A Twinkling of Digital Stars
1
Danny Dolan sat inside a swirling circle of monitor screens. The ceiling of the Green Dome was high overhead, out of sight in the dim lighting that Danny preferred when he was looking for something in the various systems that made up his realm.
He didn't need his guardian, Mr. Guide, to tell him something was wrong in the Majestic Galaxy. A star had gone out in a flicker of a hand wave. Even in the specialized worlds that Danny watched over, that was an impossibility that shouldn't be able to happen.
Still, the star was gone as if it had never been.
Danny checked the various systems linked to the Majestic. Everywhere else seemed normal in their particular niches, even the weirder ones.
Danny pulled on the gauntlet that housed his light pistol. He made sure the charge was full before leaving the monitor room. He would have to look into this in person.
Danny descended to the hangar that rested at the bottom of the Dome. He pulled on a flight suit as he walked across the small expanse. His white Roadster sat in its bay, waiting for the next race in Turbo City. Three more bays passed as he pressed the front of the suit closed. He paused at his star fighter.
The thing was reverse teardrop with stubby wings and five exhaust ports for the large engine. It was the trademark white, with a green circle above the cockpit. An energy thrower and two mini missile racks were retracted behind the deployed landing gear.
Danny pulled on his helmet as he walked around the fighter. Guide kept his vehicles in perfect order with his robot arms and hands. The walkaround was for things that Guide had not finished yet, or improvements.
Danny nodded, satisfied that the small ship was ready to go.
He climbed up the side of the ship, pressing the switch for the cockpit to slide back. He dropped into the seat. The lid slid back in place, the safety halter locked down to hold him in place. The controls lit up as soon as he hit the ignition switch.
"Mr. Guide," said Danny as he lifted the fighter from the floor of the bay. "Open the Majestic aperture, please."
"Good luck, Danny," said the computer program.
"Thanks," said Danny.
The guardian retracted the landing gear as he slid the fighter out of place and toward the giant exit. If he was already in a system, Guide could do this with the ship on autopilot. He powered up as the bay doors slid back. The real space of the Majestic Galaxy rippled into being as he glided forward. One push of the throttle and the Star Guardian vanished into the aether.
Danny smiled as the fighter roared forward.
2
Danny guided his fighter on target on the other side of the system barrier. The navigation computer whistled in annoyance as it tried to match up markers for position.
Finally it concluded the jaunt was successful despite the absence of a sun where it should be.
Some of the planets had started to break their orbits without the strong gravity well holding them in place. The inner spheres were already frozen rocks.
Danny put his scanners to work. There should be something left over from snuffing a star without causing a black hole to appear. At least there had been no loss of life yet. The guardian didn't want to think what would happen if whatever this was, was used in an inhabited solar system. Everyone without protection would die with their star.
Danny's electronic bloodhound buzzed at him, lighting a trail of particles leading away from the local space on his cockpit glass. He eased the fighter on the same path as he passed through the destroyed system.
Whomever had done this must be stopped, before they did it to a living system.
Danny followed the trail across space. He thought he was lucky that the ship, whatever it was, had not used the subspace jump back to its point of origin. He would have had to resort to landing somewhere and asking about whatever it was.
This way he had an element of surprise on his side in case he needed it.
Danny let his fighter cruise after the particles as he tried to gauge what kind of menace he was up against. The Majestic Galaxy was in a civil war as the ruling dictatorship and the upstart republicans battled for control. Some super science and psychic abilities were the norm at the moment.
Some of the soldiers and people have tired of the war and moved out of the realm in the rare occasions Danny could make that possible. He couldn't end the war on his own, but he could do something to help the individuals he has met.
Danny came out of his cloud catching when he saw where the trail had led him. He hovered behind a nearby asteroid as the system killer hung in space in front of him.
Danny let his fighter take pictures of the monstrosity he had discovered. It was a silver moon with a large crater dimpling most of one hemisphere. Propulsion seemed to be antigravity generators at the poles. The surface was covered with ship killing artillery, sensory arrays, and shield generators.
There was no way Danny was going to get close enough to check things out. His fighter would be spotted and destroyed before he could get a chance.
He needed some kind of disguise.
