by John Ringo
“You okay?”
“Gravitational loading,” Megan said and took a deep breath. “The ship’s not designed to handle gravities like this so I’m having to use some of the power for structural integrity fields. It just tried to break in half.”
“Nice image,” Herzer said. “And if it breaks in half?”
“We’ll try to ride the rear portion down,” Megan replied. “Give me a second here, honey.”
“You go, girl,” Herzer said, softly, so as not to disturb her. He clicked his prosthetic slowly in thought, watching the blinking cursor.
“Herzer,” Megan said, after a moment, “could you please quit that?”
They’d taken the time to get a bite of ship’s replicator food, which was awful, recharged their air bottles, emptied their catheter gaskets and filled their water bottles. Megan from time to time would have to stop and concentrate as the ship made close approach. But as the last orbit began, they exited the airlock for, hopefully, the last time, and made their way to the docking bay.
The Earth was noticeably closer as they approached. Herzer clamped his prosthetic on a projection and wrapped his arm around Megan’s waist as he watched the rapidly approaching ball of blue and white. He could see that Ropasa was coming over the horizon. They’d pass over it, and Hind and all the rest, finally crossing the Po’ele and then, hopefully, Norau for a landing somewhere near Bimi Island.
If the ship held together.
“You comfortable?” Herzer asked as the void around them began to burn.
“I’m in your lap, aren’t I?” Megan asked coyly.
“So you are,” Herzer replied. The previous touches with the atmosphere had been light, but this one was much brighter and hotter. The atmosphere was actually being blown into plasma along the leading edge of the field-wings, flaring like a pale sun.
“This is very cool,” Herzer said as the ship began a slow turn to the right.
“Yes, it is,” Megan replied.
“And I never want to do it again,” Herzer continued. “What are we doing, anyway?”
“S turns,” Megan replied as the ship continued a radical turn. The light began to blaze all along the notional bottom of the ship, actually the starboard. “It’s a braking maneuver. I’m trying to get us down to a speed that won’t kill us when the ship hits.”
“I see,” Herzer said and he sort of did from flying dragons. This was rather different, however. Dragons only burned through the air if their napalm racks detonated in midflight. It happened.
“Where are we?” Megan asked.
“You don’t know?” Herzer replied, surprised.
“Not really,” Megan said. “Just be my eyes, okay?”
“Past Ropasa,” Herzer said after a moment, picking out the land forms through the clouds. “Headed to Hind across Taurania, I think.”
“Right on,” Megan muttered. She did another bank to the left, then winced as there was a shudder through the ship that lifted them off the deck.
“Whoa, horsey,” Herzer said, pulling her back down.
“We lost the port corridor member,” Megan said, tightly. “Right at the juncture with the midline circular support.”
“That’s not all we lost,” Herzer said, looking to the side. “We’re streaming something. Probably helium.”
“I can feel the shift in mass,” Megan replied. “We probably should have vented most of it anyway. I’ve got more than enough for the engines.”
“It’s pretty,” Herzer said, shifting to watch the helium stream past. As it hit the shield, and the atmosphere, it fluoresced in all the colors of the rainbow.
“I’m glad,” Megan said. “Where are we?”
“Hind,” Herzer said, definitely. The shape of the subcontinent was distinctive and mostly uncluttered by clouds. It was getting hard to see, though, through the waves of plasma around the ship.
“There,” Ishtar said to General Komellian, pointing up into the sky.
“The last spaceship, Greatness,” the general said sadly.
“There will be more when we win,” Ishtar promised, watching the massive streak of fire cross the sky.
“There,” Aikawa said, pointing to the south.
“A great omen, Your Worthiness,” Minister Chang replied, nodding. “A great omen.”
“Omen be damned,” Aikawa snapped. “Let’s just hope she can hold it together until it’s no longer a threat.”
“We’re over the Po’ele,” Herzer said. The plasma fire had died down but there was a deep rumbling through the whole structure that felt ominous. “Klicks and klicks of damn all but water.”
