Beyond Eternity

by Paul Deaver

  Soon after I took control, the ship began wobbling and I realized that I must have been over-controlling. My entire body was tense, and I had to make a conscious effort to relax. As I eased up on the controls, we returned to a motionless hover. I took my hands and feet off the controls completely for a few seconds, and we continued to float, unmoving, above the ground.

  "Wow, Betty really doesn't need me here to fly."

  Hazel didn't respond, but I could see a slight smile below her visor.

  I clutched the controls again, this time using a much softer touch. Pressing gently with my fingertips, we began sliding forward. I brought us back to a hover, then performed a left and right pedal turn. The ship was so responsive, you could practically just think about what you wanted it to do, and it would do it.

  Hazel said, "Take off and fly a pattern over the trees, then shoot an approach back to the center of the field."

  Easing forward on the cyclic and gently raising the collective, we accelerated smoothly and began climbing. After we ascended over the trees, I initiated a left turn. The ship built up more speed in the turn than I intended. Right as I was about to make a correction, Hazel sighed emphatically and said, "Watch your airspeed."

  I slowed and kept the speed in check as I turned inbound to the field. Using the sensors to peer through the bottom of the ship, I ensured we were clear of the trees and reduced the collective to begin my descent.

  "I'm going to land to a hover above that exposed patch of rock in the ground ahead of us."

  Hazel said, "Let's see what you can do."

  The controls were crisp and responsive, and began feeling more natural to use. I maintained a fairly constant approach angle, and stopped directly above the spot I called out. I said, "Too easy."

  "Not bad. Now let's see how well you fly without the Flight Management Computer smoothing things out. Betty, disengage FMC on all axes."

  Betty replied in her contralto voice, "FMC disengaged on Pitch, Roll, Yaw, and Collective axes."

  The Odyssey was immediately difficult to control. The harder I tried to rein it in, the more violently it oscillated. My feeble attempts at steadying the ship were inconsequential, and through all the erratic movements, we were drifting directly towards the trees. I briefly diverted my attention to look at Hazel in the mirror, and she almost looked bored. I was amazed that she hadn't barked a few sharp words and snatched the controls away from me by now. The trees were uncomfortably close, and I said, "Do you want the controls back?"

  "You got us in this mess, you get us out of it."

  It occurred to me that Hazel wasn't thrilled about teaching me how to fly the Odyssey, and she probably resented my connection to her brother's death. If she could push me far enough to quit, she would rid herself of a nuisance. Well, to hell with quitting. One way or another, I was determined to prove myself to Hazel.

  Determination is fine and dandy, but it doesn't make those trees go away. Impact seemed imminent, so I tugged the cyclic in the opposite direction. The ship moved away from the trees, but lurched towards the ground. Involuntarily, I yanked up on the collective and we shot into the sky fast enough to make me black out momentarily. I slammed the collective right down to the base-plate and the ship stopped accelerating, but momentum continued carrying us up. Finally, we stopped climbing, and my stomach jumped into my chest as we entered free-fall.

  The Odyssey began tumbling wildly towards the ground. I pulled some power back in and accelerated into forward flight. As we built up speed the aircraft became much more controllable, even without the FMC engaged. I brought the ship into a wide left orbit, high above the field. My heart continued to race after I regained control. I couldn't make up my mind how I felt at that moment. On one hand, I was elated that I was able to fly out of a nasty situation without assistance. On the other, I was pissed off at whatever game Hazel was trying to play. Finally, I said, "Are you satisfied?"

  "You fly like an ape, but somehow managed to keep your head. Maybe you aren't hopeless after all."

  "Well, I didn't soil myself, so I suppose that's an accomplishment. Was that really necessary?"

  "I wanted to see how persistent you are, and how you'd behave once you realized that nobody was going to save you. It's sink or swim here."

  "Weren't you worried that I could crash and kill you?"

  "Not at all."

  "Really?"

  "No, I directed Betty to bail you out if things got out of hand."

