Read Online Ep.#6 - "Head of the Dragon" (The Frontiers Saga) by Ryk Brown - Free Book Online

the tree line as if it were the enemy hiding among the trees.
    The Corinari to Jessica’s right raised his fist signaling everyone to stop their advance. His next signal sent the two outermost men shuffling quickly to either side in order to box in whomever might be waiting for them. As soon as the two outside men reached their positions and readied themselves, the Corinari to Jessica’s right called out to the tree line in Corinairan. A moment later, a voice from the trees answered in the same language. The man next to Jessica said something else to the voice in the trees, after which three men came slowly out of the forest. They were similarly dressed, wearing the same black and gray uniforms as the Corinari serving on the Aurora. They were also armed, though they did not hold their guns quite as rigidly as the members of Jessica’s team. She wasn’t sure if they were trying to appear non-threatening or if they were just plain tired, but the looks on their faces were of relief.
    More words were exchanged between sides, all in Corinairan, and the troops on Jessica’s team lowered their weapons and relaxed to some extent.
    “They’re ours, Lieutenant Commander,” the Corinari next to her announced.
    “How can you be sure?” she asked.
    “I went through basic with two of them,” he explained .
    “Good enough,” she stated, lowering her own weapon. “Is this it? Are these guys all that survived?”
    The trooper questioned the three men for a few more minutes before answering her. “No, sir. There are about ten more holed up deeper in the forest. They say they have made radio contact with a few other groups nearby. Reports are that there are small pockets of men scattered all over the place. But without any command and control, they’re all just sitting tight, waiting for direction from someone in command.”
    “Very well,” Jessica told him. “Have them round up their men, and report back here. I’m going to report in.”
    “Yes, sir,” the trooper answered.

    * * *
    Major Jonas Prechitt had been a member of the Corinari since his return from imperial service over a decade ago. His imperial service had seen no action as he had been stationed at the Norwitt garrison, a small training outpost used for space fighters. It had been there that his interest in flying had been aroused. He had spent four years observing the Takaran-born officers as they went through their flight training, dreaming of being in the cockpit himself.
    It wasn’t until he had returned to his homeworld of Corinair and enrolled in the Corinari that he got his chance. Corinari Command had recognized the major’s natural abilities, as well as the above average understanding of flight dynamics that he had gleaned from all those years of observation. It was ironic that he was now killing the very pilots that had stirred his interest in flight so many years ago.
    Although he had been training for over a decade, the battle of Darvano was the first time he had fired his weapons at an enemy. During the post-Yamaro chaos, he had been called upon to destroy two of their own missile bases, as well as to intercept and destroy the missiles that had targeted the Aurora, the latter of which had not only earned him his promotion, but had also landed him the assignment as the commanding officer of the Corinari fighter wing assigned to the Aurora. He was now what Captain Scott had referred to as ‘CAG’, an acronym that on Earth apparently stood for ‘Commander of the Air Group’.
    Major Prechitt entered the Aurora’s flight operations center. The room was situated just forward of the main hangar deck. He really liked this room. It felt like a real command center to him. He could even see into the main hangar bay through a row of windows along the aft wall. Of course, the windows weren’t really necessary, as there were so many cameras available with which to monitor the activities on the flight line. Still, it gave him a feeling of being connected