“Rachel told me a friend of hers was power skiing off Fiji when the Fall hit,” Megan said. “If we fall down there, even if I can slow us, we’ll drown in the ocean.”
“Better drop us somewhere close to land, then,” Herzer said.
“I’m heading for the Bimi Deeps,” Megan replied. “There’s enough area there that if I lose it, the waves won’t destroy much. And there’s a fleet exercising down there at the moment. Hopefully, we’ll land close to them.”
“Not too close,” Herzer said, imagining the tsunami from the impact. “Or we won’t have any ships to get to.”
“Not too close,” Megan agreed. “Close, but not too close.”
“You’re not banking anymore,” Herzer said.
“No, we’re mostly gliding,” the councilwoman said. “We’ll start banking again over Norau. Should be quite a sight.”
“They should be overhead,” Edmund said, shielding his eyes. “They should be in view.”
“I don’t see anything,” Colonel Jackson replied, looking up. The Navy rep had come out to the Frisso yards to examine the new cargo ship design and had liked what he’d seen. The Frisso yards were already doing a booming business in coastal ships and some of their work was directly useable by the Navy. He’d already recommended upgrading the Po’ele fleet. Just because New Destiny was concentrated on the Atlantis Ocean, didn’t mean that the UFS should ignore the Po’ele. Especially with yards, and trained seamen, at the ready.
“We’ve dumped every scrap of available power to keeping it from coming apart,” Edmund said, frowning. “I guess they’re just low enough and slow enough… wait. There,” he continued, pointing.
The ship had slowed enough that it was no longer making a burning trail across the sky. But it was a kilometer long. Even at two hundred thousand meters it was visible.
“Awesome,” Jackson said. “Simply awesome.”
“Norau passing under now,” Herzer said. “How high are we?”
“Too high,” Megan replied, banking to the right. The leading edge started to burn again as they entered thicker atmosphere and Herzer distinctly felt something give under his butt.
“I think we’re losing it,” he said calmly.
“Ya think?” Megan replied. “That was the port corridor cracking entirely. I’m holding it together with energy I can’t spare.”
“You’ll do it, honey,” Herzer said, pulling her more firmly into his lap as the ship began to shudder from the deeper atmosphere. “You’ll do it.”
“I can see Flora,” Herzer said a minute later. “We’re going really fast.”
“Too fast,” Megan said. “Too high. And I think we’re coming apart.”
“Well,” Herzer said, smiling tightly. “It’s a… little far to jump, dear.”
“No, it’s not,” Megan said, struggling in his arms. “Get ready.”
“You’re serious?” Herzer asked as the peninsula of Flora flashed by below them.
“Deadly,” Megan said.
“You promised you wouldn’t tell me to jump off the ship,” Herzer said.
“I lied,” Megan replied.
Herzer felt ghostly hands pluck at him and his armor was pulled apart and jettisoned to either side. A wind was evident for the first time. It felt… strange. Fast but… thin.
“We’re leaking,” Megan said, her own armor coming apart in sections an
d flying away to disappear over the side of the ship. They were left in only their suits and helmets.
“I don’t have any air,” Herzer pointed out. The helmets should have sealed when the armor and their support packs went away but that meant he was rebreathing his own breath. “Neither do you.”
“We’ll be fine,” Megan said as his helmet flew away.
“It’s way too thin up here…” Herzer started to say and then stopped. He could breathe normally.
“I’m holding a bubble around us,” Megan replied. “Just hang on for a second…”
They were coming down fast, now, no longer flying but dropping like a stone. Herzer could see the water getting closer and closer. It was still a long way off, but it was coming up fast. Much faster than free-fall.
“Megan,” he said, less calmly than usual.
“I’ve got us below reentry speeds,” Megan said, “but that’s the best I can do. This thing doesn’t have enough power to stop us from dropping.”
