The Soldiers of Halla

Chapter 15

The Ravinian aquaneer was nearly halfway to the nearest gunboat.

We had some catching up to do. Spader stood at the motorcycle-like controls of the skimmer and opened up the double-pontoon engines. The small craft lurched forward and seemed to fly over the water. Yenza and I knelt on either side of Spader, holding on to the rails. We knew that if we so much as hit a small swell, we’d be launched.

“When’s the last time you drove one of these?” I called to my friend above the whine of the engines.

“No worries, mate,” he said while staying focused ahead. “What is it you say on First Earth? It’s like riding a bike.” He gave me a quick look back and a sly smile. “1 like riding bikes.”

I knew that. If the aquaneer was catchable, Spader would catch him. His long dark hair flew back in the wind. His almond-shaped eyes were focused dead ahead. It was good to be back together.

Yenza called to me, “Spader says the exiles are fugitives from another territory.”

Her words surprised me at first. The last time I was with Wu Yenza, she didn’t know anything about anything. But since then she had become Spader’s acolyte. She had read his journals. She was up to speed. It still felt weird, but it also felt good. We needed as many people on our side as possible.

“Are they worth risking Grallion for?” she asked.

I looked her straight in the eye. How could I answer that? I didn’t want to see Grallion sunk. That would be a catastrophe beyond imagining. But I had also seen the horror of what Earth had become. I had no doubt that the same kind of fate would hit Cloral.

“Yes” was my simple answer.

Yenza nodded. She accepted my word.

“I told them to navigate the hauler out beyond the raiders’ ships and to wait for us to join them,” she explained. “I thought we’d hide them in Panger City. If the raiders learn they’re in a hauler, they’ll hunt them down for sure.”

“Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen,” I said.

“We will,” Spader called back. “We’re almost on this woggly.”

I looked ahead to see that we were catching up to the Ravinian spy. He kept glancing back like a runner who was nearly out of gas and desperate to get to the finish line before his nearest challenger caught up. Our skimmer had much more power. We were going to get him.

“Who is he?” Spader called back to Yenza.

“Never seen him before,” she replied. “He isn’t one of my aquaneers.”

I added, “Then you won’t mind if he gets hurt.”

Both Spader and Yenza gave me a quick, surprised look.

“Bold words, mate,” Spader said. “You’ve changed a might.”

“You have no idea.”

At the rate we were closing, I figured we’d reach him with a hundred yards to spare. Spader was that good. I stood up next to Spader and yelled, “Pull up next to him, so I can jump aboard!”

Spader gave me another smile. “You really have changed.”

I shrugged. If he was surprised at my words, he was going to be totally shocked when he saw me lay into that renegade aquaneer. Unfortunately, our plans quickly changed. We were suddenly bathed in bright, blinding light from the closest gunship. They had trained high-intensity spotlights on us. It got worse. I shielded my eyes in time to see that the aquaneer had stopped his skimmer and had grabbed a long, silver water rifle. He had decided to make a stand on the water.

We weren’t ready for that.

“He’s gonna shoot!” I shouted just as the first blast erupted.

The shot hit our skimmer square in front, nailing the steering column. The force pulled the handles out of Spader’s grasp, and we spun sharply to our right. Yenza didn’t hesitate. With an impossible sense of balance that could only have come from spending years on the water, she pulled up the floor panel to grab for her own weapon. It was going to be a shoot-out.

Spader grabbed the handles back and started maneuvering evasively. I crouched down, trying to make a smaller target. While Spader spun us every which way, I caught glimpses of the aquaneer who was our quarry. His skimmer was dead in the water, his back was braced against the steering column, his rifle was up and aimed at us.

He was no longer our quarry. We were his quarry.

Boom. Boom.

I remembered the sound of those sleek, silver water guns from the last time I was on Cloral. They were no water pistols. They fired highly compressed rockets of water that could tear somebody in two. Spader kept us moving and spinning. I heard and felt the water projectiles fly by. Yenza had her rifle up and ready. She took to one knee and fired back. Her aim wasn’t great, which didn’t surprise me, considering we were randomly spinning one way and then the other. It also didn’t help that the guy was in silhouette because of the bright spotlights from the gunboat behind him.