Danny checked out his cover. The asteroid was solid rock. As long as he didn't use his engines, he should be undetectable. All he had to do was aim it at the sun killer.
Danny clamped down on the rock with his landing gear. He fired the twin engines on the fighter for a few seconds. The asteroid gently moved from its orbit in pursuit of the station. The guardian watched his profile as the moving shield drifted closer to the retreating base.
Danny's disguise drifted closer to the retreating space station. His radio pulled clear traffic off the ether as the Imperial personnel began to react to the wandering asteroid. Danny released the claws on his landing gear so that his fighter could drift free from the moving rock.
Artillery lasers charged up as firing solutions fed on targeting screens. Automated controls waited for the commander's order. As soon as the word was given, fiery lances erupted from the dozens of towers dotting the sun killer's surface. The asteroid came apart under the bombardment.
Danny guided his fighter through the sudden cloud of dust. The debris would hide his footprint hopefully as he glided toward the silvery blue construct. He hoped he was fooling the Imperial sensors.
Otherwise this trip would end in an explosion just like the asteroid's change in orbit.
Danny smiled as he brought his fighter in for a landing in a canyon formed by two battleship-sized conduits. The grapples on the landing gear held his small ship in place as he prepared to leave it in place.
He would feel better if he could leave it in a landing bay, but knew that wasn't possible. He would be lucky to get back to it if his mission was discovered by the army that must be manning the station.
Danny's magnetic boots allowed him to cross the station's skin with slow strides. His helmet's glass visor told him how much oxygen was held by his suit's supply. It polarized to block off heavy light from any nearby star. He didn't expect to use that departing a dead system.
Danny found an airlock used by maintenance to repair hull breeches from the outside. His gauntlet pierced the lock mechanism. The door irised open on command. He stepped inside, triggering the air cycle with a finger push. The inner door opened within moments. Danny checked out the corridor before stepping out of the chamber.
Danny made his way down the empty hall, light gun at the ready. Any rain soldiers seeing him would not hesitate to try to put holes through his ten year old body. His suit's tanks filled as he walked.
When he got ready to leave, it would be with enough air to get back to his own ship.
Danny snuck along until he discovered an office. He used his gauntlet to unlock the sliding door. He stepped inside, glad to find the place was empty. He went to the desk, glad to see an information terminal he could break into.
Time to see what this puppy was made of.
3
Danny used his gauntlet to search for the plans to the sun killer. It took a moment for him to break the security protocols. Blueprints flipped through the air in front of him. He started downloading the plans on a disc. He waited for the transfer bar to fill with red with the tapping of his fingers on the desk top.
He needed to get off this thing as fast as possible now that he had what he wanted.
The other forces in the Majestic realm had to be made aware of this new menace. Hopefully someone would be able to come up with a plan to stop it.
Danny had looked at the plans as it had passed through to storage. The self destruct systems were on what passed for a bridge. He could fight his way up there maybe, but how would he survive trying to get back to his fighter.
Not to mention having to punch in the codes to cause the thing to explode while people were trying to kill him.
Danny stuffed the completed transfer in his flight suit. He went to the door, listening for anyone in the hall before leaving the office. He crept down the hall to the airlock near his ship.
Danny paused at the airlock portal. He felt that someone was watching him. He turned to look up and down the long hall. Armored rain soldiers jogged into position at each end of the corridor. Rifles pointed at the guardian with small whines.
A tall man in black chainmail parted the crowd at one end. A black skull served as a closed helmet. A long cape hung from the shoulders of his breastplate.
"Danny Dolan," said the man in black. "I'm glad to meet you again. I should have anticipated your arrival before we commenced our test run."
"This is a bit much, don't you think, Corpus?," Danny asked, encompassing the space station with a circular motion of his arm. "Does the Empire really need to put out whole suns?"
"The Emperor would like something of an advantage in overwhelming might," said Lord Corpus. "A more immediate question is what will happen to you now that I have you trapped?"
"You could always let me go," said Danny.
"I believe the Emperor would like a tour and the assumption of control of your command center," said Lord Corpus. "I think that would end any interference from outside our system."
