I stared at the drone, and I thought I was about to die.
When you are (literally) faced with the prospect of imminent death, there is no flashing by of all your wonderful memories.
Instead your stomach quakes, your legs go weak, and you suddenly think of all the things you didn’t do. Climbing Mons Huygens on the far side. Fixing the fight with one of your best friends.
Telling someone you love them.
It’s a clarifying moment, and a lesson that I won’t soon forget.
—From Life Lessons From Earth, by Hera Jezabel Quinn
Sam glared at the blue shimmer of the EMP field.
So far he’d been unable to crack the frequency. He’d run through five-million-seventy-four-thousand-six-hundred-and-twenty-three possible sequences, but every time he tested the field, he could feel his power being quickly drained. He wouldn’t make it more than a hundred meters inside the perimeter.
...run: sequence test : 5074624...
The sun was just setting behind him, but his external temperature sensor told him it was warmer than before. One of the now normal climate variances they’d noticed in their decades of of orbital observations.
“Any luck down there, chief?” Lorelei’s voice popped into his head.
“No. Any news from Redemption or Alpha?” Maybe it’s a dual modulation code.
...run: sequence test : 5083312...
“Nothing from Alpha. Things seem to be quieting down in Redemption, but it feels like the calm before the strike, if you know what I mean.”
“It does.” How had everything gone to hell in the space of a day?
“Hey, I was looking through Dek’s archives with him and we found this. Thought it might help.” She sent him a file. “It’s some of the old schematics for Martinez base.”
...download > data: Martinez base > schematics…
Sam stopped his work long enough to skim the contents. There wasn’t much there that he didn’t already know, but there was one notation that intrigued him. “See if you can find me anything on Substation 12.”
“Got it. I’ll get back to you—hey. Sorry… something’s happening down there.”
Sam opened his eyes. “I’m going to need a little more detail on ‘something.’”
The ground rumbled underneath him
“There’s activity around one of the Humber Class heavy lifters.”
“What kind of activity?” He couldn’t see the base from here, just the green hills in-between.
“Hard to tell. The Gday is relaying the information.”
Corey’s voice came on the line. “It looks like something’s launching. One of the lifters, must be.”
“That’s impossible.” Sam looked up at the sky, wishing he could see through the hillsides that blocked his view of the base itself. “It would take days for Hera and the others to get one of those up and running. Maybe weeks.”
“Nevertheless, there’s a ship rising off the ground—” Corey’s next words were cut off by the roar of a rocket engine.
Sam stared in disbelief as one of the Humber class ships crested the hill, riding a column of fire and smoke up into the sky. It was squat, shaped like an ungainly metallic teardrop, its silver skin dulled by time, but it was flying.
“Holy cracking shit.” He doubled down on his efforts to break the code.
...run: sequence test : 5088900...
Sam wasn’t one for cursing normally. But just this once, it felt totally appropriate.
The drone slipped across the dusty courtyard, past the old barn and silo, silent except for a faint whirr from its motor. She ran through her memory—it was one of the old NAU mark sevens, armed with live ammunition. No lasers or gas. Which was comforting, but not ultimately very helpful.
Hera stood perfectly still. There was nowhere to run, literally nowhere to hide.
They had all studied the most common types of Earth mech, especially the drones, on the off chance that they might encounter one. She hadn’t imagined such an encounter would be so soon. Or that she would be in such close proximity to a live drone.
Her hand reached out slowly to touch Ghost’s, back to back.
It nosed up to within a foot of her face. Red lights circled it in a band behind the nose.
Hera closed her eyes, waiting for the end.
Five seconds. Ten. Fifteen.
Nothing happened.
Hera dared to peek at it through one eye.
It was so still that she wondered of it had malfunctioned.
Then it moved again, turning and drifting past them as if they were of no more consequence than a bush or a rather short tree, and passed over the wreckage of the farmhouse.
She turned slowly to watch it as it swung over one side and then the other, seemingly inspecting the wreckage.
Then without warning, it lifted into the sky and sped off to the east.
Hera laughed, expelling the breath she’d been holding in one quick blast. “Cracking hell. I was sure we were dead.”
Ghost nodded, as white as his nickname. “I know, right?”
She stared in the direction it had gone. “Maybe the noise of the collapse attracted it.”
