“The Gorvian Monitoring Fleet has been on high alert for almost a decade watching for any Gorvian activity. It seems however that the Gorvian are using some unknown jump point into Confed space to make these excursions. Up until now; we assumed that these were reconnaissance missions. These latest attacks reveal that they are openly hostile. Therefore, the twelfth fleet is being dispatched to reinforce the monitoring fleet and to reconnoiter Tre-Tian Space. Their mission will be to investigatet what the Gorvian are up to.”

  Blazer squeezed Marda’s hand. He immediately thought of the Gorvian they’d recovered just two decles ago. We can’t be that far from Tre-Tian Space. Could a Gorvian ship get through here on one of their raids, or on the return trip? What do the admiral and command expect us to do now?

  “We feel sure however that you are safe in the training systems. You will continue on with your missions. You will be apprised of the situation as it progresses. In addition; I am assigning mandatory reading regarding the first Gorvian conflict to all cadets. If the Gorvian are going on the offensive again, you all need to be prepared. That is all.”

  Bridge, Gorvian Corvette-1036, Finquis System

  Tactical Officer Pila lay dead at Ship Lord Kemschik’s feet, mor pooling blood draining down into one of the floor vents where it sizzled upon contact with a heating element. The smell wafting into Kemschik’s nose did little to temper mor rage. It was the birth anniversary of the Great Lord Gondral and Pila had promised the Ship Lord a worthy blood-sacrifice. Instead, mor had given them a pitiful little Dondick colony with only a few thousand Krad. Ship Lord Sobile on the other grip slaughtered a quarter million Dondicks in Confed space. That was unacceptable. Kemschik’s was the most decorated corvette, the most mentioned in official communiqués, and one of only a few that Lord Gondish had visited. Their current gift to the High Lord wouldn’t even make the top five.

  Kemschik felt a stirring in mor womb and laid a hand upon it. The child that Lord Gondish seeded mor with would be strong for sure and Kemschik now bore the mark of Gondral, making this child so much more. “The sire of my child’s birth anniversary approaches in eighty cycles. Let us make sure to offer up a more acceptable sacrifice to Lord Gondish.”

  The bridge crew growled their agreement.

  “Navigation. Find us a densely-populated world, and let us lay waste to it. Ship Lord Sobile will see what devastation true Gorvian can wreak.”

  UCSB DATE: 1003.144

  Forward Cafeteria, UCSBTS-27413, System: T-18-E-37

  Marda couldn’t make sense of any of it. The Gorvian? Why did they have to come back? Why did they have to start attacking again?

  The response from high command and the mandatory reading on the Gorvian hadn’t really helped much. Many of the cadets were deeply disturbed at the thought of fighting such massive monsters. As a result, Arion, Chris, and Alieha were pulling additional duty as ship’s counselors. Blazer had received word from his old friends in the Mapper’s Guild that they were busy changing the jump codes of the homeworlds and other high value systems. It would slow the Gorvians if they tried to start a full-on offensive. That news comforted some, but not enough.

  The door slid away and Marda looked up as Alieha strode in. Alieha took the whole thing with far too much calm. It was like she hadn’t heard the horror stories about the Gorvian. It played on Marda’s unease with the woman, but she said nothing. Alieha was there to help Arion. He needed to relax after his counseling sessions.

  “Blazer said he’ll be up in a few pulses. They had some kind of issue down in engineering he had to handle.”

  “Thanks Alieha. Are you off shift now?”

  Alieha nodded and took a seat near the window.

  “Is Arion down there too?”

  Alieha nodded, rubbed at her eyes. “I think so.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  Alieha sighed. “It’s just… I’ve been worried about Arion and me. Mostly about, well we graduate at the end of this term. Every time I bring it up to Arion he just wants to…,” she looked out the window, hiding her face. “He just wants to get into bed. You know?”

  Marda considered that. “Arion has a hard time letting things go. I know he had some fears about you two before we left on the transports. Maybe since we’re all in such close quarters he’s trying to use sex to cover his feelings.”

