Star stuff, p.18
Star Stuff, page 18
With a scream, Jensen dropped the photo to the floor, daring not defile it any further with his impurity.
With the photo gone, Jensen found himself staring at the most monstrous, disgusting, impure creature he had ever seen.
The beast sat across the desk from him, clutching a cane, dressed in a wrinkly shirt.
It's Dr. Sullivan, Jensen realized. And he was hideous. The old man's face was a network of wrinkles, pores, blemishes, an oily patch of filth. His hair was a ragged mat, revealing bits of dry scalp. Next to the being Jensen had seen—that angel, that goddess—the old scientist seemed no better than an ape, primordial, grunting.
"Dr. Jensen!" the ape said. "Dr. Jensen, are you all right? Can you hear me?"
All right? Jensen laughed bitterly. How dared this ape speak to him? How dared humans, these beings barely more evolved than worms, dare learn to speak, dare gaze at the wonder of the stars?
We're not ready! Jensen wanted to scream. We're not evolved! We're apes! We're nothing but apes, filthy, sweaty, disgusting, reeking, leaking, spitting, foul. Impure. Impure.
Jensen struggled to his feet and stumbled toward the back of the room. When he leaned against the window, he caught sight of his reflection.
He looked at his face, a face he had once thought handsome—what a fool he had been!
Look at yourself! Look! Look at the creature you are!
Thinning, graying hair. A leathery face, his skin nothing but pores and wrinkles hiding the pus and rot beneath. His nose hiding hairs. His eyes bloodshot. His teeth yellow. How had he—he, a creature so base—ever dared to gaze upon the angel? How had he dared to lay eyes on something so perfect, so pure?
We're nothing but animals, he realized, trembling, sobbing. We're nothing but sacks of meat, hairy, sweaty, hiding ourselves underneath clothes, cosmetics, our own vanity. We're so ugly.
"Dr. Jensen!" Sullivan cried, shaking him with those hairy old hands. "Dr. Jensen, can you hear me?"
Jensen spun around, gazed once more at the white-haired ape, and then collapsed to the floor. He curled up and covered his eyes, never wanting to stare at another human, never able to look upon this impure world again.
"So ugly …" he whispered, tasting his tears. "So ugly."
* * * * *
Dr. Sullivan stood above the trembling, weeping man on the floor.
Another victim. Sullivan's hands shook. Another lost soul.
Sullivan grabbed his coat off the wall. He narrowed his eyes to slits and tossed the coat onto the floor, hiding the photo that lay there. He then turned back to Dr. Jensen and knelt with creaking knees.
"Dr. Jensen! Dr. Jensen, can you hear me?" He touched the doctor's shoulder, and the man yelped and cowered. "Dr. Jensen!" Sullivan's voice dropped to a whisper. "What did you see?"
The psychiatrist would not reply, only lie curled up, catatonic. Shell shocked. Just like the rest of them. Just like Eliana and the others. Just like Sullivan's dearest friends, all those he had doomed to madness.
"What have I done?" Sullivan whispered.
He turned toward the window. He stared outside at his life's work: satellite dishes the size of football fields, buildings housing the world's brightest minds, and a clear, vast sky above . . . a sky Sullivan had always sought to understand, to explore, to scour for life, for a sign that mankind was not alone.
"We found that life," he whispered. "And we must never find it again."
He would cancel the exploration program today. He would shut down all communications with the rover, delete all its software and files, erase all records that it had ever existed, that the cursed planet had ever been found.
"No one will ever see the photo again." His voice shook. "I will never hurt anyone again."
Sullivan pulled his lighter from his pocket. He screwed his eyes shut, knelt, and rummaged under his coat until he found the photograph. He straightened, eyes still shut, and lit his lighter. With trembling hands, he brought fire and paper together.
* * *
Most of the stories in this anthology are (I hope) cerebral. But sometimes I like to write camp too. Cyborg dinosaurs, anyone? This story is set in the Earthrise universe, which contains dozens of novels. Here is a little adventure with two Earthrise characters.
