***
In the Sanctuary the cube had no sooner left the living quarters when the lights began to flicker and the temperature to warm. Lina knew what was happening and tried reciting the mantra they were all taught at school for the time of recycling. No matter how hard she tried to be calm, her fear and anger seemed to increase, fueled by the unfairness of it all. Tesla reached out and took her hand and guided her to the eating space. The small calloused hand calmed Lina and she passively followed. The lights failed completely and the heat was getting intolerable when Tesla opened the food dispenser and began taking something apart. After a few minutes he pulled Lina to the small door and pushed her head into the opening. The cool air allowed Lina to breathe and she did not resist when Tesla kept pushing her further into the opening.
Suddenly she was falling head first down a tube and would have screamed except she was too busy being scared. Suddenly the tube changed directions and there were more small furry hands pulling her out of the tube. She tried to stand up but hit her head on the rock ceiling which made her dizzy so she sat down. The light was just bright enough to see and she counted over a dozen Fixers in the small room. Soon Tesla was standing next to her and took her hand guiding her along rough stone passages. She had never thought much of the Fixers, they were just there, and now she was trusting them because Floyd trusted them. The passage finally opened into what looked like a miniature doctor's office complete with exam table and light.
Tesla demonstrated how she should breathe through the mask and Lina did as he wanted. She became very sleepy. She could tell the Fixers were moving her but was too sleepy to care. When she awoke she was covered by a blanket and Tesla was standing at her side. He squeezed her hand and she responded in kind indicating that she was okay. Tesla pointed to her clothes and turned his back as she got dressed. Tesla was in a hurry to get moving and Lina did her best to follow in the passages but being stooped over was very tiring. They seemed to be climbing and Lina had to stop and catch her breath. She asked Tesla, "Where are you taking me?"
It became a game of charades as Tesla tried to imitate Floyd by doing calisthenics. When Lina realized they were taking her to Floyd her initial excitement was tempered by the question, "How?"
Tesla put out his arms and pretended to fly. Lina was incredulous and asked, "You are going to take me to Floyd in the toy airplane?"
Tesla was so excited he had trouble tempering his gestures. He at first pretended to be a very tiny airplane and then puffed himself up and pretended to be a very big airplane. Lina, like all of her people, had an innate fear of speed and the thought of flying through the air was more than her mind could comprehend. They were taking her to Floyd and she concentrated on that one fact. Her breathing was getting harder and one of the other Fixers handed her a mask with a tube coming out of it. The fresh air in the tube seemed to help and she made better progress up the trail. They just kept climbing. Despite her best efforts Lina began to stumble and slow their progress. Now, two of the Fixers began helping her, one on either side, supporting her weight with straps. When they finally stopped, one of the Fixers began working on a box by what appeared to be a door. The door started to open and the cold air flooded into their chamber. There was just blackness on the other side and cold. Tesla took her hand and guided her through the door and pointed up. When she looked up she saw a sky full of tiny lights. She knew these were the stars but the immensity of the sky was overwhelming.
Tesla let her gaze for just a few moments before leading her a short way in the darkness to the airplane. One of the Fixers used a small flashlight to help her climb aboard the rear seat and Tesla climbed into the front seat. Tesla was busy testing switches and looking at gauges, but Lina just looked at the sky. Suddenly the lights behind them went out, when a generator that supplied the outside monitors malfunctioned. Before the backup system was activated Tesla applied full throttle to the small airplane. They started lurching forward bouncing off rocks and then, suddenly, they were in the air. Tesla did his best to control the airplane but it was gyrating wildly in the sky. It was more than Lina could take and she became airsick. They continued flying downhill with the tires occasionally bouncing off a rock.
Gradually Tesla got the hang of the controls and by the time the sun began to rise they were approaching the long valley. He never rose more than a hundred feet above the ground but was now comfortable in making gentle turns. Lina was not comfortable and began screaming whenever the turn was more than a few degrees. Other than the sound of the wind and some propeller noise there was no sound with the electric motor. She asked Tesla, "How do you stop this thing?"
Tesla shrugged his shoulders like Floyd did and put his hands up in the air. This caused the airplane to begin turning sharply to the right and Tesla grabbed the stick again. Lina said, "You had better concentrate on where you are going."
Suddenly, Tesla began bouncing up and down in his seat which again caused the airplane to gyrate. He was pointing ahead and for a moment Lina could not tell what the excitement was about. Then she saw the sun reflecting off of the cube. She asked maybe a bit loudly if that was where Floyd was. Tesla could hardly contain himself. Unfortunately bouncing in your seat and flying an airplane are not particularly compatible and the airplane started descending towards the rocky plain. Tesla got control just before they were about to crash but not before Lina had resumed screaming. They started to make wide circles around the cube but since the airplane was almost silent there was no response from the cube.