  “I know. I don’t want to lose him. But we both have to face the hard truth that we could get assigned to different bases or ships. Can’t he just acknowledge that and move on?”

  “Alieha, I’m surrounded by men and I still can’t figure them out sometimes.”

  “They seem so simple and then they go and hide their emotions. It’s frustrating.”

  The two women sat in silence for a long moment as the nearby nebula came into view. Everyone called it the birthing cloud, as new stars formed within it. She looked over at Alieha as she rested her hand on her belly. She’d never learned what had happened to Alieha, why she couldn’t have children. Every time they’d had an opportunity to speak alone, Alieha would seem to steer the conversation away from the subject. Is Alieha doing that intentionally? “Sorry if it’s a sore subject. But, why can’t you have kids? You’ve never said. Did something go wrong with your blocks?”

  Alieha looked confused at first. The idea that something could go wrong with an individual’s blocks was foreign to most. She smiled back at Marda after a moment; it seemed insincere. “I’m just not built that way. If you know what I mean. The whole child thing is just so odd to me. It seems sometimes like my sisters and I were born grown up.” Before Marda could ask more, the door slid open and Blazer and Arion sauntered in. Marda smiled at her husband and he took a seat beside her; giving her a quick kiss.

  “We can’t stay long,” Blazer announced with a grimace.

  “Is it that bad down in engineering?”

  “Huh, no, just a blown relay on the number three shield emitter. We couldn’t power it down so I had to act as a relay,” he continued, holding up his hands to reveal the fresh pink skin, the top few layers burned away.

  Ever since his encounter with the Electrolites his ability to focus his Energy Gathering ability without injury had grown considerably. He wasn’t invincible though; too much juice could still injure him. “You need to stop doing that,” Marda scolded him, examining the skin “Why can’t you stay?”

  Arion cleared his throat and pointed out the window towards a distant star. “Zithe wants to clear out of the system next cycle. After what happened during the last jump he wants us battle-ready.”

  “Exactly,” Blazer added. He picked up a knife and a spiceshaker from the table and held them together. “But get this. Chris, Nash and Dorbile have this plan to catch anyone on the side by surprise. We’re going to strap hyperspace-capable probes to our fighters and the Nip Tails’ tjem have them jump ahead of us.”

  Marda raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Is that even possible, or safe?”

  Alieha nodded and looked at the group. “Actually the manual for the Splicer 5000 even calls it out as an emergency measure for transiting hyperspace. What’s Tadeh Qudas think?”

  “Zithe’s getting approval right now.”

  “Wait a pulse,” Marda commented. “Don’t we still have one planet left to survey?”

  Blazer nodded. “Yes, but the other two Blue Force ships in-system are going to handle that. They’ll link up with the Black Vices and Pogrin’s Payback when they trade systems in a few cycles.”

  “I hadn’t heard. How are they doing?”

  “Okay, they’ve been able to steer clear of Chertsin and the Red Force, but they need to move on. Anyway, I’m not sure how long it’ll take Zithe to get approval for his plan, so let’s get something to eat.”

  “You won’t be the only busy people. We’ll have to lock down all the labs and medical too; gonna be a long cycle,” Marda announced.

  UCSB DATE: 1003.145

  Monstero Nach 6, Jump Point B, System: T-18-E-37

  Gavit griped.“This sucks,” he said as his fighter floated before the jump point.

  “I believe you mentioned that before,” Matt replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me, keeping these shields tuned is proving to be a real critch.”

  Gavit looked out at the probes strapped to his underwing hardpoints. The size of a heavy torpedo, two of the massive long-range instruments hung on either side of him. They’d tried to make do with just one probe per fighter, but the hyperspace shields on these models couldn’t extend far enough. The price they paid for that was that the WSOs on the fighters had to make constant adjustments to keep the hyperspace shields tuned. If they failed to do so for even a moment, the infinite black maelstrom of hyperspace would obliterate them. “Fighters don’t have hyperdrives for a reason and this configuration is for emergencies only. Why don’t you all get that?”

  “Would you be such a baby about this if we had a jump sled?”

  “No. A jump sled is at least designed to do this.”