Which also meant we were lit up like ducks in a shooting gallery.

“You still want on that skimmer?” Spader asked.

“Can you get me there?” I called back.

“I’ll take that as a challenge.” He laughed.

Unbelievable. We were in the midst of a deadly water fight and Spader was as calm as if we were playing Marco Polo.

“Need a couple of shots to his left,” Spader called calmly to Yenza.

“Done,” she called back calmly and started squeezing off a series of shots that forced the aquaneer to dive down and take cover on the right side of his skimmer. But he wasn’t done shooting. He lay flat on his stomach like a sharpshooter and took aim back at us.

“Stand by, mate,” Spader called to me. “I’ll swing around his bow.”

Spader gunned the skimmer and launched forward. The aquaneer saw what was happening and tried to swing his rifle toward us, but Yenza let loose with a volley of shots that made him duck down below the rails of his small craft. Spader was now flying on a straight line, which made it easier for Yenza to take aim.

“If he pokes his head up,” she growled without taking her eye away from the barrel of the gun, “he’s done.”

“Right,” Spader announced. “Off you go, mate.”

He swung our skimmer around the bow of the enemy. The aquaneer tried to sit up and raise his rifle, but Yenza nailed his gun with a shot of her own. His silver rifle clattered to the deck of his skimmer. I had my window. Spader barely slowed as we crossed the bow. I sprang forward, launching toward where I hoped the skimmer would be when I landed. I left our moving boat and landed with both feet on the deck of the aquaneer’s skimmer.

The guy scrambled for his rifle. There was no way he’d be able to get it up to aim and fire, but that wasn’t his plan. He used the long rifle like a bat and swung it at me, nailing my right knee. Ow. It didn’t cripple me, but it sure hurt. I lashed out with a backhand to his head. I really nailed him but the guy didn’t react.

Bad news.

It was a dado.

There were dados on Cloral. Swell.

He swung his rifle back, trying to hit my other leg. This time I was ready. I grabbed the rifle with both hands before it made contact and yanked him to his feet. I didn’t know how strong this dado was, so I wasn’t sure if I had a chance against him. I couldn’t knock him out, that much was for sure. My best hope was to throw him over the side, where Yenza could finish him off with a couple of shots.

The two of us struggled, both with two hands on the rifle. The dado was strong, but not superhuman. On the other hand, he fought dirty. He lifted his knee to nail me where it hurts. I saw it coming and pivoted to my left, catching his knee with the back of my leg. It hurt, but at least he didn’t jangle anything. What it mostly did was make me mad. I drove my right elbow back into his chest. Again the guy didn’t flinch. He drove the palm of his left hand forward, hitting me square in the chest. It threw me off my feet. Yeow. It was like he bruised my heart. I lay on my back on the deck, looking up at him as he lifted his leg to kick me in the head. I had to fight through the pain to protect myself. I caught his foot, twisted, and brought the guy down to the deck with me. I leaped onto his back like a wrestler. I wanted to roll him off the skimmer and into the water. The guy was flat on his stomach, making it impossible for me to get leverage. I snaked my arm under his, trying to get my hand up and onto the back of his neck for a half-nelson wrestling hold. As I struggled to get control, I looked up to see Yenza on the skimmer, with her rifle up and aimed… at us. I didn’t care how good of a shot she was, she could easily have hit me instead of the dado. I opened my mouth to yell at her to stop. Too late. She fired. I flung myself off the dado to protect myself.

It was the wrong move. Yenza wasn’t shooting at the dado. Behind me I heard an explosion, and one of the big spotlights from the gunship went dark. Yenza was shooting out their eyes. Of course, I didn’t know that and had let go of the dado. Oops. He was now coming at me. He launched, I spun away, but kept my arms out in front of me. I grabbed the guy by his bogus aquaneer uniform and kept him moving forward and right over the edge.

“Shoot him!” I shouted before he even hit the water.

The result was way more dramatic than I had expected. BOOM!

A shot was fired that was bigger than anything that had come from either rifle. A second later the water erupted not five feet from me. A wave hit the skimmer and nearly knocked me off my feet. What the heck was that?

