Escape

Commander Drel opened his eyes as a chime sounded. "Transiting from Lightspeed," his Adjutant said, "we have emerged just outside the effective radius of their short-range sensors."

"Any indication that they have detected us?" he inquired.

"Negative, Sir. Their shields are down, no sign of fighters launching. As you suspected – their long-range sensors have not detected us due to the radiation."

"Then we have caught them by surprise," Drel mused. "What of this mystery ship?"

"Sir – it is being towed by the main Solnoid cruiser with a mooring beam. It appears to be derelict, and undamaged."

"Excellent," Drel observed. "Weapons batteries are to target all Solnoid vessels, but are to avoid damaging that ship at all costs."

"Understood, Sir."

"Open fire!"


"If you allow me to help, I can try to put an end to the war, saving billions of lives. If not – you face your own extinction. The choice is yours."

"I know, I KNOW!" Shildy sobbed, her final shreds of denial slipping away. "I used to think that way, but I had to become tougher! I had to become a soldier! I don't WANT to be that anymore!" She looked at him, tears streaming down her face. "What do I DO?"

Suddenly, they were all thrown sideways as the ship lurched. Klaxons began screaming their alert messages as the Captain's voice came over the speakers. "Attention, attention! All crew! We are under attack by Paranoid forces. All fighter pilots and Assault Cyborgs to launch stations!"

Shildy jumped to her feet, years of instinct taking over. "We have to get to the Fighter bays!" she shouted as she turned for the door.

Marcus grabbed her arm and stopped her mid-turn. "No! You have to get me to my ship! If I'm right, I can make BOTH sides chase us to a place where I can try to convince them to start talking! But I can't do that without your help!"

"But... our crewmates?" Shildy said, uneasily.

"Then you have to make a choice," Marcus told her, "You can go fight, and have your efforts save ten or twelve of your fellow Solnoids – or help me try and save ALL of them!"

Shildy shook herself out of his grip, and bolted towards the door. Pressing a button on the wall, she opened the door and stepped through it. Once through, she stopped and turned to look at the remaining four.

"What are you waiting for?," she called to them, raising her right arm to point down the corridor. "The Main Shuttle Bay is THIS way!"

Grinning, Marcus ran to follow – the other three girls not far behind.


Captain Maris grabbed the console in front of her to steady herself as the ship shook under the Paranoid barrage. "Return fire! All batteries! Fighters to launch immediately!" she ordered before fixing her gaze on her sensor-operator. "Eyes, how did you not detect them?" Maris demanded.

"As I said, Captain – residual radiation makes sensor readings difficult to interpret. Long-range sensor readings are all but useless, and they attacked just as they were entering the range of our close-in sensors. I was about to... SECOND VOLLEY INCOMING!" she shouted, just as the ship was slammed sideways by more impacts.

Maris shoved herself upright, as debris began to fall from cracks in the ceiling above. "Recriminations later," she said, "show me the Enemy ships on Tactical, and coordinate a counter-offensive with the other ships. We..."

"CAPTAIN!" the sensor-operator shouted, interrupting Maris' train of thought. "The Paranoid ships seem to be deliberately avoiding firing at the captive ship! Even the Drones are flying around it, waiting until they are past it before firing!"

They must want their spy back, mused Maris when she heard this. We have an advantage. "All ships to close formation on the Valkyrie," she ordered. "Do NOT let them near that ship, at ANY cost!"


Led by Shildy, Marcus and the others raced through the corridors that led to the Shuttle Bay. Once or twice they were passed by groups of fully-armed Solnoid soldiers – who ran by them without a second look. They either did not notice the oddness of Marcus in their group, or were too busy to care. Either way, they reached the doorway to the bay without being stopped. Once there, Shildy peeked through the airtight door that blocked their way, looking for a vessel that would suit their purpose.

She found one. "There's an Assault Fighter at the other side of the bay," she whispered to everyone, "but it's guarded. If we don't want to get shot, we'll have to take her down first." She pulled her pistol out of its holster.

"Sh... sh... SHOT?" Amy said, quivering.

"There's a better way," Marcus told her, as he rested his hand on hers. "I see another door on the far side of the vessel. Count to one hundred, then open THIS door and walk slowly towards the Fighter. Keep the guards' attention on you." He sprinted around a corner, giving Shildy no time to argue. She holstered her pistol and started to silently count down, "One hundred. Ninety-nine..."

