14
Abandoning the train platform, Lee and the others raced to ground level to look for more immediate transportation. The sound of more distant explosions sharpened Lee’s mind and made his blood race. Even Henry, who had been wobbly on his feet since the events in the bar, seemed to sober and become more serious. As they took cover under an awning, Lee took another look to the sky to see if he could identify the attackers.
Curved metal plating covered what seemed to be an organic frame on a ship flying past. From his vantage point, he couldn’t make out any markings or flags on the ships, but he thought he recognized the design from his briefings: they had a flattened belly with long, ochre projections underneath. The projections seemed to sway with the movement of the ship, but occasionally one would flip up on its own. A thick humming sound emanated from them, making the organic nature of the ship seem more real. As Lee watched, several more of the ships swarmed in. The new additions were smaller but built along the same lines.
“Fighters,” Lee said, looking back to the others. “It’s definitely an invasion.”
“I was led to believe the Gizzeen could not leave their cataracts,” Farthing replied. “If they can invade my world at the heart of the Alliance, then no world is safe.”
“Lee, we’ve got to do something,” Alice said, peeking out and looking up at the warship overhead. “We can’t just stand here and watch.”
“Can anyone reach the ship?” Lee asked, tapping his own comm as he glanced around the street. “Mine’s dead.”
“The Gizzeen are jamming signals from the ground,” Farthing replied. “If we can get to one of the government buildings I might be able to tap into the satellite systems.”
“What if we got higher?” Lee asked, pointing towards a stationary vehicle. “If we get above the civilian jamming signal and closer to the orbital signals, do you think you could rig something and call for help?”
“It would require something stronger than our wrist comms, and I would feel safer in one of the government buildings, but—”
An enormous explosion rocked the street, causing panicked bar patrons and delivery drivers to flee in terror. It took nearly thirty seconds, but the ash cloud which crawled over the city enveloped everything. Lee pulled Alice close, sheltering her with his own body while trying to cover his own mouth and nose. Henry was screaming over the noise, challenging the aliens to come down and fight, while Farthing tore strips off his own uniform to cover their mouths. Everything was covered in a uniform gray powder, the air filled with distant explosions and crackling fires. Panic had come to the tranquil world of Vadne.
“Come on,” Lee sputtered through the dust. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Bewildered at the order, Farthing, Alice, and Henry followed Lee into the street. Crowds of people in all shapes and sizes, including some of the men they had laid out at the bar, were shoving past them to get to perceived safety. Amidst the shoving crowds, Lee saw what he had been after. The first instinct of the crowds seemed to be to pack the trains and get out, but Lee knew that was no good. By now the trains would have been shut off. Instead, he was looking at the few skimmers which littered the area. Most were wrecks, barely able to lift from the ground, if at all. Down an alley, he saw something bigger, though. A delivery truck hovered on a neat blue cloud of energy, its door open while the driver tried to look around. Lee held Alice close and moved to the truck.”
“We need your truck,” Lee said as he approached. “Alliance business. I’m the captain of the battleship Resolute and I…”
The plasma shot missed him by centimeters and burst against a brick wall of the nearby bar. Lee and Alice skittered to a stop, almost falling in the ash cloud. The driver held the weapon up steady, not disturbed by the thunderous sound of the Gizzeen ships overhead.
“Get back,” the man shouted. “I ain’t leaving this truck to no one.”
“Sir,” Farthing began before another bolt let fly.
“Now ya’ll just git on outta here ‘fore I put one of these through ya.”
Farthing and Alice began to back off, while Lee stepped in between the enraged driver and the group. He held his hands up to show he was unarmed, but the driver didn’t seem to care. He kept the gun aimed at Lee’s ash covered chest.
“What’s your name?” Lee asked in a clear and confident tone.
“I don’t see that it’s any of your business,” the man said, glancing up at the Gizzeen fighters screaming overhead. “It’s Jesse, though, and I got kids to feed and no time for lootin’.”