  "That wasn't out of hand?"

  "You must remember, she isn't limited by human reaction time and can fly more precisely than you could imagine. Your erratic jostling of the controls was well within her ability to recover. I've seen children fly better than you."

  "Oh, it definitely wasn't pretty, but maybe you'd like to show me how it's done."

  "Okay, I have the flight controls, but I want you to follow along with me."

  "You have the flight controls."

  "I have the controls," she repeated.

  Hazel brought us in on a perfect approach to the spot where I had landed before. I began to doubt if the FMC was still disengaged, but realized this wasn't the case after she completed her approach and came to a hover. The ship rocked gently, but remained perfectly positioned above the small patch of exposed rock with absolutely no extraneous control inputs.

  Someone once told me that the best pilots aren't the ones who fly the fastest or take the greatest risks, but the ones who fly with absolute precision and move an aircraft like an extension of their body. Hazel was this kind of pilot.

  She said, "That's enough work; time for some fun."

  "Do you mean to tell me what we just did wasn't fun?"

  "No, flying for your first time without FMC is a significant emotional experience. Well, maybe it was a little fun watching you squirm."

  "Yeah, I need a cold shower after that."

  Hazel laughed and said, "I've abused you enough for one day. Let's go shoot the gun."

  She flew the Odyssey to the outskirts of a ruined city where several dozen tank hulks were strewn about. We came to a hover a few hundred feet above the ground, and she walked me through employing the coilgun. I armed the aircraft and actioned the gun. The cannon extended from the bottom of the ship into the ready position, and the floor vibrated as the gun slew left and right, following my line of sight. I put the crosshairs in my visor on the closest tank hulk and squeezed the laser range finder trigger with my middle finger.

  The High Action Display overlaid on the image showed the range right at thirty-five hundred meters. I slid my index finger under the guard protecting the weapons trigger, squeezed it to the first detent, and fired a ten-round burst. The gun shook the ship as each round fired in rapid succession. The projectiles took less than a second to cover the distance to their target and punched through the side of the tank hulk with satisfying explosions. I couldn't help but smile.

  For my next engagement, I marked five tanks with the Image Auto Tracker and selected a two-round burst for each. Upon pulling the trigger, the cannon automatically moved from target to target, shooting two rounds exactly where I had aimed. Finally, I locked on a tank just over eighteen thousand meters away, selected a one-meter dispersion pattern, and squeezed off a twenty-round burst. Even at hypersonic speeds, I watched the stream of projectiles fly through the air and riddle the side of the tank with holes. There must have been some ordinance left inside the tank, because a secondary explosion blew the turret clean off the top and sent it flying through the air. The severed turret landed with the barrel sticking in the ground, making it look a bit like a giant lollipop.

  Hazel chuckled. "You don't see that every day. Let's give Betty a shot. Betty, on the command of fire, shoot one round at every tank hulk within twenty thousand meters. Call when ready."

  Betty replied almost immediately, "I am ready, Hazel."

  "Fire."

  Betty shot at the farthest target first and worked her way to the nearest target last, so all of the rounds impa
cted at nearly the same time. Hazel hadn't specified a target order or what even constituted a tank. I wondered if this was simple programming, or if Betty was actually capable of thinking—maybe even showing off. Was she limited to flying and gunnery, or was she capable of abstract thought? Someday, I'd have to ask her what animal a cloud looks like, or what her favorite color was, and see what kind of answer she came back with. Regardless, I was impressed. I said, "Wow, that was amazing, Betty."

  "Thank you, Robert."

  Hazel chimed in, "Nice shooting, Betty. Time to head back to the workshop."

  The rest of the flight was uneventful, and we hardly spoke. I wondered about the vacant cities and war machines laying around, but didn't ask the obvious question. We had a few minutes of silent tranquility, and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin it with errant chatter.

  Hazel landed at the workshop and we climbed out of the Odyssey. It appeared that we had the place to ourselves. I faced Hazel as we closed the crew doors, and she said, "I've had worse students."

