Planet Zapstrom

Sparxtrike Galvolt watched in horror at the display in her cockpit. Two blips on the hologram disappeared as a third continued on its course.

"Thunderbolt? This is Command. Can you hear me? Impulse? How copy?" Sparxtrike heard Admiral Lektrus over the comms.

Please be ejected safely, Sparxtrike silently wished.

"Thunderbolt! Impulse! Come in!"

Another agonizing moment passed by. Sparxtrike imagined everyone in the control room waiting impatiently as a hush must have fallen over the room.

"Sparky! Blitzkrieg! You're up!" the Admiral finally barked again. Despite the Admiral's best efforts, Sparxtrike could sense the subtle shakiness in her voice. "Don't let that Digitch rascal escape!"

That was the signal for Sparxtrike and Krigzat. No time to mourn them, then, Sparxtrike thought as she tried to process the fact that two starfighters had apparently been destroyed at the same time.

With one hand, Sparxtrike gathered her black hair, which was in a chin-length bob, framing her deep-blue eyes and broad face. Then she tapped on her suit, which immediately caused a transparent helmet to form around her head. How are we supposed to catch up to it now? she couldn't help but wonder.

She was already wearing her space suit, comprising a one-piece orange jumpsuit with cobalt-blue cargo pockets, linings, and zipper. In addition, she wore a light-gray undershirt with orange trimming and black knee-length combat boots. Her virtual backpack, an electric-blue thunderbolt with a canary-yellow screen, was strapped to a holster on her left leg.

She tapped on her starfighter's console. The thrusters rumbled to life, and the HUD flashed on the inside of her helmet.

As she taxied the spacecraft onward, the hangar door automatically lifted. It rushed out onto the apron, picking up speed.

The sky was overcast, not unusual for Zapstrom. A thunderstorm raged on, crackling bolts piercing through the heavy clouds. Every lightning flash illuminated the sprawling apron, tinting the buildings at the Zapstromiss Space Reconnaissance headquarters in brilliant blues, pinks, or whites like some gigantic apparatus, taking snaps with a filter on. The numerous, slender lightning obelisks, ubiquitous installations on Zapstrom, reached upward to the sky, glowing brightly each time they collected a stray lightning bolt, almost as if triumphantly announcing their catch.

Sparxtrike spied Krigzat's starfighter already racing ahead, about to take off. Someone's eager to become space debris, Sparxtrike thought. She recalled how bummed Krigzat had been not to be part of the first response squad.

"Takeoff. Initiating ascent," Krigzat declared over the comms as his starfighter rose into the air.

"Takeoff," Sparxtrike announced, maneuvering her craft off the ramp.

She soared towards the dark, churning clouds as the headquarters grew ever smaller and two-dimensional.

Soon, they were in the middle of the thunderstorm, their vision blocked by the endlessly swirling void around them. Lightning pierced the darkness now and then, snaking between the layers of clouds. Occasionally, a bolt struck Sparxtrike's starfighter before surging along its surface and being absorbed harmlessly by its plating. Only the navigation system on Sparxtrike's HUD clued her in to her position.

"Deploying PFTs," Krigzat's voice boomed.

"PFTs deployed," Sparxtrike said, tapping at her console.

A limited batch of Turbolite Plasma Fusion Thrusters arrived from Savvo Corporation yesterday. It was amazing how swiftly these disc-shaped devices were installed in select crafts without needing much modification in the vessels themselves.

And it was the only edge they had today over the target. The goon they were pursuing was Digitch, and so was their spacecraft. Although Digitex led the galaxy in all things technological, Digitch scientists were not able to get a patent on this trailblazing technology. Probably because of their skewed priorities in research and development these days, Sparxtrike thought.

Sparxtrike was thrown back into her seat as the PFTs crackled, and her starfighter zoomed ahead. She quickly tore through the thick cloud cover and emerged into Zapstromiss outer space.

The satellite colonies skimmed by as she flew through the starry void in pursuit of the Digitch target. Krigzat was racing ahead, his starfighter releasing glowing trails from its thrusters, orange from the regular ones and blue from the PFTs mounted aft.

"Command, this is Blitzkrieg," Krigzat's raspy voice resounded through the comms. "We have no choice. We'd be lucky to get even within long range — we have to take the chance and destroy the Digitch craft using long-range cannons."

