Borderlands: The Fallen
Page 27
Roland shrugged ruefully. “Well I’ll tell you—out here, a man never has to get bored, never has to feel stuck in one place. Out here—there’s always a mission. On this world”—he turned and looked at the rugged landscape—“a man is free. Really free.” He smiled at them. “Gotta go. I’m burning daylight.”
He nodded to Cal, and turned to walk away with Berl and Bizzy. Marla and Cal watched till they were out of sight.
Then she took her son’s hand, and they went up the ramp. At the top of the ramp they stopped to look toward the place where Zac had died. “Bye, Dad,” Cal said, his voice hoarse.
They went into the shuttle, found the main cabin, took their places. The seats strapped them in, they triggered takeoff, and the ramp drew into the orbiter. The hatch shut, and an impersonal robotic voice announced, “Prepare for orbital acceleration.”
The orbiter shuttle vibrated, whined—and lifted off. Ten minutes later they were in orbit, feeling light, and a little lost, though they were headed right for where they’d longed to be: a ship that would take them away from Pandora.
Marla and Cal looked through the viewscreen at the curve of the planet, receding below, glowing like a dying ember against the dark of space.
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