  "I've had better instructors."

  Tension built for what felt like an eternity as we stood silent, eyeing each other. Finally, we both broke out laughing.

  Hazel said, "You did good today."

  Although she was infuriating at times, Hazel had many extraordinary qualities. She was a tenacious woman who wouldn't give you an inch you didn't earn, but if a kind word managed to escape her lips, you could be certain it was genuine. I wasn't sure if I wanted to strangle her or if I was beginning to admire her. Hazel was often flippant and distant, but there were brief moments when she would let down her guard, and I felt like I had known her all my life. As we stood there looking at each other, I realized that we were both smiling. In this moment, I was happy.

  Then the front door of the workshop swung open, and Katrina entered the room. Hazel's warm glow instantly turned ice cold.

  Katrina called out, "Robert, I've been waiting for you. I hope you saved some energy for me. There's something I want to show you." Katrina walked over and took my hand. She led me away from Hazel while saying, "Don't worry, dear, I just need to borrow him. I'll return him in one piece."

  As I was drawn away, I looked back into Hazel's eyes, but they were glazed over, and I could see she was disgusted with me.

  Chapter 5

  Katrina towed me behind her with giddy enthusiasm. She ushered me down a hallway to an intersection that was out of sight of the workshop entrance. Then she shoved me against the wall and gently clutched my waist. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear, "Robert, you shouldn't have kept me waiting so long."

  "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

  Katrina pouted playfully, then leaned back suddenly. I reached out and caught her before she lost her balance. Her toned body melted into my arms. She smiled and said, "I'll forgive you this time, but now I only have a few minutes to spend with you."

  "What did you want me for?"

  She responded coyly, "There's no time for that now. I just thought you should know not to worry about my brother, Erlik. I spoke with him last night, and he promised not to lay a hand on you."

  "That's comforting, but did he make any mention about his whip or baton?"

  "Oh, he knows I'm looking out for you now, and he'd be foolish to upset me."

  Katrina slid her hand into my pocket and pulled out my DigiCom. She typed rapidly on the screen with her thumbs then handed it back to me and said, "This is my code. If anyone gives you trouble, I'll set them straight."

  She gave me a quick peck on the lips then dashed sprightly down the hallway, yelling over her shoulder, "Duty calls. I expect to see you this evening." I admired the view until she disappeared from sight.

  I walked back to the workshop to see if Hazel was still there, but nobody was inside when I opened the door. Hazel was obviously mad at me, but what could I do if Katrina wanted to drag me off? I guess I could have declined to go with her, but to be honest, I liked the attention. Even so, it irked me that Katrina barged in when she did. It felt like Hazel had been on the verge of opening up to me, then in an instant, she was closed down tight. Oh well, what's a guy supposed to do?

  Maybe I could find a way to patch things up with Hazel later, but in the meantime, I had more immediate concerns. I skipped breakfast that morning and it was well past noon. My stomach grumbled in protest as I keyed the DigiCom for directions to the nearest place to eat, and after some fumbling, it showed a dining facility two floors down. The device wanted me to take a railcar, but I couldn't see the point of using one for such a short trip. A stairwell was across the hall, so I tugged open the heavy steel door and began descending. The door slammed shut when I was half way down the first flight, and the sound reverberated like a giant echo chamber. When I reached the landing two floors down, I paused just short of the door. I could have sworn I heard footsteps behind me, but when I looked up the staircase to investigate, nothing was there. Not too concerned, I opened another heavy door and stepped out into a bustling hallway.

  Unlike the hall outside the workshop, there were people everywhere. They dressed alike in black coveralls and boots, and moved in swarms. I fell in behind a group of people and followed them to the back of a long line forming outside the entrance to the cafeteria. The line gradually moved forward in spurts, then stopped completely when I heard some commotion ahead.

  I stepped to the side to see what was going on and noticed Erlik and a couple of his goons cut to the front. That didn't surprise me. I knew you weren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I'd known guys like him all my life. Some people are never satisfied unless they exert their dominance over everyone else.

