Navigator ((Atzura and Kolath))

He nodded knowing that she had in cockpit cam of him and waited till the fifteen seconds had past. Gunning the engine to full thrust he shot forward making good use of the sensor masking effects of a near by quasar to not be noticed.

A small group of Gomer fighters were lining up a attack run on the Empiran mothership having seen the weakening shields and wanting to hammer them down totally with a good strafing run. Their plans were suddenly stopped when the Valkyrie suddenly popped up on their screens less than a kilometer away lasers blazing ripping through two of their shields before they even knew he was there.

Crinth was at full battle thrust using the element of surprise to make the Gomerâ??s formations to break and scatter slightly. Just having a computerized brain to lead them it took a moment for new commands to be inputted and transmitted to the fighters. By that time Crinth had worked the fighter wings over pushing them back in the chaos giving the Empiranâ??s enough time to breathe a little.

((sorry this took so long.))

Their CPU was slow to react and did so like a rookie pilot would, in panic. The ships flew off course, and became easy targets for some of the Empiran fighters that still remained. Although this situation looked much better, there was a whole space war going on, and this was the easiest part.

A ship viciously swooped by, taking two of the seven Empiran fighters near Crinth, the fighter followed by a dozen more, who fired in pattern. No matter what Crinth did at this point, these Empirans here were dead. He could still protect the mothership however.

"Crinth, that one that flew over us... that's a manned machine. The fire was simply too personalized to be unmanned. Take that one down. I'm sending over a program. It's a weapon that our developers are working on. None of our soldiers are around, so I can have you install it. It's called the Burst Bomb. It's simply made of concentrated solar energy, violently fused with hydrogen, and for some reason it glows blue."

A small loading bar showed at the bottom of his screen as the manned Gomers fired down on him and the fighters with him.

"You only have two shots. It's a slow moving sphere which grows as it travels, regardless of it's size, once there is contact, it bursts. It takes friend and foe alike, so be careful. That dozen of Gomer fighters is the perfect test run for your shot."

"It's downloaded. Now please, catch that manned pilot. You have to shoot him down."

Crinth was in a frame of mind that was not able to be achieved by any but the best pilots. Their mind seemed to expand and almost become part of the ship through the interface equipment. It was like the sensors were in face his eyes senses rather then displays. He heard every word that Ada said but did not acknowledge her in anyway feeling the integration of the program as though it was part of his body rather than that of the ship.

The enemy pilot was fast for someone that had only gone up against CPUs in training clearly one of the Gomerâ??s best. Crinth assessed the situation in a 360degree arc around him reading all the wave of combat as well as the tregectories of the fighters and knew the speeds of all his actions. Swinging around he slammed on his after burners roaring what seemed to be off into deep space. He knew the best point and slamming his controls hard over pulling high Gs that no human should expose themselves too without good reason he seemed to snap off a shot of that new cannon.

The shot was perfect flying right down on the dozen Gomer fighters who seeing the last defender seeming to fly away in panic had already counted their victory. They never even saw it coming, it not only ripped apart their ships but sparks from their destroyed ships shot out ripping apart most the remainder of the Gomer fighters nearly destroying the attacking group all together. The battle was well over.

"Alright! That worked exactly like it was supposed to. Congratulations on saving your first life. The manned fighter is getting away. You can try to chase him down, but I suggest we don't stray too far. You were here to sweep the enemy and make way for our fighters. You've done that for the most part. I recommend we fly right by the Empiran mother ship, drop a flare or colored exhaust to show no hostility, and just fly on home. There will be more Gomers soon, especially if that pilot get's away, but for now, things should smoothen out.

There was still plenty of fighting going on, but with a human pilot in retreat, the unmanned machines would likely stand little chance, especially when the reinforcements arrive.

He smirked nodding a little. He quickly did a flyby of the Empiran flagship making sure that everything was under control. Seeing that things were quickly ending now that the leader and enemy flag ship was gone. He punched in the return coordinates and headed back to the base as he passed some escort fighters coming out to meet up with the Empirans. â??Acknowledged Valkyrie returning to base.â?

