Lyris, Asti and Shiyne were on the Tornado’s flight deck anxiously checking the instruments
“I
can’t get a visual” he snapped “I’m getting nothing on any of the monitors and I
can’t get a fix on the transponder”
“What
about comms?” Shiyne asked
“Nothing”
Asti replied, “It’s this damn fluxing magnetic field”
“What
about you Shiyne” he asked “are you picking up anything at all?
“There’s
something, but nothing that I can latch onto” she said, “They’re just out of
reach”
“But
they’re alive?” he asked
“Yes,
I’m sure of it” she replied
“Well
keep trying, I’m going to update everyone” he said solemnly
“It’s
obvious where they’ve gone” he said to the assembled group in the mess room “But
we can’t get a fix on them because of the atmospherics and they’re going to a
very unhealthy environment, even if the pod landed safely and the seismic
activity doesn’t get them they still have to evade the “Lost Boys””
Although
it was capable of supporting life Mangium was an unpredictable world and
because of its proximity to the worm hole it suffered from an unstable orbit
and a lot of seismic disturbances, as a result the indigenous peoples had long
since relocated to other worlds and the only people remaining on the surface
were the outcasts, the lawless and the desperate and it was these people that
Lyris referred to as the “Lost Boys”
“What
if they didn’t go to Mangium?” Bagg asked
“You’d
better pray that they did Brother, because if they didn’t we don’t have a hope
of finding that pod in the vastness of space without any effective instruments”
Vanzyl
became very excitable and clicks and whirls began to emanate from him which
were clearly directed at Pulsat
“Ok
I speak” he said and more clicks and whirls followed
“I
telling, I telling” Pulsat retorted and to the group he explained
“Vanzyl
say we make better”
Then
there were more Clicks and whirls
“I
telling, I telling”
“Vanzyl
say he can help”
“How?”
Parse asked
This
question provoked more Clicks and whirls
“He
fix array”
Then
there were more Clicks and whirls
Make
receiver… I’m sorry I don’t know word”
Vanzyl
was clicking a whirling very loudly in frustration because they couldn’t make
themselves understood
“Do
you mean modify” Zerrad asked “enhance the strength of the array?”
“Yes,
yes, exact” Pulsat said excitedly and Vanzyl uttered a soft whistle like a
plaintive flute
“You
can do that?” Parse asked urgently and Vanzyl whistled in response
“How
long?” he asked and the question provoked a much-prolonged response
“Some
hour’s” Pulsat translated “He must make before, then make array enhanced”
“Ok
let’s get it done” Lyris said “You guys give him all the help he needs”
Merri
and Malena could tell just by the temperature in the pod that they were begin
their entry in to Mangiums atmosphere.
“I
hope these pods are as good as the salesman promised” Merri said
“If
they’re not you’ll never get a refund” Malena said and they both laughed
Everyone
aboard the Tornado was really stressed and the tension was palpable because
they knew that with every minute that passed their shipmates were getting
further and further away from them and closer and closer to danger.
Once
they had passed safely into the atmosphere they felt the temperature swing
dramatically the other way and then after a few moments they felt the pods
descent halt slightly as the parachutes deployed and Merri said
“Gather
the gear together, we may have to hit the ground running”
So,
they unbuckled their harnesses and took a survival backpack each from the
locker and put it on and then they strapped side arms to their thighs, knives
to their ankles and the remaining accessories were clipped to their belts and
straps.
When
she was sure they had everything, including headgear, Merri checked the
altimeter and said
“Half
a mile, buckle up”
The
impact came much sooner than they anticipated as the pod fell into a densely
forested area and there was a lot of bumping and bashing as the pod bounced and
tumbled through the tree tops before finally coming to a halt with a bump.
“Well
that was worth the money” Merri said and unbuckled her harness.
It
was a bright Sunny morning, Merri looked up and could see shafts of sunlight
piercing the canopy of the Forest, and then she looked down.
“Ah”
she exclaimed
“That
doesn’t sound good” Malena said as she stepped out of the pod
“Oh,
we haven’t landed yet then”
The
pod had come to rest in the hollow of a very impressive specimen of Mangium
Teak which was some 30ft above the ground.