  “Well, we weren’t issued jump sleds so suck it up Gavit. Okay, I’m aligned over here and I have blue lights from the others. Are you ready?”

  Gavit held up his hands to show that the fighter was in Matt’s control. Truth be told, he didn’t care for jump sleds either. The disposable hyperspace boosters still required the pilot to give up control to his WSO and Gavit hated that. It was only because Mikle had hyperspace certification that he gave control of the dropship to him on missions.

  “Okay then, shields coming up.”

  A shudder ran through the fighter and Gavit had to keep himself from grabbing the controls as the probes powered up their hyperspace shields. A faint purple band appeared before Gavit, the interference zone where the shields met. “Is that going to be a problem?”

  Matt harrumphed. “If this was a longer jump, maybe. But this should be a quick one. So just, you know, hold on. Transport One Three, Nach Six, flight of four. Ready to proceed.”

  Bichard’s hum click voice rang back over the link. “Copy that Six. Good hunting.”

  “Let’s hope it’s clear. Standby Gavit. Here we go.”

  The fighter lurched as Matt pressed it forward, applying thrust from the probes as well as their own engines. “I have a little interference from our exhaust, compensating.”

  Gavit swallowed hard and blinked before the jump point enveloped him. The telltale bump accompanying the transition into the universe that made faster than light travel possible made him curl his toes. Fighters aren’t supposed to do this. When he opened his eyes, his hearts each skipped a beat. Were it not for his forward console, he would swear that they’d lost power. Everything around him was black, even the SIS displayed darkness. Instead of a starscape it revealed the infinite black of hyperspace all around him. He wished he could rub his eyes as he looked around. Faint wisps of light and color played on his eyes, jump points back into normal space. “I still can’t get used to this.”

  “Hence, the reason why you don’t have an azure ring on your wings. Still, I know what you mean. To see nothing but tears into normal space is maddening sometimes.”

  “My uncle used to describe it as looking at the stars peeking through on an overcast moonless duwn. This is so much worse.”

  “You should see it from my perspective. Just focus on the jump point we’re heading for. Try not to look around.”

  “Did you see that?”

  “Nope. I see nothing. What was it?”

  “Those jump points. They just disappeared. Wait, they’re back.”

  “Mass shadow. Something in hyperspace passed between us. Don’t panic.”

  “I’m not panicking. It’s just weird.”

  “Just get back in the game. We’re approaching the jump point.”

  Gavit looked forward again. Sure enough, the jump point hung before him. The window back into their universe revealed not only the stars beyond but their approach angle also afforded them a glimpse of the surprise waiting for them. “All units, Nach Six. I’ve got a bogey on the other side of the jump point. Prepare for hostile contact.”

  Porc’s reply came back scratchily. “I see them too. How fast can we engage?”

  “Weapons and combat shields are on standby. Recommend a fast, dirty exit. The flash should dazzle their sensors long enough for us to get into combat formation,” Matt replied.

  “Copy that - maximum burn. Take us in as fast as you dare,” Gavit ordered and set his hands back on his controls. “Let’s kick some ass!”

  Monstero Nach 06, Jump Point Prime, System: T-18-E-38

  Gavit blinked hard as he pushed his throttle open. Matt had neglected to mention that the drop flash might dazzle them as well. Fortunately, he had predarkened his visor.

  The fighter felt sluggish as Gavit twisted it about. “Ditch the probes and form up for attack.”

  “Already on it,” Matt replied. “Contacts read as one mama and two birds rising to meet us. Bearing 310, mark 187. Weapons are hot! Whoa, this system’s Observer Corvette is here as well.”

  Gavit eyed the targets as he swung his fighter around. Their fighter lurched as Matt released the probes. Freed of the extra mass, they lunged forward. Their orders were clear, Zithe did not want them to start hostilities, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t take an aggressive stance. Gavit looked over at the other fighters as they released their probes and formed up. The presence of this system’s Observer Corvette didn’t faze him. Gavit figured that Tadeh Qudas wanted them there to make sure it all went safely. “Remember our ROE. Let them fire first.”

