by Ken Lozito
They spent the next hour going over what they should do first once they reached the city. Safety was always a primary concern, so ruling out any ryklar presence was at the top of their list. They settled on doing several flybys and noting key locations before they even landed anywhere. Yesterday, they’d flown low and slow to reach the outpost, but since they were already hundreds of kilometers away from Sanctuary, they flew high and fast. They would make the fifteen-hundred-kilometer journey in a matter of a few hours.
Selena decided to move to another seat because she wanted to refresh her knowledge of first-contact protocols. She'd really latched onto the idea that there was some chance they would encounter an actual NEIIS at the city.
Dash kept studying the map, noting some of the highlighted locations they wouldn't be stopping at and marking them for a future expedition. At some point during their journey, Merissa had dozed off in her chair, a fact he only became aware of when her head leaned on his shoulder. He glanced over in surprise and found that he didn't mind so much. He settled his head back and closed his eyes.
Dash woke up to Jim calling his name. His eyes snapped open and he rubbed his face for a moment, waking up. He glanced next to him and saw that Merissa was waking up as well.
"You guys looked so cute sleeping together," Selena grinned.
She was sitting across from them. Dash and Merissa shared a quick, uncomfortable glance.
"In his dreams," Merissa said.
Dash pursed his lips in thought. "Wouldn't be a bad dream," he said, and Merissa narrowed her gaze at him. He glanced up at Jim at the front of the C-cat. "What did you say?"
"You should bring up the HUD back there. The NEIIS city is huge. I can see a bunch of tall monoliths from here," Jim replied.
Dash brought up the heads-up display in the back and they caught their first glimpse of the biggest NEIIS city they'd ever seen. The sheer size of it made Sanctuary look like a lone frontier town.
“Millions of them must've lived here," Dash said in hushed tones. "You were right—this place is built in the old NEIIS style," he said, looking at Merissa.
"I thought that was your theory—one of the more brilliant ones," Merissa said.
Dash feigned surprise. "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
He turned back to the holodisplay and magnified the view. Though the NEIIS city was huge, even at this distance there was evidence of the surrounding forests reclaiming the city. There was little chance that anyone lived there anymore. Dash brought up the scanner interface and began looking for any power signatures.
"We have an incoming message from Sanctuary," Jim said, sounding surprised.
Dash brought up the communications interface and acknowledged the message. It was a video message from Dr. Bishop and he started it.
“Thank you for sending an update. It sounds like you've made quite the discovery. I look forward to hearing all about it," Dr. Bishop said and glanced at someone off-screen for a moment. "The Colonial Defense Force has issued a major alert about increased ryklar activity—”
The message was cut off and Dash frowned. There was a bright flash on the heads-up display at the front of the C-cat and then all power was cut off. The heads-up displays all winked out at once and automated seatbelts sprang into action, locking the passengers in place. Seemingly of its own volition, the C-cat began to drop from the higher altitudes as the engines sputtered to silence.
Brad, who had been sleeping in the front seat, was startled awake.
"What the hell happened?" Dash shouted.
He watched as Jim tried to get the engines to restart. "I don't know. Something took out the main power and the auxiliary failed as well."
"Try the manual override," Dash said.
"What do you think I’ve been trying?" Jim snapped.
The C-cat’s nose dipped and Dash was pressed against his seatbelt. He glanced out the window to see the ground barreling toward them.
"I can't get power restored. We're going to crash. Brace for impact!" Jim said.
Dash snatched his PDA from his pocket and brought up the power schematics for the C-cat. "Here, hold this," he said and handed the PDA to Merissa.
Dash unstrapped his seatbelt and Merissa's eyes widened in alarm.
“What are you doing? You'll be killed, you idiot!” Merissa shouted.
As Dash stood, the C-cat banked hard to the side. He grabbed onto the nearest seat back and held on tight, then climbed over the seat, moving toward the rear of the vehicle. He was still accessing his PDA through his neural implants. There was a power relay control unit at the back of the Airbus. Something had shorted out the power, but there was an override for the emergency thrusters. The C-cat banked hard to the side again and Dash slammed against the window. The air expelled from his lungs and he reached for the nearest seatback to pull himself down.
There was a high-pitched whine as the C-cat continued to plummet toward the ground. Dash heard the others scream and he lunged toward the back, grabbing onto the arms of the seats and pulling himself toward the floor. The C-cat began to tumble over and over, spinning through the air, but he managed to reach the back and grabbed onto a handle. He lunged toward the emergency control panel and pulled the lever to open it. Inside was a large switch that had been jarred loose. He grabbed the switch and pushed it back into place, then turned it to emergency. The C-cat's emergency thrusters kicked in automatically, compensating for the spin they were in. Dash was tossed about in the rear of the ship. His head knocked into the ceiling and then he was slammed down to the floor. He heard Merissa calling out his name and glanced out the window. The last thing he heard was Jim shouting for them all to hold on.
Chapter Eighteen
Dash woke up to Merissa shouting his name and shaking his shoulders. He groaned as he felt a sharp pain lance across his middle. He might've cracked a few ribs.
"I'm awake . . . please stop shouting," Dash said.