Danny glanced around, calculating his odds. They were very bad, even with his incredible quickness added in to the equation. He might be able to shoot a couple of the blue armored troopers, but he would eventually be shot before he could get clear.
Not to mention Corpus's personal abilities that made him a match for many of the beings that populated the systems Danny watched over. Things from the Loathly Tower steered clear of the fallen knight.
Danny refused to give in to doubt and despair. There had to be a way out of this mess.
"It appears that I have no chance," said Danny. "Lead the way to the bridge, and I'll show you the natural fissure to get to the Dome."
"Your weapon," said Corpus, extending his hand.
Danny's gauntlet unlocked on its own. It flew off his hand despite his efforts to lock his hand close inside the leather/metal mix. Corpus seized it out of the air, crushing the mechanisms inside the garment with his will.
All eyes were on the display of power for a brief second. That was enough for Danny to take advantage of Corpus's concentration to leap forward and throw the dark knight with one of the tricks a street fighter had shown him once. Corpus slid along the deck, surprised at the audacity of the move.
Danny twisted to one side as the rain soldiers opened fire with stun beams. He couldn't let them take him alive. He also didn't have much chance of escape if Corpus had a chance to concentrate on him with his mental powers.
Danny did have one thing going for him. He had a pause button he could mentally activate. It would only last for three seconds. He hoped that would be enough.
Danny ducked another blue bolt as he pictured that button and pressed it. All motion stopped around Danny as he continued to keep moving.
1...Danny sprinted away from Lord Corpus. He squirmed through the blockade of troopers in his way. One hand pulled a stun gun and grenades as he went. He knew that the stun gun wouldn't help him against armor but he didn't want to be totally unarmed.
2...Danny armed the grenades and dropped them as he finally reached the other side of the massed troops. He sprinted forward trying to reach the corner before the effect wore off.
3...Danny turned the corner. He didn't stop to look back. This was his only chance to get free. If he had tried to use the airlock, he would have been stunned before he could even get out in space.
The grenades went off as Lord Corpus flipped to his feet. He drew his lightning sword as his troops were flung in the air like rag dolls. The guardian had slipped from his grasp.
"Regroup," the fallen knight ordered. "Put the station on alert. Find that boy, and capture him. We need him alive."
The rain soldiers slowly formed into a running unit as alarms began to sound. They started their chase, trying to remain confident to catch a small boy.
4
Danny tucked the stun gun in his belt as he ran down the long corridor. The stamping of rubber on steel followed him as he looked for a hiding place. Unless they sent someone to look for his fighter on the surface of the station, it should still be waiting for him. All he had to do was get to it.
First he had to find a place to hide until he could think of a plan. Lord Corpus wasn't going to wait before they snuffed out a star important to the Emperor's enemies.
Danny spotted a ventilation grill as he ran. He slid to a stop, passing it as he went. He scurried back to it. He knew it was a bad idea as soon as he examined it. The bars were too heavy for him to pull out of the wall with main strength, and his tools had been in his crushed gauntlet. It did give him an idea for a bolt hole.
He ran on, checking for an open office as he passed. Maybe the ventilation system would be easier to get into in one of those small rooms. It was his only hope of escape from the advancing marching feet.
Finally a door slid out of the way. Danny ducked in as an officer stood at his desk. The stun gun whirred as the soldier reached for the alarm button. A quick scan of the room was enough to locate the smaller grill. Danny smiled as he pried the service pistol from the officer's limp hand and used it on the vent cover. He pulled a pot against the opening as he crawled in the darkness beyond.
Danny moved along the ventilation shaft as fast as he could and still be as quiet as possible. It wouldn't take long for the rain soldiers to find the officer he had shot, less time to realize where he had gone from there. Then they would come in after him.
Luckily the ventilation couldn't just be sealed and pumped full of gas.
Danny was happy to take advantage of that design flaw. He crawled along until the shaft widened into corridors. He followed the network toward a display of billboard lamps. Concentrated air flowed from the lights.
Danny paused, unable to push against the stream of air. He turned and headed back the way he had came. A side shaft should take him to an exit. He started looking for that elusive back door.
Danny listened as he worked his way along the dark shafts. He was turned around and had no idea where his fighter was. Even if he made it to the surface now, it would take him days to search for his ship as big as the station was.
