Free Star Runners: Mission Wraith (#3) by L.E. Thomas Page A

her head to the side. “A little. You’re from a beautiful planet with wide open spaces. I’m just worried you might have trouble coping with carrier life at first.”
    Austin thought of what little Ryker had shared about her home world of Lian. With most of the population required to serve in the military from an early age, Ryker had spent her formative years growing up in what sounded to Austin like a subterranean bunker. It had been the reason she lost herself in the simulators—the reason she wanted to fly—and ended up being recruited by the Legion because of it.  
    “I lived on Tarton’s Junction for a year,” he said. “I should be able to deal with this.”
    “I hope you’re right. Carrier life is much tighter than life on a station.” She turned to face him, her dark eyes falling from his own to focus on his mouth. She rested her hand on his shoulder. “I’ll go to my quarters now. I’ll see you after?”
    “Definitely,” he said without hesitation.  
    She smiled at him and turned away, disappearing down the corridor. Austin remained at the thin viewport, staring out at the shuttle traffic for a moment. Soon, the Formidable would be underway, and his life on a carrier would begin. He took a deep breath and lingered at the viewport.  
    “ATTENTION!” a voice boomed on the ship’s intercom. The traffic in the corridor halted. “ATTENTION! All officers not on duty report to quarters. Ship’s crew to their stations. All bridge officers report to the bridge. All officers and crew should prepare for departure.”  
    The message repeated and the traffic in the corridor increased in speed. Austin pulled away from the viewport and headed into the flowing river of traffic.  
    *****

    The steel gray walls of his quarters reminded Austin of the jail tour his class took in the fourth grade. The room—his new home—was even smaller than his room on Tarton’s Junction. He didn’t think that was possible. And there was no viewport. One seat attached to the wall had a retractable desk on the arm with a built-in tablet. The device had no off-ship communications or connections—he had to go to the Communication Room below the main deck for any messages bound for somewhere off the Formidable . Instead, the tablet had the ship’s Intranet with important forums to facilitate shipboard communications. Commander Horace had posted a welcome message.  
    A bed pulled out from the right wall and could be pushed back just as easily. A storage compartment comprised the left side of the room, filled with a standard uniform and regulation off-duty attire. His fingers lingered on the brand new blue Tizona flight suit. He knew this signified a Trident on the Formidable awaited him.  
    He thought of launching through a Legion carrier’s launch tube instead of taking off from a hangar as he did so many times on Tarton’s Junction. He had heard other pilots talk about the rush of being shot into space as if you sat on the head of a missile. His pulse quickened as he imagined it.  
    He suddenly didn’t mind the cramped quarters.  
    Since he had been ordered to his quarters until the carrier departed the Tizona , Austin sat in his one chair and spent the next minutes getting acquainted with the Formidable . She wasn’t the oldest in the fleet—far from it—nor was it the newest. According to the information on his tablet, the Legion fielded several carriers and escort ships older than the Formidable . Essentially a wide angled shape coming to a point at the bow with a handle at the stern, the Formidable was the shape of Parazonium dagger; an ancient weapon according to the tablet. A third generation Parazonium Class carrier, the Formidable had seen three tours. The file provided no details regarding these tours. However, Austin was able to find Commander Horace was about to lead them on his third tour—his second on the Formidable .  
    “All hands,” the intercom buzzed, “this is Commander Mitchem Horace.