by A. G. Taylor
“What did you do?” he asked.
She gave him a wink. “I just took a flying lesson.”
With that, she ran through to the cockpit and took the pilot’s seat. The jet was powered up and ready to go. As she looked over the array of readouts and switches they all made perfect sense – courtesy of the knowledge she’d harvested from Commander Craig’s mind. Nestor appeared in the doorway.
“Take the co-pilot’s seat,” Sarah ordered. “I might need you to help out.”
“You can fly a plane now?”
“Benefits of my enhanced powers,” she explained. “Looks like we’ve got something to thank the Entity for.”
Through the front window of the plane, she watched as Louise and Octavio raised their hands at the wreck of the other plane and pushed it off the side of the building. Good work, you two, she sent to them. Now get in the jet. We’re out of here.
As they ran across the runway, she fired the boosters and grabbed the joystick. In the back of the plane, she heard the door slam shut as Octavio and Louise got on board. The runway stretched ahead.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Nestor said from the co-pilot’s seat.
“So do I. Otherwise, this is going to be a really short flight.”
Sarah pressed forward on the stick and the jet started to roll forwards. Then, without warning, it skidded to a halt. She looked round the controls wildly, trying to work out what she had missed.
“Makarov!” Nestor cried, pointing forward.
Sarah looked up and saw the Russian standing before the runway. His arms were outstretched as he held the jet in a telekinetic field. His final grasp at control. Their eyes met.
Let us go, Makarov, Sarah told him. It’s over.
His answer spat hatred. Never.
From the depths of the building there was a tremor that signalled the terminal stages of the Spire’s collapse. The tremor continued to grow in strength as the building began to implode. Through the window of the plane, Sarah saw realization dawn upon Makarov that his Spire was about to destroy itself. His eyes widened in desperation. She pushed the engine throttle to full and the jet broke free of Makarov’s control, hurtling towards the open wall of the chamber so fast that he was unable to avoid it. Sarah fancied she heard his scream as the undercarriage of the jet ran over him, but knew that had to be her imagination, the sound of the engines was so loud. Then the jet hit the narrow runway, carrying on inexorably towards the point of no return – open air just fifty metres ahead – even as the Spire began to list to one side.
The jet made the end of the runway and seemed to drop, but Sarah pulled back on the joystick with all her might. Beside her Nestor gave a cry as the nose of the plane pushed upwards. The jet angled round as it climbed. Sarah took a second to glance out of the side window and grinned with satisfaction at what she saw.
The Spire was falling.
Yuri led the group of dazed men, women and children across the snow plain as a great rumble split the air. A few of the miners stopped to look back, but he waved them on frantically.
“Keep moving, you fools!” he cried, pushing one of the men on. However, he couldn’t help but look back himself…
The lowest levels of the Spire seemed as if they were literally being swallowed up by the ice, sending up a great cloud of dust as the soil beneath the permafrost was disturbed. He cast his gaze up the length of the building as every piece of glass shattered simultaneously, filling the air with millions of shards that glittered in the morning sun.
As he watched, fascinated by the terrible destruction, Yuri saw a dark, bat-like object fall from the centre of the building. He followed its path down to earth, vaguely realizing that he was watching the demise of Nikolai Makarov. What remained of the man hit the crumpling lower levels of the building and was swallowed up in the deluge of glass and steel.
Finally, a mighty whine filled the air, a sound of metal shearing against metal. The central structure of the Spire broke in several places like a fractured bone and the tower toppled towards the north. It hit the ice with a ground-shaking boom. A cloud of snow and dust was thrown hundreds of metres into the air, momentarily obscuring the crash site.
As the Spire came to rest, Yuri looked round at the group of miners and their families and laughed.
“It’s over.”
Someone cried out, pointing out towards the ice as a dark figure very much like a robowolf came barrelling towards them. But Yuri held up his hands to show it was okay…
Laika bounded up, almost knocking him off his feet.