Not to mention what would happen if Lord Corpus found him before he could get away from the sun killer.
Danny used the stolen blaster to gain access to another office. He paused to listen. The sun killer was still on alert, but it seemed to be moving again.
Another star was going to be snuffed out.
Danny went to the computer in the desk. His gauntlet could have accessed what he wanted through any security. He didn't know what he could do without it.
One touch activated the work station. A few moments of button pressing told Danny where he had wound up, where the airlock closest to his fighter was, and that a battalion of soldiers had entered the ventilation system to look for him.
Danny loaded a map on an empty pad. The route back to his ship was marked in red by his finger tip. One more piece of good luck would get him out of the fire, and back into the pan.
Danny left the office, crept along the hall, looking for the elevator that he needed to get to the right corridor. He held the blaster and the stun gun in his hands in case he ran into any searcher fortunate enough to stumble onto him before he reached his destination. Tramping feet on the floor sped him up as he finally spotted a bank of lifts. He scooted inside the first empty cab, closing the door as he spotted the hand of the first rain soldier to come into view.
Please don't see me. Please don't see me.
Danny held his blaster ready as he waited for the doors to open on the floor he wanted. He would have to shoot first if anyone saw him and went for their weapons.
Danny crept along the corridors, keeping close to the wall. He held his stolen blaster ready to shoot anyone who happened on him. Rain Soldier armor should deflect any blast, but in reality one shot would knock them down and keep them there.
Danny spotted the air lock. He was surprised there were not any guards. Lord Corpus should have done that as a matter of routine. Something was wrong with that.
Danny went to the door, snugging his helmet tight. He thumbed the lock open, watching the hall for soldiers looking for him. The inner aperture finally opened enough to allow him to step inside the chamber. He started the cycle, keeping an eye watching the hall through the small window set in the metal bulkhead. The air vacuumed from the chamber. The outer door opened as soon as all of the oxygen had been sucked away. Danny stepped out into space, magnets in his boots holding him to the surface of the sun killer.
Danny looked around to get his bearings. He hoped Lord Corpus had not found his fighter where it was anchored. A couple slashes with that laser sword he carried would wreck his craft. That would be a sure fire way to put a stop to his escape.
Danny walked toward his fighter, looking around for an ambush. He was relieved that no one jumped out shooting at him. He spotted his space craft, ran to it as fast as he could with the magnets preventing him from flying off into space. Danny pulled himself up the ladder, and strapped himself into the cockpit. He rolled the cover closed before firing up the engines.
Time to get out of Dodge.
5
Danny set his throttle on full, as he soared away from the sun killer. He knew as soon as he reached a certain height the station's sensors would lock onto his fighter. No help for that.
Anti-aircraft towers reached for the fighter as the guardian headed for space. The wedge weaved erratically as Danny tried to dodge the laser beams. The beams lit up the dark as he roared away.
Danny kept on his guard as he prepared to jump to safety. One well placed tractor beam would stop this escape cold before he had a chance to pass on the information he gathered.
Red bolts sliced across Danny's bow as he checked the numbers his navigator was spitting out. He glanced up as he went through the procedure to fold space.
Short range fighters soared behind Danny. Stubby lasers under the hexagonal bodies spat at Danny's more streamlined craft. He pulled his fighter in a series of S-turns as he tried to break away from the pursuit. The imperial fighters fired at will as they tried to put a bolt through the teardrop's green circle.
Danny's navigator beeped at him, feeding a course on the tiny screen next to the stick. He steered onto it, barrel rolling to evade the swarm of fighters. The stars stretched as he flipped the switch. Space wrenched as Danny's fighter spanned light years in a second.
Danny shuddered as relief swept through him. He thought he would have to be reset for moment there. Time to call a friend about a star snuffer.
The white fighter slid into normal space a few minutes from Danny's destination. It floated gently toward a dry dock cradling freighters under repair. The Star Guardian would be able to nestle in a hangar for small space craft.
Danny ordinarily avoided the politicking that went on in the local systems. If he was positive that the sun killer would only be used as a last resort weapon, he would bow out and return to the Green Dome.