* * *
THE FIREBUG AND THE PHARAOH
Mairead "Firebug" McQueen loved three things: a good romp in bed, an ice-cold beer, and killing aliens.
Today she was hoping for all three.
She leaned back in her Firebird's cockpit, kicked off her boots, and slapped her bare feet onto the dashboard. She tossed back her red hair, lit a cigar, and took a puff.
"All right, lads," Mairead said, speaking into her comm. "We do this quick and easy. We'll be in and out before they know what hit 'em." She glanced out the cockpit at the starfighter beside her. "Sort of how you bang a lass, Pharaoh."
Ramses "Pharaoh" al Masri, the pilot flying nearby, flipped her off. Mairead gave him a wink.
She shoved down the throttle, and her Firebird blazed forth.
"Try to keep up, lads." She blew a smoke ring, charging through space. "Last one there does our laundry."
Ramses stormed forward at her side, his starfighter just barely keeping up. She could practically hear him cringe through the comm.
"I'm not touching your unmentionables," he said.
Mairead snorted. "Unmentionables? What the muck are you, the Queen of England?"
"You know I'm descended of Egypt's great pharaohs," Ramses said. "Show some respect."
She rolled her eyes. "I'll show you my freckled arse if you beat me to the planet."
The other Firebirds raced close behind them. They were fifteen starfighters, an entire squad, all under Mairead's command. She was only twenty-three. She was the youngest pilot here. But she was also the best damn pilot the Heirs of Earth had.
And she never let anyone forget it.
Even now, as she charged to battle, Mairead gave a showy barrel roll. Her starfighter's twin engines left a double helix of fire.
Mairead loved serving on large starships like the ISS Jerusalem, cavernous frigates one could get lost in. She loved fighting on planets, the sun baking her hair, the ground firm beneath her feet. But she loved flying her Firebird. This small starfighter, just large enough for one pilot—this was true freedom.
The fleet's hulking warships were far behind her now. Only a handful of Firebirds flew here. Around Mairead spread the galaxy in all its splendor. Countless stars. A great spiral arm that spilled across the distance. Nothing but open space and adventure.
And somewhere out there, beyond the darkness, too far to see, Earth waited.
At least, that's what the legends said. Mairead wasn't sure she believed Earth existed. Oh, she had said her vows like everyone else. When she had joined the Heirs of Earth, she had professed her belief in Earth, had sworn to bring humanity home. But it seemed laughable. An actual homeworld for humanity?
There were thousands of alien civilizations in this galaxy. They all had planets of their own. All but humans.
For thousands of years, we wandered the darkness, Mairead thought. Hiding. Hunted. Dying. A species without a home.
So no, maybe Earth did not truly exist. Maybe, as many claimed, humans had always been homeless, doomed to forever wander the galaxy, fleeing the hunters.
But Mairead was no animal of prey. She would not be hunted.
I am the huntress, she thought.
And there ahead she saw it. Their destination.
From here, it was only a green dot, soon growing into a sphere. The jungle world of Saropia.
"If the galaxy has an arsehole, it's this planet," Mairead muttered.
"Language!" Ramses said.
She scoffed. "Sorry, Mother."
The fifteen Firebirds flew closer.
Saropia grew larger, soon filling half their field of vision. A rainforest covered the equatorial regions, fading to grasslands, deserts, and finally hinterlands and frozen poles. It was a nice world, as far as they went. Most worlds were lifeless, airless chunks of rock. Saropia was lush with life. That was its blessing—but also its curse.
Pretty much every plant and animal on the planet would kill you.
"Why the hell did humans ever bother settling here?" Mairead muttered.
"They didn't settle here," Ramses said softly. "They're hiding here."
"Mucked up place to hide, if you ask me," Mairead said. "They say there are mosquitos the size of horses, venomous trees with claws on their branches, and Ra damn dinosaurs. Dinosaurs, Pharaoh! Giant reptiles who'll bite off your tadger if you pull it out to piss."