Floyd awoke with the worst hangover of his life from breathing the acrid air. Sunlight was streaming through the slightly open door and Floyd pushed the door fully open. He was greeted by the sight of what appeared to be a J3 Cub painted in desert camouflage. He was slow moving in his bulky space suit but worked his way out the door and began waving. When Tesla saw Floyd he began bouncing in his seat and the airplane began gyrating again. Lina was screaming partly out of fear and partly out of joy.
Tesla settled down and cut the power to the motor. The airplane began descending and he concentrated hard on keeping it level. Floyd began yelling for all he was worth to keep the nose up but it was only at the last moment that Tesla pulled back on the stick. They bounced several times but finally came to a stop. Tesla started turning off switches while bouncing in his seat. Lina just sat there stunned by the experience of flying. It was only when Floyd started helping her out of the airplane that the reality sank in and she began crying with real tears. She clung to Floyd's neck for all she was worth and her tail was held high over her head. In his bulky space suit all Floyd could do was stand there. He noticed that Lina was shivering and said, "Let's go inside the cube. It will be a little warmer." He reached over and put his hand on Tesla's shoulder and a small furry hand responded.
Floyd led the way back to the cube mostly carrying Lina. She was too emotionally spent to talk and just needed to be held. Floyd partially closed the door and took off his space suit and only with insistence could he get Lina to put it on. While she was warming up Floyd took out the small piece of paper and handed it to Tesla. Seeing the two small drawings got Tesla excited and he began jumping up and down. Floyd asked him, "Can you activate just the environmental controls?"
Tesla began taking tools out of the various pockets in his overalls and in just a few minutes the lights came back on as well as the air supply. Floyd pulled the door almost shut to allow the temperature to build which allowed Lina to crawl out of the spacesuit. He asked Tesla, "Can those of the Sanctuary monitor us?"
Tesla shook his head and looked like he was trying to say no as he pointed to the cable that Floyd had cut. Floyd went on to explain, "We need to return to my ship but I don’t want those of the Sanctuary to know. Do you think your airplane could carry the three of us?"
Tesla took out a stub of a pencil and began working with figures in his miniature handwriting. He handed Floyd the paper and it took a b
it of time to realize that Tesla had been doing a weight and balance calculation. If Floyd sat in the front and Lina held Tesla in her lap in the back, they would stay within the operating limits. Floyd asked, "Does it have enough power to handle the load?"
At this Tesla imitated Floyd by shrugging his shoulders and holding his hands up. Floyd decided he would need to test fly the airplane but this caused Lina to droop her tail. She said nothing but obviously was not happy with the thought of Floyd or anyone else flying the airplane. When everyone had warmed up they walked out to the airplane. There was no way Floyd was going to fit wearing his spacesuit. Tesla helped him into the airplane. Even with all of the seat cushions removed, Floyd's head was touching the roof. Tesla pointed to the switches in the order they needed to be activated for the electrical system to function. Floyd climbed out of the airplane and did a pre-flight inspection checking the control surfaces. The energy gauge showed he had 1/4 power left. Floyd climbed back in and looked for a seat belt which did not exist. He gave Lina and Tesla the thumbs up and advanced the power. The airplane began rolling forward and after a few bounces was in the air.
Floyd let the airplane climb slowly to several hundred feet as he explored the flight characteristics. It handled well enough, except for the strong tendency to roll to the right if he let go of the stick. When he was happy with the feel of the airplane he circled overhead and began his landing approach. By gradually reducing power and holding the nose up, he touched down and was stopped in just a few feet. Tesla came running up and Floyd gave him the thumbs up before shutting down the electrical system and climbing out of the airplane. He told Tesla, "You built a good airplane but it needs to have the rigging tweaked so it does not roll to the right so much." Floyd could have sworn that Tesla was smiling. Floyd then asked, "Is there any way to recharge the electrical system from the cube?"
Tesla was nodding his head and using hand gestures to explain how it could be done. Floyd interrupted him saying, "Why don't you taxi the airplane over to the cube and work on the recharging. I need to do some planning with Lina." Tesla replaced all of the seat cushions and climbed aboard looking the part of a serious pilot. Floyd took Lina's hand and began walking slowly back to the cube. He said, "I am glad the Fixers rescued you."
She squeezed his hand in reply. She was quiet for a bit before asking, "How do the Fixers know how to do all of these different things?"
"It would seem that the genetic modifications The People have instituted have resulted in extremely intelligent beings, especially their ability in engineering."
Lina asked, "If they are so intelligent why are they just servants?"
Floyd thought for a few minutes before responding, "I expect cultural experience is a major factor as is their inability to speak." He added, "They do seem to be highly intuitive, almost telepathic."
Lina thought about the clinic episode during her rescue but was not sure if she should tell Floyd. Her sagging tail was enough of a sign that Floyd knew something was bothering her and he pressed the issue. She told him what had happened but Floyd had no idea for the reason. He said, "Another mystery which we can work on after we get back to the ship. We'll need to fly and I want to avoid detection so we'll need to stay low to the ground."
