Vallar

by Cindy Borgne

  I decided not to comment. She’d trust me when my predictions come true, even though I would rather be wrong. Since Bret and Kayla had left at midnight they would’ve reached the Red Ridge area at least two hours ago. I feared this would be a recovery – if we found them.

  After making several turns in a confusing pattern to throw off anyone who might notice, Alexis slowed the vessel and brought us behind the small hills. After a few seconds, the rocks and dust on the ground before us trembled like a small quake was happening.

  “Sonny, look. The ground is opening up.”

  Sonny came and watched over my shoulder. A crack appeared in the center of the ground and grew wider. Hangar doors slid back and revealing a large opening in the ground. The vessel hovered over the opening and slowly descended.

  Several meters below the surface we set down next to Phantom Two. The doors above closed, and the engines shut down. Dust trickled down from the ceiling. Vacuums sucked the dust into vents at the bottoms of the walls.

  After the hangar pressurized, we watched Rachel and Alexis exit. They stopped and talked. Their hands motioned while their mouths moved quickly. They were arguing about something. It didn’t look like the conversation was going to end anytime soon.

  Heat rushed into my face. “They must not believe a thing I said.”

  Sonny paced back and forth. “I’m going to slap Bret’s face when I see him.”

  “We don’t have time for this!” I pounded on the hull.

  They slowly stopped talking and walked toward the vessel. The rear of the hatch of the vessel rose up and the ramp extended. Alexis and Rachel waited for us.

  “So nice of you to release us,” Sonny said, still brooding.

  “This way.” Rachel led us into a control room through another airlock.

  Inside a girl about two years younger than me, sat at a console of monitors and radar –obviously on watch. At seeing us, she spun around, jumped up and gawked. Sonny turned to me with his mouth hanging open. She had dark skin and straight black hair, just like Bret.

  “Mom?” she asked. “What’s going on?”

  “So,” Sonny cut in. “You have a daughter like I once did?”

  “Yes, sorry,” Rachel said, softly “This is Hannah.”

  “They’re Marcs?” Hannah eyed us with distrust.

  “Sonny and Ian are guests - for now.” Rachel gave me a look that if my information turned out to be wrong we might be prisoners after all.

  “I only hope I’m not right,” I said while Alexis stayed by the airlock, keeping the pistol out of view in her pocket.

  Hannah looked at Rachel, confused.

  “Has Dad contacted you since he left?”

  “No, not yet. I was about to radio him,” Hannah said, sounding much older. “Why? What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Rachel sat down and pressed several buttons. “Sub-hangar to Phantom One, come in.” Rachel called over and over with no success. She flipped a switch. “Sub-hangar to Gentech Central, come in.”

  “This is Gentech,” said a female voice. “Is that you, Rachel?”

  “Yes, has Phantom One arrived?”

  “No, but I was about to inform you that the Marcs are threatening the Argyre Farming Colony. Beacon is accusing Argyre of favoring Vallar with their rations.”

  She glanced back at me startled and turned back to the console. “Keep watching for Phantom One. It’s possible they might have run into some trouble.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She slumped over the console. “You seem to be right about Argyre, but as for Bret sometimes he has to hide if the Marcs are patrolling.”

  “Is Dad in trouble?” Hannah asked.

  “No, but they might need some help. Keep watch at the console.” She shifted her eyes toward the hangar and headed out through the airlock.

  We took the hint that Rachel didn’t want Hannah to hear everything and followed her into the hangar.

  “There’s no choice but to search for them.” I tried to sound mature while inside I wanted to panic. “Can we use that other black midrange to search for them?”

  "What?” Alexis said. “You think we're going to let you pilot it?"

  "No, I'm saying that someone needs to have a look around Red Ridge."

  “I agree,” Rachel said. “Alexis, you stay here with Hannah. I’m going with them in Phantom Two.”

  Alexis glared in protest. "You can’t watch them and fly at the same time.”

  "She has a point," Sonny said. "The two of us could overpower you, no problem. Haven't you got someone else around here who can keep an eye on us dangerous prisoners?"

  Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, our other pilot and medic are with Bret. So consider this probation.” She turned to Alexis. “Inform Admiral Reese at the mine and alert Argyre of a possible attack. Hannah can stay here and help relay messages.”

  “Let’s go.” I hurried over to the Phantom.

  Chapter 19

  I didn’t feel worthy to set foot in the small bridge of the Phantom, yet there I was about to fly in it. The titanium hull shined from meticulous cleaning. Two pilot seats faced a slanted viewport. An intimidating console of controls and gauges for each station were almost identical, except the one on the right had a targeting system. A center console block was mounted in between the two seats with controls for communications and environmental systems.

  An annoying memory came back from about a year ago. I had pestered Clare endlessly about becoming a pilot, but she always said the same thing. Seers can’t become pilots. It’s too dangerous. You will have more important things to do.

  Nobody was going to tell me what to do anymore. If I wanted to be a pilot, I would be one.

  Behind the bridge, Rachel opened a closet full of black envirosuits. “Suit up,” she ordered. “You can keep the helmet and gloves off for now.”

  I groaned to myself. The memory of running out of oxygen in the canyon was not that far away.

  “So, I guess Bret taught you how to pilot too?” Sonny asked.

  “Of course. Is there a problem?”

  “I’m just trying to get used to the idea.”

  She passed out the equipment. “Sonny, when you’re done, go look over the infirmary. If there’s wounded we’re going to need you.”

  “Infirmary?” he asked.

  “We have a small one on each Phantom. It’s right before the cargo area at the rear. ”

  “Oookay.” He pushed his artificial leg into the boot without a problem.

  Rachel gave her suit a final look over. She sat down in the left pilot’s seat and put the engines into warm-up mode. I finished checking the oxygen and battery gauges on the wrist.

  “Ian, you might learn something if you sit by me and watch.”

  In a moment of shock, my feet wouldn’t budge. “Me?”

  “Get over here,” she insisted.

  I slunk down into the co-pilot’s seat before the overwhelming array of controls.

  She turned on the heads up display and brought up a map of the Red Ridge area. “That’s about an hour away.”

  Alexis’s voice came over the radio. “You’re clear to depressurize the hangar.”

  “Roger.” Rachel flipped a switch over her head.

  A muffled buzzer sounded in the hangar for ten seconds. The overhead hangar door opened and let in rays of light. As the vessel rose out of the sub-hangar, the movements reminded me of the crash during the battle. I tried not to think about it.

  She turned on a monitor in the center of the console, which displayed Sonny standing in the center of a room with two examining tables. She switched on the intercom. “Sonny, it’s time to strap in.”

  Sonny came onto the bridge. “That is one awesome infirmary.” He plopped into the seat behind me.

  Rachel switched the heads up display to show speed and altitude. We put on the seatbelts. The Phantom tilted upward as the hum of the engines increased. After a few other adjustments, the heads up display read “Rad
ar Deflector Online” in the upper left corner. With a sudden jolt, Phantom Two gained altitude rapidly. We raced upward through a hazy orange atmosphere and passed through some wispy clouds. Below I could see the entire perimeter of an enormous crater.

  As we rose higher, parts of the surface revealed ridges. Some of them formed circular patterns. Other areas turned into a hazy blur of dust. At about four kilometers above the surface, she leveled out the vessel. Above, the darkness of space hung over us.

  “Can I show Ian the infirmary?” Sonny asked.

  “Go ahead.”

  “Thanks.” I climbed out the seat, feeling bulky in the envirosuit. I followed Sonny through a section with bunks and a small galley. Each section had a monitor built into the wall displaying the radar.

  The infirmary had two medi-beds in the center. Diagnostic equipment filled the walls. Even the infirmary had a radar monitor. I figured Bret wanted to be aware of the outside no matter where he was on the ship.

  “This is a medic’s dream,” Sonny said. “It’s like a small emergency room.”

  I looked over the various devices, but had no idea how to use any of it. The two medi-beds had attached monitors and a control panel along the side. I’d seen similar beds in a Marc hospital, which could scan a person’s entire body, find any problem and display it on the screen.

