Eternal Horizon: The Chronicle of Vincent Saturn (Eternal Horizon: A Star Saga Book 1) (20 page)

The Dirsalian shook his head. “We’re way too heavy. They’ll be onto us. We must go into crisis mode!”

“Here we go again,” Damocles fussed. “I hate when he does that!”

“What is the crisis—” Gaia couldn’t finish her question as Spaide yanked the wheel and turned the ship downward, forcing everyone to mass up behind his chair. They headed straight down through the smoke clouds, past the traffic of other ships.

Exander managed to pull out his electronic device to locate the beacon on the
Serpent
. “Head northwest!”

The clouds swept aside, and the vast city spread out before them. Spaide straightened the ship, and everyone fell back.

“There!” Gaia pointed at a shadowy opening between two cooling towers. “But try to mingle in with the local—”

Disregarding her opinion, Spaide turned the vessel downward, and everyone piled up once again. The heavy carriage forced the ship to spiral down.

“You maniac!” Damocles roared from somewhere in the mass.

“Pull up!” Exander cried out as the buildings and the factories grew bigger.

“Not yet!” Spaide replied, fighting with the controls. The city was becoming so clear that people were distinguishable moving below them like tiny ants. Collision was surely inevitable.

“
Pull up!
” Gaia and the twins cried out together.

Spaide yanked at the helm with all his might. The vessel slowed down and stopped spinning, but the power of the gravity still forced it to plunge. At the last second, it straightened, nearly grinding on a rooftop.

“They’re still on our tail,” Gaia said. “They must have a homing device aboard this ship.”

“A homing device?” Exander pushed Vincent and Damocles aside and sat up halfway. “I thought you were supposed to thrash it!”

“Well, it slipped my mind!” Spaide replied. “I was alone, surrounded by dozens of soldiers… sorry for not
findin
’ extra time!”

“Then what the hell are we going to do?”

“Ditch this ship.”

“First, we need to create a gap between us and them,” Gaia suggested.

Spaide arched the ship under the bridge connecting the cooling towers and flew into the darkness between them.

“It’s a factory,” Exander said, looking in his device. “Our ship’s a few miles away. We’ll have to land and continue on foot.”

“On foot?” Vincent asked.

“Yes, Vincent, on foot.”

Spaide turned on the ship’s lights as they continued past the towers and into the dark factory. Rows of tar-covered buildings were erected on either side of their gloomy path with hundreds of gigantic pipes connecting them. Numerous trains ran hundreds of feet below them, carrying minerals on the maze of railroads that were built alongside canals filled with lava. A small patch of the orange sky was visible above—filled with Imperial vehicles.

Spaide proceeded down the alley, going over and under the numerous pipes, trying to cloak the ship within the haze released from some of them.

“They’ll be unto us,” Gaia said. “The homing beacon is coming from this vicinity.”

Spaide turned to face her. “Stop
panickin
’, we—”

“Turn in here!” Exander interrupted, pointing to a small alley on their left.

Spaide turned the ship, scraping the left wing on one of the pipes.

“Damn it, baldie, can’t you—” Damocles began complaining right before a ball of green energy exploded against the nearby wall.

“They spotted us!” Gaia shouted.

“You think?” Spaide grunted.

Another blast burst beside.

“I got it!” Spaide assured.

“They must be pretty desperate!”

Several more discharges barraged their ship.

“We can’t sustain anymore fire!” Exander screamed out. “Land!”

“There’s still some juice left in this baby,” Spaide replied.

“Are you mad? The power’s draining!”

“We’ll convey it into offense.”

“Offense? The very second our shield is down—”

“We’ve lost the rudder!” Gaia intervened.

“Hit the red button!” Spaide yelled out to her as he accelerated the vessel to full speed, racing down without a fin.

Gaia leaned over and hit the button as instructed. The ship released a blast, blowing up a part of the structure some hundred feet ahead.

“Are you
insane
, woman?” Spaide exclaimed, barely avoiding the explosion. “The red button in the co-pilot controls back there! I could’ve hit this one myself!”

“Speak clearly, then, you moron!” Gaia smashed the switch. An energy sphere exerted from the back of the ship, suspending itself in midair.

Spaide resumed the remaining power to the shields. “Come on, you son of a…” he muttered as an explosion rumbled through the alley— the enemy fell for the trap.

The ignition caused several of the pursuing ships to skid off, thus exploding as well.

“
Now!
” Exander shouted. “Now, Spaide! There isn’t anyone else!”

“Well, it’s hard to turn without a rudder!”

Exander pointed to a round opening within a building. “There!”

Spaide roughly turned the ship down into the gap and started taking consecutive turns, burying them deeper and deeper into the factory.

Exander looked at his tracker. “We’re about a mile away. Now land this ship before you kill us!”

“Hold on!” Spaide began lowering and thumping on the brakes.

“I hate it when—” Damocles started as the companions were once again tossed to the back.

Spaide tugged at the wheel. “
Stop—you—piece—of—junk!
” The ship began scraping against the rough terrain of the factory, hurling everyone.

“
Spaide!
” Damocles roared as he smashed his head against the roof. The ship levitated for a mere second, but then skidded on the ground again.

“I know what I’m doin’, damn it!” Spaide turned around and shouted at his pestering comrades.

“
Spaide!
”

“
What?
”

“
Lava pit ahead!
”

“Oh!” Spaide yanked the helm to the left. The vessel began to slide sideways until eventually stopping several feet away from the trench. Spaide took a deep breath, then looked back and said, “You see what happens when you distract me?”

Damocles sighed. “I can never get used to this.”

