The city sat in and filled a large valley from mountainside to mountainside and followed it into the distant mists to the east. The huge city was built entirely of stone. There was a myriad of buildings of every description, some three and four stories tall. There were towers, arenas, stadiums, and plazas. There were also a number of temples. Most were pyramidal with smooth sides and long, stone stairs leading to the top, where temple structures stood.
A huge stone bridge spanned the river to the west of the city leading into a grand plaza. All around, thousands of E’meset were busy rebuilding and reclaiming the city from the forest, which had overgrown the ancient citadel.
Smoke was rising from every structure as the people below prepared food, worked, and lived. Nash began to truly appreciate the beauty and peace of this place. As they flew over, Nash silently prayed that no evil should ever again befall the E’meset. To ensure that, he knew his mission had to succeed.
As they flew past, Isso saw people looking up and waving. Isso tapped Nash and said. “Now that the Tuva fly, the people no longer fear the sky.”
North beyond the city, they again encountered the Hau River. Here, they turned east and followed it toward the pass in the mountains known as Me’tan A’lan—the way east—because it was the only navigable eastern passage through the mountains.
Beyond the pass stretched a vast panorama of heavily-forested, undulating hills. Every so often, enormously tall trees in copses of eighteen or twenty were seen to protrude above the canopy of the forest. In these trees, other E’meset had built villages in the branches. These people, too, were waving.
“Sir,” the pilot said, “I have two sensor contacts at four eight delta. Range, one niner decimal three one. Altitude is approximately two four meters above the forest, and they are proceeding on course at one four seven knots. They are flying side by side. And sir, there is no active scan being generated by either of them. They are flying VFR in the hope we won’t pick up their signature. We have them by the tail sir, shall I open fire?”
○O○
Nista and her mother, after packing up a few things in Kulan Kaus, had walked due east following the trail to the city of Vortain Val Leasa. They left the road and followed the trail made by the Tuva that led to U’alline toy e’vahn, the cave of hope, but they did not enter the cave. Instead, they continued east to the lake called Kosta tea elle, the dew of life. From here, they turned south and, at last, entered the ancient village of Vahn’Ha Poh.
Yalga’s family lived here, and though Nista was only half E’meset, she had always been accepted fully into the family. The E’meset knew no other way.
After a day of rest from their long journey, mother and daughter went to the temple of Lu’aya to give thanks for their safe passage. They arrived at its base just at dawn.
The pyramid in Vahn’Ha Poh was not a large one, but it sat atop a hill that rested at the very edge of the plateau. The view out over the forest toward the west was spectacular.
Nista and Yalga gave thanks and joined in the morning song of joy and hope.
Nista then felt an overwhelming desire to go to the southwest corner of the structure. Out over the blue forest along the southeastern horizon, the sky had become black, despite Ourinco’s arrival in the east.
All the citizens of the village had sensed it in the air. It was distant, but there was no mistaking it, so it came as no surprise to Nista. It was the tihsad.
As she stood watching, she saw a massive bolt of lightning flash in the distant storm off toward the southeast. Nista turned to her mother and said. “Eya’Etee, we must go, today, now, and very quickly!” There was no debate, and no question. Nista and her mother collected their few things, accepted food and water for the trip from their family, and were soon moving again.
They did not take the road to the ferry over the river Hau, but instead headed southeast. They both knew they were headed to Me’tan A’lan and, from there, east into the land of the eastern tribe known as the Keheber Das E’meset, the land of those who dwell in trees. Why they followed this path was a mystery to Yalga, but Nista was in a great hurry.
The forest in the valley of the Hau River was very dense; nonetheless, the two women were making good time.
At 10:05 that morning, Nista stopped and fell to her knees. Her mouth was open and her eyes wide. She gasped repeatedly for air and clutched her chest.
Yalga rushed to her, kneeling beside her. “Daughter, what is wrong?”
