Red lights flashed and klaxons blared to signal the alert level and weapons ready status the Starkiller was under. The hangar buzzed with activity as pilots ran across to their starfighter and technicians made final preparations. Several of the Helios dropships took off out of the heavy doors, heading towards the blockade, as Xaleyp walked in. At the other side were the three Novas and his five team members, each standing next to one in a flightsuit with helmets at their sides. Mian kept her gaze averted from his while the other three locked onto him, watching as he made his way over. Tyler Hudson was holding a helmet under each arm, standing upright and alert.

The starfighters were short—just a couple meters taller than the team was—long—coming in at just under twenty meters—and sleek—resembling old-school stealth bombers in a nostalgic sort of way. There were two sets of wings: one in the middle and another at the tail end, both adjustable to fit the needs of the mission. A pair of nacelles at the rear housed the four engines for atmospheric travel with the same amount of thrusters underneath for space. The cockpit held enough room for two, and two cannons flanked either side of the glass compartment. A ladder with narrow rungs and a central bar running from the bottom to the top led to the seats.

“What’s the plan, skip?” Hudson asked as he handed one of the helmets to Xaleyp. His voice sounded somewhat skeptical with just a hint of hesitation.

“The Director has a distraction planned.” Xaleyp put the helmet on, feeling the satisfying click to let him know it was secure. He stepped towards the closest Nova, running his hand over the smooth metal emblazoned with a phoenix before stepping up onto the lowest rung of the ladder and wrapping his arm around the center pole. “We’re getting by the blockade and meeting the rest of the force outside a small village.”

“How are we gonna get past that blockade?” Finnegan Crowley, call sign Scarecrow, asked, snapping his own helmet into place. “It’s not like they’ll just let us pass if we ask nicely.”

“No, probably not, but that’s within the Director’s purview.” Xaleyp continued climbing and sat down, feeling the comfortable fabric seat mold to the very shape of his body. In front of him were dozens of different buttons and levers, each controlling something different on the ship as a failsafe in case his CAM malfunctioned. “Our job is to get through in one piece without worrying about the how. Now, let’s get ready for launch. Eve, you’re with me. Scarecrow and Hudson, you two are together. Mian, you’re with Adric.”

“Sir, are you sure you wouldn’t prefer being with Mian?” Eve asked as she climbed up the rungs, the clinking of metal echoing as each of the others went to their respective ships. “After all, from what I’ve heard, you’ve known her longer than me. I don’t mind going with Adric.”

“It’s fine, Eve. I could use a little bit different company anyway.” He grabbed her hand as she reached out for support at the top and helped her in. When she sat, he pressed a button on the console in front of him, and the glass cockpit clamped shut and the ship whirred to life. Outside, the ladder retracted, collapsing in on itself and folding into a narrow slot behind the top rung. A HUD appeared in his vision, projected by the CAM, displaying different statuses of the fighter. With a thought, he sent a message to the rest of the team.

A trio of affirmative responses came back to him, and all three ships turned in place, guided by the platforms underneath. They faced a set of three smaller hangar doors than Xaleyp experienced previously and lurched towards them. Each hissed open in unison, and they passed through before they clamped shut again. In front of them spread a small runway leading up to another set of doors.

an officious voice said through his CAM.

It took Xaleyp a moment to realize they were talking to him, and he tried to mimic the same tone despite his heart pounding in his ears.

the voice said. The sequence repeated for the other two fighters in the squadron before it addressed each of them.

Xaleyp pushed the thrust lever forward as far as it would go, feeling the engine crescendo from the gentle purr to the fierce roar of maximum power. The sensation vibrated through his feet and up his entire body, filling every bone. A feeling of butterflies—somewhere between gut-wrenching nervousness and heart pounding excitement—manifested in his stomach, and he had to force himself to not squirm in the seat.

To his right and slightly in front of him, he saw the engines of Mian’s Nova flaring brightly in the enclosed space. She glanced back at him and keep him a small salute, which he returned, before they rocketed forward, heading for the doors that opened only a second before impact. Xaleyp inhaled sharply as they were jettisoned out into space, the engines propelling them quickly away from the Starkiller. The ship reacted to his almost subconscious thought and banked to the right, bringing it around to head towards the bright surface of the planet. For the first time, he was piloting a real starfighter in actual space, not just a simulation. It felt every bit as exhilarating and terrifying as he expected.

