Wings of Steele - Flight of Freedom (Book2) (51 page)

It resounded throughout her entire body. With that, her muscles fired, and she rolled to her side, staggering to her feet, motoring stiffly to a tree, clutching it, leaning on it for support while looking around for the old man who had so suddenly come and gone. Above the sound of the wind and rain was the sound of screaming, splintering wood and tearing fabric, the ejection seat crashing to the forest floor where she had been lying. A shower of mud splattered her and the surrounding trees as the heavy seat dug itself a small crater. “Holy fuck,” she muttered out loud. She looked around for the old man again, but there was no one. She was alone.
“Thank you!”
she yelled. “Whoever you are...” she breathed. She hugged the tree as broken branches and debris rained down from above, the tattered and torn red and white parachute still clinging limply to the trees, the shreds flapping like ribbons in the wind and rain.

Taking a precursory inventory, wiping away the layers of mud as best she could, Lisa checked and double-checked that her Glock and spare magazines were still in her shoulder holster and pouches. Although muddy, they were no worse for the abuse they'd taken in the fall. She wished she could say the same for her aching body.

She hadn't noticed it before, but there was a short blaster carbine imbedded in the frame of the seat. Searching the frame closely, she recovered the carbine, two extra magazines and a small survival kit mounted on the other side. Unfortunately the seat's automatic EPRB -
Emergency Pulse Rescue Beacon,
had been crushed in the fall. “Of course,” she muttered, slinging the carbine over her shoulder, “because that makes the day
just perfect.”
She emptied the survival kit's contents into her flight suit's many pockets, discarding the tin in the mud near the seat.
Now what?

■ ■ ■

There were mega- storms raging on two continents and the atmosphere was so electrically charged it affected the ship's look-down sensors. Lieutenant Brian Carter was in the Captain's ready room of the Revenge, doing his best to quiet Alité's fears. “We'll find them, I promise...”

She paced back and forth past the chart table, a glowing map of the system suspended above it. “But the Freedom recalled all the fighters from the surface... why aren't they looking for them?”

He stopped her in her tracks holding her by the shoulders. “Easy, calm down. You know we're not going to abandon them. Birds can't fly through that stuff and they didn't have enough fuel to loiter. They recalled them to refuel; they'll send them back down in a little while with the Zulu.” She leaned her head against him and he did his best to comfort her, feeling a little uncomfortable in the process.

“
Why didn't they go to the Air and Space Port to refuel...?” she asked quietly.

“
Because that's where one of the storms was headed. We didn't want to risk it.”

The door to the bridge chimed before opening, sliding into the bulkhead, Raulya leaning in through the doorway. “Outgoing GOD event activation occurring over the third continent...”

■ ■ ■

The hollow tree had proven as good a place as any to hide and wait out the storm. The carbine lay across Lisa's lap as she closed her eyes, letting herself rest, even though she was too afraid of what might be lurking in the forest to fall asleep. Little slivers of sunlight played on the soggy forest floor as she emerged from her protective little spot. But which way to go? She closed her eyes and pictured the coastline as they passed over it, pursuing the transport vessel. It should be on her left. She wasn't sure how she knew that, it was more a feeling than anything. Intuition? Her intuitions always seemed to be quite good. She checked the survival compass tucked in her breast pocket but the needle swung back and forth.
Yeah, you're a big help.
She thought about the GPS unit in her thigh pocket, but remembered Jack mentioning there were no satellites around Veloria.

Discarding the now useless helmet, she tucked her comm unit in a pocket, slung the carbine across her chest with her right hand resting on the grip, and marched off. Her eyes searched her surroundings as she walked, feeling like she was not alone. Periodically she would pause and listen before walking on. By the chronometer on her wrist, she had walked over an hour and about two miles. The sun was setting, the forest becoming heavily laden with darkening shadows. She pushed on.

Twilight came on quickly, and knowing there was no moon, she considered backing herself up to a tree to sit the night out. Her aching muscles cried out in pain and there was nothing low enough that she could see herself climbing for protection. But it never got quite dark, at least not the absolute darkness she experienced on family camping trips she remembered in the mountains. The inky blackness that had seemed to absorb all light. No, this was different. And it took a while for her to recognize the oddity... the blackness of the sky, flecked with stars, peeking through the leaves, was the darkest part of her world. The leaves seemed to radiate light. A soft, barely discernible glow, a canopy of light, as if they had absorbed the warmth and light from the sun and gently stored it for the night. It was surreal, mesmerizing. She found herself standing motionless more than once, staring up at the leaves as they rustled in the night air, looking like so many butterflies. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, it was just enough to be able to navigate without running into trees or tripping over obstacles lying on the forest floor. She trudged on, almost mechanically, willing her aching body forward.

Several places where the forest canopy grew less dense, presented her a larger glimpse of a spectacular spread of stars. Stars so foreign that nothing was recognizable. The sight filling her with an emptiness, a weariness, a hopelessness, a sense of loneliness. It sent a chill through her and she pressed it down, refused it access, blocked it out. That's when a new sound presented itself, something mechanical, cutting through the rustle of the breeze playing through the trees, through the sounds of the night birds and chirping insects.

She paused, listening quietly to a rhythmic sound, like the
put, put, put, put,
of an old outboard boat motor somewhere in the distance. Cupping her hands over her ears she effectively made
dog ears
, turned from side to side, trying to determine the direction the sound was coming from. Satisfied she had localized the direction, she took up her new heading, following the sound.

