Retribution: Part Four

"Nina. Terry. I'll save yelling at you two for tomorrow. Go get some sleep - you'll need it, we have another mission assigned already."

Nina groaned theatrically and the Buzz merely shrugged, unclipping his helmet and making his way down into the corridors. Their captain glanced over at Danner who was doing his best to stay on his feet.

"You doing okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll live. I'll stop by the infirmary in the morning and see if they can do anything for the soreness."

"Right. Good to have you back Danner."

The Kyrii turned and walked away down after Terry. Nina and Danner exchanged glances and then the Wocky shrugged and led the way towards where their rooms were. Due to the constraints on space within the base all pilots were doubled-up. Danner shared his room with a rather quiet fire Zafara named Allan. He flew as Gallion 10 and was a reliable compatriot. Nina kept walking past his room and he cast her a lingering glance, hoping she would look back. She didn't and reluctantly he opened the door to his room, sliding inside into the darkness. Only then did Nina pause and look back, a strange expression on her face. The door to the Kougra's room shut but Nina remained there for a long time, her eyes wide like the stars.

Allan stirred as Danner entered and actually did wake up.

"Hsst, just me," the Kougra whispered.

"Oh," he replied, "Glad you're back. G'night."

And his head hit the pillow and was lost to sleep once more. Danner chuckled softly and quickly stripped of his suit, changing into his plain night-shirt and climbing into the top bunk, careful to keep his movements soft enough to not wake Allan again. Then he too fell into sleep as soon as his cheek touched the pillow.

His dreams were troubled. Again and again he saw the ball of flame as Rya's ship evaporated, the flash of the enemy fighter as it veered away and got behind him. Burned into his mind were the kill markings. Eight. That fact stuck in his mind and ran around in his subconscious again and again. Nina's desperate plea, her desperate cry. In his dream, they switched places, and she was the one being shot down. But when he landed and ran to her ship, she wasn't there, there was only a crater and overhead the enemy fighters.

With a gasp he woke in a cold sweat, flinging the covers up and glancing frantically around the room. It was dark but the clock on the dresser read early morning. Everyone would be up by now; they'd probably let him sleep out of courtesy. Indeed, a quick check revealed that Allan had left the room already. With a groan, Danner slipped out of the bunk bed and landed in a crouch, stifling a gasp as his muscles screamed in protest. Limping over to the light switch, the Kougra remembered how he had said he'd see the infirmary first thing in the morning. That seemed like the best option, or really, the only option right now.

Danner met up with the rest of his crew at around noon at the mess hall. They were clustered in a corner of the vast expanse, laughing and shoveling into their food. Nina waved him over and he took a spot between her and Allan.

"I got you something," she said, shoving him a tray, "and even made you tea."

He showed his thanks by grabbing a fork and starting his own dent on the plate before him.

"Your fur's wet," the Wocky giggled.

"Wash'd dirt n' stuffs off," he mumbled with his mouth full.

"You feeling better?" Terry asked from across the table.

"Yesh."

He swallowed hard and took a drink of tea.

"I heard you tossing in your sleep," Allan suddenly piped up, "And crying out. Nightmares?"

Danner nearly choked and narrowly avoided spraying the hot beverage out all across the table. As is, he received a stout smack on his back after he managed to swallow and started coughing.

"Sorry," the Zafara muttered, "It's not a big deal though. I'd have nightmares if that happened to me."

"Sure. Whatever."

The Kougra stood, suddenly not hungry anymore. He stalked away from the table and was supremely aware of the silence that he left in his wake. There was the scrape of a chair and he walked faster, out into the hallway where there would be some kind of privacy.

"You can talk to me, you know."

He leaned against the wall, putting his hand on his arm and staring down at his feet.

"Nina - I, I have no idea how to say this," he spilled out, stumbling over the words and his own thoughts and emotions.

"I think I do," she replied, laying one hand on his shoulder, "You promised you would try your utmost to not leave me. And now, I promise the same."

He turned his head to look at her, at the soft smile playing about her lips, that tiny button nose that wrinkled in happiness, and the shining eyes.

"Like stars," he said.

There was silence between them, but it was a good silence, a comfortable silence. He could have drifted in it forever until he himself turned into a moon, languid in space and bright shining from the light of the sun. But there was the scuff of footsteps behind him and they both turned to face their captain.

"Sir," Danner said respectfully.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" the Kyrii demanded.

"Eating."

"Fine. I'll go rouse their lazy tails. You two get down to the hanger - we have a mission, in case you forget."

