Evolution

“Believe it,” I said.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Samuel said. “Let’s get back to Odin, and see what our options are.”

Now that Makara and Samuel were on board for my crazy idea, I had no idea how we were going to pull it off. But if we could get into that town, find Anna, and escape, it would be the best thing we had done so far.

We weren’t going to leave one of our own behind without a fight.

* * *

We spent the rest of the day double timing it to Odin. We made it there by evening.

Unfortunately, by the time we made it, it was far too dark to practice. Instead, we got the parachutes out and tried to see if we could figure out how to use them.

Before we did any of that, however, we debated on whether we should tell Ashton about Anna.

“He’s going to find out as soon as the ship goes online, anyway,” Samuel said.

We stood on the bridge, waiting to turn on the transceiver.

“I can deliver the news, if you don’t want to,” I said.

I reached for the mic, but Samuel brushed my hand aside.

“I’m the leader of this crew,” Samuel said. “In the end, it was my decision.”

Samuel didn’t take long to collect his thoughts. He turned on the transceiver and began to speak.

“Skyhome…this is Odin. Do you have a copy?”

Silence. It lasted a good, long while. I began to get nervous. Ashton could probably hear us, but was in such disbelief that he couldn’t bring himself to answer.

Finally, Ashton’s voice crackled out of the speaker.

“Odin, what is your status? You should just now be in the city. What happened?”

Samuel paused before answering. “Anna’s gone.”

Ashton did not speak for a moment. “Are Makara and Alex with you?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve been over this, Samuel. In the case one of the crewmembers died…”

“She’s not dead, Ashton. There’s a chance she may be rescued.” Samuel gripped the speaker in his hand, attached by a curly cord that went to the transceiver. “I intend to take that chance.”

“Christ, what happened?”

Samuel proceeded to tell the story. I internally winced when he got to the part about the town having a wall, many guards, and our plan being to parachute ourselves in at night.

When Samuel was done, the other line was silent. It seemed that Ashton was having trouble processing all this information.

“Anna’s a good fighter, there is no doubt of that,” Ashton said. “But she isn’t worth the risk. You know that, yet you came back to Odin, knowing what my answer would be.”

I reached for the mic, but Samuel turned away. “She’s been with us from the beginning. My crew would be crippled without her.”

“You’ve never parachuted before!” Ashton said, voice rising with anger. “You intend to drop into a city under heavy guard, where you’ll most likely be seen, even if done at night, and search every building until you find her? And if you do, how do you plan on getting out? All of you will be compromised! This is a no brainer! What makes you think that you have even the remotest chance of success? Despite everything you guys have gone through, you are not invincible!”

No one answered Ashton for a long while. His cold logic was almost enough to cut through all my emotion. Almost.

I took the speaker from Samuel. This time, he did not resist.

“Ashton, we’re doing this at great risk, because it is simply something we need to do. I can’t explain it, but I know this mission will fail without Anna’s help. She’s our best fighter, and we can’t go on without her. That’s the truth, as truthful as anything you’ve just told us. Yes, it will be hard, but we will succeed. I have no doubt.”

Ashton sighed from the other end of the line. He still didn’t agree.

Samuel took back the mic, was about to say something, but then was quiet.

“Pack up, and get moving,” Ashton said. “You’re going to have to let Anna go. You have to meet with Augustus. That is your mission, Samuel. That is a direct order.”

Samuel grit his teeth, holding the mic for a moment before answering. “You can say what you want, Ashton. We’re going in.”

“Like hell you are.”

“Alex is right. Anna is family, and we don’t leave family behind.”

“Makara?” Ashton said. “Surely, you’re not caught up in this madness?”

She shrugged. “My loyalty is with Samuel.”

Ashton growled on the other end of the line. “If you all insist on being so bullheaded and stubborn, then you leave me no choice.”

We all looked at each other, eyes wide. What was he talking about?

“I didn’t want it to come to this,” Ashton said. “I’m far too old to be doing such insane things.”

“What are you talking about, Ashton?” Samuel asked.

“If you are dead set on this fool plan, then someone is going to have to teach you how to parachute without killing yourselves.”

“You’re coming down here?” Samuel asked.

“I’ll be prepping Gilgamesh tonight,” Ashton said. “I should be there by morning, your time. Try to get some rest. You’re going to have a long day tomorrow.”

With that, Ashton cut out.

Chapter 10

That next morning I awoke to the colossal sound of Gilgamesh landing right next to Odin. I rushed out of my bunk and ran outside.

The early morning sun cast the large ship in a pale, orange glow. Three angular struts, two in back and one in front, unfolded from beneath the ship as it hovered above the ground. Slowly, it set down on the earth, its thrusters spewing blue flame. The ship’s internal, fusion hum dissipated as it powered down.

Like Odin, Gilgamesh looked like a giant, primordial insect. Ashton had told me the U.S. made its spaceships angular in order to be invisible to radar. Gilgamesh had a short wingspan for atmospheric flying, through the majority of its lift came from the four thrusters mounted in back. These thrusters could be turned to provide propulsion in whatever direction Gilgamesh wanted to go — up, and down, even left and right, although it could not go directly backward, as the thrusters could not point straight ahead, toward the front of the ship.

Gilgamesh’s boarding ramp slid outward, and the blast door opened. A few seconds later, Ashton appeared, standing at the top of the ramp.

Samuel and Makara ran out to join me. We stood for a moment, watching Ashton.

Without a word, he motioned for us to come up the ramp and join him in the ship. When he turned to go back inside, we climbed the ramp and entered the ship. The blast door shut behind us.

The ship’s interior was cool, lit by fluorescent lights. The interior design was not much different from Odin, but everything was slightly larger. Two tables were built into the wall of Gilgamesh’s galley, whereas Odin only had one. Gilgamesh had been designed to carry a larger crew. The kitchen appeared to be in the same spot, connected to the galley, and to our left, a corridor led to the cabins and the clinic, and even further back, the engine and fusion generator. On our right lay another corridor. On one side lay a conference room, to which Ashton now walked. We followed him down the corridor. Opposite the conference room was the armory —