Ghost nodded. He looked at her funny, his head cocked to one side.
“What?” Near-death did strange things to people.
He leaned in and kissed her.
She pushed him away hard, sending him sprawling in the dirt. “What the hell, Ghost?”
Ghost sat up, dusting off his palms. “I’m sorry. I just… we almost died.” He stood and slapped his pants to knock off the dust. “I always forget how strong you are.”
Hera snorted. “Ghost, I’m with Tovey. I’m in love with them. You know that.” She wiped off her lips on the elbow of her white uniform, as if she could erase what had just happened.
“Really, I’m sorry.” He did look abashed, his face flushed. “I just got carried away in the moment.”
They both knew it was more than that. Hera sighed. “Just don’t do it again.” Having Ghost infatuated with her was the last thing she needed. Not that it was anything new, really.
She tapped her temple. “Launchpad, can you hear me?” She had no idea if the station was even in range, and it hadn’t worked before. But with the other jumpers acting as relays…. But maybe with the field canceller buttons, they could reach Sam and the rest.
There was no response.
“Any luck?”
She shook her head. “Try yours.”
He tapped his temple. Then he frowned. “No. Still nothing.”
“Do you think these things made us invisible to the drone?” She tapped the button on her collar.
“Maybe. We shouldn’t bet on it, though.” He glanced at the hills all around them.
It was getting late. The sun was dropping toward the hills, and who knew lurked out there in the dark? “We should find some place to settle in for the night. We won’t be able to see drones coming without light.”
“What about the others?” Ghost scratched his neck. One of those things he did when he was trying to distract himself from something.
She punched him hard on the shoulder. “Get over it. It was just a kiss.”
“Owww.” He laughed. “Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be?”
She grinned but ignored his verbal jab. “So I say we get over those hills. My map shows there was a sizable village on the other side, next to the base. Maybe we can find somewhere to hole up over there and be ready to go, first thing in the morning.”
“Sounds good to me.” He retrieved his backpack from the yard, and Hera grabbed hers too. It felt good to have her full mobility back—and not to have to worry about running out of juice. Most of her life she’d been able to rely on her biframe, and being without it, unable to get around on her own… it was something she didn’t want to think about. It put her in a dark place she’d spent years pulling herself out of.
Hera woke up. She was lying in bed.
Not my bed. This one was hard, and the pillow was all wrong, lumpy and too soft.
Harsh white lights shone from the ceiling, blinding her.
“Jolly!” Even her voice sounded off, scratchy, as if she hadn’t had anything to drink for days.
She tried to get up, but there was something wrong with her legs.
Jolinda’s face appeared above her, blocking out the harsh light. “You’re awake, mija.”
“Yeah. Where am I? Why am I in this hard bed?” She tried to get up again, but her legs wouldn’t obey her.
“You… there was an accident. You don’t remember?”
Jolinda’s hand was warm against her cheek.
“Accident?” Hera closed her eyes, trying to remember. It was Gordy’s eighth birthday, and they’d been climbing rocks together in the Dark. Something had shifted under her feet. She remembered screaming. “What’s… what’s wrong with me?”
The sadness in Jolinda’s hazel eyes told her everything she needed to know. “We’ll get through this, mi vida.” She knelt to kiss Hera’s forehead.
Hera pushed Jolly away, tears forming in her own eyes. Her legs were broken, she knew it. “Where’s Gordy? I need Gordy!”
“Right here, Hera.” Her friend appeared at her side. He looked sad. Like he had when the creche hamster, Maxwell, had died. But worse.
“You look white. Like a Ghost.”
His lips quirked. He took her hand and squeezed it hard. “When you fell, I ran all the way back to the creche—”
Jolly brushed her link, curly black hair back from her forehead. “Gordy saved your life, mija.”
Hera didn’t feel saved. Something was wrong with her legs, like really bad, and she couldn’t get up, and no one would tell her why.
She started to cry, and nothing Gordy or Jolly could do would get her to stop.
Hera took a deep breath. That was a long time ago. She didn’t blame Ghost. Not anymore, even though it had been his idea to climb the rock pile.
Even though she had wanted to die when she found out she would never walk again. That she would never fly a shuttle.
