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never finding him. He made
money as a bounty hunter, making quick jobs of catching wanted
criminals before returning to his main search for his wife’s
killer.
    Her father always made it home, every night,
and since her mother’s death, he taught her to defend herself first
and then how to fight back, including hand-to-hand combat, and then
weapons, mostly gun training.
    He prepared her for the reality of the world
she had been brought into. “Don’t think, Regina,” her father told
her. “Just react and all your natural instincts will make the right
decision for you.” Since that time, her father reinforced this
ideal in her mind by surprising her when she least expected it. At
first, some of her dad’s surprises scared her so badly, they made
her cry, but it didn’t take long to curb her fear and react with
instinct, putting her emotions on hold. Many a time, her father
jumped out from behind a door or grabbed her leg from under a bed,
and after initial times of screaming, she eventually learned to
defend herself, even knocking her dad back or throwing him to the
floor when she got older and stronger.
    Before her mother’s murder, she had a normal
life, playing with her friends and family, starting school, not a
care in the world. And then, her world changed. She continued
school and continued a pretend life that no longer existed for her,
and in secret, a secret only she and her father ever knew, she
began training that shaped the path for the rest of her life.
Regina didn’t know it at the time, but she knew it now.
    SNAP!
    Regina’s head, bowed down in thought, came up
as soon as she heard a branch, behind her, break. Footsteps. Maybe
two pair.
     
     

Chapter 14
     
    Five diamond-shaped ships came through the
dark, black opening, four surrounding the runner just like when
they entered the gate. As soon as they came through, stars became
visible inside the gate.
    In the near distance, precinct ship, Lancer,
a square vessel with rounded corners, moved slowly towards the
SPARS ships. Each side of Lancer was 300 meters long and eight
stories high. It was a large, black mass of floating metal.
    Four small panels slid up on the bottom
section of Lancer, on the section facing the SPARS ships. Four
landing platforms slid out and away from the vessel, each with a
SPARS ship on it. Once the platforms fully extended, each ship took
off from the platform and flew towards the others, the platform
retracting as soon as they took off.
    The runner desperately tried to free itself
as Michael, George, Mary, and Paula kept it locked between them
with the magnetic tow, steering it towards the large vessel.
    The other ships from Lancer surrounded the
five.
    “They’re not going to take over, are they?”
Paula asked John.
    “No, no. Just an escort, an extra precaution
in case the runner breaks free. Don’t worry. We’ll get to escort
the runner into Lancer.”
    Paula smiled, a small twitch when she did.
She kept her head straight and tried, from the corner of her eyes,
to see if John looked at her. It relieved her that he didn’t, that
he never felt the need to watch over her shoulder. That would be
too nerve wracking and had caused her to mess up in the past with
other leaders and instructors. So much time in a simulator but she
still did not have the confidence she hoped she would have had by
now.
     
    *****
     
    In Mary and Brett’s ship, Mary stared forward
as she piloted the ship. Brett had nothing to do but wait and let
his anger fester. He turned and stared at Mary with searing eyes.
He couldn’t help but think hateful things. Things like what a wench
she was, and how if he had been partnered with anyone else, they
would not have taken control away from him. Only a controlling
bitch would do such a thing and that’s just what she was.
    Mary, not turning to look at him, said, “Quit
sulking, Brett. You’ll never get anywhere in this outfit if you
can’t take orders. Deal with it or I’ll find a replacement for