Rules of Redemption (The Firebird Chronicles, #1)

by T.A. White

They both stopped when they reached the kiosk, each going silent as they took in the image displayed on the front—a soldier in a Hadron class combat suit riding a waveboard into the upper atmosphere. Emblazoned on the person’s uniform was the image of a bird on fire. Behind the soldier, just breaking through the clouds, were ten more in a perfect V formation. The air was filled with fire as wreckage rained down around them, ships above dying as Tsavitee ground artillery picked them off one by one. Under the image was emblazoned, "What difference will you make?" Kira swallowed painfully, unable to move, the sight locking her in place. The Wave Runners were a specialized and elite military unit, bridging the gap between combat suit and aircraft. The hoverboard under their feet made them faster and more maneuverable than any ship ever could be. They were a product of the war. Their tactics had evolved to meet the Tsavitee's superior forces head-on—the suits and board compensating for human weakness. Humans might never be as strong or fast, physically, as the Tsavitee, but they were smart and adapted even under the worst of circumstances. The Wave Runners were perhaps the best example of that.