He just couldn't trust the local government not to snuff out a star over something petty and ridiculous.
Danny followed the dry dock's instructions, and brought his fighter in for a clean landing. He rolled the shield back to climb out of the cockpit. He checked his pad as he locked his fighter. He hoped to meet someone he knew in the revolution and hand over the disk he had stolen from the station's computer.
Then he could watch things from afar, confident that the revolution would take care of things for him.
Danny pushed his way through the locals, heading to a local cantina. The person he wanted to talk to should be there. Otherwise he would have to look around the station, and he wasn't sure if he had the time for that.
The bar held a plethora of life forms crowding the small room, luxury not being the dominate need on a working station. The boy guardian saw his contact sitting at a table against the back wall. He smiled, glad that this had not sprouted enemies wanting to cut him down.
Danny pushed through the various bodies in his way as he headed for the back to join his contact. He dropped in an empty seat, unsure what he should say as a greeting.
"Hello, Danny Dolan," said the contact.
"Hi, Three Four," said Danny.
Three Four was a gleaming, humanoid shell on a metal skeleton. Lamps glowed in three different sockets over a slit mouth.
"I have something for you," Danny said, handing over the disk.
The robotic ambassador placed the disk into a slot in one of its arms. A tiny whirring marked its driver reading the information from the space station. Its frozen expression did not relay how it digested the blueprints.
"Where did you get this?," Three Four asked. "Is it genuine?"
"I was there," said Danny. "I don't how long it will be before it arrives in an inhabited system and puts out the lights literally. I think you should tell the Revolutionaries to get ready for it."
"Have already sent a message to a counterpart," said the robot. "He should be relaying this to the Planning Board as we speak."
"Good," said Danny. "It looks like my work here is done."
"Not yet," said Three Four. "My counterpart requests that you join us in planning an attack on this Sun Killer. The Planning Board believes that you will be able to deal with Lord Corpus while the real attack takes place. His flying abilities are phenomenal, and the feeling is that you will be able to keep him busy while the rest of our fighters try to strike at any weak point the board may discover."
"That sounds crazy to me," said the guardian.
Danny and Three Four left the station bar together, heading for the hangar bay where the guardian fighter waited. The robot contact had been directed to take the boy to a supposedly abandoned system a few jumps away. A plan for the attack was already being designed by the board's best plotters.
Revolutionary capital ships were supposedly on route from their hiding places to join in the battle according to the robot. That was days away, and no one knew how much help they would be against the behemoth folding space to reach its next target.
The unlikely pair boarded the fighter, strapping in the back to back seats. The dock authority gave a green light. Danny nudged his ship out of its bay, watching for ships that might decide to cross his path as he moved away from the spinning satellite.
Danny turned into a marked lane. He smoothly accelerated toward a jump point on the heading he had been given. As his craft reached the needed speed to move into hyperspace, a huge shape stretched into existence to the left of his flight path. Ship killing lances reached for the white vehicle. Danny closed the switch and his fighter slid from existence.
The guardian's Star Fighter finished its long slide with a planetary system approaching from port. Danny turned to assume an orbit around the green and blue sphere. He let the fighter drift as he thought about what he had seen before the jump.
The sun killer had appeared at the edge of the station's operating area. It had been ready for ships to leave from the way it had fired on the departing fighter. Why had it appeared? Danny could only think of one answer.
His fighter had to have a bug on board.
"I think my fighter has a transmitter on board," said Danny. "We have to warn the Revolution, and get out of here before that thing catches up."
"I'm passing on the news now," Three Four said. "Luckily there is no base here."
"That won't stop them putting out the sun," Danny said. "It will be a precautionary thing for them."
"Relayed," said the robot. "New coordinates are coming in."
He gave the new jump points to Danny's navigational system with a click of an extending link bar. The numbers locked in one at the time.
Danny nodded as he broke orbit and headed along the indicated route. Moments later the star fighter slid out of existence again.
Danny glanced around as the new space swum into focus after he finished with the jumps he had been handed. His stomach tried to rebel from the beating he had given it.
Seconds later, a fleet of revolutionary fighters stretched into formation just off his bow. Three capital ships appeared behind the fighters in a relative triangle. The radio filled with fleet talk as the Star Guardian was englobed by the other fighters.