“Hobey, Pendragon! Jump!” Spader shouted.

He had finally lost his cool. That meant trouble. A quick glance toward the gunboat told me why. The shot hadn’t come from a water rifle. We were in the sights of the ship’s big guns. I dove off the skimmer as one of them fired again. I was still in the air when the little skimmer exploded. I ducked under the water to protect myself as sharp pieces of destroyed skimmer flew all around me. I felt the sting as they hit me, even underwater. Then I felt somebody grab my ankle from below.

The dado was back.

He held me underwater, pulling me farther down. Did dados need to breathe air? Could this guy stay under, holding me down until I drowned? I didn’t take any chances. I coiled my other leg and kicked down on his arm. Hard. The force made him lose his grip, and I swam for my life.

“He’s pulling me down!” I yelled as soon as my head broke the surface.

I looked about frantically, trying to sight Spader and Yenza. The sea had turned violent. Explosions kicked up everywhere. There was so much smoke I couldn’t see my friends.

“Hey!” I shouted.

No response. Had they taken off? Worse, had they been hit?

I heard one smaller pop, after which another light went out. My heart raced. Though I couldn’t see them, Yenza was still shooting. A few seconds later another pop came and another light was out. The last one. We were in the dark, but that didn’t stop the raiders from trying to blow us out of the water. They knew where we were, more or less. I didn’t know which way to swim, because I didn’t know where my friends were. I decided to tread water and let them find me…

And got pulled under again. This time the dado yanked on my Second Earth khaki’s, pulling himself up. Or me down. Whatever. He had me in a bear hug several feet below the surface. There was nothing skillful or clever about his attack. He was going to hold me down until I ran out of air. I struggled to get free, but it was no use. He held me tight from behind, with his hands locked in front of me. There was nothing I could do but drown.

I felt a short, violent lurch, as if the dado’s body had been hit by something. He instantly released his grip. I pushed myself away from him, kicked for the surface and spun around, ready for the robot to come after me again. He didn’t. He couldn’t. He no longer had a head. The thing floated there with its arms out. Dead. Or turned off. Or incapacitated. Or whatever it is that happens to a dado when the lights go out. It may have been a mechanical device, but it was still a gruesome sight.

I felt a strong arm grab the back of my sweatshirt. A second later I was lifted out of the water onto the deck of Spader’s skimmer. Spader stood over me. Yenza was next to him, holding her rifle, smiling.

I guess she was a better shot than I thought.

“He won’t be talking to the raiders anytime soon,” she confirmed.

Explosions continued to churn the water around us. Spader dropped to his knees and opened up the hatch of the skimmer. He pulled out three round air globes.

“We’ll have a better chance in the water than on the skimmer,” he said.

I hadn’t put on an air globe in a very long time, but I knew how they worked. The clear shell made a form-fit over your head. The small silver device at the top took oxygen in from the sea and allowed you to breathe. And speak. It was an amazing device. It looked as if we were going to have to rely on them to save us.

“We’ll swim back to Grallion,” he said. “Let them keep pumping shots at the skimmer. We’ll be long gone.”

We barely had time to put the globes on when the water next to the skimmer began to boil. All three of us looked in wonder at what could be causing it.

“That’s not from the guns,” I declared.

Yenza realized the truth first. “No,” she bellowed. “No! No!”

I didn’t know what she was getting all bent about, until I saw a large, clear dome break the surface of the water. If we were anywhere else in Halla, I would have been panic stricken, thinking it was some kind of sea beast. But we were on Cloral. I knew what it was.

“They shouldn’t be here!” Yenza shouted.

It was a hauler submarine. Inside the dome I saw the faces of three scared individuals. It looked to be a family. A man, a woman, and a little girl that couldn’t have been more than four years old. The man was at the controls. He waved frantically, motioning for us to get inside the sub.

The barrage of water-cannon fire stopped. There was a strange calm.

“Did they give up?” I asked.

A moment later we were again bathed in light as multiple spotlights from other gunships hit us. During the confusion two more gunships had drifted closer. We were now surrounded on three sides by raider ships, all with their lights trained on us and all with their guns locked in. They had hit the jackpot. They no longer needed information from the dado aquaneer. They had us. They had the hauler. They had the exiles. We were seconds away from being turned into liquid.

