A dark speck revealed itself below the golden, dazzling sun. Detail was hard to come by in the glare. If an ambush awaited, they’d surely be smart enough to dig into the snow, camouflage themselves, or hide. I could’ve flanked around to the south and come at them from a different direction, but they’d see me coming anyway. There was no cover out here without snowfall or darkness—both in short supply. Besides, one thing I knew for sure was that they’d be tracking me and time was of the essence. The rounded conical shape, gray and space-aged grew in size and detail. I kept up my speed, ready to take evasive action should an unseen enemy open fire. But as I approached it became increasingly clear there was none. No machine gun nests, no patrols and no enemy vehicles. I slowed the ATV, its high-pitched whir calming to a hum as I maneuvered next to the lifepod. I sat back in my seat and exhaled, a wave of relief coursing through me. There was still a long way to go. The truth still eluded me and I had no idea what sort of future life I could build here. But I’d made it back in one piece and I’d vowed to take down Valdus whatever it took. As long as I breathed, there was no way a repugnant regime like his would inherit the Earth. As I shut down the ATV and stepped out, the unbelievable cold mounted a ferocious attack on my bare face. Once I’d recovered, I approached the lifepod and something caught my eye. Valdus’s troops may have been absent, but all was definitely not well.
17
The damage to the cargo door stuck out like a sore thumb. From the scrapes in the gray alloy, blackened by re-entry fire, and the deformation around the edges, it looked like they’d used a crowbar. Someone had tried their best to pry open the door but failed. Just getting the crowbar in the thin gap between door and jamb was an achievement but without power tools getting inside would be nigh on impossible. The shadow of the lifepod looked long and stark against the white snow. The sun hovered a few diameters above the horizon. Hanging that low in the sky cast every surface detail of the ice into shadow. It exposed the spaghetti junction of sled marks. That they were still there told me it was within the last twenty-four hours or else the snow would’ve covered them. I guessed they’d gone back for some better tools or maybe explosives. That’d be one way to do it.
Wasting no more time, I opened up the lower passenger deck hatch. The hatch wasn’t secured—the last thing rescuers needed on an emergency lifepod were things preventing entry—which made me wonder why Valdus’s men hadn’t entered this way. Then it struck me that they probably didn’t even recognize it as a hatch. After all, it was completely flush with the side of the capsule with no visible handle. Re-entry scorch marks also disguised the thin gap around the precision-engineered door and only the UE of RESCUE remained from the arrow. For all I knew, the natives weren’t big on reading. I slid the small cover aside and grabbed the handle, opening the hatch door. With no way to lock the door, I urgently climbed the central column ladder all the way to the cockpit. I lay down the rifle, sat down and reached for the main power switch. Within seconds, the terminal and controls came alive with the promise of twenty-first century technology. Now to get in touch with the orbiting Juno.
Using the terminal, I initiated the call to Reichs and Laetitia using the lifepod’s comms equipment. This time I got through immediately, which meant the Juno was somewhere in line of sight. With her intercom node patched through to the emergency lifepod comms, Laetitia answered.
“Is that you Mr. Luker?”
I smiled, pleased to hear her crisp, civilized voice.
“Yeah, it’s me. Listen, I don’t have much time here.”
“Did you discover the source of the radio transmissions?”
“Sure did, but they’re hostile. Or their leadership is, anyway. Look, I can’t stay here and armed men could be closing in as we speak. I have at least one working ATV ready to go, but I can’t get to where I need to—”
“And where is that?”
“Hawaii. No time to explain. I need you to send another lifepod with whatever food, supplies and weapons you can get your hands on. Oh, and as many ATV power cells as you can. I may need to go long haul.”
“But Mr. Luker, we have climbed to the one thousand mile orbit to avoid atmospheric drag. We should descend to sub-five hundred for the best chance of success and accuracy. It will also take time to gather what you have—”
“Okay, okay. But you need to work quickly.”
“I will need to ask Arnie’s permission. We are very busy—”
“Send the lifepod exactly sixty-five miles south of my current location. Priorities: food, ATV power cells, weaponry then other supplies—whatever you can think of.”
“Okay, Mr. Luker, I will try to convince Arnie but he won’t be happy.”
“Why not? I thought he supported what I’m trying to do!”
“But it is a critical phase in our project. I’m confused as to why you—”
“What project?”
And as I said it, caught up in the urgency of my situation, I’d forgotten all about it.
“The shuttle and launch tube, of course,” she said, with a soft laugh. “Did you forget, Mr. Luker?”
“Err, no... I mean, yes, I forgot.”
“Why would you want a lifepod when we’re on the verge of launching a shuttle?”
My eyes widened as a smile grew across my face. I couldn’t believe it. The plan with the hydraulic pumps must’ve worked and they must’ve got the battery working.
I cleared my throat, slightly embarrassed at having talked over her, not allowing her to tell me.
“Well, that’d be fantastic, Laetitia. How long until launch?”
“Within the next two hours. Ah, here is Arnie. Perhaps you should speak to him.”
I’d rather not, I thought, having had far better success communicating with his android.
“Sure, put him on.”
