Dwight and Vicky reached the hangar, just as their craft was being brought into the boarding area. A short way along the open walkway, were three of the Wraiths or the WX16s. These are the multipurpose, mechanised fighters, that are the backbone of Palehost’s defence fleet. A machine that’s able to operate just as well in zero atmosphere, zero gravity conditions as it could on the surface of a planet. The three machines towered over the two, as they waited for the arrival of the rest of pilots and their co-pilots taking part in the mission. They weren’t far behind the pair and saluted Dwight as they joined them both and awaited instruction.

“At ease… I’m assuming everyone as has gone through the briefing in detail?” Dwight said looking over his squad.

“Yessir.” They replied.

“Good. Then I won’t I go through all the details again now. This might just be a reconnaissance mission, but I want everyone to keep alert while we’re out there.”

“Is there something we need to be on the lookout for?” Asked Mary.

“There’s no reason for us to suspect anything happened, other than a sensory malfunction. Still, we won’t have a clear picture until we’ve carried out the investigation on site ourselves. So, let’s keep our wits about us. I want everyone to come back in one piece.”

“Yessir.”

“We’ll form up after launch just off the bow. Then conduct a minute burn at seven Gs every five minutes until we reach cruising speed. We’ll cruise for four hours, then we’ll begin the deceleration steps as we approach the target. This isn’t a short mission, but we won’t be gone for days. Hopefully, we’ll get some down time once we return to ship.”

“I hope so, at least if something else is picked up it shouldn’t be our turn to go investigate.” Aron replied.

“We can hope, but you know it all depends on the captain’s whims.”

“You really should try and get on her good side one of these days. It would make all of our lives easier too!”

“Yeah… That isn’t as easy as you make it sound.”

As they spoke the head engineer approached the group. She was short of stature and petite build with mousy blonde hair, it was hard to spot as she was half covered in oil stains.

“They’re all ready for you. Weapons systems are fully loaded and packed with two weeks’ worth of supplies, so you can relax while you’re out there.” She said as she reached them, in her cute voice that almost clashed with her messy appearance.

“Thanks Elsa, we shouldn’t need them, but it’s always reassuring to know we’re stocked.” Answered Dwight.

“Can’t be too prepared.”

Elsa had plenty of subordinates that could do the handover to the pilots, but she always preferred to be hands on and do it herself. Just leaving Palehost in the Wraiths was dangerous, even a routine mission like this. She made a point of ensuring, that everything was in order herself before she released her ships.

“Right, you heard her, looks like we’re ready to go. Everyone climb aboard, we enter the launch tubes in five.”

“Yessir.”

“Stay safe out there.” Elsa said as the team made their way to their wraiths.

Dwight and Vicky climbed the entry stairs to the cockpit of their machine. Once they reached the top, the entry canopy opened automatically for the pair.

“After you.” Dwight said standing aside for Vicky.

She just looked up at him blank faced and then climbed aboard. Dwight waited for a moment for her to settle and then followed her inside. Once they were both inside the canopy closed and the wraith begun the boot up sequence. After strapping himself into the seat, a quick touch on his wrist opened the control port. He plugged in and the pilot display appeared in front of his eyes. The display was customised individually to each pilot. It varied depending on the amount of data they could handle in their field of vison. This usually included weapons systems and navigation as well as vital system information. The wraith could display far more information than a human could take in visually and this is where the co pilot came in. They processed the entire feed and filtered out the important information for the pilot, freeing them up to control the craft. It prevented the level of information from becoming overwhelming.

After conducting the pre flight checks the wraith was transported by the rail shuttle towards the launch tubes. As they reached the entry point Dwight opened a channel to the rest of his squad.

“Prepare for launch.”

The launch tubes opened, and the wraiths were loaded onto the launch catapults.

“Begin countdown.”

The countdown timer appeared in the top right hand corner of Dwight’s field of vision. It counted down from ten seconds and when it reached zero, they were launched at high velocity out of Palehost. As soon as they cleared the ship their antimatter propulsion systems fired up. The squad gathered a short way from the ship, just as he had instructed beforehand.