“We passed the Deeps,” Herzer said. He had the map of the Bimi chain memorized from long experience. “Hell, you missed the whole Bimi chain!”
“I said close,” Megan replied, tightly. “I didn’t say how close. Think planetary here.”
“It’s gonna be a long swim,” Herzer said. “But we won’t have to worry about it if we fall this fast. Is there any way you can slow us down?”
There was a deep shudder in the ship and the forward section broke free, spinning off to the side.
“No,” Megan said to another shudder that seemed to speed their downward fall. “That was fusion three blowing out. That’s all I can do. Jump.”
“Now?” Herzer asked.
“NOW!”
Herzer nodded his head and took Megan by the arm. The ship was in virtual free-fall, anyway, so picking her up wasn’t that hard.
“What are you doing?” Megan shouted as the shield around them failed and the wind hit full force.
“Saving your life,” Herzer muttered. He swung her back and forth for a moment and then threw her as hard as he could towards the rear of the ship.
As soon as Megan hit the vortex of wind around the ship, she curled into a ball, fighting to keep control over the power fields. She formed a field around herself and Herzer to reduce the buffeting and keep a bubble of breathable air. She could feel Herzer, now, and he was nearby.
“Spread eagle!” Herzer shouted, tracking towards the falling councilwoman. “Megan, damnit, listen to me! Spread eagle!”
Megan clamped into a tighter ball at his words, panicking at the demanding tone.
“Leave me alone!” she shouted over the screaming winds. She was being buffeted by the track of the monstrous ship, but even more so by dark memories.
“Megan,” Herzer yelled, fighting his way through the turbulence to approach her. He could feel the support field she had up, slowing themselves and the ship as much as she could. And there was a protection field that was, presumably, concentrating oxygen. They were still above forty thousand feet, at least, and he shouldn’t have been able to breathe. But with her in a ball, she was falling faster than she had to. “Spread your arms and legs,” he shouted. “It’ll slow you down!”
Megan gritted her teeth and threw her arms and legs out, sharply. She had been spinning over and over in her ball but this left her stable for the first time. And looking up. It felt very much like being in a position to accept Paul Bowman, who almost always did it missionary style.
“There,” she yelled, looking over at Herzer who was in much the same position but facing down and about five meters away and above her. “Are you satisfied?”
* * *
“Eminently,” Herzer yelled, grinning playfully. “Nice free-fall we’re having, don’t you think?”
They’d drifted away from the ship about fifty meters, but it was still far too close. And at the speed they were falling, hitting the water would be terminal.
“Megan,” Herzer said. “You have to speed us up. Make us fall faster.”
“Are you crazy?” Megan shouted back.
“No, I’m not,” Herzer said, tracking over to hover by her. “We need to get down fast, then slow us just before we hit the water. We need to hit the water before the ship, or we’ll lose power.”
“You’re right,” Megan shouted. “Again. Hold on.”
Herzer suddenly felt as if an enormous hand had gripped him, pulling him down and to the side. The ship flashed by, seeming to climb upwards like a rocket. Even with the field around him, the wind whipped into his eyes to the point that he had to close them. But through his slitted lids he could see the ocean approaching at blinding speeds.
“How long are you going to hold this?” Herzer asked. He couldn’t even maneuver with the field that was gripping him. He was completely in Megan’s hands.
“Until we’re right down to water level,” Megan shouted. “And I’m steering towards the islands to the north. We’ll still be about sixty klicks out. But that’s better than right by the ship when it crashes!”
The blue water came up fast and Herzer recognized the area as somewhere around the Jama island chain. He could see a volcanic island to the north, but sixty klicks… wasn’t going to be a survivable swim. Not with his prosthetic. And the minute the ship hit, all Megan’s extra power was going to go away.
“Slowing down… now,” Megan shouted as the water approached like an oncoming train.
