The Fighter Queen by Bowers John

Author:Bowers, John [Bowers, John]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: AKW Books
Published: 2014-12-29T05:00:00+00:00

Book Four: Consolidation

Chapter 18

Tuesday, 17 August, 0241 (PCC) — Jackson, Missibama, Sirius 1

The street was all but deserted, even though it was early afternoon. An oppressive air of fear hung over the city, and Missie Simonian walked quickly, anxious to get home. She carried a tote filled with groceries, and beside her, Seth Baker carried another. Seth was tall and lean, but walked with the clumsy coordination of a half-grown puppy.

"The Feddies are in deep shit now!" he declared, his voice ringing down the empty street. "They're gonna find out what Sirian patriotism really means. We'll kick their ass all the way across the galaxy!"

Missie didn't reply. She was only sixteen, but she hadn't been born in a test tube; if the Confederacy was so powerful, how had the Feddies ever got this far in the first place? Now they were here, on Sirius 1. Just two months ago they'd put their first army on the ground, and three more had followed. Federation forces were only seventy miles from where she stood right now.

"I'm joining up as soon as I turn seventeen," Seth chattered. "I got a birthday in April, then I'm joining the infantry."

"April?" Missie glanced at him as if he were insane — April was eight months away. "Seth, in two weeks the Feddies will be here! Where the hell are you going to join up?"

"I'll fight them! I swear to god I will! Even if I have to join the guerillas."

Missie stopped, head up, her eyes wide in sudden alarm. That sound! Coming from the sky! She'd heard it before —

The sky exploded around her as a Federation fighter streaked by two hundred feet overhead. A sonic wave hit her like a fist and she spun into the sidewalk, screaming in terror. Windows shattered and buildings rocked. Flying glass swirled in a brief tornado of wind and sound.

Missie sat up slowly and shook her head, shaking dust and glass out of her long hair. Seth groaned from the doorway of a shop where he'd landed, the contents of his tote bag scattered around him. He brushed his eyes with a hand and looked around. He saw Missie brushing herself off and crawled quickly to her side. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"Are you okay?" he murmured. "Don't be afraid, honey, I'll take care of you. You're safe as long as you're with me."

He tilted her head back and kissed her, his left hand moving toward her breast.

Missie struggled against him, annoyed beyond belief, and pushed him away. "Let go of me!"

Seth reluctantly obeyed, but hovered solicitously as she began retrieving the spilled groceries. She glanced up at him with wide, angry green eyes.

"If you want to help, then pick this stuff up and let's get home before another one shows up! I don't want to be out in the open if they decide to drop a few bombs!"

UFF George Bush, Parking Orbit, Sirius 1

The pilots and gunners of ZF‑111 stood at attention in the hangar deck as their commanding officer faced them.

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