by Justin Sloan
“They seem pretty boosted to me,” Kalan said. “Besides, the whole point is to teach them not to hold back—to give their all in every situation. Taking it easy on Larence would have defeated that.”
Commander Larence raised his hands, quieting the crowd. “All right, who’s next?”
***
For the first time in more than a month, Kalan wedged himself into the cockpit of a fighter.
After watching the Lavkins spar for an hour, giving them pointers on their techniques and batting around some ideas on how they might use their long flexible arms in battle, Commander Larence had asked Kalan if he wanted to join him and some of the fighter pilots on a patrol exercise.
Since he couldn’t fit in the narrow cockpits of the Lavkin fighters and lacked the conductive skin to operate them, he was using the Pallicon fighter Jilla and Wearl had stolen. As he started the ship, he felt calm flow over him. He hadn’t piloted a ship since the Nim had crashed on the moon of Tol over a month ago, and hadn’t realized until this moment how much he’d missed it.
He lifted off from the fighter’s resting place on the island, and joined the six Lavkin fighters. Their aircraft were of a much more elegant design than the Pallicon craft he was piloting. It would be interesting to see how well they performed against one another.
Commander Larence’s voice came through his headset. “You demonstrated your skills to us in the sparring matches, Kalan, but now it’s time to show you where we truly excel. Come, we’ll take you where pilots are made and pretenders are broken.”
Kalan chuckled. “And here I thought we were just going for a friendly cruise. Lead the way, Commander.”
Larence and the others banked hard to the west, and Kalan followed. The sky was a pale yellow, and so clear Kalan had an unobstructed view to the horizon.
“I’ve got one at the Henro Junction, Commander,” a pilot said.
“Checking it,” Larence said. Then, after a moment, “No, too small. We want to show Kalan the real thing.”
“How about the one at Calla North?” another pilot offered.
There was a moment of silence, then Larence said, “A bit farther than I was hoping to travel, but I like the size of it. Lock on it.”
Kalan wondered what they were talking about. Could it be some sea creature they wanted to show him? An especially large one, maybe? But they had said it would be a test of his piloting skills, so that didn’t entirely make sense.
He resisted the urge to ask, sensing that to do so would be to fail the test before it even started.
The journey to the part of the sea they called Calla North took nearly an hour, and Kalan enjoyed the flight. The Lavkins were quiet most of the time, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He tried to absorb the moment, to push away all thoughts of the coming battle and what was likely to happen afterwards even if they survived. He cleared his mind of everything but the moment at hand. It was just him, his fighter, and the pale-yellow sky.
As they got closer to their destination, clouds began to build up. At first there were only a few billowing white clouds dotting the horizon, but soon their darker cousins began to occupy more of the expanse.
“It looks like we will be hitting some weather,” he said into his headset.
That was met with a chorus of whoops.
“Uh, yeah, you could say that,” Larence said with a laugh.
As the sky grew darker, Kalan began to understand where they were taking him and he felt his mouth go dry. “You guys are taking me into a hurricane, aren’t you?”
“Ha, he got in it one!” someone shouted.
Kalan swallowed hard. “Isn’t that a little, um, dangerous?”
“What happened to ‘Give your all fearlessly,’ Kalan?” Larence asked.
“Using my own words against me—not a cool move.” He shifted in his seat and tightened his grip on the controls. “Okay, I’m game.”
“Good, because it’s too late to turn back now.”
Moments later they entered the storm, and at first Kalan thought it wouldn’t be too bad. This was no worse than other bad weather he’d flown through. But things were just getting started. The farther they went, the harder the wind and rain hammered the fighter. It suddenly seemed insane to be braving this weather wrapped in nothing but a small metal ship.
“A ship designed to withstand entering and leaving atmospheres,” he muttered to himself. “This is nothing.”
The wind grew more powerful.
“We’re about the enter the eyewall,” Larence shouted through the headset. “This is the strongest part of the storm!”