Spader leaped from the skimmer onto the body of the hauler, behind the cockpit bubble. He motioned to the people inside to dive.

“Down!” he screamed. “Down! Down!”

The pilot wasn’t sure what to do. He wasn’t an aquaneer. He probably had only learned to drive a hauler that day. He looked to Yenza. Yenza made the same move.

“Dive!” she shouted, and jumped on the back of the hauler.

I did the same. There wasn’t time to board the craft. We were about to go for a ride. Bubbles boiled up from around the vehicle as the hauler began to sink. The back of a hauler had plenty of places to grab on to, so I grabbed. Tight. No sooner did my head go below the water than I heard the sounds of cannon fire. I was nearly ripped off the hauler by the force of the multiple impacts. The vehicle twisted and spun, but continued to dive. Yenza pulled her way forward along the back of the hauler to the cockpit bubble. She banged on the glass to get the pilot’s attention and motioned for him to continue down. The water was deep around Grallion. If we got enough depth, there was no way that the water-cannon fire could reach us. I looked above to see the surface explode in a brilliant kaleidoscope of light from the ships. As we dropped farther away, the muffled explosions grew more distant. My confidence grew. We had escaped.

Yenza looked back to Spader and me. We could hear her clearly through the device on top of her air globe. “They could drop depth charges.”

Oh. We hadn’t escaped.

Yenza knocked on the hauler bubble again. The pilot turned to look, and Yenza made a motion in the direction she wanted the guy to drive.

“Uh, that’s back toward Grallion,” I announced.

“I’m hoping they’ll think we broke for open water,” she said with confidence. “If we hide below Grallion, it will be harder for them to find us with their deep scan.”

I looked to Spader and shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

The hauler was nearly on the ocean floor. We moved swiftly and silently across the sandy bottom until everything grew dark. I figured that must have been because all light from above had been blocked by the massive barge city of Grallion. We traveled a few more minutes, with Yenza scanning the surface ahead while riding on top of the bubble like a circus performer on an elephant. Finally she seemed satisfied, and motioned for the pilot to stop and rest on the bottom. With a gentle thump, the hauler nestled safely on the ocean floor.

“We can get in through the air lock,” Yenza explained.

The haulers I knew from Cloral didn’t have air locks. This hauler was larger than any I’d seen, so I figured it was a more advanced model. Yenza led us along the hull toward the stern until she came to a hatch. She turned a red wheel that was recessed below the outer skin of the submarine, pulled open the door, and floated inside. A few minutes later we saw her appear in the cockpit bubble along with the exiles. Spader instructed me on how to get in.

“The compartment inside is flooded,” he said. “Once I close the hatch on you, there’s a green wheel that will clear the chamber of water. When it’s dry, spin the release on the door inside and board. Then close the hatch, and I’ll be right after you.”

I did as I was told. Within minutes I joined Yenza in the large cargo area of the hauler. She closed the inside hatch after me, flooded the small compartment again, and Spader repeated the action.

Within ten minutes we were all safely inside the cargo bay. Yenza opened the hatch that led into the cockpit, and I got to meet the exiles.

“We had to come back,” the man said. “The idea of Grallion being attacked because of us was too much to bear.”

“You shouldn’t have,” Yenza declared.

Spader added, “But if you hadn’t, we’d all be dead, so thank you.”

The woman was nervous. She held the little girl on her lap protectively.

“Is that your daughter?” I asked.

The woman nodded. “Her name is Maggie.”

“Where was she born?” I asked.

The man and woman looked to Yenza, as if not sure of what they should reveal about themselves. I put them at ease.

“I’m from Earth,” I said. “My name is Bobby Pendragon.”

They both looked relieved to hear that. “My name is Peter,” the man said. “This is Carolyn. When were you exiled? Was it in Yankee Stadium?”

As much as I knew the origin of the exiles, it was still a shock to hear it from a different point of view.

“No, but I was there,” I answered. “I saw what happened.”

Carolyn said, “Maggie was born here, on Cloral. She never knew Earth.”

