47
“I’m way low on fuel, Captain.” Austin tightened his eyelids and opened them again. Fatigue pressed on him. He took a deep breath and gripped the stick with both hands.
He descended into Earth’s atmosphere, his Trident rocking as he pulled back on the throttle. A cloud hovered over his heart. Rodon, the man who had killed Josh and countless other Legion pilots, had escaped once again. Worse yet, Nubern had crashed into the Pacific Ocean.
“You take the lead,” Braddock called back. “Once you hit the water, activate your shields and use the maneuvering thrusters to land. You’ll conserve fuel.”
“Copy.”
After pursuing the pirates halfway to the moon, the other Tridents incapacitated by the Tyral suicide attack had rebooted their systems and returned to Earth in formation. Austin tried t
