Bloodlines

Bloodlines

Chapter 4: Racing the Wind



I didn’t get back to sleep that night; I had too much running through my mind to relax enough. Seeing Charlotte again had shaken me more than I’d been willing to admit at first. There were definitely some unresolved issues and feelings between us, and seeing her again had brought them back to the surface.



My physical attraction to Charlotte was still there, but it was missing the spark that had been there when we first met. Our relationship had always been very physical, right from the start. Charlotte was a very sensual woman, and being around her wasn’t easy.



But, like I’d told her, I was in love with Ren. It was Ren who now had that spark whenever I thought of her. And while I would always feel something for Charlotte, I could never forgive her for everything she’d done in the service of the Conspiracy.



I looked at the clock; it was a little after five am, station time, and there was no way I’d be getting anything approaching rest, so I decided to have a shower then take a walk, maybe try and clear my head a little.



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I was in one of the observation bays when Hundredaire found me a little after seven: I was looking out into space, Mars hidden by the bulk of Phobos. The view was unlike anything I’d ever seen; with the sun much smaller than on Earth or Luna, the stars were that much brighter. The constellations where all but identical,



“Mr Drake, sir.” Hundredaire walked over to me, “I have some good news: the meteorologists are predicting a brake in the storm. It’s not big, and it won’t last forever, but it is big enough to try and get a ship down.”



“I’ll take the Wells.” I headed for the door.



“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m afraid that your ship isn’t manoeuvrable enough to make the necessary approach. It won’t be easy, and it isn’t without risks...”



“If it can get me down sooner rather than later, and you’ve got a pilot who’s willing to try, I’ll take it.”



“As you wish, sir.” Hundredaire nodded, “You should pack; we don’t have long.”



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The atmospheric shuttle was small and cramped, a world apart from the spacious Wells: four padded seats and a small space for luggage were crammed in between the heat shield and the powerful engines. A craft this size lacked artificial gravity and inertial dampeners; the trip to the surface would be old fashioned, seat-of-your-pants flying.



“You lucky people!” a heavily accented voice proclaimed as I was strapping myself into my seat, “What a lovely day to fly.”



“Thank you, Judith.” Hundredaire looked round, “Nathan Drake, Judith Kowalski; our pilot.”



“Charmed, I’m sure.” Kowalski nodded as she stepped past me and slid into the pilot’s seat. I looked her over; her skin was dark, hinting at an African-American heritage, while her hair was dyed blue and cut short.



“Chicago?” I asked.



“Close;” Kowalski smiled, “Aurora.”



“Can’t say I’ve ever been there.”



“Not many people can, so don’t beat yourself up over it.” Kowalski flipped a switch and the airlock swung shut and locked with a reassuring click. There was a faint hissing sound as the cabin over-pressurised to check for leaks.



“Are you going to take us down nice and slow?” Hundredaire asked, “I still remember the last time I was on one of your flights.”



“Now where’s the fun in nice and slow?” Kowalski smiled as the shuttle bay doors opened to the vacuum of space. The docking clamps disengaged with a thud, and Kowalski turned back to her controls, slipping a hands-free radio headset on, “Control, this is Shuttle-419; requesting permission to depart.”



“Rodger, Shuttle-419: the sky is clear.” A voice answered, “Try and get them down in one piece this time...”



“Rodger control, this is Shuttle-419.” Kowalski cut the other person off before they could continue, “Exiting shuttle bay, now.”



There was no sound as the thrusters fired, lifting the shuttle away from Ares Station. Gravity left us as we passed out of the stations field, and Kowalski slowly rotated round so we were facing Mars. The planet looked huge, filling the entire sky. The northern ice cap was visible, but most of the surface was hidden by the still growing dust storm.



Kowalski, all business, started to work the controls, setting us on an approach vector that would bring us in on a small hole in the storm. The idea was to dip down as the hole passed over Port Lowell. It was the aerospace equivalent of threading a needle, but it was the only chance I had to reach the colony before the storm died down.



