She placed a hand over it while the other gently touched his face. “That is the sweetest thing ever, even after how badly I treated you.” She started to sniffle.
“Oh, no! You’re not going to start crying again, are you?”
“No! Come on, I’m not that emotional.” She saw a smile creep across his face. She giggled and put her hands to her mouth. “Am I?”
“Well…”
“Breeze!” She threw another playful punch he easily ducked.
They were interrupted by the sound of heavy metallic footsteps coming down the aisle. They peered over their seats and watched as Achilles came lumbering towards them.
The robot stopped at their row. “I trust all is well with the passengers?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t we be?” Sally said.
Achilles tilted its head. “Were you not concerned regarding the recent display of orbs just outside the ship?”
“Oh that,” the teens said in unison. They looked at each other for a moment, and then laughed.
“I beg your forgiveness, master and mistress, but I cannot fully fathom the reason behind your levity.”
Their laughter slowly subsided into a trickle of giggles. “It’s okay, we’re fine,” Breeze said.
Achilles’ eyes narrowed to slits.
Breeze stood up and tapped the robot on its head. “Come on now, don’t have a malfunction.”
Achilles dropped its jaw. “I was merely processing the events that have just transpired. I find human reactions to moments of stress to be interesting.”
Breeze stepped out into the aisle and stretched his arms. “Feel like an animal in a pen,” he muttered, then turned to the robot. “Achilles, look, it has been the same thing the past two nights. Nothing is happening out there. The Bad Lands are pretty quiet. Except for the escort we seem to be getting from the orbs over the past two days, I don’t think anything is happening at all down there.”
“You guys always make it seem like it’s a horrible place. First time for me flying over, and it has been pretty uneventful,” Sally said.
Achilles’ eyes fluttered as one of its hands twitched. “Your assessment of our safety and security is premature at best, mistress.”
“Look Achilles, you’ve done a great job fixing up the ship and the generators are creating a pretty good distortion field so nobody can see us. I say we increase speed so we can get to my town faster,” Breeze said.
Sally nodded. “I have to agree, Achilles. We appreciate your concern, but this is not like when we first left Perihelion to return home. We understand how dangerous times are now, but you have done such a spectacular job with the scout ship that no one seems to be able to detect us.”
“You are not concerned that the orbs find us regardless of our defenses?”
“Oh, them. Well…” She turned to Breeze.
“I was just telling Sally that I would see them all the time when I would fly around in the desert. They never appeared aggressive or hostile. If anything, I see them as old friends.”
“Interesting assessment of such phenomena,” Achilles responded.
“Come on, let’s all head up to the pilot house, I want to switch places with Ray. It’s my turn to fly the ship, and he’s been stuck behind the helm for the past couple of days,” Breeze said.
They made their way down the aisle and up the short flight of steps into the pilot house.
Breeze was the first to step into the cockpit where he found Ray adjusting the throttles and the helm was locked on auto pilot. “I was just telling everybody how hard you were working flying the ship, but I can see you got the auto pilot working just fine.”
Ray looked back and grinned. “Yeah, took me a while to get it through my thick head that I don’t have to be hands on all the time and it’s given me chance to learn more about the ship. You should see this, I just found it earlier.” He tapped a screen off to the right of the helm. “It’s called Limp Home. Apparently if the ship is badly damaged, it goes into auto mode and flies itself back to a set of pre-programmed coordinates.”
“What’s it set to now?” Breeze asked.
“You mean where to go back to? Let me see.” Ray scrolled through various screens, and then stopped. “Here are the coordinates. Let me punch them into the nav-station.” He typed in the coordinates and immediately a map of an island appeared on the screen.
“Perihelion,” Achilles said.
They turned to look at the robot as it peered over Breeze’s shoulder.
“The ship will automatically return to Perihelion, perfectly logical,” Achilles continued, “in the event of catastrophic damage to the ship or crew, or valuable cargo that must be protected. The ship will return to its point of origin, or self-destruct to protect whatever secrets it may contain.”
“Sounds great,” Breeze said, “but Perihelion is not on my list of places to run back to. I think we all can agree to that. Ray, just change the coordinates to Raza’s farm. I would rather go back there if things go wrong.”
Ray nodded and reached over to tap the screen when a proximity alarm whooped throughout the pilot house. He reached up to flip a switch that silenced it as the cabin’s lighting automatically dimmed from a soft white to a red glow.
“According to the charts, it looks like we’re approaching a town named Proctor that sits just outside the Bad Lands.” Ray turned to Breeze. “I can’t believe we crossed it so quick. We weren’t traveling that fast.” He toggled a switch on the console and the blast shield covering the canopy retracted to give them a better view.
Cutting through the darkness was an eerie orange glow on the horizon. As Achilles took its place in the co-pilot’s seat, Sally stood behind Ray and placed a hand on his shoulder.
He reached up to pat it. “It’s going to be all right.”
As the ship drew closer, the orange glow gave way to a raging fire encompassing a vast area while the town of Proctor just below them was engulfed in a raging inferno.
Sally turned away. “Not again.”
