Fight Another Day: Part 2 of 2

Part 2

Hours before daylight, the team awoke and made their final preparations.  Dex and Koval helped themselves to fresh Commonwealth combat vests, armor, and batteries.  Tib and Rav grabbed batteries too, along with upgraded com systems.  The Gurks donned goggles that hid their eyes’ bioluminescence, yet didn’t hamper their night vision abilities.  Venka added a few elbow and knee pads to her attire, and loaded her belt and bag with remote plasmex charges.  Feliks checked his rifle, and the scattergun he carried on his back.  Before he was finished, he slipped a few extra plasma cells into loops on his armor.

“Everyone ready?” Scuff said.  He and Spark wore Rygol combat uniforms complete with matching helmets, thermal goggles, and a few modifications of their own.  The most conspicuous were a few extra pouches on their tail covers.  Their RAR-37s were polished and charged for battle.

Koval grabbed a compact Gurk rocket launcher and tied it to his looted Grakkon pack.  “That should be everything,” he said.

“Good,” Scuff said, “because the next time we’re here, we may not get to stop long.”

Under the cover of night, the group split into two smaller teams.  Spark, Venka, Koval, and Rav headed to the park to deal with the airfield.  Scuff, Feliks, Tib, and Dex set their sights on the disabled tank.  Although they were linked by their com systems, stealth would be the key to their success.  They were eight against an army, but the Grakkons had no idea what awaited them as morning approached.

…

A pair of Grakkon guards leaned against a tree in the park.  Rav kept an eye on them through his scope, and even heard them grumble about their assignment.  His talon rested on the trigger, but he held his fire as long as they stayed put.

Some distance away, Koval scanned the airfield with a pair of binoculars.  He was thankful the Grakkons appeared to be so confident in their victory they hardly posted any guards.  Additionally, the few guards they had weren’t wearing the goggles most Grakkons used to cover their glowing eyes at night.

Venka and Spark were equally grateful of their enemies’ overconfidence.  Using their sharp senses, they infiltrated the clearing.  A destroyer presided over rows of Grakkon fighters and assorted crates and maintenance equipment.  However, with no sentry turrets or sensors, Venka and Spark easily slipped from ship to ship, hiding bombs as they went.  Sometimes they hid the charges on the underside of the interceptors, while others got a bomb shoved far inside an engine.

The pair had a few close calls, but the Grakkons never suspected anything as Venka and Spark slipped out of the field again.  Once reunited, Venka’s bag was emptied of explosives, but held a few Grakkon rifle batteries for Koval.

“Oh, nice,” Koval whispered.  “You swiped these too?!”

Venka smirked.  “You could use ‘em for your rifle, since we didn’t have many in the bunker.”

“Thanks,” Koval said, turning his attention back to the airfield.

As the first light of day trickled over the horizon, the Grakkons loaded the fighters into the destroyer.  “Oh this just got sweeter,” Venka said.  Two by two, interceptors hovered inside.   When enough were stored, a few remained outside the larger ship to serve as escorts as it took off.  Dawn’s light fell over the rising destroyer.

Venka and Spark pulled out their remote detonators.  “Take anything not bolted down,” Venka whispered as she waited for the ships to get higher.  “Blow up whatever is.”

…

“What was that?!” one of the Grakkons fixing the tank asked.  A thunderous boom echoed through the city as the sky grew bright.

“We probably leveled another building,” another Grakkon said.  “Hopefully they blasted the miserable stragglers who did this!”  He slapped the tank’s peeled armor and caterpillar tread pod.

“I hope not,” the first Grakkon said.  “It’ll be impossible to pull anything edible from there.”

“All you think about is food!  Shut up and let’s get this done!”

Suddenly, a shock grenade landed at their feet, and detonated with a blinding flash.  The rest of the tank crew grabbed their weapons and rushed to investigate, but another hurled grenade was waiting to stun them too.

Scuff, Tib, and Dex dashed out of cover and converged on the tank.  They separated the unconscious crew from their weapons and tools, and turned to their prize.