In front of them was Arcadia, the surface of the planet shining brightly in the light of the star, Vortau. Wisps of island chains dotted the blue oceans, and the large eye of a hurricane prominently showed itself. Where the blockade once was, small flashes of orange and red light appeared and disappeared across the hull of one of the Arcadian frigates. The once unceasing swarm of small transports and barges was gone, and all activity into the planet ceased. Another frigate, its design similar to that of the Starkiller albeit at a smaller scale, was alongside the Arcadian vessel, and brief ignitions of missiles appeared out of its missile bays, streaking towards the Arcadian. Far to the right, one of the other blockade ships was breaking formation and moving to defend its beleaguered ally. The way the assaulted vessel lurched as it tried to move away from the assault, however, told Xaleyp it would be too late.

With a thought, Xaleyp sent the message as his ship turned and rocketed towards the planet.

the voice of Finnegan said through the private channel. Xaleyp turned and saw one of the fighters right off his port side, almost directly on top of him, followed by the helmeted head of the soldier nod at him.

The flight to the planet, even at full burn, took longer than Xaleyp would have liked, especially so close to the Arcadian fleet. While somewhat monotonous, it gave them plenty of time to watch the battle unfold in front of them, ending in the first Arcadian frigate’s engines rupturing and forcing a gout of flame to bisect the vessel, leaving it two floating husks that slowly began to drift with the planet’s gravity. The other preferred to stay at a distance to give themselves time to intercept any missile barrages, and, though he couldn’t see them with the naked eye, his CAM lit up the brief flashes of laser fire exchanged between the two ships. Blue flashes lit up the attacking frigate as its shields stayed strong, but the defending Arcadian’s had no such luck. Explosions burst from the hull with each successive strike, slowly peppering the surface with destruction. Far off, beginning to round the planet from the opposite side, was another dozen frigates emerging to join the fight. From that distance, however, it would take too long for them to arrive and help their allies.

“So, have you considered what I said?” Eve said, talking directly to him outside the CAM. His ears perked up when he heard the sound, surprised to hear an actual voice. “About what you might expect once we get down to the surface, and how you should react to it?”

“I have,” he lied, hoping she didn’t call him out on it. He couldn’t help but let out a sigh, shaking his head as he tried to concentrate on maintaining the course towards the ever-progressing firefight. “Eve, I need to do this. I know you said it’s a bad idea, and that it should be called off, but it’s the only way I get what I want.”

After all, it was what he wanted. Not necessarily what anyone else wanted, maybe not even what Lina would have wanted, especially after listening to the message she sent as her dying act.

Eve said nothing, instead just emitting a sharp intake of breath as the second frigate was engulfed in flame as its defenses couldn’t hold on any longer. When the fire died down, all that was left was the floating rubble and wreckage of the ship. Its mission accomplished, the assailing frigate turned away from the planet, and, with a brief flash of light, disappeared into hyperspace before the Arcadian response could arrive.

the Director said in a private message to him.

Xaleyp didn’t answer, but he tried to push the thrust further, despite the fact it was already back as far as it would go, as if it might help the ship get to the planet any faster. Eve shifted in the seat behind him, a gentle creaking coming from the fabric, before she cleared her throat.

“We’ve got a squadron of fighters breaking away from the frigates. Just simple Zephyrs, but we don’t want them to see us.”

Xaleyp resisted the urge to point out how obvious it was they didn’t want to be seen and looked at the map in the corner of his HUD. Sure enough, seven red dots slowly appeared off their starboard side. Not heading directly towards them—instead, heading towards the Starkiller—but their sensors could pick up the three ships if they knew where to look. At least, they could have if they didn’t enter the debris field left by the firefight, passing between the two halves of the first destroyed frigate.

“The wreckage should give us cover,” Xaleyp said, releasing a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Just a little bit further, and we should be good. Which side is Nevermoor Hold on?”

“New Alexandria is on the far side. It’s about two in the morning there, so it should be a nice time to get in when we arrive.” She chuckled darkly. “Waking up and all of a sudden you’re being shot at. Fun times for people who did nothing to deserve this.”

“Remember what I told you: They started all this, so they do deserve it.” He looked at the battlemap in the corner of his vision. The seven red dots were still heading for the Starkiller, unaware of the position of the trio of fighters. Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief and sent a message through the private channel, talking to the rest of the squadron.

the voice of Hudson responded, sounding somewhat bitter.

Xaleyp repeated, smirking to himself.