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Book: Taming the Wildcat (Sargosian Chronicles) by Bethany J. Barnes Mina Carter
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Authors: Bethany J. Barnes Mina Carter
Tags: General Fiction
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squadron scattered to engage the enemy, blasting the opposing fighters with both laser and mini-torpedoes. All around her, the battle raged. Blinding flashes of light from energy fire hitting shields, fighters streaking across the heavens locked in the deadliest game of tag, ever. Once tagged you weren’t “it,” you were dead.
She chased down bandits with a vengeance, dispatching them straight to the pit. The fires of hell surely were a friendlier sight for them compared to facing her fury. Calling on not only her training as a combat pilot, but falling back on her training with her family as a stunt pilot, she made an almost impossible, unpredictable target.
Over her headset, she heard her team calling out confirmed kills. Each one brought her a measure of relief until the status calls changed to hit reports to silence. Other pilots called in to report who was lost, if they had the chance; most were too busy to take their eyes off of their targets.
One by one, she lost not only pilots, her men…but her friends.
Suddenly, a large ball of red fire flew across her flight path, just missing the nose of her Eagle. The torpedo slammed into the hull of the Tipton, followed within seconds by several more, shredding her side as if she were made of paper instead of high-end ablative armored steel.
“No!” She watched in horror as the big ship broke apart.
Jerking hard on the controls, she sent her bird into a sharp dive to avoid the large sections breaking away from the main ship. Sweeping a glance over the starscape, she found the source of the torpedoes.
A medium-sized destroyer, a Cutlass class—heavily modified--hovered at the edge of an asteroid belt. Tucked out of sight, it blended in with the larger chunks of space rock. It had been an ambush from the start.
“This is King, Talons squawk to let me know who is still out there.” Holding her breath, she prayed both to her God and even the Lady, the Goddess the Sargosians worshipped, that someone would answer her. She couldn’t be the last pilot left.
“Please, I can’t be the only one…” she whispered into the crackling silence.
Zeroing in on a bandit to her portside, she executed a barrel roll that shoved her into the side of the cockpit. Coming in on the pirate’s high-right side, she opened fire with her lasers, raking across the ship’s hull from stem to stern. It must have taken damage earlier from another fighter, because it had no shields left. Her shots sliced the hull with surgical precision in a diagonal line.
Ignoring the destruction she’d just wrought, and the life she’d just ended, she turned her burning eyes to look for her next target. Three more met similar ends as she worked her way toward the bigger ship.
“King? Good God, girl, you’re still alive?”
Peters’ voice broke through the red haze in her vision. He was still alive! Avoiding a line of laser fire aimed at her, she answered, “Peters? Of course I’m still alive, you jackass. Did you see the ship hiding in the rocks?”
“Yeah, sweet cheeks, I saw it. Please tell me you aren’t thinking what I think you’re thinking?” His voice sounded tired, as if he’d been to hell and back out here.
“Yeah, well you know me. If we stay behin—”
She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Something slammed into her side. Hard. Her head rocked violently on her neck, smashing her temple into the canopy. Stars appeared in her vision, but she shook her head to clear it.
“Summer! Watch your four o’clock, chica,” Peters hollered through her earpiece.
Without seeing where she was going, she jerked back on the yoke and pushed forward on the thruster with all of her strength. Her insides rearranged themselves with the sheer force of the maneuver. While not as bad as it would have been if she had pulled the move in atmosphere, planet-side, it still hurt. A lot. She fought to stay conscious, the wound at her temple thudding as if a vicious gremlin pounded it with
She chased down bandits with a vengeance, dispatching them straight to the pit. The fires of hell surely were a friendlier sight for them compared to facing her fury. Calling on not only her training as a combat pilot, but falling back on her training with her family as a stunt pilot, she made an almost impossible, unpredictable target.
Over her headset, she heard her team calling out confirmed kills. Each one brought her a measure of relief until the status calls changed to hit reports to silence. Other pilots called in to report who was lost, if they had the chance; most were too busy to take their eyes off of their targets.
One by one, she lost not only pilots, her men…but her friends.
Suddenly, a large ball of red fire flew across her flight path, just missing the nose of her Eagle. The torpedo slammed into the hull of the Tipton, followed within seconds by several more, shredding her side as if she were made of paper instead of high-end ablative armored steel.
“No!” She watched in horror as the big ship broke apart.
Jerking hard on the controls, she sent her bird into a sharp dive to avoid the large sections breaking away from the main ship. Sweeping a glance over the starscape, she found the source of the torpedoes.
A medium-sized destroyer, a Cutlass class—heavily modified--hovered at the edge of an asteroid belt. Tucked out of sight, it blended in with the larger chunks of space rock. It had been an ambush from the start.
“This is King, Talons squawk to let me know who is still out there.” Holding her breath, she prayed both to her God and even the Lady, the Goddess the Sargosians worshipped, that someone would answer her. She couldn’t be the last pilot left.
“Please, I can’t be the only one…” she whispered into the crackling silence.
Zeroing in on a bandit to her portside, she executed a barrel roll that shoved her into the side of the cockpit. Coming in on the pirate’s high-right side, she opened fire with her lasers, raking across the ship’s hull from stem to stern. It must have taken damage earlier from another fighter, because it had no shields left. Her shots sliced the hull with surgical precision in a diagonal line.
Ignoring the destruction she’d just wrought, and the life she’d just ended, she turned her burning eyes to look for her next target. Three more met similar ends as she worked her way toward the bigger ship.
“King? Good God, girl, you’re still alive?”
Peters’ voice broke through the red haze in her vision. He was still alive! Avoiding a line of laser fire aimed at her, she answered, “Peters? Of course I’m still alive, you jackass. Did you see the ship hiding in the rocks?”
“Yeah, sweet cheeks, I saw it. Please tell me you aren’t thinking what I think you’re thinking?” His voice sounded tired, as if he’d been to hell and back out here.
“Yeah, well you know me. If we stay behin—”
She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. Something slammed into her side. Hard. Her head rocked violently on her neck, smashing her temple into the canopy. Stars appeared in her vision, but she shook her head to clear it.
“Summer! Watch your four o’clock, chica,” Peters hollered through her earpiece.
Without seeing where she was going, she jerked back on the yoke and pushed forward on the thruster with all of her strength. Her insides rearranged themselves with the sheer force of the maneuver. While not as bad as it would have been if she had pulled the move in atmosphere, planet-side, it still hurt. A lot. She fought to stay conscious, the wound at her temple thudding as if a vicious gremlin pounded it with
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