Ensnared

[Stoat]

THREE

Jeske awoke, screaming. He tried to leap up, but slammed into the bunk above him and he fell back, dazed. A face he recognised appeared over the edge of the bunk. Leutnant Hanz Felder, his wingman.

"Jeske?! What in the Gottkanzlers name is wrong, Jeske? You scared the life out of me!"

"Hanz? Hanz!!" Jeske struggled to gather the shattered fragments of his mind. "It was a dream? A dream! A nightmare, yes a nightmare, Hanz!" he laughed, a slightly manic edge apparent.

A siren started to wail.

"Then I think you had best pull yourself together fast, Major. We have a job to do!"

The siren stirred something deep inside Jeske, and he started to react without thought. Military training was a priceless commodity in this kind of situation. He rolled out of his bunk and ran to the locker holding his flight suit. This he pulled on within seconds, followed by boots. Fully clothed now, he pounded through the door, Hanz close on his heels, and headed for the fighter docks. Techs leaped from their path as they approached their vessels. They seated themselves in the cockpits of their Wraiths exactly seven minutes and thirty seconds after the siren had sounded. Military training was indeed a priceless commodity. They launched in unison, and streaked up towards space.

Jeske's communications array crackled into life.

"Major Vardogr, we have an emergency situation in sector gamma seven mark forty four. A military transport is under attack by unknown hostiles. You are to intercept and remove the threat immediately."

"Understood control. Proceeding to gamma seven mark forty four. Leutnant Felder is on my wing." Jeske punched in the co-ordinates and settled back as the cruise engines kicked in. "We'll be there soon, Hanz. It'll be good to get some action again. I hope it's those Hessians this time. I'm sick of the farmers of the Landwirtrechtbewegung."

"So, you have recovered from the visit to your parents at last, Jeske? I am glad. I was worried for you these past two weeks. You have been like a ship on autopilot, ever since you retur...."

Jeske closed the communications link to Hanz. He shook as sweat beaded his brow. He tried to remember his visit to his parents, but his mind was blank. Two weeks? The more he concentrated, the more his memories slipped away from him. How could he have lost the last two weeks? Connecting though to the military databases, he scanned his reports for the past fortnight. Everything was there, daily reports on training exercises, missions, tactical improvements, everything appeared as it should. Apart from the fact that he could remember none of it. He scrubbed his hands across his face in frustration. Why couldn't he remember?

His thoughts were broken by the autopilot announcing that their destination had been reached. As he fell out of cruise, he reactivated his comms array, and sent a direct transmission to his wingman.

"Hanz. I have been experiencing a malfunction of my comms array. It seems to have been brought on by the cruise engines."

"Understood Jeske. You had me worried there." A proximity alert sounded suddenly, and contacts appeared on their scanning arrays. Hanz's voice became animated. "Hostile contacts! Three of them. Looks like they are firing on our transport!"

"I see them too, Hanz. Three military issue Wraiths! Wait..... no....... I'm getting odd readings from these ........Hanz! It's the Wilde! Break to attack vector Wulf seven."

Their two Wraiths swung in towards the apparently unsuspecting Wilde. As Jeske's weapons locked onto one of the vessels, he fired. Tachyon bursts shredded the shielding of one of the Wilde ships.

***DESIST***

Pained lanced through Jeske's body, and he screamed as his muscles spasmed and contorted. He felt something then, a presence within himself, taking control, forcing his consciousness to one side. Unable to resist, the pain he'd experienced faded slowly, as did his connection with his body. He saw himself reaching forward and powering down his vessel. His wingman's wraith passed in front of his field of vision, as a vessel from his nightmares seemingly materialised. Almost organic in nature, tentacular protrusions flowing forward, bright pulses streaked towards Hanz Felders ship. As they struck, the ship flared bright and disintegrated.

"HANZ!" Jeske tried to shout, but he had no control of his vocal chords now. As his connection to his body faded he sensed something. A collection of presences, intimately connected to his own being, the ties growing stronger and stronger.

***success*** ***peace*** ***contentment*** ***home***


***welcome***

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