Liberty’s life was in shambles.
Even with pain killers, her arm ached almost constantly, especially at night as she lay awake beside Shawn. Her squirming and fuming often woke him, and he’d kiss her and wrap his body around her, putting her to sleep for another hour or so, until the pain woke her again.
Her work shifts were reduced to a little helping in the office, she couldn’t concentrate in her classes, and her pilot training was on hold until she could once again grip a helicopter’s cyclic control with a firm and steady hand.
Shawn’s tenderness kept her sane. Visiting Ashley in the hospital kept her distracted.
At other times she wandered the Lyceum campus, trying to figure out how she fit into the huge events swirling around her. The body guards were respectful, giving her as much freedom as possible, and staying out of sight whenever they could. Her father had promised to visit as soon as he was able, and she looked forward to telling him all her thoughts and questions, and listening to his wisdom.
After watching a flight depart for the international airport, Liberty wandered into the Pad Two hanger, dark and silent until she turned on the lights. Lyceum’s oldest helicopter perched on the floor, like a sleeping raven, facing the big door. Years ago, she knew, it had been their transport craft, but it only held six passengers, and their two newer birds each seated twenty. She would get to fly it someday, when she was comfortable in the little two-seat trainer.
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She nearly jumped out of her skin when suddenly Sister Nancy burst through the door and began doing the fastest pre-flight inspection on record.
Several people came behind, flung open the helicopter’s passenger door, and began tossing equipment bags and med kits inside.
“Emergency start in thirty seconds!” Nancy yelled as she punched the hanger door control.
Liberty stepped back out of the way, wondering what was happening, but quite sure no one had time to tell her.
Nancy hopped into the pilot’s seat, completed the start-up procedure from memory, and the twin jet engines roared to life about when she had promised.
By this time, several other Lyceum members were present, some handing additional equipment to the team in the passenger area, others connecting the towing tractor at the front of the aircraft.
Nancy hopped back out even as the tractor began pulling the aircraft outside. She looked around at all the people present, cursed, then looked at Liberty. “Chelsea, in the co-pilot’s seat! I need a pair of eyes on radar!”
Liberty swallowed but didn’t hesitate. By the time the helicopter was on the pad and the towing tractor was moving away, both Nancy and Liberty were in their seats.
While the rotor began to turn and everyone on the ground scattered to safety, Nancy taught Liberty how to use the radar console in one minute flat with a stream of verbal instructions.
Liberty’s mind raced as she touched controls and struggled to remember everything else. The device was just warming up as Nancy pulled the collective lever and the large helicopter took to the air.
Sister Rebecca stood just inside the hanger, watching with pride as more than a dozen Lyceum members, all trained in helicopter air or ground operations, worked together smoothly in the heat of an actual emergency.
Sata appeared at her side. “Anything . . . we can do to help?”
The Lyceum elder looked at the twelve-year-old mission leader from another world, considered the situation for about two more seconds, then spoke. “Someone very important to the future of our planet is on a small jet plane. An engine blew up just as they were crossing the mountains. Other
NEBADOR Book Seven: The Local Universe 198
things are falling apart — too many things. It looks like sabotage. No official rescue operation can act fast enough to make a difference. Our helicopter may get there in time, but a rescue will be tricky and dangerous. If you can help, and you are willing, please do so.”
Sata blinked once, then tapped a code into her bracelet that would bring all crew members to the Manessa Kwi as fast as their legs could carry them.
Boro was the first one into the ship after pressing the hanger door control.
He remembered that he was in command, looked at the command chair, then stopped and frowned. The emergency departure code was only used for real emergencies. Someone needed to be at the helm who knew what they were doing, and the same at engineering. He knew Ilika wasn’t involved in the emergency, as Boro had just seen their captain vacuuming carpets near the cafeteria.
Kibi flew through the hatch.
“You’re in command,” Boro asserted as he sat down at engineering.
Sata dashed in, took the navigators seat, and began looking for the radio frequency Sister Rebecca had given her.
Rini jumped in and brought his station to life.
Mati arrived last, saw that the ship needed a pilot, and provided one.
Arantiloria appeared at the steward’s station.
Kibi glanced behind her. “Thanks.”
“Ship secure, hatch closed,” the purple-haired training specialist reported.
“Take us out, Mati,” Kibi began, “while Sata tells us what we’re doing.”
Mati didn’t have to say a word. She glanced at her display, saw anti-mass drive and maneuvering thrusters ready, ion drive warming, charts from here to the mountains, and a weather map. She studied the current weather as she reached for her flight control.
“Recalibrate and wide-scan,” Sister Nancy commanded as she pushed the helicopter at full power over the first mountain ridge.
Liberty could feel beads of sweat tingling her skin as she tapped at the radar controls.
“The pilot reports they’re in the river gorge heading north,” a voice came
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over the radio. “I know that canyon, and there’s no way out except right down to the bottom where it empties out into the lowlands, and it gets pretty twisty before that point.”
