“Perfect timing,” Ohm sighed, laughing humorlessly. “A fitting reminder. Such a good joke.” His shoulders slumped dejectedly as he reached back and popped a hatch open on Fred. Ohm grabbed out another canister of microburs. He quietly replaced the empty one in his mask.
“If it means anything, you are still the same old Ohm to me. A wandering nut with a lot of long stories. What matters is what’s happening right now. You’re not a failure, Ohm. You met Ari and then us, and together we have a pretty grand time. We’ll all work together to make things better,” Kai said. She stood up and put her hand on Ohm’s shoulder.
“Yes, Kai, we will,” Oa said, still slightly overwhelmed at what Ohm had told him. “We will begin here and now, by fighting the Legion. I woke up with a vision inside me. I’m scared of this conflict with Eol, but I know how things need to be. And Eol must be dealt with before we can head in the right direction.” As Oa spoke, Seeker rose from his satchel and hovered above his hand, spinning slowly.
“All this encouragement and good will is ruining my mope. Just remember, you can’t use Seeker until we understand Eol’s relationship to it,” Ohm said. He chucked the empty microbur canister at Seeker, and it pinged off the levitating metal orb.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Oa said, laughing. He put Seeker back in his bag.
Kai walked over to the front of the deck, looking out of the hangar. “Ew gross. The sky matches the Stormfell,” she groaned. “Also, we’ve moved. I don’t see the city anymore.”
“Yeah. Ships stopped landing about halfway through Ohm’s big backstory,” Oa said, picking the empty canister up off the deck of the ARI and flinging it back at Ohm. It bounced off his shoulder.
“Let us enjoy this peace while we can. Fighting is not all that pleasant of an activity,” Ohm suggested.
“Yeah. I don’t really want to think about it. Let’s just do something else until we have to go,” Oa said, scuffing his boot nervously on the deck.
Kai walked past Ohm, flipping him out of the sling. Flailing, he fell and landed on the deck with a thud. “Alright then! No more dismal talk. Let’s go swap fun stories while we recalibrate the engines. I don’t want us exploding out of the air from some mechanical problem,” Kai said, stubbornly.
Ohm chuckled and picked himself up off the floor. He brushed himself off and followed Kai and Oa into the engine room. Susan floated above them, happily watching as they all sat around the machinery, running diagnostics and tinkering with the settings as Kai directed. They laughed and swapped stories of their favorite times. Some of the tales were recent while others recounted times long forgotten. Together, the friends enjoyed each other’s company, working together in community. Their minds forgot the impending danger. Their time together seemed as if it would last forever, but it could not. Four knocks sounded on the door, slow and steady. Oa got up and opened the portal; outside stood three Enlightened soldiers.
“Abur? Is that you?” Oa asked.
“Yes, it is,” Abur replied in his familiar noble voice.
“I’m sorry, but you all look alike,” Oa apologized.
“The garb is an old tradition of the order. Your confusion is understandable. I have returned to inform you that the Legion has moved faster than we anticipated so we will not be able to deliver the refugees. Our timetable has been advanced, and we have already joined the Windhammer. Your vessel will fight alongside the Sky Sentinel squadron, protecting the Windhammer’s back,” Abur explained. “Do you still desire to help us?” he asked after a brief pause. Oa nodded in reply.
“Good, I will be in command of the Sky Sentinels. I shall relay orders via ray-com to you. Windhammer will spearhead the attack. Our goal is to protect her back until the Void command ship is destroyed. That should halt the Void’s advance on this front,” Abur explained.
“How many other fronts are there?” Ohm asked.
“One other. The remaining two Defender-class warships are being dispatched. They will do their duty, and we will do ours,” Abur clarified curtly. The crew of the ARI nodded in understanding. Abur waited briefly for any more questions. There were none.
“May the fallen protect you. We go to battle,” he said reverently. Abur spun on his heels and led his two warriors back to their squadron.
“Yeah, you too,” Ohm replied with less conviction.
The three friends stood in a circle and took hold of each other’s hands for a moment, finding courage in community. Then they walked out of the engine room and into front section of the ARI. Ohm took his seat at the power hub while Oa, Kai, and Susan went to the cockpit.
“I’ll fly this time,” Oa suggested.
