There were many who often proclaimed that they didn’t enjoy surprises. On the contrary, Laceeya enjoyed the thrill and excitement of them. That being said, the type of surprises she liked fell into a relatively limited category.

  Unfortunately, being pulled from hyperspace certainly was not a pleasant surprise, she thought. Laceeya quickly stepped closer to the viewport, her heart rate increasing as she scanned the space in front of her. “Bring the shields up to full,” She ordered urgently. “Frenara, what’re you picking up?”

  Ensign Frenara was already hunched over his display at the sensor station, looking for any sign of what had yanked the Ethereal out of hyperspace. “Scanning…” Frenara said. “Picking up nine fighters nearby…they’re our squadron ma’am.”

  Laceeya exhaled a small sigh of relief. At least that was good news. Being separated from the starfighters wouldn’t be ideal for either the fighters or the Ethereal. Peering closely outward, the miniscule forms of starfighters could barely be seen against the cold darkness of space, ahead of the Ethereal.

  The hyperlane they were traveling on before they’d been snatched from hyperspace was adjacent to the border of the nebula, skirting right beside it. Wispy red and purple tendrils of gas from the nebula seemed to reach out towards the Ethereal like some ghostly hand, not quite able to reach it.

  “I’m picking up a gravity well, but there’s no bodies that should cause any sort of mass shadow. Wait…” Frenara furrowed his brow and looked up at Laceeya. “I’m seeing two vessels. One of them is big.”

  Laceeya grimaced. Sure enough, there they were. Two warships were silhouetted against the stars in the distance, their shadowy forms difficult to detect. “Must be a gravity well generator.” She noted darkly, thankful that their fighters were already deployed and the crew located at battle stations. Gravity well generators were devices that simulated a mass shadow, like that of a planet or other large stellar body, but at a smaller scale. The ability to tear a ship from hyperspace or prevent it from escaping was a powerful tool. Imperial Interdictor cruisers used the technology, but they were rare assets. The Grysks were known to use gravity well generators themselves, placing a likely identity on the mystery ships in the distance.

  The Kwenast must have contacted the Grysks when the Ethereal arrived, Laceeya thought darkly. The Grysks must have relocated to a position to intercept, activating their gravity well generator to ambush the Ethereal. It was more evidence that the Kwenast were working with the Grysks. However, Laceeya thought sourly, she could’ve done without this specific evidence.

  “So those have to be Grysk ships.” Shyka grimly finished Laceeya’s thought, before continuing. “And which also means we’re in trouble.”

  Laceeya gave her faint but hopefully reassuring smile, which she didn’t quite feel herself. “We’ll get through this.”

  Shyka smiled confidently. “Yes ma’am, I know.” But Laceeya could still tell from her face that even she was concerned. Which she had every right to be, given the situation. “We have you here, after all.”

  Harax moved over to stand by the communications consoles, speaking before Laceeya had a chance to answer. “Patch Major Safiram through to my headset.” He declared to Rikal.

  “Yes sir.” Rikal replied, her hands moving across the console.

  “Go ahead and plot another jump, Junior Lieutenant,” Laceeya called out to suggest to Felayun. “Probably won’t do us any good with a gravity well generator on one of those ships, but it can’t hurt to have it ready.”

  “Will do, Commodore.”

  “Frenara, what do you have on those ships?” Laceeya inquired, absently running her fingers over the side of her pants.

  “Getting some clearer readings on them now, Commodore.” Frenara stated. “Even from here, the nebula adds a lot of interference with the sensors.” He explained, a hint of frustration creeping into his tone. Laceeya nodded in understanding.

  Outside the viewport, the two ships were growing worryingly large. Harax was speaking into his headset to the squadron commander, the TIEs taking position in a protective formation around the Ethereal. Frenara examined his display. “One large destroyer sized warship, and one frigate sized ship. The destroyer…” He looked up at Laceeya. “It appears to be the same Grysk destroyer we encountered at Nyar Three.”

  Laceeya swallowed, nodding in acknowledgment. A 1500 meter long destroyer against the 380 meter Ethereal wasn’t a matchup that boded well.

  “Well, on the bright side we know it has some major damage.” Shyka voiced from her seat, trying to be optimistic. Which was true, but the Grysks certainly must have done some repairs before sending it back in action. That said, the destroyer had been seriously wounded, and there wouldn’t have been time to perform anything but the most rudimentary of fixes.

  Regardless of their state of repair, the Grysk ships were approaching, closing the distance between them and the Ethereal.

  “Lieutenant, angle to port and get us moving,” Laceeya said. “Captain, have a few of the fighters try and make the jump to hyperspace.” She bit the inside of her cheek.

  In response to Laceeya’s orders, the ship turned, driving forward at a different angle from its original course. A couple of the TIE’s broke off to align themselves for a hyperspace jump. With the Grysk ships no longer obstructing their path, the fighters activated their hyperdrive…and remained in realspace.

  Laceeya sighed, not surprised by the result. It had been worth trying at least.

  “Fighters are unable to jump to hyperspace.” Harax reported, his voice tight. “The gravity well generator must still be active.”

  “It has to be on one of those ships,” Laceeya stated, voicing her thoughts. “Otherwise we’d be seeing it. A cloaked gravity well generator can’t remain hidden while active.”

  ”What’s the plan, Commodore?” Harax asked calmly, as the Grysk warships were adjusting their vector to intercept the Ethereal.

  Laceeya bit her lower lip thoughtfully. “We’ll try to skirt around the outside of the Grysk ships. Hopefully we can outrun them and put enough space between us to make our escape.”

