Niu never was one to charge into battle head-first. The evaluation she got from the UAS for her flight licence had hit the nail on the head with that. And yet, in a situation like this, she found herself excited. Nervous and a bit agitated, but excited for battle nonetheless.

  The Relentless Stride had stalked their prey for the last twenty minutes already and by now Niu and Proto both were sure that this really wasn’t some kind of trap.

  Not far away from them, deep in space far above the planet, the Nova had stopped and took a waiting position while a few of the other ships and fighters had intercepted the shuttles that tried to leave Bloom I and made them turn around.

  “We need to act soon or the scout will have reached the assumed crash site.” Proto interrupted her thoughts.

  “Are you sure we’re far enough away from the Corvette?”

  “Not far enough, no, but in a favorable location.” The AI assured her, “I’ve run multiple computations. Trust me, this will work.”

  “Of course I trust your assessment.” Niu said and steeled her resolve as she checked the strategic map once more. The blockade had been reestablished, though the remaining ships weren’t spread as far apart as before. The Corvette and the last Humber Cradle both were relatively close to their position.

  “Okay, let’s do this!” Niu finally nodded, checked her seatbelt and reached for the joysticks.

  The stealthy Keeper ship flew directly towards the Nova which they assumed to be the drone-controller. The Stride’s black hull and missing energy signature made them invisible to the enemy as they rapidly approached.

  “40 seconds.” Proto reported, taking the role of Alena.

  Niu concentrated on steering the ship along the path they had planned, not only to avoid visual detection from the enemy but also to set them up for the correct vector for retreat after the assault.

  “20 seconds.”

  “Prepare to open fire!” Niu shouted even if Proto was probably much more aware of their next steps than she was.

  The Stride approached the Nova faster than during their previous assaults, which would shorten their window of opportunity considerably. But if things went as planned, it wouldn’t matter.

  Tapping into her G-Anomaly, Niu felt as if little electric sparks were running along her neural system when her body enhanced her reflexes. The irises in her eyes contracted and she fell in some kind of hyperfocus, giving her the illusion that time was slowing down around her.

  The drone-control ship was growing bigger and bigger on her screen and when they crossed the 5.000 meter-mark, a volley of energy projectiles and lasers was unleashed on the enemy. Immediately the green blasts impacted the shield and ate through its defense. Proto shouted something about the enemy starting to power their shields, but Niu was already focused on her next task and couldn’t spare the mental resources to listen.

  She activated a sequence of buttons and switches and a jolt went through their ship when it abruptly switched to VTOL-mode mid-flight. Niu briefly glanced at a small display with a schematic view of the Stride and confirmed that the four legs indeed were folding out. Checking different indicators and measurements, she sent more and more energy to the thrusters that were now aligned perpendicular to their flight corridor.

  Just as they passed by the Nova and Proto informed her that they had successfully cracked its shields, the huge walker flipped around - never losing sight and keeping the enemy directly in front of it.

  The Nova had started to return fire by now but without the option for auto-targeting, it had a hard time tracking the fast Stride. Though, at least the PDS was on point and made their hull heat up due to the sheer number of little lasers.

  “Activating the cannon, prepare to disengage!”

  Niu heard the AI’s artificial voice and threw a quick glance out of the window. She saw that their projectiles were finally hitting the armored hull of the drone-controller, but they didn’t inflict noticeable damage.

  That changed when a yellow light suddenly shot out from the Stride. For a moment it looked like a bright string that connected both ships, then a huge blast of energy shot along the line and hit the Nova a fraction of a second later. Niu’s eyes went wide when she saw that the huge and heavily armored command ship was instantly ripped apart into a thousand pieces without even leaving a wreck behind.

  Marveling at the sight, she forgot for a moment that they were on a timer until Proto yelled her name and made her concentrate on her own task again.

  She quickly switched the ship back to flight mode and aligned it with their pre-planned escape vector. Giving full boost to the thrusters, Niu had a hard time breathing as the artificial gravity reached its limits and she was pressed into her seat.

  “Incoming missiles!” Proto shouted and visualized their optimal course on the big screen.

  Happy’s hands flew from one joystick to the next as she made use of her increased reflexes to mico-manage each thruster individually to optimize their flight. Moments later the Relentless Stride was realigned and shot towards the Cradle in the distance.

  “15 seconds until impact, 2 missiles.” Proto reported while Niu did everything she could to get more acceleration out of the thrusters.

  With two rapidly approaching missiles hot on their heels, they raced toward the transporter. While Niu went through the necessary steps to follow the indicated course around the other ship, Proto activated the PDS to take out the missiles.

  “10 seconds.”

  Moments later, the enemy ship’s PDS also began to fire. However this time the red defense lasers didn’t hit their ship but instead aimed at the two approaching missiles as well.

  Gritting her teeth, Niu yanked at the joysticks at the last possible moment and the Stride flew past the Cradle, narrowly avoiding a direct collusion.

  One second ticked by, then another, while Niu slowly breathed out and deactivated the overload of her mutation. Around her she perceived everything at a normal speed again as a strong feeling of exhaustion tried to overwhelm her. Then Proto finally gave an update on the situation.

  “Both missiles were destroyed. Two more were fired by the Corvette a moment ago but they already lost our heat signature. The Cradle survived without noticeable damage and the Relentless Stride is hidden again.” The AI rapidly reported and then paused for a moment before continuing, “Congratulations, objective completed. The Nova was completely destroyed. The remaining ships of the blockade are gathering up again.”

  “Fuck yeah!” Happy cheered and slowed down their ship, “That was crazy as shit! It’s just a shame we didn’t get the transporter as well.”

  “The probability of that happening always has been low and the Cradle hasn’t been the target anyways. You did a good job!”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “We did a good job, my digital friend, we did!” Niu laughed, “Open a comm to the Eltaran and inform them about our success and that we will return to the planet as soon as we’re sure that the enemy leaves the system.”

  “Roger, I’m on it.”

  ***

  Alena watched Krez running into the forest after issuing his challenge to the other Zulbano while the Eltaran held their defense formation, unsure about what was happening. When she noticed the unnatural movement of leaves and branches where Krez had vanished, Alena was sure that the other wolf had taken the bait and followed him.

  “Let’s not dally around.” She muttered and turned to address the four survivors, “We’re coming from the waystation. My friend is fighting the Zulbano in a duel so you should be safe for now. More backup is on the way but make sure to–”

  She stopped mid sentence when the air between her and the group of soldiers suddenly shimmered and a figure appeared.

  “You…” Alena said and her eyes widened in surprise when she recognized the billowing smoke and the furry claws of the hooded newcomer, “Ah, a miscalculation on my part. This is the hunt of two Zulbano?”

  “Three actually, human. But one remained in the base to get the commander. However, he already failed his hunt and died as I just learned.” The Zulbano said, his tone playful and not the slightest bit worried, “You are traveling with one of us? The pup seemed desperate though, are you sure you shouldn’t follow him and try to save his life or do you think he’ll be able to defeat Fast Claw on his own?”

  Alena tilted her head and looked at the wolf-kin, “It’s a battle for honor, I’m certain he wouldn’t like it if any of us would interfere. And let’s not pretend that you would let me go even if I wanted to follow him.”

  “Oh, you are right. But since you’re already here, why don’t you join the others instead?” He said and gestured towards the frightened Eltaran, “I’ll give you a minute to form a new defense formation and discuss a strategy before I continue my attack. What do you think? It’ll make this hunt much more exciting!”

  “Damn, you really like to hear your voice, don’t ya?” Alena taunted the talkative wolf and drew her sword, “How about this: while our friends have a duel, we two duke it out as well. After all, I’m a kind of warrior myself, you know?”

  For a brief moment surprise and excitement flickered in the eyes of the hooded Zulbano, then his cloak shimmered like hot air and his figure vanished.

  “Very well, human warrior.” He growled, “This one has earned the name Fierce Blood, do not disappoint me!”

  ‘Fuck me…’ Alena cursed in her mind when she immediately lost track of him. Preparing for the upcoming fight, she moved away from the truck and fell into a battle stance. Was a direct challenge reckless? Yes, of course it was! Was it dangerous? Hell yeah, her opponent was a frickin’ Zulbano, of course it was dangerous. And yet Alena wanted to test herself against these legendary warriors she heard of in all those amazing stories. Sure, she could have asked Krez, but to be honest, that broken wolf didn’t strike her as the best representative of his species right now.

  Carefully Alena observed her surroundings, looking for traces of her invisible foe. She had a plan of sorts in case things went south, but first, she wanted to cross swords with the wolf.

  Her ears perceived a faint rustle to her left and she spun around. Just in time she raised her sword to block the claw that went straight for her head.

  ‘Ruthless and without hesitation…’ She realized and cold sweat formed on her neck.

  “Good! Your senses are commendable, human!” The deep voice echoed from somewhere on her right.

  Suddenly, two more quick slashes appeared and raked across the armored suit on her legs. Before she could even retaliate, the Zulbano was gone again and taunted her from his hidden position among the shadows of the nearby trees.

  “Good armor but your reflexes are lacking, human.”

  “Damn!” Alena hissed and changed her stance. She hadn’t seen that attack coming at all.

