Emma's Heart (Brides of Theron 3) (29 page)

“Prisoner, do not question me if you know what’s good for you. I told you to go and get your men. Now!” Carel walked up to the fully loaded rock cart.

Zirlo headed back to where he and the rest of his men were working. Something was definitely up and he couldn’t wait to find out what.

“Let’s go. Carel wants us to dump the cart now,” he said to the group of prisoners when he returned to where they were working.

Hator went to question Zirlo
, but was cut off by a glance from the commander.

“I don’t know,
” Zirlo said as the group followed Zirlo to where the cart was waiting to be pushed to the outside pit. They were all on edge.  What had Carel found out? Everything was in place for Zirlo and Lars to escape except for the one major piece of the puzzle.  They didn’t have access to the ship yet, and couldn’t seem to get near enough to one in order to even attempt to escape.

“Move it prisoners!” Carel shouted in their faces
with more authority than needed.

Each man
took up their normal position around the car and began the arduous journey to the outside. Once the group was out of the sight of the main cavern and the other guards in their sector, Carel had them stop.

Carel stepped back to the car where Zirlo was stooping down looking at one of the wheels as if something was
caught up in it.

“There is a fighter landing very cl
ose to the pit in a few minutes,” Carel whispered in Zirlo’s ear as he pretended to be interested in what was causing a problem with the wheel of the cart.

The commander’s movement stopped for a brief second as he listened to the news. This was the moment they had been waiting for. “How far away is it?”

“It will land right on the edge of the pit on landing pad #1. That pad will be the easiest one to get to without being seen. I sure hope you are ready for this,” Carel said.

“As ready a
s we will ever be. Just go along with whatever happens. We don’t want you to get caught having anything to do with this. If we fail to get out of here someone else may need you to attempt an escape at a later time.” He stood back up and called Lars over. “Lars, come here. I need your help.”

Lars’ heart was pounding as he went over to Zirlo. He just
knew that this was his chance to get away from this prison and the hard labor.

“The plan starts as soon as we reach the outside. Do everything as we planned it. Pass on the word to Hator a
nd Danuwee. We will be moving again in few minutes so be prepared.”

Lars grinned as he walked back to tell the others of the news. He was going to be a free man again very soon
or he was going to die trying. Once he was in the ship or fighter, it would be very easy for him to get rid of Zirlo and go about his own way.

Outside the cavern the weather was deteriorating quickly. The winds were blowing dust and dirt up into the air, making it hard to see where the group was going. But this only heightened the excitement for the men
.  They couldn’t have asked for better weather conditions to attempt an escape. The cover of the dust in the air would help them stay out of sight.

“
Now, make it look like we have lost control of the car,” Zirlo told Danuwee, as to the right of them, the sound of a fighter landing was growing louder and louder with each step. He needed to get a look at where the fighter was trying to land. He could make out the landing pad. It was only about fifty yards away and was concealed on one side by a large storage container and the rise of the pit on the other side. Anyone who came out of the fighter wouldn’t be paying very much attention to the workers along the edge of the pit, but rather on the strong winds that were kicking up dust in wind storm.

Zirlo shouted above the winds, “Push the car
, damn it! Come on men, put your backs into it.” He strained against the weight of the cart with what little strength he had in arms, as he pulled as hard as he could manage on the ropes that were attached to the front of the car. They were just about ready to put the plan they had worked on for years into action. “Lars, get up here and help me.” Since Lars joined the group, it had been planned that when the car got close to the pit, the two who were pulling would appear to be struggling with the car. This would allow him to bring forth another prisoner in order to help pull the car to the mouth of the pit.

The winds had picked up dramatically in the short time they had
been exposed to the outside air. It actually appeared as if the Gods were working in their favor, as the winds rocked the heavily laden cart as it was pushed and pulled to the edge of the cliff. Zirlo, Lars and Danuwee stood on the edge of dump pit while Hator and Carel were standing at the rear of the car. At that exact moment the lights of fighter craft landing could be seen through the swirling dust and dirt in the air.

“Now,” Zirlo shouted above the sound of the wind. The three in the front pulled the car
t as hard they could, which caused the cart to tip over the edge, and as it balanced precariously on the edge the entire script of the plan was now in full swing.

“Watch out you fools!” Carel shouted angrily all the while keeping an eye on the landing fighter. “Pull it back
, or its going to go over the side!” Carel moved in at the back of the car to make it look as if he was trying to pull it back away from the edge of the pit. Instead he was actually helping to shove it over the cliff.

“Get out of the way! We can’t get it back. It’s going over!” Danuwee shouted into the wind. One last final
push sent the heavy car over the edge that supposedly took Zirlo and Lars with it. “Zirlo, Lars!” Danuwee called over the side of the deep pit.  The dust was so thick that they wouldn’t have been able to see anything in the dumping pit.

At the same moment the car tipped over the side of the pit, Zirlo and L
ars jumped onto the mound of rocks in the cart as it went over the side. They had to time their jump perfectly, or they would become tangled up in the ropes that trailed behind the cart as it plunged down the side of the dump pit. As the cart plunged down the edge of the cliff, it stirred up a ton of dirt that was added to the already dirt saturated air. When they leaped off the cart, the cart began to crash and tumble the entire way down the incline until it was no longer visible even to them. No one saw as the two men clung to the side of the steep incline as they made their way as quickly as they could to the base of landing pad #1.

Looking back over his shoulder, Zirlo could vaguely
make out Carel, Danuwee and Hator standing near the edge shouting and looking down as if searching for the lost pair of warriors. Carel then called out to seek help from the other guards so that he wouldn’t call attention to himself or the escapees.