Kalan gritted his teeth. He’d really been hoping the most difficult part was behind them.
The storm was so thick around him now that all he could see outside the ship was a gray haze and the ship rattled in the violent wind—a disconcerting sound he’d never heard in a fighter. He hit a gust, and was lifted out of his seat as the plane dipped. Thankfully the harness over his shoulders stopped his rise after only a couple inches, and he quickly dropped back into his seat.
He gripped the controls, hoping against hope that this fighter he’d never flown before today would stay together in the storm. Why had the Lavkins brought him here? Did they have some kind of death wish?
Then he abruptly broke through the eyewall, and everything was still. The change was so sudden, so unexpected, that it took his breath away.
“Woo!” Larence cheered him over the headset. “You did it, brother! You made it through. Welcome to the eye of the storm.”
He could see the clouds swirling on every side of him, but here the sky was clear. All he heard was the dull rumble of his engine. He let out a relieved laugh. “This is amazing!”
“I know,” Larence answered. “This is why we do it. To prove to ourselves we can face down the toughest storm there is, survive one hundred and twenty mile-an-hour winds, to get to this. The tranquility at the eye of the hurricane.”
Kalan had to admit that he’d never experienced anything quite like this. “Thank you, Larence. Thanks for bringing me here.”
“No problem.” He paused for a moment. “Have you realized yet that we’re going to have to fly through it again to get home?”
Kalan chuckled. That had crossed his mind, but for now he just wanted to enjoy the calm.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The sky was far less hazy now; they could even see the sun. That might mean less interference, Valerie figured, so she tried her comm again as they made their way toward what she imagined would be a hive of massive sand snakes.
“Val, is that you?” Garcia answered on the third try. “We were getting worried! Where are you?”
“Listen, can you put a tracker on us? Maybe start heading toward us, but with caution?”
Garcia hesitated. “Sounds like you’re in trouble.”
“We don’t know yet, but we aren’t exactly sure where the ship is from our location. Can you do it?”
“Of course we can.” Garcia shouted to the others that Valerie was on the comm, and Flynn and Arlay were on a second later, asking her all about their journey so far.
“Were you stuck in the storm?”
“Wasn’t it insane?”
“Did you meet any aliens? Any luck on the Lolack front?”
“Okay, okay,” Valerie said, interrupting them. “We think we’re on the right track, but I’ll fill you in when we’re back on the ship.”
“Roger that,” Garcia said. “We’ll start pinging your location. Hope to see you soon.”
“Perfect,” she replied. “But remember, proceed with caution. I don’t need the ship being attacked by the monsters out here.”
“Um, monsters?”
“Giant sand snakes, or sand worms—whatever you want to call them.”
“And you’ll be all right?”
“I doubt it,” Robin muttered into her comm. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
“Val,” Garcia said, “if you’re in trouble, we c
an just get out of here. Better to have you two alive and fighting the good fight than lose you. That would be the end of our journey.”
“We’ll figure it out, Garcia.” Valerie glanced at Robin. The younger woman couldn’t see the scowl through her helmet, but she hoped she felt it. “Thank you for the worry though. It’s touching.”
“Tell you what,” Robin said, clearly trying to sound chipper. “If it comes down to it, I’ll sacrifice myself so Valerie can live to see another day. No worries, I got this.”
“Not funny,” Valerie and Garcia said in unison.
“Right, sorry. But I would.”
“I know,” Valerie replied, “but I’d do the same for you and I’m faster, so there.”
“Val, if you ever die in my place, I’ll come after you and kick your fat ass.”
Snickers from the comm.
“Excuse me?” Valerie said, now slightly annoyed. “I do not have a fat ass.”
“Didn’t you say the enhancements Michael gave you back in Old Manhattan…the ones that allowed you to walk in the daylight. Didn’t you say those made your breasts bigger?” Robin was clearly teasing her now, but Valerie found her irritation growing. On the other hand, the younger woman seemed to have nearly forgotten her worry over the sand snakes.