Although
they had never shared the information with each other, neither of them were
brilliant with heights even at the best of times and neither of them fancied
climbing down.
“I
don’t fancy that, I think we should go horizontally and work our way down
gradually”
“That
sounds like a plan” Malena said, “But which way?”
Merri
looked around and she could see the effect the seismic disturbances had had on
the forest, there was several trees either on the ground or leaning against its
neighbour and through a gap in the tree line she could just make out some rocky
cliffs.
If
they had any hope of establishing comms with the ship they would have to do it
from high ground so she pointed towards the cliffs and said
“That
way”
Despite
their discomfort with heights and their apprehension at climbing they found it
much easier going than they could have anticipated.
The
stand of Teak were quite close to each other and boughs and branches intertwined
and as is was ancient woodland the branches were quite substantial.
Although
Merri was uncomfortable with heights for Malena it was much more severe
although she had never told her friend.
Quite
apart from the death defying heights of what was to all intents and purposes a
Tree Top Trail there were other incumbent hazards such as vine swings, and
hastily constructed bridges and all at a height of 30ft.
She
was not good with heights, she never had been, not that she suffered from
vertigo or had an irrational fear of being up high.
In
fact, she liked high places, after all you can’t get higher up than orbiting a
planet, she also liked flying Aircraft, and admiring the view from tall
buildings, that didn’t scare her, as long as there was something between her
and oblivion.
In
the final analysis what scared her to death was gravity and the belief that it
would at any moment pull her screaming to the ground.
But
she never showed it, and wouldn’t show it, not to Merri, she had to put on a
brave face for her benefit as she was in awe of her Captain and didn’t want to appear
weak to her.
So,
over the next hour they made good progress on their tree top trek beneath the
forest canopy, as they worked their way towards the cliffs and down to the
forest floor as they went.
Meanwhile
aboard the Tornado, Vanzyl and Pulsat were putting the final touches to the
antenna array while Lyris watched on anxiously and the rest of the crew waited
like coiled springs and the time hung very heavy.
When
Merri and Malena finally reached the forest floor Malena couldn’t help letting
out a loud sigh at getting back to terra firma.
“Did
you not enjoy that?” Merri asked as Malena took a deep breath
“I
have a confession to make” Malena replied
“Oh”
Merri responded
“I
would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t scared of heights” she confessed and
Merri laughed
“It’s
not funny” Malena said crossly
“I’m
laughing because I was scared to death myself” Merri said and they both laughed
Vanzyl
strode onto the flight deck whistling and whirling and Pulsat followed hot on
his heels and said
“Array
fixed, find friends now”
“Well
done you two” Lyris said and then addressed Shiyne, Zerrad and Asti
“Ok
you all know what to do”
So
Lyris scanned for any signs of the pod floating in space. Zerrad started
broadcasting a comms signal, Asti scanned for the pod’s transponder signal and
Shiyne used her not inconsiderable telepathic skills to contact her friends.
“We
fix mess now” Pulsat said and led Vanzyl away
Malena
and Merri were about three hundred yards short of the cliffs, which they could
just make out through the thinning foliage, so Merri thought they needed to
pick up the pace
“Come
on” she said and started running and Malena followed the Captain with her abundance
of red hair trailing behind her like a glorious mane.
It
only took a minute or two to catch and then overhaul Merri who was soon lagging
behind, partly because when she got up that morning and put on her boots she
was dressing to look good and not to go on a cross country run.
Malena
was not restricted by fashionable boots, and she was also, beneath the disguise,
a much more ethereal being, so running was effortless to her.
Malena
Endia was an Obgaron Shape Shifter and in her own natural Mercurial form of
liquid silver glass she looked very different to the slender brunette form that
she was more often seen as.
The
form she took was that of a 27-year-old human whom she met on a remote mining
colony when she first entered Legion space, that was more than 20 years earlier
and she still looked exactly the same.
Even
with Merri lagging behind they were rapidly closing the distance on their
objective, having picked up the pace and ran flat out for the cliffs and the
route that they hoped would lead them home to the ones they loved, and then
without warning two things happened, firstly there was a severe tremor and then
they instantaneously came under fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment