Chapter 14
Fourteen
Jax looked at his sleeping mate, curled up at his side. Her body had submitted to him, and it had the marks to prove it, but Elara’s mind remained at large.
Jax could sense the hesitation in the headstrong pilot. What would it take for her to see that he was interested in more than her body?
How could he convince her that she was, in fact… his dunatar? The holder of his heart? His one and only mate?
Suddenly, the Ravenous shook violently.
Jax jumped out of bed, sharp and alert.
He quickly grabbed Elara’s clothes, which were strewn all over the room, and threw them on the bed.
Elara opened her eyes just as the alarms started blaring and the red lights flashed.
“What’s going on?” She asked, groggily.
“Hurry, we’re under attack!”
“Oh shit !”
Elara threw on her clothes as fast as possible. Jax grabbed her by the waist, lifted her up, and sprinted towards the hangar. This was much quicker than letting her run herself.
This time, Elara didn’t complain about the strong alien manhandling her. Every second counted.
The Ravenous shook again as they reached the hangar, this time so forcefully that Jax was thrown against the wall. There was complete chaos on the ship, with people rushing to their stations.
The night crew had already prepped the Hyena’s. The fighter-jets were ready for their pilots. This is what they’ve been training for, and Jax was pleased to see his crew was working like a team.
The team-bonding was already paying off.
“Everyone! To your ships!” Jax called out to his crew. Kylie, Nathan, Zythar, Vexel, they were all ready to ride.
There was a slight moment of hesitation as Kylie, Zythar and Vexel looked at each other. Should they fly together, or are the humans to remain back in the hangar and simply watch, as they’ve always done?
“Team up!” Jax called out as he walked up the steps to his Hyena fighter-jet, still carrying Elara in his arms. “There’s no time to waste, let’s go everyone!”
Zythar and Vexel nodded, and Kylie fist-pumped as they raced towards one of the readied jets.
Jax lowered Elara into the co-pilot chair, and then took his place next to her. She instantly turned the coms on, and started talking to the bridge.
“Alpha One, coming in. What’s going on out there?”
“We’re under attack,” the Dragan helmsman named Heiko answered. “Looks like the Dark Sun finally caught up with us. They’ve brought three cruisers and two dozen fighters.”
Elara’s heart skipped a beat. Three cruisers? Two dozen fighters? That’s a heavy load.
The Ravenous was clearly outgunned.
“Permission to engage?” Elara asked.
Jax settled in his seat and grabbed the controls. He waited as they heard officers on the bridge deliberate on the best course of action.
Then, the familiar low growl of General Kai crackled onto their radio.
“Jax, is that you?”
“Yes, general. And Elara Morgan is riding with me.”
“Hm. Good. It’s a mess out there, Jax. The Dark Sun took us by surprise, and they brought heavy guns. We’ve sustained massive damage, and our shields are close to failing.”
“Then send us out,” Jax growled. “That’s what we’re here for.”
“Negative, captain. It’s too dangerous for your crew. We’re going to try and jump.”
At that moment, a barrage of enemy fire hit the ship. Six fighters flew by, their deadly missiles targeting the hangar.
The Dragan shields just barely managed to hold, the barrier shimmering faintly.
Jax growled in anger, the urge to head into battle filling his veins. He could not, and would not, sit back and let their ship be destroyed.
Not on his watch.
As long as the Ravenous was powering up its hyper-jump, it was a sitting duck. Without the jets outside to harass the Dark Sun mercenaries, they could concentrate all their firepower on the large vessel.
If the Ravenous was to survive this onslaught, Jax and his crew needed to risk their lives. It’s what they signed up for. It’s what they did best.
Jax pushed down on the throttle without waiting for further orders. Elara grabbed her controls as well, a grim look on her face. They didn’t need words — both of them knew what they had to do.
The sleek black jet shot out of the hanger.
Behind them, the other pilots followed suit.
General Kai yelled on the radio in anger. “What are you doing?!”
“Saving your blue ass, general,” Elara said. “We’re giving you a window to make that jump in.”
Jax laughed. The headstrong human truly had no fear, talking to the feared General Kai like that.
As soon as they exited the hangar they were greeted by enemy fire. Bullets bounced off the plated hull. The Hyena danced and swerved, avoiding the worst of the blasts as they distracted their opponents.
Kylie, Zythar and Vexel were on their left, while Nathan and Xarlon were on their right.
