Chapter 7

Rachel

As soon as I processed what Ax was shouting, I dropped my sword and booked it for the bridge. Jake and I nearly ran Marco over trying to squeeze past him in the narrow corridor connecting the bridge to the cargo bay, and I leaped into the weapon's chair and fired up the targeting program. Ax began giving rapid fire orders, and I felt the adrenaline charge of an upcoming battle.

(Marco, switch on your weapons systems and let me know when you're clear to launch. Rachel, charge the main shredders. Cassie, plot us a course out of these asteroids, and somebody shut the bridge blast doors!)

I relaxed into the chair and studied the sensor grid. No enemy ships were picked up in the preliminary, so I narrowed the sensor range and began scan the asteroids individually. There were ten or so ship-sized rocks directly in our path, and Ax answered my unasked question.

(Naff pirates,) he grunted. (I've seen this trick before, in the fo'Don sector. They drag these asteroids along common Z-space routes to create a mass shadow to pull us out of Z-space. They'll probably be behind one of the rocks, so be ready, Rachel. They're too big to hide for long. Cassie, where's my exit vector?)

"Umm, working on it," Cassie muttered through clenched teeth. I was busy looking for space pirates, but not so busy that I didn't catch the way Jake was looking at her. He was definitely looking, if you know what I mean. "Head to displayed coordinates, and your vector is 229.8," she bit out, still trying to find our way back into Z-space.

The intercom located between Cassie and I squawked. "Mako one to Messenger, ready for launch," Marco said. It was all I could do not to laugh. He just sounded so…eager.

Ax did not find it as funny as I did. (Hold launch, Mako. We may not have trouble after all,) he said as I indicated my scanners turning up nothing. (I think this is the remains of a previous ambush. Cassie, take your time and plot us a safe course.)

Jake bit his lip, the way he did when there was something he couldn't quite put his finger on. His expression changed suddenly, as if he had finally gotten a grasp on whatever was bothering him. He lunged for the intercom and said, "Marco, launch your fighter."

(Belay that,) Ax barked. (We may not have the time for him to re-dock if -)

"Ax, I've got a feeling about that big asteroid off to the right. If this is a previous ambush, wouldn't there be some debris or something among the asteroids?" Jake interrupted smoothly.

(I am in command, Prince Jake, and my -) He cut himself off as two small ships and one very large one swung from behind the very asteroid Jake had indicated. The small ones accelerated towards us, leave blue energy trailing behind them. The huge ship, an egg shape with a cluster of engines in the lower rear, meandered in after the fighters.

"I've got visual confirmation of enemy craft," Marco cried. "Launching." I felt a shudder run through the ship as Marco kicked in the engines too close to the Messenger, and a portion of my weapons indicators went black as Marco severed my connections to his fighter by taking off.

(Mako, take the fighters,) Ax snapped. He began bringing the ship around on Cassie's exit vector. I had already settled my crosshairs on the Egg when Ax ordered me to fire at the capitol ship when we came into range. Through the viewport, I saw Marco streaking at the approaching fighters like some crazy, outer space version of Chicken.

The Naff fighters, which looked like two film canisters with a ball-like cockpit in-between, began firing blue energy beams at Marco's fighter that looked more like lightning than lasers. Marco nimbly dodged the incoming fire, and I saw two missiles hurtling away from his ship.

The egg ship came into range, and I focused on the weakest point I could see. The ship didn't look very solid at the juncture of the superstructure and the engine pods, so I squeezed the trigger and raked shredder fire across the joint.

At the same time, the egg ship opened fire from several protrusions along its hull. The lightning blasts looked pretty nasty, but fortunately for us their accuracy was found wanting. The Messenger rocked a few times from close calls, but held together just fine.

I continued my fire along the engine pods, and was rewarded to see a gout of greenish flame spew from the bottom left section. The ship began to make a slow turn, and I figured it was retreating. Ax tempered my good spirits with what he saw. (Don't let your guard down yet,) he warned. (They could be coming about to bring more of their guns to bear on us.)