"Language!" Ramses said again. "But yes, you're right. Nobody in their right mind would settle Saropia. Which is why, I presume, the human colonists chose it. The Peacekeepers Corps, the Skra-Shen Empire, or anyone else who hunts us would have to be mad to visit. Of course humans would hide here."
"Lovely idea," Mairead muttered. "At least until the dinos start chomping their wee tadgers, and we're called in to save 'em." She sighed. "No matter. I've always wanted to kick a dino up the arse. Good day for it."
They flew onward toward the planet. The call had come in only yesterday. Only a few words, sent into the darkness.
Only fifty of us remain. We are human. We are hunted. Help us, Heirs of Earth!
And so the Heirs of Earth were coming to help.
Whenever humans were in danger—the Heirs of Earth would be there.
We are a homeless species, Mairead thought. Endangered. Scattered across a thousand worlds. Aliens hunt us everywhere. But we are not powerless. We have the Heirs of Earth.
The fifteen starfighters plunged into the planet's atmosphere, ionizing the air. They dived down like flaming comets, moving faster than sound. The rich, yellow sky spread around them, filled with golden haze and blankets of silver clouds. They slowed down, then dived through the clouds, emerging into curtains of rain. The wet sheets swayed and shimmered around them. Jungles spread below, covering the land, parting only for a snaking river. It felt like flying through an oil painting, still wet and blending and changing with every brush stroke.
Freedom, Mairead thought. Beauty.
She wondered what Earth looked like—assuming it was real. She had never seen Earth, of course. No human had in two thousand years. But she had heard tales. They said Earth's sky was blue, her forests green, her fields golden. The description sounded drab to Mairead. She imagined that in real life, Earth would have a million shades like this planet, but less like a dramatic oil painting. More like a watercolor painting, gentle and beautiful.
Maybe Earth is real, Mairead thought. Maybe someday I'll fly in that sky too. Maybe someday I'll fly not to battle but to—
Dark shapes rose from the jungle ahead, tearing her from her thoughts.
Mairead leaned forward, staring.
"What the hell?" She squinted. "Are those enemy ships or..."
Ramses, flying beside her, inhaled sharply. "Dinos!"
Mairead's eyes widened. "Bloody hell. The size of them!"
The beasts came flying toward the starfighters, twenty or more. Yes, these were living creatures, their wings massive. Giant, flying reptiles. They were not true dinosaurs, of course. They were aliens. But the nickname served them well. The animals were primitive, prodigious, and pissed off.
"They're taking battle formations," Mairead said.
Ramses snorted. "They're just animals, Firebug."
"Yeah, well, I know a damn Kummerow Gambit assault formation when I see one." Mairead sneered and switched on her cannons. "Prepare for a battle, lads!"
The flying dinosaurs were close now. Only seconds away. Each creature was easily the size of a Firebird starfighter. Their jaws thrust out, lined with teeth like swords. Their claws gleamed. Their wings stirred the rain.
Ramses cleared his throat. "Firebug, may I remind you that the Heirs of Earth forbid harming native alien lifeforms. Our mission is to save humans, not to—"
The flying dinosaurs opened their jaws and blasted out fire.
The flaming jets spun like tornados, crackling, spraying sparks.
Mairead cried out and yanked her joystick, swerving. She dodged a jet. She nearly slammed into the Firebird beside her. The others were desperate to flee too. One Firebird tried to rise, but another starfighter flew directly above.
A fiery jet washed over the Firebird.
The pilot screamed.
The cockpit melted under the blaze. The starfighter careened and plunged toward the jungle.
"Kill those scabby wallopers!" Mairead cried, pulling her triggers.
Her Firebird's Gatling guns fired. A hailstorm of bullets flew toward the flying beasts. The other Firebirds charged, releasing more volleys.
