“Their planet is dying,” said Doctor Zheng. “They need Earth, but there aren’t enough of them to take it by force. Smith is going to bring the Invisitude to Earth so that they can save the human race from the aftermath of the asteroid collision. Once they’ve done that, they’ll be welcomed with open arms.”
“Particularly when they realize that we attacked the Invisitude,” said Glitch.
“Ting!” said Smith. “We have a winner. Now, if you’d like to go with the ambassador, I can assure you your execution will be quite painful.”
Glitch pulled himself back into the shuttle and looked at the gun in his hand, trying to make sense of the bewildering array of buttons and dials mounted along its length. He had no clue what any of them did.
“Crap.” He swept his fingers along the side of the gun, randomly flicking and twisting the controls.
Then he leaned around the door, aimed at Smith, and squeezed the trigger. The gun hummed, vibrating with energy. Glitch braced himself for a Dirty Harry kickback, but it never came. The shot just seemed to materialize in front of the gun and hover there for a fraction of a second before racing toward its target with a high-pitched whistle and a streak of blue light that stung Glitch’s eyes. The shot went wide, hitting one of the slatted buildings and erupting in a searing flash of blue-white light and flame and molten metal.
Smith ducked, firing wildly as he dodged sideways. Bullets bounced off the side of the shuttle. Glitch fired again. This time his shot fell short, and the ground a few feet away from Smith exploded. Backing away, Kurtz flashed red. The red guards advanced toward the shuttle.
Doctor Zheng was already running toward Anderson.
“Get in,” screamed Glitch as he fired again. He aimed high to avoid hitting Zheng, and the shot flew across the landing zone, disappearing between two buildings. There was a muffled thump of an explosion. Glitch became aware of movement behind him—Kalith.
“We must leave.”
“As soon as they’re inside,” shouted Glitch.
Zheng reached Anderson. She crouched beside the fallen captain, slung her arm beneath her shoulder, and helped Anderson to her feet. Anderson’s pants were soaked with blood, and her face was pale.
A bullet whistled past Glitch and slammed into the back wall of the shuttle. Smith had positioned himself at the corner of one of the buildings, his back against the wall to provide some cover. He was still firing at them.
Glitch aimed at Smith and fired. The shot caught the corner of the building, right beside Smith. The wall exploded, scattering fragments of white-hot metal across the landing zone. Smith was thrown backward, and he slammed into the building opposite. He fell to the ground and lay in a crumpled, unmoving heap.
There was a high-pitched whine from somewhere behind Glitch. A cloud of dust rolled away from the rear of the shuttle, and the metal vibrated beneath his feet.
The red guards were almost at the shuttle, and Glitch fired at the nearest one. His aim was getting better, his years of videogames finally paying off. His shot hit the center of the guard. A spider’s web of blue energy crackled across its body. There was a blinding flash of light and rush of static, and the guard was gone.
Glitch helped Anderson into the shuttle. Anderson’s face twisted in pain as she dragged herself across the floor. Glitch fired off a couple more shots as Zheng threw herself on board. Not waiting to see whether he’d connected with his targets, he slammed his hand against the control panel next to the door. Unlike the rest of the Invisitude devices, this one had actual, physical buttons, and the door slid closed as the shuttle began to lift off.
As the doctor searched for something to use as a tourniquet, Glitch joined Kalith. The cockpit of the shuttle was dominated by a curved video display showing a one-hundred-eighty-degree view of the outside world. Beneath the screen were two identical control panels. Each panel had seven silver disks on it and a set of four small display screens showing various scenes outside the craft. Kalith was standing next to the right-hand panel. Tendrils of energy leapt from her hands and crackled across the control panel.
Glitch steadied himself as the shuttle leaned forward and accelerated away from the landing pad. There was a muffled thump and the shuttle rocked, then they were flying over the city.
“Will they follow us?” said Glitch.
“Yes,” said Kalith.
