Star Missions - Book One - Part I

Chapter 1 - Hawkins & Soliski

He was getting used to working on the asteroid, but when it came to downtime and setting foot on a real planet, he would pick Hydra over Nova every time. Even though Nova was much closer, he still preferred traveling to distant Hydra. He felt that Nova's environment and indigenous inhabitants were less hospitable than those of Hydra. Hydra was a paradise.

His thoughts were interrupted as his fighter's proximity alarm pinged. Glancing at his close field monitor, Marcus could see that two small ships had entered his ship's close-range detection grid. Passing ships would usually not get this close, especially during a jump. He figured they had to be CS4s because they traveled in pairs, had a weak AR reflection, and were approaching fast. He switched his comm to a Hydra-corps frequency.

"Hopper One to unidentified fighters," he ordered. "Identify yourself and state your business."

The two ships were well within Nova Station's air space. While he waited for a response, the two space fighters moved closer and positioned themselves behind his space hopper. He confirmed their origin as CS4-Class fighters, the backbone of the Hydra-corps space fleet.

The native inhabitants of both planets had yet to develop technology or interest in interplanetary travel, let alone interstellar travel. Providing security and defense for the two worlds was part of the agreement first forged by Victor Belter, who later became Governor of the Strolla System. Since arriving in the Strolla System, Terrans had built up a small but well-trained military presence on both Hydra and rocky, mineral-rich Nova. As a former space fleet pilot, stationed at the base on Hydra, he knew the CS4-Class ships well, also known as Hydra Fighters.

The agreement was between the people of Terra and the natives of Hydra and Nova. In exchange for natural resources, Terrans would provide security in the Strolla System, among other things. Terra's military had commissioned the building of the Hydra Fighter in the Strolla System. The new fighters could travel quickly between both worlds that shared the same orbit around the Strolla star. CS4s were the most advanced fighters in the system and could fly rings around his Hopper. While of a much sleeker design, they shared the same sloping wings and angular forward weapons ports. Hydra Fighters had additional safety features that the hoppers lacked. For that reason, hoppers had been phased out for military use but were still well suited for non-combat situations.

The pilot's response took about thirty seconds, much longer than usual.

"Hopper One, you sound a lot like Marcus Hawkins," responded the lead fighter in a far more casual tone than he'd expected to hear. "Is that you in there, buddy, or just one of your drones?"

Marcus let out a breath, closed his eyes, and allowed his head to fall back against his headrest. Of all the people in the entire Strolla System, he had to run into this guy. And on the very first day again behind the controls of a Space Hopper.

"It's me, in the flesh," Marcus replied, letting his annoyance color his response. "What's Hydra's business out here, Soliski?"

"Funny, you should ask," Soliski responded.

Despite the static coming over the communication system, there was an unmistakable sound of mischief in his voice. Notorious for his generally cocky behavior, Soliski rarely spoke without giving the impression that he was up to something—that was because he always was up to something. The man was a talented pilot but too arrogant for Marcus' taste. His skill and leadership qualities were undeniable, but he simply rubbed Marcus the wrong way.

He was just about to ask Soliski what he was up to when his craft suddenly lost all power. The lights and readouts in the cockpit went completely dark; his engine stalled. Forward momentum and gravity immediately started to pull the nose of craft toward the Diego.