‘Hull failure imminent,’ the robotic voice intoned as another impact shook the ship, this time overlaid by the screech of tearing metal.
‘Oh do shut up,’ Albert said.
The lights went out.
For a second there was daylight from the open hatch. Then the ramp slammed shut and snuffed it out.
‘Diverting all available power to the shields,’ Albert said. ‘To the gel beds, people. Prepare for emergency take-off.’
‘We can’t even see them!’ Coral yelled back.
Four feeble lights flickered on deep inside four of the beds. They all knew what to do.
‘Counting down. Three ... two ...’
Like a team of synchronised swimmers, they dived towards the beds, each snatching a walrus mask as they went.
‘One ...’
But before they landed, the four curved couches leapt out to meet them. Four coffin-like lids slammed shut and the ship gave a tremendous, jolting, sideways lurch, followed by a vast explosive flash.
And somewhere in amongst it all someone yelled, ‘Woo-hoo!’
* * *
‘Whoa!’
The helicopter bucked in the jet-stream like a startled horse as the pilot fought for control. It was touch and go for a moment, but neither of his passengers noticed, so intent were they on the scene outside.
It was pretty fantastic, he had to admit.
The second craft turned his way now, more lumbering, less agile than the first, but still capable of a remarkable turn of speed. It shot off in pursuit.
A second jet-stream slammed into the helicopter, but he was prepared for it this time and rode it deftly.
Crystal muted her microphone and glared at him. ‘Can’t you keep this damn thing steady?’
* * *
‘Is that it?’ Tim’s voice sounded in the darkness. ‘Am I dead?’
There was a long silence. All he could hear was a ringing in his ears. He remembered the explosion right behind him, then the awful burning. But he couldn’t feel it now. Couldn’t feel a thing.
Someone groaned.
‘Hello? Anybody there?’
‘Tim?’ A groggy voice. ‘Is that you?’
‘Coral?’
‘Yeah. Are you all right?’
‘Not if I’m dead.’
‘Well you’re not.’ She hesitated. ‘Or maybe we’re all are.’
A deeper groan came from the darkness. ‘Can’t be dead. Still hurt.’
‘Ludokrus!’
‘Ship lift off before the couch is proper close. Ow!’
‘My neck hurt.’ Alkemy’s voice.
‘Oh man, I’ve got a killer headache,’ a fourth said.
‘Norman?’
‘My apologies,’ Albert’s voice cut in. ‘Diagnostics indicate you’ve sustained a number of moderate injuries from the sudden take-off, but I’m afraid I had no choice. I also note there are some more severe injuries of unknown origin. I’ll have the ship draw up a treatment plan.’
The ship’s voice said, ‘Diagnostics indicate crew members have sustained a number of moderate injuries from—’
‘Oh do be quiet,’ Albert said. ‘I just told them that. You look after the passengers while I pilot this thing.’
‘Relinquishing piloting controls to entity—’
‘Shut up, ship!’
‘Albert?’ Tim murmured. ‘I thought he was ... And who’s he talking to?’
Ludokrus laughed. ‘No need to whisper. All can hear. Alkemy plug the memory bulb into the ship and he take over. Other is ship personality. Just dumb machine, but it will look after us.’
‘Did someone shout “Woo-hoo”?’ Tim said.
‘What?’
‘When we took off. I could have sworn I heard someone yell “Woo-hoo”.’
There was a brief silence. The ship’s said, ‘Checking recordings ...’ Then added, ‘The message came from the synthesised voice of—’
‘Oh shut up, ship,’ Albert said. ‘I was merely expressing my pleasure at finally escaping that wretched planet.’
It took a moment for his words to register.
‘What?’ Tim said.
‘But ... you forget we have the passenger,’ Alkemy said.
‘I forget nothing, Alkemy. My priority is to protect you and your brother. The collateral damage was unavoidable.’
‘Collateral damage?’ Coral said. ‘We are not collateral, we’re human beings. Or at least a couple of us are.’
‘Hey!’ Norman said.
‘The choice was simple,’ Albert continued. ‘Stick around to evict the humans and lose the ship, or launch.’
‘What about leaving only footprints?’ Alkemy said.
‘This ship was under sustained attack from a Sentinel craft witnessed directly or indirectly by an unknown number of humans,’ Albert replied. ‘There has been explosive deconstruction of the Sentinel base, and sensors indicate that our departure was recorded by the occupants of a nearby helicopter. I’m afraid things are a little beyond the “leave only footprints” stage.’
‘Confirming sensor indications of the presence of—’
‘Oh shut up, ship!’ five voices chimed.
‘Besides, there are Tim’s injuries to consider. They are severe and will require considerable tissue regeneration. Should I have abandoned him?’
No one said a word to that, although the ship did manage a quick, ‘Preparing treatment plan for burn victim.’
‘Does that mean we’re in space?’ Tim said.
‘Yes. And in approximately ten hours we’ll rendezvous with our mothership. Would you like visuals?’
‘Yes, please.’
The blackness faded to a gentler sort of blackness, a blackness flecked with points of light. By turning his head — or perhaps just thinking about turning his head — Tim found he could survey the sky in all directions. It had never looked so rich, so clear, so densely packed with stars.
He heard Norman gasp.
Then he caught it himself. A movement behind them. The edge of a blue disc, instantly familiar. He turned until it filled his vision, picking out the long spine of the Southern Alps illuminated by the setting sun.
The image receded steadily, giving way to a vast expanse of ocean streaked with cloud. Tasmania and the southern coast of Australia came into view, drifting north as they soared south towards Antarctica. There, over the ice continent, a palpable shift took place as the acceleration increased dramatically. Though he couldn’t feel it cocooned inside the gel bed, he could see the effect and watched in silence as his home planet shrunk until it was little more than a bright speck in an endless sea of stars.
No one spoke for several minutes. Then Norman said, ‘But we’ve got school tomorrow.’