?How’re you feeling so far, Aellyce??

  “I feel… good. It’s nice to be back. Thanks, Longwood.”

  ?I’m your backup. Your safety ensures my safety and vice versa.?

  “Right.” Aellyce clutched her console controls tighter.

  ?Want to get closer??

  “We’re gonna have to.”

  ?Roger.?

  Longwood latched the front of his Casket to the rear of Aellyce’s, attached by the same magnets and prongs which handle docking for ships to stations. With that, he began a gentle thrust forward.

  The hum of his engines was relaxing, like white noise. The silence of space, the chirping of the radio… It felt like home. He simulator came close, but there was something extra special about really being outside. “Hey, Longwood…?”

  ?Mhm??

  “Have you ever talked to Proton?”

  ?The AI? Nah, not directly. But it’s integrated in each Casket natively. That’s what keeps the Proton Honor System alive and running. I know at least that PHS and Proton are to thank for the maneuverability of my own Casket, but I don’t know if I’d ever hit it off exactly with a computer.?

  “How do you mean?”

  ?Well... It’s not really a person, right??

  Aellyce hummed a note of consideration. “You said Proton did something for your Casket?”

  ?Yeah. Celeste told me that Proton overclocked the engines, and makes sure they’re extra maintained every time we stow. I guess I was really beating up the old system, pushing it to the limit, and it used that combat and flight data to give me juice where I need it. Without that kick, we would’ve been dead last time we saw that black Casket.?

  Aellyce felt her stomach sink at the mere thought of it. “You can stop here. I can see well enough.”

  Longwood, sensing her anxiety, did not stop immediately. He slowed, slowed, slowed… They came to a halt a few hundred NM further than she’d requested.

  But Aellyce didn’t flinch at that. She was more comfortable from the time spent in the simulator. She knew how she’d react if an enemy approached — she knew what hell she could give that black Casket.

  ?What should we call it??

  “Hm?”

  ?That black Casket… It’s kinda like our rival. You think we should give it a name??

  Aellyce made a soft smile. “Maybe. What the opposite of a Proton?”

  ?Hell, I don’t even know what a proton is.?

  Aellyce thought for a moment. And then a word appeared in the corner of her screen: Antiproton.

  Aellyce narrowed her eyes. A little too on the nose, maybe. “Maybe we could call it Quark…? I think those are atomic, too...”

  ?Hmm kinda like quirk, huh? Might be too cute of a name for our rival. I mean, that thing even intimidates me a bit.? When Aellyce didn’t respond, he moved back to operational discussion: ?What are you seeing??

  She peered through her scope. “Same combat as the last time we went out. It’s a big fight.”

  Indeed, there were kinetic rounds flying, laser attacks piercing through the vacuum, rockets blasting apart their targets… Aellyce felt a strange new itch watching the battle — watching them felt like watching infants struggling to put shapes in the corresponding holes. The simulator allowed for such an accelerated pace that she felt she’d lived thousands of battles, thousands of lives… She could see the path through the hellstorm where she could do the most damage, where she could incinerate the most opponents, where she could…

  But these are real people… These are real lives... Could I really…?

  Longwood’s voice startled her: ?Are they in stalemate? What’s the deal??

  Aellyce looked between the massive spacecrafts, those giant ships obfuscating most of the stars of that battlefield.

  “I’m not sure. But this battle has been going for a week at least, hasn’t it? They’re only a couple thousand NM from where they started, too.”

  ?Maybe it’s a siege. You see any vital combat targets??

  “Umm… Wait. I see something.”

  There was a warble in the empty space between one side of the ships, some kind of refraction of light.

  “There’s at least six carriers loaded with destroyers on the left side. Let’s call them A-Side.”

  Labels appeared on her HUD above all of the massive space freighters she was referring to.

  “There’s something between the A-Side ships.”

  Labels appeared over everything else, identifying them all as B-Side.

  “It’s a cruiser… Not just a war freighter, but a massive mothership…”

  ?What class do you think it is??

  “It’s at least a Destructor class… No, it might even be an Odyssey… Proton, can you create an outline around those edges?”

  Her HUD lit up with lines around where she’d identified the edges to be.

  ?Surely we’d all see an Odyssey class, right??

  “It’s got some kind of cloaking mechanism. It’s invisible…!”

  ?Invisible…? No way.?

