up the darkness along with a muffled thud as the man hit the floor—she’d hit him at least once.

The hallway fell silent as the pair moved in towards the fallen marine. His battle armor, frozen where Kira’s pulses hit him, kept the man pinned against the wall. “Sorry, friend,” she said as she bent down to his waist and retrieved the ID card from his belt. “Better luck next time.”

Reina took point, keeping the tip of her rifle trained down the hallway as she advanced, and Kira covered the rear. More marines could have heard the scuffle. They’d have to keep their guard up.

To Kira’s relief, the security station was empty. An array of terminals lined the walls, flat monitors showing feeds from throughout the small base with a large holodisplay in the center of the room.

“Score,” said Reina.

“We might actually win this thing.” They could also be ambushed at any moment. But a sense of hope surged through her. She needed the victory to help her climb the leaderboard. Maybe she wasn’t so out of her depth after all.

“Might? Watch this.” Reina keyed a few quick strokes into the terminal’s keypad. “This is going to be good.”

“What are you doing?”

Reina smiled. “Just buying us a little time.” She pressed the final key with an exaggerated clack. The screens lining the wall filled with static as the security cameras went offline one at a time.

“How did you —”

“Wait for it.”

The blaring screech of a klaxon wailed through the base as the lights faded to red.

“A little misdirection,” said Reina. “I triggered the alarms at the main entrance. Anyone left inside will look for us out there, and that should clear our path to the comm room.”

“That’s brilliant,” said Kira. “But we still have no idea where the comm room is.”

Reina raised an eyebrow. “Watch and learn.” She rolled her chair to the holodisplay in the center of the room and flipped through the menus with a series of subtle gestures. A moment later, an expansive three-dimensional map of the base appeared in front of them.

“Holy shit, Reina. You’re full of surprises.”

“You have no idea,” said Reina.

Kira studied the map, rotating the display until she’d located the comm room on the base’s third floor. “Looks simple enough,” she said, forming a mental map of the quickest path.

“Easy,” said Reina, gesturing again to reset the settings on the holodisplay, masking their breach.

The klaxon still howled through the air, making it difficult to hear outside the doorway, so Kira pushed back into the hall cautiously. The cover of the noise could work to their benefit, too, so long as they stayed alert.

Red light strobed from the wailing sirens, illuminating their passage as they made their way to the elevator at the end of the hall. Kira stopped in front of the massive steel door and stared at the keypad in front of her. She remembered the marine’s ID card. He probably had clearance to activate it.

As though reading her thoughts, Reina pulled the card from her pocket and leaned in towards the scanner.

“Wait,” said Kira. Sure, the ID card would probably activate the elevator, but they’d be corned when they reached the top. If there was anyone waiting up there, they’d be screwed. “I have a better idea,” she said. “Can you run?”

“Of course I can run. Why would—”

Kira pointed to the stairwell in the corner, illuminated by the flashes of red light from the siren.

“Oh,” said Reina.

“We should still send the elevator up,” she said. “As a distraction. And when the marines are focused on it, we’ll show up behind them.”

“You’re cunning, Thorne. I like it.”

Kira nodded and said, “I hope this works.” She gripped the pulse rifle in her hand, double-checking the cartridge. “Let’s roll.”

The keypad beeped and flashed green as Reina scanned the ID card and the heavy metal door opened. Kira reached inside and slapped the button that sent the elevator up towards the third floor.

“Go,” she said as they charged off toward the stairwell. The heavy thuds of their boots echoed off the corrugated metal stairs as they made their way to the top. Kira muttered a silent prayer that the marines at the top wouldn’t hear them coming.

Rounding the final corner at the top of the stair well, she saw the familiar flashing red strobe from the other side of the door.

She paused, peering through the small window. Two marine recruits stood on the other side of the door, rifles trained on the elevator, waiting for it reach the top. They didn’t seem to have heard her.

With a quick nod to Reina, she kicked the door open and fired off a spray of pulse bursts at the unsuspecting soldiers. Their armor flashed and glowed as it froze their bodies in place. The marines hit the ground in a syncopated thud just as the elevator door hissed open.

“That was brilliant,” said Reina. “Sorry for the ruse, mates,” she said to the recruits as they glared up at her. “Couldn’t have you taking us out, now.”

Kira bent down and searched the pockets of their uniforms for anything that might be useful. She tucked a fresh pulse clip into the pocket of her vest and grabbed the ID card from the man’s armor.

“Now, let’s finish this thing,” she said. Kira looked around to get her bearings. Behind the reception area, the floor narrowed into dark hallway. She nodded to Reina. “After you.”

Reina started off down the hallway, strafing through the entrance, keeping her attention focused on the path ahead, while Kira took up the rear. They hadn’t encountered much resistance yet, and Kira wondered how long their luck would hold. Even with the recruits on high alert, the comm hub was likely to be a hotbed of activity as the marines transmitted orders to their soldiers on the ground.

As they neared the end of the hallway and prepared to breach the corner, Reina held up a fist signaling Kira to stop. She froze in her tracks, listening intently. The wail of the klaxons was muted here, so too much movement would alert anyone waiting on the other side. No reason to tempt fate by giving their position away.

Kira surprised herself with her ability to navigate this drill so skillfully. She never expected to make it this far. But by listening to the guidance inside herself, she’d managed to get them through. Ja’al would be impressed. Little victories, she told herself. I can do this.

Reina crouched low to the ground and peered around the edge, signaling Kira forward. “It’s all clear,” she said with a shrug. “But this is definitely the right place.”

“You think it’s a trap?” asked Kira.

“Could be, but …” she pointed to the large screen in the center of the room. The positions of all the marines, indicated by glowing green dots, closed in the gate at the entrance to the base. “It looks like there’s no one else here.”

“I don’t trust this,” said Kira. “It’s too easy.”

“Maybe, but we’re in the clear for now. Let’s get into that system and finish this thing.”

Kira nodded. “Do it.” The pulse beat in her temples, sweat pooling on her brow. “Quickly,” she said.

Reina moved to the terminal, swiping the guard’s ID card through the scanner.

The lights flashed red.

“This guy doesn’t have clearance,” she said.

No big surprise. Access to high level communications required high-level clearance to prevent unauthorized transmissions.