"I hear you, Blitzkrieg," came Admiral Lektrus' reply. "Do either of you have other strategies in mind?"

"We cannot destroy that ship," Sparxtrike responded immediately. She was now racing under the base of the majestic Grand Plaza, a pyramidal glass structure glowing in neon colors. Spacecraft swarmed through the multiple entry ports located in several glass panes.

Sparxtrike was careful enough to maintain distance to avoid being sucked in by the gravity generators underneath the megastructure. The Digitch escapee deliberately took a route through mid-space establishments densely packed with tourists and commuters.

"That is not a strategy, Sparky," the Admiral replied.

"We can damage it instead of destroying it," Sparxtrike retorted.

The escapee Digitch craft had abducted Elekzit Oblitz, a prominent Zapstromiss philanthropist. What Digitex wanted to do with such a person was beyond Sparxtrike. Admiral Lektrus believed someone on the inside had assisted the Digitch. She refused to accept their sworn enemy had somehow bypassed security on their own.

Planets Digitex and Zapstrom had had a cold war over technological prowess for centuries. On the one hand, Digitex led in many aspects, including cybernetics, robotics, and the virtual experience — they had invented the Virtual Backpack, after all. On the other, Zapstrom was a force to be reckoned with in the automobiles and crafts industry. And watches, Sparxtrike thought. Zapstromiss watches were famed all across the galaxy.

Sparxtrike struggled to understand where Oblitz fit into this. Nonetheless, he was Zapstromiss, and some Digitch scum meant to take him against his will — and Sparxtrike meant to thwart that.

"You mean like Thunderbolt and Impulse just tried to do?" Krigzat said. "If we even try to hold ourselves back, we will meet the same fate."

Sparxtrike crossed the plaza and rushed between magnificent commercial structures and fuel stations, hovering around her, bearing all kinds of brilliantly lit signs.

"I mean, perhaps they underestimated that Digitch rascal and got reckless," Sparxtrike said, deftly navigating her way between the structures. "We won't repeat that mistake. We just have to fry that craft's—"

"Heads up," Krigzat interrupted. "My sensors are picking up their signatures."

"Do you have visual confirmation?" the Admiral questioned.

"No," Krigzat replied. "He still seems to be a long way off."

"You both better hurry, then, because he will reach Digitex within fifteen minutes," Lektrus commanded. "You must stop them at any cost! Do you hear me? At any cost!"

"Does that mean you are clearing me for extermination with extreme prejudice, Admiral?" Krigzat asked.

"I authorize you. Do what you must, Blitzkrieg," the Admiral allowed.

"You heard that, Sparky," Krigzat said cockily.

Very clearly. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Sparxtrike responded.

"No, Sparky," Admiral Lektrus said firmly. "There's no room for hesitation. You will do whatever it takes. Understand?"

"Understood," Sparxtrike replied as she rolled her eyes in her helmet.

She sped on through the hovering installations as the space traffic grew less dense with every mile. Krigzat's craft led the way, turning, rolling, climbing, and diving around the obstacles with such dexterity that even Sparxtrike couldn't help but marvel at it, despite herself.

A few moments passed when Sparxtrike spoke up, "We are not gonna catch it at this rate." Her muscles tensed as she focused her vision on the HUD. The gap between them and the Digitch craft was not closing fast enough.

"Agreed," Krigzat replied as he steadied his starfighter in a relatively straight line. "We should request some fuel station security to engage it while we catch up."

"Security personnel? When two reconnaissance agents lost?" Sparxtrike said. "Why put them at risk unnecessarily?"

"This is necessary! They just have to harass it and slow it down — from a distance," Krigzat argued. "We'll take over once we get there."

"Alright, hear me out," Sparxtrike said, getting impatient. "We can request all mid-space establishments in the craft's path to redirect their gravity generators and aim their gravitational fields at the craft. The combined gravity well will lock it in place or, at the very least, slow it down."

"Do you realize they will have to forgo gravity inside their installations — and float around?"

"Temporarily, yes," Sparxtrike allowed.

"Fine. Do it," Krigzat accepted with a sigh.

Sparxtrike gestured to activate her transceiver. "Command, come in," she said. "This is Sparky, requesting for all mid-space installations in the projected path of the Digitch craft to redirect their gravity generators and trap it in a gravitational well."