  “Commodore!” Frenara exclaimed suddenly. “Ships emerging from hyperspace behind us! It looks like it’s the Kwenast.”

  Laceeya mouthed a curse. She should’ve put more thought into the Kwenast arriving from behind. Then again, she wasn’t sure what she would’ve done differently. “Full speed, into the nebula,” She decided a split second later.. “We’ll try and lose them in there.” Travel through the nebula was very dangerous, but with the Imperials caught between the Grysks and the Kwenast, it was their best chance of escape.

  The Ethereal swung its bow around to change course. On the display screen, Laceeya could make out the Kwenast flotilla that had arrived. There were three corvettes, a frigate, a light cruiser, and a cruiser. Arrayed around them were a number of smaller gunships. Laceeya felt her stomach drop. Even without the Grysks, the Kwenast ships alone were more than the Ethereal could handle in a typical fight.

  “We’ll get through this.” Laceeya whispered, more to herself than anyone else. Bright flashes of spectrum laser fire were already beginning to fly in at the Ethereal, the enemy ships still on the borders of effective range but unloading their weapons regardless. Hangar bay doors had slid open, and fighters were starting to flood out of the Kwenast cruiser.

  As the large destroyer neared, the damage that had been dealt to it was evident, with the hull scorched and pitted in many places. In certain locations, there were chunks taken out of the armor, with the deepest gouges patched with fresh hull panels. Stumps of weapons clusters and sensor nodes were visible, although the huge ship still sported plenty of functional weaponry to tear apart smaller ships. Laceeya could tell the destroyer was moving slowly and sluggishly, its engines and thrusters still not fully functional.

  “We’ll have no trouble outrunning the destroyer,” Apoyarp reported from the helm, arriving at the same conclusion as Laceeya. Sheets of lasers had begun raining from the cannons on the destroyer. “But the fighters are faster than us and will be on us shortly.” Outside, the nebula loomed ahead, dominating the viewport, and small snaking clouds of colored gas appeared on either side of the vessel as it drove forward.

  Bolts continued to fly, hitting the Ethereal’s shield or skimming past in a near miss. Thankfully, the damaged destroyer was far slower than the Ethereal, and was quickly falling behind. But the Kwenast ships were still right behind them…

  Major Ufsa’fir’ammano let out a decidedly impolite curse to himself as the Kwenast ships jumped in from hyperspace. As if being torn out of hyperspace to find a Grysk destroyer bearing down on them wasn’t enough.

  “Major Safiram,” Captain Harax’s clipped and precise voice came in. “We are retreating into the nebula in the hopes of losing the enemy. As I’m sure you’ve deduced, the Grysks appear to have a gravity well generator and are working alongside the Kwenast. Help screen the Ethereal from enemy fighters, and don’t stray too far.”

  “Understood, sir.” Safiram acknowledged grimly. Into the nebula? This was certainly going to be interesting.

  “Very good, Major. Harax out.” The channel clicked off.

  Safarim consulted his sensor display, and angled his TIE Defender into a turn to port. “All fighters, form up on me and be ready to break by wing pairs once we engage enemy fighters. The Grysks have a gravity well generator, so the Ethereal is heading into the nebula for cover. Our job is to help screen against enemy fighters and other smaller vessels.” Pointing his ship towards a distant group of Kwenast fighters, he dialed up the thrust, the Defender rocketing forward with unmatched speed.

  “Ah lovely,“ Lieutenant Joak Cartova’s voice spoke cheerfully over the comm. “I’ve been wanting to see the nebula and I hear there’s less tourist traffic this time of year.” That was just like Joak, always managing to say something to cheer up others, or calm their nerves.

  Safiram smiled to himself despite the danger and tension, as he opened fire with his laser cannons. Comments like the one Joak had made did more to put the squadron at ease than anything else, and Safiram never reprimanded any of his pilots for such a comment.

  “Katani, form up behind me to starboard.” Safiram ordered his wingmate.

  “Yes sir.” Lieutenant Faelynn Katani replied, as the fighters swung away from the Ethereal’s vector to meet this new threat.

  “I’ll take the front one on our port side,” Safiram stated. The squadron of Kwenast fighters was arranged in a flat wedge, with two fighters side by side at the front and the others fanning out in a triangular shape behind.

  “Got it.” Her voice promptly returned.

  Bolts began to flash by his cockpit as Safiram centered his targeting brackets over the Kwenast starfighter. He allowed himself a confident smile as he squeezed the firing trigger to unleash a burst of energy from the wingtip laser cannons precisely at the enemy fighter. He’d trained long and hard and honed his skills over an inordinate number of battles. He trusted his instincts to let off a concise burst quickly, knowing the shots would strike true.

  And they did. The green bolts of plasma quickly broke through the small craft’s electrostatic barrier. The following set pierced the cockpit successfully, tearing through the metal of the body to rip a hole straight through it.

  The second Kwenast fighter beside it was sent spinning off wildly after a shot from Katani’s Avenger clipped its side.

  Safiram twitched his TIE to port to evade an incoming burst from the second wave of fighters, his hands moving off instinct. Quickly lining up his sights on another Kwenast ship, he let loose a burst that glanced the edge of the fighter. Before he could finish the kill he had to throw his Defender into a series of sudden maneuvers, juking and rolling to port around laser fire.

  Gritting his teeth, Safiram poured all his focus into making his craft a difficult target, bobbing and weaving and moving at an extreme pace that the advanced TIE was capable of. His and Katani’s ships skirted past the enemy ships, the entire approach and attack lasting less than ten seconds.

