Sacrifice:The Shenkar War (24 page)

             
She had to give him credit; he didn’t show surprise at the odd question.

             
“
Why, yes, I am . . . name’s Steve Barrows, or Ghoul if I am flying at the time,” he said with a big smile across his face.

He suddenly stopped smiling and looked at her inquiringly before he spoke.
“
Flight control,” was all he said.

             
“
Excuse me?” she asked.

             
“
You are the voice of flight control,” Steve said.

             
Completely taken aback by his statement, she just stood there, her mouth cracking into a smile as the seconds passed until she finally spoke.

             
“
Why, yes, I am, as a matter of fact. Name is Kimino Sukita,” she said as she offered her hand in greeting.

             
Taking her hand, Steve smiled even more broadly at her. Then his smile slipped, and he sort of shifted from one foot to the other as if unsure what to do next. She had seen this behavior several times since her sixteenth birthday. Kimino never was so vain to think she was drop-dead beautiful, but she knew men found her attractive. To try and spare the young pilot from more uncomfortable silence, she spoke up.

             
“
So I was hoping to meet one of the Templar Knights. I am fascinated by the whole technology--” Sukita stopped suddenly as she realized something. “Wait, you are one of the pilots of Necro Squadron, aren’t you? I recognize your call sign.”

             
Steve’s face once again broke into a broad smile.

             
“
Yes, I am.” Then faltering a second, he asked in a soft nervous voice
, “
Um . . . would you like to get a drink? I can show you our recreation room, and you can ask me any questions you like about the Templar Knights. And who knows, maybe some of my squadron will be there.”

             
As he finished, his face turned a bright shade of red and he looked at the floor, again shuffling from one foot to the other. She couldn’t help but like him; he was sweet in his own shy way . . . something she always had been attracted to.

             
“
That would be great--let’s go,” she said.

             
She couldn’t help but laugh and smile at the look of surprise on his face. It was definitely apparent that this young man did not have much in the way of experience when asking a woman for a drink. Superhuman warrior and a pretty woman turned him to a nervous wreck.

             
They walked in silence for five minutes until Steve led her through a door into a large room full of men and women. Several tables, chairs, and even a few sofas were spread throughout. A large bar dominated the opposite side of the room, with a small dance floor to the left and in front of the bar. In addition to all the furniture, the room also housed pool tables, arcade games, several televisions, air hockey tables, card tables, and dartboards. Men and women were scattered throughout the room, playing games, relaxing, watching television, or just sitting and talking with others. Kimino looked around for an open table but couldn’t find one.

             
“
I just spotted some friends; let’s sit with them,” said Steve.

             
He led them to a table where two men sat in deep discussion. A couple of data pads lay in front of them. As they approached, the two men looked up. The man on the right was a short man with black hair and brown eyes. When looking at him, Kimino was reminded of a mouse--odd, since she knew he could probably take most normal men in hand-to-hand combat. The man on the left was a tall man, probably six feet or more, of average weight with black hair and blue eyes. His eyes were what caught her attention; they held a dark shadow. This was a man she would fear to see angry.

             
“
Hi, boss man. Hi, Tim. Can we join you? All the tables are full, it seems.”

             
The blue-eyed man nodded his head, then turned to Tim.
“
We can talk about this later. Just study up on what I gave you and give me your assessment tomorrow.” Then turning back to Steve, he said, “So who is your friend?”

             
“
Lieutenant Kimino Sukita,” Kimino said as she saluted.

             
“
She is flight control,” Steve added as Tim took her hand.

             
“
At ease, Lieutenant; we are all off duty here,” Liam said.

             
“
Now we can match the face to the voice. My name is Tim Wellmo, or as you know, Vampire,” the mousy man said with a smile.

             
“
And I am Liam Brennan, or Ghost--and as you already know, squadron leader of Necro Squadron. So what brings you down to the pilot’s rec room?”

             
“
Well, I sort of ran into Mr. Barrows here,” she explained, indicating Steve with a tilt of her head.

             
Before she could continue, Steve broke in.
“
Ugh . . . don’t call me Mr. Barrows. It brings up bad memories of high school and the wedgies I suffered.”

             
Smiling slightly at Steve’s remark, she continued.
“
And as we spoke, I mentioned I was very interested in the Templar Knights and the technologies. Steve was kind enough to invite me along to the rec room to answer any questions I might have.”

             
Liam looked from Kimino to Steve, his right eyebrow arched questioningly, and Steve’s smile faltered.

             
“
Well, it isn’t like we are big secrets. She can just look in the database for the same information.”

             
Liam laughed as Steve squirmed to justify his reasons for bringing Kimino along. The change in Lieutenant Brennan’s face was dramatic. The dark shadow in his eyes faded and was replaced by amusement. If she hadn’t seen the dark shadow, she wouldn’t have believed it was the same man.

