Page 131 of Defiant

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BRADE

Brade had no intention of dueling Spensa, of course. Fortunately, Spensa didn’t know that. She’d always been about the contest, the fight. While Brade had always seen the big picture, the larger scope.

Like right now. With those inhibitors going down, she had an opening. She merely had to reach that open spot ahead, far enough from the delvers that she’d be able to jump away.

She made sure to make a good showing of dueling. Any less would get her killed. Spensa got on her tail—and if Brade was being honest, she couldn’t have prevented that. So Brade legitimately gave it her best, diving along the outside of one of the vastworms, then firing a spray of shots along it to make it light up. That should slow…

Scrud. She could barely concentrate on her flying because Spensa was back there, weaving between the worm’s tines with the energy of a child on a playground, fleet and precise. How? How did sheflylike that?

Brade burst away from the vastworm on overburn, cutting close to some junk—and Spensa followed, making it seemeasyas she light-lanced to change trajectory on a whim.

At each turn, Spensa got closer to Brade. So Brade went into her best evasives, but Spensa matched them turn for turn. Andkept getting closer.

How? Scrud.

It was all right. A general didn’t have to be able to fight every soldier on the battlefield.Big picture,she told herself.You just need to be able to hyperjump.Brade had managed to maneuver them closer and closer to that open spot with no inhibitor. Reach there, and she could escape.

Hell, from there she could hyperjump right to Evensong and fry the slugs. Then she’d jump to the intelligence stronghold on Varvaxin Three, which not even Cuna knew about.

She was almost free. Spensa didn’t realize what—

A shot hit Brade’s shield. Not from behind. But fromin front.From her escape route. There, to her shock, a group of starfighters had just appeared. An entire flight.

“Cheating!” she said into the comm. “Spensa, you coward. This was supposed to be a duel! Just the two of us.”

“That’s the thing,” Spensa said back. “It’s not just the two of us, Brade. I’m not alone. I will neverbealone. I’m part of something bigger. And when you pick a fight with one of us…”

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“You pick it with all of us,” I finished, grinning as Brade veered away from the freedom she’d been seeking. Ships stormed after her.

“Skyward Flight,” I said, “roll call and confirmation.”

“Skyward One,” said Arturo. “Callsign: Amphisbaena. And no, I’m never going to shorten it. I’m here, Spin.”

“Skyward Two,” said FM, voice firm and seemingly cold, yet I’d heard music from her cockpit just before she cut it off. “Temporary assignment to active flight duty. Callsign: FM. I’m here.”

“Skyward Three,” said Nedd’s affable, relaxed voice. “Callsign: Nedder. We’re here.”

“Nedd?” I asked, amazed. “You’re flying?”

“Well, I’m the copilot,” he said.

“Hello!” a kitsen voice said over the line. “I’m Hana! Nedder needed someone to fly.”

“All part of my plan,” he said. “I can take naps during battles now. Anyway, we’re here for you, Spin.”

Brade dodged right as shots chased her, her motions increasingly frantic.

“Skyward Four,” Alanik said in her own language. “Callsign: Angel. I’m here.”

Brade broke left, but more fire came from that direction, scoring her shield, lighting it up.

“Skyward Five,” Sadie said. I’d have to stop thinking of her as the new girl; she’d now been in the flight longer than I had when I’d left for Starsight. “Callsign: Sentry. Um, I’m here!”

“Skyward Six,” T-Stall said. “Callsign: T-Stall. Here.”

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