“We should talk stores and consumable munitions. Anti-ship and anti-fighter missiles, especially the LIDAR-tracking variety, are running low.”
As Whatley spoke, Tehrani felt as if his eyes were boring into her. The CAG’s gaze was so piercing that she glanced away for a moment. That man only has one setting: intense. “XO, put in a request for resupply… but, Major, I wouldn’t expect to see it before our next battle. Try to conserve any way possible.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Whatley crossed his arms. He apparently didn’t like her answer.
Before anyone could speak further, the intercom went off. “Colonel, I’ve got flash traffic for you,” came the voice of Lieutenant Singh. “Straight from General Irvine.”
“Put it through to my monitor.”
A moment later, a text message appeared on her tablet device. Tehrani skimmed it, and her jaw dropped. “Gentlemen, I’m afraid we’ll have to continue this later. We just received orders to intercept a League squadron attacking Canaan’s primary shipyard installation at the moon Goshen.”
Whatley let out a sigh as he stood. “Any reinforcements?”
“No. Just our battlegroup.”
“God help us all.”
Tehrani couldn’t disagree with that sentiment. While she wanted to make the trip down to the ship’s chapel to pray, instead, she stood and led the way back to the bridge. A portion of her still struggled with the situation. Thoughts of missing her husband coupled with fear for her extended family raced through her mind. Still, duty was duty. My job as a soldier is to protect the Terran Coalition. If I do my job as well as everyone else, we’ll all be fine. The idea kept her going.
“Would you pass the salt?”
Justin opened his eyes to see Feldstein gazing at him. Alpha element had gone as a group to the nearest officers’ mess for some food while the hangar teams refueled and rearmed their craft. He shook his head as if that would clear the exhaustion in every facet of his being. “Uh, sure.” He closed his hand around the shaker and passed it to her.
“Are you okay?” Mateus asked. She set her fork down. “Kind of looked like you were a million light-years away, Lieutenant.”
Everything within Justin wanted to scream. No, I’m not okay! The concept of fighting a real shooting war was something he still couldn’t wrap his brain around. Service for him was a vehicle to a better life. But that’s the deal I made. Guilt clawed at the recesses of his mind. But that doesn’t mean I’m not good at this and not doing my duty. He forced the emotion down, covering it instead with what he hoped passed for a calm, cool, and collected expression. “Yeah. Just tired.” He chuckled. “How many flight hours have we logged in the last two days?”
“Enough to keep our certifications up for the next two years,” Adeoye deadpanned. “This should mean we don’t have to do our two weeks next year.”
The four of them laughed.
“I think you qualified as a double ace,” Mateus continued, a hint of deviousness in her voice. “Keep this up, and they’ll make you go active duty and teach cadets how to fly.”
“I don’t think we’re going home anytime soon.” Justin’s plate contained the remnants of a Salisbury steak along with a serving of mashed potatoes and green beans. He took a bite of the nearly cold potatoes. “I mean, let’s get real.”
Feldstein dumped salt onto her Salisbury steak. “I haven’t been able to reach Robert.”
Mateus tilted her head quizzically. “You said you were divorcing him when we trained together last year.”
“We got counseling instead.”
“Ah.” Mateus smirked. “I’m too passionate to be tied down to a man right now. I want to see the galaxy first. Then maybe settle down.” She took a sip of water. “Maybe. I’ve never felt more alive than I do when we’re out there flying our fighters and riding the tip of the spear into the throat of the enemy.”
“Are you sure you passed the psych evals required to join the CDF?” Justin asked. His lips curled up in a smile despite his attempt to deliver the barb entirely straight-faced.
“Ha-ha.” Her eyes narrowed. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“At least she’s on our side,” Adeoye interjected.
“Any idea what’s next, sir?” Feldstein asked. “I heard some scuttlebutt that we’d join the main fleet shortly.”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Justin said as he shrugged, then he put his hands on either side of his face and rubbed it, letting out a yawn. “I’d do just about anything for a few hours of sleep.”
“We sleep when we’re dead,” Mateus replied. “Did you guys catch President Nolan’s speech?”
“All I heard was blah blah blah, defeat the League of Sol, blah blah blah.” Feldstein took another bite of her food. “I didn’t vote for him, before anyone asks.”
“No politics,” Justin warned. “Not now.”
The four of them exchanged glances.
Adeoye set his fork down. “Politics will be set aside. I am confident of this,” he stated. “This event will be the defining moment of our lives. We’ll all remember how the four of us rose to the occasion.”
Justin couldn’t argue with that. He briefly ruminated on the idea that every generation seemed to have something that set it apart from the others—the Saurian Wars, the Exodus from Earth, and the Diaspora, in which the various nation-states had set out to colonize their own planets in the local sector. This is our challenge. My challenge. “Agreed.” He took a sip of his iced tea. “You should all get as much rest as possible. God only knows when we’ll be going back out to fight.”
Feldstein set her fork down on the table and the napkin in her lap. “I’m going to head down to the shul.” The Zvika Greengold had several worship areas, including a Jewish shul, a Christian church, and a mosque for the Muslims aboard.
“Why?” Mateus asked.
“To pray.”
“Ah.”
“It seems like a good time to ask God for help.” Feldstein shrugged. “I’ll confess I’m usually lax about going to the shul. But…”
“You don’t have