  The line continued to filter through, and I eventually made it to the headcounter. The people ahead of me were swiping their DigiComs over a pad which produced a tone and a green light. I mimicked the action, but nothing happened. I tried a second and third time with no results. Until now, the woman in charge seemed completely disinterested in her job. I didn't blame her; I'd be bored out of my mind, too, if I had to stand at a desk all day. However, her boredom quickly turned into annoyance when I began holding up her line. She groaned and said, "What now?"

  "I don't know. It doesn't seem to be working."

  She took hold of my wrist and rotated the screen towards her.

  "You didn't even initialize your meal voucher. What's your malfunction?"

  I said, "Let's just pretend I haven't done this before."

  I smiled, but she continued to look at me with contempt. The woman touched the screen a few times then said, "Try now."

  I swiped my Digicom again, and the pad beeped, displaying a green light. A countdown displayed on my screen showing another meal voucher would be ready in four hours. I stowed the device and thanked the cordial hostess before moving on. She ignored me.

  The dining facility was a buffet setup designed for efficiency. Grab a tray and silverware, point at what you want, and servers slop it on a plate for you. Food in hand, you pick up a drink and find an open seat at one of the tables that spanned the length of the room. It was no worse than any of the chow halls I've eaten at in the Army. In fact, the food smelled better and the place was probably cleaner. While vaguely familiar, something was remarkably different, and I couldn't pin it down right away. Then it struck me; the room was full of people, but hardly anyone talked. Most were preoccupied with their DigiComs or watching the displays on the walls. The quiet was disturbing. People were absorbed by self-imposed isolation while surrounded by others.

  A booming laugh broke the calm. Erlik was hovering over Hazel and I moved in to see what was going on. He said, "Mind if I join you?"

  She said, "Suit yourself. It's a free world; sit wherever you want."

  Hazel edged away as he dropped his tray next to her. Erlik saw me as he sat down and nodded at me. He called out, "Hey, Pebble, pull up a chair."

  Pebble, really? I'm sure Finn could have come up with a cleverer way to belittle my last name. I guess that's the thing abou
t bullies; if they were clever, they wouldn't feel the need to push people around. On the other hand, assuming he was dumb could be underestimating him. No, Erlik wasn't an idiot. He just preferred to abide by animalistic instincts. When confronting an animal, you can never show fear or they'll pounce. I just smiled and sat down across from him. His goons moved in behind me. I may as well have put my head in a lion's mouth. It was time to ante up. I said, "How's your nose feel?"

  He had been fitted with a nose brace after our last encounter, and his snout was clearly swollen and bruised. We locked eyes, and Erlik looked like he was about to erupt. We stared each other down until Hazel cut in, "Why don't you boys play nice or take it somewhere else? I'm trying to eat here."

  Erlik leaned back in his chair, relaxed the tension in his face, and curled his lips into a devious smile. He continued watching me as he wrapped an arm around Hazel and said, "Making a habit of women coming to your rescue? Apparently, my sister made you her pet as well. That's okay. Sooner or later she'll lose interest; she always does. And then you're mine."

  I just returned his smile in reply.

  Erlik leaned forward and said, "Enjoy your food. There's no telling how many more meals you have left." He stood up rapidly, causing his chair to screech against the floor. Then Erlik signaled the Harmony Guards positioned behind me to follow him out of the cafeteria.

  After he departed, I took a few bites of food then turned to Hazel and said, "I think he's starting to like me."

  She rolled her eyes. "You're a moron. You won't live long enough to make it home if you keep butting heads with him."

  Hazel was probably right, so I tried to change the subject. "I'm sorry I walked out with Katrina earlier."

  "Why should I care what you do? Just be careful who you chum up to. She did the same thing to my brother, Jonathan, and look where that got him."

  "So, what am I supposed to do?"

  "I don't care what you do. In fact, why don't you keep it up? Then you won't be my problem for long."