Spaide pulled a lever, and the back hatchway opened up, forcing the companions to tumble out onto the ground. He then opened the cockpit and leapt out. The contaminated air of the planet filled their lungs at once, forcing them to cough.

“Hurry!” Exander jumped up to his feet. He darted his gaze left and right. “Damocles, get Duell and the swords and let’s go.
Run!
”

“But Vincent can carry—” Damocles began.

“I don’t want to hear that nonsense!” Exander retorted and took off with Spaide and Gaia.

Damocles threw his master over his shoulder, grabbed the swords, and staggered after his brother up the ramp that led out of the factory.

Confused at the blonde Xenian’s reaction, yet unwilling to start another fight, Vincent quickly followed.

The ceiling soared to such heights that it was completely engulfed in darkness, the only sources of light of that subterranean factory being the lava pits and the floating lanterns, which were a class of robots. The workers were appalled, looking at them with large luminous eyes. They were humanoid aliens, the size of small children, with a rock-strewn textured orange skin. Their faces were motionless and had an infantile smile. The decadence of their race left them nothing but servitude, and occurrences such as an Imperial fighter vessel crashing in their workplace didn’t happen very often in their sad lives.

“We’re going to have to cut through the street,” Exander said, monitoring his device and disregarding the creatures or the machines.

They spanned several hundred yards without incident. The crashed ship was still visible in the distance, releasing fumes. Surprisingly, it wasn’t swarming with the Imperials yet.

Exander turned left into another passage. “Here.” The path was a long case of stairs leading up to the surface with landings every fifty or so yards.

As they began ascending, two soldiers came running out of one of the doors at the landings, and almost bumped into Exander, who—buried deep in his navigator—wasn’t paying any attention.

There was a pause as the startled soldiers looked at each other and at the Xenian.

Before Exander pulled out his sword, Gaia threw a small disk that flew like a bullet, striking both of the soldiers in the head and coming back to her wrist-guard before they collapsed.

“No need for bloodshed,” she said, pulling down the sleeve of her uniform over the deadly device.

“Now, that’s a woman, huh?” Damocles said, passing by his surprised brother.

“Charming,” Exander murmured.

Spaide and Exander then proceeded to carry the unconscious soldiers inside the factory, discarded their weapons, and shut the door.

“Try to be stealthy once we reach the street,” Exander warned everyone as he looked around and once again took up the lead.

“Stealthy?” Spaide fussed. “The entire spaceport’s probably on the lookout for a blonde Xenian!”

The street was already in full view as the alarm resonated throughout the facility. The diminutive workers began to run down the stairs in horror, almost knocking the companions down.

“Damn,” Exander cursed and picked up his pace. There was an open gate on the next landing where half a dozen troops ransacked a room full of equipment. “Don’t look at them,” Exander cautioned the group and began walking calmly.

The soldiers had a group of the worker creatures on the ground, jamming rifles into their backs and demanding information. One of the soldiers, a young Xenian man without a helmet, stood at the entrance, bewildered, but horrified, for he was the only one who saw the outlandish party pass before his eyes. He opened his mouth and his hands began to shake.

“Freeze…” he muttered, raising his weapon.

Damocles stared the soldier coldly in the eye as Exander and Spaide blasted three of the others. Sensing their unavoidable end, the remaining two dashed past the group. Supporting herself on Vincent’s shoulder, Gaia spiraled and kicked one in the head. The soldier fell down, unconscious. The other guard dropped his rifle and—raising his arms—ran down the stairway five steps at a time.

“
No!
” Exander pushed away Spaide’s revolver. He then kicked up a small crate that lay in the landing, and while it was in midair, kicked it again, sending the box after the fugitive. The crate smashed against the soldier’s head more than two hundred feet away.

Spaide scoffed. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“No need for bloodshed,” Exander said, mocking Gaia. He then turned to the captive workers. “Go.”

The creatures got up and ran away.

“Well?” Damocles said to the Xenian soldier who practically collapsed from anxiety as his comrades fell down within seconds. He continued to stand there, wavering.

“Are you going to shoot me?” the big guy demanded.

The Xenian docilely dropped his weapon and stepped back, raising his arms.

“Let’s move.” Exander continued, ignoring the soldier.

They finally reached the street.

“ATTENTION ALL CRAFT,” the announcement passed through the intercoms, “REMAIN DOCKED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN DRASTIC ACTION.”

“Blend in,” Exander warned as he snatched a hooded jacket from one of the vendors, “and conceal your weapons.”

“I’ll try,” the big guy grunted, holding his unconscious master over his shoulder and carrying three swords. “What about Vincent?”

“He’s the least of our problems. I think we’re the only non-military Xenians on this planet.”

Cruisers in the shape of a winged van floated over the street, hosting countless soldiers that scouted the crowd below.

Their heads down, the party made their way through the busy boulevard.

“There.” Exander pointed at a building ahead, turning off his navigation device. Part of their docked ship was visible glistening on the roof.

They shoved the pedestrians aside, turned into an alley alongside the building, and neared the side entrance. Exander and Damocles hurried ahead, followed by Gaia and Spaide. Vincent came last, looking over his shoulder. But just as he was about to enter the staircase, an array of blasts hit the open door over his head, forcing him to duck. He raised his rifle and began exchanging fire with the squad of troops that followed them.

“Come on, you fool!” Spaide grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him inside.

“Why is everyone stretching out my collar?” Vincent fussed as they began ascending. “It’s the only shirt I’ve got!”

“They’re going to surround the building,” Exander said.

“They’ll have soldiers on the roof before we get there,” Spaide added.