“Okay, okay!” he laughed, patting her head. “I’m glad to see you too!”
Laika looked round the group, searching for Sarah and Alex, but Yuri shook his head. He pointed to the white exhaust trail cast across the blue sky by the stealth jet as it climbed.
“It’s okay, girl,” he said. “They made it.”
39
Commander Craig’s eyes flickered open and he looked around the cabin. He saw Robert crouching beside him and frowned. “Who’s flying this plane?” he asked, trying to sit up.
“Don’t strain yourself,” Octavio replied. “Sarah has the stick.”
“What the—” Craig began, but gasped with pain as he tried to move.
“Do as you’re told and lie down,” Louise ordered and pushed him back on the sofa. Craig started to protest more, but then fell into unconsciousness again.
“Is he going to be okay?” Robert asked, looking down at the commander with concern.
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Octavio said. “We need to get him some medical attention soon.”
“I’ll tell my sister,” Robert said and moved through the cabin. On the other sofa Wei was watching over Alex, who had dropped into an exhausted sleep. Robert carried on through the open door to the cockpit. Sarah sat in the pilot’s seat, looking completely at ease. She checked one of the instrument panels and then turned her attention back to the blue skies ahead. Beside her, Nestor had the co-pilot’s chair.
“So, what’s the plan?” Robert asked.
Nestor said, “We’ve got a plane and a full tank of fuel. We can go anywhere we want, right?”
“And we’ve also got injured people back there,” Robert reminded him. They both looked to Sarah.
“We’re going to HIDRA,” she said bluntly. “They’re the only people who can help Commander Craig.” She looked round at her brother. “Besides, it’s time to stop running, don’t you think?”
Robert nodded.
“Okay,” Nestor said, “and just how do we find HIDRA?”
Sarah pushed forward on the joystick, sending the jet into a gentle descent. “They’re sending a hovercopter to escort us to their mobile base in the Bering Sea. Switch the communicator to channel 64. They’re about to broadcast a message. I’ve sensed it.”
Nestor exchanged a glance with Robert as he adjusted the comm controls. “You’re getting scary, you know.”
Sarah looked round at him with concern. “Am I?”
“I’m joking,” he said. “I think—”
He stopped short as the voice of a HIDRA communications officer crackled in his headphones. “Southbound jet, this is HIDRA Mobile Pacific. Please identify yourself and prepare to receive approach coordinates for a landing on our vessel.”
“Tell them Commander Craig needs medical help,” Robert said. “And about Yuri and the miners. They need picking up.”
Nestor explained their situation and relayed a series of longitude and latitude numbers to Sarah, who programmed them into the on-board computer like she’d been flying for years.
“We’re on our way,” she said as she angled the jet towards the waiting HS Ulysses.
The stealth jet was larger than the normal aircraft designed for landing on the carrier, but the pilot executed the operation perfectly – easing off just before hitting the deck, then applying the brakes gently enough to bring it to a halt just metres from the end of the runway.
“Textbook
landing,” the landing crew controller yelled as he ran to meet the now stationary plane with his men. “Commander Craig must be piloting.”
“Uh, I don’t think that’s the commander, sir,” his second-in-command said, indicating the teenage girl in the pilot’s seat.
The controller shook his head, but then waved his arms. “Well? What are you all waiting for? Let’s get them out of there!”
The next few minutes were a flurry of activity on the deck as the crew secured the jet on the swaying aircraft carrier. Medics ran in and removed Commander Craig and Alex on stretchers. Finally, Sarah and the others emerged from the back of the jet and walked uncertainly onto the deck of the Ulysses. Cold sea air blew across the deck, bringing with it a mist of salt-tinged water.
“Wow,” Nestor said, looking around the ship. “This is big.”
“Yeah,” Sarah agreed, “HIDRA don’t do things by halves.” Her eyes fell on the still-smoking wreckage of one of Makarov’s drone fighters at the other end of the deck. “So, they got involved with the fight as well.”