“How many more exiles are there on Cloral?” I asked. It was the most important question of all.

“Just us,” Peter answered.

“Are you sure?” I asked, trying not to sound too disappointed.

Peter and Carolyn nodded.

My heart sank. As happy as I was that these people were safe, I was hoping that there would be more. Lots more. On Third Earth there were originally twenty that arrived, including Mark. But eight had been killed. Here there were three, including the young girl, Maggie, who technically wasn’t an exile. Was it possible that the spirit of so few exiles could keep Solara alive? I doubted it. Seventy thousand people were pulled into the flume that night in Yankee Stadium. Where did they go?

“There were more of us,” Peter said. “Thirty in all. We were taken in by raiders and treated like slaves.”

“I heard the story,” I said with sympathy. “From my friend Mark Dimond.”

Both Peter and Carolyn lit up. “Mark?” the woman said with a smile. “Have you seen him?”

“I have. He’s okay.”

They looked relieved to hear that. “Did he make it back to Earth?” Carolyn asked.

I gave a simple answer. “Yes.” I didn’t want to explain the trouble he was in. Or that he was actually three thousand years ahead of their own time.

Carolyn said, “So then there’s still hope for us. We might be able to return someday.”

I didn’t say anything. Why should I ruin their dream?

Peter added, “If not for Mark, we’d all be dead. He was our leader. He took a lot of punishment that was often meant for others.”

I nodded. Mark hadn’t gone into the details of his ordeal, and I wasn’t so sure I wanted to hear them.

Peter continued, “He led the mutiny. All thirty of us got off the raider ship. We stole skimmers. Some went searching for the flume, but we stayed behind.”

“Why?” Spader asked.

Carolyn held Maggie close and gave a simple answer. “I was pregnant.”

“We’ve been hiding from the Ravinians for years,” Peter added.

Yenza jumped in, saying, “We’re going to get you to Panger City. It’s a busy place. You’ll blend in there.”

Something didn’t add up. “You said thirty of you got off the raider ship. Did others die?”

“Not that we know of,” Peter answered.

“So if thirty escaped, and you two stayed here, that means twenty-eight people went for the flume. But only twenty made it to Earth.”

The man and woman exchanged looks, as if they had something to say but weren’t sure if they should.

“You really should tell me everything,” I said.

“There was another exile,” Peter finally admitted. “He didn’t originally land here with us on Cloral. He was first sent to another territory, but he came here in search of exiles. He said there were many more where he first landed, and he wanted to bring us all together. There was a debate over whether we should go with him or try to get back to Earth. That was before we were captured by the raiders. He ended up dying in the hold of that horrible ship.”

I tried not to get too excited. If there were more exiles on another territory, maybe they had all begun to gather there before the flumes were destroyed.

“What was the name of the territory he came from?” I asked.

Carolyn answered. “If I remember right, it was called… Zadaa.”

I had the information I needed. I was on the wrong territory. I instantly shot a look to Spader. “I’m going to Zadaa.”

Spader replied, “I’m going with you.” “No!” I said quickly. “You have to keep these people safe.”

“I can do that,” Yenza offered with confidence.

“If there’s a big group of exiles on Zadaa, that’s where we should be, mate,” Spader said.

I was about to argue, but the sound of thunder stopped me. We all heard it. Maggie held her mother close, terrified.

“Thunder?” I asked.

“Cannons,” Yenza said soberly. “It sounds like they’re unloading on Grallion.”

“Hobey, would they really punish an entire habitat just because we were protecting this family?” Spader asked.

“I think they would” was my awful answer. “That’ll give you an idea of how great the importance of every last exile is.”

“Us?” Peter asked. “Why?”

“Do you want to see the Ravinians defeated?” I asked.

“It’s all I think about,” the guy answered.

“Then stay safe,” I said. “If we hope to fight back, we need each and every exile to have faith that it’s possible.”

The thundering guns grew louder.

Yenza swallowed hard. “I fear what’s happening up there.”

“Protect them,” I said to Yenza. “I can’t begin to tell you how important it is.”

“I believe you, Pendragon. They’ll be safe with me.” “Uh-oh.” Spader gasped.