"That was a good job Crinth. A successful first mission. I don't know if the Empirans will fall into alliance with us, or become an enemy, but for now, you saved some of their lives and attacked our common enemy. I will be on stand by. The way back looks absolutely clear."

He throttled back down nodding slightly leaving his fighter on cursing speed. He leaned back sighing softly feeling his body relax a little from the tension of battle and smiled. â??Ada good thinking on that new weapon was just the perfect thing. We seem to make a pretty good team despite the rough start we had.â?

"Your missions will become much easier if you just listen to your navigator. Most pilots know that. Keep the two additional burst shots and use them as required. Our strike team is attacking the Gomers now. Soon we will have information on the Empirans. We will be at stand-by in case the Empirans prove dangerous. I am sending you my frequency. You can contact me anytime from your ship or any digital communication device. Now excuse me."

A six digit number displayed itself after Ada's voice silenced. It was unclear wether she was stuck up, or just not a people person.

Crinth just set his course for the base and docked without any trouble in the separate hanger set aside just for his ship. The dock crew set to refueling and checking over the ship right after it was back from its first mission doing minor repairs that came from flying through particle clouds and micro meteoroids. Crinth was quickly off to his cabin and settling down to relax after that mission it had been a little too much for a first run. He sighed looking at the ceiling for a long time before he rolled over and keyed in the number he had been given for Ada.

The connection went through, but the receiver was not accepting the transmission.

Finally, after a few more seconds, Ada connected.

"Ada speaking..."

He sighed about ready to stop trying when he suddenly heard her voice on the other end. â??Adaâ?¦this is Crinth I know that it is very late but I just canâ??t seem to decompress after that missionâ?¦would you help me out by coming out somewhere and having a chat with me?â?

"I don't know... it's usually a bad idea for the navigator to meet with the pilot. I am not jumping to conclusions, but I don't want to endanger our success as mission partners. Things can get complicated, and messy. I am a little shaken up from the fight myself."

He sighed, â??Look I know about the rules and regulations about this but seriously we have just been through a lot togetherâ?¦I canâ??t talk about this to anyone else and I think we both could use some decompression time just to get back to normal.â?

"I'm not sure. Anyway, what I need right this moment isn't someone to talk to, it's a few headache pills and lots of sleep. I suggest you do the same. Don't tell anyone you have a couple of burst shots stored either. I'd get lynched." With that, her communications severed and he was left off the line once more.

He sighed and lay back on his bed looking up at the ceiling not knowing what to think or say. He needed to do something just to get the tension out of his system but the one thing he really wanted to do had just be pulled away from him. there was something about Ada something in the fact he only knew her as a voice just made him want to know her more and deeper.

Before too long, there was a steady knock at his door. Could it have been Ada? Or perhaps that Okita woman was back, hoping to satisfy her libido once more, which may have not been the worst thing to turn to.

Crinth sighed and rolled out of his bed groaning a little and taking a moment to crack his neck. He didnâ??t know who it was but he doubted it was Ada since she had just so flatly refused him. he walked over to the door palming the switch to open the door.

The doors opened and two male pilots stepped in. He saw them before, with the Commander. Supposedly they had a couple of the highest scores on record. After they entered, Adrianna made her way inside. She was definitely intimidating, but, she was on his side... right?

As soon a Crinth saw who it was he stepped back from the door snapping into attention. â??Commander what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?â? he was running over everything that had happened and was wondering if he had done something wrong that he was about to be reprimanded for but the only thing that came to mind was Okita and he knew of no reason he would get in trouble for that.

"Be at ease, pilot. You are in no way, shape, or form in any sort of a bind." Her two best pilots searched the room on instinct, they weren't trying to be suspicious as she closed the door. "We saw what you did out there today. You did an amazing job, and for that we thank you." She pointed at a seat in his room and sat down without asking. "Your skills worked well, we didn't tap into your conversation with your nagivator, but whatever she walked you through worked well. I want to invite you, personally, to join my elite set of pilots. A group so small, only three members, excluding myself, make it up. These two are my left and right hands. They are both actually clones of my late fiance, who was lost to experiments and illness. The third is another pilot whom has proven herself as an asset to me and these two men. What I am trying to say is that I would like for you to be a part of that secret guard. When Lunar Force is run dry, we move in. When the Moon has no hope, we break through. Our missions are of highest priority, and sometimes I have to fly myself... I only want to be in the company of the Lunar's best. And I feel you are one of them. There is just a small problem."