Lina's tail quivered as she replied, "I may scream."
Floyd laughed a loud laugh and said, "Screaming is okay, as long as you are not the pilot."
Floyd had many questions about the amount of time Lina and Tesla had traveled. If it was halfway to the ship they should need to travel an equivalent amount. Without the major altitude change and the increased weight it was going to be close. Tesla arrived at the cube before they did and already was pulling wires out of the cube and attaching them to the airplane. Floyd started to enter the cube but Tesla pulled on Floyd's jacket and shook his head in the negative. Floyd looked inside and realized the lights were off again because Tesla had stolen their power to recharge the airplane. There was nothing to do but wait for the charging to complete. Despite the growling in Floyd's stomach he saved the last of his very meager food supply. The acrid air dried his throat and the three of them shared small sips from his water bottle.
Floyd donned his spacesuit to see if he could contact Mr. Watson. Rather than using the standard radio he used the emergency channel and Morse code to send out the SOS signal. Mr. Watson replied by sending out the homing signal. The signal was off to the west and not down the valley which meant they needed to cross the small mountain range. Floyd memorized the direction of the signal as it related to the mountains and returned to the cube. He asked Lina, "How high are the mountains to the west?"
She thought for a minute before replying, "My memory is not perfect but I think they are 4,850 feet at the highest point." She added, "If I had access to my computer I could be more definite."
Floyd said that was ok it, would be close enough. He interrupted Tesla by asking, "Do you think your airplane can lift us over a 5,000-foot mountain range?"
Tesla shrugged his shoulders indicating he had no idea. Floyd asked, "How high was the mountain top you launched from?”
Lina answered by saying, "The highest mountain over the Sanctuary is 8,456 feet but I do not know if that is the mountain we were on."
Tesla was nodding his head in the affirmative and pointing to Lina. Floyd said, "If you were able to take off at that altitude with the two of you aboard we should be able to clear 5,000 feet. I would like to leave about an hour before sunset so that we arrive in the twilight."
Lina asked, "Do you know where you are going?"
"I received a directional signal from Mr. Watson, but it would be helpful if one of you wore the spacesuit and helmet for updated direction signals."
Tesla started jumping up and down and ran over and picked up the helmet. He looked like he was drowning in the helmet but his joy was obvious. Floyd began explaining how the directional sensor worked in the helmet but Tesla was already pushing the external controls making things become active in the helmet. Lina's tail was held high and twitching as she remarked, "Seems our Fixer was hoping you would let him wear the helmet. He is pretty likable."
The time came for departure and Tesla disconnected his charging system. Floyd had him return the wiring to the cube so a casual inspection might miss what they had done. The afternoon winds were dying down as they headed out to the airplane. Tesla was pretty much lost in the oversized spacesuit and needed to be carried by Floyd. Lina got in first, and then Tesla was lifted in by Floyd onto Lina's lap. Floyd then struggled aboard himself and began activating the electric power system. Without further thought he advanced the power and turned the small airplane into the dying wind. The takeoff roll was much longer with the full load but the airplane left the ground. Floyd kept the plane in ground effect gaining as much speed as he could before he let the nose rise above the horizon and begin the slow climb to 5000 ft. He took the airplane west so he would be in the radar shadow of the mountains as they fought their way to altitude. There were several valleys leading into the mountains but Floyd refused to take them fearing they might lead into box canyons.
When they had finally clawed their way to 4,500 feet Floyd could see the ridgeline and turned to an almost 90-degree angle to the ridge. Despite the decreasing winds there was still significant mountain turbulence. As promised, Lina screamed, but at least she didn't get airsick. The little airplane held together and they began the long glide down to the next valley which was filled with a shallow lake. Floyd took what he thought was the correct heading, but Tesla tapped him on the shoulder steering him more to the north. Floyd did as Tesla wanted but was not happy until he saw the dogleg in the lake. Now it looked like the valley he had landed the space ship in. He allowed the airplane to coast down, trying to save as much electricity as he could. He crossed the lake with the wheels just inches above the water, trying to minimize his radar signal. Then just like his low-altitude fighter training, he began tracking
the hills on the west side of the lake. He was never more than a few feet above the ground and Lina had many opportunities to scream.
When Floyd finally visualized his ship he flew even further west until he was on the backside of the little hill. He turned and ascended the hill from the back keeping below the crest. Floyd did not even look at the energy gauge because he was sure they were out of power. The airplane was losing speed and he had not touched the throttle. They sort of coasted towards the hill crest and Floyd held the nose up as long as he could before the airplane quit flying. The landing was a bit bouncy but not so bad considering the conditions. It was getting dark and Floyd performed the shutdown and helped Tesla out of the spacesuit. They used rocks to stabilize the airplane but had no ropes for a proper tie down. They headed up hill to the spaceship.