“Jesse, my name is Lee, Lee Pearce of the battleship Resolute, and I need your truck to get back to my ship. I can take you with me and get you to safety, or I could leave you here. It’s your choice.”
“Yer Lee Pearce?” Jesse replied, lowering the weapon slightly. “I got one of them books in the truck too. You ain’t Lee Pearce. He’s taller.”
“Jesse, if you’ve read the book then you know me well enough to know I don’t like to be told no,” Lee said. “This is Alice Bennett and Captain Farthing behind me, and we need your truck. Will you be a hero and help us out?”
“Well … I don’t know about this…” the man said, bringing the gun back up to bear. “It ain’t really my truck and—”
A strong hand grabbed the thick stock of the weapon, bringing it up just as Jesse’s finger tightened. The blast of plasma flew out of the alley and into the sky. Covered in gray ash, Henry Moore had managed to sneak around and grab the startled truck driver under the arm. Jesse tried to struggle with Henry, but the man had retained enough of his security training to know how to disarm a civilian. In less than four seconds, Henry had the gun and was pointing it at the truck driver, who was stumbling backward away from the truck.
“He forgot to introduce me,” Henry called. “I’m the guy who takes people’s heads off with shotguns.”
“Lee Pearce, Alice Bennett, Farthing, and…” Jesse stuttered, finally falling backwards against a building. “You must be … Ragunathan.”
“Let me shoot him, Lee,” Henry said, stepping closer and leveling the rifle. “Just a flesh wound is all I’m asking.”
“Henry,” Lee said, pushing Alice and Farthing towards the truck. “We don’t have time for this. Get in the truck.”
“The name’s Moore,” Henry said, as he backed away from the truck driver. “Henry Moore. Ragunathan was shorter and a hell of a lot more Indian than me.”
Jesse was still sputtering about his truck being stolen by Lee Pearce when the group lifted off the pavement. The delivery vehicle was heavy but in good working order. The fighting seemed to have moved away from their position, but he wanted to be safe and take a look first. As he eased the commercial hauler higher, he glanced above the rooftops of the slums.
“I think we’re clear,” Lee said, spying the plumes of smoke from the center of the city. “This thing is slow but it might get us high enough to—”
The blast which threw their tail around missed the truck but blew off a chunk of the nearby building. The resulting debris had impacted the cargo compartment and slewed the truck sideways into another building. Lee cursed as he spotted the incoming Gizzeen fighter. Apparently attracted by the plasma blast from the driver, the invaders had sent a lone ship to investigate. Not seeing any defensive weapons, Lee slammed the throttle to full and took the ship back down into the warren of streets below.
“Alice,” Lee called over his shoulder. “Find me something to use as a weapon. We’re sitting ducks down here.”
Blasts of energy blew sections of building away from rooftops as Lee struggled to evade the pursuing Gizzeen. He could see the tentacle-like projections on the underside glowing as the weapons on board the strange craft fired. The entire ship looked like some strange sea creature swimming through the air. It seemed to glide past the buildings and devastation without regard for safety. Lee held tight as the truck turned nearly ninety degrees and took a side street. The Gizzeen stayed above street level, but w
as still following his course in a strange parody of pursuit. The maneuver had cost him distance, but gave him an idea.
“Hang on!” Lee shouted. “This isn’t going to be fun.”
In an awkward pivot, the truck turned in the air at full throttle. Instead of powering through the nearest building, Lee stomped on the vertical pedal and shot the ship almost straight up. As the truck was thrown around, Lee heard the sound of packages and people slamming into the sides. Henry had discovered new curse words since the last time they had spoken, and Lee thought he heard Farthing join in as well. As they came around facing the Gizzeen, Lee halted their upwards progress and slammed the throttle forward again. The truck shot towards the Gizzeen ship at full speed.
“Would you stop that!” Alice screamed from behind. “We found something but I don’t know what to do with it.”