There was a pause and I could hear Laetitia briefing him quickly and efficiently.
“Cowboy! My beautiful lady tells me you’re in a bit of a fix down there on the lovely planet Earth.”
“You could say that.”
“Sounds like you’d better mount up and get out of there, before the natives put you in their stew!”
He roared with laughter at his own remarks.
“Reichs, there’s no time for this. Can you send the shuttle to get me?”
“Now perhaps you wouldn’t mind explaining what’s in it for me?”
Damn, now he was showing his true colors, I thought.
I had to think fast. What was it he wanted?
“Hawaii, we’ve gotta get to Hawaii.”
“And why might that be, cowboy?”
“Because it’s the new center of advanced civilization on Earth. They have technology there, mild summers and a large population. If anyone can help us with the ship, it’s the people on Hawaii.”
Okay, I’d stretched a truth based on rumor, but I had to dangle some sort of carrot. Whether feasible or not, Reichs believed he’d get the ship working one day and get to Aura.
“Hmm, let me think about that proposal,” he said.
“Well, don’t think too long, I’m—”
He roared with laughter again.
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop messing with you. I’ll allow you use of my shuttle, but on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Laetitia comes too. She’ll be with your peasant ass every step of the way. I want to know what you know, and she will report back to me without hiding one iota of intel. In fact, she’s built just for that purpose—”
“What are you talking about Reichs? What purpose?”
“For spying and infiltration, of course. You are slow sometimes, peasant! Anyway, I trust you and she is at your service... within the parameters I set of course. Don’t want you taking advantage of my good lady wife. She’s a respectable woman!” he said, chuckling.
“I guess I should say thanks. Listen, the landing zone might be hot, so I suggest we make an alternate one.”
“I’ll let Laetitia arrange t
he details. Have fun, cowboy!”
“Mr. Luker, I agree since you will need to maintain radio silence. Give me six hours to load up what we need and make the LZ.”
“Right. Same place as for the lifepod—sixty-five miles south of my current location. Got it?”
“Acknowledged.”
“Synchronize your clock to local time, Laetitia,” I said, checking my wrist. “I have 6:20 a.m.”
“Acknowledged. Now I must go about my work.”
“Sure, see you in six hours. If I’m not there, then you know where to search.”
“Yes, between—”
“Gotta go!” I said as the west-facing camera showed what I’d feared.
I took one last look at the line of distant sleds coming over the western horizon before shutting down the pod. I quickly shut down main power.
Damn it, no time to get my gear together, I thought, descending the ladder like my ass was on fire.
There were more than half a dozen sleds closing in. They’d arrive in minutes. This time, they’d shoot first and ask questions later. There was no question of fight or flight—it was pure and simple. Escape on the ATV or end up dead.
After jumping out of the hatch, I reached up and slammed it closed.
Let them figure out how to get in. Maybe they think I’m still inside if they don’t see me leave.
I darted to the ATV, slammed the door and fired it up. It reached its top speed of sixty as I headed due south to the shuttle LZ. The terrain ahead consisted of a few miles of flat icefield then a gentle rise. Distant white clouds surrounded oasis of clear sky to the south and east. Shadows were shortening all the time, the light changing from gold to orange to yellow. I had no precise measure of how fast the sleds would travel, but I guessed no more than twenty-five miles an hour, given how heavy they looked. Every so often, I strained my neck right, checking whether they’d changed course. It was hard to tell through the white powder the ATV threw up in its wake. That in itself was not a good thing and advertised my presence. Still, I couldn’t exactly slow down. Eventually, they’d pick up my fresh tracks south. I checked the time. Five hours, fifty minutes to evade these knuckleheads—an eternity out here on the icefields.
I reached the top of the rise and continued on a plateau, beyond which the icefield sloped downhill. That was good. Once behind the rise, it’d hide me from direct view. After fifty minutes, I passed the halfway point. It was impossible to know whether they were tracking me, but at that point, another worry was beginning to emerge. The power cell read twenty-eight percent. That meant seventy-two percent had taken me sixty-nine miles since landing. It tallied with the dashboard’s estimate of remaining range—twenty-six miles.
“Damn it!” I said in frustration.
All it would’ve taken was to grab another power cell ... But that wasn’t to be, and now I had to just hope Laetitia found me before the enemy did. I experimented for a while with optimum speed, monitoring the range estimate for change. It didn’t seem to matter too much, indicating only minor gains at thirty rather than forty. So I stuck to thirty. Every mile by ATV was ten times quicker than on foot.
Then at mile fifty-nine, the ATV gave up the ghost and whirred to a halt. A sinking feeling grew inside before I repressed it and got out of the cabin. I started jogging and peeled open another bag of the guards’ gruel. Now was the time for fueling my body for the run ahead. With no backpack, it should take no more than half an hour. But the snow slowed me down to below my best. After a few hundred yards I stopped and looked north, across the flat icefield. The familiar dense cloud had closed in, taking away the sun for who-knew how long. The wind had picked up again too, lifting snow across the plains and obscuring the far distance and any possible pursuit. I resumed my run and considered the mixed blessing the weather had brought. On the one hand, it’d make it easier to evade capture reducing visibility and burying my footsteps, but on the other Laetitia would have a hell of a job finding me. I continued counting my paces diligently, staying as straight and true as I could. She’d be landing exactly sixty-five miles south and any deviation in distance or bearing would mean more time in the open.