“What’s your point?” Valerie countered.
“It follows that your ass would’ve grown bigger too. You know, as a counterbalance.”
“What the fuck? Garcia, Flynn, cover your ears.”
Robin laughed. “Oh, come on… As if they haven’t noticed that badonkadonk going on back there. I mean, don’t get me wrong…” Robin leaned back to take a look, “it’s ni-iice.”
“Oh my God!”
“You do have a nice rear end,” Garcia said. “You know, as a professional ass-lover to a friend.”
“First of all, we work together,” Valerie said back to him. “I would think this is in some way inappropriate. What if we were all commenting on how large your twig and berries got after your Pod time?”
“Ummm…”
“Agh, bad example.” Valerie went on, “As if anyone can see my ass in this armor anyway.”
“You can’t see my twig and berries in mine,” Garcia countered. “Although I do think the Pod—”
“Enough, enough.” Arlay cut them off. “Are you all a bunch of teenagers? On my planet, only teenagers speak like this.”
Silence followed, then Garcia burst into laughter. Valerie couldn’t help but join in.
“Actually, on Earth it’s teenagers and pretty much everyone in the military,” Garcia answered the question. “Maybe the fact that we could lose our lives any day means we don’t watch what we say as much. Just enjoy life and all that.”
“Or maybe your lack of a regular sex life means you’re all as horny as Skulla, and, yes, they have that reputation. Maybe you need to get some.”
A long silence followed.
“Um, still there, guys?” Valerie asked. “Do we need to tell Flynn to close his eyes? I’d hate to hear his innocence has been stripped by you two.”
The image of Garcia running his hand over Arlay’s tentacles flashed through Valerie’s mind, and she couldn’t help but shudder in disgust. Was that racist of her? Species-ist? Back on Earth such concepts had largely vanished, but then again, on Earth nobody had tentacles on their skin-like hair.
“We’re here,” Garcia said, voice much more edgy. “Something’s going on with the ship. We’re moving toward you, and I see something in the distance to the left of where it shows your location. Maybe a city?”
“Another city?” Valerie asked, curiously glancing about but not seeing anything.
“I can’t be certain that’s what it is, but... We’ll try to contact…”
Static interrupted his voice, and the comm stopped working.
“You still hear me, right?” Valerie asked, turning to Robin.
“Loud and clear.”
“You got all silent for a moment. Everything okay?”
“It’s just... No, it’s stupid.”
“What?” Valerie protested. “Come on.”
“Well, all this talk of enhancements...and let’s be honest, we’ve all seen Garcia after a shower—I have to imagine that was due to the Pod enhancements. Everyone but me, huh?”
“I’m not following. You…oh!”
“Yeah, I mean how come your enhancements affected you that way, and his—you know—but my tits are the same size?”
“I’m not sure how comfortable I am with this conversation, considering where we ended things last night.”
Robin sighed. “Just wondering, is all.”
An image of Robin bathing in a river on their way north along the East Coast of America flashed through Valerie’s mind.
“Better for fighting, you realize that? Plus, your breasts are perfect. I mean, objectively speaking, perfect for fighting. You don’t want too much stuff flying around.”
“Well, the armor would hold that in place.” Robin added, “You’re right, of course. I just...wasn’t sure why I hadn’t noticed a difference. And which one is objectively again?”
Valerie smiled, remembering that Robin had been raised in the badlands of America. Her education hadn’t been the same as among an elite group of vampires in Old France, like Valerie.
“Well, the other is ‘subjectively,’ which you can remember by thinking of it like it’s the subject’s point of view, or opinion.”
“That’s actually logical, unlike so much of our stupid language.”
Valerie laughed. “You walk around here, fighting and barely surviving sometimes, and you’re focusing on what you don’t like about our language?”