  “Break to port and I’ll go right.” He said as he worked his controls and modulated the etheric rudder to toss the Defender into a tight turn, the rear of the ship swinging out to port as it turned to starboard.

  “On it.”

  Stealing a short look to study the sensor display, Safiram noted the rest of his squadron had split by pairs as ordered and were dueling with the enemy craft in the space surrounding the Ethereal, which itself was systematically picking off the small ships that were brave enough to make attack runs against it.

  Safiram knitted his brow together in determination as he chased down the group of Kwenast ships that were trying to get behind his ship. The TIE leaned into a port turn in response to his inputs, and the ion engines rocketed the vessel forward as he dialed up thrust to catch the Kwenast ships. Lining up his sights on the next unfortunate fighter, Safiram squeezed the trigger.

  Wisps of red and purple fog were thickening in the space outside the Ethereal. Kwenast starfighters were beginning to reach the ship, firing into its shields as the TIEs arced around to guard it from the enemy crafts.

  Biting her lip anxiously, Laceeya examined the sensor display. There were at least four full squadrons of Kwenast starfighters, and a small number of Grysk ones as well. Studying the display, it appeared as though some of the Kwenast ships were steadily gaining. The smaller Kwenast gunships, corvettes, and the frigate were faster than the Ethereal. Its engines were humming as they ran at full power, driving the ship onward but the gap between them was shrinking.

  She was conscious of her heart speeding in her chest. The situation was dire, and she peered out the viewport into the nebula for any sign of something she could use to their advantage. Space continued to become increasingly hazy, as the Ethereal plunged deeper into the nebula. Vision was obscured by the red and purple clouds, and the view ahead of the Ethereal showed nothing else, aside from groups of passing fighters.

  A swarm of enemy fighters were harassing the Ethereal, the TIEs swooping in to assist in repelling the threat. Green laser bolts fired from the point defense cannons as the gunners lined up shots to systematically eliminate the threats. A Kwenast fighter shattered as a burst from the Ethereal speared through it, exploding into shards of shrapnel and superheated metal.

  On the display, Laceeya could see a half squad of Grysk assault fighters gaining from behind, lining up to begin making a pass on the Ethereal. The TIEs were occupied by the multitude of Kwenast fighters, weaving in and out of dogfights. “Shyka, watch those incoming Grysk fighters,” Laceeya said, anxiously rubbing her hand over the seam on the side of her pants. “Coming up from behind.”

  “On it, ma’am.” Shyka promptly responded. The Ethereal continued pushing its engines as hard as possible, the ship cutting through the nebula at its highest speed.

  Unfortunately, the sublight speed of a light cruiser was significantly slower than even a heavy assault starfighter. Calling the Grysk ships fighters didn’t quite do them justice, the vessels were around 35 meters long, larger than typical starfighters but smaller than most gunships. That said, their weaponry certainly fit the gunship classification. Based on the sensor readings, they packed a serious punch with multiple heavy laser cannons and missile launch tubes. Other missiles were mounted on hard points beneath their wings.

  Laceeya swallowed heavily. Those Grysk gunships together possessed enough firepower to threaten the Ethereal’s shields. She watched over Frenara’s shoulder, observing the gunships approach the Imperial warship on the sensor display. Their heavy spectrum laser cannon turrets were blazing, spitting deadly bolts into the Ethereal’s rear. Relatively sluggish due to their larger size, the assault fighters attempted to evade return fire from Ethereal’s weapons.

  The Grysk gunships were coming up from the rear, giving them a clear shot to dump missiles from close range into the Ethereal’s engines. “Load a pair of breachers in the starboard launchers. Lieutenant Apoyarp, on my command I want you to cut thrust and yaw us 90 degrees starboard.” Laceeya said, watching the sensor display carefully.

  “Yes ma’am.” Apoyarp replied, a touch of puzzlement creeping into his tone.

  “Shyka, once we’ve turned, fire breachers at the Grysk gunships. Before they reach them, fire on the missiles with laser cannons,” Laceeya ordered, turning back to nod in Apoyarp’s direction. “Then you’ll straighten us back out on our previous course and bring the thrust back to full power. Got that?”

  “Got it.” Shyka confirmed, meeting her eyes for a second, giving a faint smile and nodding.

  “Understood, ma’am.” Apoyarp said, his brow furrowed in focus.

  Laceeya chewed her lip, as she studied the display and waited for the opportune moment. “Now.”

  The hum of the engines dropped off and the view ahead wheeled as the Ethereal’s bow rotated towards its starboard side. With the thrust cut back, the ship continued to drift on its course, but oriented sideways instead of straight on. Laceeya swallowed nervously, feeling the almost imperceptible jolt as the breacher missiles sped from their launch tubes.

  “Missiles away…” Shyka reported. The missiles arrowed towards the six Grysk gunships, and they adjusted their vectors slightly so that the projectiles would pass safely between them. They dipped and swooped around point defense laser fire, their powerful shields soaking up blasts as they neared the range where they could fire their missiles to reach the Ethereal unimpeded.

  “Targrting breachers now.” Shyka said. The assault fighters paid no attention to the missiles that would sail past them. Laser bolts lanced out from the Ethereal’s point defense cannons at the breachers, bursting their casing to send a growing cloud of acid outward. The gunships tried to get clear, but the careful timing allowed only a couple to skirt around the hazard. Acid enveloped the other gunships, soaking and burning through armor and weapons.

  Distracted and weakened by the unexpected attack one of the heavy fighters took a blow from a point defense laser cannon, but the impressively strong shield and heavy hull armor initially shrugged off the attack. But the gunner remained vigilant, tracking the Grysk fighter and waiting patiently to line up a shot. The second hit was successful in taking the assault fighter down, hitting the engines and causing the burning gunship to spin off uncontrollably. Green bolts caught the side of another fighter, piercing the vulnerable hull destroying the craft in one shot.