  Sonny waved a hand at the radar. “What do you think Bret’s chances are?”

  I weaved on my legs, not wanting to answer and tried to think of a gentle way to phrase things. “All I know is Bret’s had plenty of time to get to Red Ridge. I only hope he’s been delayed.”

  He forced a smile. “Bret’ll be okay. I bet he’s survived worse.”

  I nodded and tried to look calm, but Sonny wasn’t fooling me. His hands trembled as he put together a first aid pack. I suspected it’d been years since he’d been in a midrange or even an envirosuit.

  If I would’ve gone to bed earlier, I might have had the vision sooner. Instead, fear of Beacon had kept me awake.

  I remembered the last part of the vision where the Phantom plunged to the surface. I’d sensed the feelings of terror and helplessness from Kayla and even Bret. My imagination went wild with thoughts of Kayla gasping for breath while the last bits of oxygen disappeared. Or maybe she hadn’t even survived the crash. I’d find her frozen, distorted or worse. A huge lump formed in my throat and tears welled up.

  I forced myself to stop thinking about it before I fell apart. I wasn’t running anymore. My visions would be used against Beacon for what he’d done to Kayla, Bret and all the people he hurt or killed.

  ****

  After an hour, I was back in the co-pilot’s seat as the Red Ridge area came into view. A jagged line of reddish hills bordered a wide elevated plateau where a few dust devils swirled around. The sun glowed on the horizon and created long shadows with the hills. I tried to remember if those shadows were in my vision, but couldn’t remember.

  “Did you know seeing a dust devil means good luck?” Rachel asked.

  “No, but I’ll take any luck we can get.” I checked the radar, wishing Bret would come within range so we could warn them. However, it stayed clear of any vessels. I figured Phantom One had extra oxygen on board, but I didn’t want to make Rachel and Sonny even more nervous by asking how much.

  Rachel adjusted the heat sensors. “There’s no sign of a crash in this area. I’m not picking up any heat or metal. If there was a trap, where are the Marcs?”

  “Maybe it’s because they already shot them down and left,” Sonny said.

  “If that’s true, you can be sure they’ll be back to investigate,” Rachel said.

  “Could small traces of heat hide in the deep pockets between the hills?” I asked.

  “Of course,” she said. “Those pockets would make an ideal place to hide. But it makes it hard for us to find him too.”

  The metal detector gauge nudged up.

  “Wait a sec.” Rachel turned the vessel around and descended alongside a hill.

  The metal gauge continued to rise while the heat monitor read zero. I gripped the arm of the chair, hoping it was Phantom One. We came down to ground level and hovered above a trail of metal scraps and parts from a midrange.

  “Oh my God.” Sonny stood up. “Bret….”

  “We can’t jump to conclusions,” Rachel said. “This could be some old wreck.”

  My heart jumped and fears of what might have happened made me break out in a sweat. As we slowly moved past the wreckage, I spotted the Marc stallion insignia on a larger piece of hull and let out of sigh of relief. It had to be the Marc vessel I saw in my vision. I used the zoom monitor to show them.

  “Yes, I see it.” Rachel took the ship back up above the hills.

  Sonny huffed and sat back down. “Looks to me like proof something happened here.”

  “Maybe,” Rachel said. “And just so you know Casey’s real name is Kayla.”

  “Interesting,” Sonny said, playing along. “And what’s your real name?”

  Rachel huffed. “That’s one thing we didn’t lie about.”

  As we continued to search, I wished Nate were here. His sensing ability had been much better than mine. With only interference from two other people, I had a chance to sense a presence on the surface. I tried to pick up on feelings from outside while trying to keep Rachel’s and Sonny’s worries tuned out.

  “I’m going to fly lower. It might help the heat sensors pick up something.” She pushed the control stick forward and we plunged so fast I lifted out of the seat and pushed against the seatbelt.

  Blood rushed into my feet as I held on with a death grip. The ground between the hills came up fast.

