They must not have seen it heading for them though, because when I threw the giant log as hard as I could, I put a little spin on it and hit both craft, sending them arcing away in separate directions. The craft on the right continued its long arc while the one on the left stopped in place and rotated to search for me. Both fired a rocket at the same time.
I sheathed Ebon and waited. I’d need both hands free for what was coming next. If the rockets were like the ones the Federation used to use, they wouldn’t explode until they impacted with their target. If they were like the ones we’d used more recently, they’d explode when they were close enough to get the job done.
The rocket on the right was a little closer, so I started strafing to the left, trying to get them as evenly spaced as possible. I took two small steps to my right. A moment later, I spun my body hard to the left, turning on my right foot. As I did so, I caught the small rockets in my hands, continued my spin, and threw them away as hard as I could.
Each shot toward its target at twice the speed they had been fired at me. Neither pilot had a chance to dodge. Two dull explosions told me I’d hit them both. The continued roar of their engines told me a single rocket wouldn’t be enough.
“Surrender, human!” Skald demanded over an external speaker as he circled above.
I gave the weasel a gesture I wasn’t sure would translate across the millions of light years that must have separated us less than a month ago. Maybe it didn’t, but the weasel’s reaction wasn’t completely unexpected. He turned his small craft to the town and opened fire with his small particle weapon.
It was time to open the tin cans and teach the pilots inside a lesson.
I glanced around, mentally measured the nearby trees, and selected one that looked like it would do the job. Instead of being big enough to throw, it simply needed to be tall enough to get me to the first craft. From there, I could have some fun.
I selected a tree about half the size of the last one I’d pulled from the ground and yanked it up. I watched the hovercraft creep toward the edge of the town as it set the tops of the trees on fire. I ran the entire length of the uprooted log through my hands, breaking and ripping the branches off as I did. A few seconds later, I hoisted it onto my shoulder and ran toward the danger, just as I’d been trained to do.
I’d been an athlete most of my life, though when I’d joined the Federation Marine Corps, my activities shifted from recreational to practical. But I was sure I still remembered how to do what I was going to attempt next.
I almost forgot how fast I could run and had to throw the top of the tree into the ground hard so that I wouldn’t overshoot my target. As soon as it made contact and buried itself into the soft dirt, I held on and allowed the momentum to carry me forward and up in a sweeping arc.
Once my feet left the ground, I let my legs dangle behind me and began climbing the tree with just my hands. I grabbed great handfuls of the smooth bark and sank my fingers deep into the green wood while I watched my target closing in on the town. If the vehicle had changed course, I would have had to think of something quick. But the pilot felt safe and secure in his flying fortress and kept heading straight for the town.
A second later, I reached the top of the tree and held on, waiting for the log to get vertical. When it did, I jumped, soaring through the air toward the vehicle. I was dismayed to hear screaming and shouting from the village. The other craft had reached the town and had already set a group of buildings ablaze. They looked like small warehouses, but they could have just as easily been a collection of homes.
I landed on the craft hard and began to slide. I scrabbled for anything to hold as I slid across the nearly flat and featureless surface. If I slipped too far, I might have been able to grab the edge of the craft, but that would have put me uncomfortably close to the fiery thrusters.
Instead, I drew Ebon, jammed the blade into the vehicle’s hull, and turned the edge sideways in my hand so that I wouldn’t fall. My black blade found something, dug into it, and I was jerked to a stop.
When I pulled myself to my knees, I managed to push the blade in a little further. The craft responded instantly by losing power. We were headed down, which was fine, but there was still another craft and Skald to deal with. If I could, I needed to adjust my trajectory and give the same treatment to the leader and his wingman. I pulled Ebon out a little, and power returned.
Next, I needed to find the pilot and convince him, her, or it to do something that would likely result in its own destruction. I knew it was a long-shot, but I also knew I could be very convincing when I wanted to be.
I scanned the top of the craft, looking for anything resembling a cockpit or entrance hatch. There was nothing. Either the pilot entered the machine through the bottom, which was unlikely due to all the thrusters and no way to escape in an emergency, or it had been sealed in. The thought was horrifying, but I could think of no other option. Maybe my temporary ride was a drone?
Generally, the cockpit was located along the centerline of small vessels, but it could be anywhere