Several dinos fell, wings riddled with bullet holes. The other aliens scattered, soared, and vanished into the clouds.
The remaining Firebirds kept gliding over the forest.
"Come back, ya bastards!" Mairead shouted at the clouds. "Firebirds, chase the damn dinos. We'll kill every last—"
"Firebug!" Ramses said. "This is not our mission."
"They killed Captain de Vries!" she cried. "It's personal now. It's—"
Suddenly, from the clouds above, descended a rain of fire.
Flaming pillars slammed into two more Firebirds.
Two more pilots screamed, their starfighters shattering.
Muck! Mairead thought. The dinos were learning.
She sneered, tugged back her joystick, and soared into the clouds.
The dinos were waiting there. Ra damn. There were a hundred or more now. When they saw Mairead entering their cloudy domain, they unleashed a torrent of hellfire her way.
Mairead screamed and barrel-rolled.
She spun madly, wings like a propeller, scattering clouds. The dinosaur fire spurted around her, grazing her hull, charring one wing.
Die, you bastards.
Mairead released two missiles.
The missiles flew, screaming through the clouds, leaving fiery wakes … and missed.
They missed!
Of course they missed, Mairead thought. The missiles were heat-seeking. The dinos were coldblooded reptiles.
And they reached her Firebird.
The beasts grabbed her hull, scratched her fuselage, pecked her wings. By Ra, the animals were huge. They were larger than her starfighter. Their red eyes stared through her cockpit, and she saw intelligence.
She dipped out of the clouds. Three of the animals clung to her, weighing her down. Her hull dented. One of the beasts raised its massive jaw. It had a snout like a damn battering ram.
The dino thrust its snout forward, slamming it into her cockpit.
The transparent canopy shattered.
Mairead screamed.
The wind whipped her, billowing her red hair. Shards of plastic stung her. Her ship tumbled through clouds and rain and smoke. The dino clung to her starfighter, shrieking. Its snout reached into her shattered cockpit, each tooth like a katana.
One of those teeth scraped Mairead's arm, and blood spurted.
Her starfighter plunged downward, careening, tumbling toward the forest.
The beast opened its jaws wide, screeching so loudly Mairead screamed in agony.
She drew a pistol from her belt.
"Eat lead, hooch."
She fired on automatic, emptying a magazine into its open jaws.
Its brains splattered across her dashboard. Its body slumped off her prow and tumbled down.
Mairead was near the ground now, far below the other Firebirds. Two dinos were still gripping her fuselage, shoving her toward the forest.
Mairead struggled not to pass out. She could barely breathe. The G-force was pounding her. Wind shrieked through the shattered canopy, whipping her face with rain, each drop like a hornet's sting. With a shaky hand, she reached toward her bloody dashboard. She flipped a red switch.
Her engines roared on full afterburner. Searing, white-hot fire burst out from her exhaust.
The two dinos screamed and released her Firebird.
Mairead wanted to grab her helmet and oxygen tank. She had no time. She spun around, faced the two burnt dinos, and opened fire.
Her missiles slammed into them at point-blank range.
The missiles exploded as she soared.
The dinos splattered her starfighter with a million chunks of gooey meat.
Mairead grabbed her helmet, put it on, and inhaled deeply. She flew higher and found the rest of her squadron battling the last few dinos.
She rejoined the fight, sneering.
She flew with furious speed, bullets flying, missiles blasting, slaying the beasts. She was Captain Mairead McQueen. She was the best damn pilot humanity had. And she proved it in this alien sky.
Finally the last dinos turned to flee.
This time they did not come back.
Mairead sent a missile after them, taking out one of the cowards. The others squawked and vanished around a mountain.
"Yeah, you better run, you scabby bastards!" she said.
The dinos had taken out five of her Firebirds. Five of her friends. A third of her squadron.
A squadron we need to fight the damn scorpions who hunt us across the galaxy, she thought. The humans on this planet better be worth it.