“Henry,” Lee called. “Open the back and get ready.”
“Got it,” Moore called back, racing to the back of the truck. “Oh man, I shouldn’t have had that last one.”
The pressure in the back of the ship changed and Lee’s ears popped. With the tail of the truck open, the delivery vehicle felt even more sluggish. Lee leaned forward in the driver’s chair, unconsciously willing the truck to go faster. As he barreled on, the Gizzeen ship opened fire. Lee jogged the steering column left and right, evading in a random pattern of zigs and zags.
“Lee,” Alice called out to him. “What do you want us to do with this thing?”
A glance over his shoulder showed Farthing and Alice holding a massive keg on the back of the truck. Alice had managed to grasp onto a loading strap and was barely keeping her footing, while Farthing braced himself with his legs against the wall of the truck. Lee could see the ruins of the buildings behind them and past that, open sky.
“You aren’t really going to toss that out, are you?” Henry said, holding the back of the chair behind Lee and whispering bourbon breath into his ear. “That’s the good stuff, Lee.”
“That’s why I’m sharing it with our guests,” Lee replied. “Let it go … now!”
As Lee said the word, he slammed the throttle to reverse and twisted the stick. The truck slung around hard to the left. Alice and Farthing shoved the keg of local brew hard and the metal container shot out of the truck on a curving trajectory straight to the Gizzeen ship. Lee stopped the rotation again and pushed the throttle hard and the stick up. The truck groaned and he heard Alice and Henry screaming as the ship rocketed away and up. A glance at the rearview screen on the dashboard showed him the keg impacting the Gizzeen ship. Although there was no immediate explosion, the keg slammed into the nose of the oncoming alien ship and stuck. The fighter wobbled and slowed as the improvised missile stayed locked in the front. Lee smiled involuntarily as he saw the Gizzeen adjust for the added weight and damage. It looked comical against the burning city below.
A sudden explosion shot his attention back to the present. The Gizzeen ship had blossomed into a fireball and fell away behind them. Turning his head back to the sky, a pair of Vadne home guard ships rocketed past him towards the falling alien invader. He had been so focused on evading the ship he had neglected to see the native fighters closing in on them. Lee heard a whoop from behind as Henry saw the Vadne ships peel away in pursuit of more Gizzeen fighters.
“Close the back and get on the comm,” Lee called back to Farthing. “We need to get word to the ships before they catch back up.”
“Lee heard the rear door of the truck slide down and lock as Farthing made his way to the passenger seat. Lee glanced back to see Henry helping Alice with the door and packages that had come loose. Farthing took a look at the radio set into the dashboard of the truck and made a chuffing sound.
“Couldn’t you steal one with a new radio?” Farthing asked, ripping the cover from the machine. “At least one made this century. I can hardly work with this model.”
“I’ll be more selective next time,” Lee added. “You know I like the color of this one.”
“I don’t think I can get a voice broadcast out. The jamming is too complete,” Farthing replied as he took a look at the innards of the device. “I might be able to get out a transponder code.”
“Send mine,” Lee said. “The Demons will already be in flight. They can get us some cover.”
“That won’t do any good if they can’t get us into space,” Henry called from behind. “We need more altitude.”
“This is a truck, Henry,” Lee replied. “Not a fighter. It’ll only go so far before we fall out of the sky. Now sit down and shut up and let me fly.”
“I’ve got him,” Alice said, pulling him back into a fold-down seat. “Look! This thing has seatbelts.”
“The signal is being relayed,” said Farthing, “but I had to disable the receiver to gain power. I won’t know if they got the signal unless they show up.”
Another blast glanced off a rear panel of the truck. Lee veered the truck over hard, nearly flipping the vehicle. He roared as two more energy blasts flew past the window. He quickly dropped the throttle and cut the vertical thrust. As the pursuing fighter, still with a keg stuck on the front end, closed in, Lee dropped fast. The ship flew past as Lee kicked the thrusters back on-line. The truck squealed as the metal frame stressed beyond tolerance. Lee righted the truck and tried to find some cover. The vehicle was too big and the nearest building was too far below for them to make a break for it. His mind raced for some kind of solution.