There was a noticeable pause on the other side.

"Those installations will incur damages in their interiors without gravity," Admiral Lektrus finally responded.

"You said, 'at any cost,'" Krigzat chimed in.

"Very well," Admiral Lektrus said. "Request granted. You better make it work. Out."

They soared through the endless void for a few more moments, the celestial bodies forming a static background. The settlements passing them by and the HUD display were the only indicators of their movement.

Suddenly, the blip they were chasing slowed down to a crawl.

"It worked!" Sparxtrike exclaimed.

The gap between them and the Digitch craft was now closing exponentially faster.

"Keep going!" Krigzat responded.

Minutes later, Krigzat began to speak, "I have visual confirm—"

Sparxtrike's craft accelerated with a jolt, knocking the breath out of her. It hurtled forward uncontrollably as she was pinned to her seat, making her head spin. Although her vision blurred, she could make out enough to realize that she was on a collision course with the Digitch craft trapped in the void between some mid-space installments — and also with Krigzat's starfighter, racing forward just like hers.

Sparxtrike desperately activated the reverse thrusters while trying to steer away as best as she could.

"The darned gravity well," Krigzat croaked through the comms.

Sparxtrike looked on in consternation as their starfighters edged closer to the Digitch craft despite maximum power in reverse.

She was about to contact Command when suddenly she lurched forward, and her starfighter pulled back with a jolt. It reversed some distance before she regained control and immediately shifted to forward thrusters.

"Phew! The gravity well is gone," Krigzat spoke up.

"Command must have seen our position and ordered the installments to cease it," Sparxtrike replied, catching her breath.

She focused on the target. It was a Digitch stealth fighter with a sleek body as black as night. It would have been invisible amidst the dark void of the space had Sparxtrike not known where to look, thanks to the HUD on her helmet. A faint malachite-green trail of ionized gas being released from its thrusters was some help as well.

It was a bit larger than Sparxtrike had imagined. "I reckon there's more than one person aboard," Sparxtrike said over the comms.

"Other than Oblitz?" Krigzat asked.

Before Sparxtrike could respond, she noticed something moving on the stealth fighter. "Look out!" she yelled.

She activated the surge generators, causing an electric-blue current to envelope her starfighter. A pair of malachite-green beams of plasma released from turrets on the stealth fighter.

With a burst of canary-yellow sparks, Sparxtrike's starfighter barreled through the space, narrowly dodging the beams. She tapped on the console and responded with her own mounted guns. Electric-blue lightning bolts charged forth toward the stealth craft.

Green cyber energy swept over the enemy craft's hull, and it dematerialized for a second, causing Sparxtrike's lightning bolts to phase right through. Krigzat's bolts connected when the craft solidified but were rendered ineffective by circular, turquoise-blue shields flashing at the impact points.

The crafts soared amidst the floating structures, exchanging beams and bolts. Sparxtrike and Krigzat had to be careful with their aim as the Digitch stealth fighter zigzagged its way between the installments. They also had to make sure not to be too close to any structures so that incoming attacks did not cause collateral damage.

As Sparxtrike flipped her craft to dodge a beam, she watched the stern of the stealth craft split open. A bulky cannon reared its head from inside.

As they pursued the Digitch craft, the cannon began charging, gathering green-and-cyan plasma in the form of glowing hexagons.

The interior of Sparxtrike's starfighter flashed red as the AI began announcing warnings. "Warning! Intense directed-energy signatures detected! Hazardous attack imminent!"

"Dematerializing beam! Clear out!" Krigzat screamed desperately.

Oh no! Sparxtrike felt sweat forming inside her helmet as her heart began pounding.

"Warning! Destruction imminent! Immediate action required!"

The cannon was almost ready to fire. Can't turn in time, Sparxtrike's mind raced. Shields won't work.

A massive bundle of green-and-cyan energy composed of cyber hexagons released in a brilliant burst.

Sparxtrike rapidly rolled her craft clockwise into a sideways position — port up, starboard down. The quick tilt disoriented her, but she blindly activated the underside thrusters and surge generators.

Her craft lurched forward, still perpendicular. The massive, cylindrical beam passed behind her, across the underside of her starfighter, missing her by mere inches.

The warnings died down. Sparxtrike paused to take a deep breath and steady her spinning vision. That has to have a cooldown time, she hoped. She realigned her starfighter horizontally and looked around for Krigzat.

