Our fate had been decided, probably well before now. I didn't hide what I found from Zane, it was his father, after all , he might be thankful for it but he could hate me for it. Not that Zane would abandon me but he might not like being near me for a few days, assuming we live that long. The plan was for two ships to stir up trouble at a forward outpost, thanks to Shiro we knew exactly where to find one. Shiro and Liz had gotten close during the war, they tried to hide it but you could see it in their eyes, though I am not sure to what extent that closeness ends.
Getting back to the war, the plan was to attack a small moon outpost before proceeding deeper into Racosan space. The starships Argos Explorer and Crimson Aquarius had been chosen to run the special operation that would divert the bulk of the Racosan fleet, seeing that the prototype attack fighter remodel paw 1 was on the Argos Explorer, Liz and Shiro were going to board the Argos Explorer for briefing, not that there was much too brief them on.
I looked at all of them before I spoke: Rehana, Zane, Collin, Shiro and Liz, my entire family aside from Daniel, "you all know what we are going to be doing. Odds are, one of us will die, maybe more than one of us. I don't want any of us to die, you guys are my family, I don't want to seem weak but that's the truth. I hate this war, I want it to end, and I want us all to survive. In the words of my ancestors, 'Mount the flag, keep her high and never let hope die!'"
Liz was the only one who said anything, "then let's make it a reality!"
***
I sat next to one of the new fighters that had been constructed for interplanetary combat, mostly atmospheric but she would get the job done in space too. The engines on either side of the body pushed the fighter forward with small but powerful thrusters for directional control. The two cabin pods were separate sections with one on top and the other on the bottom, allowing the rear section to be a cargo hold for a small weapons cache or for two soldiers in modified chambers designed so that they could be dropped within three hundred feet of the ground. We however only had a need for one of those personal pods. The weapons were light, two small pulse turrets, a small torpedo launcher with two torpedoes, and the forward pulse cannon mount.
I notice Shiro climbing into one of the drop pods, "you sure you should be flying this mission Tanem?"
I stood up, "I am one of the two most qualified pilots in the fleet. You know that it's hard to change my mind, besides, Zane can handle the ship." I walked over to Shiro and helped her strap in, "are you sure you should be the one going down to the facility alone?"
She laughed softly, "I won't be missed much!"
"That's wrong, the crews of both the Argos Explorer and Crimson Aquarius would mourn your death, and I am sure you have impacted other crews too."
"This is the choice we both made!"
"To a prelude of darkness, may it end in our favor!" I sealed the pod after I said that and started climbing up to my cockpit as Kandor climbed into the lower cockpit.
I strapped in, powering up systems as I sent a silent prayer to any god that may be. To be honest, that's my flaw, I don't know if there is a greater power, I can only hope that the sins of my people are not great enough for us to be exterminated if there is. The hanger bay door started opening as the Argos Explorer and Crimson Aquarius dropped out of quantum pulse travel. I initiated the launch sequence and the fighter we named Echo-01 didn't hesitate to charge out of the hanger into the dark abyss of space.
Argos appeared in the corner of my display, "Shiro's information is correct as far as the Explorers scans can tell. Going with the plan should be easy!"
It didn't take long for the shuttle to make it to the atmosphere though I never responded to the assessment Argos made, I didn't know how to explain that it was wrong for us to kill the Racalnas the way we were about to. It's possible that he knows already but has detached himself from his moral programming temporarily so he can focus on the mission because in my experience Argos is more of a mortal than anything that has ever been made. I never thought a machine could feel emotion until that first encounter when we lost Ves.
I can still hear the soft question that came from Argos after we got back on the ship, "It's wrong to kill, so why would they kill Ves?" In all honesty, I wish I could push morals to the side, even in short bursts. Ves never stood a chance, I am still not sure why they chose to kill her but that night still haunts me. Even after her death, a tree almost crushed me, should have crushed me. I asked Argos if he was the reason that I lived but as far as he could tell, it was but he had no idea what he was doing anything.
I focused on the mission again after the last few seconds of thought, it was good timing because I had focused just as the base had come into sight. I heard Argos call out that there were two defensive turrets as I locked on to the further one with a torpedo.
