Page 21 of Starfighter’s Salvation

My fiery little mate's shoulders slumped in relief. She was so volatile. What would be she like writhing beneath me as I filled her with my hard cock and made her lose control?

Gina pointed to the map. “So, we are assuming they are all still alive?"

General Aryk glowered at her, and I shifted closer in silent warning. "They are alive. Have you ever seen a Titan unit in action?"

She shook her head. "Not up close. I never played that—I mean, I didn't choose any of those missions during my training."

"They are damn hard to kill. They're alive. We just need to get them out of there."

“Why are we still standing here?” Gina asked. "I just spent the whole trip here in some kind of medbed. I'm fully rested and ready to go. Let's go."

“The trench is covered by enemy weapons,” he said. “Their jamming hides the positions. We will send fighters in ahead of you to draw their fire and destroy as many as we can, but med evac will be without instruments for most of the approach. Their jammers work on our sensors as well, so you'll be flying by sight.”

She turned to me. “Can you do that?”

Every person in the room—except Gina—knew I hadn’t flown a live extraction since Callis, since I’d left Renn for dead and never gone back for another. I told command I couldn't be trusted in that situation again, and they'd honored my honesty by not sending me into battlefield extractions. But Gina's question left no room for the ruin I’d made of myself. She looked through me, straight at the warrior, as if he still existed because she needed him to.

“Yes.” No hesitation. No qualification. If she was going into that trench, I’d fly her there and bring her back. I didn't fucking trust anyone else to do it. Especially not Dekker.

“Good.” She faced Aryk again. “Show me your medical kits. I need casualty data, species information if they're not all Velerion, and every detail of their last transmission.”

“You have been on Arturri for eighteen minutes,” General Jennix strolled into the room with a bemused look on her face.

Gina turned to the woman and blinked in surprise. "General Jennix."

"You recognize me from your training?"

"Yes. I recognize everyone in this room. I know the layout of this base like the back of my hand. I know all the specs on your medical equipment and procedures. I can fly the ship if I have to. I'm ready and I think forty hours is more than enough time for those poor people to be trapped wherever they are. You all have wasted enough time.”

General Jennix smiled. General Aryk muttered something about Earth females. Leaning with their shoulders pressed to the back wall, Priya and Vesh were holding hands with very neutral expressions on their faces.

"Let's go. What do we do now?" Gina whispered to me.

General Aryk changed the display again and a countdown hologram appeared in the air. "This is when the fighters leave. You will be ten minutes behind."

Everyone in the room moved. Discussion over. They all had places to be and preparations to make. Gina caught my arm as I passed her. Her fingers closed on my sleeve, and the shaking I had carried since Callis went quiet under them, steadied in a way I had not known I needed. For her, I could step into the fire again.

“Am I being stupid?” she asked quietly. "Like, get us both killed on my first day level of stupid?"

“Yes.” I moved my lips over her ear as I leaned in close and whispered back, already addicted to her taste.

“Okay. My heart didn't pound like this in the game. All the missions sounded impossible. Literally, every single one. So, this just sounded normal."

I reached for her hand and squeezed. "They're all dangerous. And yes, this is normal for us. You're an Elite Starfighter now."

"It just didn't seem real."

"I know." The stress in her eyes made me say things I had no business saying. "I'll keep you safe. I'll get you out of there. I promise."

She leaned her head on my shoulder with a gentle sigh I hadn't earned. "Don't make promises you can't keep. I don't need that from you. I need you to be the pilot I trained with. The badass who flew that ship like a demon and was never afraid. If you freak out, I'm gonna freak out, and then we're screwed.”

"I'm afraid every time." No one went into battle devoid of fear unless they simply had no emotions at all. “And I expect you to be nervous. The training simulations were not the Ferros Trench.”

“No. But I’m not a simulation either.” Her fingers tightened on my sleeve. “You fly. I handle the bleeding. We bring everyone home. Deal?”

I looked down at her hand on my arm, small and sure and already part of me. “Deal.”

She released me and stood. “Good. Now take me to our ship.”