“We have down time. What do you think about?”
“Hmmm.” Valerie thought back to Sandra and Diego raising their baby in New York, to Micky and the others and all the fighting they’d gone through with her, and then moments lying on the ship and remembering how it felt to have flesh pressed against hers. At times her mind went to Robin, and at others back to Jackson, her lover before her short exploratory stint with Robin. Instead of explaining all that she simply said, “The old days, and wondering what comes next. When this is over here, what then?”
“Like, will we go back to Earth?” Robin continued walking and glancing around as the storms picked up in the distance. “I want to go back for sure, but I also want to be certain there’s no more threat out here.”
“So, back to the Federation? Check in with Nathan and see about fighting at Bethany Anne’s side or something?”
“I guess so, yeah.” Robin chuckled. “I mean, anywhere they want, but can you imagine charging into battle with the legendary BA?”
“We keep this up, imagine how many out there will someday say the same about you. ‘Imagine running into battle with Robin at your side!’”
“Pssh, they’ll talk about you,” Robin protested. “Me? They’ll talk about me like some sidekick, I bet. The great Valerie and her sidekick Robin.”
“Nah, Robin isn’t a sidekick kind of name. That’s a hero right there. A legend.”
“You think?”
“Shit, have you ever seen a robin?” Valerie asked. “I mean the bird.”
“No, actually.”
“I did once.” She remembered the way it had landed on a grassy field and held its beak high, assessing its surroundings like it owned the place. Birds were rare on Earth after the World’s Worst Day Ever (WWDE), so it was a treasure to see one. “It was amazing the way it stood there, its orange breast striking against the green grass. One thing I remember—it had authority, just like you. Nobody was going to mess with that bird.”
No answer came for a moment, then Robin said, “Thank you.”
“Of course, when I ate it—”
Robin hit her in the shoulder, her metallic glove clanging on the body armor.
“Joking, joking,” Valerie said with a laugh.
“Not the time for jokes,” Robin said, slapping her should
er again, but this time to get her attention as she pointed ahead.
The sand was rippling again, and then the vibrations hit. Valerie stepped closer to her friend, knees bent and ready to move. With an explosion of clay and sand, three sand snakes burst forth. Much smaller than the ones from before, but still about the size of the Grandeur.
Robin backed up farther, but then more vibrations shook the ground, followed by hundreds of these smaller sand snakes coming across the field—and at the other side of it Valerie saw why. Something was moving over there, with a red glow to it.
With her enhanced vision she could barely make it out, but it seemed to be some sort of vehicle.
“Somebody is over there,” Valerie said.
“We’re not crossing this!”
“Watch me,” Valerie said, and started sprinting. Instantly the ground in front of her opened, sinking into a massive sand snake’s mouth.
Robin pulled her back, shouting in frustration, “Dammit, Val! You’re going to get yourself killed, and kill me with a heart attack at the same time.”
Valerie’s chest felt like it was going to implode, but she wasn’t giving up so easily. Between breaths she managed to say, “We’re going to see what that is. If it’s him, we can’t leave it like this.”
“Fuck!” Robin shouted, kicking the sand in front of her.
Valerie saw movement at the same time as she acted, tackling Robin out of the way as a small sand snake dove past them.
“We could just turn around and leave all this behind,” Robin said, “but we’re not doing that, are we?”
“No way in hell.”
“That’s what I thought you’d say. Well then, come on. I figure our best bet is to run like crazy-ass motherfuckers, dodging and weaving… Rolling, maybe. Whatever it takes to stay out of their way, and not let them find a pattern in our movements.”
“That’s all you’ve got? Run like crazy bitches?” Valerie laughed. “I love it.”
“On the count of one,” Robin said. “One!”
They took off, running exactly as she had described, and it was fun as hell. Even Robin was laughing as she rolled past Valerie, then sprang to her feet and dodged left, doing a cartwheel before leaping like a ballerina.