Under the Sundowner
A Tale of the Shadow Runners
Under the Sundowner
By Prowl-Ar Nightiger
Alec slowly walked around the battered two-tone brown star fighter. His star fighter! He shook his head hardly believing that he was actually going to be flying such a powerful machine. He'd only graduated from the academy a week ago, and within the hour he'd be out on his first patrol. Unfortunately it'll likely be my last flight as well, he thought as he stood looking up at the cockpit.
"Hey Alec, pretty cool isn't it?"
Alec spun around at the sound of the familiar voice. A white tiger was standing before him dressed in a black and white flight suit, "Daniel? What are you doing here?"
"I'm your wingman." Daniel said as he pointed to the shiny black and white fighter that was being lifted to the flight deck.
"Wait, how is that possible? Last I heard we weren't allowed to team up with people that we'd worked with at the academy."
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed the extra security forces that have been following you around."
"Well yeah, but I just figured it was normal; considering the total reorganization here at Gateway."
"Yeah, but you've had extra security following you around. I kinda pulled a few strings to get assigned to be your wingman."
"What did you do?" Alec rolled his eyes and braced himself to hear whatever stupid stunt Daniel had pulled this time.
"I convinced the old man that you were a security risk and that you might try to break and run. However I also convinced him that you wouldn't try anything if I were here to keep an eye on you. After all, you wouldn't want to get your best friend in trouble."
"You're kidding? Oh God, please tell me you're kidding because if this isn't a joke I'm going to kill you right here."
"No joke. I'm here to make sure you don't do anything stupid, Horns."
"You do of course realize that I'm-"
"Not a security risk? Of course I do, but I'm still going with you."
"This is going to be a long patrol." Alec said as he headed toward the locker room to change into his own flight suit.
"Hey wait up!" Daniel yelled as he ran after his friend.
As they entered the locker room they ran face first into another pilot, on his way out to the flight deck.
"Sorry about that." Alec apologized as he quickly stepped back.
"I'm sorry, I should have been paying closer attention." The pilot said, as he looked first at Alec and then at Daniel. He suddenly slapped his forehead and then followed them into the locker room. "Great, I forgot my helmet."
Daniel leaned close to Alec and whispered, "See, you could have been stuck with him as your wing man."
"So what is it really like out there?" the pilot asked as he slammed his locker shut and glared at them.
"Uh, we haven't been out yet either." Alec stammered as he realized the other pilot had heard Daniel.
"You haven't been out on patrol yet?" The pilot sat down and lowered his head staring at his reflection in the helmet's faceplate. "I guess that means you're part of the next patrol."
"What do you mean part of?" Daniel asked laying his ears back and looking fiercely at the pilot.
"I guess you haven't heard? With all the shake-ups all patrols will be composed of three fighters until command decides we've racked up enough experience. I'm in first flight which flight are you in?"
"That mean's you're with us then, since we're both first flight as well." Alec said as he extended his hand to the pilot, "I'm Alexander Brushfighter, but my friends call me Alec and this is Daniel Dacat." He said as he pointed over his shoulder at Daniel with his other hand.
"My name is Duo Mysticwarrior." Duo replied as he shook Alec's hand. He looked at Daniel but it quickly became obvious that the tiger wasn't happy. "Alright let me have it. I know I'm probably not the best pilot here, and there's no way that I'll ever be as good as a Dacat, but give me a break I've been here less than a day. I didn't mean to overhear your comment but I did and there's nothing I can do about that." Duo said as he stood up and stared into Daniel's eyes.
Daniel stared back for several seconds before holding out his hand, "It seems we got off on the wrong paw so let's start over. Hi, my name is Daniel Dacat, but don't let the name fool you I'm not as stuck up as the rest of my clan."
Duo cocked his head to one side and stared for a moment longer before accepting the gesture; "So I take it you're our flight leader."
"No, that would be Alec. He's a better pilot then I am."
Duo stood with his mouth open in shock.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to the fact that Daniel isn't as bad as most of the Dacats. At least, most of the time, when it comes to most of the stereotypes he doesn't fit in at all. In reality he has an evil sense of humor and a knack for getting everyone around him into trouble."
"You know, if we don't hurry up we're going to be late for our pre-flight briefing." Daniel said before Alec could list examples.
"You're probably right, and you know I don't want to be grounded before I have a chance to be out there and know what it's really like." Alec said as he grabbed his helmet and headed for the door.