After thirty-five minutes, I reached what I thought was the landing zone. Two hours and forty minutes had passed since we’d synchronized watches. Now I had to survive here for three hours twenty more. The wind had died down and the northern horizon was visible once again. Thick, white clouds had enveloped the entire sky, turning the ambient light from golden yellow to something harsher and colorless. I studied the horizon carefully—still no pursuers. After consuming the last of the bags of gruel, I put down the rifle and drew the knife. Once I’d cleared the surface snow with my arms, I carved a man-sized depression in the ice. Another hour passed before I got it to a couple of feet deep. I stood back and reviewed my work. Not bad, but not deep enough. There was still no sign of the enemy, so I dug a little deeper, taking half an hour more. Pleased with the hide, I put the rifle inside and lay down before pulling loose snow and ice on top of me from the high piles beside the hole. Not perfect and a foxhole would’ve been better, but the deeper I dug, the harder the ice became. I checked the watch—10:30 a.m.—an hour fifty left. Nothing remained but to wait.
Time passed slowly. Tiredness knocked but the cold seeping into my thermal clothing kept it at bay.
I felt drowsy and must’ve napped without knowing it because on checking my watch, midday had arrived. When I looked up to check the horizon, I knew my luck was a dwindling asset. Four sleds were headed my way. They were still a few miles north, but they’d eat up that time in minutes. If it’d been a single sled, taking them on might have been feasible, but against four there was no way. So I turned my head and tucked it down as far as possible, wishing for a sudden snowstorm to envelop me. I dared not lift my head. Hearing would be my primary sense for the next twenty minutes. And knowing Laetitia’s robotic precision, she’d pull out all the stops to be exactly on time.
A gentle breeze whistled unimpeded across the barren icefields. It ebbed and flowed and when calm, quiet ruled the plains—no distant traffic noise or the hum of electricity or the Juno’s engines. Nothing. It struck me as I lay there, how I missed the sound of birds and the sight of trees. Maybe Reichs was right. Maybe Earth was a lost cause and we’d be better off going somewhere else, despite the difficulty of the task. But I had to believe there was better than the bleak world I’d so far encountered.
The bark of huskies carried across the frigid air, followed by the command of their master.
“Easy!” I heard—a command to the husky pack.
They were close now. Stealth and a crummy homemade rifle were my only allies now. All I could do was wait.
Some more barking—closer this time. Then a command.
“Whoa!”
All still from the north, but not far away. I guessed just five hundred feet at most.
“Whoa! Whoa!” came the call again, this time from a second, distinct voice.
Next came the sounds of men dismounting and calling to each other, fired up, thrilled by the hunt. They sure didn’t care about stealth. Why should they? They knew either their quarry was alone or at most four combined with Cortez, Myleene and Alexa.
The racket of the dogs and sled grew from the distance and passed by somewhere to the west—my left. I heard a second sled go by maybe a hundred and fifty feet to the east. Neither were slowing and only canine sounds punctuated their advance. As they receded past me, the effects of Doppler lengthened their frequencies as they continued south. It seemed like they were hedging their bets. Maybe they thought they had a trail but were only confident enough to devote two of the four units.
Still two too many to fight, I thought as the first footfalls crunching in the snow reached my ears.
Their number was uncertain, but this time there were more than two per sled.
“Look! See, there’s still a trace. Look where I brushed away the snow. That’s definitely a footprint,” said the young man. “And as we sa
w up there, he’s alone.”
“He could be very far away,” said a gravel-toned older man.
“Yes,” replied the first guy, as if speaking to someone of limited intelligence. “That’s why the other units are continuing south. Now keep your wits about you in case he’s nearby.”
They fell into silence. They weren’t far now. Their footfalls got closer with every passing minute until something changed and they became quieter.
Then from nowhere came the young guard’s voice.
“Outlander! Get up. We can see your hideout. You are surrounded. If you have a weapon, leave it there or we will open fire! Do you understand?”
I exhaled the sinking feeling inside consuming me. But what choice did I have? So like the undead, I rose from the snowy ground. Standing in my shallow hide, I squinted at the bright light as my eyes adjusted to my new predicament.
As I held my hands aloft, I turned around three-sixty, assessing how many guards had surrounded me. There were a lot—sixteen, I counted. All wore the same once-white coveralls with the bulk of winter gear underneath and a number printed on the front. All were bearded and diminutive—compared to me, at least. And all had me in the sights of their crude rifles. A fleeting grin crossed my face as I thought back to some dumb movie I’d seen.
“Why are you smiling, Outlander?” asked the young guard designated Number-9.
“Oh, you know I was just thinking of this movie where the good guy ducked and the bad guys all shot each other. Tryin’ to think of the name now … No, it escapes me. Have you seen that one?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Movie? What is that?”
“You don’t kn—”
“Enough talk,” he shouted. “Number-22, throw him the manacles. Outlander, put them on.”
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