Space Battle (Space Race 2) by Nathan Hystad

Author:Nathan Hystad [Hystad, Nathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Woodbridge Press
Published: 2021-03-29T16:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

We’d departed Refuge seven hours earlier, and our fleet sped of the system. The Stin had detected a dozen of the Velibar drones hiding out, waiting to record events, and had made quick work of them, blocking any transmissions from leaving. We were confident the Velibar considered their efforts here completed.

Jade and R11 hadn’t been able to talk with Octavia or Bryson since the communications had begun to fail, but they were constantly running the program in the background, hoping something would break through the invisible barrier. Despite the recent battle with the Squids, and the fact that we were cut off from home, everyone on our two Racers seemed in good spirits, even cranky Aster.

I was confident Holland might be at this outpost, and I couldn’t wait to search for signs of his Pod. If we could find that, he’d be close by.

As I piloted Pilgrim, preparing for our jump to FTL, I thought about the story of the Stin. They’d sacrificed it all to stop the Velibar from taking their planet. They’d gone as far as killing their organic bodies and destroying the only home they’d ever had.

The situation was growing more dire. We’d bested the Squid after the Race, and then defeated them with a trap on a fake Refuge. But after seeing their outpost, with all the defenses and military presence, I had second thoughts about our chances.

We’d gotten lucky near Saturn, and the Darlor, Hidan, and Stin had been preparing for the Velibar invasion for decades, giving them the upper hand. Rushing into the enemy’s lair was an entirely different game, one we didn’t know the rules to.

I liked guidelines. I was a sprinter, trained to obey the regulations. Stay on course, hit the Rings, and finish the final checkpoint. Win a trophy. Sign a few autographs and call it a day. This was out of my comfort zone.

My team put on airs of confidence, but I could see the doubt on their faces. The way Luther’s eyes averted when we discussed attacking the drone moon. How Jade didn’t like to talk about anything beyond this outpost raid. To her, there was no future, and while she claimed it was because she didn’t like to think too far ahead, I worried it was for other reasons. That Jade didn’t expect to live.

It was too close to Zonrial’s prediction. I wouldn’t let that happen.

I flew in silence, with Luther reading over more stats the Stin had produced on their blasts against the Velibar Barges. It gave a detailed account of shield output, hull depth, and weak spots. It was invaluable data the Stin didn’t have until they’d faced the Squids, and now they were analyzing it all, coming up with reports and suggestions on the optimal course of pulse attacks.

Jade continued to work on the comms, and she’d also asked the Stin to send over information on their transporters. That was gold to a mind like hers. Her eyes had lit up when we mentioned the technology.

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