Breeze leaned into the windscreen to get a better look. “I was wondering why everything was so quiet and why we’re still getting nothing but static over the comms.”
“Raymond, may I suggest we skirt the outer perimeter of the town? Security is paramount,” Achilles said.
“What?” He turned to look at the robot with wide eyes. “Oh, right, good call.” He gripped the helm and shook it, which canceled the auto pilot, then banked the ship to starboard.
Breeze addressed them all. “There is no point in trying to approach my town with stealth. Whatever is out there knows about us and I can’t wait any longer.” He turned to Ray. “Hit the throttles, I want to get home now.”
Ray hesitated for a moment, then saw the steely determination on Breeze’s face and thought better of disagreeing with him. He banked the ship to port and pushed forward on the throttles. The ship rumbled and shook as it gradually picked up speed and left the burning town of Proctor behind them. The landscape below became a blur as they rushed over it.
Achilles, in its co-pilot seat, turned to Ray. “Master, may I suggest we reduce our rate of acceleration? My calculations are showing we cannot maintain this speed and still produce enough power to maintain the distortion field.”
“I have a better idea,” Breeze said. “Ray, kill the power to the field and reroute it to the engines, then hammer down hard on the throttle.”
Ray took a quick glance at him, and then complied. The ship vibrated as it accelerated faster.
The vibration grew in intensity. Breeze reached up to grab an overhead rail as Sally sat down in the jump seat behind Ray.
Ray deftly flew over mountains and hugged ravines as he kept the scout ship close to the ground to evade detection from above. Outside the ship, trees buckled and shook violently as it
rocketed past with a deep rumble following its wake.
“Master Verhesen, any attempts at a stealthy approach are being negated by the sonic boom that we are generating at these speeds,” Achilles said.
Ray looked at Breeze, then back at Achilles and shrugged.
The landscape below changed from lush forest to scrub land, and then eventually to desert as the scout ship streaked through the night, trailing an ear splitting sonic boom.
Inside the pilot house, another proximity alarm went off. “The town of Conception is just up ahead,” Ray announced as he reached up to silence it, then reached for the throttles and gradually reduced speed.
Breeze shot him and angry look.
Ray held up a hand. “If I don’t, we’ll overshoot it.”
Breeze nodded and took in a sharp breath, then resumed looking out the windscreen with a deep intensity.
Ray pulled up on the helm to clear a mountain and the ship arched up and over its peak, then pushed down and the ship glided into a valley.
Sprawling before them was the town of Conception with its night lights on full display spread out across the valley floor. As the ship descended, they could make out the outlines of building and homes.
“Nobody is here,” Breeze said.
“What do you mean? Your town is safe.” Sally got up from the jump seat and stood next to Breeze.
“No, there is always something going on here. It might be a small town, but there is always someone on the streets, or a transport crossing through town, or maybe someone on a hover bike. Look at the sky.” He pointed ahead. “I always see someone testing aerocraft. Lots of new designs and prototypes are flown at night to hide from spies and other competitors. I should know, I would fly around at night just to get away from home.”
Sally rubbed his back.
Breeze pointed north. “There, go that way.”
Ray complied and rolled the ship to starboard.
They crossed over the length of the town. Its night lights gave the valley a soft glow that cocooned it from the encroaching darkness that hung over the mountains. They couldn’t see any movement on the streets below as they skimmed over.
They crossed the border of Conception’s city limits and into a sparsely populated area. The monotony of the ground below was broken up by a few scattered lights attached to isolated houses and work sheds.
Breeze pointed out to Ray where to go and after several minutes of travel, they reached his home.
Breeze pressed his face against the windscreen and peered into the darkness. “Nothing. It’s gone.”
“How do you know this is your home? I can’t see in this darkness.” Ray toggled a switch as flood lights emanated from the belly of the ship and illuminated the ground below.
Ray moved his hand over a console that controlled the floodlights and shifted the multitude of beams over the area in a random pattern. As the ship orbited overhead the powerful lights revealed the burnt out remains of structures and buildings.
“Land the ship,” Breeze said softly.
“What? Are you sure? Look at this place—”
“Land the damn ship!” Breeze roared at him.
Ray shrunk back into his seat, and then turned to Achilles.
“Master Corinth, may I suggest we adopt a wait-and-see strategy before we go any further?” Achilles said.
Breeze didn’t hear. He was already running out of the pilot house and sprinting down the passenger aisle heading for the stern.
Sally rushed after him. “Breeze, wait!”
Ray called out over the intercom. “Breeze, whatever you’re planning to do, don’t. I’m going to look for a safe place to land.”
If Breeze heard, he gave no indication. He reached the exit hatch and looked out the narrow window and saw they were still circling.
He grabbed the lever to open the hatch. It wouldn’t budge.
He swore ferociously and hit the override button on the panel next to the hatch. An alarm began to ring as blast doors rolled shut to prevent the ship from depressurizing.
“Breeze, wait!” Sally cried out just as the doors closed.