At her side, Robert nodded. “Looks like it. But where is everyone?”
Apart from about twenty or so members of the ground crew fussing around the jet, the deck was completely deserted.
“What were you expecting?” Octavio said. “A hero’s welcome? The HIDRA command are probably congratulating themselves on saving the world. And we’ll probably get locked up for flying a jet without a proper licence.”
Sarah laughed despite herself. “I’ll tell them it’s in the post.”
The squat shape of Lt. Kaminski appeared from the control tower halfway down the ship and beckoned them over. Leading the group, Sarah crossed the deck to meet him. As they came together in the middle, the lieutenant held up a hand.
“That’s far enough,” he said abruptly.
With a hydraulic hiss, the entire section of runway upon which they were standing shuddered and began to descend into the ship. Everyone apart from Kaminski looked around in surprise as they dropped away from the upper deck. A few seconds later the platform came to a halt – all around was darkness in the belly of the HS Ulysses.
Louise’s hand slipped into Sarah’s. I’m not giving up without a fight.
Let me light things up in here, Wei added, appearing at her other side.
Take it easy, Sarah ordered them both, trying to sound more confident than she felt. Let’s not jump to any—
All the lights in the hold flicked on at once, momentarily blinding. Then Sarah made out the shapes of people standing around – some in overalls, some in combat fatigues, some in the black and gold uniform of the HIDRA command – at least two hundred of them. The entire crew of the Ulysses was assembled. All eyes were turned in their direction.
Then the cheering began.
The clapping and whooping of a couple of hundred people was deafening. Sarah and the others looked round in bewilderment at the sea of faces and finally to each other, smiles spreading.
“There’s your hero’s welcome, Octavio!” Nestor yelled at his brother.
Octavio shouted something in reply, but it was lost in the din as the crowd piled in, slapping their shoulders, hugging them, shaking their hands.
At first Sarah tried to keep track of the others as they became lost in the tide of well-wishers. Finally, she gave up, going with the flow of congratulations and thank yous. Then, a familiar face appeared through the crowd.
“You saved us,” Rachel Andersen whispered in Sarah’s ear as she threw her arms around her. “You saved us all.”
Sarah pulled away and saw there were tears in the woman’s eyes, which she wiped away quickly. “Colonels aren’t supposed to cry,” she said with a smile. “What about Major Bright?”
Sarah shrugged. “He didn’t make it.”
“Too bad,” Rachel said. “I was getting used to having him around.”
They both laughed as the crowd jostled them. Rachel’s face became more serious and she leaned close to Sarah again.
“I’ve ordered the stealth jet to be refuelled and prepped for departure. It’s yours to take wherever you want. I won’t try to stop you.”
As Robert found his way through the crowd, Sarah put her arm around him and looked at Rachel.
“We thought we might stick around for a while,” she said. “If you’ve got space for us, that is.”
Rachel grinned back at her. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Epilogue
The night sky over the Pacific Ocean was alive with colour: blues, purples, greens, oranges – an amazing symphony of light falling in great streams from east to west. Sarah Williams sat on the edge of the deserted flight deck, legs dangling over the side of the ship, and watched the show. So engrossed was she in the ever-changing patterns of light, she didn’t even sense Alex approaching until he was standing beside her at the edge.
“It’s beautiful,” he said, also looking up at the night sky.
“Dr. Fincher says it’s the result of particles from the meteor storm skimming the upper atmosphere,” Sarah replied, eyes fixed on the sky. “Completely harmless. Just space junk getting burned off in various colours.”
“How poetic,” Alex said. “You know, you probably shouldn’t be sitting like that on the edge. The ship is liable to sudden lurches. You should move back.”
Sarah looked round at him. “Why, are you afraid?”
“No, it’s just—” He stopped himself and grinned. “Perhaps I’ll join you.”