One of the large Dark Sun cruisers fired a hot beam of plasma their way. Jax and Zythar weaved out of the way — but Nathan and Xarlon didn’t react in time.
From her cockpit, Elara saw Nathan’s damaged jet spin out of control. The enemy fighters didn’t hesitate: They riddled the jet with bullets until it was nothing more than scrap-metal.
Elara clenched her jaw.
These motherfuckers were not going to get away with this.
Jax banked sharply to the right. Their radar was filled with dots: six enemy fighters were headed straight for them.
Elara didn’t hesitate. She flicked a switch and fired the jet’s plasma-cannons. The powerful Hyena rocked back as shots of bright, destructive energy were fired.
They took a group of enemy fighters right away.
“Nice shot,” Jax growled as he pulled a lever and punched it. Their jet accelerated quickly, pushing Elara back into her seat, as they left the fighters behind and headed towards the large cruiser that had taken out Nathan.
Elara had her hand on the trigger, ready to strike. Pay-back time.
The Hyena zoomed past the giant vessel as its turrets took aim. Jax pulled up the nose, performing a loop-de-loop, avoiding enemy fire as Elara pressed down on the big red button.
Her aim was true. The plasma-beat hit the cruiser’s weak point, and a large explosion followed. The giant ship was crippled.
“Good shot, Morgan,” Jax growled as their ship zipped away again.
“Nice moves, captain,” Elara shot back. Jax was an incredible pilot. If they weren’t in mortal danger and doing their hardest to save their friends, Elara could almost enjoy his immense skill.
“Captain!” Kylie’s panicked voice called out on the radio. “A little help!”
Jax turned the Hyena to the left sharply and spotted Kylie’s jet; being chased by three fighters, right on her tail. Try as they might, Zythar and Vexel couldn’t shake them, and they were about to die.
Elara squinted and pulled the trigger.
All three enemy fighters erupted and were blown to smithereens; the shots only narrowly missing Kylie’s jets.
“Thanks!” Kylie called out. “Let’s finish these fuckers off!”
“Roger that,” Elara replied.
At that moment, General Kai’s booming voice interrupted their conversation. “Our jump is charged — come back now! That’s an order!”
“Negative, general,” Jax answered. There were still two galactic cruisers firing away at the Ravenous , and the Dragan shields could fail at any moment.
“There’s no time! Make the jump, Kai. We’ll be fine!”
“I’m not leaving without you,” Kai threatened. “We leave no one behind!”
“Feel free to pick us up later when we’ve dealt with these fuckers,” Elara said, breaking into the conversation. “But right now, you’ve got to move , general!”
General Kai cursed in his native tongue. “Damn it. Heiko, make the jump!”
The Ravenous turned a bright, blinding blue for a moment — and then it was simply gone .
Jumping sectors like that took a huge amount of energy, which is why it was a last resort. With the energy used and the damage sustained, the Ravenous was still a long, long way from reaching Earth, but at least the people on-board were still alive.
“They did it,” Elara said, breathing a sigh of relief. “We did it!”
“Yes,” Jax grinned. “Well done, team. Now, let’s get the hell out of here!”
Jax sharply turned his jet towards the nearest planet, and beckoned his team to follow. Enemy fire rained down on them as the Hyena’s dodged and weaved.
“Tell me where we’re headed, Morgan.”
“Class B-planet, breathable atmosphere, covered in a lush jungle,” Elara rattled off quickly as she checked her monitor. “Should be a good place to lay low.”
“Excellent.”
Jax pushed down on the throttle and sped his fighter towards the planet as fast as he could. The entire ship rattled and shook violently as they breached the atmosphere. The remaining Dark Sun jets followed closely.
“Uhm, perhaps a silly question, but are Hyena’s built for planetary landings?” Elara asked.
“No. No they are not,” Jax said. At that moment, the ship started making very worrying sounds. “But neither are the Dark Sun ships. We have no choice. It’s land or get shot to bits.”
At that moment, one of their Hyena’s spontaneously combusted.
“Kylie!” Elara shouted.
“Right here,” Kylie answered. “That was Jimmy and Osax. Poor bastards. They had some hull damage.”
Jax pushed on with grim determination. “They fought well. We will honor them.”
The Dark Sun ships that were following them pulled away, the situation getting too dire for them.
Elara pumped her fist — and then their ship shut down, all the screens turning to black. The engine cut off. She shrieked.
“Don’t worry,” Jax said. “I’ve got this. I’ve got this.”
As the planet’s surface rushed up to greet them, Elara prayed that was true…