Fall of Icarus

Keryn keyed her microphone. “Talon Three, can you confirm?”

“Roger,” Cerise replied. “Talon One is in pursuit.”

“Any other movement?” Keryn asked, her eyes never leaving the Uligart.

“Negative, it is still a ghost town.”

“Roger that. Talon One, stay in pursuit. We’ll corner the target in the middle of the street, where he has the least chance of running.”

Keryn turned off her microphone and sneered at the Uligart. “I guess we won’t need your services after all. And you can take all your advice and shove it!”

Turning away, Keryn opened the front door to the store and she and Adam stepped out into the glaring Pteraxis sun.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

The Cair Thewlis fell through the sky like a comet, hurtling toward Earth’s surface. Their escape from the Terran defensive fleet had bought them enough time to enter the atmosphere over one of the planet’s many oceans.

Yen careened his head in an attempt to look at the world below as Pelasi angled the ship in a steep dive, but the world below was obscured. The innocuous clouds that Yen had seen from orbit had turned dark before his eyes. They boiled with an inner anger, punctuated by sharp flashes of lightning arcing from one swollen cloud to another. Thunder crashed loudly, jarring the ship as they grew closer to the storm clouds. Yen frowned at the sight. Earth was gone, replaced by a swirling mass of black clouds which roared out in challenge, daring the Cair Thewlis to pass into their bellies. The landing on Earth would be difficult with nature herself seeming to rise up in protest to the Alliance invasion.

Their ship seemed infinitesimally small as it was swallowed by the storm. Slipping beneath the clouds’ surface, Yen could hear the gentle patter of rain start almost immediately, though it was hard to see anything beyond the windows of the ship. Droplets of water pelted the window before rolling toward the rear of the descending transport. The deeper they flew toward the heart of Earth, the denser the rain became until it was pouring in sheets that coated the front viewports.

Yen tried to block out the storm brewing outside the ship and, instead, focused on the storm brewing within him. The storm clouds were indicative of their entire mission. Innocent mechanisms, like the warp technology, became deathtraps when placed in the hands of the Alliance. Yen had lost so much during the conflicts, beginning with his time in covert operations and continuing as he took his position aboard the Revolution. It seemed that every fiber of the universe itself rallied against him and now that he had finally reached Earth, even the planet itself staged a violent protest. Sneering at the dark clouds around him, Yen knew that the planet would have to rupture and vaporize him where he sat before he would stop. He had the opportunity to lead the Alliance to the greatest victory ever recorded. More importantly, Yen was quickly becoming the figurehead who would be ushering in a new era of peace. Soon, Yen would be king among the Alliance. No, he corrected himself, he would be a God!

A brilliant flash of lightning wrenched Yen from his musings. He blinked away the spots of light that danced in his vision. The lightning strike had passed dangerously close to the ship and Yen was suddenly reminded of how much the Cair Thewlis was acting like a giant lightning rod, passing through the heart of a storm.

“Is that lightning going to be a problem?” Yen asked as he turned toward Warrant Pelasi.

The Uligart looked strained. His eyes darted back and forth between the controls and the radar, since Pelasi was flying completely on sensors as they passed through the blinding storm. “Gods, I hope not,” he whispered.

“Anything I can do?”

Pelasi shook his head. “Not unless you can part the clouds and give me a tunnel to fly through. We’re pretty much running blind right now. I’ve got some sensor telemetry, but the ionized air is bouncing back a lot of false signals. I can’t tell if we’re one mile or a hundred above the surface. I’m just hoping I can figure it out before we hit the water.”

Yen shivered at the thought of crashing into one of Earth’s oceans. As much as he felt helpless, Pelasi had touched on something that Yen might just be able to help with. Shrugging, Yen turned to his Uligart pilot. “I can’t help with the sensors, but I might be able to do something about the weather.”

Closing his eyes, Yen began to concentrate. The air around him shimmered, causing the walls of the cockpit to appear as though they were malleable; the walls danced in the flickering mirage. Blue light emanated from his body and suffused the dancing waves of psychic energy. Ahead of the Cair Thewlis, the dark clouds ignited in blue flame, the wisps of the clouds burning away like fuses leading to a powder keg. The entire storm cloud began to unravel faster and faster until, through the darkness, they could see the dark, rolling ocean below.

Dropping below the bottom ceiling of the clouds, the Cair Thewlis was engulfed in a torrential downpour. Sheets of heavy rain washed over the ship as it began leveling out just above the churning ocean waves. Swollen by the sudden storm, the ocean swells grazed the bottom of the transport as it flew above the frothing waters. White crests sprayed the hull before dissolving into steam on the surface of the ship still heated from its entry through the atmosphere.

Once the ship was running parallel to the ocean surface and well on its way toward the Terran mainland, Pelasi pressed on the throttle. Plasma infused flames leapt from the back of the ship’s engine, cutting a channel through the waves behind it as the superheated exhaust evaporated the ocean swells. As it hurtled toward the shore, sea mists erupted from around the Cair Thewlis.

Satisfied that Pelasi could handle the approach, Yen unbuckled from the copilot’s chair and opened the hatch leading into the crew compartment. Throughout the compartment, boxes that had become unhooked during the warp were strewn around the open area between the seated team. Though knocked around, the team still seemed in high spirits, something Yen hoped they maintained as they finally touched down on Earth.

“Alright, gentlemen,” Yen began as the stern faces turned toward him. “We’re through the worst of it and are on our way to the capital. We’re estimating a short five to ten minute flight until we reach the near shore and only a couple more minutes until we touch down on ground. Make sure you have everything you’re going to need to for this mission on hand. Once we touch down, we’re going to hit the ground running. There won’t be any time to sort through your gear when bullets are flying over your head.”

Yen took a step into the room and reached up, using an overhead metal beam for support. “Get your heads on straight. Those of you who are too distracted or afraid probably won’t be coming back alive. That’s not cruel, that’s honest.”

Pausing, Yen caught Buren’s angry look from the corner of his eye. Though he didn’t justify his anger by even sparing the Uligart a glance in his direction, Yen felt infuriated that Buren would still judge him for what happened with the Seques. In the near future, he and Buren would have to reevaluate their relationship.

“Check your weapons and ammo. Cross level if you’re short on any supplies. We’ll be reaching their radar range…”

Before Yen could finish his sentence, a roaring explosion rocked the Cair Thewlis. Yen was tossed from his feet, his hand slipping from the metal bar he was using for support. Collapsing to the ground, Yen wound up unceremoniously intermingled amidst a pile of assault packs. Growling, he tossed the bags aside and climbed to his feet. No sooner had he spun on the doorway leading to the cockpit than a second explosion rocked the ship, dropping him back down into the packs.

Staggering forward, using the walls for support, Yen opened the door and stepped into the forward cabin. With the open viewports, he could now hear even more distant explosions, as though the entire stormy sky was filled with exploding ordinance.

“What the hell is going on?” Yen yelled, as he slid into the copilot’s chair.

Warrant Pelasi’s arms were taunt as he struggled to maintain control of the ship. “I don’t know, sir. They just started opening up on us!”

Yen grimaced as the ship was rocked by another explosion. The right side of the window was filled with angry