* * *
They stood outside the briefing room door trying to catch their breath after running from the locker room. Alec stared at his watch as the seconds ticked by. Taking one last deep breath he looked up and nodded at the other two. They both inhaled deeply and stood at attention as he pushed the door open. The room was partially filled with other pilots who were chatting noisily. The trio calmly walked in and sat in the front row. Within seconds the video screen at the front of the room displayed a detailed star chart of the system. One of the pilots, at the back of the room, stood up and walked to the front.
"It's good to see that some of you know most of the proper procedures." The lion said as he dropped his helmet in one of the empty seats in the front row. "And only one of you actually followed all of them in the proper order even if he was a bit slow about it."
The pilots glanced at one another in confusion.
"I am Commander Destiny, and unfortunately I've been put in charge of a bunch of substandard misfits. However, before the week is out you're all going to be as good as, or better than, Lieutenant Dacat."
Daniel fidgeted uncomfortably as the commander pointed him out.
"I've spent the last four hours out on the flight deck to see if any of you thought to do a pre-flight check of your fighters. And I regret that out of the twenty-four pilots seated in this room only two of you did so. I expect all of you to get things perfect next time!"
Alec swallowed hard as he realized that he had screwed up by not changing into his flight suit before checking his fighter.
"Right then, now that you know who I am it's about time you know who you are. From now until you get transferred or killed you'll be known as white squadron since you're all virgins. Any questions? Good, you've already been separated into flights numbered from one to eight. Today's mission will be a simple patrol each flight will travel out to a fixed point." The commander said as he hit a button on the small controller he was holding.
Eight glowing white spots appeared on the star chart behind him with a large glowing blue circle representing Gateway Station. Three lines red, green, and yellow stretched from the station to each point.
"When the patrol reaches the outer marker flight A, will then double back in a four point diamond." The red lines formed diamonds with the outer point making both the stating and ending position. "While flights B and C break off and travel toward the next closest outer points." The green lines then stretched counter clockwise toward another of the outer markers while the yellow lines went clockwise.
"Once Flights B and C meet up with Flight A, you return to base. This starburst pattern allows for the maximum experience in the shortest amount of time. You'll get to know the system, your fellow pilots, and what it is like to be alone in deep space. Now are there any questions?"
Duo quickly raised his hand.
"You have a question Lieutenant?"
"Yes sir, the pattern that we'll be flying is essentially flat which would allow unauthorized craft to enter the system from above or below the plane of the ecliptic, wouldn't it?"
"Very good, few first time pilots realize that fact. Each squadron has a different axis of operations." The commander said as he hit another button. The screen began to fill with white points and colored lines and within a minute a colorful ball of light filled the screen.
"As you can see the starburst patrol covers every conceivable entry to the system as well as having plenty of support from fighters when an intruder is detected. Now if there are no more questions I suggest you get down to the flight deck and do your pre-launch check, dismissed."
The pilots stood and filed out the door. Once in the hall they quickly tried to figure out which flight group they were supposed to be in. The members of first flight made their way past the mob and descended to the flight deck.
"You know Duo, I'm glad we met you in the locker room otherwise we'd be up there trying to figure out who our third was and looking as foolish." Daniel said as he thumped Duo on the back.
"Yeah, but on the down side I got grouped with the rest of them because I didn't do my pre-flight before the briefing."
"Don't worry about it. It doesn't take long to do the walk around and we have to do it again after the pre-flight briefing anyway. Besides, if something goes wrong once we're out on patrol the blame will ultimately fall on Alec's shoulders since he's our flight leader." Daniel said as he winked at Duo before heading toward his star fighter.
Alec stood for a moment before shaking his head, "Sometimes that cat can really get on my nerves."
"Look on the bright side once we reach the outer marker you'll be rid of both of us."
Alec nearly wrenched his neck as he jerked around to stare at Duo.
"Of course you'll then have flights Two B and Eight C to deal with on the way back."
"Oh right, though I do feel sorry for Eight Lead." Alec replied as he headed toward his own fighter.
Duo laughed and then began his own pre-launch inspection.
* * *
The three fighters seemed to hang dead in space even though they were still racing toward the outer marker. They had completed two thirds of the flight out and the excitement of being on patrol had worn off. Daniel pulled his headphones out of his ears and unhooked them from his personal flight pad. He increased his speed slightly and nudged his flight stick rolling his Lance onto its back. He slid into position directly over Alec's fighter.
As the nose of Daniel's fighter came into view Alec shook his head, pulled out his own flight pad, and wrote a brief message. As the two cockpits aligned Daniel held up his pad and waved it at Alec. Alec nodded and held up his own pad to exchange messages.
Once the download was complete he clicked on the complink. "Flight B, you've drifted out of position correct your course immediately."
