Truehearts & The Escape From Pirate Moon by Jake Macklem (ebook audio reader TXT) 📕

Diaz shouted. She stood next to the pool. Behind her gathered three dozen shivering young ladies. “The other cadets want to get warm. Isn’t that right, ladies?”

In unison, the squad answered, “Hoo-Ra.”

In the cold water, Ace treaded in place, her lips blue and her skin pale. Staring straight ahead, eyes locked on the setting sun, she was the only cadet still in the pool. All of the women had made the mandatory hour, and the promise of a weekend pass on Earth had tempted everyone, but only a handful tried to go for the second hour. The frigid water and exertion of staying afloat wrecked normal body functions. Ace’s teeth were chattering so hard they ached. She knew she was exhausted, but the chill in the water leeched away even the burning in her straining muscles.

One by one, the few other cadets who tried to make had it dropped out. The entire class now clumped together, most standing, but a few slumped to the ground. The sun was close to set and they were all freezing in place, waiting for Ace to give up. Waiting for her to fail. She felt their stares on her but she refused to look at them. They weren’t strong enough. I am.

Another candidate fell, her head cracking against the tiles with a hollow thunk. The young woman next to her instinctively reacted, moving to help.

“Let her lay, cadet! Like the others. They will receive attention when Hart has decided she doesn’t need our admiration anymore. What do you think Cadet Hart? Are you ready to give up this selfish chase for a weekend pass so your fellow cadets can get warm and receive medical attention?”

Ace paddled on. After a moment, Commander Diaz shouted, “You will answer me, Hart!”

“Eight minutes, thirty seconds. Any STAR should be able to handle that, ma’am,” Ace shouted back.

“Hear that, ladies? Hart is ready to stay in the water and risk the lives of her fellow cadets. Cadet Smith, what do you think of Hart's decision?”

Over two meters tall, the blond with bright blue eyes had been the next to last to exit the pool. Water still dripped around her feet. “She is a STAR cadet. Mission success is her only goal. She will step on the bodies of her fallen sisters to succeed. And with our dying breath, we will push her forward, ma’am.”

Commander Diaz’s lips curved into a slight smile no one but Ace could see. “If that is how you feel, Cadet Smith, get in the pool and finish the last eight minutes with Cadet Hart!”

Without hesitation, Smith took a step forward and jumped into the water. Breaking the surface, she locked eyes with Ace, teeth chattering.

“How much longer are you going to punish your fellow cadets, Hart?” Commander Diaz asked.

“I do this for my fellow cadets, ma’am. My success is their success,” Ace shouted, gaining strength from Smith's presence as they endured together.

“We will see about that, Cadet.” Commander Diaz walked to the closest fallen woman. Grabbing her hair, Diaz dragged her to the side of the pool then used her boot to unceremoniously shove the girl into the water. Her eyes shot open and she weakly flailed to stay afloat.

Ace’s eyes went wide as Smith moved to help their sinking comrade.

“Hold, Smith! You either both save her or you both watch her drown,” the commander shouted.

Smith’s eyes pleaded with Ace, but she watched the clock and refused to look at Smith or the other girl.

“C’mon, Ace, we have to save her.”

Watching the seconds tick away, Ace saw the numbers switch to two minutes but she focused and repeated the same thing she had for the last fifty-eight minutes. Just one more minute. Just one more minute.

&

Just one more step. Ace saw metal on the ground. Bent and burned chunks of it. Looking up, she realized she had reached the crash site.

 3: Ace

The trench dug by her crashing ship was at least a half-mile long. Just around three or four meters deep and twice as wide, it was a dark gouge in the ground. The violence of the impact had sent a cascade of red soil away from the site. The deeper dirt had not yet been bleached by the sun, creating a stark contrast between the valley floor and the bottom of the trench. Fortunately, the valley was wide and open where she hit. None of the purple and red trees, just lots of reddish-pink grass. A couple of miles in any direction put you at the base of the mountains, strangely steep and smooth. About a quarter of the way up the slopes the tree line began, sparse at first but becoming thicker as the elevation rose.

Only nine meters long, with a tip-to-tip wingspan of twelve meters, the Warthog fighter was not a great ship. But it did get her off the pirate’s moon. What a cluster-shank. Ace quickly shook the thought. Stay focused, stay alive.

The rear stabilizers were heavily damaged. Dozens of charred holes pocked the hull, and portions of the control surfaces were missing. One of the stabilizing fins had been shorn clean off.

Ace looked over the collection she salvaged from the ship. It could be worse. A solar blanket, a medkit, a laser pistol with no charge, a few sheets of metal she hoped to turn into a smoke hut, some cable she could use as rope, the parachute from the ejection system, and the small explosive devices used to blow the cockpit hatch. The detonators are shot but the materials are hopefully still good.

The Warthog’s engine and battery were completely dead without the faintest hint of response when she tried to fire them up. Without power, the beacon, her dataport, and Gate-Link were useless. Command doesn’t know where I am and I can’t send an SOS to tell them.