Nista looked at her mother and slowly closed her mouth. She could not speak, but shook her head. Standing, with Yalga’s help, she spoke with a strained voice. “Hurry…we must hurry!”
○O○
“They are flying VFR in the hope we won’t pick up their signature,” the pilot had reported. “We have them by the tail sir, shall I open fire?”
In the split second it took Nash to respond to that question, he had considered it morally and ethically. To just shoot them down would be murder. To everyone this felt like war, and in war, Nash would have shot them down without hesitation.
But Nash was not any longer a soldier, nor was he at war. He was a technically a deputy policeman sent here to enforce the law. He was in pursuit of suspected thieves, kidnappers, and murderers.
If he just shot them down, it would then be a simple matter of landing, confirming the deaths, and collecting the bodies.
If he demanded their surrender, they would no doubt turn around and engage them in combat. More CDF and E’meset could die, and the end result would no doubt be the same. The only difference would be a higher body count.
Then Nash recalled Wilmington and his wanton disregard for the law, morality, life, and anything ethical. His schizophrenia had led Nash to commit acts he would regret the rest of his life. He would not become Wilmington!
“What’s your name?” Nash asked the pilot.
“Ah…I’m Captain Willits, sir,” the confused pilot replied.
“Captain, is the on-board COMde working?”
“Sir?”
“You heard me. Is it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Nash linked his embedded chip with the on-board communications device and sent out a net call.
“Major Kuriko, this is Nash Rastaban. Give it up, this is over. No one else needs to die.”
On a dime, the lead V-tol spun around and fired two missiles at Nash’s three ships then the two enemy V-tols dove for the forest.
Nash’s ship quickly took evasive action and sent out a jamming signal. The first missile, which was heading for them, lost telemetry and arched down into the forest where it exploded in a bright orange and yellow flash.
The V-tol to their left veered out of the way, but the second missile was locked on, it made a near one-hundred-eighty-degree turn, and slammed into their tail. The ship exploded completely. Nash’s ship, and the one behind him, opened up with mini-guns into the woods where the two enemy craft had disappeared.
“Where did they go?” the co-pilot shouted.
“Stop!” Nash shouted. “Stop your forward motion! This could be a trap. Give me ‘Y’ plus one thousand meters…slowly.”
The pilot slowly began to elevate his hovering ship vertically into the air. As they gained altitude, the obvious became apparent. Down among the trees, the river Hau snaked between high cliffs and rolling hills.
Nash quickly deduced Kuriko’s plan. She had her pilots dive down just above the water, and, during the confusion of the attack, used the river to cover their movement back dozens of kilometers west so as to pop up behind Nash and his remaining V-tol.
This revelation had dawned on everyone simultaneously. The pilots of both ships instantly turned their noses back toward the west. They could not see Kuriko’s V-tols, but their sensors did detect four hyper velocity air-to-air missiles screaming toward them. Both ships began their evasive maneuvering and electronic counter measures. But they were a nanosecond too slow.
The other of Nash’s V-tol’s took a direct hit and spun into
the treetops in flames.
Nash’s ship was hit with a continuous rod munition which detonated to their right about fifty meters. The ring of metal rods cut into them like a buzz saw.
Every alarm on the instrument panel sounded and the pilot shouted, “Hang on!”
Initially the V-tol fell like a stone, but the pilot managed to recover it only a few meters above the treetops. He began to direct the mortally-wounded aircraft toward the river. The crew compartment began to fill with smoke. Soon, Nash could see nothing out the windows. He looked at Isso, whose face displayed no fear, though he gripped the seat in front of him with both hands.
Nash’s last conscious thought was that his morals and ethics had gotten them all killed.
○O○
Nista and Yalga were running now, and had been since the odd incident at the river’s edge.
They were well through the pass and following the water. They were aware that the curious eyes of the Keheber Das E’meset followed them as they ran.
