“Did you both have this already built?” I asked.
“Ahhhh, well, yeah,” Paula answered, and they looked at each other.
“This looks like a specialized piece of equipment,” I said, and I realized that the sleeves they held looked a lot more like long arm cuffs than some sort of supportive device for hanging off a drone.
“We are repurposing it,” Paula said.
“What was its original purpose?” The beast was growling in my stomach.
“Doesn’t matter,” Paula replied as she turned back to attach the arm supports to the drone bar.
“You not answering makes me think it does matter.”
“Talk to Eve about it, then.” Kasta shrugged.
“Eve?” I asked. “What does she have to do with--”
“Adam.” Paula turned to me and let out a long breath. “This is going to be done in a few minutes. Can we all talk about this after you get back?”
“Yeah. Fine.” I nodded at the blonde woman and then turned to Zea. The hacker shrugged, and it was clear from her face that she didn’t know why the twins already had the arm supports made.
Or what Eve had to do with it.
“Will we each get one of those harnesses?” I asked after Paula attached a pair to the bar.
“I only have these,” she answered. “I figured that you, Madalena, and Lux would be strong enough to wrap your arms up through the bar.”
“Our armor is strong enough to deal with any atmospheric pressure, and we have a limited air supply,” Madalena explained.
“Why couldn’t you have used your suits to repair the station in Epsilon Tauri - b?” I asked her.
“We couldn’t get out of the structure,” she answered.
“Alright, this first drone is finished,” Paula said. “One of you will hang off each bar. We’ll start working on the next one, and then we are going to add larger heat shields to another pair of drones that will fly in front of you as a buffer.”
“The missile launchers will see that many craft,” Lux said.
“There isn’t any way around it,” Kasta explained. “One drone can carry the mass of the four of you, but our calculations show we are going to be really close to the limit of its thrusters. If something happens during entry, you’ll all be roasted. The second drone is insurance and having two more drones as a heat shield will mean we can push in quicker.”
“So it’s a choice between getting in quicker, but being seen, or getting in slower, and hoping we won’t be seen?”
“It is going to see you,” Kasta said. “It will shoot its missiles at you, so we have to get in quick. This is the best way of doing it without taking a shuttle.”
“Shuttles are expensive, slow, and you won’t be able to eject quick enough,” Paula added.
“Alright, I trust you two.” As I spoke, I thought about the arm locks they had already attached to the drone bar.
We were definitely going to have that conversation when I returned.
Zea, Madalena, Lux, and I watched the twins finish the second drone and then move onto the two they would use as heat shields. This process went much quicker than the earlier two retrofits, and the twins added the expanding front shields in less than five minutes.
“You both are fast,” Lux commented.
“Of course,” Kasta said as she stepped away from the drones. The android took a short walk around the front of each and then nodded at her sister. “Angles are good.”
“That’s it then,” Paula said to us.
“Zea, can you practice releasing the supports?” Kasta asked.
“Yeah,” the hacker said as she stepped toward the drone and slipped her arms into the sleeves. Kasta locked them around the other woman and then asked her to pop them open. The sleeves opened instantly, and Zea slipped out.
“Seems to work,” Zea said, and I could tell she was struggling to sound calm.
“One more time,” Kasta said, and Zea practiced getting out of the locks again.
“Do it again,” Paula urged, and Zea did it one more time.
“Okay, it works. Let’s get this over with before I change my mind and forget about the ten spa days.” Zea put her arms into the supports again, and Kasta locked her in.
Madalena moved to the other wing and grabbed the bar. Her armor began to drip and spread across her body, and the twins paused to watch the silvery metal.
“You have to explain how that works to us when you get back,” Kasta asked.
“It is Odin’s magic. No explanation is needed.” The banshee helmet formed over her face while Madalena talked, and her words turned darker in timbre.
“Magic, gotcha,” Paula said.