  The remaining assault fighters closed in, waiting until they were at a range where the missiles would be difficult to intercept. A bright cloud of flame marked where another of the gunships was turned to slag by the point defenses before it could reach its target, its missile stores working against it and detonating.

  Only three of the gunships made it to their target. Missiles leapt from the remaining assault fighters towards the Ethereal, with the point defense gunners frantically trying to shoot them down. A few were hit and went up in a cloud of flame, but the rest of the projectiles sailed through to impact the Ethereal’s shields and hull.

  The ordnance detonated against the rear of the Ethereal, the ship shuddering violently from the explosions. Laceeya steadied herself on the back of the chair before her, gritting her teeth.

  “Shields took a big hit in sections 9 and 10!” Asmaril called out tightly from the defense station.

  “Can you divert energy from other sections to reinforce the aft shields?” Harax demanded.

  “Trying, sir.” Asmaril replied.

  “Shunt power from the bow,” Laceeya put in. “We can afford to give up some shield strength at the front right now.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Another one of the gunships was engulfed in a ball of golden and red flames as a TIE Defender dropped behind it and unleashed a concerted burst of laser fire into the rear of it. The two remaining assault fighters passed by the Ethereal, beginning a sweeping turn to take them back for another attack run. They’d taken heavy losses, but they had managed to inflict serious punishment. The other TIEs were engaged in intense dogfights with the horde of Kwenast fighters.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Laceeya’s eyes fell upon where a TIE Advanced V1 was in pursuit of a Kwenast fighter, the Kwenast vessel frantically juking and jinking to avoid laser blasts. A Grysk fighter slotted in behind the TIE, peppering the space around it with spectrum lasers. The V1 spun to port to avoid a volley from the Grysk ship. The nimble Kwenast interceptor turned hard to the right, rolled 180 degrees on its center axis to invert itself and dove. With incredible agility the pilot of the Advanced V1 pulled off an even tighter turn, lining up the Kwenast interceptor in its sights. It established a targeting lock and fired a concussion missile, impacting the small ship and turning it into a rapidly expanding cloud of fire and superheated metal.

  Pulling up and looping around to head in the opposite direction it was going, the V1 made for the Ethereal. The Grysk fighter clung tightly to its tail, the TIE trying to shake it. But the Grysk ship was matching every maneuver, remaining glued behind it. A burst of spectrum laser fire caught the Advanced V1 on the right side of the hull. The shields helped absorb the hit, but it still damaged the fighter.

  “That TIE Advanced has a Grysk fighter on its tail,” Laceeya pointed out as she nervously watched the dogfight. “Have your gunners be ready to take it down. Harax, have that TIE break hard to its right, when I say. That should give you a clear shot.” Shyka nodded in understanding.

  “Yes, Commodore.” Harax said briskly. He spoke into his headset, communicating with the squadron commander to pass down the order.

  The TIE neared, weaving and dodging. But the craft still took a glancing blow to the top of its upper starboard S-foil, tearing a chunk off the tip. Laceeya gritted her teeth, waiting for it to enter the perfect range that would allow the gunners the best shot.

  “Now.”

  The Advanced V1 pulled a hard 90 degree turn, running parallel to the Ethereal. Following close on its tail, the Grysk fighter matched the maneuver. It was at the perfect range for a turbolaser to hit a fighter, and one of the powerful quad turbolasers spit a burst of brilliant green bolts at it, blowing it to pieces in one shot.

  “Great work, Shyka.” Laceeya complimented.

  “Thank you, ma’am.“ Shyka said, sending a grim smile her way.

  Behind, the Kwenast warships were pouring fire into the rear of the Ethereal. The ship shuddered as lasers found their mark and battered the vessel. Chewing her lower lip, Laceeya knew they had to find some way to get the Kwenast warships off their backs. The shields and hull wouldn’t hold out forever, and if the the defenses were pierced at the rear and the engines took too much damage, they could be in serious trouble.

  Other groups of fighters clashed in the space around the Ethereal, the dogfight a scene of chaos with laser bolts flashing brightly across the hazy battlefield. The gunners of the Ethereal were doing their best to pick off the enemy starfighters one by one as they made attack runs on the Ethereal or chased TIEs. A Grysk fighter scored a few successive hits on a TIE Defender, taking down its shields and scoring one of the solar arrays. The Defender dipped down and leveled out and reversed thrusters to slow it. Above it the Grysk fighter shot past, banking left to avoid being left in the sights of the Defender.

  A missile suddenly arrowed in and turned the Grysk ship into a cloud of shrapnel, as the wingmate of the TIE Defender, a TIE Hunter that was racing through space, came to the aid of the first.

  Laceeya blinked and let out a breath she’d been holding as she realized how intently she had been watching the dogfight.

  “Commodore,” Harax said as he was examining the sensor display with Frenara. “We’ve discovered an asteroid field that could be used to take shelter.” He suggested. “The Kwenast vessels appear to be remaining close behind us, however it is difficult to obtain exact readings given the interference of engine emissions and the nebula.“

  “Understood,” Laceeya said thoughtfully, stepping over to take a closer look at the sensor displays.

  “This is the asteroid field here ma’am,” Harax stated as he pointed at the display screen. “As you can see, they primarily appear to be large sized masses of rock, and they should leave adequate space for a ship of our size to pass through. But it will be dangerous.”

