Gamma Raiders: Storm Squadron Alpha: Scifi Alien Romance Novel Read Free

was a sitting duck.
    Fuck.
    It was damn near impossible to outmaneuver a torpedo once it had launched. And with her forward motion stalled, she’d never be able to evade it in time.
    She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.
    But it didn’t come.
    “I told you I’d get your back,” said Ja’al.
    Kira opened a tentative eye to see the fighter explode into shrapnel behind her.
    “Thank the gods,” she said. “Not that I ever doubted you.”
    “We’re not out of this yet, Kira. Get on around behind them and go for the power channel.”
    “Copy that,” she said, re-engaging her thrusters as she looped around the edge of the destroyer.
    She studied the ship’s surface as she flew closer. The destroyer was enormous, a floating city in the blackness of space. It would take a perfect shot to destabilize it. And she knew she’d only get one chance.
    Kira glanced down at her radar to check her tail. No screeching sirens. Everything still looked clear. Ja’al must have pulled the defensive fighters away. It would buy her time.
    She scanned the surface of the ship, looking for the telltale extensions of the power core that marked her target. To hit the structural weakness and cripple their systems, she’d have to line the shot up perfectly. It wasn’t an easy task when you had all the time in the world to focus. And the threat of enemy fighters returning at any second did nothing to help soothe her nerves.
    When she spotted the massive power generator, she collected her focus. “Target acquired,” she said.
    “Hurry, Kira. I can’t hold them off much longer.”
    No pressure. It’s not like everyone’s watching. Not like Commander Ja’al is watching this whole thing unfold. Judging my moves. Judging my competence.
    She had to shake that out of her mind. She had to focus on what she was doing. Just line up the shot to the power core and fire.
    As she drew nearer and prepared to fire, something caught her eye out of the corner of the cockpit. It wasn’t on any of the plans she had studied. But as an engineer, it drew her attention. That one small spot, that structural weakness, would be a far more effective weak spot than targeting the power generators. Why was that the plan, anyway? Why cripple the ship’s power when she could collapse the whole thing by hitting its antimatter system?
    She shook her head. Don’t get creative now, she told herself. Just stick to the plan. They gave you your orders for a reason. But damned if that wouldn’t be a better option.
    Kira collected her thoughts and sped on towards the power generators, making a mental note of the antimatter core’s location. Wait, she thought, they have an antimatter core? She searched her memory of ship blueprints she’d studied. She didn’t recall seeing an antimatter core, but there it was, directly in front of her in the simulator.
    Luckily, they were only using it for propulsion. Gods forbid they ever attempted to weaponize the thing. She shuddered at the thought.
    She’d have to mention it to Ja’al later. If she’d even get the chance. Failing the flight portion of the Battery meant she’d be stuck in engineering. It wouldn’t be all bad, but Kira wanted more than anything to prove she had what it took to fly for the Storm Squadron. With Ja’al. And she’d only get that chance by following her orders. She had to follow the rules. It wasn’t the time to improvise.
    The targeting computer established a lock on the power generator as her fighter drew nearer. “I’ve got a lock,” she said.
    “Fire,” said Ja’al. “Take it out.”
    Kira steadied herself and fired the pulse torpedo. The burst of clear blue energy lit up the black as it sped toward its target ….
    …and disintegrated in midair as it collided with the shields.
    “What the hell?” she said.
    The shot should have connected. It didn’t make any sense. Unless something had changed.
    But she didn’t have the time to reflect. She hadn’t seen the enemy