“We’ll go pilot the drones from the bridge. Good luck!” Kasta waved at us, and then the two turned and walked toward the hold’s exit.
I double checked my suit, the strap on my shotgun, and then tugged on the bar of the hovering drone. The craft didn’t budge when I pulled on it, but I still felt a bit of panic flow through me.
Zea was right; this was all sorts of crazy.
“At least we’ll die doing something noteworthy,” Lux said as she grabbed the bar on the other wing. Her armor was in place over her body, and I gave her a nod before I wrapped my arms around my own bar.
Then we waited, but we didn’t have to wait for long.
“Here we go!” Paula said through the transponder on my suit, and the drones lifted up through the hold.
“Moving to the drone ports,” Kasta said as the pair of shield drones took their position in front of the craft carrying us.
“Air seals engaged,” Paula said, and I glanced behind us to see the shimmering wall of energy descend in the ports behind us so that our craft could pop out of the top hatches without losing air.
“Launching in five, four, three, two, one. Drones out.”
The diamond shaped hatch opened above us, and the drones shot out of them quickly. There was a bit of pressure on my arms from the velocity, but I had no trouble maintaining my grip.
Then we were out of Persephone and flying through space.
Zea’s breath was coming through our transponders in ragged gasps, but the stars and view of Persephone calmed my hammering heart a bit.
“Moving toward the atmosphere,” Kasta said, and our drones began to pick up speed. The tension increased in my arms, but I wasn’t in any danger of losing my grip.
“Thirty seconds,” Paula updated.
“Zea, deep breaths,” Madalena said.
“I’m fucking trying!” the hacker gasped.
“We are in range of their missiles,” Kasta said.
“For fuck’s sake don’t tell us!” Zea groaned.
“They haven’t fired,” Paula said.
“They will when we enter the atmosphere,” Kasta said.
“Not helping me calm down!” Zea shouted.
“We’ll get through this,” I said as I forced myself to take deep breaths. Damn. I was focused on Zea’s terror, but the sight of the approaching planet made me realize that I was probably just as scared. This plan was all sorts of crazy, but there was no turning back now. I had to trust Paula and Kasta could pilot us down, and that Madalena and Lux would be able to catch Zea and I after our chutes went off.
“Entering atmosphere,” Paula said. “Uhhh, try to like, get small.”
“Get small? What does that mean?” Zea asked.
“Pull your legs up to your chest so the heat doesn’t melt them off.”
“Melt them off? I thought you said our suits would be fine!” Zea’s breath was coming out in a panicked screech, and I saw her yank her legs up to her chest.
“Well, yeah, but, you know. Just in case.”
The two drones in front of us began to turn a burnt pumpkin color, and I felt the speed of the drone Lux and I hung onto increase. For a few moments, there was a bit too much pressure on my arms, but then the acceleration seemed to flatten, and I was able to relax my shoulders a bit.
“Missiles h
ave launched,” Kasta informed us calmly.
“Oh. My. Fucking. Shit.” Zea panted, and our craft began to shake violently. The lead drone was now bright orange, and flames were cascading over the top of its heat shield. The drones we rode on were all nestled safely behind, and none of the flowing fire touched us.
But it was still getting hot, and sweat was pouring down my face.
“About to hit the worst part,” Paula said, and I felt the g-forces push hard against my chest, arms, and shoulders. My suit slid across the bar a bit, but I squeezed harder.
Everyone’s let out pained gasps, and the heat grew worse. It felt as if my body was beginning to cook, and my mouth was parched and rough like sandpaper. It also felt like an elephant was standing on my chest, and I realized we would have melted in a few seconds without the heat shield drones in front.
“Zea? Zea! Zea!” Paula started to shout into the transponder.
“What’s wrong?” I asked as terror turned my stomach to ice.
“She fainted. Fuck! She needs to flick the switch inside of the supports!”
“How soon?” Madalena asked, and a surge of adrenaline pushed aside all the discomfort I was feeling.
