ReDawn (Skyward, #2.2)

“Scud, those ships are coming in fast, Jerkface,” FM said. “We can’t pull everyone out with one hyperjump. We’d make too big a target of ourselves trying to connect everyone together.”

“FM is right,” Jorgen said. “We’ll have to use the hyperdrives, and that means it needs to be somewhere the slugs know, or somewhere I can see, at least for the first jump.”

“The platform,” I said. “Wandering Leaf. You can use your hyperdrives to get beneath the autoturrets. The Unity cytonics can’t teleport. They can’t come after us there.”

At least not unless Quilan could convince his Superiority friends to send hyperjumping cytonics to extract us. He wouldn’t want to do that if he could help it; he was trying to prove how useful and cooperative he could be. He’d lose his leverage if he made the Superiority do all the work.

    “That might be our best option,” Jorgen said. “We’ll bring as many of the UrDail with us as we can. Alanik, can you communicate with them?”

“On it,” I said.

Quilan’s reinforcements were arriving now, destructor fire raining through the branches above. Skyward Flight met them in front of the Independence base, Jorgen giving orders for his flight to defend the airspace out front. I switched over to the Independence channel. “Independence fighters,” I said, “there’s a fleet incoming, and the force is overwhelming. We need to flee. Who is your commander?”

“Alanik,” my brother said, “our captain was injured in the blast. I can speak for the group. Where would we go?”

I was sorry any of them had been injured, but I was glad Gilaf wasn’t among them. “We’re going to abandon the base,” I said, “and retreat to Wandering Leaf.”

A long silence followed. “To Wandering Leaf,” another pilot said. “The platform that shoots at us.”

“Exactly,” I said. “Stay together in the airspace in front of the base. Have someone land and tell those without ships to gather inside the damaged Superiority vessel.” That might be the only way to retrieve Rinakin’s family and our other noncombatant allies, in addition to any wounded. “We’re coming to get you. Our allies have some…unconventional methods, but we’re not going to leave you behind.”

“Will do,” Gilaf said, though he sounded dubious.

“Hold on,” I said. “We’re going to get you out of here.”

“We’ve got your back,” Gilaf said.

    “And we’ve got yours.” I switched back to the channel with the humans. “The civilians are gathering inside the broken ship. We should be able to use a light-lance to bring that with us, correct?”

“Yes,” Jorgen said. “Quirk and I are headed toward Wandering Leaf. I’ll send Quirk in first, and then the rest of our ships can jump to hers. It might take us a couple of trips to get everyone.”

I hoped their hyperdrives somehow helped them evade the eyes. They must, since the Superiority felt safe using them as often as they did.

“If you get a chance, I’d appreciate a ride from one of your hyperdrives,” I said. I didn’t want to risk taking another jump so soon, not if I didn’t have to.

“Okay, sure,” Jorgen said. He sounded confused, but he didn’t question me. “Help us defend the base, and then we’ll pull you out when we’re done.”

I followed him and Kimmalyn on the sensor screen as they approached the platform. They flew through the miasma at close to Mag-9—a speed that must have threatened to rattle their ships apart.

These humans meant business.

“Careful not to get too close,” I told them.

“We have experience with these things,” Jorgen said. “We’ll keep our distance.”

I leaned on my throttle, catching up to the humans in front of the base. Enemy ships tore through the airspace, trying to run the humans off, but they fought in tandem, harassing the enemy enough to keep them from landing and arresting my people.

    I swept down toward the entrance to the hangar, taking up a defensive position near the broken Superiority ship. Even from this distance I could see people pressed up against the glass at the back of the hold, looking up at us, probably wondering what was about to happen.

At least they’d listened to me. I wouldn’t have been able to get them out otherwise.

“All right, I have visual on the surface of the platform,” Jorgen said. “Quirk, you ready?”

“Ready,” Kimmalyn said.

I watched on my proximity sensors as Kimmalyn’s ship disappeared from the sky.

“Quirk, status?” Jorgen said.

“I’m fine!” Kimmalyn said. “Near the surface of the platform, underneath the autofire. Looking for a hangar entrance now.”

“We can’t wait,” Jorgen said. “Skyward Flight, you are a go to bounce.”

“Copy, Jerkface,” Arturo said. “We’re on it.”

In the airspace directly above, I felt Quilan descending from his reentry into the atmosphere. Alanik, he said. Stop this before someone gets hurt.

Too late, I said back. I fired on an enemy ship, shaking it off FM’s tail, and FM pegged one of the Independence ships with her light-lance.

Then they both disappeared.

All over the battlefield, the humans disappeared with Independence ships in tow. A moment later FM’s ship appeared again, so close to Jorgen’s that they nearly collided.

    “Sorry!” FM said over the radio. “We really need to work on their sense of space when we’re in the air!”

Several of the other humans’ ships also reappeared, and I left my post by the base entrance to provide some covering fire while Jorgen did his best to dodge his own reappearing flightmates.

“Why are they doing that?” I asked Jorgen over the radio.

“We’re using Quirk’s slug as an anchor on one side and mine on the other,” Jorgen said. “It’s a new tactic. We’re still working out the kinks.”

The humans made another lap, taking more of the Independence fighters up to the platform.

“Amphi,” Jorgen said as Arturo reappeared. “Get the Superiority ship.”