They took one of their few rest stops to take a little nourishment and some water. At every brief stop since the pass, Nista would experience a powerful feeling of sadness that she was unable to explain. She felt that some great evil loomed over her, and that it was already too late to affect it. She said nothing to her mother, but her mother saw her mood—and she knew her daughter well.
As they were putting their things away and preparing to resume their run, they heard the noise. The unmistakable sound that is only associated with the arrival of the Tuva in their metal birds. Looking up, Nista and Yalga watched as two of these Tuva birds shot low over their heads heading east.
“Quickly, Mother, they are here,” Nista said.
Again, they were running east along the river, but faster now. Nista was filled with an urgency Yalga did not understand, but did not question.
Once more they heard the noise, and looking up, saw three more of the birds fly over them. “Oh, Mother, it is time!” Nista shouted.
Onward they ran, their stamina dredged up from some deep emotion not understood even by most E’meset.
They had just turned a bend in the river when they heard the first explosion. Yalga stopped to look around, but Nista did not.
After several seconds, the Tuva birds sounded like they were in the river in front of them. Nista directed her mother off the bank and into the forest. The sound became deafening, and both women clapped their hands to their ears as the roaring echoed off the surrounding cliffs and hills.
They appeared as two monstrous, wingless birds of prey, only two or three meters above the water and traveling at a horrifying speed. They shot past Nista and Yalga like two bursts of lightning. As soon as they were past, Nista shot out of the woods and continued her run east at an amazing speed, which Yalga could not keep up with.
Shortly, two more explosions ripped the air. Nista could feel the pressure of the blasts in her head and chest.
High on a cliff above, and in front of her, an eastern E’meset had stepped out and was watching the events to the north. In his hand, he held a spear.
Nista stopped and shouted up to him, “Brother, I need your spear!” The fellow was obviously shocked to see the small, pale sister below him. Somehow, he had not seen her approach. But he did not hesitate and threw down his spear to her. It stuck into the bank of the river not three meters from Nista.
”Key’Etos, E’etyen!” she shouted in response.
The hunter on the rock shouted down as Nista ran off, “Why are you so small?”
Nista shouted back, “So that I may pass tall people unnoticed.”
○O○
When Nash opened his eyes, his world was upside down and he was being jostled. He could hear the sound of splashing water and of a raging fire, and he could smell the acrid odor of aircraft fuel burning.
Isso was carrying Nash over his right shoulder and dragging the pilot by his jacket with his left hand.
Isso laid Nash down next to his radio operator, Jensen, who was clinging tight to his radio. Looking up, Nash saw the pilot lying to his right, his face covered in blood.
Isso was wading back into the river toward the burning V-tol. He was returning for the copilot. The water was not yet up to his knees when the ship exploded. Isso returned in tears.
Nash was in a lot of pain. He figured his right shoulder was out of socket, and he had bruised or broken ribs. His left leg seemed numb, which worried him; this could be the result of a spinal injury.
The pilot was unconscious and bleeding from a gash on his head.
Jensen seemed to be going into shock.
“Hey,” Nash said to Jensen as calmly and as casually as possible. “Good job back there. I’m glad to see you’re okay.”
“What?” Jensen asked, shaking. “I’m okay?”
“Well, sure, what did you think?”
This calmed Jensen down quite a bit. In a moment, he stopped shaking and laid his radio aside. He rubbed his face and took several deep breaths. Nash knew he’d be all right now. Nash had seen men die of shock.
Isso knelt next to Nash, his eyes red from crying. In E’meset he said, “I did not reach the other Tuva in time.”
“You tried, Isso,” Nash said, “and you did save the three of us. Thank you.”
“In the forest, there is the juice of the Dal’Ekat. It will ease the pain of all who are hurt. I will go, and I will return,” Isso quickly disappeared into the blue jungle.
Nash laid his head back and cursed silently to himself. He had failed in his mission. All three of his ships had been shot down, and thirteen more humans were dead.