"Star Guardian," said a commanding voice over the free channel. "This is Admiral Jointer. Our attack plan is being downloaded to Three Four as we speak. The board would like for you to deal with Lord Corpus, when he appears to defend the station."
"You're not giving me an easy job," said Danny. He straightened his shoulders as he mentally prepared himself. "All right. I'll do what I can."
"Let's get on with it then," said Jointer. "All elements take up your preplanned positions. I repeat take up your positions."
The star craft divided into sections, sailing to hiding places just below light speed. Danny glided behind a moon, a member of a party of four. He was not thrilled that he had to take on Lord Corpus in a dog fight. The capital ships hid behind a gas giant as they waited for the sun killer to expand from hyperspace.
Danny wiped the sweat off his brow, checking the chronometer in the control board. How long would they have to wait? As if to answer his question, space rippled to reveal the Sun Killer squeezing its bulk into normal space.
"Flights launch," Jointer ordered over the general command.
Wait's almost over, Danny thought as he made sure his weapons were online and available for use.
6
The squads of revolutionaries swooped from their hiding places at full speed. Small packets of energy preceded them to the surface of the Sun Killer. Armored skin opened under the assault as the fighters separated into smaller units as they searched for a weak spot to attack.
The station's laser towers answered the assault with fiery lances from their joined, four barrels. The smaller fighters' speed and agility allowed them to dodge the enemy fire for the most part. Those that didn't turned into fireballs exploding against the artificial canyons, or into clouds of shrapnel that spun out streamers of smoke.
The capital ships soared into firing range, main guns blazing as they crossed the planetary space. The station's shields absorbed some of the punishment, but not all. Chunks of whatever was caught in front of the blasts were blown clear of the satellite's surface.
Everything appeared to be going according to plan. The fighters were a distraction while the heavy ships battered the larger foe with their armament. The only thing to worry about was if other ships were approaching the battlefield to crush the small force fielded against the massive beast.
The Sun Killer turned the maw of its main weapon at the fleet, a pupil in a stellar eye. It fired at the star ships, targeting the lead destroyer with its purple ray. The ship acquired a double image before losing all power. It continued to coast forward on momentum, but its engines and power plants were dead.
Swarms of government fighters glittered as they surrounded the helpless destroyer. Their belly mounted guns raked the ship as they made one pass and turned to engage the active enemy on bat wings.
Danny looked around one last time. The battle was joined, with fighters winking out like bugs hitting a zapper. One of the big ships floated helplessly as smaller craft chewed it up relentlessly. Sensors said that the crew were dead after that purple beam sliced through its shields.
"Target has been sighted," Three Four said. "It is time for our part."
"Reserve units," said Danny, listening to the open radio as he sent a series of flight paths to the other fighters in his squad. "Follow your plans to the best of your abilities. Good luck, and I'll see you on the other side of things."
Danny led the way from behind the moon, letting the Star Guardian dive forward like a hawk. His missile rack and cannon were ready to fire as he curved toward the silent destroyer. He loosed his whole clip as he roared along the top of the bigger ship. Debris trailed behind the white fighter as the boy pulled out of his long dive. The rest of his squad formed a duck flock behind him as they added their own fire to the fray.
"Lord Corpus approaches from our left," Three Four said. "He is accompanied by another platoon of fighters. Our forces will not be able to continue against their numbers at this rate of attrition."
"I'm sure the admiral knows that too," said Danny as he banked to meet the government's knight. "We're going to have to come up with a way to destroy that thing if we want to come out of this alive. Any suggestions?"
"I will go over the plans again," said the robot. "Maybe there is a weak point we can exploit if we survive Lord Corpus."
Danny concentrated as he closed with the black decahedron firing at his white teardrop. One mistake now and it was over. The Star Guardian's cannon fired a steady stream of lightning as its pilot jinked and doglegged. Lord Corpus veered from the aggressive attack, trying to loop around to line up Danny's fighter in his sight. His wing men tried to ape his flight path, but one flew in front of the energy beams and was holed in six, or seven, places before it turned into spears heading in different directions.
