Chapter e

Heather blinked again, a new fury claiming her tears. “Cordelia! Double up - triple left off!” The Lilith pilot ticked off commands to destroy the lesser machines. She wanted so badly to take down Commander D´Morte. Pieces of space debris flew past the mechs as one by one each of the modules were defeated.

“Rue!” Kali yelled. “It’s over! I got them here and your men couldn’t handle it. Let’s get out of here!” The seven other PIFS watched their leaders battle for their lives. Commander Renata shoved backward off the Hellion and spread his white wings. The Hellion opened a pair of black scythes. “Rue, stop! You promised to leave him alive! I WANT him alive, you hear me?!” Kali screamed out in rage.

“You think he’ll take you back now? You’re a traitor, Kali, a spy!” D´Morte took one last swing and the Apollo tumbled as the system shut down in his cockpit.

“No! Rue D´Morte, you bastard! Drake, oh my God!” Kali fired up her boosters and rushed to Commander Renata’s languor mechanical body.

“Get away from him, you betrayed him! You did THIS!” Cordelia and Levi formed a barrier between the Dark Fire and the Apollo.

“Kali, we’re leaving, NOW!” Commander D´Morte said calmly as he began to back away from the remnants of the battle.

“I don’t think so.” Josh stated slowly straightening to the Opiates full height in front of the Hellion. Rue turned to fire his boosters and came face to face with the modified Lilith suit.

“Going somewhere, love?” Heather smirked as she drew her new crossbow. “Come now, Rue, I thought you’d be happy to see me again.” The Hellion pilot’s eyes flashed hatred, but the growl she emitted spoke of an animal’s hunger for blood. He quickly recovered and drew a long silver spear from the mech’s belt.

“No, I’m not going anywhere, unless you’re coming with me.” Rue grinned as he pushed back the Opiate to duel with the Lilith.

“The only place you’re going, D´Morte, is straight to HELL!” Kali roared, blasting away from the barrier around Drake. She flew over the Lilith suit, cutting her off. She swung with all her might at the Hellion, catching him off guard and tumbling him backwards. Josh grabbed Heather and handed her to the Morpheus pilot.

“Jules, see that she stays out of trouble.” He ordered. “Chasez! Return Renata to the base. All troops will regroup at Nova!” Pilot Yuy commanded before joining the Dark Fire against Commander D´Morte.

Commander D´Morte had Kali pinned against a passing space barge when the Opiate returned. Josh fired a booster missile and Rue let go. He returned with daggers shot from his chest plate. Josh took one with a grunt. He grabbed the Apollo’s fallen sword and with a spin attacked the Hellion. Kali joined from behind and together they pushed D’Morte back toward the barge. With the last of his energy, he boosted the Hellion away in retreat.

“This isn’t over, Yuy! I will return for my girls.” The Hellion pilot laughed as he blasted away. Kali started to run after him, but Josh grabbed her arm. She turned, surprised, but the Opiate said nothing as he pulled her back to the base.

When they returned, Pilot Yuy pulled Kali out of the Dark Fire and without resistance and locked her in her quarters. He then headed straight for the Nova Base Hospital, completely aware that his troops would be waiting for word on the Apollo and Dark Fire pilots. After a brief visit with the unconscious pilot, he returned to the meeting room, a solemn look gracing his aged features. Heather jumped at the echo of his footsteps and rushed to the closed door. Flinging it open, she looked up expectantly at the Opiate pilot, but dread was all that was written in his eyes.

“Commander D´Morte escaped, but I have the girl. Commander Renata is comatose right now, but the doctors think he’ll survive.” Josh spoke calmly, his voice void of the emotions that were visible all too well in his brown eyes.

“Why’d you push me back? Josh?! I could have handled it. You know I could!” Heather’s rage was still evident in her words, even though Rue was nowhere around. Josh grabbed her forcefully by the shoulders and pushed her into a chair. It skidded loudly.

“You think I want you to end up like Renata? Do you want to be back in the hospital?” Heather glared up at him, hatred bubbling in her eyes. To be reminded of her weakness was too much torture. She jerked her head back, breaking their eye contact harshly. With a snort, she turned away.

“I want the girl.” Levi stated quietly, his deep voice rumbling. “She works for D´Morte, therefore she will pay.” Josh could almost see the storm clouds violently flashing in his eyes from across the room. Spencer laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off roughly.

“Calm down, Levi. He abandoned her. She wants back at him just as much as you and the Lilith do.” He strode across the room and sank stiffly into one of the hard metal chairs that littered the room. His five sullen companions and a few lesser ranked soldiers occupied several others. The cold steel did nothing to comfort his frazzled nerves and hard features.

“No, she doesn’t.” Heather replied frigidly. “I have my own personal reasons for revenge.” She closed her eyes briefly to harness her racing emotions. Stiffly she set her jaw and drew in a ragged, jarring breath. “I WILL destroy him. NOTHING is going to stand in the way of that. I promise it.” Her frosty gaze caught Josh and he shivered. She was just like Commander Renata. Gracefully, she stood and stormed out of the room, her black boots clicking steadily on the tile. Josh waited for the slam of the door, but it never came. Heather showed she was far too mature to resort to such a childish tact.

“Kali’s trial will be within the week. That will give you adequate time to prepare evidence for the base judges. I presume that you will have a sound treason case together by Friday, Joshua?” The Legerdemain pilot nodded, and quietly excused himself from rank. “Good, good. Justice will be served.”

Three days later, the crew of the Nova base lined a small courtroom. Tensions rose as the judge for their base returned with his verdict and sentencing. A collective breath was held as he began to speak. Kali glanced hopefully at Drake who sat with the rest of his troops, but his face was completely unreadable. Not the slightest trace of sympathy or compassion was held by his stoic features. Heather waited for the charges to be read by the judge one by one. Her entire face was masked in hatred. Methodically, he read through them slowly, starting with the least serious and working toward attempted murder of Commander Renata and conspiracy to murder a Nova Officer. Kali figured the last two charges could be by-passed as part of war, it was the espionage charge she was fretting over.

WORD COUNT FOR ALL LETTER CHAPTERS: 3,678 words
WORDS TOTAL: 17,079 words

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