Kuriko and her henchmen had gotten away, which meant it was likely she’d try some other desperate move in the not-too-distant future. That could only mean more dead. All because he had to take the high road. There was not a soul on the planet who would have blamed him if he had shot them out of the sky without warning.
No, that isn’t true. He knew that Tanny would have disapproved.
Several more minutes passed when, off in the distance, he heard the engines of a couple of V-tols. With these hills and cliffs, it was very difficult to determine direction and distance. The point was, they were close enough to hear. Nash listened intently, and the sound slowly faded away. They were gone. He had failed. Now he was hundreds of kilometers away from New Roanoke, and all busted up.
He was in a yet unexplored portion of the planet, and he had no idea how the local E’meset tribe would treat him. He and the other Ukse had just flown into their turf and fired a number of missiles that had destroyed large sections of the forest and started fires. Not the best way to make new friends.
The pain in Nash’s body was really starting override all other consideration, now. One good sign was he could feel his leg again. The bad news was, it was killing him!
Jensen was sitting up now; color had returned to his face, and he was obviously much calmer. “Sir, I’m feeling better, I think I should go help Isso find his—”
Nash heard a sound like a bee flying past his ear then Jensen’s head exploded, showering Nash with blood and gray matter. A split second more and he heard the report of the rifle.
Spinning around, Nash saw three humans approaching him along the bank from upstream. One was a female, rather short. Major Kuriko.
With his left hand, Nash slapped his right thigh where his pistol was supposed to be. The weapon was not there. He was defenseless.
He propped himself up on his good elbow and just waited for her. Whatever happened, he was not going to give her any satisfaction. He was prepared to die a slow and painful death at her hands, but he would not beg for his life.
“Hello, Nash,” Kuriko said as she walked up. “I’ll bet right about now you’re wishing you had accepted my job offer.”
“Hmm, I was just thinking that you must wish you had stayed put and kept your mouth shut. You’re a fugitive with no place to go. Your respirators are nearing the end of their lives, which means you are, too.”
“Don’t be stupid, Nash. When have you ever known me to be without a plan B?”
“Plan B?”
She looked about the area. “Where’s your peacock?” she asked.
“Out there,” Nash indicated the burning V-tol. “He didn’t make it.”
“I see. So, these bootless Sasquatch sized footprints in the mud are yours?” She turned to her two colleagues. “You two follow these and kill the peacock.”
One of the two mercs looked down at Nash with a scowl on his face and said, “And leave you alone with—”
“Idiot,” she said to the larger man. “This one’s out cold, and Nash is crippled. Do what I tell you. And be careful, this peacock has the home field advantage.”
They trotted off.
Nash repeated his question. “Plan B?”
“That’s right, Nash. You see, this trip out here to the middle of nowhere was designed to get you as far away from any peacocks that might help you as possible. Actually, you caught up with me sooner than I thought, but that’s neither here nor there is it, lover?”
“You’re still going to suffocate out here…lover.”
“You always did underestimate me. After I kill you, we’re going to the Fish, that piece of shit old spacecraft on the cliff at the waterfalls. Lot of air there, I understand. I’m going to hold all those people hostage and demand the surviving mercenaries be released to me. If those lab coats can’t make the damned fish fly, then I’ll just repeat my original demand. Call the IIEA and get a rescue ship out here. So, you see Nash — I win, you lose. It’s that simple.”
Out in the woods to Nash’s right, a short burst of automatic weapons fire was heard.
“Ah,” Kuriko said, “so much for the home field advantage, eh, Nash?” She then opened the flap on her holster, withdrew her pistol, and chambered a round. “You could have come home with us Nash; come home with me, where you’d have been a very wealthy man.”
“Who do you think you’re talking to Kuriko? You know the IIEA isn’t going to send a ship light years out here just to pick up your little band of merry men. You just want to command…to rule this planet through fear. You played on the desire of the mercs to go home, and you banked on the colonist’s fear of your possession of all the heavily armed V-tols to control them.”
The Blue of Antyllus Page 18
