Persevering Through Faith And Hope

By RB Parkline

Riley is a young pilot who is on a mission to return secret information to the Flagship, Orion. She is attacked by two enemy fighters whose ships are bigger and more powerful. it will take all her skill and knowledge to defeat them. Her manuver is dangerous and has never been successful. It will test her ability and her Faith. She is a believer. She believes in the Lord and his sacred word. Few people believe, and have abandoned the old Religion. Riley raised as an orphan after her Mother and Father are killied in the terrible war with the brutal Camdon. Her culture looks down on orphans as low class citizens. Those born to a good family and have opportunities to go to the best schools and have political pull have an advantage in society. Riley is not accepted into the fighter school due to limited slots available. She does not have the influence it takes to be promoted. Her faith in the Lord will carry her through the tough times as she faces battles in the terrible war. She will discover her faith will bring a shock concerning her family. She learns the Lord's ways are mysterious as he uses his faithful to bring in souls that are unexpected. The battle rages as the polotical intrigue turns nasty.  It will take all her faith to find a way through the war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RB Parkline
• Release date: Jul 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201057374

RB Parkline

A quite individual. Writing for entertainmet as well as adding some historical facts with an underlying spiritual nature. Stories should touch the lives of individuals as their imagination is activated. 

Book preview

Persevering Through Faith

And Hope

Chapter I

Every light on the panel was lit up. The cruiser was damaged and the heat shields were failing. The red line on the panel showed the engine was overheating. Riley knew if she didn’t slow down the cruiser would blow up. She was racing for the Flagship, Orion in the expanse of space. Her navigation was blinking on and off. The cruiser had been damaged in a battle with two Camdon fighters. Their ships were bigger and faster than her small cruiser. Both were equipped with more firepower. She had pulled up while in hyper speed at level five and came over backwards pulling so much force she had been injured. The smaller cruiser was not designed for such a maneuver at level five. Level three was dangerous but level five was considered impossible. The bigger powerful ships in the fleet were designed to stand such a maneuver but no one had ever attempted it. If the ship did not break up, the powerful force of pressure could possibly crush a person.

The maneuver had worked and when she flew straight up after coming around  she came up underneath the Camdon fighters.  The enemy ships had been taken by surprise. She had fired four of her six missiles then fired her tracer rounds from her cannon. One ship exploded and the other was damaged causing the pilot to eject. The Camdon ships had fired four missiles and two of them had hit her cruiser. She had to find Orion, knowing the Camdon fighters had no doubt communicated her position.

Riley checked the position on her panel. She was not confident she was heading in the right direction. It went off then came back on. She blinked her eyes as the sweat was running into her eyes. The sensor said she was down to thirty percent life support. It was hard to breathe. The temperature was rising. The gauge showed ninety-two degrees in the cockpit. She felt the blood running down her face where the ceiling had exploded and hit her helmet and face shield. It was supposed to be unbreakable. It had shattered and the force almost took her head off. Her neck was sore from whiplash. The problem was the faceshield showed her data now it was gone. Most of her computer controls were out.

Riley saw the shield protecting the cruiser was holding at twenty-five percent. She could maintain her speed as long as it did not drop below twenty-two percent. She watched the heat gauge knowing she should slow the cruiser down. She was praying the cruiser would hold together. She was hot and felt pain each time she breathed in. She prayed to the Lord to help her find Orion.

Riley dropped to level three and watched the temperature gauge move above  the red line. The cruiser's engine was a little cooler. As the small cruiser raced through space Riley saw on the screen two ships heading for her. With the computer down she did not know if they were friend or foe. She knew she had two missiles and ammunition for the cannon. She was aware the two missiles and all her bullets would not stop the enemy ships. Perhaps she could slow them down enough for her to find Orion. Her communication was down so she was unable to call for them. She had waited to send out a distress signal knowing Camdon could also pick it up which would give them her location.

Approaching the two ships Riley realized they were two Camdon fighters. She pressed the distress call. She knew getting past the two fighters was impossible. She could not outrun them since they were capable of level eight. She prayed then reached down and grabbed the handle which released the two missiles. She was close to the two fighters. She turned the cruiser one hundred eighty degrees with her wings horizontal. She pulled the lever releasing both missiles which when released they drifted in space. Her hands gripped the stick. She fired the cannons and went to level fivel. Riley shot past the two fighters between them. The missiles exploded which knocked both ships off course. They would lose part of their shields but they would have enough power and shields to continue chasing her. It would not take the pilots long to recover and come after her. All she could do now was run.

