From last week . . .
Erynn is flying in a combat exercise. Distracted by a powerful vision from the Anim Blath, her fighter is ‘tagged’ by one of the other pilots.


Erynn sensed the disruption as laser fire raced toward her.
A bolt displaced the air. Energy split the surrounding electro-magnetic field. The Interceptor shuddered as a blast surged across the nose of the fighter.
“Two hits. Well, there won’t be a third,” she grumbled. Tendrils of blue static snapped around her fingers. Her hands tingled and tightened around the controls. Currents of electricity swirled inside the cockpit. Her attention fully recovered, she searched the sky. She stared out the canopy and scanned the immense open plain to her left. “Come on, come on,” she cajoled.
Nothing.
Her head jerked to the right. She glared up at tall mountain peaks. Erynn’s gaze tracked down the craggy slopes and into crevices. “Feel him,” she demanded through gritted teeth. “I can redeem myself. Just turn the battle. Maybe Dad won’t say anything.” Below her the fighter was a vague dark mark hidden in long shadows cast from the mountains. “Found you, Sean! Yes. I know it’s you,” she whispered, relief in her voice.
Twin laser bolts arced toward her. Their white-hot energy rocketed through the empty space.
“I’m ready this time.” She grasped the controls and banked left in a downward angle.
Bright laser bolts shot behind her, a clear miss.
The fighter cut through open sky. Erynn embraced the resistance. She pressed the aircraft to its limits. Wind whooshed passed the Interceptor’s gleaming white hull. Gravity pulled at her. The ground rushed forward. The controls shook, vibrating through her entire body.
Alarms blared. “PULL UP PULL UP” a flat mechanical warning chanted in a male voice.
“Not yet,” she whispered in a slow escape of air from her lungs.
Time slowed to a measured beat.
Now!
Adrenaline surged. Erynn exerted pressure on the controls. She turned hard, pulled back and came out of the reckless dive. Her right wingtip was less than a meter above the ground. She exhaled. Her breath rushed in a tremble through pursed lips. “That was close.”
Maybe too close.
Continuing to climb, her speed increased. She was forced against the rigid seatback. Harness buckles dug into her shoulders. Sunlight glinted off the target above her. She smiled and aimed.
Her targeting screen lit up. A steady glowed green against the yellow grid. The image of a fighter flashed, blinking red.
“I’ve got you, Sean.”
A calm melodic female voice chimed from the acquisitioning system. “Target acquired.” A slight pause followed. “Target locked.”
Erynn fired.
The voice continued. “Target destroyed.”
Erynn switched on her voice activated COM. “You’re done, Sean. I tagged you in a kill zone.” She pushed forward on the controls and leveled her rising fighter. Her respirations and heart rate slowed. The high ebbed.
“Yea, I can hear. But I almost had you this time.” Sean’s voice resonated in Erynn’s ears, satisfaction in his tone.
“‘Almost’ doesn’t count.” She eased off the throttle and decreased the fighter’s speed. Her mood improved. The damage undone from the . . .
Premonition? No. I refuse to accept that inference.
“Erynn, you were a little slow today. Sean had the drop on you for oh . . . half a heart beat before you turned on him.” Mikal’s chuckle carried eerily through her headset. “Someday he might just tag you.”
Erynn’s stomach fluttered and she frowned.
Why would his statement bother me? Not his words. Something else. What?
Recognition flitted at the edge of her awareness.
“Betrayal.” The whispered word rasped like a breeze through dry leaves in her mind. The source was gone before she could catch the speaker or grasp the significance.
No. Not going to happen. Just after effects of that strange . . . vision?
“No one will ever tag you, Erynn.” Tam’s silky voice only slightly distorted through the speakers interrupted Erynn’s thoughts.
Erynn shook off her inattention. “Wait. I want you to tag me. All of you.” A harsh edge fixed her words.
Ease up. They’re not like me. No one is.
Erynn smiled. “Who’s buying the first round of drinks tonight?” A bright tone slipped into her voice.
“That would be Koz,” Kyle volunteered elated. “He got tagged first.”
“I was set up. Sean’s my witness.” Koz’s deep rich voice brought an impression of a powerful man.
The image fit.