Operation Chimera Read Free Page A

came to an abrupt end as her father attempted to peel the little whirlwind away from her older sister. The three pilots glanced at the outburst. Liam sighed, looking out at the shimmer of distant stars through the launch door. Aaron frowned at the sight.
    Zavex bowed his head. “The Draxx have brought suffering to many people.”
    “I’ll comm as often as I can, Sarah.” Emma kissed her sister atop the head. “I promise.”
    The girl cringed away, burying her face against her father’s chest and bawling. Lieutenant JG Emma Loring stood at attention with reddening eyes, as her family joined the flow of people headed for the door. She tried to catch Sarah’s eye with a wave, but her sister kept hiding against her father’s coat. As they slipped through the door, Emma slouched and retrieved her bag.
    Many of the assembled, men and women, had tears on their cheeks as they approached the ready line, Emma was not alone. She shuffled over to the others in the same uniform and unit patches, without a word.
    “Oh, great,” muttered Aaron.
    Emma looked up, steeling herself against the expected ridicule for showing weakness. At the sight of Zavex, some of her tears crawled back where they came from; she stared.
    “What is it now?” asked Liam.
    Aaron faced the row of shuttles. “Figures they would stick us with a split-tail.”
    Emma turned red, glaring at him.
    “How inconsiderate of them not to have the common decency to provide you with a blonde at which to gawk.” Liam gestured at her black hair. “They probably wanted at least one pilot in this wing capable of controlling their ego.”
    “She’s gonna fall apart out there.” Aaron whirled on him. “We’re not gonna be able to keep saving her.”
    Emma glowered. “I don’t need a white knight. Besides, you look like the type to try to hang on the tail of a Krait and not notice the pair of Monitors on your six. You’ll get yourself vaped long before I get in trouble.”
    Liam covered his mouth to hide his laugh. Aaron turned his back on her with a grumble, watching a few NCOs pacing the flight deck with digital clipboards. They seemed to be arranging people to designated shuttles.
    “I do not understand this,” said Zavex. “Are human females ill-equipped for battle?”
    Holding a finger up at Aaron, Liam cut him off. “Some people think that they are. Used to be, command thought most men had some kind of inner need to protect women from harm, and it causes problems at war. Course, that’s going back a few centuries when they were banned from combat roles.”
    Zavex looked at her again. The horizontal-blinking eyes drew a gasp from Emma. “She is struggling to carry her bag, perhaps there is some truth―”
    “I’m not a Terran Marine. It doesn’t matter how strong I am,” said Emma, narrowing her eyes―still at Aaron. “It doesn’t take a lot of arm power to move a flight stick around. What matters for pilots is up here.” She tapped her head.
    “And here.” Liam tapped his chest. Aaron gave him a patronizing look. “Dammit, Aaron, just because I don’t have any family to lose, it doesn’t mean I am any less committed.”
    “Having no emotional attachments is a burden lifted from the shoulders of a warrior,” said Zavex.
    Emma closed her eyes. “Having someone to fight for and protect makes it impossible to surrender.”
    Their conversation stalled at the approach of a man in a black jumpsuit bearing rank markings for Petty Officer Second Class. PO2 Clarke rendered a salute, which they all returned. He checked off their names and returned their shuttle assignments, then waved them on to board.
    “Your squad is missing a Lieutenant Summers. Have any of you seen him?”
    They shook their heads.
    PO2 Clarke raised his wrist to his lips. “Lieutenant Michael Summers, please report to shuttle approach eleven.”
    In a single file line, they walked past Clarke and trudged up the stairs to the launch platform where they fell in at the back