“Twenty seconds until we are out. The missiles will hit three seconds after that.”
“Damn it!” I shouted as I turned my head to the side so I could see the other drone. Zea’s head was slack against her chest, and her long legs were dangling a half meter above the spray of fire caused by our reentry.
“I will get her out,” Madalena said calmly.
“In three seconds? You can’t.”
“I will move to her bar and work her free now,” Madalena said.
“Uhhh, no,” Kasta said. “Even if you could jump across and grab the other bar, the mass transfer will fuck up the drone and pull you out from behind the heat shield.”
“Then adjust the drone trajectory so it does not,” Madalena answered calmly. “I will jump now.”
“No! Wait! Shi--” The twins screamed, but the Prime Valkyrie’s purple wings exploded from her back, and she leapt toward the nose of the drone.
Time seemed to slow as the armored woman dashed through the air. For half a moment, it looked as if she would easily catch the other bar near the front, but her momentum just couldn’t keep up with the speed of the drone, and she flew backward behind the triangle shaped ship like she was being yanked by invisible ropes.
“No!” Lux, Kasta, Paula, and I screamed, but then Madalena reached out with her left arm, and her fingers caught the very last part of the bar where Zea was attached.
The Prime Valkyrie hissed with pain as she twisted around the bar and kicked into the burning flame flowing around Zea. I knew that Madalena’s left shoulder was her injured one, and I didn’t know how much longer she could hold on.
“Grab it!” I urged as my heart caught in my throat.
“We can’t slow down or the missiles will hit you!” Kasta screamed, and Madalena growled through our transponder while she pushed her right hand toward the bar.
“Twenty seconds!” Paula screeched, and my vision began to swim with multi-colored hues of panic.
“Got it!” Madalena shouted as her right hand finally grabbed the bar. She pulled herself up and then angled an armored leg to wrap around the bar.
“Fifteen seconds! Hurry!” Kasta shouted after Madalena hooked her leg around the bar and had flipped over upside down to grab Zea.
“I am trying to fit my fingers inside,” the Prime Valkyrie said. I couldn’t really see what she was doing around the bar, but I could hear the pained agony in Madalena’s voice and feel her panic.
“Oh shit. Hurry. Twelve seconds!”
“I am trying!” Madalena shouted in reply.
“Eight seconds!”
“Five seconds!”
“I feel the switch!”
“Three! Two! One! Let go! Go! Go! Go!” The twins screamed in unison as the flames disappeared from the drones.
I kicked my legs against the bar as I let go and pushed away from the craft. The movement sent me diving toward the faraway surface of the planet, and I angled my head down so that I could try to see Madalena and Zea.
Then the missiles hit the drones, and the sky exploded with an orange fire.
“No!” I screamed when I didn’t see Madalena and Zea. Agony ripped through me, and my heart shattered into a million pieces. Fuck me. I made a mistake. Zea was right. This had been too risky.
I’d just killed two of my lovers with this plan.
“I have her,” Madalena said as soon as my wail ended, and relief flooded through me just as fast the agony had come.
“Where?” I asked as I spun through the air. I saw them a moment later off to the side. Madalena held her arms around Zea, but her purple wing thrusters were off.
“Madalena, let go of Zea so the missiles don’t track you,” Paula warned, and the Prime Valkyrie immediately pushed Zea away. The hacker was obviously still unconscious, and her body floated through the empty air like a rag doll.
“We will not be able to aim our descent while she is unconscious,” Lux said.
“Better than being dead,” I replied with a thankful sigh.
“Agreed,” Lux replied, and I saw her angle her body over a bit so she maneuvered closer to me.
“Madalena, thank you.” I turned to look at the Prime Valkyrie, and her horrific banshee helmet faced me.
“Of course, Husband,” she answered, and I could feel her pleasure and relief.
“You almost gave me a heart attack,” Kasta gasped.