  Some of the asteroids were almost the size of small moons, others the length of a corvette. Laceeya considered for a moment, chewing her lower lip. The Ethereal’s rear shields had been battered by the Grysk gunships and were being weakened even more by the barrage from the Kwenast. Maybe inside the asteroid field there would be more cover. She bit the inside of her cheek as she thought it over, but really it was the only real option.

  “It’s a good idea,” Laceeya agreed. “Send that over to the helm. Apoyarp, we’re going to need some fancy flying from you. Think you can handle it?”

  Apoyarp leaned closer over the display screen, inspecting the route. The ship shuddered slightly as spectrum laser blasts found it. “I can do it ma’am.” Apoyarp said confidently but with an underlying level of tension.

  “I know you can,” Laceeya said, sending a small smile in Apoyarp's direction. “You’ve never let me down.”

  The Ethereal shifted course, heading through the red and purple haze toward the asteroids. Clouds outside the viewport grew even thicker, obscuring visibility.

  An abrupt and violent jolt suddenly ran through the light cruiser. “Losing shields in sections 9 and 10, Commodore!” Asmaril called out tightly.

  The smaller Kwenast frigate and corvettes had been steadily gaining on the Ethereal, and were picking away at its aft end, and the gunships had caught up earlier as well. The light cruiser and cruiser were just out of range still, able to keep pace but not catch up, with the Grysk frigate taking up the rear. The destroyer was nowhere to be seen, its large size and damage to its thrusters making it too sluggish to pursue.

  Safiram was engaged in a fierce dogfight with a group of Kwenast fighters, bursts of bright lasers shooting past his craft. He and Katani flew together with incredible coordination, all their training and battle experience together allowing them to practically know each other's thoughts in combat.

  “You’ve picked up one on your tail.” Katani warned. “I’m on him.”

  Gritting his teeth, Safiram kept his TIE moving to stay out of the enemy’s sights as laser blasts flashed by on either side of his cockpit. A glancing blow impacted his ship, the Defender’s top of the line shields soaking up the hit. He increased his thrust, rapidly gaining ground on the pursuing ship.

  He continued twitching his flight yoke to keep his TIE jumping around as he rocketed away from the threat. Readying his finger on the trigger, Safiram adjusted his vector slightly to let an approaching Kwenast fighter drift into his own targeting brackets. Squeezing the trigger to release a concussion missile, it sped towards the Kwenast ship, impaling the craft and turning it into a roiling ball of flame and little else.

  “Swing hard to starboard.” Katani’s voice came in. He instantly reacted, trusting his wingmate. He saw her TIE Avenger cut through the foggy background spitting green laser bolts from the wingtip cannons. Glancing at the sensor display, Safiram saw the mark depicting the enemy fighter wink out of existence.

  “Thanks, Katani,” He remarked. “Good shooting.”

  “No problem.”

  Safiram took a deep breath, for a brief moment no enemy fighters were gunning for him.

  “I’ve got one on me,” A tight voice came in on the main squadron channel. He recognized it instantly as Joak. “My engines took a hit and my shields are down. I can’t shake him.”

  “I’m trying to get to you but they’re cutting me off…” Joak’s wingmate said, his voice frustrated and concerned.

  “Hang in there Joak, I’m coming.” Safiram said into the comm, gritting his teeth pointing his nose in the direction of his best friend’s TIE. ”Katani, on me.” He dialed up the thrust to maximum, the Defender rocketing forward at a blistering pace. His brow was furrowed in determination, his eyes narrowed.

  “I can’t shake him…” Joak repeated, his voice tense but still calm. “Took another glancing blow.” Safiram’s heart picked up in his ears. He jerked his Defender around a burst of laser fire. In the distance he saw the form of Joak’s TIE Defender through the haze, trailing a ghostly cloud of smoke, pursued by multiple Kwenast ships. He could tell the TIE was moving sluggishly and slowly thanks to its wounds.

  “I’m coming Joak…” Safiram said through clenched teeth. He squeezed down the trigger and began firing laser blasts at the pursuit, but he was still too far out.

  ”They’re all over-” Joak’s voice was harshly cut off as a laser bolt struck true and Joak’s TIE vanished in a cloud of flame. Time seemed to slow down as Safiram watched his friend die before his eyes, just out of reach of his aid. He yelled in helpless anger inside his helmet. With the comm closed, no one could hear him.

  Both Safiram and Joak’s wingmate arrived seconds too late, their laser cannons spitting vengeful bolts of verdant energy. Safiram’s vector had him approaching perpendicular to the enemy craft, and his shots slammed into the side of the lead fighter, breaking through its barrier and shattering its hull. Joak’s wingmate likewise quickly demolished a second fighter with a concussion missile, transforming the fighter to superheated metal and fire. Reacting to the assault, the remaining group of small craft dove to get clear of the shower of laser fire.

  Safiram shoved his fighter into a steep dive to follow, and shortly later the Kwenast ships were nothing but scrap metal. Joak had been avenged. But it didn’t quell the helpless anger and sadness that boiled inside Safiram. Losing any fellow squadmate was painful, but Joak…

  Joak had been his best friend, his brother. They were inseparable. The comm channel remained silent, but he knew the others were grieving in their own ways in the privacy of their helmets.

  Channeling his fury and loss into focus, he set off towards another group of Kwenast ships, intent on making them pay.

  Through the hazy clouds of the nebula, Laceeya could just make out the distant forms of starfighters dueling fiercely. The pilot of a TIE Defender, billowing smoke from its engines, was throwing his ship into a series of sharp maneuvers in an attempt to shake his pursuit. But the damage the craft had suffered had severely impacted its speed and agility, and the Kwenast ships remained glued behind it. Lasers streaked past the Defender, closely missing on all sides, boxing it in.