"Come on," Mairead said into her comm, shoving down the rising horror. "Let's find these humans and get the hell out of here."
The rest of the fleet kept flying. Ramses was still here. That was good. Mairead would never admit it, but she was relieved. She liked Pharaoh. Even if he sometimes beat her at cards.
They flew several times faster than sound. The forests and rivers streamed beneath them. Finally they saw it ahead—the valley the Mayday had come from. The words from the distress call returned to her.
Only fifty of us remain. We are human. We are hunted. Help us, Heirs of Earth!
Mairead shuddered.
In the valley below, she saw signs of civilization. A collapsed barn. Trampled fields. Ravaged gardens and fallen huts. A town had been here.
A human town.
With the photo gone, Jensen found himself staring at the most monstrous, disgusting, impure creature he had ever seen.
The beast sat across the desk from him, clutching a cane, dressed in a wrinkly shirt.
It's Dr. Sullivan, Jensen realized. And he was hideous. The old man's face was a network of wrinkles, pores, blemishes, an oily patch of filth. His hair was a ragged mat, revealing bits of dry scalp. Next to the being Jensen had seen—that angel, that goddess—the old scientist seemed no better than an ape, primordial, grunting.
"Dr. Jensen!" the ape said. "Dr. Jensen, are you all right? Can you hear me?"
All right? Jensen laughed bitterly. How dared this ape speak to him? How dared humans, these beings barely more evolved than worms, dare learn to speak, dare gaze at the wonder of the stars?
We're not ready! Jensen wanted to scream. We're not evolved! We're apes! We're nothing but apes, filthy, sweaty, disgusting, reeking, leaking, spitting, foul. Impure. Impure.
Jensen struggled to his feet and stumbled toward the back of the room. When he leaned against the window, he caught sight of his reflection.
He looked at his face, a face he had once thought handsome—what a fool he had been!
Look at yourself! Look! Look at the creature you are!
Thinning, graying hair. A leathery face, his skin nothing but pores and wrinkles hiding the pus and rot beneath. His nose hiding hairs. His eyes bloodshot. His teeth yellow. How had he—he, a creature so base—ever dared to gaze upon the angel? How had he dared to lay eyes on something so perfect, so pure?
We're nothing but animals, he realized, trembling, sobbing. We're nothing but sacks of meat, hairy, sweaty, hiding ourselves underneath clothes, cosmetics, our own vanity. We're so ugly.
"Dr. Jensen!" Sullivan cried, shaking him with those hairy old hands. "Dr. Jensen, can you hear me?"
Jensen spun around, gazed once more at the white-haired ape, and then collapsed to the floor. He curled up and covered his eyes, never wanting to stare at another human, never able to look upon this impure world again.
"So ugly …" he whispered, tasting his tears. "So ugly."
* * * * *
Dr. Sullivan stood above the trembling, weeping man on the floor.
Another victim. Sullivan's hands shook. Another lost soul.
Sullivan grabbed his coat off the wall. He narrowed his eyes to slits and tossed the coat onto the floor, hiding the photo that lay there. He then turned back to Dr. Jensen and knelt with creaking knees.
"Dr. Jensen! Dr. Jensen, can you hear me?" He touched the doctor's shoulder, and the man yelped and cowered. "Dr. Jensen!" Sullivan's voice dropped to a whisper. "What did you see?"
The psychiatrist would not reply, only lie curled up, catatonic. Shell shocked. Just like the rest of them. Just like Eliana and the others. Just like Sullivan's dearest friends, all those he had doomed to madness.
"What have I done?" Sullivan whispered.
He turned toward the window. He stared outside at his life's work: satellite dishes the size of football fields, buildings housing the world's brightest minds, and a clear, vast sky above . . . a sky Sullivan had always sought to understand, to explore, to scour for life, for a sign that mankind was not alone.
"We found that life," he whispered. "And we must never find it again."
He would cancel the exploration program today. He would shut down all communications with the rover, delete all its software and files, erase all records that it had ever existed, that the cursed planet had ever been found.
