Theo puts his hand on my shoulder and I fall back into his arms. I glance at Bets. She seems unconcerned. Theo sighs, “So is this it for us? Etch’s damned if he rises into those ships.”
“Oh, don’t be so negative Theo.” Minns smacks his shoulder. “We should hold tight. Etch is a clever man. Even if he doesn’t make it, we’ve got an entire city at our disposal. We’ll just have to be discrete. It’s only a matter of time before the Institute forces regain control of this sector.”
“So why were you hiding on earth from the Institute if you’re so confident that they’ll welcome us?” I ask.
Minns groans. “Well, that’s a valid point. I suppose it all depends on what happens with the portal. If they try to hide it and protect it, then we’re going to know some stuff that’s pretty inconvenient for them. However, I think the box is opened don’t you? Every pilot throughout the fleet probably knows of its existence by now.”
“What are pilots going to think of this thing?” I ask no one in particular.
“What do you mean?” Minns is interested in my thoughts. Here I am a product of a world devoid of machines and space travel, and yet I’m quickly slipping into the other world, where technology dominates and too often placates the people it’s supposed to serve.
“I think the pilots will see the portal on earth as a blessing and a threat. From what I understand of it, it’s a doorway to other parts of space. It could make their jobs obsolete. On the other hand, it has endless possibilities for exploration. If pilots experience what I’ve experienced on earth through the portal’s effects, then they can travel to places that no one’s even dreamed of yet. Even places beyond space — where the others are from.”
Bets is perplexed. “Marksman, you’re saying that earth could become a place where pilots gather to explore all this?” She raises her hand to the glorious star-lit sky. “Like a monastery?”
“Yes, and they can explore what lies beyond the door — whatever that is — and teach us what they learn. Or the portal at Yellow Stone could become a bustling port for space ships moving through the doorway it makes to other worlds. But I fear it would ruin the nature around it. Earth may return to the mess of its past. The crazy part is, I think the reason the portal opened up is because the people, the technology, on earth went away. The earth healed and the doorway appeared.”
We watch the ships hover silently above the city. One of the ships suddenly bursts in flames as the building shudders, knocking us all back on our butts.
“That didn’t come from the surface.” Minns points to the sky.
A second blast concusses the air as the silhouette of another massive ship blacks out the stars overhead. I recognize it as my friend, the Raven.
The Fuerst rises from the cityscape and fires at the ships from below. Within moments, all five are charred and burning. Three leave orbit, one hangs vertically in the artificial moon air, and the fifth crashes into a nearby building with a sickening crunch. Flames burst forth and the ship and building are joined in fire and smoke.
The Fuerst approaches our building and hovers above us. The door opens and we climb into the ship. “Welcome friends,” Etch exclaims jubilantly. “We must go. More FRT dogs will be here soon.”
“To where?” Bets asks.
“Yellow Stone.”
The Fuerst flanked by the Raven rises above the city and the moon shrinks. And then I see earth for the first time. It is absolutely breathtaking in its dizzying variations of white, green, brown, and blue. I know that I must place it in my care at any cost.
As we descend toward the planet, I crouch down next to Etch in his pilot’s chair. “Thank you.”
“For what, my dear one?”
“You helped my knock out the drones.”
He looks confused — or at least that’s my interpretation of the expression on his insect face. He tilts his head. “Drones? I provided you with directions to the tower telepathically. But I did not tell you about how to defeat the drones.”
“Then who was that talking in my head?”
“Mysteries never cease Amy Marksman. This makes the fight worth fighting do you not think?”
Chapter 60 – Yellow Stone
The Fuerst skims through the air. The Raven trails behind us like a puppy following an older dog through the yard. The sky’s clear and the mountains extend forever. We glide past a sharp, snow-dusted mountain peak.
“There it is.” Etch is eating something that looks like an enormous pickled spider.
Below us stretches a huge, orange-yellow lake, tendrils of steam rising from tiny, angry white caps. It’s impossible for me to gauge its size from our perch in the sky. The lake’s encircled by a wall of crumbled rock, as if it is tucked away in a giant pie crust.
“The lake is in the crater of a recent magma bubble. Look closer Amy.”
Etch drops the Fuerst lower and I can now see the waves and steam clearly. Between the humps of swirling water and sea foam, I see something else, difficult to process, but very real. There are stars in the bottom of the lake.
“A good pilot will be able to navigate the waves and find passage to many places.” Etch grins. “It is something to behold is it not?”
“How to navigate it, though? It seems so complex.”
Etch points to his head and then points to my forehead. “You know you can do it Amy Marksman. This is what you were born to do.”
The Fuerst and Raven proceed to the north bank of the great lake. On the edge is a large village with lumbering stone walls. At turrets along the walls, men and women with a mix of leather armor and Institute-issue clothes point at us. They carry swords and staffs — no rifles or other weapons are apparent. There’s no telling how long the Phobos has been in contact with them. But obviously some trade has occurred. I hope that they don’t have stronger weapons at their disposal.
Etch lands the Fuerst at a cozy clearing on the edge of the walled town. The Raven sets down nearby. A group of villagers approaches the ships as we climb down. I recognize one of the men in the lead — Wenn. He’s smiling and waving at us. I look at Theo nervously, while Theo rushes forward and embraces his friend as if nothing happened between him and me.
“Well, I’m thankful to see you.” Wenn hugs me tightly. “We were afraid that you were FRT ships. Captain Leo warned us that they’d come and destroy us. They want the portal — the lake — to themselves.”
Etch and Minns introduce themselves as we walk toward the city’s main gate. An odd looking metal fence with a yellowish hue surrounds the entire stoned edifice.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Fromer had us build it. It keeps the things from the fog from getting into the town. We use the same material in our weapons. He pats his scabbard. So far, the fence seems to work for the town. No more ghouls or ghosts roaming the streets at night. The open coast — well that’s another story.” His face goes dark, briefly revealing the Wenn we saw at the lodge. “No one travels alone out there during the night. You won’t come back, alive that is.”
“Eliza?” I gaze at him hopefully.
His face falls into darkness again. “No. We need to talk. But first, let’s get you comfortable and safe. Did you all see Leo?”
We exchange worried glances. Etch speaks. “Leo tells us to give you his best. We are in command for now until Institute reinforcements arrive.”