He was looking toward the surface through the bubble of the hauler submarine.

Yenza gasped, “She’s breaking up.”

We all looked up to see cracks appear in the black mass that was the hull of the habitat Grallion.

“This is impossible,” Yenza cried. “Why do they have such powerful weapons?”

“It’s all about Ravinia,” I answered.

The cracks grew larger. The barge was being wrenched apart. I think the realization hit us all at the same time that the giant city was going to sink… and we were directly beneath it.

“Get us outta here!” I screamed.

Yenza jumped into the bubble, pulled Peter out of the pilot seat and took over the controls. She toggled the water-fed engines to life, grabbed the control stick, and pushed us forward without bothering to ascend from the sea floor. We dragged up a bunch of sand, but we were moving.

Carolyn gasped, “It’s coming down!”

All around us giant shadowy chunks of habitat were slowly floating toward the bottom. The pieces were of all sizes. Some were as big as houses, others looked to be a half mile across. The raiders had done it. They had destroyed a habitat. I didn’t want to know what the rest of Cloral looked like.

“I hope they evacuated in time,” Yenza said. Her voice cracked. I had never seen her show emotion of any kind. “I should have been there.”

I didn’t know how to tell her that as horrible as the loss of Grallion was, her mission to protect the exiles was about her entire world, not just one habitat. There was no way she’d understand that, so I kept my mouth closed.

“They were prepared,” Spader said with sympathy. “You saw to that. The aquaneers were ready to get everyone off.”

“This is all because of us,” Carolyn said, sobbing.

I had no idea how to comfort her. I wanted to say how her survival was critical to the future of Halla. I wanted to tell her that she had the power to topple Ravinia. But that was all so impossible to grasp, especially as the remains of a destroyed city were raining down around us.

“Watch it,” Spader calmly cautioned Yenza.

A massive piece of barge glided down in front of us. Yenza expertly guided the hauler around it. We all looked in horror to see a piece of decking with buildings still attached sink to the ocean floor. Like with New York, a city had been destroyed.

Ravinia was alive and well on Cloral.

Soon the water grew lighter as Yenza piloted the hauler safely out from beneath the sinking wreckage.

“Get them to Panger City,” I said to Yenza. “Keep them safe and wait for word.”

Yenza nodded. She didn’t try to speak. I think if she had, she would have burst out crying.

“And me?” Spader asked.

I knew the answer he wanted, so I gave it to him. “You’re coming with me.”

Spader beamed. “That’s what I like to hear, mate!” he exclaimed, clapping me on the back. “Just like old times.”

Wu Yenza wasn’t as happy about it. “But you’ve only just returned,” she said softly.

For the tough chief aquaneer, that was a huge show of emotion. I didn’t blame her. She had just witnessed the total destruction of her home. Besides that, I think she had a little “thing” for Spader. Spader leaned in and gave her a hug.

“I’m proud to call you my chief… and my acolyte. Thank you.” He didn’t say anything about coming back to Cloral again. He knew that wasn’t a guarantee. “Take care of them.”

Yenza nodded and gave him a weak smile. Spader let her go and backed into the cargo bay of the hauler.

“Be safe,” I said to the others. “Please.”

I touched the cheek of the beautiful little girl named Maggie. I hoped that the spirit held by the children of the exiles would be just as strong as their parents. I then touched Yenza’s shoulder. I didn’t know what to say, so I gave her a simple, “Good luck.”

Yenza looked at me. Her eyes were red. “We do have a chance, don’t we?”

“As long as we’re alive, we have a chance.”

She nodded. “Don’t let him get into too much trouble.”

“Spader?” I said, with mock surprise. “Does he get into trouble?”

She chuckled.

Carolyn asked, “Are you going to swim back to the flume?”

“Yeah, something like that,” I answered, and closed the hatch leading to the hauler’s cargo bay behind me.

Spader and I stood together in the empty tanker.

“Want to see a new territory?” I asked.

“Been a long time since we rode together, mate,” Spader said. “Gotta say, I’m a touch excited.”

“Then let’s go,” I said, and took one step forward on Cloral.

The second step was on the territory of Zadaa. It was time to find Loor.