"Stay safe, my friends," Kira prayed silently as Himoto activated her waveboard.
"Whoa," someone whispered through the comms. "It's kind of beautiful, isn't it?"
"Radio silence, people," Raider instructed. "Let's at least try to act like this isn't our first time."
"No can do, boss. My team needs to draw as much attention as possible to give you a chance," Tank rumbled.
A tap came on Kira's shoulder. She looked over to find Himoto had matched her fall. At a thumbs up from Himoto, Kira grabbed the other's arm and maneuvered her waveboard to sit across the back of Himoto's. The magnetic field initiated, binding the two boards together.
As soon as Kira's board was attached to hers, Himoto banked.
Almost immediately, there were streaks of light from the planet, announcing incoming weapons fire.
"Hold on," Himoto instructed through the comms.
They swerved, losing sight of the groups ahead. Kira did her best to follow Himoto's cues as the lieutenant tried to dodge the pulse beams.
"Drop in three," Himoto ordered.
To their right, a streak darted their way. A hundred feet and closing.
"Three."
Fifty feet. Kira summoned her soul's breath.
"Two."
Fifteen feet.
"One."
Ten feet.
Himoto released Kira's board. Kira thrust out with her soul's breath, relying more on brute force than finesse.
"Holy shit," Himoto screamed as the streak exploded in a fireball that somehow managed to wrap around the human without doing any damage. "Was that you?"
Kira allowed herself a grin at seeing the human unharmed. "We're even now."
With this, her debts to Admiral Himoto had been partially paid.
Himoto broke toward the CSS Reliance. "Best of luck, Phoenix. And thanks."
Twenty Seven
The ground sped toward Kira in a dizzying rush. Artillery fired from the planet's surface. The rapid barrage aimed at Jace's fleet.
The world felt like it had gone a little mad. Chaotic and insane as stimuli battered Kira's senses.
She concentrated, not letting the madness overwhelm her. All that mattered now was reaching the surface of the planet without dying. To that end, she let her muscle memory take over, grateful that she'd had practice relatively recently.
She'd have to thank the Haldeel royals later. Without the quorum to serve as a training round, this might not have gone the way she wanted it to.
Up ahead, she caught a glimpse of Raider. He was the only one close enough to get eyes on. The rest nothing more than tiny dots in the far distance.
Their landing zones were going to be pretty spread out, Kira realized. Their jumps timed too far apart.
That was going to make Finn a tad unhappy when he got down there and couldn’t find her immediately.