  Laceeya bit down on her lower lip, her heart pounding in her chest. The group of fighters were just out of range of the Ethereal’s cannons, and firing would risk destroying the TIE. A few other TIEs were soaring towards their wounded squadmate, trying to untangle themselves from the hordes of enemy fighters. Laceeya’s hopes rose as she thought for a brief moment they would arrive in time.

  But just before they could get there, an explosion tore the Defender apart, scattering pieces of solar arrays and hull in a ball of fire. Watching in helplessness, Laceeya clenched her fists as she watched one of her pilots die. Seconds later, the other TIEs arrived, turning the Kwenast fighters into shrapnel.

  ”We’ve lost TIE 7, Commodore.” Harax said, his voice dark.

  It took a moment for the meaning of the number to sink in. Joak Cartova. Someone she knew. A friend, a brother. Someone she’d sent to die.

  Squeezing her eyes shut for half a second and clasping her hands behind her back, Laceeya clamped down on her feelings. There was a whole ship of people relying on her. Joak was dead, and nothing would change that. Do what you can to keep the living alive, she thought to herself. She took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly out her mouth. She swallowed heavily, her throat suddenly dry.

  “Nearing the asteroid field, ma’am.” Apoyarp reported.

  The Ethereal suddenly and violently shaken, jarring her out of her thoughts. Laceeya caught herself on the frame of the viewport.

  “Shields down in the rear, we’re taking hull damage,” Asmaril said tensely. “If we continue taking hits like this to the engines, we could be in trouble.”

  The large asteroids loomed in the red and purple haze. It was going to be close. A Kwenast gunship that had been drilling at the Ethereal’s rear broke apart as a sustained barrage from the Ethereal’s turbolaser emplacements struck it repeatedly. Vibrations continued to course through the deck beneath Laceeya’s feet as spectrum lasers assaulted the vessel.

  “Keep us close to that big asteroid, Lieutenant.” Laceeya advised, her voice hoarse. She could hear her heart racing.

  “Will do, ma’am.”

  Shyka looked up from her console. “A suggestion, Commodore. If we fire at the asteroids as we pass, we could try to break off debris to block their path.” Laceeya met Shyka’s eyes for a moment. She could see the pain behind them, as she too processed the death of their friend. But there was also a grim determination and resolve.

  Laceeya nodded. “Do it,” She said, encouraged by Shyka’s fortitude. “Good thinking, Shyka. Captain, have the fighters get clear. We don’t want them caught in the debris shower.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Harax responded. He gave the order, the TIEs scattering, and the gunners opened fire on the surface of the asteroid. Explosions dotted the rocky face of it, blowing off chunks of rock. The bolts precisely traced patterns across the surface of the asteroid, tearing into it and allowing large pieces of rock to break off.

  A group of Kwenast fighters slipped by a large chunk of rock only to fly right into the sights of one of the Ethereal’s point defense cannons. A laser bolt clipped the lead fighter on its wing, a successive burst drilling into its cockpit with an explosion.

  The Ethereal hugged the massive asteroid closely, following its curve to escape the pursuing ships’ line of sight. Lasers continued hammering away at the asteroid as the Ethereal passed by, throwing more stone haphazardly outward.

  “Continue hopping from one asteroid to the next,” Laceeya ordered. “Stick close to them for cover.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Apoyarp acknowledged.

  “Asmaril, try and get those shields up as fast as possible.” Laceeya added.

  Enemy fighters were still swarming the Ethereal, though their numbers had been whittled down by the vigilant efforts of Ethereal’s gunners and the TIEs. Peering at the sensor display, Laceeya counted 29 fighters in the Ethereal’s vicinity. There were multiple fresh areas of damage to the hull that she could see out the viewport, blackened spots where a missile or a persistently heavy barrage of spectrum lasers had momentarily overwhelmed the deflector shields.

  Thankfully, the thick armor of the Class-546B had shrugged off the majority of the damage, with the scars being largely surface level. Laceeya walked briskly over to the defense station as the Ethereal reached the next large asteroid in line.

  “How’s it looking?” Laceeya asked Asmaril, who was seated at the chair in front of the defense console.

  A display screen showed views of the ship from different angles, with outlines dividing it portraying the different sections of the deflector shields. Solid red areas that indicated the lack of shields were displayed in sections 9 and 10, the rearmost areas of the vessel around the engines. Most of the other sections were orange, displaying weakened shield strength.

  “The side of the armored engine housing took a large hit from those missiles, and the Kwenast ships have been pounding at the thrusters themselves.” Asmaril said, pointing at the relevant areas on the display screen. Diagnostic readouts showed the status of the ship itself, with visuals of hull damage and engine health, which likewise portrayed the concentrated damage the rear had sustained. “I’m working on trying to shunt power to 9 and 10 from other sections of shields, but I’d already done that earlier and there’s not much energy to go around, which is making it difficult.”

  “Understood,” Laceeya said, chewing her lip anxiously while examining the screens and readouts closely over Asmaril’s shoulder. “Divert some power temporarily from weapons. I want at least some strength in those rearmost sections. We want to minimize the risk of more engine damage, and waiting for the shields to recharge on their own will take longer than I’d like.”

  “Yes ma’am I’ll get right to it.” Asmaril said, working away at his console.

  Laceeya turned her attention from Asmaril over to the weapons station. “Stand by to fire a salvo of proton torpedoes from the starboard launchers,” She said, wiping her sweaty palms against her pants. “Targeting the next asteroid. Hopefully that’ll kick up some big chunks of debris to help keep them off our backs.”