He vanished into the mess hall and Nina glanced at Danner, then shrugged.

"I'd say he's nervous."

"I would be too," Danner murmured, "We lost Rya, after all."

"Yeah."

Her face contorted softly and she walked away in the direction of their ships and Danner felt guilt pierce his heart. Stupid. He shouldn't have reminded her of their loss and the possibility of further grief.

Their mission was a simple one. Their spies on Virtupets had discovered another one of Sloth's planned raids on innocent settlements. Retribution, it was called. For what? For defending themselves against his tyranny? At that moment, Danner truly hated the enemy and it caused something in his heart to harden.

The captain laid it out simply. The odd should be even and the enemy wouldn't be expecting them to show up. This time, they weren't going to arrive too late. They would intercept and prevent another tragedy. This was something worth fighting over, maybe even dying over.

No one talked much as they flew, their ships cutting through the open air like so many silver birds. Two missions back to back - too much stress and fear. But Danner knew that there wasn't much of a choice, the Gallions were the only fighter team close enough and good enough to take on Sloth's fighters. Sure, they had a couple other teams there at the base, but they were all bombers or escorts. Not dog-fighters like Danner and Nina and all the rest were.

"We're approaching the target," their captain announced, "Let's look sharp now."

The hate that had wormed itself into Danner's heart at the word 'retribution' blossomed and he brought up the targeting sequence.

"Stay by me," Nina whispered over the comm. but her voice was distant from the metal that separated them, "Don't leave me."

He wanted to say that it was a foolish promise. He couldn't control what would happen here and deep in his gut he knew that he wouldn't be shot down a second time. Not in any way that he would survive, that is. But he had seen the hope in her eyes when he had promised and so he remained quiet, reminding himself that she had bound herself to him with a similar promise. It too, could be broken in a heartbeat.

The enemy was flying in a tidy formation, streaking across the sky like an arrowhead. The Gallions came in from below, swooping up to attack the belly of their ships. Everything dissolved into chaos then, the formations splitting apart as the streak of blaster marked the sky.

Danner felt instinct take over, the heightened senses of his body melding with the machine he piloted. It wasn't his usual ship, a replacement for the one that had been destroyed, but somehow that didn't matter. Just him and the enemy and the open sky.

By the quick snatches of words that flew across the comm. Danner could tell that they were indeed winning, and quite easily. Sloth's ships had been taken utterly by surprise and the sheer ferocity of the Gallions was allowing them to keep that edge. As his blasters traced a line in the sky and brought down a ship of his own, Danner realized something strange.

There was a ship dogging Allan. With cold precision Danner targeted it and fired a couple shots that skimmed over the right wing in a near miss. He hissed in anger, veering to the side as the fighter also peeled off, allowing Allan to pull out and limp back to the base in safety. But that wasn't the only reason the Kougra had targeted that ship in the midst of the raging battle.

No, in the glare of the engines and fire he had seen something. Eight kill markings along the hull of the ship, and then, one more. Nine.

"You didn't kill me," Danner yowled, blind fury clouding his eyes. "It is not yours to claim!"

The ship was running now, high-tailing it for higher altitude and the relative safety of open space, out of the pull of Kreludor's gravity. There would be more of Sloth's ships up there. The Gallions rarely ventured into open space.

"Gallions, return to base!" their captain crowed. "We got them running scared."

"Not yet," Danner snarled.

"Danner?"

He pulled up, chasing the fighter that boasted nine kills. This day there would be some reckoning and a retribution of his own.

"Danner, pull back! That's an order!"

"Shove it," the Kougra replied, and flipped off his comm.

He bent over the controls, watching and waiting for the moment his green crosshair centered on the ship. In his peripheral vision he caught silver and within that, blue. A private message hailed him and he quickly admitted it.

"You promised," Nina quickly accused, "but so did I. Turn back if you can Danner, but if you don't, let's at least finish this together."

Nine kill markings. Nina on his wing. His dream.

"Promises may be broken," he whispered in response.

"Not mine," she replied savagely, "Not ours. Not while I live and breath it won't. Now choose."

His heart was breaking. To send Nina back would be impossible, not without turning back himself. For a moment he wanted to say yes, pull out and leave the fighter to escape. But the fires of the ruined village burned in his mind, the cruel smile of the Gelert as he leaned on the piece of metal pinning him to the ground, and above all the tears in Nina's eyes as he had emerged from the canyon.

"Together," he said. "Together it is."

To be continued...