“I was afraid of this,” Scuff said after looking at the tank.  “They already installed the new core.  It’s going to take me a few minutes to get it out again.”

Tib hefted her rotary cannon and scanned the street.  “Okay, make it quick.  I don’t want to…” her voice trailed off as her ears flicked instinctively.  Footsteps approached, and Dex shouldered his rifle.

Seconds later, a Grakkon scout came running around the corner of a nearby building.  “We lost a destroyer!” he shouted before realizing he wasn’t talking to the repair crew.  “All units have been ordered too…”  He snarled as he saw Dex, and started to raise his weapon.  A single red blast from Dex’s rifle ended the encounter.

“Does anyone else hear that?” Dex asked, personally dreading the scout’s mention of “all units.”

Scuff and Tib nodded as the rumbling noise grew louder.  Flakes of debris drifted down, and everyone felt the ground hum underfoot.  They knew what it was, so they tried to hurry their work.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have as much time as they thought.

“Guys?” Feliks said.  He was in an overwatch position in a building across the street with his rifle trained on the approaching threat.

“We know!” Scuff said.

Finally, Dex tugged on the Rygol’s armor.  “Time’s up!”

A fully operational Grakkon tank rounded the corner as the trio hid.  Since its heavy cannons and twin rocket pods stayed silent, they knew it hadn’t seen them.  Yet.  “We’ll have to take it down,” Scuff said.  An infantry squad jogged behind the tank.  The instant they saw their unconscious comrades however, they started scanning the street.

“We’ll have to deal with them too,” Tib said.  She contacted the other team and explained the situation.  “The others will be here soon.”

Scuff furrowed his brow.  “I hate to start this without them, but more tanks are probably on their way,” he said.  “Feliks, get their attention, and then get to cover.”

“You got it!” the Gurk said before he unleashed a burst of purple plasma bolts on the tank.  The infantry immediately returned fire, scorching the outer walls of Feliks’ hiding spot with green plasma.

With the squad distracted, Dex and Scuff tossed a pair of plasmex grenades.  The explosions took out most of the Grakkons, leaving only a few for Tib to blast.  Before Scuff climbed onto the tank’s smooth, green armor, its crew managed to fire once.  Feliks scurried deeper into the building, and escaped the worst of the damage.

Scuff clung to one of the anti-aircraft cannon barrels on the back of the tank.  Inside, a gunner watched the dusty Rygol scampering up to the hatch.  The gunner, hoping to catch a meal for himself, opened the hatch eagerly.  He soon wished he hadn’t, since Scuff’s rifle was there to meet him.  As the stunned Grakkon slumped back into the tank, Scuff held onto the hatch.  He flicked his tail sharply, which sent the stun grenade in his last pouch flying over his shoulder.  With his rifle slung, he caught the grenade in one hand, pulled the pin with his fangs, and dropped it inside.

The tank stopped when the flash neutralized the rest of the crew.  Dex climbed up and helped Scuff pull the Grakkons out of the cabin.  Feliks poked his head through a destroyed window and waved.  “Nice one, boss!”

“You okay?” Tib asked.

“My tail’s a little singed, but I’ll live!” Feliks replied.

“Good,” Dex said, lowering the last Grakkon to the ground, “because the coms in the tank are going crazy.”

“More company?” Tib asked.

“Yes,” Scuff said, “I’ll need you to buy me a few minutes at the most.  The tank should help.”

Feliks left the building and dashed up to the tank.  Since Tib couldn’t fit inside the cabin, she stayed outside while Dex and Feliks restarted the heavy vehicle.  “Weird,” Dex said. “These controls aren’t too different from Commonwealth tech…”  He pushed the thought from his mind as he figured out how to move the tank.

Scuff returned to work on the new core while Tib guarded him closely.  The group had a few minutes of peace before the ground started to rumble again.  “Here they come!” Tib said, spinning her cannon’s barrels.