The cruiser was hot and the red line showed she was once again in danger of exploding. The shields had dropped to twenty three percent. She took everything off line, moving power to the shields. Now with no navigation she could only hope she was close enough to Orion for them to pick up her distress signal. She did not know where the Camdon fighters were and it did not matter. They had no doubt recovered and were now chasing her. She prayed as she flew blind.

The temperature had reached over a hundred degrees in the cockpit. Life Support was down to twelve percent. She could hardly breathe. Her chest hurt and waves of pain shot through her each time she drew a breathe in. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried. The pain was so intense she felt as if she would pass out. Riley saw in the distance two ships heading for her. The ship was hot and began shaking violently. She dropped to level two and asked the Lord to take her soul when she died.

The two fighters raced past her. She saw two more behind them. They were Aloganain fighters. They were from the flag ship. She did not see the large ship as the navigation system was not working. She had no doubt burned it up. She dropped to level one and continued on her course.

RILEY WATCHED A FIGHTER pull up beside her and saw it was Shelby Grant. She knew her from the academy. Shelby raised her face shield and with her finger pointed down. Riley dropped out of hyperspeed and into cruising speed. She watched as Shelby flew in front of her. She was leading her to Orion.

Riley saw the big battle ship Orion. She struggled to breathe as the sweat and blood in her eyes made everything blurry. She could hardly breathe as her life support system was down to six percent. She watched as Shelby flew her fighter into the open bay doors. She maneuvered the cruiser slowing down then raised the flaps which only the back one responded. The cruiser hit the deck hard and slid into the wall smashing into it.

Men and women ran for the battered cruiser. A big man pushed a ladder to the cruiser and quickly climbed up on it. Others were spraying it down with foam as it was on fire. The man was able to get the cockpit shield off by pulling the emergency lever. Riley was slumped over. He grabbed her under her arms and lifted the small woman out of the cockpit. He stepped down the ladder dragging Riley. Medical personnel removed her helmet and scanned her body.

We have to get her to the infirmary now! a young woman said urgently.

Riley was placed on a gurney with an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. The gurney was activated which allowed it to float as a man pushed it quickly as others walked beside it. Riley opened her eyes, she felt confused and the pain in her body reminded her she was alive. Her eyes adjusted, she realized she was in the hanger. She reached out, touching a man by the hand. He looked at her. She reached slowly to her shoulder and unzipped a pocket. She reached in removing a small disk in a case. The man’s eyes were wide as he saw the red case with a blue stripe. He knew immediately it was confidential and for only the highest security personnel. He told the man to stop who was pushing the gurney. He looked anxiously around and saw coming into the hanger Commander Lewis. He ran to the Commander and said quietly.

Commander, you need to come with me. It's crucial.

Commander Lewis followed the man to the gurney. He saw Riley looking at him holding a small disk. He reached out taking the disk and saw the small woman's eyes slowly close. He told the men and women to get her to the infirmary.

Commander Lewis placed the disk in his shirt pocket and watched as Riley was taken out. He knew her well. She had been in his flight class and had done well. She had finished in the middle of the class. Her academic scores were only average. Her ability in the flight simulators was just above average. He sighed as he watched her leave the hanger. He remembered how she studied hard and did everything she was asked to do. Riley was the most determined cadet he had ever seen. She, however, was an orphan. Her parents were killed in a distant colony by Camdon fighters. Her father was a soldier and mother an analyst. Like too many children she was sent to the orphanage. Their education was only average and usually sub par. She did not have the benefit as others did with good schools. She was not accepted into the fighter school because of limited slots available. Riley did not have a powerful sponsor to back her.

The class system in Aloganain culture was rigid. A person’s family and how influential they were was important. Those considered of lower class with orphans being the lowest had a difficult time. Promotions were often based on family connections as opposed to ability. 

Commander Lewis walked to the battered cruiser. He had flown fighters and cruisers. He was shocked as he looked at the heap of metal. It was unbelievable Riley had been able to bring in the cruiser.

Walter Haggerdy walked up to him. He was Chief Engineer and supervised all mechanics who worked on the ships. He frowned, saying Have you ever seen such a heap Jeremy?

Commander Lewis shook his head. No Walley, I don’t know how she even got it here?

By the grace of God. That is all I can say.

Jeremy nodded, not answering. He knew Wally was a believer. He was not. Jeremy had been raised in church. His Mother was a staunch believer. His Father was not. When he left home he stopped attending services. Most