HUMBLE SPACER 28 JAN 3307 (CANNON FODDER)
28 Jan 2021Igli
I am hiding in a dark corner and cannot stop trembling. A constant ringing sound in my ears makes it difficult to understand what others say to me. When I close my eyes I see flashes of light, debris, corpses torn apart and limbs floating in vacuum. It seems that a smell of burning circuits and overheated plastic will stay with me forever. I've seen real action.I was one of many pilots assigned to a task force. Our mission was to assist an armed rebellion in Garm system. A short briefing was unusual. The sergeant didn't provide any details, instead he said that everything we needed to know would be transmitted to all units via an encoded channel in the combat zone. Any signs and emblems were to be removed - both from fighters and our uniforms. We had to be unidentifiable so that our dead bodies could not be associated with Yuri Grom's power. In case of capture a pilot had to bite off his tongue and die of bleeding. The sergeant was coming with us, too.
The squad emerged right into the middle of a horrible maelstrom of battling fighters, gunships and corvettes. A sudden appearance of several dozens of unidentified spaceships bought us a moment to assess the situation. Friend-or-foe codes transmitted right before the last jump into Garm system were showing a significant presence of opposition. In an instance all hell broke loose.
I was frantically maneuvering trying to get a bearing on a target and possibly avoid return fire. My SLF operator was muttering through her teeth while sending clip after clip into enemies. Time seemed to have stopped. My fingers gripping the triggers became numb and I released my hold with an effort only when the co-pilot shouted. She got her fighter on a cross-course and received several rounds from my cannons. The fight went on. It seemed infinite.
I didn't mark the time when it was over. Actually, I could not recall much after the battle was won, only the face of my SLF pilot in front of me saying something and then leading away from the cockpit. I also didn't remember the return trip.
Moreover, I wanted to erase everything from my memory! Ahrrr!