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“Wow,” Lii commented. “I am taller than the Doolari!”
Ashira had her hands upon her son’s shoulders as they stood in the hanger bay beside the Dawnstrider. There was a wide assortment of starfighters here, apparently part of a cross-training exercise that was scheduled that afternoon.
Hence, they had seen pilots from the other races. Ravusq, Zathru, and, to Ashira’s surprise, Doolari. She had thought they didn’t have any starfighters in their arsenal.
But things were changing across the galaxy.
Ervik stood to one side, Lu to the other. The crew was watching as the pilots were gathering and mingling before launching for the exercise.
“They are considerably shorter than Humans,” Lu commented, agreeing with Lii.
Ashira knew it would not be much longer that she could stand with her son this way. He was getting taller.
She saw Alvon and Tara Kreth approaching.
“Hi, Alvon! Hi, Tara!” Lii called.
“Lii,” Tara replied.
“Good afternoon, Lii,” Alvon said as he joined the crew. “Where’s Jeck?”
“Unusually late,” said Lu.
“I saw him consorting with fighter pilots,” remarked Ervik. “But given the exercise they’re about to do, that seems an unlikely excuse.”
“Jeck was talking about the new fighters,” Lii commented. “The, uh—what are they called again, Ervik?”
“Starhawks,” Ervik replied. “Yeah, he was going on about them over dinner the other night.”
“Speaking of fighters,” Ashira took up, “I did not think Doolari had any.”
Alvon chuckled. “No, they didn’t. When I learned about their Homeguard-class ships, I found it rather amazing they were so large, given the Doolari’s size. But it would seem they are learning to use starfighters now.”
“Unique ones,” Tara remarked. “They have three crew and are the size of the shuttle craft of most of the other races.”
“The other races are so different,” Lii said.
Ashira saw Jeck jogging toward them. He was in his old flightsuit, which surprised her. But there was something about the way he held his head that she was very familiar with. Something she’d not seen in a long time.
It was the look of satisfaction an elite starfighter pilot wore after a good flight experience. Petra had shown her that in their military days.
“Sorry, all,” Jeck said as he reached them. “Ran a tad over.”
“Never seen you wear that,” commented Ervik, pointing to Jeck’s flightsuit.
Jeck grinned. “Haven’t had need of it for a while. Flight-Captain Dirn got me sim time, and I just passed certification to fly a Starhawk.”
“Whoa!” Lii exclaimed. “That is really cool!”
Jeck beamed. “Yes, it is.” He gestured at the ramp. “We have things to go over, so let’s get to it, shall we, crew?”
Ashira didn’t mind Lii’s hero-worship of Jeck and his flight skills. But she did worry a bit that he was qualifying to fly the newest starfighter class. Did he intend to not be the Dawnstrider’s captain in what was coming?
Nobody said anything as the crew climbed the ramp and made their way to the flight deck.
Lu took her usual station as copilot, Ervik took his at communications, and Ashira took hers at engineering. That left Tara, Alvon, and Lii.
“Okay,” Jeck began, “we have a larger crew than usual, presently. Everyone will be on the flight deck during this mission. I’m flying, of course, and sorry, Lii, but Lu needs to be copilot. Tara, I know you are an able pilot, too—but Lu and I have been flying together for a while now.”
“I have no problem with that,” Tara said.
Jeck grinned. “Good. Okay, Alvon, take this spot.” He pointed. It was Deven’s former station.
Alvon clearly recalled that. “You sure?”
“Yes,” Jeck said. “Alvon, you are the authority figure if we are a part of this coming battle. That station is a multipurpose station. Communications, weapons, engineering—you can observe all of it.”
“Got it,” Alvon said, taking a seat.
“Tara,” Jeck addressed her. “Take this seat here, between Lu and Ervik. I want you on the guns.”
Tara Kreth grinned. “That is a good place to be.” She took the indicated seat.
Lii wore a long face. Ashira felt bad for her son, but there were no further stations. On the back wall of the flight deck was a two-person jumpseat remaining.
“Lii,” Jeck addressed him. “I have something unique in mind for you.”
He put an arm on Lii’s shoulder and led him to the jumpseat. Jeck tapped the control to lower it.
“I know this is not a control station, Lii,” Jeck began, “but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a job.”
Jeck went to the pilot’s station and withdrew an oversized datapad. Ashira had not seen it before and was curious as Jeck took it to Lii.
The Dawnstrider’s captain handed the oversized datapad to her son. “I am going to ask your mother to put this on a swing-arm so that it will be mounted here. You will have a couple of jobs.”
Jeck turned on the datapad. “Your first job will be to monitor the Dawnstrider and all the ships around us. You will need to help Alvon, Lu, and me track any Ditufgne ships out there. You will need to pay particular attention if they maneuver behind us or begin to flank us. You remember how I explained flanking to you, right?”
“Yes!” Lii said. “The attempt to swing around behind your enemy, often obliquely or from a far side.”
“Correct,” Jeck said encouragingly. “Additionally, you need to keep an eye out for Ditufgne wormholes. We’re going to be more concerned about our immediate surroundings and what is in front of us. But knowing someone has our back will make all our jobs that much easier.”
