HAWK

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: CACHE (5/5)

The tunnel was pitch black. Kas knew the ship was moving, but she couldn't see a thing through the viewport.

'Can you see where you're going?' Kas asked Astrid.

'Hold on a second...' Astrid replied. A wash of amber light scrubbed the viewport clean and revealed the tunnel as if it were cast in daylight. It was several hundred meters long and hexagonal, and at the end of it Kas could see a silver wall that she realised was the other side of the landing pad she had touched down on when she arrived.

'Uh, Captain...' she said.

'I see it,' Mack replied. 'Astrid, can you override the doors?'

'I'm no longer connected to Eidol's mainframe. But don't worry, I have an idea.'

Kas felt another vibration in the floor and saw the ship's Holo-HUD transforming again. The tops of the two wings opened up, and from within them a shallow bank of turrets appeared. The landing pad in the viewport suddenly drew a white line around itself and turned bright red. A short line of text briefly appeared at the side of the screen:

PWT-1 DEPLOYED - READY

PWT-2 DEPLOYED - READY

TARGET ACQUIRED

TARGET LOCKED

ENGAGING...

Two thin streams of blue light burst from Astrid's wings and struck the landing pad on either side. They each drew a semicircle forming a single wide hoop of bright orange light that spanned most of the hexagon. The circle came loose and fell away, leaving a giant gaping hole behind. Astrid accelerated towards it. Kas clutched the arms of her chair tight as the F-88 zoomed through the narrow space, only just clearing the gap. They shot out of the other side and into the exit tunnel. In the enhanced viewport, Kas could see the mouth of Eidol's surface growing ever wider. A bleeping alerted Kas back to the Holo-HUD where an army of little red dots had begun to form below the ship's model.

'What are those?' Kas asked.

'Wraiths,' Astrid replied.

Kas swore. The little red dots were gaining on them and fast. She gave it another thirty seconds before they were right on top of them.

'Can't you go any faster?' Mack said.

'I'm trying.'

The end of the tunnel grew exponentially bigger until at last the F-88 and its crew burst out of the asteroid and into the Black. Kas instantly felt much better once she was out of Eidol, but the ride was far from over. She checked the Holo-HUD and saw the red dots gaining on them. Astrid was still accelerating but no way near enough to outpace the Wraiths.

'Get us out of here, Astrid!' Mack yelled.

'Which way?'

'Any!' Kas and Mack shouted together.

The ship lunged to the left just as a shower of red beams lit up the viewport. A deep thrumming noise played on the side of the ship as the Holo-HUD showed impact ripples on the F-88's model. They were being pummelled but the F-88's shield was reducing the attack to a hard rain.

'There are too many,' Astrid said. 'I can't evade them for much longer.'

'How long will your shields hold up for?' Mack asked.

'I can withstand a beam attack almost indefinitely, but I'm more concerned by their harpoons.'

The F-88 dived down and twisted as yet another bombardment of red flares drilled up the back of the ship.

'Stop evading them,' Kas cried. 'They're trying to slow us down! Just go straight and accelerate!'

Astrid stopped swerving and levelled off in one direction. They were picking up speed, but so were the Wraiths - and they were almost within harpoon range.

'Go faster!' Mack yelled.

'I can't!' Astrid yelled back. 'I don't know what you did in the hangar, but the main thruster is out of charge!'

'Well charge it up!'

'I am, but it'll take a minute!'

'We don't have a minute!'

'You try downloading into a new body!''

'Shut up!' Kas shouted. The chase was almost over and they needed a new tactic. 'Astrid, can you fire back?'

'I think so, hang on.'

A red line appeared around the viewport's HUD as Astrid engaged the ship's combat mode. The ship transformed again, subtly refining its shape to become more rugged and easier to deflect damage. The biggest change was in the cockpit where the walls flickered and turned transparent to show the ship's surroundings. Kas looked behind her and saw an entire fleet of Wraiths closing on her fast. A few more seconds and they'd deploy their harpoons.

'Deploying firestorm,' Astrid said. Kas didn't know what that meant, but a bright flash of green light burst from the back of the Infinity Fighter and fired into the centre of the incoming Wraiths. They scattered, most of them managing to avoid it while a few were sent spiralling out of control. More green pulses chased after them and drove the rest out of formation.

'That's it!' Mack shouted but he was a little premature. Kas spotted a rogue Wraith speeding around the side of Astrid's attack. There was a bright blue orb glowing under its belly.

'Astrid, look out!' she cried. The glow exploded in a concentrated ball of light that shot across the void between the two ships in a flash.

And suddenly the F-88 was spinning.

Kas grabbed the control column instinctively but the ship didn't respond.

'Astrid, get us under control!' Kas yelled.

'I'm tryi--'

The ship stopped spinning in an instant - but not because of Astrid. A single Wraith was now tethered to the back of the hull, hurtling along behind them in an effort to slow them down. Behind it, fifty more Wraiths were gaining speed and recovering the distance they'd lost after Astrid's attack.

'They're going to tie us up in a knot,' Captain Mack croaked.

'No they're not,' Kas said. 'Astrid - how long till the main thruster's charged?'

'It's just finished!'

'Then go!' Kas and Mack shouted together.

Kas had expected a fast acceleration, but the power that erupted out of the back of the F-88 in that moment defied belief. She had always thought Wraiths were fast, but the F-88 gained momentum at such a rate that Kas was sure it was ripping a hole in the fabric of space. Kas checked the Holo-HUD and saw all but one of the red dots disappearing from view, leaving only the one harpooned to the hull. She looked out the back of the cockpit and saw the tether pulled taut while the single ship on the other end clung on desperately.

'Astrid,' she said calmly. 'Fire at that Wraith.'

A single green flash illuminated the darkness behind them.

When it passed, the tether and Wraith were gone.