Another Grakkon platoon stormed into view.  Tib engaged them with a battle cry that rivaled the ferocious noise of her weapon.  Feliks lowered the anti-aircraft cannons and fired.  His first shots missed the Grakkons, but demolished the walls of the building near them.  Debris rained on the fleeing survivors.

The Grakkon infantry scattered to make way for their tank support.  Dex knew it was coming, and rotated his own tank to face them.  The instant the first tank showed a big enough target, Dex hit it with a volley of rockets, stopping it dead in its tracks.  “Got one!” Dex said.

Grakkon plasma plinked and splashed off the captured tank as Dex sent another rocket their way.  The next tank crew knew what awaited them behind the smoking remains of their comrades, so they attempted to flank Dex and Feliks.  Similarly, the infantry dispersed into the buildings.  “Behind us!” Feliks shouted as he engaged a squad.

Tib ducked behind her wings as the Grakkons tried to blast her too.  The troopers in the open weren’t hard to miss, but those shooting from the windows were difficult to spot.  “How much longer!?” she asked Scuff.  The Rygol didn’t reply.

“They’re all around us!” Dex said when he saw the other tank emerge to his left.  He braced himself for the incoming barrage, but to his relief, the enemy tank exploded before it could fire.

“You can thank me later!” Koval said over the com system as he dumped the spent rocket launcher.  Dex breathed a sigh of relief before he finished the Grakkon tank off with a rocket of his own.

Tib’s HUD came to life and highlighted dozens of targets.  “Thanks Rav!” Tib said as she turned her attention to the nearest cluster.  Rav nodded from his rooftop perch, and went to work securing the area, one shot at a time.  Venka and Spark took care of any Grakkons they found indoors, until they had carved out more breathing room for everyone.

Unfortunately, with explosions and plasma blasts going off, every Grakkon in the area knew of the skirmish.  As everyone fought, they realized the enemy reinforcements would never stop.  Thankfully, Scuff finally yanked the core free.

“Tib!” Scuff shouted. “I need some help!”

Tib secured the core until Scuff was ready to carry it.  She informed the rest of the team, and everyone prepared to fall back to the shop.

“We’ll cover the rear!” Feliks said.  His cannons kept the majority of the Grakkons covered, and Rav blasted any who tried to outmaneuver the tank.

Within a few moments, Scuff and Tib were on the move along with Venka, Spark, Koval, and Rav.  They bounded between pieces of cover, stopping only to check their surroundings.  Behind them, the rumbling of the tank and its weapons’ reports spurred them on.

Soon, the group arrived at the shop.  Spark and Venka went ahead to open the tunnel as everyone took a moment to breathe before following them.  Feliks leaped out of the tank but Dex remained half-inside the hatch.  “If the Grakkon coms are to be believed,” Dex said, “then they know we have one of their tanks, and are sending an army after it.  They’ll be here any second.”

“I was afraid of that,” Scuff said.

“Get to everyone to the ship, and get out of here,” Dex said.  “If they’re tracking the tank, then I’ll lead them on a wild gorqua chase to buy you as much time as I can.”

“Are you crazy?” Scuff asked.  “There’s no way you’ll be able to escape!  Let me come with you, we can figure something out.”

Dex shook his head.  “Spark needs her father, and the team needs you.”  Before Scuff could object further, emerald bolts landed near them, leaving glassy craters in the street.  “It’s now or never!”  Dex said as he ducked back inside the tank.

Scuff flattened his ears and clenched his teeth.  He wished there was another way, but there wasn’t any time now.  With an exasperated sigh, he entered the shop and followed the others into the tunnel.  Once inside, he sealed the secret door to the bunker along with the tunnel hatch.

Back on the surface, Dex launched rockets at the forces sent to stop him.  He programmed the tank’s autopilot quickly, and manned the weapons as the computer drove.  “Come on!” he shouted as plasma splashed into the tank.  He answered the attack with a volley of his own, decimating anything in his way.

…

Dust drifted down onto the group as the crew crept through the smuggling tunnel.  At first, the explosions on the surface seemed to be fading into the distance, but suddenly one sounded closer.  Everyone suspected what the Grakkons were doing, so they picked up their pace.

