War for the Iron Planet

Chapter 11: Every Planet Has Bears

The day passed quickly and Talon Squad joined Drixen and Trikac in the stealth ship. They took off, headed south, activated their stealth equipment and doubled back in a final effort to confuse any prying eyes. The flight was going to take most of the night.

There wasn't much to be seen out of the windows. Vanbrook knew they would be going over the forest, then an ocean, then landing on an icy polar continent, but he couldn't see much of anything in the dark. Nyx and Lux danced lazily across the sky, but even Lux was only a waning crescent that evening and gave off very little light.

Bored and full of pre-mission jitters, he wandered up to the cockpit. Trikac was taking a rest elsewhere so Vanbrook took a seat in the co-pilot's seat and looked at the controls.

"So, uh, which of these buttons can I push?" he asked.

"None of them," replied Drixen with a chuckle.

"Textbook. That's an odd call sign. Does it come with a story?"

"I'm a rule-follower by nature. Real by-the-book type. My fellow flight school students found me pretty annoying, and started calling me 'Textbook' behind my back. The name stuck, and it became my callsign. By the end of flight school, people were saying it with a lot more respect. I was a natural. Now that little dig, Textbook, is a name my friends trust their lives to and my enemies fear. All in all, I kinda like it, now.

"But hey, we don't all have the luxury of choosing our nicknames, Rattler."

Vanbrook had to laugh.

"I can't believe you know that name," he said, shaking his head. "I thought I was safe from my fans out here. How long have you known?"

"Eh, you looked familiar when we first met, but obviously I was pretty distracted. Y'know, nearly getting eaten by strange new creatures and all that. Later on, Raivyn mentioned you were a pro fighter. That's when I put it together.

"But I wouldn't say I'm a fan. I back Rolling Thunder."

"Ah, my nemesis in the ring!" Vanbrook said with a chuckle. "He's a good guy, though. And a heck of a fighter. I can't hold it against you."

Trikac returned shortly after and Vanbrook gave him his seat back, nodding to the pilots and wandering back into the cargo and passenger area. Reclan was fidgeting with her parka and other winter equipment. It was all perfectly tailored to her, but she was resenting having to wear it at all, so she had spent most of the past hour looking for flaws and muttering about hypothermia. D'Jarric was watching in amusement while Doc just shook his head, trying to concentrate on his book.

"Drixen's a heck of a guy, huh?" said Raivyn.

"Oh? Is he now?" replied Vanbrook with an arched eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You tell me," said Vanbrook defensively. Evidently he'd struck a nerve. Raivyn shook her head and found a different corner of the ship to be in. Vanbrook shrugged and went to check on Reclan.

***

Aboard the recently crippled Sepulchre, Crush was brooding as she examined the damage. She'd been clever, but the Republic had been more clever. If they had taken her strategy into a full-blown conflict with the Blue Griffons they would have lost. In that way, the attack was a lucky break.

The guns she was building now, however, were going to be much harder targets. Not only would they have EM shielding, they would also have heavier metal plating. She was sick and tired of repurposed junk, and she'd put in a requisition for premium steel plating from the Collective Resource Hub. This, along with more disciplined fighter tactics could make the difference. She'd have to talk to Grim about bringing some additional fighter drones, possibly some manned fighters and pilots. She was confident the Scythe Fleet was capable of defeating the Blue Griffon Fleet if they used their resources wisely.