Claim the Stars: A Jensa story

Chapter 3

Spensa POV:

"Hurl!" FM said over the line. "What are you doing?" 

"I'm fine," Hurl said with a grunt. "I'm going to get this one. Its shields are almost down."

I'd been forced to leave her without a wingmate. Scud! I ignored my blinking shield lights and took off towards Hurl. I unleashed with my destructors but I was too far away and my shots were way off. The enemy didn't break their chase.

Hurl took a hit. And another.

"Hurl! Pull up!" I said.

"I've almost got him. We're never going to break any records by being cowards."

She fired, scoring the shields of the Krell in front of her.

I gritted my teeth, hitting overburn and trying to ignore the g-forces pushing the blood up into my head.

I barreled straight into the group of Krell, hitting my IMP by touch. I leveled out, starting my shield re-ignition drill and craned my neck, looking for Hurl. Was she safe?

An explosion flashed to my left. "Got him!" said Hurl.

"Pull up Hurl. You've still got tails. Get up into the range of the AA guns."

"Shields down," Hurl said.

"Quirk!" I said, desperate. "Pick them off. I IMPed that group, their shields are down too. Fire!"

"I...I..."

"You can do it, Quirk. Just like in the sims. Come on!"

A flash of light from a charged destructor fired towards the ships chasing Hurl...and missed. Hurl took a hit, and her wing exploded. The blue glow under her ship started to flash, the light flickering.

No...

Hurl's ship plummeted.

"Hurl!" I screamed. "Eject! Get out!"

"I...I can control it. I can steer-"

"Your acclivity ring is damaged!" I said. "You're losing altitude, eject!"

"Not...a...coward," she said. "Brave to the-"

A flash of light. An explosion on the ground.

"Pull out," Jorgen said. "Everyone, pull out now! Leave this flight to the full pilots, we have orders to retreat!"

Hurl...

"Spin," Jorgen said. When had he flown in behind me? "We have to go. We're too exhausted for this fight. Can you hear me?"

Blinking back tears, I whispered, "Yes."

I fell into position behind him and flew back to base.

When we arrived, I pulled off my helmet and climbed down the ladder before my ground crew had time to secure it. A couple rungs down, it slipped and I toppled to the ground.

"Spin!" Jorgen was beside me, helping me up. "Are you okay?"

I nodded and tried to pull away, wiping tears from my eyes. He wouldn't let me go. 

"Hey." He looked me in the eye and didn't let me pull away. "Come with me to the infirmary so they can clean up your hands and knees."

I looked down and through my tears, I could make out the scrapes on my knees and tiny pebbles in my palms. I barely felt the pain.

But I let him walk me to the infirmary and wait with me until the nurse had cleaned out my cuts and told me I was to sleep in the hospital.

30 minutes later, I was lying in one of the hospital beds, clean and fed. I heard someone walking up to the door and closed my eyes, not wanting to talk to anyone.

Jorgen POV:

When the nurse finally let me go in to see her, she had fallen asleep. I sighed, walking up to her bedside and brushing the hair from her face. 

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Gently, so as not to wake her, I pressed my lips to her forehead and pulled the covers up to her chin. But what I missed as I walked out of her room was the tear slowly making its way down her cheek.