“They saw me run into the shop,” Scuff said.  “It was only a matter of time before they figured out where we went.  It won’t be long before they find the tunnel.”

A moment after Scuff spoke, the stench of melting metal and stone wafted through the air.  Venka’s nose twitched, and she donned her goggles again, making her eyes disappear in the gloom.  Feliks did the same.  “Spark, use your night vision filter and guide everyone to the warehouse,” Venka said.

“Copy that!” Spark replied.

Koval knew what the Gurks were planning to do.  “Need any help?” he offered.

Feliks shook his head.  “Nah.  You and the griffs gotta protect the ship until that core’s in.”  He secured his plasma rifle to his back and pumped his scattergun’s fore-end.  A charged cell was chambered and a soft green light above the trigger winked on.  “We got this.”

Soon, the Gurks were alone in the darkness.  Venka checked her pistol and rifle’s batteries, and breathed deeply.  A series of explosions rocked the tunnel, and the Gurks saw where the Grakkons were digging.  The ceiling dissolved away as green plasma flashed through the hole.  It was more than enough light for Venka and Feliks however, and they trained their weapons on the entry point.

A pair of Grakkon soldiers dropped through the hole.  Their eyes glowed red as they adjusted to the tunnel’s gloom.  Unfortunately for the troopers, Venka and Feliks knew every nook, recess, and alcove in the passageway.  When the Grakkons signaled to the rest of their squad, several more troopers dropped down as well.

Feliks’ ears flicked as he counted the number of impacts.  Six, seven, eight…  That’s it.  Hmm, they should have brought more…  Without any sound, he and Venka presented their weapons and didn’t stop firing until the squad was defeated.  Caught in the ambush with nowhere to run, the Grakkons didn’t stand a chance.

“Recharging.  Cover me,” Feliks said.  He racked the scattergun’s fore-end again, and was ready to fire another half-dozen blasts.  Venka reloaded too; well aware their pursuers wouldn’t stop at one squad.

Sure enough, more explosions rocked the tunnel as the Grakkons created two more entry points.  They broke through several meters behind the first hole, and tried to fill the tunnel with as many soldiers as possible.  Again, the Gurks held their fire and stuck to cover as the Grakkons advanced into the bottleneck.  Venka suspected they were trying to defeat them with overwhelming numbers, but they only made her target zone tighter.

Searing hot purple bolts shot from the darkness again, downing several of the Grakkons before they could react.  The survivors returned fire and tried to advance.  Feliks fired scattering blasts back at them, covering the whole tunnel in plasma so Venka could fall back.  When she was in place, she called to her friend and he retreated too.

“After them!” a Grakkon commanded.  The troopers advanced, their red eyes bobbing in the dark as they ran.  They dug their clawed toes into the floor and sniffed the air.  All they could detect was the scent of plasma burns and glassy concrete.  Little did they know they were practically on top of their Gurk prey.  “Where are they?!”

A single scattergun blast from the wall was the only reply.  As soon as the Grakkon crumpled, his squad lit up the place they saw the bolt come from.  An automatic burst from behind them claimed another three troopers.  Again, they shot at the wall, but didn’t realize that the Gurk had already moved to another vantage point.  The surviving soldiers tried to run further into the tunnel but it was only a matter of time before Venka and Feliks picked them off from their secret spots.

“I think that’s the last of them,” Feliks said.

“Don’t jinx it,” Venka replied as she hit a button to cool her battle rifle.  “You know there’s more where they came from.”

Feliks scoffed.  “They just lost a platoon coming after us.  They’ll have to cram every one of their sorry tails down here if they wanna…”

The Gurk fell silent when he heard a single thump echo through the passageway.  He loaded more cells into his weapon and nodded to Venka.  They headed back down the tunnel; the dim curves and angles as bright as day to their eyes.  With their knowledge of the path, they saw their latest adversary before it saw them.  However, despite getting the first shots in the fight, they still weren’t on equal footing.