“Everyone ready for the first burn?” Dwight asked over the open channel.

“Yessir.”

“Good, let’s not hang around then. Initiate first burn.”

The three wraiths shot away from Palehost and into the dark void. Seven G wasn’t the limit of acceleration the pilots could take. Their advanced G suits and altered physiology meant they could take up to ten G for sustained periods, of up to two minutes and even higher for short bursts. Despite this, pulling seven G for a whole minute wasn’t a pleasant experience. The squad would have to go through nine burns before they reached their cruising speed for this mission.

“Ugh…” Dwight groaned as they accelerated.

“Perhaps you’re getting too old for this?” Vicky asked from behind him.

“I won’t say it doesn’t feel like it.” He joked. “Must be nice having a body that can adjust to the force without the need for a suit.”

“The acceleration is quite enjoyable.”

“I’m sure that’s only because you can see how uncomfortable it is for me.”

“You’re imagining things. Perhaps your suit is malfunctioning?”

Dwight laughed. The wraiths switched from burn mode into cruise. All the human pilots were relieved for the break, albeit a short one until the next burn.

“Only eight more to go.” Mary said over the comm.

“At least we can rest for a few hours once we reach cruising speed.” Replied Aron.

“By the way lieutenant, did you really visit a deserter yesterday?” Mary asked.

“That’s already a rumour?”

“So, it’s true!?”

“Some people might call him that, but he’s and old friend of mine. One I hadn’t seen for many years. He used to be treated like a hero, especially among the pilots. He left the crew before either of you were born, something that would never have happened if it weren’t for him.”

“Huh, how come we’ve never heard of him?”

“Like I said, it was a long time ago. Anyway, how did you even hear about that?”

“Oh, we overheard you talking to Vicky this morning and I asked TX about it afterwards.”

TX is Mary’s co pilot, and one of the more robotic type of automatons.

“TX knew about it too?”

“He had the same orders that Vicky was given apparently.”

“So, the captain was being serious… Should have known better.”

“Hold on, so it is your fault we were called off leave and sent out at short notice?” Aron asked cutting in abruptly.

“I wouldn’t say it was my fault as such, rather that, well the captain can have her moments about certain things.” Answered Dwight.

“You mean she has some sort of relationship with your old friend?”

“That’s entirely the sort of thing you would be best off not pocking your nose into. You’re better off not knowing anything about it. Not unless you enjoy getting put on these missions.”

Their conversation was cut short, as the Wraiths all started the second burn. The pilots were pinned back into their seats as they endured the minute long acceleration. The cycle of burn and cruise continued again and again. Finally, once the ninth burn was completed the squad all settled down for the rest of the journey. With the Wraiths set on auto pilot, Aron and Mary both indulged in some inflight entertainment, each of them already watching a movie. There wasn’t much else to do at this stage of the journey.

“What’s the status of the target Vicky?” Asked Dwight.

“I’ll alert you if there is any change.”

“Thanks… Can’t we see any more on the sensors yet?”

“The interference hasn’t cleared.”

“We’re really going to have to collect physical samples, aren’t we?”

“It appears so, you do know that was the purpose of this mission.”

“I know that. I was just hoping we might have picked something up by now.”

“Whatever that thing is made up of, it’s causing havoc with the instruments.”

“Are we even going to be able to manoeuvre safely, once we arrive?”

“We might have to revert to visual guidance.”

“Could be tricky collecting the samples then.”

Eventually it was time to begin the deceleration, as they approached the target. This was staged in much the same way as the acceleration burns. It took almost an hour for them to match the trajectory and velocity of the object. The real mission was about to begin, as they entered visual range.

“Is that it?” Asked Mary, the disappointment clear in her voice.

“Just another lump of rock… I was hoping we might be able to find some exotic materials considering all the interference it’s kicking out.” Added Aron.

“It almost doesn’t look worth the effort.”

“You two both know how long it will be, until we enter another solar system. We need to collect supplies at any chance we get. For all we know the core is valuable… What’s the status Vicky?”

