Unity

Chapter 5

"As I was saying, the simulators are as close as you can get. Most of the technology on the craft has been perfected in the last year and is highly classified. The new technology is the result of Galactum based research. In fact, most of the Galactum that has been processed up to this point has gone into building this fleet. Even the gravity generators around the station rely on Galactum."

The next hour was spent going over technical specs of the fighter. The fighter was capable of so much more than I originally thought.

"Alright back to the simulators," Lieutenant Briggs called out after a quick break. A few people weren't smart enough to stifle their groans. Lieutenant Briggs glared at us until I felt ready to crawl out of my skin. Finally, he spoke up and the tension broke. "The skirmishes will be five on five. Let's see if you can work as a team, shall we?"

Secretly I was excited that I didn't have to face Tina again in the simulators. I could probably sit back and let her do all the work. As tempting as it was, I wasn't about to let somebody else have all the glory. We headed back to the simulators and got strapped in. After the rundown on the fighter, I felt more confident with the ship's controls and capabilities and got the ship up and running much quicker. I looked out the windows and could see the other members of my unit settling in beside me in what could be loosely defined as a formation.

My HUD flashed a yellow warning symbol indicating that the enemy had been spotted. I charged ahead and fired as soon as they were within range. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to have that idea. The next few minutes were pure chaos as both units attempted to dodge ships and weapons fire, both friendly and non-friendly. After a few minutes, the simulator shut off and Lieutenant Briggs yelled over the comms, "What was that? I've seen monkeys fighting over bananas that have more organization than you. Take three minutes to cool down and we'll reset the simulation."

I silently berated myself. I should know better. As the simulation started, I called out "Comm check," and heard four replies. I looked around to see what we were up against. I couldn't see the enemy fighters. It was mostly empty space with many rogue asteroids floating about. "How do you all propose we win?"

Tina Spoke up. "Why don't we just fly in there and mop the floor with them like last time?"

"Because that didn't work out so well last time," Jen shot back.

"We won, didn't we?" said Drew.

"I have an idea," I said. I was trying to get their attention before we lost all semblance of teamwork. "Find an asteroid and attach your ship to it. Propel it in the general direction of the enemy and power down your fighter. Once we get close, I'll give the signal and we'll power up and destroy them."

"Sounds simple enough," said Jen.

Everyone scattered to find a hiding place. I waited for everyone to power down before shutting down myself. I kept passive systems on so I could spot the enemy. It made me more noticeable, but we needed to find a way to identify our targets. We had been floating for a minute or two when I saw the enemy fighters. They were cautiously making their way forward in formation. They seemed better organized as well. I waited until we had just floated past them to bring up the radio.

When they had reached the desired location I said, "We just passed enemy fighters. Claim your targets now so we're not stepping all over each other. Go!" We shot away from our hiding places and hit the enemy before they could turn around. Four of the five succumbed to the initial barrage, while the last was hunted down by Tina. She was an amazing pilot.

The simulators shut down and we climbed out. We were the first two groups done so it gave us a chance to relax and stretch for a few minutes. When the last group climbed out Lieutenant Briggs looked us over. "Head to mess. You got 30 minutes to eat, and then report to the classroom indicated on your tablets."