  Gavit’s pulse pounded in his ears as the distance between his flight group and the transport shrank. He smiled as his alert board lit up indicating that the attackers had locked onto him. This goes against the grain. If a hostile is locked on it means they’re ready to kill you; best to take them out first.

  “Round out,” Matt called and Porc’s shield lit up as one of the hostile fighters fired.

  “Copy that. All units, engage. Nips. Defang that big critch. Five. Tou take the ugly one. I have the leader!”

  “You always say that,” Porc replied, rolling out of formation. “Stegil thinks they can shoot at me.”

  Gavit shook his head and noticed the leader’s vector change. They were after the Nip Tails’ slower Markers on an attack run towards the transport. That was just what Gavit wanted; he angled in on an intercept vector. “Who’s the primary crew on Nobgal Nine?”

  “Tail Number Eight. Gudeg and Shrang.”

  “Nice. Gudeg tends to target fixate,” Gavit smiled and adjusted his vector.

  “Shrang’s no slouch. He’s trying to weave his way into our systems. He’ll go after targeting first. It’s all I can do to keep him out.”

  Gavit nodded; fired. Low-powered plasma rounds bridged the gap between the two craft; Gavit aiming for the fighter’s wing joint. Nobgal Nine’s shields lit up under the assault. The fighter jinked to avoid the attack, but his momentum was too high. Gavit slid his craft up and around to keep his reticle on his target’s engine. Gudeg tried to maneuver away and exposed his engine exhausts to Gavit. Smiling, Gavit shifted his focus and opened up a hole in the fighter’s shields.

  Lightning arced out in response, Matt angling their Narfic cannons into the breached shields. The energy lances played havoc with the target’s electrical grid before the fighter’s engines went silent. Gavit scrunched his nose in celebration and looked for his wingman. Porc was pulling away from the other fighter as it drifted away. “Leader is disabled. Five. What’s your status?”

  “Critch breached my shields and DXed my starboard plaser. They’re down now.”

  Gavit scowled. Blazer would give them both an earful about that. Then a thought occurred to him. “Did you disable or destroy them?”

  In response, Matt fed Gavit the other fighter’s telemetry data. “We blew their engine to bits, but they’ll live.” That correlated with what Gavit saw and he grinned as his mind chewed over his idea.

  “Nach escorts, Nip Three. Requesting help with the turrets on this bad boy. These gunners won’t even let us get close.”

  “Copy that Nip Three. Five. Get in trail on me. We have full shields. We’ll go for a shelled strike.”

  “About time you took lead on one of those,” Porc replied.

  Gavit rolled his eyes and angled back towards the transport. The Nip Tails were right. The turret gunners on the Nobgal transport kept them at bay and much to his surprise, away from their engines. Gavit decided to execute his “new” strategy. “Matt juice up the forward shields to max. Nip Three, keep those turrets pointing aft. Five, we’re going to engage the forward mounts first. Do not follow after I make my pass.”

  There was a moment of silence before Gavit received an affirmative light from the Nip Tails and Porc responded, apparently having studied the plan Matt transmitted. “You are certifiable, Markus.”

  Gavit paid the comment no mind and dove toward the transport. He lined up on the forward turrets as they swung around to engage him and let loose. The two on the side he angled toward lit up his shields as he fired back with full guns. He kept on target as long as he dared and a broke off, angling up just enough to reveal Porc behind him. A missile streaked past and slammed into the second turret silencing it as Gavit’s momentum carried him towards the spinning habitat rings.

  He heard Matt’s sharp inhale behind him and twisted the fighter about, firing the slide thrusters to slip him between the gaps in the support framework. He held his breath as he watched the transfer tube from the second ring approach. He slipped through and came face to face with one of the turrets on the engine array. He let loose with two missiles and all six guns, silencing the turret before it could turn to engage him. Pulse pounding, he angled up towards the next turret before he caught the glint of Porc’s fighter engaging it. Low-powered rounds splashed against its surface.

  “Nice work Nachs,” Nip Three called as Gavit twisted his fighter around. He tickled his afterburner switch and rocketed away. The remaining turrets were unable to engage him from this angle.