"Yes commander, sorry about that." He replied.
Once Daniel had returned to his assigned position Alec loaded up his message.
Alec, I know what you're planning and I'm telling you right now to forget about it. If you turn traitor Lord Dacat will hold your entire Clan responsible. However, if I'm the one who takes off there isn't much the old man can do. As you know I've been an outcast ever since my first shift when everyone discovered that I had no stripes. This will just prove to the rest of the family that I really am the reject that they always believed me to be. Besides, if I'm the one that goes you two can return. If you're asked why you didn't fire on me you can use your oath to the Dacat Clan as your alibi. If you're the one to go, then I'll have to fire on you and you know that even though you're a better pilot then I am I'm the better shot.
"Man, how can you to stand the boredom? I'm going stir crazy and the patrol isn't even half over." Duo asked.
"Flight C, you are to maintain radio silence." Alec commanded.
Daniel smiled as he once again rolled out of position. He maneuvered over Duo's fighter and motioned for him to hold up his flight pad.
Duo was confused but he held up his pad and information began to download.
Alec waited a full minute before clicking on his com. "Flight B, you are out of position again. We will now be flying in a Delta pattern. If you think you're bored now perhaps you'll realize that flying in a standard pattern is better than the feeling of being completely alone that this pattern will provide. And if either of you move out of position again I will be putting you on report. Lead out."
Duo quickly shifted his fighter so that it formed one corner of a triangle, before checking to see what Daniel had downloaded into his flight pad. Once he was on course he loaded the message.
Duo, Since this is you're first time out I guess no one told you that you should have a selection of music and perhaps even a book stored in your flight pad's memory. I'm sending you some of my music files. I just hope there is something there that you'll like. Also, Alec is likely to order us into a Delta pattern in order to punish me for being out of position again. However, you should invert your fighter so that all our cabins will be pointed inward. That way we can continue this conversation.
Duo quickly inverted his fighter and he could see that both Alec and Daniel were already in the proper position. He quickly wrote a message and opened his pad's link port.
Duo: Sorry I was out of position, but I corrected as soon as I realized my error.
Lead: Don't worry about it; I'm just glad you have a pad that has enough link range to make this possible.
Duo: Not that I'm complaining but why are we communicating this way?
Stripes: Because the station will be monitoring all communications.
Lead: High command is monitoring all communications between starfighters and this is the only semi-safe way to communicate without them knowing about it.
Duo: But what if they take our pads when we get back?
_ Stripes: So do you agree that I'm the best choice for this mission?_
Lead: Our pads have been modified so that we can clear the memory of anything like this.
Duo: But my pad isn't modified so what are we going to do?
_ Lead: No, I don't agree and you know we shouldn't be doing this. If one of us forgets to encrypt Duo will find us out!_
Stripes: That isn't a problem. When you get back just make sure you set your pad on the main shield dome. Your pad will be completely erased. It's a mistake that a lot of rookies make and the only one who will be held responsible is your flight leader.
Lead: Which in this case will either be Flight Two Lead or myself. Either way the punishment is a lot better for a blanked pad than for what we're doing right now.
_ Stripes: I'm not going to forget! Besides, I have to be the one to go since I've already left a message telling everyone why I'm betraying the Dacat Clan. Lord Lightstripe has to be informed that anyone entering the Gateway system will be destroyed including himself and Arlen Sundowner._
Duo: So are there any other tricks that I should know about?
Stripes: Not that I can think of at the moment.
Lead: Just don't tell anyone else about this little trick or we all may get grounded.
Duo: Don't worry your secret is safe. So since we didn't get to know each other very well before taking off how about we tell a little about ourselves?
_ Lead: You did what!_
Stripes: Sounds like a good idea to me. As you already know I'm a member of the Dacat Clan and I was Horns' roommate at the academy.
Duo: You're kidding, how did you two get assigned to the same flight then?
_ Stripes: I told the Old Man off for being a power hungry isolationist and I was leaving the Dacat Clan. As soon as I've left the system I'm changing my clan affiliation back to Dawncaller. As it was before the Dacats returned to Shendria._
Lead: Stripes pulled some strings. Though I'm wondering if that was such a good idea now.
Duo: Why is that? After all, you get to have a wingman that you already know and trust to back you up.