The hatch opened once the blast doors closed and Breeze grabbed on to a railing as he could feel and hear the slipstream roar past him. He steadied himself and looked out but saw nothing but wreckage below as the smell of burnt wood and debris hit his nose.
Without a second thought, he leapt out. The slipstream hit him like an anvil as he grunted and dove to the ground.
He leveled out and glided over what was once his home and as the scout ship’s flood lights peeled back the darkness, he could make what was left of the foundry. He hovered over it and surveyed the damage, then descended and came to a landing at a pile of smoldering timbers. He grabbed the end of one and flung it away; it flew in the air and came to a landing on another pile of debris. He grabbed more lengths of timber and madly flung them about. He kicked and yelled as he wildly tore through the wreckage, then dropped to his knees in exhaustion.
Ray landed the ship on the perimeter of the property. Sally immediately ran down the gang plank before it could fully extend and looked for Breeze, calling out his name, when she saw him in the glare of the ship’s floodlights. She put hand to her mouth as she took in the scope of the destruction that surrounded him.
Breeze stood up, then lifted off the ground and glided to a landing before her. “It’s over. There is nothing to left to see.”
She reached out to touch him, but he brushed the hand away, then turned his back to her and broke into a run.
She crossed her arms and shivered against a gust of cold air that swept through when Ray and Achilles came around a pile of debris and stood next to her.
“Where’s Breeze running off to?” Ray asked.
Sally rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know.”
“It’s going to be okay.” He took her in his arms and pulled her close.
She nodded and patted his chest. “I’m all right. Let just go and be with him. We’re his friends and he needs us now.”
She turned to follow Breeze’s path and Ray walked behind her.
Achilles hung back. The robot’s eyes glowed as it scanned the area when it looked down at the ground, then lurched forward and dropped to one knee to touch the earth. Its eyes shined with intensity and after a moment, it stood up abruptly. It watched as Sally and Ray went after Breeze and the robot followed the trail of their footprints.
Sally and Ray arrived at what was left of the work shed as Breeze was sifting through the wreckage.
He hovered over a piece of twisted metal, then lifted and flung it away. It careened through the air, hitting other pieces of wreckage with a clang. He repeated it several more times, grabbing and throwing pieces of twisted metal harder and faster than the one before. He stopped abruptly and floated in the night sky.
Meanwhile, Ray had raised a glowing hand to highlight the mangled remains of the building when Breeze spotted a crumpled box amidst the smoldering remains and descended to grab it. Despite the raging fires that had consumed the property, it was still intact.
He opened it and inside were the tattered remains of photos, and the only remaining evidence that anyone had ever lived here. Breeze pulled them out and dropped the box, then thumbed through them like a deck of cards, dropping each one to the ground as he did.
Sally saw him amidst the smoking ruins and stepped over to stand next to him.
He turned to her. “This is all that is left that proves anyone was ever here.” He held the last picture in his hands.
She peered through the darkness to look at it. It was a picture of a man and a woman smiling. The woman held a baby in her arms.
“Breeze is that…? Of course it is. You were just an infant.”
The two stood there looking at the picture when R
ay approached them. His whole body was glowing and casting enough light for everyone to see. He caught Breeze’s eye and nodded. “It’s no different than what happened to Sally and me, they just destroy everything.”
“No, Ray, not true. They destroyed our town. Here, they destroyed Breeze’s home just like mine,” Sally said.
Ray choked back a sob. He turned away and stomped his foot into the ground, then walked off with clenched fists as he muttered loudly.
Sally reached out to him. “Raymond, stop it!”
Breeze grabbed her arm. “No. Don’t. Let him grieve.”
Sally shook her head. “Breeze, we’re here for you. This is not about him. He needs to stop.”
“We’re all in this together.” Breeze surveyed the wreckage, and then turned to Sally. “Ray is able to do something that I can’t.”
Sally shook her head and shrugged.
He leaned into her. “He can feel.”
She smiled and touched his arm. “You can too. You’re just in shock.”
Ray returned and his body glowed an intense red while his hands were covered in blue flame.
“Ray, please don’t do anything crazy,” Sally pleaded.
Breeze held a hand up to her. “No,” he said to her, and then faced Ray. “Look at what they did to you. They turned you into a puppet and made you spy on us. They destroyed your city and your parents are nowhere to be found, assuming they’re even alive. And Sally, you’re in the same situation. Now, you can add me to the list.”
Breeze took one last look at the photo, and then dropped it to the ground. “I never really cared much about anything. Now, even less.” He looked Ray in the eye. “Ray, get crazy. I want you to shatter the sky and let the whole world know we exist. Cut loose. Just fire at the stars and torch the monsters above us. We’re going to let them know we’re coming after them.”
Ray trembled as blue flame began to flicker out of his eyes until it consumed his body, then he threw his head back and yelled with the ferociousness of a beast.
Breeze grabbed Sally and pulled her close, raising his shield just as Ray fired upward with all his might with a column of pure energy that erupted from him with a deafening roar. Breeze held his ground as heat and blue flames buffeted his shield while the night sky above was turned into day.
Breeze Corinth (Book 1): Sky Shatter Page 55