■ ■ ■

When the employee shuttle from Mine 02 landed at the Air and Space Port to board Sy Setzel's missile frigate,
Black Shadow
, they were more than a little surprised to be surround by UFW military units and tanks. It was painfully clear that some drastic changes had occurred since they had hidden the ship on the base. An attempt at escape would have met certain disaster, as the UFW units had waited until the shuttle was settled and most of her systems secured and shut down. Spooling up her engines and shields would have taken far too long, especially when staring down the barrel of a hover tank's main gun.

Feeling lost and abandoned, most of the employees provided any and all information requested during interrogation, especially if there was any chance of helping themselves in regards to prison sentencing. But, there were a few hard-assed, holdouts that refused to cooperate... the ones that of course, knew the most, and had the most to lose. That is, until the Prime Minister of Veloria, Nitram Marconus, inserted himself into the mix.

“Major, I understand your reservations,” said Boney, “but these men have information we need, no matter the cost. Lives hang in the balance...”

“
This is a military inquiry, Prime Minister; I cannot allow you to interfere with the interrogation process...”

“
I wouldn't dream of interfering, Major, I want to speed up the process. Let me rephrase that, sir, we
need
to speed up the process.”

“
Some of these things take time, Prime Minister. We
will
get all the information, but I must follow UFW Military interrogation protocols.”

“
Your protocols are taking too long. We need answers
fast...”

“
I understand your concerns, Prime Mini...”

“
No I don't think you do,” interrupted Boney, who was coming to the end of his substantial patience. “I don't think you grasp the magnitude of what's going on here, Major. Let me be perfectly clear. The lives hanging in the balance are
my people,
not yours... save one.
The Queen's husband.
You remember the
Queen,
don't you..?”

“
Well yes, I...”

“
Captain Steele, is not only an important member of the UFW Space Services, but as the Queen's
husband,
is vitally important to the well-being of this planet.” He stepped forward, nose-to-nose with the Major. “And I'm sure Admiral Kelarez would be pleased to know that
your protocols
are all that's standing in the way, of not only finding his
highly valued officer,
but saving hundreds,
if not thousands
of my people. Not to mention possibly apprehending some prime enemies of the Federation.”

The Major took a step back, “Torture is forbidden by the UFW. I don't want to see any torture in there...”

“Then I suggest for your sake, Major, don't watch.”

■ ■ ■

“Who's there..? Who's out there?”

“
My name's Lisa...”

“
What do you want?” the gruff voice from the house interrupted.

No longer under the luminous canopy of leaves, Lisa squinted but could not see the man's figure in the darkness. “I'm looking for my brother...”

“He ain't here.”

“
You didn't even ask me his name,” called Lisa.

“
What's his name?”

“
Jack Steele...”

“
He ain't here.”

Lisa sighed, “Look, I'm sorry to bother you, but I need help. I'm lost, I'm thirsty and I'm hungry...”

A spotlight came on, flooding the grass with light, searching for her. “Step into the light...”

So you can shoot me? I don't think so.
She stayed crouched, hidden as best she could in the bushes along the gravel road.

“
Who is it Nevin?”

“
Stay in the house, Helen. Some girl, says she's lost, looking for her brother...”

“
Well darnit, Nevin, let the poor thing in, you know those recruitment patrols never had no girls in them...”

“
You can't be too sure, Helen...”

A large rectangle of warm, interior light appeared in the darkness, a plump woman's form silhouetted in it. “They wouldn't want your scrawny old ass anyways... C'mon in dearie,” she waved an invitation, “I won't let him hurt you. And turn off that light, Nevin; you're probably scaring her half to death...” In the back somewhere, the
put, put, put, put,
of a generator droned on.

Lisa stood, the searing pain in her thighs stabbing her sharply. She slid the carbine to her side in an attempt to make it less visible, her hand still on it. She walked slowly toward the house, the warm glow of the interior splashing out across the porch and the grass. She suddenly became self-conscious of the fact that she was covered in dried mud from head to toe.
Nice first impression...

■ ■ ■

Nevin was a tall lanky man of about seventy with a perpetual frown on his face who never seemed to take his eyes off Lisa. In total contrast, Helen was a smiling round woman with sparkling blue eyes like tropical water. “I hope the shower was warm enough... A piece of pie, dearie?” Helen slid a plate with a generous slice in front of her. “So how in heavens did you get so black and blue? You look like you've been in a terrible fight.”

The pie was still warm and the intensity of the fruit was almost thrilling, making Lisa smile out of reflex. It was a little slice of heaven. She pulled the robe around her, its softness comforting. “I fell out of a tree... a really
tall
tree.”

“
Oh my. What were you doing up in a tree?”

Lisa explained the story. The pursuit across the ocean, the transport ship jumping out causing the storm, the fighters that tried to shoot them down, having to eject from their crippled craft, pretty much everything up to the present... including how amazing the pie was. Helen beamed at the compliment.

And for the first time, Nevin seemed to lessen his frown. “So you were lookin' for those
bastards
who run the mine, then. Your brother was trying to catch them...”

“
Nevin,
language...”
corrected Helen.

“
Yes, sir. He's a UFW Captain, his ship is in space. They...” she shrugged, realizing she was a part of it too, now. “We are here to try to help Veloria.”