"No one will ever see the photo again." His voice shook. "I will never hurt anyone again."
Sullivan pulled his lighter from his pocket. He screwed his eyes shut, knelt, and rummaged under his coat until he found the photograph. He straightened, eyes still shut, and lit his lighter. With trembling hands, he brought fire and paper together.
* * *
Most of the stories in this anthology are (I hope) cerebral. But sometimes I like to write camp too. Cyborg dinosaurs, anyone? This story is set in the Earthrise universe, which contains dozens of novels. Here is a little adventure with two Earthrise characters.
* * *
THE FIREBUG AND THE PHARAOH
Mairead "Firebug" McQueen loved three things: a good romp in bed, an ice-cold beer, and killing aliens.
Today she was hoping for all three.
She leaned back in her Firebird's cockpit, kicked off her boots, and slapped her bare feet onto the dashboard. She tossed back her red hair, lit a cigar, and took a puff.
"All right, lads," Mairead said, speaking into her comm. "We do this quick and easy. We'll be in and out before they know what hit 'em." She glanced out the cockpit at the starfighter beside her. "Sort of how you bang a lass, Pharaoh."
Ramses "Pharaoh" al Masri, the pilot flying nearby, flipped her off. Mairead gave him a wink.
She shoved down the throttle, and her Firebird blazed forth.
"Try to keep up, lads." She blew a smoke ring, charging through space. "Last one there does our laundry."
Ramses stormed forward at her side, his starfighter just barely keeping up. She could practically hear him cringe through the comm.
"I'm not touching your unmentionables," he said.
Mairead snorted. "Unmentionables? What the muck are you, the Queen of England?"
"You know I'm descended of Egypt's great pharaohs," Ramses said. "Show some respect."
She rolled her eyes. "I'll show you my freckled arse if you beat me to the planet."
The other Firebirds raced close behind them. They were fifteen starfighters, an entire squad, all under Mairead's command. She was only twenty-three. She was the youngest pilot here. But she was also the best damn pilot the Heirs of Earth had.
And she never let anyone forget it.
Even now, as she charged to battle, Mairead gave a showy barrel roll. Her starfighter's twin engines left a double helix of fire.
Mairead loved serving on large starships like the ISS Jerusalem, cavernous frigates one could get lost in. She loved fighting on planets, the sun baking her hair, the ground firm beneath her feet. But she loved flying her Firebird. This small starfighter, just large enough for one pilot—this was true freedom.
The fleet's hulking warships were far behind her now. Only a handful of Firebirds flew here. Around Mairead spread the galaxy in all its splendor. Countless stars. A great spiral arm that spilled across the distance. Nothing but open space and adventure.
And somewhere out there, beyond the darkness, too far to see, Earth waited.
At least, that's what the legends said. Mairead wasn't sure she believed Earth existed. Oh, she had said her vows like everyone else. When she had joined the Heirs of Earth, she had professed her belief in Earth, had sworn to bring humanity home. But it seemed laughable. An actual homeworld for humanity?
There were thousands of alien civilizations in this galaxy. They all had planets of their own. All but humans.
For thousands of years, we wandered the darkness, Mairead thought. Hiding. Hunted. Dying. A species without a home.
So no, maybe Earth did not truly exist. Maybe, as many claimed, humans had always been homeless, doomed to forever wander the galaxy, fleeing the hunters.
But Mairead was no animal of prey. She would not be hunted.
I am the huntress, she thought.
And there ahead she saw it. Their destination.
From here, it was only a green dot, soon growing into a sphere. The jungle world of Saropia.
"If the galaxy has an arsehole, it's this planet," Mairead muttered.
"Language!" Ramses said.
She scoffed. "Sorry, Mother."
The fifteen Firebirds flew closer.
Saropia grew larger, soon filling half their field of vision. A rainforest covered the equatorial regions, fading to grasslands, deserts, and finally hinterlands and frozen poles. It was a nice world, as far as they went. Most worlds were lifeless, airless chunks of rock. Saropia was lush with life. That was its blessing—but also its curse.
Pretty much every plant and animal on the planet would kill you.
"Why the hell did humans ever bother settling here?" Mairead muttered.
"They didn't settle here," Ramses said softly. "They're hiding here."
"Mucked up place to hide, if you ask me," Mairead said. "They say there are mosquitos the size of horses, venomous trees with claws on their branches, and Ra damn dinosaurs. Dinosaurs, Pharaoh! Giant reptiles who'll bite off your tadger if you pull it out to piss."
"Language!" Ramses said again. "But yes, you're right. Nobody in their right mind would settle Saropia. Which is why, I presume, the human colonists chose it. The Peacekeepers Corps, the Skra-Shen Empire, or anyone else who hunts us would have to be mad to visit. Of course humans would hide here."
"Lovely idea," Mairead muttered. "At least until the dinos start chomping their wee tadgers, and we're called in to save 'em." She sighed. "No matter. I've always wanted to kick a dino up the arse. Good day for it."
They flew onward toward the planet. The call had come in only yesterday. Only a few words, sent into the darkness.
Only fifty of us remain. We are human. We are hunted. Help us, Heirs of Earth!
And so the Heirs of Earth were coming to help.
Whenever humans were in danger—the Heirs of Earth would be there.
We are a homeless species, Mairead thought. Endangered. Scattered across a thousand worlds. Aliens hunt us everywhere. But we are not powerless. We have the Heirs of Earth.
The fifteen starfighters plunged into the planet's atmosphere, ionizing the air. They dived down like flaming comets, moving faster than sound. The rich, yellow sky spread around them, filled with golden haze and blankets of silver clouds. They slowed down, then dived through the clouds, emerging into curtains of rain. The wet sheets swayed and shimmered around them. Jungles spread below, covering the land, parting only for a snaking river. It felt like flying through an oil painting, still wet and blending and changing with every brush stroke.
Freedom, Mairead thought. Beauty.
She wondered what Earth looked like—assuming it was real. She had never seen Earth, of course. No human had in two thousand years. But she had heard tales. They said Earth's sky was blue, her forests green, her fields golden. The description sounded drab to Mairead. She imagined that in real life, Earth would have a million shades like this planet, but less like a dramatic oil painting. More like a watercolor painting, gentle and beautiful.
Maybe Earth is real, Mairead thought. Maybe someday I'll fly in that sky too. Maybe someday I'll fly not to battle but to—
Dark shapes rose from the jungle ahead, tearing her from her thoughts.
Mairead leaned forward, staring.
"What the hell?" She squinted. "Are those enemy ships or..."
Ramses, flying beside her, inhaled sharply. "Dinos!"
Mairead's eyes widened. "Bloody hell. The size of them!"
The beasts came flying toward the starfighters, twenty or more. Yes, these were living creatures, their wings massive. Giant, flying reptiles. They were not true dinosaurs, of course. They were aliens. But the nickname served them well. The animals were primitive, prodigious, and pissed off.
"They're taking battle formations," Mairead said.
Ramses snorted. "They're just animals, Firebug."
"Yeah, well, I know a damn Kummerow Gambit assault formation when I see one." Mairead sneered and switched on her cannons. "Prepare for a battle, lads!"
The flying dinosaurs were close now. Only seconds away. Each creature was easily the size of a Firebird starfighter. Their jaws thrust out, lined with teeth like swords. Their claws gleamed. Their wings stirred the rain.
Ramses cleared his throat. "Firebug, may I remind you that the Heirs of Earth forbid harming native alien lifeforms. Our mission is to save humans, not to—"
The flying dinosaurs opened their jaws and blasted out fire.
The flaming jets spun like tornados, crackling, spraying sparks.
Mairead cried out and yanked her joystick, swerving. She dodged a jet. She nearly slammed into the Firebird beside her. The others were desperate to flee too. One Firebird tried to rise, but another starfighter flew directly above.