He opened his eyes and saw Merissa leaning over him.
"God, you're beautiful."
Merissa’s eyebrows raised in surprise and Dash heard Selena start to laugh.
Did I say that out loud?
He tried to sit up.
"Lie still, you idiot," Merissa scolded and Dash lay back down.
He rubbed his side gingerly. "I think I bruised my ribs."
Merissa pulled his hand away from his ribcage, then lifted up his shirt and rubbed a numbing agent on his skin. "What were you thinking? You could've died."
The numbing agent was cool and went to work right away. "We were crashing,” Dash snorted weakly. “I was trying to not crash.”
Merissa's fingers lingered on his chest for a few moments longer than necessary.
"I think you got the problem spot," Dash said.
Merissa scowled, stood up, and walked away, muttering under her breath.
Dash sat up. "Was it something I said?" he said to Selena.
Selena just shook her head. Now that the numbing agent was working, Dash was able to climb to his feet. He'd been lying on the floor, which was a good sign because that meant the C-cat must have landed right-side up. His head was throbbing and he had a few scratches, but other than that he felt fine.
"We can't just stay in here," Jim said and walked toward the back. He saw Dash and smiled. "That was some quick thinking. You saved our asses back there. How’d you know about the emergency thrusters?"
"I didn’t. I had to pull up the C-cat's schematics on my PDA and highlight the emergency systems. I figured that was our best bet," Dash said. He took a quick glance around, noting the fractured windows. “Do you know how we lost power?"
Brad joined them and Jim shook his head. "The only thing I saw was a bright flash and then everything just turned off. I have no idea what happened."
"Where are we?" Dash asked.
"We were on our final approach vector to the city. We can't be more than four or five kilometers away," Jim answered.
Dash nodded. "We should
try and restore power."
"Thank you! That's what I've been telling them," Selena said.
Dash frowned and looked at Jim.
"I'm not sure we can turn the power back on," Jim said.
"Well, going off on foot is out of the question. You heard Dr. Bishop's message. The CDF sent out a major warning about ryklar activity," Selena said.
Dash closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember Dr. Bishop's message. "The message was cut off—” he began.
"Not you, too. Are you going to say we have to set off on foot now?" Selena asked.
Dash shook his head. "Let's assess the damage first and then decide on a way forward. One thing at a time.”
Selena seemed to consider this for a moment and then nodded.
All their equipment was scattered about the C-cat. It took Dash a few minutes just to find the case that held the recon drones.
"I'll get these set up and deployed. Then I'll help with the assessment. Hopefully we can get power restored,” Dash said
Jim's ominous expression didn't give Dash much hope and he secretly prayed Jim was wrong. Dash opened the top hatch and activated three of the recon drones. He selected the option for standard short-range patrol, which would keep them within a half-kilometer of the C-cat. He pulled one more drone from the case and configured it for a longer-range patrol for general reconnaissance. This would enable the drone to have more of a bird’s-eye view of their position.
Jim and Brad had already gone outside. Dash grabbed his hunting rifle from where it had been secured and headed for the side door. He saw Merissa and Selena speaking in hushed tones, and they stopped talking as he approached.
"I just wanted to thank you for taking care of me," Dash said and smiled.
He was trying to sound as sincere as possible and Merissa regarded him for a moment.
"I'm glad you're alright," Merissa said.
Point one for civility, Dash thought.
“I’m going to go outside and see what kind of damage we sustained. Do you guys want to come?" Dash asked.
Selena's face became pale.
"It's fine. Just stay here for a few minutes. The drones will report in if there are any ryklars in the area," Dash said quickly.
Merissa smiled gratefully and then tried to comfort Selena.
Dash went outside and found Jim and Brad speaking near the front of the C-cat. Dash rounded the corner of the ship and saw that there were large scorch marks along one side, with more on the roof.
Jim looked over at him in alarm and Brad looked equally as troubled.
"I think someone took a shot at us," Jim said.
Dash leaned in for a closer look at the scorched corner panel of the C-cat and then glanced at the roof. "What was up there?"
"That was our antenna. It's been sheared off. We have no communications capability," Brad said.
Dash heard Merissa and Selena exit the C-cat, talking loudly.
"We can’t even call for help?" Dash asked in a hushed tone.
"Not anymore, or at least not with the C-cat. There might be an emergency beacon we can activate," Brad said.
Merissa and Selena were getting closer.
Dash looked at Jim. "Can we get the power turned back on?"
Jim's eyes widened and he looked uncertain. "I don't even know what hit us."
Dash was about to reply, but Merissa and Selena had rounded the corner and seen the scorch marks. Selena's brows drew up an alarm and Merissa looked at him for an explanation.
"We’re going to die out here," Selena said in a shrill voice.
Dash brought his hands up in front of his chest in a placating gesture. "Calm down. We don't know anything yet. I know it looks bad, but let's try to work the problem and not freak out."
"Not freak out! Between yesterday's excursion and today we're almost two thousand kilometers away from Sanctuary, our ship has crashed, and there’s an alert about ryklars. When would be the appropriate time to freak out?" Selena said.
