Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Star Sanctity ❯ Chapter III ( Chapter 3 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Star Sanctity




Star Sanctity
Chapter III
by: the Lioness
[Insert witty disclaimer]
15 minutes later the group was waiting on the parade ground. As Commander Scath approached the group they could see that he was holding a green bag. Stopping in front of Sakura as the squad lined up he tossed the bag to Sakura.
"In the bag are green strips of cloth," Commander Scath announced. "You are each to take one and put it around your right elbow as an identification of what squad you're in."
Nodding her head, Sakura reached into the bag, pulled out one of the strips of cloth before handing the bag to Quaret standing behind her. Then she quickly tied the cloth to her right elbow before looking back at Commander Scath.
"You shall be split into two groups and put into the simulators again for a dry run with wingmates," Commander Scath rasped as the bag was passed from one squad member to the next. "Both groups will go up against one another. One group will have black Fighters and the other group's Fighter fighters will be gray."
Sakura and the others in her squad nodded as Commander Scath's cold eyes swept over them.
"Starting with Kinomoto every other one of you is to take two steps to the front," Commander Scath ordered. Doing as she was told Sakura quickly took two steps to the front and looked over her shoulder to see who was with her. She was disappointed to see that Rigg was in the other line and Spidra was in her line.
"Although you shall be flying in a group, your individual scores will be monitored," Commander Scath informed the group. "So remember what I said earlier, you are to try to beat Kinomoto's scores or else we shall start the day tomorrow with something other then the simulator flight, understood?"
Nodding her head nervously, Sakura tossed a quickly look over her shoulder and saw that most of the others in the squad were eyeing her. She couldn't purposely lose, so she sincerely hoped that what Rigg had said earlier was true, that he had indeed just had luck. She would do her best and hope for the best, she had after all joined the Fleet to become a pilot and not a Trooper. She briefly tried to imagine herself spending four years in that armor and quickly shoved the thought aside. If she ever needed to remember why she had to do her absolute best in the simulators, all she had to do was think of herself as a Trooper. The Fleet had expanded to include girls, but, unfortunately, so had the Troops. The Empire was starting to recruit anyone who wanted to join.
"Follow me," Commander Scath ordered as he turned around and headed indoors.
Marching behind the Commander at the head of her line Sakura wondered where they were going as the Commander was heading towards the one building she hadn't been in yet. As they entered the building two storm troopers in the first room looked up and raised their blasters but then lowered them as they saw Commander Scath. Walking through a winding dull gray hall, Commander Scath finally entered a room and Sakura saw that it was full of simulators lined in two rows along the walls.
If they had this many simulators then why hadn't the officers tested them here? Why had they been tested in two simulators? Shaking her head, Sakura walked forward at the Commander's signal and stopped before the last simulator in the first row.
"Kinomoto, your group will have the black Fighters and Quaret's group will have the gray ones," Commander Scath stated in his gravelly voice. "Get into your simulators."
Sakura could hear someone mumbling as she started to get into her simulator, so she turned around. It was Spidra, muttering something like "I'm not getting into that contaminated thing until I'm sure my immune capacity is checked" and looking at a small datapad, standing beside her simulator, perfect to the last hair. How was her team going to win with Spidra on their side? Spidra was pretty good at flying since her parents had started teaching her when she was a baby, Sakura had to grudgingly admit, but she was also trying to do everything by herself and getting in peoples way. For a fleeting moment Sakura wished there was a door nearby so she could give it her best slam and watch as every single prefect hair on Spidra's germ free head fly in all directions. Sakura squashed that thought, shaking her head at her own mean thoughts. She usually was never like this.
Pushing all her thoughts to the back of her mind where she could examine them later, Sakura quickly and eagerly climbed into her simulator and pulled on the annoying breathing mask. Then she took hold of the controls and waited until the screen changed into a space view. Looking out the viewport she saw that they were in space above a green and blue planet. Instantly she made a mental note of not getting too close to the planet to prevent being pulled in by the planet's gravity.
Searching the vast expanse of space she looked for the gray Fighters but failed to see them, quickly she looked down at her radar but still saw nothing but the ships of her wingmates. Sitting back she wondered what was happening when she suddenly became aware of the sound of breathing near her ear.