"I lost my starboard thrusters!" Krigzat's frantic voice resounded.

She turned her head port side. Her eyes bulged as she witnessed Krigzat's white starfighter spiraling about, releasing orange and blue trails in lopsided arcs. Its starboard appendage had vanished entirely, with residual green enertrons smoldering in its place.

"Launching my tether!" Sparxtrike yelled.

"Now would be good!" Krigzat urged in a strained voice.

Sparxtrike reached for the touch console. A green glow formed at the periphery of her vision. Darn it!

She tapped and gestured to aim. A burst of cyan EMP shot out of her starfighter at the Digitch craft.

The enemy ship's systems went offline, making it sail adrift in the void. But Sparxtrike knew it was a very brief respite. Immediately, she deployed the tether.

It swirled forward until the electromagnet at its end latched onto the hull of Krigzat's careening starfighter. Sparxtrike activated her reverse thrusters, tugging at Krigzat's craft.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Krigzat croaked as he came to a violent halt before stabilizing. He went silent for a bit. "Oh, that's better! Thanks!" he finally said.

A plasma beam struck Sparxtrike's starboard side, causing her craft to judder in place despite the shields having absorbed the worst of the impact.

"Warning! Shields depleted to twenty-seven percent," the AI cautioned as Sparxtrike retracted the tether.

"That's it! I've had enough!" Krigzat growled as Sparxtrike saw him ponderously turn his starfighter toward the Digitch craft. "I am wrecking it!"

Sparxtrike's eyes immediately darted toward the black stealth craft making its escape. She pictured Oblitz inside — aware, in all probability, that his captors were engaged in a battle with his would-be rescuers. Despite her best efforts to avoid it, she felt the glimmer of hope brewing inside his mind — along with the dread of uncertainty.

She glanced back and watched the giant cannon unfurl from the underside of Krigzat's misshapen craft. A part of her wanted to tell him to stop — they were here to save Oblitz, not kill him.

The other part made her reach for the console. "Together!" she said as she activated her cannon. After all, it was not her who was missing a big chunk of her craft, struggling to keep it from sailing away on a tangent — she could not be the one to tell Krigzat what to do.

"Let's annihilate it into oblivion!" Krigzat roared.

They dodged and deflected the incoming plasma beams as their cannons charged with wild, electric-blue and canary-yellow electricity.

"Now!" Krigzat shouted through the comms.

They fired a pair of gigantic, cyan-and-yellow orbs of ferocious electricity, glowing brightly in space. The lightning spheres charged toward the Digitch craft, their sparks restlessly arcing about.

They reached their target. The stealth fighter dematerialized in a wash of green, and the orbs continued onward, their destructive potential left unsated.

Sparxtrike's heart sank as she watched the orbs sailing away until they met a rogue asteroid. In a brilliant discharge, the asteroid was reduced to dust, and the orbs finally petered out.

For a moment, neither of them spoke as they kept pursuing the blip on their HUD, the enemy ship itself still not having phased back in.

Finally, Krigzat broke the silence. "This dematerializing has to be draining a lot of its power. It has to phase back in sooner rather than later. And then, it won't have enough power for its cannons."

"Two minutes until it enters Digitch space territory," Sparxtrike warned.

"It's not engaging us anymore. We still have a chance."

"It doesn't have to. We will be assaulted from all sides the second we venture there."

"So be it. I'd rather die there than turn back now," Krigzat said resolutely.

"Die? What are you, an ancient Blaunerge knight? We have already lost two of our comrades! You don't have to prove anything!"

"I do," Krigzat said. "Do you remember what happened the last time I spared someone?"

"Yes. But no one will hold it against you this time," Sparxtrike said. "You're more use alive than dead."

"No one held it against me then, either. I did," Krigzat replied. He took a deep breath. "I will not let my comrades' sacrifice go in vain. Look, Sparky, if you want to turn back, you can go. I'll understand."

Do I want to turn back? Sparxtrike wondered, focusing back on the HUD.

"Or... you've always been imaginative," Krigzat offered. "Think of something."

It was moments like these that made it a bit easier for Sparxtrike to survive being Krigzat's comrade all these years.

"I think... there might be something we can try as a last resort," Sparxtrike finally said. "It's risky. It might not even work. Are you ready to help me... at any