Just above their heads, the fighter had landed and was in the process of shutting the systems down. The commotion over by the pit had drawn a lot of attention and would provide ample opportunity for him and Zirlo to get into the fighter.  Now, if the pilot would just get out of the fighter they could be on their way. Everything was falling right into place. Lars knew from experience that they would never completely shut down the fighter in a dust/dirt storm. The air coming from the thrusters would prevent the particles in the air from settling into the engine and other important parts of the fighter. This would help him to quickly get the fighter off of the ground, and the dust being kicked out from the engines as well as from the gusts of wind from the storm, would provide them the cover they needed in order to fly the fighter out of the atmosphere.

The wait for the pilot to exit the fighter
craft was excruciating for Zirlo and Lars.  They clung to the side of the pit just, and the winds were blowing so hard now that they were having trouble keep their balance and grips on the loose dirt they were holding onto. If the pilot didn’t hurry up they were going to end up at the bottom of the pit along with the crashed cart.

“What the hell is taking the bastard so long?” Lars said to the air. He was incredibly impatient now and wanted to get off the planet.

“Have patience my friend. We have gotten this far. We don’t want to screw it up now. This is the only chance we will probably ever get, so let’s make the best of it. If we get caught, I can guarantee the Emperor will most likely have us killed and made an example of or he will stick us back in that cell to rot.”

It was hard to mask his disgust when he saw Zirlo give him a
reassuring grin. “I know. We are just close,” Lars said, as the sound of movement from up above drew his attention away from Zirlo. “Quick, get down!”

The pilot had finally exited the fighter and was running towa
rds a building that was set about 100 yards away. Lars popped his head up and scanned the area to see if there were any other guards milling around. He couldn’t see very far because of the storm, but from what he could see, the coast was clear. He reached down to tap Zirlo who had been keeping watch out over the pit where the interest in the fallen cart was slowly coming to an end.  He looked back at Zirlo, who gave one last look to where Carel and his men were now standing, and ran quickly behind him.

The winds on top of the pit were much stronger than Zirlo had anticipated, and his strength was just about gone from having to cling to the walls of the pit for so long. He suddenly felt a hand on the collar of his shirt and he was being lifted up over the edge onto the landing pad.

“Move your ass old man!” Lars shouted into his face.

Zirlo struggled to get to his feet, as Lars continued to tug him along to the fighter that was sitting empty, waiting to be stolen. Both of the men had to put their hands in front of their eyes in order to try and block the sting of the tiny fragments of dirt that the wind was hurtling through the air. The storm was turning into something fierce, and Zirlo was now starting to worry that they would make it the fighter only to die in the attempt to take off.

The men
fought the raging winds one step at a time and finally came to stand within arm’s reach of the fighter’s door. Zirlo leaned against the fighter as Lars pulled out an access panel near the door and began to pull out wires.

“You
’ve got to try and block some of the wind,” Lars shouted above the roar of the winds. “I can’t see what I am doing! Use your shirt or something!”

Zirlo immediately stripped off his sh
irt and went to stand behind Lars. He put the shirt just over Lars’ head and pressed the sides tight against the side of the fighter, trying to make a small tent around his head. He had to lean his head down and into Lars’ back as the pelting grains of dirt and sand began to sting his bare skin like insect bites.

From underneath the shirt, Lars ripped several wires loose from the inside of the panel. He desperately sought out the two wires that he would need to strip the ends off of, and then twist together. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any kind of tools with him, so he would have to use his teeth in order to strip the wires of their protective outer coating. It wouldn’t be the first time he had to use his teeth to steal a ship or a vehicle. He had done it quite a few times when he was a just a kid.

A small hiss escaped from the door of the fighter as it popped open. Zirlo immediately dropped the shirt and pushed the door the rest of the way open as he dove into the fighter, with Lars close behind. Neither one of them wasted any time relaxing, they could relax when the fighter was clear of the planet and on its way to Theron or the planet of one of Theron’s closest allies.

Lars rushed to the front of the fighter and took the pilot seat that would allow him complete control of the ship. Zirlo stumbled into the s
eat next to him with a huge grin plastered across his face.

“We made it!”

Flipping switches and turning knobs as fast as he could, Lars replied, “Not yet we haven’t! We still have to take off in this bitch of a storm. It’s going to take both of us to maintain control as we take off. If the winds grab hold of the wings at just the right angle on takeoff, we are dead. Drylon fighters are not built as well as ours are.  Get ready to take hold of the steering shaft.” The roar of the fighter’s engine grew louder as the power within its engines came to life. The control panel in front of them was now lit up and fully operational.

Lars was grateful that the Drylon fighters didn’t t
ake long to prepare for takeoff, but they were technologically inferior to a Theron fighter.

“Alright commander, here goes
nothing.  Do you have the steering shaft?” He looked over to Zirlo to be sure. “Okay, take a firm hold of it and whatever you do, don’t let go. Do exactly as I tell you!”

“Got it, let’s get the hell out of here!”

“Pull back now!” As both pilots pulled on the shafts with all their might, the fighter began to rise up off the ground. The winds outside immediately tried to latch onto the fighter by pushing down on the wings of the craft. “Pull all the way back.” The fighter climbed higher and higher as the winds tried their best to bring the fighter back down. “Ok, ease back a bit.” The winds that were higher into the atmosphere of Drylon were beginning to calm as the fighter climbed increased altitude.

Once free of the storm, t
he violent rocking and jolting of the fighter ceased and she leveled out to fly smoothly the rest of the way out of the atmosphere and into the vacuum of space.