The clones obviously looked exactly the same, one wore blue, while the other wore red. The one wearing blue began to speak, "Unfortunately, we noticed you used a weapon that was not released to your division of the Force. It was an illegally imported weapon, and to our surprise, only the commander had heard of something like that in development. It could have killed Lunars, or Empirans for that matter. That's why I've persuaded Commander Adrianna to take you in if you please, but your Navigator, who in all likelyhood sent you this illegal weapon, will have to face us for her dangerous actions." His eyes were blue, his hair was blue, so it was not very hard to distinguish them.

Later, the red clone spoke, "You are a pilot, even we listen carefully to our navigators and trust them with our ships, and our lives. You were wrong to use this weapon... but ultimately it got the job done, and now our fleet is returning home with two damaged ships and no lost Lunars. You were only obeying your Navigator's orders, as we all should. That person will have to answer to the Commander herself."

Adrianna stood up, "Well enough about that. We'll appoint you a new navigator as soon as you accept my proposal. If money is a goal for your fighting, your pay will double, if not triple after you've accepted. Your ship will get repairs that our first division could only dream of, your shield would become virtually impenetrable, and you'll be put in the hands of an excellent Navigator, who doesn't make these kinds of mistakes."

Having sat down across from her Crinth thought it over for a moment liking the sound of being in a elite squadron, but almost the moment he heard them clearly say that they were going to hang Ada out to dry he shook his head. â??Iâ??m sorry commander but I am not interested if it means Adaâ??s career I would never do that to someone that trusted me as a Navigator and Pilot are meant to.â? He stood walking over to the door and palming it open, â??She did nothing that was wrong merely gave her pilot the tools he needed to get the job done. Mistakes may have been made but she did her duty and I did mine nothing more or less. â?? he motioned toward the door, â??With all due respect if that is all Commander I have had a long day.â?

Adrianna stood up and reached out for one of the clone's shoulders, he seemed to be walking towards Crinth and his response was likely not a very diplomatic one. "Easy." She said, tapping his shoudler and motioning towards the door. "I will give you several days to think about it Crinth. I gave you a special ship for a reason. I gave you a special navigator for a reason. But had you misused that weapon, some of our own could have been killed. Understand that. We will speak to Ada now. Don't be surprised if she leaves afterwards. The fact that she got that weapon shows she could be a spy, or worse. Think about it very thoroughly. Your career can skyrocket right now, opposed to waiting the ten years you'd have to serve before even making a mark. Dom, Nick, let's leave the young pilot alone. He's done his share of work for today." The clones exited and Adrianna watched him for a moment before smirking and walking out.

Crinth sighed shaking his head as he pushed the door closed behind them. He couldnâ??t believe what they were asking him to do. He could not sell Ada out for doing her job even if it did involve getting into some classified files. He went over to the bed and tapped out the code for Ada just sending her a voice message. â??Ada you have someone coming to see youâ?¦they are not happy about our stunt.â? He laid down looking at the ceiling again not sure what he was going to do.

He got a call back on his frequency, but it wasn't Ada at all. It was Okita, the girl he had sex with just the night before. "Hey, I just came back from fighting the Gomers and helping the Empirans. One of my friend's ship was shot up pretty badly. I'm going to take a shower and wash off this workload. Are you doing anything later?"

~~

Ada sat up, opening her eyes when her door was knocked on, she quickly checked her frequency and knew what this was about.

She opened her door and saluted, "Commander Adrianna, Lieutenants Dominic and Nicholas, what do I owe you this visit?"

Adrianna frowned, "Don't play dumb." She and her clones entered, slamming the door shut.

Crinth smiled hearing Okitaâ??s voice, â??Heyâ?¦I donâ??t think I have anything planned. You need someone to talk to about it? we can meet in the bar over a couple drinks if you want?â? he wasnâ??t really thinking about sex right then but having someone to talk to about what was going on would be a big help.