Just one or two bolts from the Gurks’ weapons should have been enough to stop the average Grakkon soldier.  Even an armored assault trooper would go down after enough well-placed shots.  To the Gurks’ dismay however, this Grakkon only flinched at their barrage.

Piercing green eyes cut through the blackness, shining as bright, hot, and angry as a raging fire.  Tusks like knives jutted out from the Grakkon Elite’s wicked grin, as bolt after bolt splashed against his grey armor and pale fur harmlessly.  The only thing destroyed in the Gurks’ attack was the Elite’s own rifle; not that he needed it anyway.

Feliks flipped a switch on his scattergun, setting it to fire single, powerful bolts instead of dispersed ones.  Still, the Elite merely walked through the blasts as if they were nothing but a stiff breeze.  Venka’s rifle depleted its battery, forcing her to draw her autopistol.  She squeezed the trigger and dumped hundreds of bolts into her target, but she found little success too.

The Elite closed the distance and swung at the Gurks with his claws.  He left deep scratches in Feliks’ armor before he kicked the Gurk against a wall with his powerful legs.  Venka dodged his next several attacks, using pistol fire to blind and distract the Elite.  She stamped on the Grakkon’s paw with her own, making sure to dig her claws in as much as she could.  While the stomp didn’t hurt much, she paired it with a shove that sent the Elite tumbling.

“Come on!” she said to Feliks as she helped him to his paws.  “We gotta go!”

“What about Ugly?”

“We pull Plan B,” Venka replied.  “Get to the red line, now!”

The Gurks sprinted down the tunnel, not wasting any time looking over their shoulders.  They knew the Elite was on their tails, and they only had seconds to reach their destination.

“Got it!” Venka shouted when she reached the end of the tunnel and found the object she needed.  The hidden detonator was linked to several emergency explosives set to collapse the tunnel behind them.  She disabled the safeties and was about to trigger the bombs when the Elite barreled into her.

Venka crashed into Feliks, and struggled to aim her pistol.  The detonator was nowhere to be seen.  Not that it mattered now; the Grakkon was past the red safety line Scuff marked on the tunnel floor when they first installed the bombs.  The Elite kicked Venka’s pistol out of her hand and gently rested his paw on her chest.  She felt the tips of his claws poking through her shirt, but the Grakkon seemed patient.

“HEY!” Koval’s voice boomed through the tunnel.  The Elite looked up in time to see a green light start to grow in the dark.  A massive plasma bolt welled up inside Koval’s Grakkon rifle, containing all the energy of a full battery.  Staring straight down the barrel, the Elite got a perfect view of the process.  Koval fired.

The bolt illuminated the tunnel as it traveled the short distance between Koval and the Elite.  Despite the Grakkon’s reflexes, the plasma shot thwacked into his chest squarely.  He sailed backward, and over the red line.  Koval, wearing Spark’s tactical goggles, found the detonator and handed it to Venka.  Without wasting a second, she locked eyes with the stunned but smoking Grakkon, and detonated the charges.

Dozens of small, shaped charges along the tunnel exploded, including those near the red line, burying the Elite.  In an instant, the tunnel was filled with dirt, concrete, and other debris which sent a wave of dust over Koval and the Gurks.  They were thankful for their respective goggles as they made their way through the cloud and into the fresh air of the tunnel’s exit.

“I’m glad you came back,” Venka said.

“Yeah, thanks for that.  Not a lot of beings out there would risk their lives for a pair of Gurks” Feliks added.

Koval smiled.  “Someone had to save your tails.”

The Gurks chuckled.  “You know, Koval is a Gurk name,” Feliks said.

“A Gurk saved my mother once,” Koval said as they crossed the warehouse.  “It’s a long story, but she said not all Gurks were pirates and scoundrels.”

“Only the fun ones!” Venka said with a glowing wink.

Feliks and Koval laughed.  “Well, I don’t know about you,” Koval said, “but I’ve had about all the fun I can handle on this planet!”