She shifted position, and another thread of energy snaked free of her form. When it touched the control panel, it scattered, sending a dozen blue children across the silver disks. One of the screens on the control panel flickered, and the video feed of the landing site was replaced by text. A dozen lines, symbols Glitch didn’t recognize, scrolled up the side of the screen. The shuttle accelerated, leaning to the right.
The city raced beneath them, growing smaller and smaller as the shuttle climbed. They were rapidly approaching the protective bubble that surrounded the city. Kalith adjusted the controls again, and the display screen dimmed.
“Hold on,” said Kalith.
Glitch barely had time to clutch the edge of the control panel before, with a thump, the shuttle lurched forward. The display screen washed out, glowing white. The sound of the shuttle’s engines became muffled for a second, then Glitch’s ears popped and the noise came back stronger than ever. The shuttle shuddered and rattled. It lurched downward, pitching Glitch to the right. Behind him, the doctor cursed. The whine of the engines increased to a scream that threatened to tear Glitch’s teeth from his head.
There was another thump, and the shuttle stopped shaking and leveled off. The sound of the engines returned to less ear-shattering levels, and the display screen faded to black. Kalith adjusted the controls, and the display flickered and resolved into a view of space. And Earth.
Anderson let out a cry, and Glitch moved back to check on her.
She was sitting on the floor, her back against the side of the shuttle. Her eyes were closed, and her face was pale and slick with sweat. Doctor Zheng had torn the leg off Anderson’s pants and tied it around her thigh. The cloth was already deep scarlet, and a thin pool of blood was spreading across the floor beneath her leg. Zheng had her hands pressed against the wound.
“How is she?” said Glitch.
“She’s alive, and the bleeding is slowing, but she’s lost a lot of blood, and her pulse is weak.”
“I’m not dead yet,” said Anderson in a high voice.
Glitch tried to smile but couldn’t. “Kalith, Scarlett is hurt. Can you help her?”
Kalith joined them at the back of the shuttle. She knelt beside Anderson and reached toward her injured leg. “This will hurt.”
Doctor Zheng grabbed the captain’s hand. Anderson screamed as electricity leapt from Kalith’s hands and wrapped around her leg. Thin wisps of smoke drifted up from the wound, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. The electricity retreated.
Kalith removed her hands and examined the wound. “Keep her still.” She returned to the front of the shuttle.
Anderson’s screams faded away, and she leaned back against the wall. Doctor Zheng pressed her fingers against Anderson’s neck, checking her pulse. Zheng’s face was full of concern, and when she pulled her hand away, she seemed only slightly happier.
“Scarlett, can you hear me?”
Anderson’s eyelids fluttered open, then she moaned and closed them again. She mumbled something.
“Okay, get some rest,” said Doctor Zheng.
Anderson frowned. “The asteroid…”
Glitch looked at the screen. If there was an asteroid out there, he couldn’t see it.
“We are tracking,” said Kalith.
“How long until we get there?” said Glitch.
“Four Earth minutes.”
“What happened to Smith and Kurtz?” said Zheng.
“Smith is dead. I don’t know about Kurtz,” said Glitch. “He ran.”
On the display, a red bolt of energy flashed past the front of the shuttle. Kalith’s hands flew to the contro
ls, electricity flashing from her fingertips. “They are pursuing.”
Kalith swept her hands across the controls again. A high-pitched whistle came from somewhere above the shuttle as Kalith returned fire—a super-sized version of the noise made by the pistol Glitch had used. There was an explosion, and sparks burst from the wall. The ship juddered and dipped.
Kalith fired again, and the shuttle tilted to the left. Another shuttle, identical to theirs, rushed past them. Kalith turned the ship back to the right and fired again. The first shot went wide, disappearing over the shuttle. The second caught the back corner, near the engine. There was a burst of light as the engine exploded. The enemy craft twisted, spinning sideways and leaving a trail of metal debris in its wake. Searing white light overwhelmed the display as the enemy shuttle was engulfed by another explosion. Kalith pushed the shuttle downward. Shards of metal bounced off the hull, and the shuttle was buffeted around as they passed beneath the disintegrating craft. Something clanged off the wall behind Glitch, and he flinched, waiting for the inevitable decompression to pull him out into the void. Then they were in clear space again.