Herzer again felt that magic hand and they slowed to a near stop, no more than a hundred meters off the water. He looked up and saw the shattered ship still a few thousand meters above them, twisting as it fell through the atmosphere.
“Going down,” Megan said, floating over to face him as they began to gently drift towards the water. “Like a flower pet—” She stopped and blanched as they suddenly sped up.
“The fusion plants just cascade failed!” she shouted. “Lost all power! Hold your nose!”
“It’s a good thing my dad taught me to swim, or you’d have drowned,” Megan said, breast stroking to the north. They didn’t have anything for flotation; it was impossible to get the suits off with the waves from the ship still lapping over them. So they were trying to swim to the islands. And not doing too well.
“Very funny,” Herzer replied tiredly. Swimming with only one hand, wearing a suit that was not particularly buoyant, was difficult to say the least.
“Did I just see a dolphin?” Megan gasped, spitting out a mouthful of water. She kicked up to look around and slid under the water for her troubles.
“Maybe,” Herzer replied. “But wild dolphins usually ignore swimmers.”
“Maybe they’re delphino,” the Key-holder said, hopefully.
Herzer looked around at the vast empty sea and shrugged.
“What’s the chance of that?” he said. He felt something brush his leg and decided not to mention it to Megan. He’d hated sharks ever since a bull shark had nearly made him a part of the food chain in Bimi. There was another brush and then a head covered by black hair popped up out of the waves.
Mer Captain Elayna Farswimmer flipped her hair back, took a breath of air and blasted the water out of the slits in the side of her lungs, creating a cloud of bubbles.
“I told you to stick with me,” she said, grabbing both of the failing swimmers, her powerful mermaid tail sculling back and forth lightly to support them. “You get involved with strange women and bad things happen.”
“Another old girlfriend?” Megan said, laughing in relief. “How many are there?”
“How’d you find us?” Herzer asked, ignoring the jibe.
“Queen Sheida called me just before the Net crashed,” Elayna said. “And I hurried over as fast as I could. Of course, I didn’t know exactly where you were going to land. Sorry it took so long.”
“You’re not going to be able to do much by yourself,” Herzer noted. “And I’ve got this whole negative buoyancy problem.”
“Who says I’m by myself?” Elayna replied with
a grin as mer heads started popping up and a large delphino slid in to support his weight. “I brought my whole strike company. Lucky for you, we were checking out Port Crater as an expansion to Blackbeard.”
“You’ve got a company?” Herzer snapped.
“Of course,” Elayna replied. “Some people can be trusted with the responsibility of command…”
Epilogue
Picture a tropical beach, light waves of aquamarine water washing pink coral sand. Palm trees. Sea breezes carrying the scent of clean water and a hint of ozone and salt. A volcanic cone rises in the background, its sides cloaked by virgin tropical forest and speckled by waterfalls.
Between two of the palm trees a very large hammock sways lightly from side to side. Beside the hammock is a table holding two stemmed goblets whose sides drip condensation. Straws jut from the top of the goblets and they have little parasols, one blue, one pink. Four feet are visible at one end of the hammock, two quite small and ladylike with brightly painted toes pointed up and two rather larger pointed down. The ladylike feet are crossed at the ankles, apparently pinning the larger from the outside.
A small, ladylike hand, with pink painted fingernails, languidly appears over the side of the hammock, fumbles around for a bit and then encounters one of the goblets. By luck, it is the one with the pink parasol. Goblet is lifted. Goblet disappears over the side of the hammock. There is some movement and a sucking sound.
“I like it here,” Megan said.
A large, heavily muscled male arm terminating in a prosthetic appears over the side of the hammock. The prosthetic encounters the remaining goblet, closes on the rim and the goblet is lifted over the side of the hammock. There is some movement and the female ankles, reluctantly, separate to let the male feet rearrange. A blue parasol flies over the side of the hammock to litter the sands. There is a sucking sound.
“Yup,” Herzer replied.
There are some thoughtful sucking sounds from the hammock.