They reached the old mining ship as its engines roared to life.  Scuff and Spark finished their work on the shield’s power source, and the elder Rygol had the ship airborne in no time.  It hovered in the abandoned warehouse for a moment until Spark hopped behind the controls of the forward mining lasers.

“Darling, would you please get the doors?” Scuff asked.

With a grin, Spark cut a massive hole in the warehouse wall and the ship easily knocked it free as it entered the city’s airspace.  In the distance, Scuff noticed columns of smoke rising into the sky, leading towards the Commonwealth Embassy.

“What about Dex?” Rav asked.

“We’re not leaving him behind,” Scuff said.  “It’s gonna be close, and I’ll need everyone’s help.  Here’s what we’re going to do…”

…

By the time Dex’s tank finally crawled to the Commonwealth Embassy, it was only held together by hope.  As soon as he was close enough, he ditched the failing vehicle and ran through the abandoned security gates.  He left his remaining grenades wedged against a few doors he passed so they would arm themselves if the door was opened.

Panting, Dex climbed the stairs of the building until he reached the roof and jammed the door.  Taller buildings cast shadows over the Commonwealth Embassy as the mid-morning sunlight rolled over the city.  Dex rested his rifle on the edge of the building and took aim at the Grakkon infantry charging across the courtyard.  He managed to pick off a few, but their numerous reinforcements were hot on their heels.

Using the tank for most of the battle meant Dex had plenty of rifle batteries to burn through as he made his last stand.  A grenade detonated below him every few minutes, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the Grakkons reached the roof.  Still, he fought on.  This is as good a place as any… he thought.

More Grakkons were inside now, and he heard tanks in the distance along with…  The ship!  Dex fired a burst of red bolts into the air when he saw Scuff’s ship cruise into view.

“There he is!” Venka announced.  She was now at the controls of the ship, and swung it in low towards the embassy.  Tib, Feliks, Koval, and Rav stood at the open cargo doors and fired down on the Grakkon forces with everything they had.  Incoming plasma plinked off the ship shield as Venka swooped in even lower.

Every Grakkon trooper aimed for the ship.  Their small arms didn’t have a chance of penetrating, but their tank support was another matter.  Heavy plasma blasts kept Venka from landing, and she informed Dex via his com system.  “We’re gonna try something!” Venka said.  “Get to the highest point and get ready to fly!”

The ship swerved, using the skyscrapers as shields to soak up the incoming missiles and tank fire.  Dex climbed to the tallest point of the embassy, where the flagpole stood.  Before the Grakkons picked the embassy clean and left, they raised their flag above it.  While Dex waited for the ship to return, he turned his weapon on the flagpole and reduced the base to molten slag.

Like a metal tree, the flagpole toppled and took the olive drab flag of the Grakkon Empire with it.  The pole clattered to the roof with a satisfying clang.  Dex took aim.  The Commonwealth flag may never fly over Centurion again, but neither will the Empire’s.  A few blasts were enough to ignite the Grakkon banner and it burned away in minutes.

“Get ready!” Venka said to everyone.

When Dex saw the ship again, there was a thin cargo cable dangling under it.  He squinted, and thought he saw a familiar optical ripple near the end of the line.  Dex smiled and braced himself as the vessel hovered closer.  Suddenly, the ship was above him, and the optical anomaly at the end of the cable thumped into him.

“Hurry, Dex!” Scuff said as he threw Rav’s cloak around his new friend.  The Rygol was tied to a rescue harness, and held out a second harness to Dex.  Hidden from the Grakkon forces, Dex secured himself to the cable.  “Hang on!”

Dex’s stomach dropped as Venka climbed and Spark reeled the cable in.  The Centurion city and the Grakkons shrank as the ship took off.  By the time Dex and Scuff were inside the ship, they were over the Centurion deserts and accelerating into the atmosphere.

“I think we’ve worked our way to trust,” Spark said, grinning at Dex.

The Commonwealth soldier slumped against the cockpit wall and chuckled.  “I’d say so!  There’s no way in the universe I would’ve done that if I didn’t trust you all!  Thanks for the rescue.”