  A meter in the top right of Aellyce’s vision began to fill and overflow, emptying instantly.

  [Target Scanned]

  [Level 7]

  It filled again.

  [Level 8]

  That confirmed her suspicion: this was new tech, undiscovered by their crew and the Proton library. Proton was trained to reward such discoveries with significant amounts of XP, and when they docked at a starbase, all ships using the Proton system would receive the same update to their libraries.

  “Get me closer, Longwood. If I get a better scan, it's another level.”

  ?Closer? You sure? Remember, it’s not all about levels—?

  “I’m sure.”

  Longwood began to accelerate again. Aellyce tracked the distance in the opposite corner of her vision, waiting for her scanner to lock on…

  ?Think we’ll see him again??

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Aellyce narrowed her eyes. “We’ll be ready if we do.”

  Her weapon systems activated. Level 8 was enough for all three of her guns to begin the clanking churns of loading rounds. Two guns embedded in the palms, one in the chest…

  [Target Scanned]

  [Level 9]

  Just a little bit more…!

  She wiped her scanner across the battlefield. The Caskets darting back and forth were familiar, and on B-Side, they were all makeshift, sloppy messes much like what White Horse was handling. Nothing special there.

  But A-Side had Caskets that looked special, and that was just a matter of the smooth, glossy candy coat painted across the entire fleet — deep purples like space, paired with black and blue. Deep, potent colors. They were beautiful, like vintage guitars, like antique cars…

  Proton’s voice cut into the comms: ?Object approaching, head on.?

  “Longwood—”

  ?On it.?

  Longwood kicked his reverse thrusters into full power. They instantly began a frantic backpedal from the engagement.

  ?Think you can scan whatever it is that’s approaching??

  “I can try!”

  A progress meter appeared directly above her scanning reticle, homing on whatever object was hurtling toward them. Was it too far to see, or too small? It was certainly moving fast, spiraling across her vision…! Aellyce leaned in closer. It couldn’t be the black Casket — could it be? That one moves in straight lines... This one…!

  What if it hits me? What if it kills me...!?

  No. Calm down! I can manuever! I can escape…!

  Then she remembered Longwood’s attachment to her Casket.

  Longwood’s a better pilot than me by a great stretch. Her breathing had grown much faster. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. I don't need to worry about him! He'll keep me safe...!

  Scan Complete:

  Poof...!

  The thing rushing toward them suddenly exploded. Like a firework in the night sky.

  Missile Depleted — Small Fragmentation Warhead

  Aellyce released a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. “Just a missile... Just a rocket, Longwood.”

  ?Lucky us. We’ve probably got enough anyway, let’s head back.?

  “Roger that. Heard, Proton?”

  Proton’s voice joined the radio: ?Heard. We’ll be waiting.?

  And the two of them zoomed back together, right for that big, conspicuously white ship, White Horse, picturesque amid the stars...

  ???

  Aellyce was on metallurgy with Cruze again in the afternoon. She left the hangar and went into the Underbelly, passed Celeste’s section, and went down the long, warm corridor toward the smithy.

  The thick metal door slid open automatically when she approached, and the whole hall filled instantly with the sound of loud drilling. Aellyce covered her ears.

  The drilling stopped when she stepped into the doorway, gazed into that hot, hot room, with a giant hole in the wall ripping with flames and melted metal, a few anvils, silicon part casts left all over tables and hung across the wall…

  Cruze was there in the middle, a big, muscular man with darker skin than anyone else on the ship, bald, and with just a subtle amount of facial hair. He pulled one earcup off from his protective headphones. “Hey, kid. Ready to get to work?”

  He had his drill, a massive mechanism which hung down from the ceiling like a stalactite, poised at a giant screw hole on some massive slab of metal which filled half of the small room. It looked like the wing or a plane or a ship…

  “Ready. What’s all this?”

  “This is a wing we caught with our hopper, flew this way from the combat field we’re monitoring.”

  It had the same candy coat as the purple Caskets she’d seen.

  “Anything comes in, I disassemble it. The tech goes to Celeste for analysis, and I analyze the metals. You’ll be helping with these alloys today.”

  “It’s not just a JX-90K?” She entered and crossed the room, squeezing past where the wing was almost touching one of his work tables. On the far wall, she took a set of headphones, and squeezed them onto her head. They felt like they were clamping her head in a vice grip. But at least she wouldn’t get hearing damage.