Ashira could not help but grin. Jeck was giving Lii a job that, while not truly necessary, made him feel necessary.
She had considered if having Lii aboard during a planned encounter with the Ditufgne was a wise action. But she convinced herself that it was okay for several reasons. Lii was a prince and had been studying how to handle tense situations. He might have been a child, but he was an advanced child.
Ashira had been separated from Lii for too long already. The more than three years they had been apart while he’d thought her dead had been nearly unbearable. There was no way she was going to leave him behind again. But neither was she going to abandon her new family when they might need her the most.
“There is more to your job, Lii,” Jeck was continuing to say. “Since you are closest to the hatch, if anyone on the control deck needs something from somewhere else on the ship, you will need to get it. You’re uniquely suited to this job because you run so fast and know the ship well.”
“Yessir,” Lii said.
“Can you handle all of these duties, Lii?” Jeck asked in a serious tone.
“Yes, Captain.”
“Great,” Jeck said. He walked to the center of the control deck and addressed the rest of the crew. “The Dawnstrider is not a warship. Our intent is to stay the hell out of the fighting. But thanks to the CSA and the Xorcerizts, we have the defenses to stand on our own feet if need be.
“This is ludicrous. I was a starfighter pilot and command officer. Dawnstrider isn’t a military vessel. But if any crew can handle anything thrown their way, it’s all of you. You’re my family. And yes, that includes Alvon and Tara, too. If anyone can stand up to this insanity, it’s all of you.”
“I, for one, prefer to sit in insanity,” said Ervik quietly.
Lii laughed.
“If Ashira needs to head into the engine room for some reason, Lu, you take engineering, and Tara, you take the copilot’s chair,” Jeck said, ignoring Ervik’s flippant comment. “Lii, if your mom needs you, she gets you. Any questions?”
Nobody said anything further.
Jeck gestured out the viewport. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I want to see this drill they’re running. Navarch Dromm has invited us to the CIC to observe. We have”—he checked the nearest chronometer—“about fifteen minutes. If you care to join me, meet me at the base of the ramp in ten.”
Ashira and the others arose. Lii bounded over to her. “Can I help you mount the swing-arm for the datapad after the drill?”
Ashira smiled at her son. “Of course you can. In fact, how about you go find me the right parts and the welding kit before we head out?”
“Yes!” Lii said. He ran past the others off the flight deck.
Only Ashira and Jeck remained. He was still looking out the viewport at the fighters and pilots in the bay.
“Thank you,” Ashira said to him.
Jeck turned and smiled. “You’re welcome. I didn’t want to leave Lii feeling like he wasn’t part of this. I can’t take all the credit: Alvon helped me out.”
Ashira often forgot that Alvon had had children of his own prior to his enslavement. She always felt joy at getting her son back in her life. Alvon had chosen to remain “dead” to his kids so that they could live with their stepfather more comfortably.
Ashira looked to Jeck, who had turned back to the viewport. “Are you alright, Jeck?”
“Yeah,” he said, not turning back. “All this time among starfighter pilots again has made me wistful.”
“You got certified to fly the Starhawk?” Ashira asked.
Jeck turned to her again. “Yeah. I met the commander, air group, and he offered me the simulator time. It’s a magnificent bird, the Starhawk. I wanted to see if I still had it and could quality.”
Ashira could feel the emotions rolling off Jeck in waves. “You would love to fly a starfighter again, wouldn’t you?”
Jeck grinned sadly. “I miss it. It was in my blood for a long, long time.”
Ashira looked out the window. “You are still qualified. I mean, you could join them, if they will have you. Lu could serve as the Dawnstrider’s captain, and I believe Tara Kreth could fly her just fine.”
Jeck turned to look back out the viewport again. But he turned back to Ashira, shaking his head. “No,” he said softly. “This is my charge now. The Dawnstrider is where I am meant to be flying, and you are my crew. But you’re also my family, and I am sure as hell not leaving you in the hands of another pilot during something this crazy.”
Ashira smiled. “You don’t think Tara Kreth is a capable pilot?”
Jeck chuckled. “Capable, sure. But flying this bird is my job.”
“Indeed,” Ashira agreed.
Jeck seemed to shake himself, but it was less a physical action than a clear mental shift. “I need to change. You coming to watch the drill in CIC?”
“Why not?” Ashira said.
Jeck started to walk past her, pausing to put a hand on her shoulder and give it a squeeze. Then he left Ashira alone on the flight deck.
She took a few steps forward to look at the starfighters and pilots in the bay. While their situations were different in many ways, Ashira understood what Jeck was experiencing.
If she was going to experience a part of history—in a most bizarre manner—she could think of no better people to share that with. The only one missing was Petra.
A tear reached her eye at the thought. With all that had transpired over the past several years, had she mourned the loss her beloved spouse?
Perhaps not. But Ashira celebrated that life, and the time they did have. Petra would have wanted her to go on. Now she had Lii and a new family. It was not what she had expected her life to look like, but it was her life.
If they survived the Ditufgne and their terrible weapon, Ashira hoped life on the other side would be just as big an adventure.
But preferably one with less chance of being vaporized.