He looked to the Gryphons, Gurks, Rygols, and Koval happily.  They might have been the strangest crew he’d ever fought with, but as they broke free of Centurion’s atmosphere, he knew they were something special.

“No one gets left behind,” Scuff said, holding his daughter proudly.

By the time the Grakkon battleships in orbit detected the escaping ship, Venka had already input jump coordinates.  Fighters launched to intercept, but they were too late.  The ship jumped and set off for safer space.

…

“You’re saying that wasn’t a full-force invasion?” Koval said.

The ship was on its way to a defensive line station in Commonwealth space.  While it wasn’t meant for such as large crew, Scuff’s ship was at least more accommodating than the Centurion battlefields and everyone finally got to rest.

“No,” Scuff said. “That’s probably why we were able to escape so easily.”

“Easily?!” Tib said.

The Rygol nodded.  “When they hit Rybiria, Bracus himself was there to oversee the invasion.  They turned our planetary defenses against us, scrambled our technology, and blasted the surface into rubble.  If there are more Rygols out there, it’s usually because they weren’t on the planet that day.”

“The Grakkons aren’t going to stop,” Rav said.  “Everyone in the galaxy has to know by now that the peace treaties with the Empire are broken.  If what happened to Centurion was just a taste of their wrath, what chance do we have?”

“We have to work together,” Koval said.  “The Commonwealth alone barely managed to defeat the Grakkons the first time.  We’ll need something stronger if we’re going to win.”

“I agree,” Venka said.  “I already sent a message to our contacts and best customers.  If we’re lucky, everyone from Ziveron to Station Rubix will be onboard.”

“And we’ll notify the Gryphon clans,” Tib said. “But for now, I think it’s best if we stick with you.”

“We’ll figure out our next course of action once we get to Defense Station 4,” Scuff said.  “We have a few weapon crates in the hold we can sell for supplies.  I have a feeling more beings will need them.”
In another moment, the ship arrived at Defense Station 4.  Everyone looked through the cockpit canopy and felt their hearts skip.  Two Grakkon battleships were engaged in a fierce battle with the station, and a distress call crackled over the ship’s coms.

“This is Galactic Commonwealth Defense Station 4!  We are under Grakkon attack!  Internal and external hostile contacts!  Requesting assistance from all friendly forces!”

Scuff searched the faces before him.  Everyone was exhausted of battle, and it would be so easy to set another set of jump coordinates.  However, they all knew the Grakkons would spread across the galaxy soon enough.  Eventually, there’d be nowhere to run.  No one spoke, but everyone nodded to Scuff.

“GCDS 4, this is the private mining vessel Galway, responding to your call.  We’ll try to help where we can.  Over.”

The Galway accelerated towards the Grakkons.  Half of the crew powered up the mining lasers’ controls, ready to make short work of any interceptors.  The other half prepared to board the station.

“Dad, look!” Spark shouted before the ship made contact.  Another ship, a Commonwealth Blockade Runner, entered the battle space.  It immediately launched two F-111 fighters, and set an intercept course as well.

“This is Captain Gar of the GCS Coalition, we’re here to help,” said a mature, confident voice.  “Civilian vessel, our fighters will clear the way for you.  Rita, Scout, take good care of them.  Good hunting, everyone.”

Spark peered through a window on the right of her ship, and caught a glimpse of one of the F-111 pilots as she pulled up to escort the Galway.  It was hard to be sure with the distance and the speed, but Spark thought she saw the face of a fellow Rygol through the canopy glass.

“Grakkon fighters, inbound!” Scuff said.  Between the old miner’s lasers and their escorts, the interceptors were outmatched.  The Commonwealth starfighters broke away to chase down any stragglers, but Spark and the others knew their allies had them covered.

Before Spark entered the space station to take the fight to the Grakkons once again, she hefted her Rygol rifle with pride.  Despite the long odds the conflict would throw at her and those she cared about, it was easier to fight knowing that she wasn’t fighting alone.

The End