“Still unable to verify.”

“Is there any sign of the drone?”

“No sign of the impact site and I can’t pinpoint any debris, but given the interference here, that isn’t surprising.”

“Looks like we will have to do this… Okay let’s try a probe first.”

“That’s unlikely to be successful.” Vicky cautioned.

“I know, but we can try first.”

“Very well, launching probe.”

The under carriage of Dwight’s Wraith opened, and a small tube was fired towards the object. It hurtled towards the rogue asteroid. Everyone watched on intently as it drew closer.

“The landing protocol hasn’t engaged.” Warned Vicky.

A moment later the probe smashed into the asteroid and exploded.

“Well, it was worth a try… Looks like we really are going to do this manually. Aron you’re up.” Instructed Dwight.

“Me?” Asked Aron.

“Yes.”

“Ugh fine, even though it’s because of you we were sent out here.” He complained.

“And it’s that attitude that got you assigned the task.” Dight said with a laugh.

“Well, I’m expecting the first round to be on you when we return to Palehost.”

“That all depends on your performance.”

“I can taste the beer already!”

“That’s the spirit. You’re going to have to switch to full manual for the landing and gauge the distance visually. We don’t want you ending up like the probe.”

“What about Chloe?” Aron asked concerning his co pilot.

“How is the interference affecting your systems Vicky?” Asked Dwight.

“We can’t rely on any of the sensory input from the wraith, but our visual systems aren’t affected. Still, I would have the pilot make the final call on the descent.” She answered.

“You got that Aron?” Asked Dwight.

“Yessir.”

“Good. Proceed when you’re ready.”

“Mary, we’ll maintain current distance and observe for now.”

“Yessir.”

The manoeuvring thrusters fired on Aron’s Wraith, as he adjusted the crafts trajectory and begun his descent towards the objects surface. This was by no means an easy procedure, even when they had the aid of the Wraith’s full sensory array. Aron had Chloe make the distance and thruster firing calculations from his observations. Then he could concentrate on any fine adjustments, as they approached. The rest of the squad held their breath as they watched on. The Wraith slowly approached the surface, the worst scenario would be descending too quickly and exploding like the probe had. Finally, Aron felt the Wraith’s feet come into contact with the asteroid’s surface.

“Touchdown successful, engaging anchors.” He announced after visually checking his position one last time.

Large hooks sprung out from the Wraith’s feet and dug into the surface. They would hold the craft in place while the samples were being collected. There were audible sighs of relief from the rest of the squad after his announcement. They were all confident in his ability, but this was a risky manoeuvre, even for an experienced pilot like Aron.

“Good work! Now prepare to collect the samples.” Replied Dwight.

“Yessir.”

As Aron replied, a red warning message flashed up across the centre of Dwight’s vision. It was only visible for a fraction of a second, but it was long enough for Dwight to take notice.

[TRANSFIGURATION PARTICLES DETECTED]

“What! Did you confirm that, Vicky?” Dwight asked panicked and thrown by the message.

“I can’t confirm. The message was from the emergency system, it was automatically relayed.”

“Was it an error?”

“I don’t know…”

“What can you see down there?”

“We’re still practically blind from the sensory array. I can’t confirm the readings either way.”

“What’s going on up there?” Aron asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

“We’re just checking that out. Hold position for now and pause the collection.”

“Yessir.”

“How’s the interference down there?”

“The interference is even stronger on the surface. The instruments are next to useless.” Answered Chloe.

“Shit!!” Aron shouted.

A cloud of dust and rocks had erupted from the asteroids surface a few hundred yards in front of the Wraith. A plethora of warning messages appeared across Dwight’s vision.

[TRANSFIGURATION PARTICLES DETECTED]

[EXPLOSION DETECTED]

[IMPACT WARNING]

[HIGH DENSITY ENERGY READING DETECTED]

“Vicky, tell me that’s another error!”

“I’ve confirmed the readings. I suggest making emergency manoeuvres immediately.” Vicky said calmly and without a hint of the panic of her human pilot.