"Who's there?" she asked looking behind her.
"Kinomoto, that you?" another voice replied over the com, a voice which Sakura recognized as Saho's.
"Yes," Sakura replied.
"I guess everyone in our group has com connection," Fluer's melodic voice stated. She was the only other girl in their squad. "Perhaps we should agree on some kind of strategy."
"Probably," Sakura replied. "We'd better break into two groups so that the other group can't surround us."
"Good idea," Janaske commented. "Why don't Kinomoto, Fluer, and Saho be in one group while Prong, Ganst, and I be in the other."
"Sounds fine with me," Prong replied. "But what should we do about Webniner there. She's already charging into the other ranks. We probably won't be able to contact her because she probably thinks that the comlink will 'contaminate my beautiful skin because other people have touched it.'" Prong did a great imitation of Spidra's high pitched voice and everyone laughed. No one liked Spidra that much. She was always bossing people around, complaining about how people were always germy, and checking her vaccinations to make sure she didn't get "contaminated".
"Watch out," Sakura said as she saw six gray dots appear on his radar. "Here they come."
"How do you know?" Ganst asked.
"Look at your radar," Sakura replied. "My group break left."
Quickly Sakura turned her Fighter left and saw that two other black Fighters followed him.
"What do you think we should do Kinomoto?" Saho asked as they turned to face their approaching opponents.
"I'm not sure," Sakura replied, nervous that the others were automatically looking to her for instructions, she had never been a leader. "Perhaps we should chose a target and one of us attack it while the others provide cover."
"Good idea," Fluer replied. "Let's take that gray Fighter near the edge of their group."
"Okay," Saho replied. "You get him, Kinomoto and I will cover you."
Silently nodding her head, Sakura let herself fall slightly behind Fluer's Fighter as she looked at the other gray Fighters. Fluer had fired her first shots before the gray Fighters responded. The target Fluer had chosen swerved at the last minute and managed to just avoid the fire aimed at him. Following her target, Fluer fired as she turned her Fighter. Seeing one of the other gray Fighters breaking from the main group to help his wingmate Sakura quickly fired and missed.
"Watch out Fluer, behind you to the left," he said into the com before he pulled his Fighter into a turn and fired at the gray Fighter again.
This time one of his two shots hit the cockpit of the Fighter before the Fighter started spinning out of control, oxygen seemingly leaking out of the cockpit. The Fighter continued to spin until it disappeared.
"One down," Sakura proclaimed triumphantly over the com just as Fluer fired and hit another Fighter.
"Make that two," Fluer said.
"Guys, we just lost Ganst," Janaske's voice suddenly said over the com.
"You and Prong watch out and stick together," Saho ordered.
"Okay," Janaske agreed before he cursed.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "Janaske?"
"He's out of it," Prong replied.
"Come join us," Fluer stated.
Seconds later Prong joined them and they manage to take out several of the gray Fighters before Saho and Fluer both were hit and 'killed.' Firing at the Fighter that had taken out Fluer, Sakura shot a brief glance at Prong and saw that he had just destroyed the Fighter that had 'killed' Saho. Destroying the Fighter she was chasing, Sakura turned around just in time to see Prong's Fighter disappear in a ball of fire as it was hit by the last remaining gray Fighter.
Looking at the other Fighter, Sakura wondered who was piloting it, perhaps it was Quaret, or perhaps it was one of the others. Approaching the Fighter Sakura fired at it at the same instant the other Fighter opened fire on her. Twisting in an unsuccessful effort to avoid the fire Sakura saw the other Fighter disappear in a ball of flame just as her screen went blank. Getting out of her simulator Sakura saw Rigg getting out of his own simulator before joining his 'dead' wingmen. Smiling at her friend Sakura knew that they had just 'killed' each other.
Snapping to attention as Commander Scath entered the room with a datapad in his hand, Sakura wondered how she had done. Just because she was the last one of her squad to die didn't mean that she had scored the most hits.

End Notes: Please review, I've changed my mind about not caring if I receive an reviews.
-the Lioness
June 21, 2001