Kalith leveled off the shuttle and called to the back of the ship. “Injuries?”
Glitch looked at Doctor Zheng and Anderson, and they shook their heads. “We’re fine. That was some good shooting, Kalith.”
“More may follow.”
“How far to the asteroid?” said Glitch.
Kalith gestured toward the display screen. “It is visible.”
Glitch made his way to the cabin and searched for the asteroid. It took him a few seconds to find it. It was unexpectedly smooth, more like a large gray bullet than an asteroid from the movies. Kalith adjusted the heading of the shuttle, directing it straight toward the asteroid.
The asteroid was rotating along its central axis, adding to the image of a giant bullet made of rock hurtling toward Earth. Glitch wondered if NASA had spotted it yet, whether presidents and prime ministers were being woken in the middle of the night and hurried to the underground bunkers where the great and the good went to hide during times of emergency.
Kalith adjusted the controls. Servos whined again as the guns targeted the asteroid. “Weapon is ready.”
Kalith seemed to be waiting for Glitch to give her the okay to fire, and Glitch felt the warm thrill of excitement. Ever since he was a kid, he’d wanted to command a spaceship. Now he was with an alien being, saving Earth. He was preparing to give the command when Kalith fired the guns.
Four parcels of energy flew from the shuttle and traced a line along the length of the asteroid. They seemed too small as they were swallowed up by the gray bulk of the rock, but clusters of bright red light flared across the asteroid where they hit. The red light spread across the rock’s surface, leaping from point to point until it was covered in a web of red fire.
Then the asteroid tore itself apart, sending thousands of fragments spinning into space. Rock pounded the shuttle, the sound reverberating off the metal walls. Glitch yelled as a lump of asteroid the size of a small car spun toward them, filling the display screen.
Kalith swept her hand across the controls and twisted the shuttle sideways. There was a heavy thump, and the vehicle shuddered violently. A panel on the wall exploded in a shower of sparks, and the lights flickered and went out. An alarm pulsed.
Emergency lighting kicked in, bathing the shuttle in a red glow. More pieces of the asteroid hit the ship, and another panel exploded. Red lights lit up across the control panels, and another alarm, high pitched and rapid, joined the first. The shuttle twisted sideways as Kalith fought to maintain control. The shuttle righted itself and accelerated into clear space. Kalith silenced the alarms.
Glitch spun a full three hundred sixty degrees, looking for damage. Apart from a few panels that were still sparking and the fine mist of smoke hanging in the air, the shuttle seemed intact. Zheng and Anderson were still sitting on the floor. The captain had closed her eyes again.
“Is she okay?” said Glitch.
“Yes, she is,” said Anderson, opening her eyes again. “But she would really like to go home now.”
Glitch nodded his agreement and turned back to the display screen. The view of space had been replaced by a larger version of the text display Glitch had seen on the control panel earlier. Kalith hurriedly adjusted the shuttle’s controls. The whine from the shuttle’s engines grew louder, steadily increasing in pitch.
“Kalith, what’s wrong?” said Glitch.
“Shuttle is damaged. Unable to control.”
“But you can fix it, right?”
Kalith switched the display back to the view outside. Earth filled the screen. “No, I cannot.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Collision Course
Fleeing from John Smith and the Invisitude, Glitch provides cover while Doctor Zheng gets an injured Captain Anderson into the shuttle. Smith returns fire, but Glitch causes an explosion that sends Smith crashing into a wall, killing him. With the humans aboard, Kalith launches the shuttle, and they chase the asteroid hurtling toward Earth. After fighting off their pursuers, Kalith destroys the asteroid, but despite her best efforts, debris from the explosion hits the shuttle.
Kalith stood in front of the shuttle’s control panel. Her hands darted to and fro as she made adjustments. The whine of the engines grew louder, steadily increasing in pitch.
“Kalith, what’s wrong?” said Glitch.
Kalith switched the one-hundred-eighty-degree display at the front of the shuttle back to the view outside. Earth filled the screen. “Shuttle is damaged. Unable to control.”