“That’s where they’ll have trouble,” Nancy replied. “I’m switching to the emergency channel now.”
“Nothing on radar yet,” Liberty reported. “Who are we rescuing?”
Sister Nancy was silent for a long moment, torn between telling Liberty now, and letting her find out at a more critical time.
“Your father. And I need you calm, cool, and collected in one minute flat.”
Suddenly Liberty’s fingers were shaking too much to operate the radar, and her eyes quickly became too wet to see the screen. Please be okay, Daddy. Please, if there’s a god up there somewhere, please let my daddy be okay.
Then she remembered Shawn’s arms holding her at night, and she somehow found the courage to clench her shaking fingers and wipe her tears onto her sleeve.
“Radar contact!” Liberty nearly screamed a few moments later. “Bearing eighty-six, elevation . . . minus two.”
“Damn!” Nancy spat. “There’s no way they can get out of the canyon before the curves.” She pressed her transmit button. “This is rescue zulu three-seven-eight to aircraft in distress. What’s your status?”
The first few words were spoken in a foreign language, but the pilot quickly realized his mistake. “One engine only, oil losing. Please, where we can land?”
As Sata shared everything she knew, Mati quickly took them to four thousand meters so they could look down on the situation.
“But I have to admit,” Sata added with a wrinkled brow as she spun around and looked at Kibi, “just because Sister Rebecca thought Senator Buchanan was important, doesn’t make it our mission.”
Kibi took on a thoughtful expression. “It doesn’t even mean she’s right.
He could be . . . you know . . . just important to her, or something she believes in.”
The commander didn’t see the training specialist smile.
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After sending a weather update to all stations, Rini swiveled his chair. “Or
. . . she could be right, but that doesn’t mean saving him is the best thing to do.”
Mati frowned, touched the position-lock symbol, and leaned back. “But we don’t have enough information to know, one way or the other . . .”
Boro cleared his throat. “But someone’s right here who probably does know,” he said, turning slowly until he was looking at the steward’s station.
The rest of the crew also looked at Arantiloria.
She looked back with sparkling eyes that made them all nearly dizzy.
“Now I see why Melorania likes you guys so much, and scheduled you for advanced training so soon. You learn quickly, and your strong bonds allow you to think collectively.”
Kibi frowned slightly. “Thanks, but unless you know something we don’t, we’re gonna rescue Senator Buchanan as a favor to Lyceum, to Sister Rebecca and Liberty, even though it may not be our mission . . .”
“But it so happens,” the training specialist interrupted, “that any interference in the current life-path of Senator Buchanan would be very bad for the political development of this planet.”
All five crew members shrank into their seats with glum faces.
“But . . . this planet would be better-off if Liberty Buchanan survived this flight, which, without your help, will not be the case.”
“Now
that’s something we can sink our teeth into!” Boro asserted, turned to his console, and made sure every engine Mati might need was ready.
“Aircraft in distress, prepare for in-flight evacuation,” Sister Nancy ordered.
“I no understand.”
Nancy sighed. “Slow down, full flaps, get your rear cabin door open, and get ready to grab rescue ladders!”
“Okay.”
During the next minute, with Nancy pushing the helicopter to its limits and beyond, it finally began to catch up with the crippled jet, whose one working engine was starting to smoke. Suddenly the jet’s rear door opened and was immediately torn off by the wind.
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Just then the canyon curved sharply and both pilots were forced to bank.
“Damn!” Nancy cursed. “We’re in the curves. It’s gonna take a miracle.
Get ready back there, I may only have one shot . . .”
The rescue team in the back of the helicopter slid open their door and prepared to toss out rope ladders.
The small jet followed another curve in the canyon, but before it had leveled out, its remaining engine burst into flames.
“No!” Nancy screamed. “Five hundred feet and dropping fast. One chance. Here it comes!”
She drove the helicopter over the jet’s tail section.
Rope ladders came tumbling down.
A rocky cliff loomed directly ahead and the jet’s pilot tried desperately to bank his aircraft, but his stall alarm was already screaming and his wings wouldn’t respond.
Nancy saw the cliff and jerked back on her cyclic control. The helicopter started shaking violently and a moment later was dropping like a rock.
The last thing Liberty saw was the little jet slamming into the rock wall and bursting into flames. Then the helicopter suddenly gained several thousand feet in a heartbeat and everything went black.
“I hope they had inertia canceling,” Mati said after lifting the helicopter to a safe altitude.
Before she finished speaking, broken rotor blades and other parts came raining down from above the Manessa Kwi.
“I . . . don’t . . . think . . . so,” Boro muttered slowly.
“Let’s get whatever’s left of it back to Lyceum,” Kibi said, “and see if we saved anyone. No ion drive, low-inertia flight.”
Mati and Boro nodded. Sata quickly plotted a course that would keep them below the ridge lines as much as possible.
“You okay grappling those struts for that distance, Manessa?” Kibi asked.
“Yes.”
Kibi glanced behind her.
Arantiloria
smiled.