Part 37 (1/2)
”You're not making any sense! Why are you telling me this? Do you want me to shoot you or not?”
”I want us to work together exactly as we have been. ”
”How can we possibly do that now?”
”You're speaking like one of them, ” said Jet, gesturing at the holoprojector. ”You're not human, but you look human to me. What does it matter who we really are? It's what we do that matters. ”
”But what am I supposed to do?”
”You can put the blaster down, for a start, before I ask Clunker to take it from you. ”
Ula stared at him for a long, tortured moment. They had a battle to coordinate, and what had really changed? Jet could have revealed Ula's secret at any time-just as Ula could have revealed Jet's, making them even. Nothing was causing the confrontation between them except his own uncertainty and doubt. If Jet thought him brave, perhaps it was time to be.
”All right, ” he said, lowering the blaster. Clunker, who had approached somehow without Ula noticing, stepped away.
”Thank you, ” said Jet with a loose grin. ”You know what the weird thing is? I can't tell who you're working for. I mean, I know how it's supposed to be playing out, but on a practical level you've got me beat. As far as I can see, you're just trying to do the right thing. ”
A series of alarms began to sound.
”Uh-oh. ” The smuggler's carefree mood evaporated. ”This is what happens when you don't pay attention. ”
Ula hurriedly scanned the telemetry. More launches. More agglomerations forming to target the combined fleets. Still no good news from the ground, and no word at all on Larin or her platoon. A mixed squadron of Republic and Imperial fighters had suffered an internal disagreement, leading to an exchange of fire, and a Turbodyne 1220 drop s.h.i.+p had collided with a Republic NR2 during an a.s.sault run. Fierce recriminations were being exchanged by the two sides, and neither Captain Pipalidi nor Colonel Kalisch responded to his hails.
”Now what?” asked Ula.
”Well, if we're not going to run, ” said let, ”I suggest we turn the full capacity of our scheming minds to finding a way to survive...
”Wait a minute. Where's Stryver?”
”I can't see him. He could be around the back side of the moon, or...”
An urgent beeping joined the already strident alarm calls. The map of Sebaddon turned red at the south pole. Ula stared in amazement as the defensive sh.e.l.l of hexes began to part, creating an opening.
”They're letting us in?”
”Don't bet on it, ” said Jet.
Through the opening in the orbital defenses flew the familiar silver quarter-moon of Stryver's s.h.i.+p, rising up in a perfectly vertical line.
”What's he doing there?”
”Running, I think. ”
Close on Stryver's wake came a monster bursting from the heart of the planet.
CHAPTER 38.
Larin ignored the shrieking of alarms and the flas.h.i.+ng red lights filling her suit's helmet. The unlucky shot appeared not to have damaged the fuel line to her jet-chute, but its gyros were completely destroyed. If her airfoil had been intact, that would at least have had a stabilizing effect, but it was nothing but tatters now. Kicking and skidding wildly across the sky, she was completely out of control.
She refused to give in. There had to be a way to bring the jet-chute down safely, and her with it.
First thing first: to get manual control of the jet. It was behind her, but by letting out the restraints she could wriggle around so it was thrusting from her chest. The noise was deafening. She darkened her visor so the flashes wouldn't blind her.
At least she still had her instruments. It was hard to get a sensible altimeter reading, so she didn't know exactly how much time she had, but the temperature outside was clear: well below the line. Any exposed flesh would freeze solid in just moments. All the better to work quickly, then.
Tugging off her left glove, she used the artificial digits of her prosthetic to pull at the thruster casing. It fell away behind her-up or down, she couldn't tell. The horizon was turning wildly around her. Just glancing at it made her feel giddy.
She concentrated on the wiring inside the jet-chute casing instead. Steam hissed into the thin, cold air. Luckily, her fingers weren't affected by heat, either. The jet-chute was an uncomplicated machine, designed to be rugged rather than versatile. There would be all sorts of safeties and overrides, but she didn't need them. She just wanted the switch that turned the thrust on and off.
A sharp tug on a particular component had the latter effect. Suddenly everything was still and she was weightless. The world below still turned, but at least it wasn't changing direction three times every second. Now that she had to look at it, she could see how much closer it had come. Perilously so.
That wasn't what mattered. At the moment, she had to correct her spin. She counted furiously under her breath, judging the correct burn by instinct more than conscious calculation. She shoved her artificial fingers into the hot innards and switched the thrust back on, just for a second.
She jerked across the sky, slewing madly. Too much, too long. She had to be more precise. Counting again, she tried a second time, with more success. She was still tumbling afterward, but not so badly that the thickening air couldn't get a stabilizing grip on her. She spread her limbs in a star shape until she was falling steadily face-forward.
The complex at the planet's south pole was coming up at her with frightening speed. She activated the jet-chute and kept it on full, fighting it at every moment to keep it pointing straight down. It was like trying to balance on a pin: the slightest wobble threatened to tip her over and put her back where she started. She gritted her teeth and held on.
Slowly, steadily, her downward plunge began to ease.
She had time to examine where she was landing. It was a broad, flat plain, crisscrossed with deep cracks that looked too straight to be natural. A door was her first thought, leading to something underground. Around it stood a number of cannon emplacements, all aiming for targets elsewhere, fortunately. It was hard enough just coming down straight, let alone dodging. She wanted to look behind her, to see where the others were, but the merest attempt to do so threatened to upset her delicate balance.
Slower and slower she fell, until she was traveling barely more than running speed. The ground was just dozens of meters away. She began to feel relief. Against all odds, she was going to make it!
With a guttering cough, the jet-chute ran out of fuel.
”No!” she yelled.
But words weren't enough. She was falling again, and rapidly gaining speed. Just seconds lay between her and being squashed like a bug against the hard face of Sebaddon. Nothing could save her now.
Strong limbs wrapped around her chest. With a gasp, she felt herself squeezed tight and pulled backward. She couldn't see what had happened, but she recognized the gloves gripping together in front of her. They were standard Republic issue. The jet-chute belonging to the owner of those gloves strained and whined, slowing them so they landed with a tumble, not a splat.
Larin couldn't believe her luck. Clambering to her feet, she helped her savior free of his jet-chute and airfoil harness. His faceplate cleared and she recognized Hetchkee.
”Couldn't let you go like that, ” he said matter-of-factly. ”Equipment failure is inexcusable. ”
”Thank you, ” she said, meaning both syllables with all her heart. ”What happened to Jopp?”
”Called me for help. Didn't you hear him?”
Larin hadn't, but she didn't press it. She had been a little busy at the time. The important thing was that she had survived. As long as Jopp stayed out of her way, they need never talk again-about how his hesitance had almost cost her her life.
”Right, ” she said, slipping her glove back onto her frost-and heat-blackened hand. ”We've got some regrouping to do and hexes to kill. Any idea where our squads came down?”
They ran together for the rendezvous point, jumping over two of the deep cracks along the way. They were definitely machined into a ferrocrete-like surface, with some kind of black sealant at the base. If they weren't the edges of a ma.s.sive door, then they could have been ca.n.a.ls. But for what? Any water lying around would be frozen solid. They could conceivably have been roads for hexes, only none were in sight.