“But you can fix it, right?”
Kalith moved across the cabin to the damaged wall panel. Wires dangled from the tear in the wall. “No, I cannot.”
With a loud bang, sparks burst from the damaged panel. Earth loomed large on the video display.
“But this ship is built to withstand a reentry, isn’t it?”
“Ship is,” said Kalith. “You are not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Anderson appeared at the door to the cabin, Zheng supporting her. “She means there’s no heat shielding. Or at least not enough to protect us.”
“Captain is correct.”
Glitch wiped sweat from his brow; real or imagined, he was suddenly very warm. “So basically we’re going to be cooked alive?”
“Basically, yes,” said Anderson.
“Kalith, will the heat harm you?” asked Zheng.
“No. I can dissipate.”
The doctor looked almost relieved. Glitch got the impression she was more concerned about Kalith’s survival than her own.
“Can we use that?” he asked. “Can you dissipate the heat for us?”
As Kalith considered the question, Glitch pressed his hand against the wall of the shuttle. It felt warm, he was sure of it.
Anderson saw the look on Glitch’s face. “Don’t worry. We’re not close enough yet. Even at this speed, we’ve got some time.”
Glitch nodded, hoping she was right but not convinced.
“Perhaps,” said Kalith. “Encase shuttle. May protect you. A small chance. Cannot be sure.”
A smile broke over Glitch’s face. “So let’s do that.”
Kalith shook her head. “Does not help. Trajectory incorrect. Cannot adjust. Shuttle will destruct.”
Glitch felt his last shreds of hope evaporate. “There must be something we can do?” He winced at the fear in his voice.
Kalith gestured toward the damaged panel. “Controls are damaged.”
Glitch went to the panel and picked through the wires. They were color coded. Despite the damage, most of the wires were intact, and those that weren’t could easily be repaired. A flash of hope flared inside Glitch. “I can probably fix this.”
That hope died again when Glitch pulled the wires to one side and peered inside the panel. The wires led to a circuit board, roughly four inches across. Glitch didn’t recognize the components
, but it was clear from the scorch marks and the blackened, melted clumps of metal that reattaching a few wires wouldn’t solve anything. “Or maybe not.”
Glitch reached into the opening and pulled at the circuit board. It twisted a little then popped free. Glitch pulled out the board, scraping his knuckles on the edge of the opening in the process. The damaged wires were clipped onto the circuit board. Glitch removed them then flipped the board over. There was a connector on the back and a matching slot inside the control panel.
The shuttle shuddered, the hull groaning. Glitch glanced at the video screen. Earth filled it completely now. Anderson and Zheng were watching him expectantly while Kalith continued to adjust the shuttle’s controls.
“Kalith,” said Glitch, “does this shuttle carry any spare parts?”
Kalith pointed toward a panel marked with a yellow triangle in the wall at the back of the cabin. “Perhaps there.”
It took a few seconds for Glitch to work out how to open the panel. In the end, he found the combination of pressing and twisting that unlatched it, and the panel swung open. Inside was a metal cube with a handle on top, like a toolbox. He pulled it out, opened the catches on each side, and silently uttering a quick prayer, removed the lid.
The box was lined with a dense, foam-like material that had a series of slots cut into it. Six of the slots held circuit boards of various sizes and designs. Two slots were empty. Glitch ran his fingers over the edges of the circuit board, but he could already see one of the empty slots was the right size for the damaged board. None of the others matched it.
“Dammit!” Glitch threw the broken board across the cabin, and it careened off the wall, breaking apart and scattering pieces across the floor. He looked up at Anderson and Zheng. “Sorry.”
Anderson nodded. The shuttle lurched, bouncing her against the cabin wall, and she winced. Blood oozed from the wound in her leg again, and her skin was pale and waxy.
Glitch was about to tell Anderson to sit down when another yellow triangle caught his eye. There was another panel like the one he’d just opened on the opposite side of the cabin. He almost threw himself across the floor to it, his sudden movement eliciting a yelp of surprise from Zheng.
Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet Page 18