“Very well.”
The ship climbs into the sky through the clouds, the sun bursting through the view screen. The billowing fluff below us is white perfection. It’s difficult for me to believe that below that heavenly blanket, Thresh is likely killing and destroying on her march toward the portal. When we descend, I fear what we’ll encounter — brown corruption belching forth from a hole in our reality. How I’m expected to counter it, I don’t know.
“Amy, can you see the land below the clouds? Ask the Fuerst to do a radar scan. It is of no matter that you do not understand the technology. The ship translates its data to your senses. You will feel the information.”
I ask the Fuerst to use the thing called radar and I see in ways that I’ve never imagined. I almost feel the spiny ribs of the mountains below us. The trees bristle and the lakes tickle. “Two hours to our destination,” the ship whispers to me.
Minns and Theo step into the room. “Amy’s flying the ship?” Minns asks Etch.
“She is learning to pilot. It is her destiny.”
“You telling me that a girl from my village’s picked up riding a space ship like a horse? How’s that possible?” Theo’s astonished.
Etch answers, “I am unsure whether I can explain it well. Let us just say that she is a natural at it.”
Minns returns to Bets in the passenger compartment. I hear Bets bellow a muffled curse at the news that I am flying our ship. Apparently, she’s not as confident in my abilities as Etch, making me grin. I bank the vessel sharply and hear her shout.
The Fuerst announces that we are nearing our destination and I tense up. We descend into the clouds when light bursts in front of us. “Is that lightning?” I ask Etch.
He gently pulls me out of the chair and returns to command saying, “Evasive action, now.”
The Fuerst banks right and then rises nearly vertically into the sky. I fall back on the floor. From the shouts in the back, our companions also have been caught by surprise.
Bets crawls in. “Marksman, what are you doing to us?”
Etch responds, “Hold tight. We’re being attacked and must escape the atmosphere.”
Chapter 59 – Escape Velocity
A voice pipes in from the attacking ship. “Hello, Vessel Fuerst. This is the Institute Vessel Phobos and your old friend Leo. We’ve been looking for you. Please stand down. Follow the coordinates I am sending.”
Etch laughs darkly. “Hello Leo. I would prefer to have my freedom than surrender to you. What brings you here to earth?”
“Etch, you know well what’s here. You were beginning your descent to it. The tactical importance is unmeasured and we don’t want you interfering. If you don’t land at the specified coordinates, we’ll be forced to shoot you down.”
“Try to catch us,” Etch rumbles. The sky turns dark, with stars shining brightly. More flashes of light appear and the Fuerst shudders. Etch grunts. “We need somewhere to hide.”
I can see the moon shining brightly before us. Three small metal triangles with red circles on their sides like the one we saw on Troll’s door fly toward us, red beams of light streaking forward. Etch pushes a button on his chair and the moon vanishes in a smear of white. Within a few minutes we are floating within a sea of rocks. Etch says, “We are in what is called the asteroid belt of your solar system. We have eluded the small ships, but the Phobos will be here soon.”
“What’s an asteroid belt?” I ask.
“What is left after a world torn is apart. This is what earth would look like if Melat were able to use the Raven to destroy it and the portal. Planet C9 looked like this after the end.”
A huge ship, similar in shape to the Fuerst, appears before us. “Found you,” Leo says over the communications network.
“Not for long,” Etch chuckles. “We’re equally matched now. Best of luck, Leo.”
The Fuerst lurches forward toward one of the largest rocks. The Phobos follows closely. I cover my face as the Fuerst flips upside down, changing direction. Our pursuer comes to a full stop as we fly forward into a field of small, tumbling boulders. Etch says confidently, “Tractor array, initiate.”
The Fuerst spins, with the rocks following its trajectory. This tractor thing seems to make the rocks stick to the ship like it was covered with thick, invisible glue. More and more rocks accumulate around us, spinning ever faster. Etch grins, “Deactivate array and stop ship.” The rocks fly off of us like rifle shot toward the Phobos. They pepper the Institute ship, causing puffs of vapor to stream out of each perforation.
“Our vessels can absorb energy beams. But their skin is not very tough and poorly resists physical contact with multiple, fast-moving projectiles. A fatal weakness.”
Sections of the Phobos flake off, hurtling silently away. The blue flame of its engines dims.
“They are disabled. It is time for us to hide.”
I’m relieved and feeling weak. “Back to earth?”
“No. The abandoned city of Farmington on the far, space-side of the moon. We can make a few repairs and decide what to do next.”
“What happened to the cities on the moon, Etch?”
“During the past two years, the Institute citizens living there were routinely attacked by the local FRT forces. The FRT finally captured this section of space, and during the siege, the citizens were evacuated. There are a few FRT forces stationed in one of the cities far away from Farmington. The FRT outpost here is likely preoccupied with the Institute presence on earth and won’t notice our little visit.” He pauses. “I hope.”
The Fuerst turns and zips back toward the white orb. Within an hour, we descend into a city of angular white and silver buildings jutting out of the grey powder. This portion of the moon is in shadow, making me wonder what might be hiding in that darkness, waiting for us. Etch knows the area and deftly maneuvers the ship between the towers, settling it under a large awning, where other ships rest, quietly awaiting their pilots. The whole place is spooky.
“Amy, you might like this facility. Farmington is an agricultural and recreational center on the earth moon. I must remain behind to oversee repairs. Minns can escort you and your friends.”
Minns grabs Bets shoulder excitedly. “You all will love this place. I visited it a few years ago before I was assigned to a dismal place called the Platform in deep space.”
“But there be no people here.” Theo counters.
“Better yet Theo. The whole place is automated. We can enjoy it even without people.”
We jump into a small cart that Minns calls a car. The entire city is encased by a very thin roof that’s nearly invisible and maintained by something Minns calls a generator. If the generator were to break, all the air would leave and we would suffocate. I find it odd that people would build a big bubble to live in when there’s a whole world with plenty of air not far away. Minns also says that we would weigh less here if it weren’t for the generator. This makes no sense to me. It apparently has to do with the size of the moon. It’s small and pulls on us less than earth.
The car weaves between the buildings, which break the rich, black sky into orderly sections of stars. Minns turns us toward an expansive building reaching far into the distance. “Most of this building is underground. Amy, you’re going to dig this.”
We descend into a tunnel and drive in subdued light. After a time, the tunnel opens onto a massive, hilly landscape with bright sunshine. We could be in a meadow on earth rather on the surface of the moon.
“What is this place?” I ask.
“It’s a park — for recreation. People come here to enjoy nature, relax.”
This seems so strange to me. Earth is so vast and untamed. Yet, these people need to turn to a subterranean basement to interact with living things. I’m sad that they were evicted from their home. “Where’s the sunlight coming from? We’re on the dark side of the moon, right?”