“They're bringing the planetary defence grid on line.” said Lucy matter-of-factly. “I hope your plan works.”
A few moments later the massive power surge of a beam weapon ripping through the atmosphere sent their sensors off the scale. He pushed his glasses back up his nose as he studied the readings. “Drones stopped transmitting and I'm reading two drop-ships inbound on its last known co-ordinates.”
“I'll take that as a yes then.”
“We’re not out of the woods yet, keep varying speed, and making random course changes.” he said as he watched the sensors. The planetary defence grid was at still at full power and ready to fire. While the whole of the northern hemisphere was being subjected to intense sensor sweeps. With each passing minute the tension in the cabin increased. “Their firing again, random pattern, looks like they've designated a kill box and pounding it.”
“Must have extrapolated our course from the ion trail we left.” Lucy sucked the air through her teeth and hoped that engine she'd shut down earlier didn't start leaking again. There was barely a couple kilometers between them and the kill box they were bombarding.
“We need to get under cover.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed we're flying over the ocean.”
"Well now would be a good time to test your theory about flying this crate under it then.”
“That was based on having two good engines, inertial dampers and shields.” she shot back at him. “You know all the things your heroics cost us back there.”
He shrugged and made a ship wide broadcast “Time to suit up were going for a little swim, make sure your suits rebreathers are functioning just in case, and brace for impact!“ he slipped his glasses back into his cloak and allowed his helmet to slide out his collar and up and over his face as Lucy did the same with her helmet. He checked his HUD to confirm that everything was secure in the cargo hold then tapped her on the shoulder and made a downward gesture with his finger. Lucy pulled back slightly lifting them into air before pushing the nose down and forcing their way through the waves into the ocean below.
Had he not been strapped into his seat the sudden deceleration of their impact with the mass of water beneath them would have thrown him against transparent reinforced titanium polymers of the cockpit window. It grew darker as they sank deeper into the blue-grey ocean, shoals of fish scattering around them. The hull groaned under the pressure as she struggled to pull their nose up and arrest their descent. He flicked the cockpits emergency lights on bathing them both in a soft orange glow, as slowly they levelled out.
“Everyone okay back there?”
Bryson did a quick check. “We're all suited up with rebreathers enabled, can't say we're happy with the mood music though.” he looked up at the hull creaking ominously above him. “We're going to pressurise our suits as a precaution.”
He turned to Lucy. “Can we bring it back up?”
Lucy checked the controls. “We lost half the shield emitters when we hit the cliff, I'll need to run diagnostics on what's left. Its taking all the thrust our remaining engine can manage to keep us level, never mind moving forward.”
“Bring the second back on line, at this depth they'll never detect it leaking and I'll run the diagnostic.”
Lucy nodded and fired up other engine, the freighter juddered slightly.
“Leak” yelled Bryson as water started spraying from the roof of the cargo hold. “Let's seal it.”
The hold behind them was a frantic hive of activity as emergency sealant was pumped into the leak, while Bryson raced to unpack the portable fabricator. They jumped clear as he readied the nozzle and sprayed a large section of the metal plating above them with a waterproof reinforced polymer shell.
“We're stabilised, for now.”
With both engines back on line they were slowly moving upwards easing the pressure on the hull and gaining forward momentum. He checked the diagnostic again, just to be sure, the figures didn't make good reading. They'd lost all the emitters from the underside and of the others only five were partially functional at best. It was debatable they'd make it back to the surface, let alone get airborne again. Lucy's plan had been to use the emitters to generate a focused energy field to reduce resistance, increase buoyancy and reduce the load on the engines.
He transmitted the figures to Lucy's HUD. She looked at them, nodded and transmitted another set of figures back. At their current load the engines would either burn out or fuel out before they made landfall. Additionally they had neither enough thrust or buoyancy left to escape the ocean. If they jury-rigged the remaining emitters to generate a partial energy field, focused forward of their bow, they might reduce the drag and increase their range enough to reach the continental shelf.
He plotted a in a new course and indicated it to her.
On the very edge of the continental shelf, where the shallower waters began, was a large subterranean cavern. Its massive opening leading to what appeared to be an underground basin or harbour large enough to service a fleet of submarines. Off it lead a maze of tunnels, that snaked back through the substrata of rock and granite, towards the shore and ultimately the underground complex they used as their secret base of operations a few kilometers inland.
Lucy whistled at it in amazement. “You kept that well hidden. I'm beginning to think the others are right, we're not the first people to have visited this planet. It certainly looks like you've been here before.”
He shook his head, he was confused and perplexed. “That's just it, I didn't kept it hidden. Until I started plotting the course I had no idea it was there, it just appeared in my mind.”
“Maybe your memories coming back? You should talk to Anna about it.”
He shook his head again, it was about more than just his memory, there were other forces at work here. Lucy was right the more you explored this planet the more it seemed others had been here. Others who weren't human and had left a legacy they couldn't begin to comprehend, long before humans had travelled among the stars. Perhaps unlocking that mystery was the key to ending Malstrom's brutal occupation of the planet.
It was a long silent journey towards the cavern with only the forlorn song of whales for company. Most of the crew were taking a well-earned rest. Even Bryson had dozed off, portable fabricator in hand just in case. He checked in on Bryn. The stump where his hand had been had been expertly dressed. He'd been sedated and was sleeping peacefully. Full restoration would require a tissue tank and something a bit more sophisticated than battlefield nanobots. Everyone was exhausted. He had to find a way to end it before it destroyed them all, before they became as brutal and unforgiving as their enemy. It weighted heavily on his shoulders that he, a man who had so little invested in this planet, should lead those who had invested so much. Yet it was them who gave his life meaning, who had taken in a man with no past to lead them, and had given him a future. He slumped against the side of the hull pulled his knees up and cupped his head in his hands, relieved they were all asleep, there was no one to witness his moment of weakness and self-doubt. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up with a start. It was Carol.
“How's the head?”
“You know I should shoot you for giving him that order.” she nodded in David's direction. “I was really onto something. Angel-1 is an underground research facility, hidden under that refinery. They even have a file on you codenamed Guardian. Pity you got him to fry the terminal before I could get anymore.” she tossed him a data crystal.
He nodded in acknowledgement and slotted it into his suits computer. “Another piece of the jigsaw, pity no one told us what it’s supposed to be or how to put it together.”