Lee turned the ship in a wide arc this time, not wanting to stress the ship any further for now. He felt the pressure change again as the door was slid open again. As the ship came about, he spotted the Gizzeen ship completing its own turn. This time, he gunned the throttle to full and sped in a straight line toward the alien ship. The Gizzeen fired its cannons wildly, not seeming able to aim properly. It was an item Lee filed in his mind for a later conflict, but for now he steered the ship straight and true. As he got closer, he held the lift jets in check, staying just below the vector of the oncoming ship. As they passed each other, Lee pushed the vertical thrust to full and shot up over the Gizzeen, noting the thick armored hide under the metal shell.
Alice missed becoming a burnt husk as a plasma bolt burned through the rear section of the truck. Energy blurs began ripping through the cargo area, causing the metal walls to peel away. Alice’s harness burned and fizzled and she gripped the back of the passenger seat hard, holding on by the tips of her fingernails as the truck began to lose power and the vital systems failed. Lee could feel his stomach rising as the truck began to fall.
“Dammit, not now,” he yelled at the vehicle. “Just a bit more.”
As the vertical thrusters struggled to stay functional, Lee looked from the window at the two Gizzeen fighters who had come up fast. Both were fresh and he was out of ideas. He struggled with the now nearly useless control yoke. The thrusters failed again and they fell under a twin set of energy bolts. The systems came on-line again and he juked the yoke in a wild series of maneuvers. He could hear Henry retching from the back as the truck twisted all the way around.
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Lee called, his voice reflecting fear and resignation of their fate. “I need to get us back on the ground and ditch. Maybe we can find something else to—”
One of the pursuing Gizzeen crackled with an enormous blast of green plasma energy. Lee almost let out a whoop as he saw the bright silver skins of his fighter wing sliding down from above with cannons blazing. Just behind was a shuttle with Resolute markings. The three fighters zeroed in on the Gizzeen, not letting up as the fighters engaged at point blank range. As he watched, the shuttle moved away and came into alignment with Lee’s truck.
“It’s time to go,” Lee said, trying to hold the ship steady. “Alice, unstrap Henry and get ready to jump.”
“Jump?” Henry said, looking from Lee to Alice as the woman unlatched his seatbelt. “What do you mean, jump? Aren’t we landing?”
“No time,” Farthing said cal
mly. “I think this is more expedient. We did this on Piedmont Eight, I believe. It was exhilarating.”
The shuttle pulled up beside the damaged and sinking truck as Lee struggled to keep her steady. He waggled the ship slightly, trying to impart information to the other pilot. A return wag told him who was flying the shuttle and that he understood. The shuttle fell away and turned on its side as Alice, Henry, and Farthing prepared to jump from the gaping hole in the side. Lee watched as the hatch on the shuttle opened and the ship was held still relative to his own position.
“Jump!” Lee called.
“Are you fu—” Henry called before Alice pushed him from the hole.
The woman smiled up at Lee as Farthing followed the security man. As each man was caught by the shuttle, the shuttle sank to match speed. Finally, the shuttle moved closer and Lee heard Alice behind him.
“Lee, come on.”
“I’m right behind you,” he called back. “Now go so I can crash this thing into something.”
Alice said nothing as she dove from the hole. Lee saw the shuttle catch the woman gently. There was no autopilot on the damaged truck and their altitude had sunk almost to rooftop levels. He struggled to gain as much altitude as the vehicle could muster. He only gained a few meters, though, as the damaged systems began to fail. If he waited to bail any longer the shuttle would be at risk of slamming into the rooftops below.
“You better be who I think you are,” Lee said, opening the driver’s door.
Resolute Strike (The War for Terra Book 7) Page 12