“You okay?” Ghost’s brow was furrowed.
“Yeah. Just old memories.” She shook her head, willing them to leave her be. “Come on, let’s go!”
They set off across the yard, leaving the wreckage of the farmhouse behind.
Ghost followed Hera up the next hill. They went slowly, watching for drones and taking advantage of natural cover—bushes, zongies, boulders, and occasional bits of detritus from the old civilization.
He hoped Hera was right—that the little field cancellers somehow hid them from the drones. Still, it didn’t hurt to be cautious.
He kept quiet, leaving her to her own thoughts.
He’d been a fool, kissing her in excitement and relief at the passage of the drone, but she didn’t seem to hold it against him. She’d been right there, and he’d seen something in her eyes, a flicker of understanding he’d thought had passed between them. I really am an idiot. He’d made enough of a mess of their team already by sleeping with Rai and Tien. What was he doing—trying for a full flush?
And after… he knew that faraway look she’d gotten back in the farmhouse yard after the drone had passed them by. He knew it because he wore it, too, whenever he thought about the day she’d broken both of her legs.
“Come on up!” Ghost stood on top of the pile of rocks and debris, wishing he had a flag to plant like a famous astronaut or explorer. “One giant step for Ghost….”
“I don’t want to.” Hera stood at the base of the pile, looking up at him. “I’m okay down here.”
“The view’s amazing!” They were at the edge of the Dark, and from there he could see half of Redemption. Luna was in Earth’s shadow, and the city glittered under the blue glow of the junlei on the cavern ceiling above.
Neat rows of mallow trees glowed golden along Redemption Way below.
“I’m scared.”
He laughed. “There’s nothing to be scared of. Come on!”
“You sure?”
That moment haunted his dreams.
Ghost wished he could take it back, wished he’d told her it was okay not to make the climb. Wished he had been the one who had taken the almost fatal fall. How he had survived without a scratch, he’d never know.
There was no way to turn back time.
He shoved the memory aside for the thousandth… no, hundred-thousandth time. I need to focus on the here and now.
Together they reached the top of the hill. The wind blew warm from the south, and the ground here was already almost dry.
At the base of the hill below, what looked like an old running track looped around an overgrown grassy field. Off to its right, a set of brick two-story buildings were still standing. “What about those?”
“Maybe. What do you think? Old school?” She pointed at the diamond-shaped fields behind the track that were still evident from this altitude, even in the dim gloaming.
“Probably.” He could see the base from there too, beyond the next hill. It was surrounded by a tall fence, which looked to be in surprisingly good repair for its age. A wide berm ran along the north side, holding back the bay waters, and a conical mountain staked out the southern end. “That’s a lot of dirt.”
There were strange muffled bursts of sound from the distance.
“Must have been an excavation somewhere.” Hera bit her lip. “That fence can’t be more than three kilometers away. From here we can be at the base in half an hour tomorrow morning, with any—”
A thunderous roar cut her off.
Ghost’s mouth dropped open as one of the heavy lifters on the launching pad at the heart of the base lit up, a tongue of flame lifting it toward the shimmer field above them. Humber class, if his studies didn’t fail him.
“Holy cracking shit.” Hera looked as dumbfounded as he felt. -Who do you think it is?-
She shook her head. -Hell if I know.-
“We have to warn the Launchpad.”
She shook her head. “They already know. I’m sure they’re monitoring this place around the clock.” She shifted her pack into a more comfortable position on her back. “Come on. I don’t think we’re gonna be able to take that break after all.”
Ghost groaned. He wasn’t tired. Not exactly. But he felt worn out. The adrenaline that had carried him through the day was waning, and he could have used a breather.
No rest for the wicked. Or the dropped. He grinned and forced his limbs into motion, jogging after Hera down toward the school. She’d given up all pretense of caution in her haste to reach the base.
He glanced up at the ascending ship, wondering who had launched it. Had Rai and Tien somehow managed to reactivate the old beast? Running on petroleum based fuel, no less. That kind of squicked him out.
Still, their teammates would have waited or tried to find the rest of their team. Wouldn’t they? Unless something or someone was after them.
Maybe it was the hostile force that had shot down the Zhenyi.
His blood went cold.
Tien and Rai, I hope that’s you guys on that thing.