“Sis, you can’t get heart attacks,” Paula chuckled.
“I said ‘almost.’ Jeez.” The android laughed.
“We are not safe yet,” I said. “There is still the whole ‘chute opening one hundred meters from the ground’ ordeal.” I looked back down to the planet. The space suit prevented me from hearing or feeling the wind, so it felt like we were floating in water instead of falling to our deaths.
“That might be harder than we initially believed,” Madalena said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Zea is not controlling her fall,” my wife replied. “She needs to have her front or legs down when the chute deploys.”
I turned to the hacker. Her limp body was spiraling a bit, and I imagined her getting tangled in the chute.
“Can you grab her without her chute deploying?” I asked.
“We need the chute for a brake. My armor thrusters will not be able to slow both of us enough from only one hundred meters.”
“Fuck,” I said.
“Maybe you can make a few touches to straighten her out?” Kasta asked. “We are concerned that you might trigger the missiles if it accounts for your combined volume, but short adjustments might be okay.”
“Or they could trigger the missiles,” Paula added. “Both of you together is right below the volume threshold.”
“So, we should be okay?” I asked.
“Maybe,” Paula replied.
“The missile launchers are also accounting for shrapnel so they might ignore you anyways,” Kasta added.
“So, we should be okay?” I asked again.
“Maybe,” Paula replied.
“Fuck it,” I said. “Let’s try.”
“I will make an attempt,” Madalena said.
“Don’t use your thrusters!” Paula shouted. “That will definitely get its attention.”
“Understood,” the Prime Valkyrie said as she drifted toward Zea, touched her leg for half a second and then drifted away. Zea’s tumble steadied a bit, but she was still spinning.
“Nothing from the missiles,” Kasta said.
“I will try again,” Madalena said as she reached out toward the tumbling hacker.
“How long until our chutes deploy?” I asked.
“Four minutes,” Paula answered.
I watched Madalena make a few more adjustments to Zea. After the sixth, the hacker’s belly was facing the ground, an
d she appeared to be stable.
“I believe this is the best we can hope for,” Madalena said.
“Her heart rate is fine,” Kasta said. “The stress was too much for her.”
We fell in silence for a few more minutes, and I felt the tension in my shoulders begin to build when I thought about the next part of our mission. I didn’t mind breaking my legs since I could heal them in an instant, but Zea couldn’t heal at my speed, and she wasn’t going to be able to help Madalena grab onto her.
“Chutes will deploy in a minute,” Kasta said. “You are falling a ten kilometers outside of the missile launcher we originally aimed you at, so you’ll need to watch for trees when you fall.”
“Adam, I will hook my arms under yours. Do not attempt to grab onto me or my thrusters will melt your arms off.” Lux positioned her arms forward to show how she would grab me.
“Got it,” I replied as the beast in my stomach whined. He didn’t like this free fall experience.
“Thirty seconds,” Kasta updated, and I took a few deep breaths to steady my nerves.
“Let’s hope she doesn’t wake up as the chute deploys,” Paula said. “That will probably disorient her a bunch.”
“Yeah,” I sighed.
“Get ready,” Kasta said. “Ten seconds.”
“Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”
My chute erupted from the back of my spacesuit, but I was more worried about Zea. Madalena grabbed onto the hacker from behind while Lux slammed into my chest and hooked her arms under my armpits.
For half a moment, it felt like my skin was trying to shake free of my skeleton. Both of the Vaish women activated their back thrusters, and the purple wings screamed with effort as they tried to slow our descent. The green canopy of trees swirled beneath us, and I realized we weren’t going to slow down enough right before we crashed into the first set of branches.
Something hit me in the leg, and I grunted with pain. I felt a branch slam into Lux and we tipped over, spun sideways, and then we both slammed into the ground. The air was driven out of my lungs, and my vision went dark for a few seconds.
King Killer: A Paranormal Space Opera Adventure (Star Justice Book 7) Page 23