Rebellion- The Complete Series Box Set by M R Forbes

Author:M R Forbes [Forbes, M R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-09T16:00:00+00:00

32

Gabriel opened the fighter’s cockpit, climbing out and standing on the floor of the hangar. The air was harder to breathe than before, the oxygen levels limited after Theodore's maneuver to get them past the Dread.

He had never been happier to be short of breath.

He left his bay, heading through the interlocks and into the connecting corridor, where Captain Sturges was already waiting for him, a big smile on his grizzled face.

"Nice flying, Captain," Sturges said.

"Maybe I'll see you out there next time?" Gabriel replied.

"Me? I'm old and slow. The BIS is more my speed." He clapped Gabriel on the shoulder. "Truly well done, Gabe."

Lieutenant Bale was the next pilot to appear in the corridor. She rushed over to Gabriel, wrapping her arms around him. "He did it. He really did it."

"I told you to have faith," Gabriel said, returning the embrace. He released her as Gerhardt and Celia joined them.

"Mission accomplished, sir," Celia said. Her hair was matted with her cold sweat.

"You both did well," Gabriel said. "You survived your first mission. I'm proud of you both."

"Thank you, sir," they replied.

"I'm heading up to the bridge," Gabriel said. "Captain Sturges, can you take care of these brave souls for me?"

"Yes, sir," Sturges said. "Thank your father for me."

"Will do."

Gabriel hurried to the bridge, leaving his flight suit on and zipped. They might have escaped the Dread this time, but he was certain the enemy wasn't about to give up its pursuit. They had bought themselves some time, that was all.

It was as much as they could hope for.

"Hull integrity is good," Sergeant Abdullah was saying as Gabriel reached the bridge. "Decks are sealed and stable. All of the damage was isolated to the port-side QPG nacelle. I'm still collating the sensor readings and data outputs from the nacelle to get a full understanding of the damage."

"How does the old girl look from the outside, Captain?" Theodore asked without looking.

Gabriel moved to stand beside the General. "The plasma grazed the side of her, sir," he said. "There was quite a bit of visible damage, and the fighters were doing their best to add to it. It's my fault she got hit, sir."

"Nonsense," Theodore said. "You're the best damn pilot I've ever seen. Half this game is luck, and you got a little bit unlucky. It could just as easily have been me at the wheel."

Gabriel remained silent, not quite willing to accept Theodore's excuse.

"The important part is that we're still alive. We can still fight. Even better, you managed to shoot down one of their fighters."

"So did Bale, sir," Gabriel said.

"A damn fine job, Captain. The point being, they were vulnerable. That's data we can use, ain't that right, Mr. Mokri?"

"Yes, sir," Reza replied.

"Maggie, how's our distance from that big turd out there?"

"Ten thousand kilometers and holding," Maggie replied.

"Seems like they're backing off to regroup," Theodore said. "Ha! I don't think they were expecting that little game of chicken."

"We're lucky you didn't kill us all," Guy said.

"Damn right, Mr. Larone," Theodore replied.

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