Sarah looked back at the sky as he took a seat beside her. For a moment they sat in silence.
“Where are the others?” she asked finally.
“Watching the news,” Alex replied. “Things are getting back to normal around the world. But it actually looks like the meteors had a good effect: as soon as news about the storm got out, just about every conflict on the face of the earth declared a ceasefire. The destruction of the world put things in perspective, I guess.”
“I wonder how long that will last. What about Makarov?”
“It’s being covered up,” Alex replied. “The destruction of the Spire is being put down to an action by radical anti-capitalists. It seems the other six Spires also collapsed without the Entity’s power to hold them up. That’s getting blamed on—”
“Radical anti-capitalists as well?” Sarah finished for him.
“How did you guess? NASA is reporting that the meteor storm was destroyed by a freak surge of solar radiation. They’re calling it an act of God. So much for being heroes.”
Sarah smiled into the night.
“Back in Chukotka,” Alex said hesitantly, “you said that the Entity spoke to you when you went under the ice.”
“So?”
“So, I was wondering if you’d heard from it since we defeated Makarov. Is it still out there?”
For a moment he thought Sarah wasn’t going to reply, but at length she spoke. “I can sense it. Waiting.”
“But we blew up the meteorite fragment, right?” Alex said.
Sarah shook her head. “That was just a small part of its power. I saw it. The Entity is massive, ancient. Its influence spreads across galaxies. I should have died under the ice, but somehow it brought me back.”
“You said it told you something,” he said. “Want to let me in on it?”
“It said—” Sarah’s voice cracked unexpectedly, but she continued. “It said I’d betray you all one day.”
Alex placed a hand on her shoulder awkwardly. “I wouldn’t believe a word that thing said.”
Sarah nodded and looked away. If there were tears in her eyes, she wouldn’t let him see them.
“I was thinking,” Alex said, deciding to change the subject, “we should probably give ourselves names or something.”
Sarah looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, we’re a team, right? And we’ve all got special powers, so maybe we should each have a special name that reflects that power. Like in
comic books.”
“Such as what? Invisi-boy?”
Alex groaned. “No! Something cool. Like Stealth.”
“Stealth!” Sarah exclaimed, unable to control her laughter.
“And you could be something like…Perception. Because you have the power of mind control…”
Sarah held up a hand. “I think maybe you should just stop while you’re ahead. Not that you’re ahead.”
“I’m serious!” Alex protested. “Listen, I was talking to some of the others and they think we should even get suits.”
“Oh, get real!”
Their voices carried on into the night. Meanwhile, the HS Ulysses ploughed through the dark waters of the Pacific as high overhead the last of the meteor storm burned out across the sky.
The light show also shone over the plain in Chukotka where Makarov’s Spire had been demolished.
Ground zero was a giant crater, filled with twisted metal and a billion tiny shards of glass – all that remained of the Spire. In the morning a HIDRA science team would arrive to start sifting the rubble for anything that remained of the Entity’s technology. For now, the perimeter of the three-kilometre-wide site was patrolled by only a small force of very cold, very tired HIDRA commandos.
They didn’t notice as the figure of a man pulled himself from under the wrecked foundations of the Spire and walked towards the edge of the crater. He carried on towards the west, seemingly oblivious to the cold, although his clothes were in tatters. After a while he stopped and looked up at the lights flashing across the sky.
Major Bright, a voice spoke to him on the wind.
Yes, he replied. Am I dead?
No. You’re very much alive. You are a part of me now.
Major Bright looked down and ran a hand over his chest. The last thing he remembered before he emerged from the rubble was the wound in his heart that the shard of meteorite had caused. Somehow the wound had healed.
And I am a part of you.
Pressing his hand against his ribcage, Bright felt the meteorite shard throb inside his chest. The Entity was inside him. It had saved him. He felt its power coursing through his veins, making him stronger than ever before.
