“What are you waiting for?” Commander Coleman asked, loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Coda flipped the switch, and immediately, his seat began to rumble. In that moment, the two weeks he had spent in front of the computer were worth it.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” Command Coleman said, his voice quiet again.
“Hell, yeah, sir.”
“Nervous?”
“A little, sir.”
“I’ll be with you the entire time, guiding you through a series of exercises. Stay calm and take it slow. Nobody is going to be an expert their first time out. That’s why we use the simulator, understand?”
“How will you see what I’m doing?” Coda asked. “It’s just a VR helmet, right?”
Commander Coleman pulled his tablet from his pocket, and after a few short commands, the lights in the room dimmed and an entire wall of the room lit up. It wasn’t nearly as impressive as the Coliseum at the academy, but the image on it was as clear as if Coda were floating through space himself.
“We’ll see what you see, Coda. Ready?”
“Let’s do it, sir.”
“Strap in, then.”
Coda pulled the shoulder straps down, snapping them into the buckle at his crotch, then buckled another set, completing the five-point harness.
“Good. Put your helmet on and wait for my command.”
With that, the commander stepped from the center of the gyroscope, falling in line with the rest of the pilots. Coda pulled on his VR helmet; the same star-speckled sky he’d seen on the imaging wall immediately replaced his view. Except now, when he turned his head left or right, the image rotated with him. Between the rumble of the cockpit and the gentle swaying motion of the gyroscope, he was beginning to grow disoriented.
“Can you hear me, Coda?” Commander Coleman’s voice said through the helmet’s speakers.
“Loud and clear, sir.” Coda heard his own voice echoing throughout the room. So they can hear me just like I can hear the commander.
“Good,” Commander Coleman said. “This simulation is designed to give you a feel for the X-23, so we’re going to go through a small flight course. Your goal is to navigate the course and fly through a series of checkpoints. For this simulation, and this simulation alone, your speed will be computer regulated, so just focus on navigation, understood?”
“Understood, sir.”
“Good. Let’s see what you got.”
The rumble of the thrusters intensified, and Coda’s HUD came alive with various pieces of navigational information indicating his speed, coordinates, and weapon counts. A small yellow arrow at the top of his vision pointed upward, and a series of numbers counted down faster than he could read them. He’d gone through similar training exercises when he’d learned to fly the Hornet, so he knew the arrow was pointing toward his first objective.
Coda pulled back on the joystick, and several things happened at once. The display image shifted, mimicking the movement of a real X-23, and with it, the entire gyroscope rotated. Coda was thrust back into his seat then flipped upside down. When he finally got his bearings, he realized he was flying upside down and away from the checkpoint.
“Holy shit,” Coda said breathlessly, his stomach in his throat.
“Careful, Coda,” Commander Coleman said. “You do that in a real Nighthawk, and the chief will have to pull you out in a body bag.”
“Yes, sir,” Coda said. “She’s just a little more sensitive than I’m used to.”
“That she is. Be gentle with her.”
“Will do, sir.”
The yellow icon that pointed to his next objective was at the bottom of his imaging screen now, the numbers growing larger. Coda pushed upward on the stick, more gently than before, and made a series of small course adjustments, bringing the icon into the center of his vision. It grew steadily in size, and the numbers counted down until he was nearly upon it.
The checkpoint was an octagon, and as soon as Coda’s fighter sped through it, his navigational information shifted, the yellow indicator pointing to the right side of his vision. Pitching the fighter perpendicular to the battle plane, Coda pulled back on the stick and brought his fighter around in a tight curve. Within moments, he’d sped through another checkpoint.
He flew through two more without incident then brought up the fifth and final one on his battle map. But there was something odd about it. While the other four had been stationary, the last appeared to be moving. The yellow indicator rotated around the perimeter of his HUD, and every time he got it in his sights, it slipped away as if it were an enemy fighter evading his pursuit.
Accepting the challenge, Coda kept on it, countering its movements. He began to gain on it. A few more seconds, and he was flying through its center. Coda hooted, taking his hands off the stick to celebrate. But as he did, the cockpit shook violently and was accompanied by a loud screech.
“What the hell was that?”
Before anyone could answer, his fighter was thrown off course with a sharp jolt, and blue fire shot past the cockpit.
“What is that?”
“You’re under attack, Coda. Evasive maneuvers!”
Deep down Coda knew it was only a simulation, but the combination of the movement, the photo-real images, and Commander Coleman’s not-messing-around tone made Coda’s adrenaline spike. His drone flight training kicked into gear, and he stopped thinking.
He flipped the nose of the fighter around so that he was flying backward but still facing the enemy spacecraft. He couldn’t see it with his naked eye, but the targeting system bracketed the ship as it had with the checkpoints before it.
More blue fire erupted from the enemy ship, covering the distance between them in a blink. A last-second course correction was all that saved Coda from becoming simulated slag. Centering the target in his view again, he pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
“You have to activate your weapons,” Commander Coleman said.
Coda fumbled with the joystick, his thumb searching for the safety switch that would activate his weapons. Flicking it into place, he pulled the