  “On it, ma’am.” Shyka confirmed, flashing Laceeya a tight smile before turning back to her board. The Ethereal reached the next asteroid, the pursuing Kwenast capital ships losing ground as they had to navigate around and blast through the rubble. Sticking close to the irregular massive lump of rock, the Ethereal’s weaponry continued to blaze with flashes of light aimed at the enemy fighters and the pockmarked surface of the asteroid.

  “Fire.” Laceeya ordered, watching as the two proton torpedoes jetted away on trails of flame, aimed slightly behind the Ethereal. Two large explosions eclipsed the smaller ones, tossing splinters and chunks of shattered rock haphazardly away from the asteroid. A small shard was propelled at high speed, clipping an unfortunate Kwenast fighter, causing it to spin wildly out of control.

  “Commodore, one of our fighters took a hit and is inactive,” Harax reported. “Senior Lieutenant, can you catch it with a tractor beam and bring it aboard?”

  “Yes sir, I’ll try.” Shyka replied.

  “Open the hangar bay doors.” Laceeya said, watching over Shyka’s shoulder as she attempted to get a lock on the damaged TIE. Laceeya swallowed nervously, recognizing the damaged ship as Vyron Kyst’s TIE Advanced.

  Shyka’s hands purposefully moved across her control panel. Laceeya bit the inside of her lip in anticipation, rubbing her fingers together impatiently. “Got it!” Shyka said triumphantly. “Bringing it in now.” The wounded TIE was steered carefully through the mandibles at the Ethereal’s bow, bringing it into the hangar. “It’s in.”

  “Excellent work, Shyka.” Laceeya complimented, breathing a sigh of relief that they’d been able to rescue the damaged ship and its pilot. Her stomach turned as she thought of Joak. She couldn’t imagine how Safiram and Kyst were feeling. They were an inseparable group of friends.

  “Thank you, ma’am.” Shyka replied, relieved at her success.

  The Ethereal continued to be assaulted by the enemy fighters, its shields remaining critically low in certain areas. Charred and damaged spots showed on the hull. However, without the larger capital ships to draw fire and offer support, their numbers had dwindled significantly. The TIEs were doing a valiant job of occupying the enemy fighters attention, and supported by the Ethereal’s gunners they had eliminated numerous enemy craft. Thanks to the moment of relief from the enemy capital ships attack, Asmaril had managed to begin nursing a bit more strength into the shields.

  Outside the viewport, the enemy starfighters began to peel away, heading in the opposite direction of the Ethereal. “Enemy fighters appear to be retreating, Commodore,” Frenara said, sounding surprised. “They must realize they’re outmatched without support from their capital ships.”

  “Good.” Laceeya sighed, her eyes tracking the Kwenast fighters’ retreat on the sensor screen.

  “We did take damage to one of the port side quad laser cannons,” Shyka called out. “It’s currently inactive.”

  “A sensor array in section three was knocked out as well.” Frenara reported in addition.

  Laceeya nodded in acknowledgment. “Thank you, Ensign. Captain, have the techs get to work on getting that laser cannon back online.” Laceeya said, pursing her lips. “I have a feeling we’re still going to need it.”

  At least the Ethereal finally had some respite from the enemy ships, Laceeya thought as she gazed beyond the viewport. With the occasional thud of a small rock bouncing off the hull, the battered Class-546B cruiser drove onward between the asteroids as fast as Apoyarp dared push it in the hazardous area.

  “Commodore?” Frenara said to get Laceeya’s attention. She stepped closer to the sensor station, where Frenara was frowning down at the display.

  “Something wrong?” Laceeya asked.

  “I thought I picked up something ahead of us,” Frenara explained. “But it disappeared immediately.” He shrugged. “It’s possible damage to our sensors is causing some sort of ghost reading, and the nebula is interfering with sensors as well so it could be that. But I’m not sure.”

  “I see.” Laceeya said slowly, a nervous feeling in her gut. “Any thoughts on what it might otherwise be? Could it be a Kwenast or Grysk ship?”

  “I suppose it’s possible,” Frenara said uncertainly. “Without a better reading I can’t tell for sure. I’ll keep a close watch on it, ma’am.”

  “Good. Thanks, Frenara.” Laceeya said with a quiet sigh, inclining her head in his direction. “Keep it up.” Although somewhat concerning, the ghost reading was out of her control for the moment. With the Kwenast on their tail, Laceeya had plenty else to worry about already.

  Yet the mysterious sensor reading left a foreboding impression upon her, as she stepped over towards the defense station.

  Captain Harax was conversing with Asmaril, reviewing the state of the Ethereal. Life had been coaxed back into the shields, and they continued to slowly recharge. “Shields are recharging, Commodore,” Harax reported. “I spoke to hangar control, they confirmed that Flight Officer Kyst sustained minor injuries, and is being brought to the medbay.”

  “I’m glad to hear he’s alright.” Laceeya murmured, letting out a sigh. She was relieved that Kyst was okay. A hollow feeling rose over her at the reminder of the loss of her friend, Joak. No, she couldn’t allow herself to let her emotions get the best of her.

  She looked out at the asteroid field ahead of the Ethereal. The ship slipped through a narrow gap between two asteroids, firing its turbolasers at them as it went by, leaving the path behind obstructed. The red and purple haze was even thicker than before, making it difficult to see farther than the next asteroid. The chunks of rock materialized out of the haze, and the TIEs alongside the Ethereal were hard to make out.