  “Holy shit, woman!” Sonny said.

  Rachel pulled up on the control stick. We turned sideways and went around the hill. She flew us up and down. The side of hills rushed up to us and back over and over again. Her eyes darted between the gauges and the heads up display.

  “Could you at least warn us next time?” Sonny asked.

  Rachel chuckled. “You’ll get used to it.” She tinkered with the heat sensor controls while we sped past a jagged outcropping.

  Worse yet, blinding beams of light flickered on the viewport every time we emerged from a shadow.

  “What if Bret has the radar deflector on, won’t that make it even more difficult to find him?” I asked.

  “If Phantom One is functioning that well, the sensors would pick us up and he’d signal us,” she said, her voice vibrating. “But we’re still not picking up anything.”

  I shut my eyes and reached out with my mind. This helped, but I had to block out the dipping and swaying. Then it came to me. A feeling of utter despair – of complete failure. “Down there. Hurry!”

  “What? Why?” Rachel asked.

  “I saw a brief red flash on the heat sensor,” I lied.

  “I didn’t see anything.”

  “Listen to him,” Sonny said.

  “But why?”

  “Just do it!” I shouted.

  Rachel circled back around a hill, slowed and hovered over the area. She studied the heat monitor. The metal detector gauge remained flat. When she saw nothing, she grimaced at me. The desperate feelings from below continued to fade. I tried to figure out who it was, hoping to recognize Kayla, but the person was too weak. We had little time.

  “Can you go any lower?”

  She gripped the control stick. “Trying.”

  The metal detector gauge nudged up a notch.

  “I don’t believe it.” Her face lit up. “There is something down there, but the canyon is too narrow to go down all the way.” She continued to adjust the controls and inched us down into the pocket. “Ian, switch the monitor to the view under the ship.”

  I found a knob labeled “camera” near the monitor. “This one?”

  “Yes.”

  I turned it until the monitor displayed a brownish swirling blur. She flipped on a light beneath the vessel. The black roof of Phantom On
e appeared half covered in dust.

  “That’s it.” She gripped my arm. “Ian, you found them.”

  Three jagged hills with steep ledges surrounded Phantom One in the lonely tight space.

  “I have to set her down on that ledge.” She continued to work the control stick.

  The vessel rose up over the ledge and set down with a thud.

  “Both of you will go out the back hatch.” Rachel climbed out of the seat. “Get your gloves and helmets on.”

  I crawled out of the seat, latched on my helmet and pressurized the suit. “You okay, Sonny?”

  “Yeah, now that we’re stopped.” Sonny pulled on his gloves and checked over his suit. “Just like old times.”

  Again, he hid his anxiety for my sake. We followed Rachel all the way to the cargo section. Sonny grabbed his first aid pack as we passed through the infirmary.

  Once in the cargo hold, she opened a panel along the wall.

  “But the ship is almost buried,” I said. “How can we get into it?”

  “All the Phantoms have hatches – top and bottom in the cargo holds.” She pointed to them. “See the keypad on the hatches?”

  We nodded.

  “I’ll give you the code when you get down there.”

  She operated a control panel along the wall and a compartment near the rear opened. “The cables are in there. You’ll have to hook them onto your belts and I’ll lower you down.”

  I hoped Sonny had enough agility with his artificial leg and considered mentioning it to Rachel, but I didn’t know if she knew.

  She got up and stood by the door to the cargo hold. “This section will depressurize when I open the back door.” She shut the air-tight door, looked between the two of us and winced. “I’m sorry for being so difficult.”

  “It’s okay,” Sonny said. “Let’s just get down there.”

  Rachel nodded and pressed buttons on the small panel. The large rear hatch opened and the air escaped.

  “Are you sure you can do this?” I asked.

  “Is there a choice?” He put on the first aid backpack.

  Rachel pulled the cables out and made sure we attached them to our belts. She stood by the control panel as we descended toward Phantom One about 150 meters below us. The slope was smooth and slippery underneath a light layer of dust. We struggled to stay on our feet. Every time I tried to hurry, I almost fell to my knees.