"Hold on, Three Four," Danny said, as he rolled into a sharp turn. His threat indicator told him with a yellow light that Lord Corpus had got behind him and was trying to lock on. He didn't plan to let the other have an easy shot at him.
Bubbles of red flew by Danny's cockpit as he threw his fighter in a set of desperate moves to try to get back on the offensive. The black fighter mirrored his every action. The surviving wing man was not so skilled, and flew into Danny's sights. One finger pull sent the government pilot careening out of control.
"Lord Corpus is still behind us," said Three Four.
"I know, I know," Danny said. "I can't shake him. Anything from your review?"
"The inside of the star drain could be used to cause a feed back if we were to block the path of the beam somehow," said the robot. "It would have to be with something like a planetoid."
"Let's do that," said Danny, spinning the Star Guardian away from Lord Corpus's fire. His move took him toward the now motionless destroyer as another purple ray lit nearby space. Luckily it missed its target as the capital ship dropped out of the way. "Matter of fact I think I have an idea how."
"I do not understand," said Three Four.
"I am dropping you off on the Cadia," said Danny, pouring on the speed now that he had a clear course of action. "Get it going and drive it where you need it to go. I'll swing back by and pick you up before it hits."
"That will take an unknown amount of time to execute," said Three Four. "It would be more logical to use one of the already moving ships."
"Do what you can," said Danny.
The boy guardian swooped at the destroyer at full power. His path took him under the ship, and around. He circled its bulk several times with Lord Corpus dogging him. The guardian lost the older pilot in one of those near misses with the inert ship. He didn't think it would be for long.
"Time to get out," Danny said, making sure his independent air supply was ready to go. He opened the cockpit as he completed his next circle. The air rushing out pulled Three Four with it. The guardian made sure his ally hit the deck of the crippled ship before pulling away. The windshield closed as he looked around for his pursuer.
Three Four had to make their idea happen, or the battle was lost. Perhaps the revolution with it. Then other lives of people just trying to mind their business would follow as their suns were snuffed out.
Lord Corpus flew away from the Cadia, turned around, shot two revolutionary fighters apart as he headed back to the destroyer. His majesty wanted the guardian's access to other systems, but the dark knight had already decided to kill the boy.
The next guardian would be more to their liking.
The black fighter closed on the Star Guardian. Gauntleted fingers flexed as Corpus lined up for his shot. He ignored the other fighters swirling around him as he pursued his grail. Once this enemy fell, he would turn to deal with any other that challenged him.
The targeting system buzzed as Corpus pulled the trigger on his stick. His blasts ripped space as the white star craft turned out of the way. It led him toward the Sun Killer, staying out of the reach of his dual cannons as he fired again and again. Then the Star Guardian spun in place, streamers of light slicing from its belly gun as it flew backward. Some instinct made the knight try to turn out of the way at the last moment. It was almost too little, too late. He lost part of his engine as his ship went into a mad spin.
Corpus decided to withdraw from the battle. His crippled fighter made him an easy target. He needed to set down somewhere, and then arrange for a pick up by another ship. The black ball limped for a moon, spinning as its one working engine erupted at the extra strain placed on it.
Corpus could only watch as the Cadia's engines lit again. He understood what was going to happen in a flash of thought. Worse there was nothing he could do to stop the revolution agents from carrying out their plan.
His majesty would not be pleased by this turn of events.
Lord Corpus limped away as the Cadia aimed itself at the Sun Killer as a knife seeking the heart of its victim. He had to do what he could to get away from that spot. As soon as the Cadia struck, the battle was lost no matter how good a star fighter he was.
Epilogue
Danny stood off to one side as waldo arms went over the Star Guardian with loving care. Mr. Guide was excellent at this type of work. The Sun Killer was available to both sides of the Majestic power struggle. He didn't know how good a thing that was, but at least his interference had helped keep a balance of power.
Now that the Star Guardian was back in tip top shape, and resting in its bay, Danny had to check if he had another light gun laying around. Then he needed some food and rest.
Mr. Guide would alert him to any more trouble while he was sleeping. Then he would look into it like usual.
He wondered how long it would take the Majestic Government to recover from this setback and hatch something equally destructive.
He would have to keep a special eye on that from now on.