Chapter 19: Kelta
"Holo, this is insane!" I say over my StarJumper's suit coms, regretting asking him for advice.
“That is what it takes during war, Kelta. If you want to do the impossible, you have to be willing to do the impossible. I can’t get you on that ship. You have to leach a ride!”
I walk to the edge of the wing as he catches up to a Skysprinter. We’ve plucked a less-damaged SkySprinter from the sand and got it running within an hour.
Dunes rush by beneath us when I look down.Fuck. Fuck!“Fuck!”
I’ve officially lost my mind over a super hot metal man.
Holo communicates with the other pilot about what he found during the attack.
“Lieutenant Araldin will honor you during Ershalshir tonight.”
Holo glances out at me and gives me a nod. Then he tips the smoking Skysprinter toward the other. My heart pounds hard, rattling my chest and shaking my muscles. But the StarJumper's suit moves smoothly as if it knows exactly what I want it to do.
I slide down the wing and drop between the returning Skysprinter's rear thrusters. Setting my hands on the hull, Iswitch on the magnetic palms and boots with a thought and hunker down for the ride into space.
“Good luck,” Holo says. “Please don’t make me regret this.”
"No promises," I whisper. The raucous drone of the Skysprinter's engines shake my suit. "But you gave me a chance. And you're right, we have to take chances or nothing ever changes."
"I pray the stars are on your side tonight." Holo banks off toward the mountains as we rise from the surface of Ellipsis. A glimmer of silver darts out of the cockpit. Holo's Skysprinter glides another few miles and bashes into a hillside in a plume of smoke and fire.
Pray? Holo said…I’m starting to think he’s retained more of his humanity that he realizes.
The ride into space in my crouched position is terrifying. I'm so high up that I can see the curve of Ellipsis, its green lands, gold dunes, and gray mountains fading below me. Atmosphere dissipates. Systems blink on across my visor, keeping me warm and shielded. The ship vibrates less beneath my boots and gloves as space surrounds us.
I close my eyes, wishing I was someone else in another place. It's disorienting to not know my trajectory, to have no control.
And men willingly climbed into these suits to go into battle? To fight snakes on two feet, snakes that used to be human?
Holo>>StarJumper 2612: Yes. And they did it for the same reason you are.
For love?
His communication scrolls across the screen and echoes in my head. He told me the suit connected to my body and mind. I didn’t realize how much. “You can hear my thoughts? That’s a dangerous place to hang out.”
Holo>>StarJumper 2612: I have heard everything from Titans wanting to murder others to their eroticdesires and even seen the visual memories of Brothers watching Brothers and humans die. Nothing you think can scare a Titan. We get emotional, too. The difference is we have programming to stop physical displays.
"Wish I could switch that on right about now." My breath comes fast as the Skysprinter nears the berserker. How Holo knows which fighters came from which vessels beats me. But I'm glad we're on target.
Holo>>StarJumper 2612: Slow inhales and exhales. Just focus on what you want to do. And avoid getting shot if you can. I’m disconnecting feed. You’re safer that way. Good luck.
“Thank you, Holo.”
I don’t get a response.
“Holo?”
Holo>>StarJumper 2612:I heard you.
“Okay. One last thing. Don’t give up.”
Holo>>StarJumper 2612:…
“Promise me.”