Her count reached zero, and she opened the door and stepped through, heading for the Fighter. They got halfway there before the guard noticed them and raised her weapon. "HALT!" she ordered.

"We're to crew this ship for the battle," Shildy explained, slowly striding forward.

"I'm under orders to not let anyone aboard this ship!" the guard said, her weapon still pointed at Shildy. "Now HALT! Or I WILL shoot!"

Shildy stopped, too far from the guard to take her weapon from her. "And the Captain herself ordered ME to take this ship out. Now, do you want to go to the Captain and explain why you prevented me from following her orders, or are you going to..."

She didn't have to say any more, as Marcus jumped out from behind the ramp. Pressing his thumbs to opposite sides of her neck, the guard dropped her weapon and collapsed.

"Wha?" Catty gasped, "Where did you come from?"

"For someone who's supposed to come from a peaceful race," Spea pointed out sarcastically, "you're pretty good at covert ops."

"I'm a fast learner," Marcus replied, an equal measure of sarcasm in his tone. "Now, come on. She's unconscious, but won't be for long. We have to get out of here while she still is."

The group quickly boarded the vehicle, and the ramp closed behind them with a hiss. "All right," Shildy said, "stations everyone. And YOU!," she said, looking Marcus in the eyes, "I want you in the copilot's seat. Let's see just how much of a 'fast learner' you are."

Marcus slid into the copilot's seat, with Amy and Catty taking the seats behind him. Shildy took the pilot's seat, with Spea on the weapons console. Shildy flipped some switches, and the Fighter whined to life. Sliding the throttle forward, she took the ship out of the open bay – and into chaos.

Explosions burst around them from all directions, as ships fired on each other. Through one window, they could see Paranoid Drones chase after Solnoid fighters – while through the other, fighters streaked after Drones. On both sides, missiles and plasma bolts streaked in all directions – triggering the fiery bloom of an explosion whenever they struck their targets. Sometimes, explosions would happen so close that their own ship shuddered as the shock-wave struck them. Accustomed to battles, the four girls remained focused on their respective tasks – while Marcus closed his eyes and shook his head sadly. "So much waste," he muttered under his breath, too quiet for anyone to hear.

Suddenly, a burst of static erupted from the communicator. "Assault Fighter Ay-Eff-Two-Seven," the authoritative-sounding voice started, "you are ordered to return to the Valkyrie and surrender the prisoner. Failure to comply will result in the destruction of your ship. Respond immediately."

"Well – so much for a clean getaway," Spea said. "We can't even get close to your ship without being shot at."

Shildy looked at Marcus. "What do we do now?," she asked.

"Leave it to me," Marcus suggested, as he sat upright and closed his eyes. Ship, he thought, respond.

Online, came the immediate response. Status – fully operational. Derelict illusion maintained. Awaiting your return.

Having a bit of trouble with that, Marcus admitted. Break free of the mooring beam, track my life-signs, and retrieve the vessel I am in. Also – prepare for an immediate jump to Lightspeed once I'm aboard.

Acknowledged, he heard the ship answer. Overriding mooring controls now. Estimated time of recovery: two militz.

Marcus opened his eyes and smiled at them. "Help is on the way," he said simply.

"Help?," Shildy wondered, "What 'help'?"

"You'll see. Just keep this heading as best you can."

"I'll try," she said to him, swerving to dodge a missile, "but it's not easy."

"Rogue fighter – this is your last warning," the voice on the speaker repeated, "reverse course and return immediately, or you will be destroyed."

"Do we do it?," Amy asked, clearly frightened.

"Just wait," Marcus said calmly.

"Ship approaching from directly aft!" Catty shouted. "It's almost on top of us, and coming fast!"

"Ready defensive fire!" Shildy ordered.

"That won't be necessary," Marcus told her. "Help has arrived."

"Help?," Shildy asked. "How...?"

The girls gasped as the ship became visible in their forward windows. They watched as the landing bay slid downwards and grew larger, quickly surrounding them on all sides. They felt the ship touch down on the deck, and heard locking clamps click into place. Within seconds, they felt a lurch and saw streaks as the Lightspeed engines came to life, and they vanished from the battlefield.

"You can cut the engines now," Marcus told Shildy, "we're safe."

"But... where are we going?," Spea asked.

"Hopefully," Marcus said, "to a place where I can stop the fighting, once and for all..."