  Now muffled, Cruze continued: “Even so, it’s pretty typical for anything in space these days to be homebrew in some sense. Just look at what we operate, yeah?”

  “That makes sense.” She took a seat on the stool beside him. Seeing the palm-sized screw he was working on up close, it looked like he’d gouged it out with his big drill, and it wouldn’t be coming out anytime soon. “What’re you gonna do about that?”

  He sighed, wiped some sweat from his forehead with a rag. “I, uh… I guess I’ll just have to drill deeper and tap it. I had the wrong size to begin with.”

  “Just one of those days, huh?”

  “Ain’t that the truth…” He lifted a small aluminum pack and sipped from the straw sticking out of it — a coffee pouch. He picked a second one up, handed it over to Aellyce.

  She gladly took it and stuck the straw in. “Hey, Cruze… were you a pilot before this?”

  “Nah. I hate being cramped in those things. I love the machinery, I love the craftsmanship… But being in one is hell. Think maybe I just have a few too many pounds.” He laughed.

  “But you’re a soldier, right?”

  “Uh huh. Have been for some time.” He lowered the drill over the screw hole again.

  “Have you ever killed someone?”

  Cruze lifted the drill back up. “What kinda stupid question is that?”

  “Sorry, I don’t want to dredge up bad memories—”

  “Of course I’ve killed, Aellyce. Only, not as a soldier.”

  “Huh?”

  “I come from Earth same as you, just a different part. The people out there were ravenous. You do what you need to to protect yourself, and to protect the ones you love. That’s all there is to it.”

  “…Sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. The only people that don’t like talking it are the people who can't come to terms. But your friends, there, Longwood, Bella… Without a doubt they’ve killed even more than I have.”

  Longwood — an ace pilot from a grand fleet.

  Bella — a longstanding mercenary.

  Of course they had. Aellyce felt silly.

  “Worried about taking your first life?”

  “Scared. More scared of, what if I can’t do it? What if I fail, I hesitate… and then someone I care about dies instead?”

  “You just gotta remember, girl — it’s us or them. And if you don’t let go of that, you won’t fail.”

  “Us or them…?”

  “Hold that piece straight, yeah?”

  “Oh — yeah.”

  Cruze lowered the drill again…

  The first time Aellyce saw Bella take a life wasn’t long after the first time she’d seen a life taken. On their way off of Earth — on their way to the shuttle that would take them off-world. The shuttle that took her away from her parents.

  Bella had shot someone, right in the chest. Gun in her hand — a small pistol, just a handgun… That small implement had been more than enough to punctuate his life.

  Lower Earth had always been dangerous. That man appeared as a threat; he had his own weapon. Bella was just being cautious. Bella didn’t want to take any chances.

  And he was blocking them — he was obstructing the way aboard the shuttle, waving, shouting something… Maybe it had just been a warning?

  Aellyce couldn’t remember that far back anymore. She’d blocked out most of the horror. But she always remembered watching him hit the ground. Bella’s one command, “Drop it.” And he disobeyed. She was still only a teenager, not much older than Aellyce.

  They were both from the same Earth, too. But their lives had been drastically different. Bella pulled that trigger like it was another Monday, nothing new. Aellyce had never taken a life, had hardly even ever thought of it…

  And now, she would have to follow in Bella’s footsteps. It was her turn to wield the gun, her turn to pull the trigger…

  But is there really any other way…?

  Bella’s brow furrowed. A face moved across the screen in the comms room. A face she had truly learned to despise.

  “So?” asked that annoying, spritely face. An overly punchable face. A face which filled her with nothing but rage.

  “Very well.”

  “I’m paying you more than handsomely for this. I’m only asking for information — I’m not even asking for you to handle it! And yet—”

  “I already said yes. Let’s not push it.”

  A pause as the girl on the screen adjusted her posture. “Good. Then I’ll be seeing you very soon.”

  The comms line cut. Bella sat there for a long moment, tapping the armrest of her chair.

  No other jobs... Not a single one. Not from anywhere all over this sector.

  It's just like always; if we're going to keep ourselves fed, we're going to have to get our hands dirty.

  She stood abruptly, slid the door open, and swung into the hangar with more aggression than she'd hoped. But her mouth was dry. And if she didn't tend to that immediately, her aggression would only grow worse.

  “Blackrock; you want some coffee?”