“Yeah, there’s no way you’re gonna be the gunner. These are my weapons,” Kai agreed lightheartedly.
“I patched us in to Fred’s ray-com so we can all hear Abur’s orders. I’ll manage the ship’s defenses. If Kai didn’t replace it, there should still be a sealed tank beneath the power hub attached to a piping system that runs to the outer hull. Fred can fill the tank with water, and I can use that to ice over parts of the hull. I can shield us from most attacks, but I cannot protect us from too many at once,” Ohm informed them, his voice transmitting over the ARI’s unseen communication system.
“Yeah, I was wondering what in the name of sanity that storage tank and all those irrigation tubes were for. They took me forever to put back together,” Kai complained.
“I am glad you did. We stand more of a chance now,” Ohm replied.
The ARI’s engines activated, rumbling deeply. The craft rose into a shallow hover as the Z-7 Torches of the Sky Sentinel squadrons accelerated out of the hangar. Oa waited for Abur’s command before falling into formation at the rear of the procession. The ARI followed the Sky Sentinels out into open air as they rose toward the dawning glow of a new cycle. It was a red sky, as red as the eyes that lurked within Eol’s shrouds. It was as if the demon himself were above them, watching with gleeful anticipation for the outcome of the brewing storm. The orange army of Torches coasted dangerously close to the churning clouds. The sparks and flares of lightning masked the Enlightened forces as they charged toward the inevitable fight. Abur organized his troops, ordering them into a wide chevron shaped attack formation. The ARI flew behind the spearhead of fighters. Abur had tasked them to deal with any Legion ships that got through his ranks. Far off in the distance, Oa could see that the Windhammer had nearly reached the Void.
“Full speed ahead. Our timing must be exact. We will initiate a counterstrike the instant our enemy attacks the Windhammer,” Abur commanded.
A thousand thrusters burned hot and bright in front of Oa as they accelerated to overtake the warship. Below them, the Stormfell followed slowly, staying out of range to protect the safety of the refugees it carried.
As they neared the edge, Oa saw the Legion vessel protruding from the Void. It was a monstrous sight; cylindrical, hollow, and even bigger than the Stormfell. Three grizzly structures jutted out from the prow, like teeth. The vessel formed a gaping maw into the Void. At the end of each blade sat a mighty thruster. The jets were pointed back at the Void, hauling it forward, feeding the Great Planes to the darkness. The Legion was driving inward, and the Void was coming with them. From the core of the ship, a black swarm of Tridents spewed out. Their glowing red cockpits made for an eerie and intimidating sight.
“Slow to three-fifths speed and wait for my signal,” Abur commanded calmly.
Up ahead, the Windhammer approached the Legion horde, yet the warship launched no fighters. For a moment, all was calm as the two forces approached each other. Then shockwaves thundered through the air as the Windhammer opened fire. Hundreds of cannons blasted, shooting out meteors of blazing white light. The Tridents broke formation, dispersing to avoid the volley. The missiles of light shattered the Legion formation, obliterating those too slow to maneuver away from the attack. Oa noticed that the missiles dissipated far short of hitting the Legion command ship.
“They aren’t in range yet,” Kai muttered, worried.
The Legion reformed their echelons. The deft fighters maneuvered around the dangerous but slow cannons. The swarm swooped over the forward bow of the Warship, seeking to attack it from the rear. Suddenly, Z-7’s came zipping out of several of the forward cannons. Oa realized that the Windhammer’s crew had constructed launch tubes to allow their fighters to exit the front of the aircraft. They had been disguised as cannons. The Torches flew in behind the Legion, blasting away at the Void dwellers.
The Trident swarm was caught off guard, but it banked a hard turn, coming about to make a strafing run on the exposed hangar bays of the Windhammer. They were met with a head-on attack, as the remainder of the warship’s fighter complement poured out to engage them. Chaos ensued as the attack from both sides devolved the Legion’s formations. Their numbers were too great to be overpowered for long. The Tridents quickly recovered, engaging in a fierce dogfight with the outnumbered forces of the Windhammer.
“All squadrons stay in formation. We will strike through the center of their ranks!” Abur commanded sharply. The Sky Sentinels hurtled down into the battle to aid their comrades.
Oa and Kai looked at each other as they flew toward the chaos. Kai put a hand on her friends shoulder.
“We got this,” she said confidently.
