Tomm just shook his head.
'Truthfully, Brother Hawk," he said, "for any of this to work, we will need more than just one miracle."
The big moment finally came.
The ship techs pronounced the Resonance 133 ready to go. The gigantic wedge-shaped cargo ship, dark gray against the bright emerald grass below and the shimmering blue sky above, looked very out of place, even more so now that the bubble top cockpit area was lit with a dim but eerie yellow light.
The crew walked across the bridge as the UPF troopers, back in formation on the valley floor below, stood at attention. The techs had hung a flag over the entrance to the Resonance 133. It was the Stars and Stripes. Watching from the top of the hill, Xara at his side, Hunter was not surprised to find himself choked up as the crew passed beneath the unfurled flag.
Once in, the crew turned on only the bare essentials. Their departure was only a short while away.
Now came a crucial question involving time — or, more accurately, keeping track of time in this place that had none. Clocks didn't work here, no surprise in an environment that seemed designed to make one forget all about the concept of time. How then would they know when the week was up, and the rest of the fleet should cross over?
There was only one way to do it. Volunteers from the UPF army would be made "designated counters." As soon as the Resonance 133 disappeared, these troopers would start counting, in rhythm.
Sixty seconds to mark every minute, 3,600 seconds to mark every hour, 86,400 seconds to mark each day — for seven days.
Only then would the rest of the fleet follow.
The Resonance's departure also required a countdown.
It started at thirty. On a technician's cue, the entire UPF contingent assembled below began shouting out the descending numbers.
But strange things started happening again. The sky suddenly turned black, as clouds covered the sun. A darkness more acute than any twilight descended on Happy Valley. This was a frightening turn of events for the UPF contingent, not to mention the other residents of the area. Never had it grown so dark before in Happy Valley. Still, the countdown continued.
It reached fifteen seconds, and a sudden clap of thunder rolled through the valley. It was powerful enough to shake the Vanex Door, as well as everything and everybody nearby. Standing atop High Hill, Xara grabbed Hunter so tightly, her nails went right through his uniform sleeve. The countdown continued.
More thunder rumbled through the valley. The sky overhead became even darker, if that was possible. The countdown got down to ten seconds. Another clap of thunder, this one so powerful, High Hill itself actually began shaking.
" Someone does not want this to happen!" Xara yelled to Hunter, though he could barely hear her over the booming thunder.
The countdown reached five seconds… another tremendous clap of thunder.
Four… three… two… one… zero!
Now came two tremendous explosions. One was from the most powerful clap of thunder yet, the other from the Resonance 133 as it instantly accelerated to top ion-ballast speed and disappeared through the Vanex Door. It was gone in a blink, leaving only a greenish mist in its wake.
The thunder continued, and the sky grew absolutely pitch black after the ship had departed. Those up on High Hill could hear the wails of the permanent souls throughout the valley. Xara was clutching Hunter so tightly now, her fingernails were digging into his skin. Several terrifying moments passed.
But then, gradually, the thunder abated, and the clouds drifted away. The sunlight returned, and wailing throughout the valley ceased. But it was obvious that the act of pushing the ship back through the Vanex Door had upset the very pristine order of things. They had angered the Creator Himself with their act of boldness, and it had been frightening to experience the reaction from on high.
But normalcy soon returned. Those watching over the controls for a subatomic Sweeper that had been attached to the Resonance reported that all indications were that the ship had at least made it into the twenty-sixth dimension.
Upon hearing this, everyone in the UPF contingent relaxed a little. Hunter and Xara sat down on the edge of High Hill and just held on to each other. Vanex walked down to the river and drank his fill of the sweet, intoxicating nectar. The formations dispersed, and many of the UPF troopers went for a swim.
It was only later that they discovered the soul of Gym Bonz was not among them.
Apples.
Hunter had picked thirteen of them, and now they were stuffed into the pockets of his combat suit, making him look a little too round in the rump.
He was down on the beach, at the exact spot where he'd faded in so long ago. He had his helmet on, and his boots were stitched up tight. He had a container of river nectar and a blaster rifle borrowed from one of the UPF troopers. These were the things he might need if things went wrong once he got back to the other side.
He knew there was a good chance he would wind up back inside the jail cell at the bottom of the ShadoVox on his return, and that the cell door would still be locked. There was also a chance no one aboard the ship would know he returned, so the apples would sustain him for a while, he hoped. If he was unable to blast the lock off the cell door with the borrowed ray gun, that is.
He'd had one last conversation with Vanex before leaving High Hill. It was mostly to thank the old guy for all that he'd done under the most unusual circumstances. The Imperial Janitor was still a bit of an enigma. Had he come around to their point of view, agreeing that the Empire had to be toppled? Or had he been helpful simply because he was very loyal to Xara? If Hunter had to bet on it, he would have guessed the old guy had done it for Xara alone.
Hunter took one long, last look at his surroundings. The sweet water, the hillside of bright flowers, the bejeweled sands. He knew the chances of him ever coming back here — at least by these means — were nil. The Echo 999.9 was a onetime device. The capsule Hunter had used to get here would be depleted as soon as he returned. The same was true for the first Echo, which had been disassembled to build the Vanex Door. Once the last UPF ship passed through it — if indeed the passing through was successful — it, too, would be depleted. So the ships could never return, either.
No, if he was ever to see Paradise again, Hunter knew he would have to get here the old-fashioned way.
That's what was going to make the next few moments on the beach so difficult. Because he knew there was a very good chance he would never see Xara again, either. She couldn't come with him, of course. And she couldn't have gone back on the Resonance 133, as the same thing that they feared would happen to him — that nasty atoms-turned-inside-out thing — would happen to her (and Vanex, too).
They were stranded here. In Paradise.
There was no way Hunter could leave with out saying good-bye to Xara — although he'd considered this. It would have avoided the painful moment they both knew had to come sooner or later. So he told her to give him a while to prepare, and then meet him down by the shore.
She arrived, cheeks still wet with tears, still looking beautiful but at the same time very sad. Her emotions had been running high since the departure of the Resonance 133.
Hunter took her hands and looked deep into those gigantic blue eyes. For the first time, he realized they were the same color as both the sky here and the cobalt blue ocean.