[03] Space Battles!

[Victoria]

She stared at his hand, and followed with her eyes to take in the massive ships they were to control. She looked back at the man’s face, and smiled lightly. How handsome, why does he get such a nice outfit and I’m stuck with this? She looked away from his face and licked her lips. “Time for a crash course, I guess.” She started towards their vehicles and looked them over. “I read the diagrams quickly, the Kill Cluster is massive.”

“Could you understand what our plan might be?” He asked and placed her helmet on the nearby rack.

“Well, thanks to my good memory, from what I could see we’ve got to get inside and bomb the thing. I have a feeling the artillery we have won’t be enough to take it down from the outside. An object like that, whatever it is, will have defenses and probably guys just like us.” She looked at her new companion grimly.

“And girls,” he smirked at her, making her shake her head.

“Either way, we have a long battle ahead of us. I think we’ll have to assess the situation once we get there, maybe find a way in.” She explained and began circling the X-Wing that she would be piloting.

Beep, bloop.

Something hit her in the shin and she cried out. Victoria hopped on one foot and swore as the strange object nearly ran her over. “What the hell is this thing?” She asked, looking about for anyone who might know. It beeped at her again, and made a weird whirring noise. It shifted back on its motorized feet and looked up at her, if it could. She stared back at the scope that was encased in its dome-like head and it made another noise. “Sorry, I don’t speak robot.”

“I think it wants to join you.” Ander leaned on the X-wing and crossed his arms casually. “That would be my guess, anyway.”

“Well I don’t need a robot joining me, that’s ridiculous.” She placed a foot on the side of the spaceship and hoisted herself up and into the seat. She stared at the lights and buttons carefully. A strange noise assaulted her ears and she looked around frantically, despite her protests the robot had been lifted up and placed into the top of her craft, apparently it belonged there. She leaned out of the cockpit and down at Ander. “Hop into an X-Wing and I’ll explain the plan, I have to figure out how to fly this thing.” She shifted back into her seat and buckled in.

She gripped the handles with her hands, feeling the cool metal and leather against her palms. “Do I…” she whispered and moved one of her hands towards a large red button. She nearly jumped as a shrill beep came from above. “Oh, do you know how to fly this thing?” It chirped at her and rotated its head slightly.

“This one,” she would point towards a button and await a response. The robot would reply with a distinctive noise and she would choose another. However, he did not reply as she pointed to a switch. She flicked it, and as the silence resumed, she assumed she had done the right thing. The ship came to life, the cockpit lit up and a small screen showed various numbers and images on it. “Alright, I’ll have to figure this out on the fly.” She surmised and slammed the top of the cockpit closed. She grabbed a set of headphones and slid them onto her head; it cut out the noise of the engine and would allow her to communicate to the other members of her team. She felt the handles again, and began to feel out the controls of her new vehicle. A sense of thrill made her smile, despite the possible death she would face, she knew that death was not as bad as she had thought.

“Victoira, are you there?” She heard a voice over the communication line. She fiddled with a knob that cleared out any static and made his voice crisp. “Is this thing working?”

“I’m here, you sound great!” She replied and began the departure of her X-Wing. The hanger’s doors were now open and other pilots were taking off. She watched them move along the cement and then take to flight, she could do it, it looked easy.

“I’ll follow you,” Ander responded and she looked down at the monitor, it displayed her comrade in his own X-Wing. She grinned and moved the space ship forward so that she could take to the sky.

“Let’s see what this thing can do!” She exclaimed and pushed the handles forward; the ship moved quickly across the hanger and approached the daylight of the world outside. Her heart raced, and the adrenaline made her think purely on instinct. She hit the open air and pulled back on the controls, the ship sailed into the air and turned to one side. She fought against the force and righted her ship, nearly doing a loop in the process. “Wooooo!” she cried out in ecstasy from the exhilaration. “What a rush!” she laughed and shot forth towards the void of space. She maneuvered into a loop-de-loop, grinning like an idiot, but loving every second. She watched the sky part and the expanse of space open up for her, and the looming empire sat like a sore thumb against the beautiful view.

“It looks worse than it did on paper.” She commented and slowed her progress. The battle had already begun; her team mates had taken flight and zoomed in against the enemy forces. Laser beams flew out and explosions ensured. She avoided a collision and watched in awe as the battle waged. She had never seen something so brutal and raw. In all of her life she had merely witnessed blood and carnage. In space the battles were more intense, more tactical. She knew that one lucky shot to her ship and she would be done for, her regeneration would be useless in space.