  ‘If I want to have a chance for a proper fight, I have to get a bit more out of my mutation.’ Gritting her teeth, she overloaded her senses and put herself on a tight timer. Instantly her senses send much more information to her brain. A low rustle here, a strange movement of wind there. Alena had barely time to adjust before she heard the muffled sound of breathing behind her. She spun around, ducked low to let the claw pass above her and then followed with a slash of her sword.

  The blade struck true but to her surprise it felt as if she had hit solid metal and not the hide of a wolf. For a moment she assumed that it must have been one of the Zulbano’s shields that blocked her but then her eyes widened in shock and surprise.

  “Not bad, human! Not bad.” Fierce Blood said as he deactivated his cloak and appeared next to her, “If your body wasn’t as weak and fragile, this might have actually worked!”

  “Impossible…” Alena muttered as she looked in horror at the Zulbano who had simply caught her blade with his claw, holding it tight.

  “No, not impossible. Just the fundamental difference between a hunter and its prey.” The wolf said with a wicked grin and let go of her blade, “Your race tries to keep up with our natural superiority with your G-Anomalies, but as you see, you’ve still a very long way to go. But you’re entertaining me. I’ve to give you that.” Finishing his lecture, he vanished once more, “Again!”

  For the next few minutes Alena fought a losing battle. Her Sharp Senses allowed her to keep up with the wolf despite his use of the cloak that made him invisible. Sometimes she noticed the sound of his feet or a flimmer in the air when he moved from one shadow to the next. She actually managed to dodge or block nearly all his attacks but her arms began to feel sore from his powerful strikes and her Overload was about to run out. When that happened, she would be weakened and completely defenseless.

  ‘I’m completely outclassed.’ Alena admitted herself, ‘And it’s not only the invisibility from his cloak. Even without that or his shields - which he hadn’t needed once so far - Fierce Claw is a much better fighter than I will ever be. He is a true warrior.’

  After barely deflecting his next strike Alena disengaged and sheathed her sword. She wasn’t afraid that the Zulbano would attack her at that moment. No, he was too much of an honorable warrior for that.

  “Please allow me to express my honest admiration.” She said and bowed in the direction of the Zulbano who appeared from thin air a few meters away from her, “You are proving that the myths and legends about the mighty Zulbano are more than just empty talk of frightened fools. It was an honor to fight you.”

  The wolf stared at her for a moment and then actually dipped his head in acknowledgement, “You’ve fought well, human warrior. You’re bound by the limitations of your species. If you were one of us, you would have made a great Zulbano! Tell me your name, I’ll keep it in my heart as the worthy prey you’ve been.”

  “Thanks for the praise.” Alena said, “My name is Alena Vlasov. Unfortunately you are correct in your assumption that I’m limited by the restrictions of my own body. Though, I don’t think I would be a great Zulbano. You are a race of warriors that seek the battle and fight for honor. I’ve realized now that I’m less of a warrior and more like a fighter. For me this is not about the battle itself or honor but results.”

  “What does that even mean?” Fierce Blood scoffed, “The result of a good fight is always honorable!”

  “I’m happy to hear that.” Alena said and bowed again, then she pulled out the pistol she took from the Keeper ship, “I’m really sorry, but I have to go and check on my comrade. It was an honor to fight you, Fierce Blood of the Zulbano.”

  Before the wolf had any chance to react, Alena aimed directly at his face and fired. Normally his shields would block any attempt to harm him like that, however that only was true for energy and ballistic attacks. The green wave of ?ther directly passed through his protective bubble and burned his head to crisps. On the outside his face caught fire and the fur vanished into dark smoke, on the inside his brain was instantly fried, killing him on the spot.

  Alena watched with sadness as the wolf fell to the ground lifelessly, his head still smoking. Yes, she had been completely outclassed, but she had enjoyed the fight. Alas, it was clear from the beginning that only one of them would survive their encounter and she was dead set on not dying just yet.

  Storing her gun again, she looked over to the Eltaran who had watched their battle with a mix of confusion and dread.

  “What?” Alena hissed, “Do you just wanna stand there and watch or will you start moving? Heal your wounds, take your fallen comrades and get going. You should head for Data Falls and wait for new orders from the waystation.”

  The Eltaran looked at each other with obvious hesitation when she motioned at the truck before one of them spoke.

  “Thank you for your help. We will not forget what you’ve done for us!”

  “No worries, but really, get moving. I’ll follow my friend and see if he can be saved or…” her voice trailed off for a moment, “...or if I have to clean up after he has fallen.”

  The Eltaran once more whispered among each other and then headed for the truck before securing their dead comrades and heading off.