             
They spoke for what seemed hours, talking of everything. None had any problem speaking of the procedure they had undergone. They spoke of training and how it seemed that none of the Meshtrell knew what to fully expect--how the age regeneration had been a surprise as had the personal energy shields. They all wondered if the Meshtrell truly knew the extent of what the nanites could do or if any more surprises would arise. Finally, when the lack of sleep began to take over, Kimino bid them all good night and rose to leave. Steve also rose, saying he was tired and needed sleep as well.

             
They walked in silence, neither having much to say. Kimino thought that Steve was one of those guys her mother would say is a great catch. He was attractive and obviously well attentive to others. The problem was, she didn’t take this mission to meet a guy. It was, in fact, the last thing she wanted to do--getting involved with someone who was on this mission to sacrifice his life. She would just have to keep things at arm’s length. At least that was her plan--unfortunately, she wasn’t sure she would be able to. Steve’s personality was infectious, and you couldn’t help but be drawn to him. As they came to a junction, Kimino spoke.

             
“
Well, I am this way,” she said, indicating the passageway to the left.

             
“
Yeah, and I am off the other way,” said Steve.

             
“
I really appreciate you taking the time to introduce me to the other Knights and taking the time to answer all my questions. I really did find it quite fascinating.”

             
“
Oh, it’s no big deal; glad I could help. Any time you feel like chatting, feel free to give me a shout.”

             
“
Thanks, I just might do that. It’s nice to talk to someone my own age. The entire bridge crew is at least thirty years or older.” As she said this, a thought occurred to her. “How old are you exactly?”

             
“
Twenty-one,” said Steve.

             
“
No, seriously, how old were you before the age regeneration?”

             
“
Does it really matter?” But seeing the look on her face, he sighed. “I am thirty-five years old, technically.”

             
“
Was that so hard?”

             
“
Well, you did just complain about the age of the bridge crew.”

             
“
True, but you’re different--you are less uptight. Well, I do need to get some sleep. Have a good night, Steve. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

             
“
Thanks, it was nice to meet you also. Sweet dreams.”

             
Smiling, Kimino turned and walked off toward her quarters. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Steve watched her until she rounded the corner out of sight.

Necro Squadron,
On Patrol

              Liam checked his scanner, looking for any abnormalities.

             
“I’m not finding anything; let’s turn to vector five eight and take a closer look at the other side of the small moon that orbits N-3.”

             
As Liam pressed down with his right foot, his fighter also eased slowly to the right. Glancing at his scanner, he saw that nine other F-77 Scorpion fighters followed, spread out in a staggered formation.

             
The EDF
Sacrifice
was currently stationed within an asteroid field that occupied this system in an effort to hide their base of operations. System 238 had a medium-sized sun not unlike the Earth’s sun. Of the six planets in the system, three were gas giants and three were dead rocks. The asteroid field floated in space between the six planets in the place where it was believed there had been a seventh planet. The planet closest to the asteroid field, N-3, proved to be the most likely planet for the Shenkar to establish a ground base. If this was the case, all supply ships would have to pass by the asteroid field in which the
Sacrifice
was now secluded. It made for a perfect staging point for hit-and-run attacks.

             
As Necro Squadron flew above the surface of the moon, Liam studied its pocketed surface. As they rounded the northern pole of the moon, Liam’s alarm board lit up. Thirty blips appeared upon his scanner, slowly cresting the northern pole of N-4.

             
“Necro Squadron, we have contact. Hit your afterburners and attack,” Liam said.

             
As one, ten Scorpion fighters afterburners engaged, propelling them forward toward the Shenkar patrol. Liam, as a sudden whim, toggled his comm unit to an open frequency.

             
“To the Shenkar Federation inbound fighters, we are Necro Squadron. We are from the race of humans. You do not know us, but you will soon learn what we are made of and what we stand for. We, however, know what you are made of and what you stand for. We know of your race’s destruction and subjugation of other sentient races. It all ends here, for we will stop you. You have known the calm, now witness the storm, for we are the storm, and we bring death!”

             
All thirty blips turned toward Liam’s patrol, racing to engage those they deemed unworthy. Lining up his targeting reticule, he squeezed the trigger. Four energy bolts slammed through the canopy of the incoming Shenkar fighter, snapping the fighter in half, both halves rolling over through space. Liam was already lining up another Shenkar before his first target finished its death roll. His second volley of fire took a Shenkar fighter in the rear of the ship, instantly destroying the engine. While Liam’s fighter was equipped with an ion engine, Shenkar technology used fusion reactors. The destruction of the engine ignited the fighter’s reactor, and the ship exploded in a brilliant flash of light.

Before Liam could line up another target, the Shenkar patrol was past. Pulling back hard on his flight stick and depressing a pedal, Liam’s fighter made a sharp corkscrew turn, bringing hi
m around and onto the tail of a Shenkar fighter. Without hesitation and without thinking, his finger squeezed the trigger and the Shenkar fighter exploded. And then the stars were quiet. Only wreckage remained of the thirty fighters of the Shenkar patrol.

             
“
Sacrifice
, this is Necro Squadron. We have met and engaged a Shenkar fighter group in sector eight six. Approximately thirty in number, all eliminated. Please advise,” Liam said into his comm unit. Ten seconds was all he had to wait for a response.