The observation lounge fell silent when the simulated Sesseem rained fire upon their own allies. Ferrar watched the main screen, waiting for the overload flare to clear. The Sesseem projectors had concentrated on the lead Banshee. Their combined fire would have added up to over 300 gigajoules. That was enough to disrupt Meta space for kilometers around their target. True …

“Please proceed on a direct outbound route, Earth-normal. You are running a standard patrol scenario, so there is no ceiling.” Tony kept himself from a rude response. Almost all Elimination scenarios were ‘Scrambles’, pursuits responding to an already detected threat. Less common were ‘Target’ scenarios, offensive missions. For those, they would receive preparatory briefings beforehand. Least common were ‘Patrol’ scenarios. …

Tony couldn’t shake the idea he could hear his heartbeat echoing off the cockpit canopy. The only real sounds coming to him were occasional muffled knocks and thumps on his hull from the ground crew’s efforts. Their chatter went over their own channels, not ship communications. They flashed light signals to each other, and waved an occasional hand sign, but …

Rissa’s temper hovered just below boiling temperature as they walked to the locker rooms. The commanders had led the aliens away, thank God, or she might have continued spouting off. She’d been stupid, but the surprise appearance had pushed her beyond her limit. Why did they come? To praise the muscle-headed freak next to her? To rub her nose in …

The Senior Aviator’s rant echoed through the steel doors as soon as the pressure began rising in the lock. “We aren’t playing games out here! Don’t you EVER pull a stunt like that while you’re on my wing! Ship! Training! Nerve-ware! They all cost big money! You carry a fortune out there every time you fly, and you are to …

The approaching craft were just RPVs imitating the aliens, but pilots feared the Blue Horde more than any other Slave race. Just the reminder of her real battles against these products of Enemy genetic engineering gave her jitters. “And a faint double echo. Could be a Wraith. One-Eighty.” She confirmed the signal ghost she’d missed the first time. The big …

Her CO continued his paperwork even after Rissa entered his quarters. The room was no bigger than her own, which didn’t seem right to her, even though space was at a premium within Farside. If the Chief Admiral of the Joint Command herself visited Farside, they could offer even her nothing better. She perched on the end of his bed …

Kahuna kept half his attention on Chiquita’s course as he veered away from the simulated debris cloud. He tried not to be overprotective of her the way the girls in the 77th were, but he almost couldn’t help it. She had even less business flying in the Semifinals than Vampire. Worse, simulated Slave fighters had split them up in the …

In Tony’s previous Moon Duties, he’d met Sesseem RPV operators. And he’d worked with Zindavoor technicians and mechanics throughout his career. But these were his first live Gr’ts’ck. He’d been sneaking glances at them throughout the meet-and-greet session. The Human senior officers cranked through all the same speeches he’d already heard in two previous Moon Duties. The Sky Boss, the …

“Sorry to drag you into this,” Carter apologized. “But seeing as you’re his regular CO…” Ferrar shrugged it off while he watched the inner lock door opening. “So you’re considering a disciplinary?” Carter cleared his throat as the two pilots emerged, the stern Rissa Lee trailing the dour Poe. “I don’t have a choice. My XO radioed for action on …