“Yes, we do,” Oa said. His nervousness hardened into courage as he pushed the throttle to full.
“Let’s show them what the ARI can do,” Ohm called from the power hub chamber.
“Activating the deck shield,” Kai called as she pulled a lever on the console. The broad metal plates stacked at the back of the open deck slid around the railing, forming a metal shield to guard the vulnerable side of the ARI.
“Open Fire!” Abur yelled over the ray-com.
Kai dropped down her targeting controls and began to blast away at the nearest targets. Oa followed the Sky Sentinels, diving down through the maelstrom of combat. Black and white rays filled the air. Oa dodged through the chaos, his concentration pushed to its limit. Next to him, Kai rapidly unloaded the ARI’s firepower into the Legion. The twin azure beams sliced through Tridents with each blast the cannons sounded. The ARI was rocked from explosions all around.
Ohm grunted as he strained to merge his senses with the ship. He felt an incoming missile heading toward the engine and knew Oa could not dodge it in time. With a thought, Ohm sent water to the hull, casting his ice over the threatened spot. The barrier took the full force of the blow. The reinforced structure shook violently but remained undamaged. Ohm immediately melted the ice and redirected it to the underbelly of the hull just in time to deflect another deadly missile. Oa rolled and spiraled the ARI through the sea of conflict. He kept his movements erratic to shake off any ambitious Tridents trying to get into position behind them.
Screams of doomed pilots came in over the open ray-com. The victorious surprise attack was not without losses.
“We must defend the Windhammer until she is in range to attack the Legion command vessel. Regroup now and prepare for another run,” Abur called out as the Sky Sentinels passed through the thick of the battle. The fighters leveled out, speeding over the desolate ground as they reformed their lines.
“Reengage,” Abur barked as soon as his forces were ready. They looped back up for another strafing run.
Oa flipped the ARI end-over-end in a barrel roll, then looped around and sent the ship back into the fray. Kai toggled to another weapon on her guidance goggles. A cannon from the belly of the ship began to fire, spitting out projectiles faster than Oa could keep track of. Kai’s accuracy made sure most of them struck Tridents that had slipped through Abur’s lines. None of her shots hit the orange and white hulls of the Z-7 Torches.
“These are just the tracers. We will need to make another pass through when we reach the other side,” Kai informed.
Oa looked over quickly, and nodded an affirmative. He noticed Susan floating protectively over Kai. The varl’s two soft paws rested on either side of her friend.
“I hope you have enough of those, ‘cuz the other side of this fight is a long way off,” Oa said. His voice strained as he banked a hard left to avoid an exploding Torch.
“I built the cannon to hold five-thousand tracers. Let’s just say I had a lot of time on my hands back in those caves. We have enough,” Kai assured him.
“I’ll say,” Oa agreed.
“You should’ve gotten a hobby,” Ohm teased, joining the banter.
“Yeah, because building the coolest gliders and exploring every rock of those canyons doesn’t really count,” Kai retorted.
“We’re almost through the thick of it,” Ohm called back, refocusing the crew on the battle.
The ARI rocketed out of the fighting just behind the Sky Sentinels. Abur commanded another strafing run, and the Torches prepared to make another pass. Oa took a little extra time looping around so he could rest his mind and reflexes.
“Activating the Sky Blade,” Kai said, as she flipped another lever on the control panel. “I really hope this thing works,” she muttered. Outside, the ARI’s wing folded out to its full length. Along the front blade of the wing, panels popped up slightly then slid back to reveal a crackling bank of blue energy.
“Take us in!” Kai yelled. The hum of the Sky Blade filled the cockpit, rising to a screeching drone. Oa pushed the throttle to full power, sending the ARI racing past the other Z-7s and back into the fight.
“Stay in formation,” Abur barked.
“Nah, how about you clean up after us this time,” Kai called back.
Just as they were about to reenter the fray, Kai pulled the trigger on her targeting controls. All along the front blade of the wing, blue lightning shot forth, seeking out the tracers Kai had fired previously. The ARI cut through the middle of the warfare like a blue sword of light, searing a grim swath of destruction through the Legion ranks. The ARI’s blade was inescapable. Tridents exploded all around them. The crew cheered in unison as the Sky Blade ripped through their enemy, in a strafing run for the ages.