I felt myself being pushed into the back of my seat as the main engine fired, accelerating us towards the planet and its relatively thin atmosphere. That said; it would still be like driving into a brick wall if Kowalski was out by just a few degrees. I pushed such thoughts to the back of my mind: I had to trust her abilities.



Mars grew bigger and bigger in the view port as we got closer and closer, soon blotting out the stars. The shuttle started to shake a little as we entered the planets outermost atmosphere.



“Hold on to something!” Kowalski warned a moment before she spun the shuttle through 180-degrees, pointing the main engine at the planet below. The shaking grew in intensity as the main engine fired, attempting to counter act some of our momentum as we plunged deeper and deeper into the atmosphere. I was again pushed into my seat as the g-forces stared to climb.



A glowing halo of plasma was starting to form around the shuttle: our angle of decent would have been suicidal on Earth, but Mars’ thinner atmosphere allowed for a quicker, more direct entry vector. The shuttle started to shake violently as we reached the upper level of the storm. The air, although thin, was blowing at several hundred miles an hour, and seemed to want to claw us out of the sky.



“Express elevator to hell,” Kowalski laughed as her hands danced over the controls, making minute adjustments, “going down!”



Hundredaire’s eyes where closed, his fingers gripping the arms of his seat so tightly his knuckles where white. I could hear him muttering something under his breath; it could have been a pray, but it was drowned out by the noise filling the cabin for me to make out any words.



Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, the inferno surrounding the shuttle died down as we passed through the upper atmosphere and into the gap in the storm.



“Hope neither of you guys had a big breakfast!” Kowalski flipped the shuttle back round so we were once again pointing nose down. She gripped a large lever with both hands and pulled it down as hard as she could.



It stuck half way.



“Oh Fuck!” she exclaimed, “Guys, I’m going to need a little help with this!”



I hit the quick release on my harness and pulled myself forward, letting my powers take my weight so I didn’t have to fight the g-forces that would otherwise have pinned me to my seat. Taking a firm hold of the leaver, I pulled it down as carefully as I could, not wanting to break it.



There was aloud crack, and I thought for a moment that I’d broken the leaver, but then I saw the main display panel light up as the wings deployed on either side of the shuttle. The wings looked immensely oversized for the small shuttle, but Mars’ thin atmosphere required that a huge lifting surface to function properly.



“Rock and Roll!” Kowalski smiled as she pulled back on the controls, “Now THIS is what I call flying!”



I pulled myself back to my seat without saying a word as the shuttle started to bank sharply, swinging round to face a deep canyon. Alarms started to sound as the storm began to gain on us, threatening to swat us out of the sky any second.



Kowalski dived into the canyon, trading altitude for speed as she fired up the atmospheric engines, pushing them as hard as she could in a desperate attempt to stay ahead of the storm. The walls of the canyon shot past in a blur, seeming almost close enough to reach out and touch.



“Port Lowell, this is Shuttle-419 on final approach.” Kowalski called out as she pulled back on the controls, lifting the shuttle out of the canyon at the last possible moment and lifting it up above the plateau that the colony was built on, “I hope you guys are ready for us!”



“Landing bay one is open, Shuttle-419.” The ground controller answered, “But make it quick: we can’t keep it open for much longer with that storm bearing down on us!”



“Like falling off a log.” Kowalski pulled back on the controls, raising the nose until we stalled, the massive wings folded back with a snap. The shuttle dropped like a stone, aimed directly at the open landing bay. Then, with only second to spare, she fired the main drive, brings us down for a hard but survivable landing. “Touchdown; and the crowd goes wild!”



“You’re crazy.” Hundredaire shook his head, speaking for the first time since we left Ares Station.



“There is a fine line between genius and insanity.” I nodded as I undid my harness and orientated myself to the new down, “And you know what they say; and landing you can walk away from.”



The massive clamshell doors covering the landing bay slid into place, blocking out the storm. Massive pumps started to re-pressurise the bay as Kowalski powered the shuttle down. She turned to look at me, “Welcome to Mars.”



To Be Continued...