_ Dare: An interesting conversation you boys have been having. I hope you don't mind if we cut in, but you're using an old Shadow Runner encryption. Which, I assure you I'll be reporting to Lord Lightstripe, is no longer secure. Anyway, I'm Dare Fireshadow and my co-pilot is Icebreaker Summerrevel. We're out here testing a new scout craft for Lord Lightstripe, and we just thought you might like to continue this conversation back at the Shadow Runner base. However, this offer is open to all three of you. So I suggest Stripes, should let Duo in on his little plot. If he agrees to come along, great, if he informs on you then you jump out of here and Lead can follow on the pretext of revenge. Of course if he decides to follow you then once we get to Vesuvia, if anyone follows, Lead can report that Stripes sabotaged your Freem drive so that you could only jump once. Unfortunately this is the only message I can send. I have to eject the pad into space so that we won't show up on your sensors. The explosive I placed on is set for ten minutes to keep it from being found. Even though I won't be able to contribute any more to the conversation I'll know what your answer is one way or another. Included with this message are the jump coordinates for the Vesuvia system from here._
Duo: Uh, is everything all right? I didn't think my question was that thought provoking.
Lead: Oh, sorry I was just remembering all the ways that Stripes and I have gotten into trouble together.
_ Stripes: Do you think this is legit? I mean it could be a trap._
Duo: Really? It is hard to believe that a member of the Dacat Clan would be getting into any trouble.
_ Lead: I don't think we have any choice either way. Either he is who he says he is or he's a member of High Command. If that's the case we are so screwed no matter what we do!_
Stripes: Actually, I'm up to a bit of trouble as we speak. You see I'm planning on defecting to Lord Lightstripe in the Vesuvia sector and I was just wondering if either of you would like to join me?
Duo: You're kidding right?
Lead: You've got to be kidding.
Stripes: I'm not kidding. Now you have a choice you can report me, shoot me, or join me.
Duo: Lead, what are your orders?
Lead: I, I don't know. I can't shoot him but I don't want to report him either.
Stripes: So Duo, it seems that the decision is up to you. What do you want to do?
Duo: I want to go with you, but if I do your Clan will destroy my Clan.
Stripes: No they won't I've got it set up so that if you follow me it will look like you fell into a carefully prepared trap. I've already left my resignation on the station so they'll know that it was my plan. So the incident will be swept under the carpet.
Duo: I'm in, so I guess it is now up to Lead to make a decision.
Lead: Now that I know you're in, I can tell you that this was my plan from the start. I'm sending you the jump coordinates for the Vesuvia system. Things are about to hit the fan just follow my lead and everything will work out just fine. Now are you ready?
Stripes: Ready.
Duo: Ready.
"Command this is White Flight Lead, I'm picking up a scout ship within the perimeter. Do I have permission to engage?" Alec smiled as he boosted his speed to maximum.
"This is Command, engage and destroy."
"Lead, my sensors show he's jumping to altered space!" Duo yelled.
"Not if I can help it! I've got his jump plotted he's going for Vesuvia and I'm going after him!"
"Stripes wait! We've got to get permission from command for that!" Alec yelled.
"No time."
"We're coming with you then."
"Blue Flight six and Red Flight Five, provide back up. That scout ship has to be destroyed." The commander yelled as White Flight jumped to the Vesuvia System. Seconds later Blue and Red Flights followed.
As the three fighters returned to normal space in the Vesuvia system the small scout craft shot toward a large space station orbiting Vesuvia's moon. Daniel reversed his thrusters falling behind Alec and Daniel where he fired on them.
"There, your Freem drives have been destroyed head for the planet." He said before engaging full power and running toward the space station.
"White Flight Leader, this is Blue Flight Leader what is your situation?"
"Daniel Dacat betrayed us. He sabotaged our Freem engines and ran toward the space station. We're hoping to make it to the planet before he can get reinforcements."
As if on cue fighters began to pour from the station, "Shendrian fighters this is Lady Dawna Destiny-Lightstripe I command you to surrender."
"Blue Six, you've got to get back to Gateway and report what has happened here. Otherwise all our Clans will suffer for Daniel Dacat's betrayal!" Alec yelled.
"All fighters return to base immediately!" Blue leader commanded as he jerked his fighter around and jumped back to the Gateway system.
Once all the fighters of Blue and Red Flights had jumped out of the system Dare radioed Daniel, "Hey Stripes, I suggest you join your flight group down on Vesuvia. Prowler is out on a mission and Dawna isn't exactly happy with the way I handled this situation. I get the feeling you'll be better off on the planet until Lord Lightstripe returns. And I guarantee you'll be a whole lot better off then I'm going to be, Dare out."
Daniel shoved his flight stick to the side and immediately dove toward the planet. If Lady Lightstripe was angry the last thing he wanted to do was make the situation worse.