The intercom crackled to life. "Two Naff pirates are now one with the universe," Marco quipped. "Am I free to engage the big one?"

(Yes, but approach at fifty percent of thrust,) Ax ordered. (If he wants to run, we'll be more than happy to let him.) Just as the words were out of his head, the egg ship shimmered silver and vanished into Z-space.

"Your Z-space entry coordinates are here," Cassie said triumphantly, and I saw some complex-looking symbols appear in front of Ax's master tactical display. Jake smiled and massaged her shoulder with his hand, and Cassie managed to look embarrassed and proud at the same time. I grinned, despite myself, as Toby and Tobias in human form walked into the bridge.

"Nice shooting, Rachel," Tobias told me. "Was that engine shot an accident?"

I started to reply, albeit indignantly, when I realized he was joking. "Too bad I didn't knock out their Z-space drives. I'd have wasted them," I grumbled. I watched the external cameras track Marco's approach to his dock. He inverted the fighter to drop onto the ship like some mutated shark fin, and even from this distance I could see the insufferable smirk on his face. "Ax, are you sure I can't shoot Marco down?" I asked, half kidding.

Surprisingly, Ax immediately got the joke. (Yes, that may be easier than having to deal with him,) he replied as the docking claws gripped what Marco had dubbed the "Mako" fighter. I concentrated on powering down the main shredders and letting the targeting sensors drift into passive mode. The indicators lit up again once the Mako's weapons came on-line with the Messenger's, and Ax pushed us back into Z-space.

Marco swaggered into the cockpit and raised his hands against applause he must have imagined. "No need to thank me. All in the line of duty. Any time you guys need me to save your butts, I'll be there," he exulted.

Jake gave him a mock glare and turned to Ax. "Are all fighter pilots like this?" he asked.

Ax did not hesitate. (No, Prince Jake. Even Andalite pilots have more humility.)

"Hey, I'll go head to head with Andalite fighter jockeys any day," Marco said, pulling off gloves he'd gotten from somewhere. "I'm the best, and the galaxy is gonna know it one day."

Ax started to laugh in his face, but I beat him to it. "Marco, you just shot down two skanky pirates that were expecting a merchant ship or something, not a fighter craft. Get a grip on your ego, because we're probably going to be running up against some guys who don't play around."

"Rachel's right," Jake said. He smiled his rare, slow smile. "But that was some pretty sweet flying, Marco. Who ever thought rotting your brain with Star Wars video games could be so useful?"

I guess it turned out that Marco was seriously expecting a parade or something. I know he wasn't expecting a bunch of criticism. He looked down in the dumps and turned to study a weld on the nearest bulkhead.

Cassie must have felt for him, because she said, "Come on, Marco."

He looked at her suspiciously. "Come on, where?"

She smiled. "You just got your first two kills. We need to go paint the silhouettes on your fighter."

He looked pleased and surprised. "How'd you know about that?"

"My dad's good friend was a pilot in the Navy," she explained, grabbing his arm and leading him aft, where the fighter was docked. "He told me all about the -" her voice was cut off as she and Marco disappeared behind the bridge door.

I was done with my shut down of the weapons systems, and I stretched. Jake looked down at the deck, and then back up at Ax. "Hey, Ax, I'm sorry about trying to override your orders. I know you're the captain and everything."

Ax looked sheepish himself. (No need to apologize. As usual, your instincts served everyone well.)

"We need to come up with a system so that doesn't happen again," Jake suggested. Ax brightened a couple of shades and agreed.

I was about ready to puke. "Can you guys just make out and get it over with?" I sputtered with a lot less humor in my voice than I'd intended. I went to the back to see what Tobias was doing, and maybe get in a few more rounds of swordplay with Toby.

On my way off of the bridge, Ax spoke. (Rachel? Good job handling the shredders.)

It wasn't much, but it was more than I was expecting from Ax. He had been the captain of an Andalite war ship for a few years, after all. What I'd done was what he'd expect anyone under his command to do. I gave him a feral grin and said, "Any time you need something shot, I'm your chick."

Jake's barked laughed followed me all the way to the back. "That's my cousin."