  “Visibility is worsening, Commodore.” Apoyarp said tightly. “I’m struggling to see the asteroids until we’re practically on top of them, and the sensors are practically useless here.” To make his point clear, an asteroid about the length of the Ethereal suddenly appeared out of the purple and red swirling clouds. With a slight jerk as the inertial compensators caught up, the Ethereal pulled a tight turn to port, narrowly scraping by the asteroid.

  “Shyka, cease fire on the asteroids.” Laceeya ordered.

  “Yes ma’am.” Shyka said. “May I ask why?”

  “I’m hoping with all the haze and sensor interference from the nebula that we can hide.” Laceeya explained.

  “Oh, right.” Shyka said with a nod. “That makes sense. Going to be difficult since their fighters and gunboats can keep up with us no problem.”

  “Agreed.” Laceeya replied grimly. “But it’s worth a shot.”

  “Commodore!” Frenara exclaimed suddenly. “I’m picking up…” He trailed off momentarily before looking up at Laceeya, his brow furrowed in confusion. “I was picking up that same reading again, at the edge of our sensor range, but it was gone almost immediately. It was off to our left this time.”

  Laceeya frowned. What could be out there? She looked out at the thick red and purple fog as the Ethereal sliced through it. Anything could be concealed within the murky clouds of the nebula, and visibility just continued to worsen. Another large asteroid rose out of the haze, the Ethereal skimming the surface and narrowly avoiding it.

  “I’m going to have to reduce speed some more, ma’am,” Apoyarp interjected. “It’s proving more and more difficult to see, and I don’t want to wrap us around an asteroid.”

  “Understood,” Laceeya acknowledged. “Thank you, Apoyarp. You’re doing an excellent job.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” Apoyarp said, sounding distracted as he focused on navigating between the asteroids.

  Turning her attention back to Frenara, Laceeya peered at the sensor display, contemplating what the mysterious anomaly could be.

  “We seem to have gained ground on the Kwenast and Grysks,” Frenara said, indicating a point on the display screen. “We’re not picking up any of their larger ships, just a couple of fighters that are staying within sensor range to track us.”

  “Unfortunately the fighters are much faster and more agile than us,” Laceeya said, thinking out loud. “So there’s not a good way to get them off our backs. They’ll continue feeding sensor data to their capital ships to track us.”

  Suddenly, a mark appeared on the sensor display. “There it is!” Frenara said. It moved nimbly across the display, before disappearing out of range as quickly as it had appeared.

  “Did you get anything on it?” Laceeya asked intently.

  “It doesn’t appear to be a ship, Commodore, but it is large.” Frenara said, sounding perplexed. “And I am getting heat signatures from it.”

  If it wasn’t a ship, what was it? An asteroid couldn’t move like that. And an asteroid wouldn’t have heat readings like that either.

  Narrowing her glowing red eyes, Laceeya stared out into the clouds of gas. What could be out there? She anxiously ran her hands up and down the side of her legs.

  “It's back.” Frenara reported, as a flicker of movement caught her eye as something cut through the red and purple gas, but the haze was too thick to see anything other than that it was a long and thin object.

  “I saw it.” Laceeya remarked. “Shyka, stand by with turbolasers and laser cannons, just in case.” She chewed her lip. Whatever was out there, they needed to be ready if it proved to be hostile.

  “On it, ma’am.” Shyka promptly replied.

  Harax had joined Laceeya, standing side by side before the viewport as they scanned the clouds for the mysterious anomaly.

  “Picking it up again.” Frenara said intently.

  A large shape suddenly materialized from the haze, twisting through the clouds. It cut across the path of the Ethereal, just close enough to make out the details. It was large, likely half again as long as the Ethereal. It was visible for just a moment before it disappeared out of sight.

  “What the hell was that?” Harax muttered incredulously.

  Before Laceeya could speak, the creature returned. It moved like a sea creature swimming through the ocean, twisting side to side. Its body was serpent-like and covered in thick armored scales, with a row of large spines that ran down the center of its back, on both its dorsal and ventral side. Its head tapered to a rounded point, with two glowing yellow eyes on each side. With a flick of its tail the creature turned and vanished again inside the fog.

  Laceeya shook her head, speechless for a moment. “I have no idea what that is...go ahead and bring the fighters back to the hangar,” She said, her heart thumping in her chest. “But have them stand by in their ships for the moment.”

  “Very good, Commodore.” Harax acknowledged, holding a hand to the side of his head and giving the orders through his headset.

  “Commodore?” Shyka spoke up, looking over at Laceeya. “What if that…thing…attacks us?” She asked uncertainly.

  “Then you shoot it.” Laceeya said, wishing she felt as confident as she managed to sound. Fear and uncertainty ran through her, fear that she’d fail and doom the Ethereal and its crew.

  “Simple is best, ma’am.” Shyka agreed, still sounding a little unsure.

  Laceeya walked over to stand to the left of her console, and rested a hand on her arm for a long moment. Shyka placed her right hand on top of hers, their fingers meeting and interlocking. She turned just far enough to meet Laceeya’s glowing red gaze, smiling up at her.

  They let their hands fall away, and Shyka turned back to focus on her console. The brief touch and Bren’s smile was enough to buoy Laceeya’s spirits a bit. It wasn’t technically proper to show a display of affection such as that on the bridge, but…to hell with that right now.

  “Keep a close watch on the sensors, Frenara,” Laceeya said, looking back into space. “And let me know the moment you see that thing.”

  “Yes ma’am, I will.” Frenara confirmed.

  Hopefully the monster wouldn't return. But if it did, they’d be ready, Laceeya thought. They had to be.