"First, it was a partial message. We don't even know if ryklars are in this area. I just checked and nothing has been detected by the drones. Second, we’re still trying to figure out if we can fix this thing, and if we can't, we’ll have to come up with another plan. I need you to calm down. We need your help," Dash said.
Merissa wrapped her arm around Selena’s shoulder. "What do you need me to do?"
Dash pointed to the roof of the C-cat. "Our antenna got damaged in the crash. I need you guys to find the emergency beacon. Just find it; don't activate it yet. We might be able to salvage the C-cat and be on our way. I just want to know that it can be used and is available. I also need someone to monitor the drone feeds while I help Jim and Brad try to fix the C-cat."
Selena swallowed hard and drew in a shaky breath. "I can do that."
Dash smiled. "Thank you," he said.
Selena turned around and Merissa mouthed the words thank you, smiling at him.
Once they left, Dash turned back toward Jim. "So you think some kind of weapon hit us? I wonder what it could have been," he said.
"It would have to be some kind of energy weapon," Brad said.
"How do you know that?" Jim asked.
"Because if it was something like a rail-gun, there would be a lot more damage. It looks like whatever got us only fried the electrical components," Brad said and then frowned in thought.
“What is it?" Dash asked.
"Right before we lost power, we were receiving that message from Sanctuary. At the same time, there was a massive spike in signal strength, but I'm not sure what it was. Then there was the bright flash," Brad said.
Dash looked at Jim. "What happened when you tried to restore the power?”
"I got no response," Jim said.
"Well, the main battery is in the front, but the auxiliary is in the back. The front is obviously damaged, so we should try getting auxiliary power back on," Dash said.
"We can't fly two thousand kilometers on auxiliary power. Not even close," Jim said.
"I know, but maybe we can get the communication system up and running," Dash said.
"We still don't have an antenna," Brad said.
"I take it there’re no spares?" Dash asked.
Brad frowned. "I doubt it."
"Maybe we could put something together. All we have to do is send a message to Sanctuary with our current location," Dash said.
"Yeah, but we’re really exposed here," Jim said and glanced around them.
Dash's brows pulled together. "I don't have all the answers. Yes, we’re exposed here, but let's see if we can at least call for help, and if we can't, we should head to the city. At least there we can find some kind of shelter we can use."
Jim sighed. "What if there are ryklars in the city?"
Both of them were looking at Dash. "We have to go there anyway. If the ryklars discover we’re here, the C-cat is only going to provide minimal protection and not for very long. This isn’t an armored vehicle. I'm still wondering what the hell shot us down."
"Maybe there were some latent city defenses or something," Brad said.
"We’ll have to figure it out later. First, let's see if we can get the auxiliary power on. If we can, let's see if this thing can still fly. If not, we gotta make other plans," Dash said.
They got to work. So much for a smooth trip.
In the next thirty minutes, they learned that the C-cat would not be flying again anytime soon. Interestingly enough, Selena hadn't freaked out like Dash expected when they told her the news.
Dash stood by the rear hatch of the C-cat where the brains of the vehicle were stowed. Brad was at the auxiliary power access panel, trying to bypass it so they could get the communication systems up and running.
“Alright, give it another shot," Brad said.
Dash pressed the power button near the wallscreen and waited. "I've got power," he said.
"Good. Activate the emergency beacon," Brad said, coming toward the back of the C-cat.
Das
h brought up the communication systems on the C-cat's interface and activated the emergency beacon. The beacon could operate without the main antenna, but the range was much smaller. They knew the beacon would attempt to beam a signal to the communication satellites in orbit, but they had no way of knowing whether satellite coverage would extend to their current location.
"The emergency beacon is active, for all the good it's going to do," Dash said.
"You don't think the beacon will reach anyone?" Merissa asked.
"Without the main antenna, it might take them longer to receive the message," Dash answered.
"But you already told them where we were heading," Selena said.
He still had the communication systems up and frowned when he saw the status. “Aw, hell," Dash said, looking at Merissa and the others in alarm. "My update to Dr. Bishop never got sent."
Merissa glanced at the wallscreen and then looked at Dash. "You never sent it?"
Typical. She would think he’d done something wrong.
“I did send it. When we were at the outpost, I finalized the message and clicked the transmit option, then closed down my PDA," Dash answered quickly. He didn't much care for the accusatory tone Merissa had just used.
"Why didn't it go through then?" Selena asked.
Dash's just stood there while he tried to formulate a reply. He didn't know why the damn thing hadn’t been sent. It should've worked.
"Mind if I take a quick look?" Brad asked.
Dash stepped to the side so Brad could see.
Brad checked the communications system for a few seconds and then glanced back at them. "It's not his fault. The comms systems in C-cats is an older cobra model so the transmission takes longer to achieve because of the low-grade antenna."
Dash frowned, trying to remember the status he'd received when he'd sent the update. "But I saw it go through," he said.
Brad nodded knowingly. "Yeah, it says it goes through, but it's just in a holding place until it can fully transmit. The data gets broken up into chunks so it's possible that only part of it was sent.”
Merissa shook her head. "That's just great."
Dash narrowed his gaze. "You're acting like I should've known this."