Cost of Victory (Armored Warrior Panzerter Blackwater Book 5) by T. E. Butcher

Author:T. E. Butcher [Butcher, T. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-21T16:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

7 December 2136

Launch Deck 3, TNV Gulf of Promise

“Ready?” Roland craned his head to look at his passenger. Grendel squirmed in the jump seat, her tablet tucked to her chest. Her eyes flared as the Panzerter shifted under the sudden mass of its drop tanks, but then she relaxed a little.

“It’s not exactly comfortable,” she said. “Kat has a wide behind—I don’t know how she was comfortable in this.”

Roland shrugged.

“She took advantage of my discomfort,” he replied. “I’ll try to avoid any hard burns, but you might want to hold on during launch.” He signaled Flight Control and watched as the signal light went from red to green.

“Hold on,” he said as he leaned the Ozelot forward and bent its legs. The intel officer behind him squealed at the sudden acceleration. Her squeals turned into an excited scream as the Gs kept coming, and Roland had them both drifting through space.

“You get to do that every time?” she asked before giggling. “Wait, I mean, obviously— how else would you get into the fight?”

Roland grinned and took her through a few spins and jukes while he waited on the rest of the squadron to form up.

“Wait, so you can show off, but I can’t?” Gray asked as he took up position on their wing.

“It’s Grendel’s first time in a Panzerter,” Roland said. “And Air Patrol said we have clear stars. I figure we can relax. If only slightly.” He looked up at the asteroid fortress Los Estrella. “Is your passenger secure, Gray?”

“Yeah, Nassau’s just back here complaining about the seat, but she’s not getting jostled around.” The younger man paused. “Why did we have to carry them?”

“Because we’re taking our ship’s chief Intelligence officer and our head of Damage Control on board an enemy fortress that may have some passive defenses active inside,” he replied. “They’re safest with the two of us.”

“Just don’t let it go to your head, Gray,” Kat said. “Confidence is attractive, ego not so much.”

“You know, Gray, Nassau didn’t always serve on a battlecarrier,” Ice Queen said. “She was awarded the Navy Cross for fixing the Baltica’s navigation radar while under fire.”

“Well, isn’t the ship always under fire in combat?” Gray asked.

“I was on the outside,” Nassau said. “Right around where the Unis were shooting.”

“Okay, that’s metal. Can I have your autograph?”

“Get me through this safe and sound, and you’ve got it.”

Roland smiled. He was glad the twins were integrating as well as they were. Commodore Marcell had voiced some concerns about friction, but other than some early incidents, they were getting along famously with their new countrymen.

“Thunderbolt Leader, Wildcard Leader, commencing comms handshake. How do you read?”

Roland smiled at the familiar voice that came over the radio.

“I gotcha Lima Charlie, Constant,” he replied. “Captain looks good on you.”

“It’s good to be back in the thick of things for sure,” Constant said as his squadron formed up with Roland’s. His IFF tagged him inside a sky blue Ozelot, and Roland couldn’t help but grin.

“Nice ride you got there,” Roland said.

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