A wing of three Nievath interceptors blasted out of the Elauthin Kelrona's launch tubes, joining the rest of their squadron as they scrambled for combat. The Maliri fighters shifted course and raced towards a procession of Brimorian transports, each one of the blocky vessels filled with a cargo of slaves. Schools of Enclave strike craft quickly responded to the threat, adopting attack formations and moving to engage. Their Aobegh fighters had significant numerical superiority, outnumbering the Maliri by several hundred ships, all launched from the five Enclave heavy carriers guarding the transports.
Arrayed before the lumbering freighters were six Brimorian battleships, the massive craft like great blue whales protecting their vulnerable calves. The dark void of space came alive with a storm of dazzling light as yellow particle beams crossed paths with azure Maliri beam lasers, the capital ships from both sides exchanging ferocious broadsides. They ignored the groups of fighters charging towards each other, the actions of those tiny craft beneath the notice of such interstellar titans.
"Here they come!" Lorathyra exclaimed, her face alight with the anticipation of impending combat.
Torvanna took a firm grip of her flight stick. "Shall we make this interesting? A bottle of Holaris red to whoever gets the highest kill count!"
Lorathyra's expression shifted to a predatory grin. "I'll take that wager!"
Glancing at the comms display, Torvanna braced herself for a chastisement by their Flight Commander. Her straight-laced superior usually disapproved of mid-combat banter, but Krisalei had been strangely subdued that evening and the interface stayed silent.
She flicked her gaze to the combat HUD and aligned the targeting rune with the leading Brimorian fighter wing. A Nievath Interceptor had a significant range advantage with its trio of Pulse Cannons and she lined up the perfect shot as the enemy closed the distance. Her finger caressed the trigger and streams of azure laser fire streaked across space to hit the Enclave fighter. Its shields blazed with light, flaring wildly under the onslaught, until the barrier collapsed and the pulses cut through blue and purple armour plating.
Torvanna watched the Enclave fighter detonate in a fiery conflagration, but she wasn't satisfied with just a single kill. The Maliri pilot strafed her shots across the next fighter then the next, blowing them to pieces one after the other. By the time the Brimorian strike craft were in range to shoot back with their particle guns, she had ripped apart the entire wing.
"That's five!" she crowed, rolling her interceptor and realigning the nose towards the next cluster of enemy fighters.
Yellow particle bolts sizzled past her on every side, as nearly all the Brimorians concentrated their fire on the leading formation of Maliri interceptors. Dodging that torrent of energy blasts upset her aim and Torvanna grimaced in frustration as the fighter groups closed the gap and plunged into each other's midst. In a swirling dogfight, it was much harder to get clean kills and she had no intention of having her victories downplayed as "assists".
Torvanna kept one eye on the proximity display and prepared to make evasive manoeuvres to stay on her Flight Commander's flank. To her surprise Krisalei's interceptor flew directly ahead in a straight line, making no attempt to dodge incoming fire as it barrelled onwards. Several Enclave fighters looped around onto their tail and began a pursuit, spraying particle bolts at the Maliri craft. While Torvanna and Lorathyra banked and rolled to avoid the yellow blasts, their white-haired leader made no effort to evade. Krisalei's shields were battered by a hail of incoming fire, the status display rapidly shifting from green through to red.
"Be careful, Commander!" Torvanna called out in alarm.
"Pull up!" Lorathyra yelled, her panicked cry from the comms interface piercingly loud.
They watched in disbelief as Krisalei's interceptor plunged headlong through the strike craft formation and roared towards the Brimorian transports. The Enclave pursuers managed to knock out her shields, but the Maliri ship quickly pulled out of range. Travelling at full throttle, Krisalei's interceptor slammed into the flank of a Brimorian transport, then exploded in a conflagration that also consumed the Enclave freighter.
Torvanna sat there in stunned silence, then stabbed her finger down on a red rune in the centre of her console.
-- END SIMULATION --
Tugging off her flight helmet Torvanna tapped another rune on the side of the cockpit and the crystal canopy cracked open with a hiss. It swung up smoothly to reveal the training room and she sprang nimbly out of her seat. The golden plated simulators were grouped in clusters of three and on the far side of her Flight Commander's closed pod, Lorathyra also clambered out of her cockpit.
"What happened? Is Krisalei alright?!" her wingmate blurted out, looking equally shocked.
Torvanna shook her head helplessly. "I have no idea. She stopped responding!"
They rushed over to the third training pod and hit the emergency release rune. The crystal canopy tilted upwards and they found their flight commander huddled up in her seat, her expression filled with despair.
"Krisalei!" Torvanna gasped, shocked at the state of her. "What happened?!"
"He's gone... and he hasn't come back..." she whimpered, both hands clutched to her chest.
Her two wingmates exchanged a worried glance.
"We better get her to Medical," Lorathyra suggested, carefully removing Krisalei's helmet to reveal her shock of white hair.
Torvanna nodded and crouched down to scoop up the distraught woman. "Don't worry, Commander. The medics will take good care of you."
Lorathya helped Torvanna pull their commander to her feet, then they both slipped an arm around Krisalei's waist to keep her upright. The trio set off towards the exit, but had barely walked a dozen steps when Krisalei arched her back and let out a shocked cry.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Torvanna asked, staring wide-eyed at her commander.
Sagging in their arms, Krisalei sighed with relief, a beatific smile lighting up her face. "Nothing's wrong... everything's wonderful!"
***
The sun dipped below the horizon on Trankara, turning the sky from a frigid blue to a glorious burnt orange. High in the granite towers of the Radiant Palace, the Glowing Queen stood alone on a balcony, her amber eyes taking in the spectacular view. Sunset on the Trankaran homeworld was known as Forgelight and Niskera normally found the sight uplifting; it was as if the Great Maker himself was shining his benevolence upon her planet, showing his approval of the Rock Brethren. However, on this occasion, she found herself too distraught to draw any comfort from the natural beauty of her volcanic home.
She rubbed at her broad chest, grimacing at the hollow ache that still lingered hours after the connection had been severed. Alyssa had warned Niskera that the Great Protector would be temporarily cutting himself off from their network, but the Terran girl hadn't prepared her for just how awful it would feel. The sense of loss was heartbreaking and Niskera desperately longed for their connection to be restored.
The Trankaran monarch glanced back into her quarters at the Comms Interface and bit her lip with indecision. Not for the first time, she considered contacting Edraele, in the hope that the Maliri Queen might have some much-needed answers. Alyssa's continued silence was making Niskera nervous and she couldn't help fearing the worst as the hours rolled by. She fretted anxiously, torn between the desire for more information, and not wanting to shame her people by acting with such desperation in front of their new allies.
Niskera's sense of duty won out yet again and she let out a pensive sigh as she turned back to the magnificent sunset.
She suddenly gasped in shock as the connection to the Great Protector was restored in all its glory, her entire being responding with elation. Quite overcome by the psychic surge, Niskera sank to her knees, the fleeting contact with his mind the most intense spiritual moment of her life. Closing her eyes, she tried her best to commit that rapturous feeling to memory, so that she would never forget what it was like to be touched by a god.