"Torpedo away, powering all weapons!" I called out. It didn't take long for the turrets on our fighter to take out the other turret, so I awaited the bases fighters to respond readying the release for Shiro's pod for the moment of the first impact. As the first shot made contact with the hull of the Echo-01 I hit the button, wishing unspoken luck to Shiro as Kandor opened up the power channels and flooded the engines for a quick get away.
***
Shiro knew the risk of standing for her beliefs, as a girl she ended up living with pirates and after the purity war, she was a fugitive. She managed to run for a while, morning the people that she grew up with as one by one they all fell. She was raised by her parents to do what was right, everything changed in a flash when the purity war started. Even though everything she had done through the war was to protect those that were not involved she was treated as a common criminal, it had not been fair. Until she joined up with Liz Balitar on the Crimson Aquarius she had to watch her back, even then for a while she did, only for a war to start. In a way, it trained her to be in a sense, completely invisible, even when she was desperate for affection. Only one person could see through that barrier, possibly two.
For now, that invisibility served her will, she silently stalked the corridors of the Racosan base, slitting the throat of anyone who was too careless, or killing them quietly and efficiently to some degree. Of the seven officers inside the base only, one remained, completely unaware that the others were dead. She didn't bother with silence now, she lifted her gun and fired a single round into the back of the officers head.
It only took a few minutes for her to upload a virus to the system locking down all channels under all clear, after all, what good was her time in prison if she couldn't manipulate the system. As she was relocated back to the Crimson Aquarius sheet a small thought go for the five-year-old girl who lost everything and now had so much.
***
I had not been long since we left Shiro behind but I had already lost track of how many trees we had almost hit in the semi-dense forest that surrounded us. Kandor is a good pilot but this is nowhere near a home field advantage, the forest was as new to us as the fighter, making it very hard to escape the two Racosan fighters chasing us. Nothing seemed to change as time passed. In the distance scanners had identified a canyon, if we could make it there the fighters advanced maneuvering capability could be used but only if we could make it.
Argos spoke up as soon as Kandor evaded another burst of weapons fire, "they have a missile locked on us, estimated trajectory marks contact near primary cockpit!"
Kandor didn't hesitate to respond, "controls ready for transfer. Will the missile be lethal?"
"That is still unknown." That even scared me, I remained silent as the missile was launched from one of the enemy fighters. It didn't take long and Argos's warning seemed to be cut off in the resulting explosion.
Kandor didn't speak and neither did Argos so I asked a simple question to both of them, "what is our status?"
"Kandor is alive, however, unable to respond. His cockpit's cryo-chamber was damage and activated as a safety precaution, he will be unharmed." It was a slight relief, Argos had taken temporary control as the missile exploded forcing the fighter up above leaving the Racalnas below the dense tree tops.
I took control of the fighter as I gave Argos orders, "open up the reserve tank, push the engine as hard as you can till we reach the canyon!"
"Understood, eight hundred meters and counting!" Argos continued to count down as I kept my eyes on my flight path and the enemy fighters. When Argos hit zero I pulled the shuttle down to ride the side of the canyon as close as possible while also moving often. "Captain, the canyon ends in a cliff that drops off of the northernmost continent into the ocean, I estimate forty seconds until we go over!" I acknowledged Argos's report as a burst of enemy fire ripped through one of the Echo-01's turrets.
A familiar voice yelled at me, "when I tell you to shut down power!" I recognized it but could not place it, I knew it had been years but who's voice?
Another shot ripped through the tip of the left wing as I questioned the voice, "who are you?" Argos responded by saying that he hadn't changed and asked if I was okay.
The fighter flew over the edge as the voice returned, "Now!" I pulled back on the power from the engine for the fighter to get thrown down due to the airflow in the atmosphere, I redirected the fighter up as I restored power. As the fighter started to more with power again the Racosan fighters flew over me and I opened fire effectively destroying one of the fighters and allowing the last turret to cripple the other fighter. All that was left now was to return to the ship and then assault Racon Prime, the Racosan home world.
***
Once the Echo-01 fighter was docked I didn't waste a second, I was on the bridge before the Argos Explorer broke orbit of the small planet. There was not much to say and a lot more that needed to be done so I simply said, "There is no stopping our attack now, be brave but don't waiver." Moments later the Argos Explorer jolted, a sure sign that the Quantum pulse drive had been activated.