A fiery jet washed over the Firebird.
The pilot screamed.
The cockpit melted under the blaze. The starfighter careened and plunged toward the jungle.
"Kill those scabby wallopers!" Mairead cried, pulling her triggers.
Her Firebird's Gatling guns fired. A hailstorm of bullets flew toward the flying beasts. The other Firebirds charged, releasing more volleys.
Several dinos fell, wings riddled with bullet holes. The other aliens scattered, soared, and vanished into the clouds.
The remaining Firebirds kept gliding over the forest.
"Come back, ya bastards!" Mairead shouted at the clouds. "Firebirds, chase the damn dinos. We'll kill every last—"
"Firebug!" Ramses said. "This is not our mission."
"They killed Captain de Vries!" she cried. "It's personal now. It's—"
Suddenly, from the clouds above, descended a rain of fire.
Flaming pillars slammed into two more Firebirds.
Two more pilots screamed, their starfighters shattering.
Muck! Mairead thought. The dinos were learning.
She sneered, tugged back her joystick, and soared into the clouds.
The dinos were waiting there. Ra damn. There were a hundred or more now. When they saw Mairead entering their cloudy domain, they unleashed a torrent of hellfire her way.
Mairead screamed and barrel-rolled.
She spun madly, wings like a propeller, scattering clouds. The dinosaur fire spurted around her, grazing her hull, charring one wing.
Die, you bastards.
Mairead released two missiles.
The missiles flew, screaming through the clouds, leaving fiery wakes … and missed.
They missed!
Of course they missed, Mairead thought. The missiles were heat-seeking. The dinos were coldblooded reptiles.
And they reached her Firebird.
The beasts grabbed her hull, scratched her fuselage, pecked her wings. By Ra, the animals were huge. They were larger than her starfighter. Their red eyes stared through her cockpit, and she saw intelligence.
She dipped out of the clouds. Three of the animals clung to her, weighing her down. Her hull dented. One of the beasts raised its massive jaw. It had a snout like a damn battering ram.
The dino thrust its snout forward, slamming it into her cockpit.
The transparent canopy shattered.
Mairead screamed.
The wind whipped her, billowing her red hair. Shards of plastic stung her. Her ship tumbled through clouds and rain and smoke. The dino clung to her starfighter, shrieking. Its snout reached into her shattered cockpit, each tooth like a katana.
One of those teeth scraped Mairead's arm, and blood spurted.
Her starfighter plunged downward, careening, tumbling toward the forest.
The beast opened its jaws wide, screeching so loudly Mairead screamed in agony.
She drew a pistol from her belt.
"Eat lead, hooch."
She fired on automatic, emptying a magazine into its open jaws.
Its brains splattered across her dashboard. Its body slumped off her prow and tumbled down.
Mairead was near the ground now, far below the other Firebirds. Two dinos were still gripping her fuselage, shoving her toward the forest.
Mairead struggled not to pass out. She could barely breathe. The G-force was pounding her. Wind shrieked through the shattered canopy, whipping her face with rain, each drop like a hornet's sting. With a shaky hand, she reached toward her bloody dashboard. She flipped a red switch.
Her engines roared on full afterburner. Searing, white-hot fire burst out from her exhaust.
The two dinos screamed and released her Firebird.
Mairead wanted to grab her helmet and oxygen tank. She had no time. She spun around, faced the two burnt dinos, and opened fire.
Her missiles slammed into them at point-blank range.
The missiles exploded as she soared.
The dinos splattered her starfighter with a million chunks of gooey meat.
Mairead grabbed her helmet, put it on, and inhaled deeply. She flew higher and found the rest of her squadron battling the last few dinos.
She rejoined the fight, sneering.
She flew with furious speed, bullets flying, missiles blasting, slaying the beasts. She was Captain Mairead McQueen. She was the best damn pilot humanity had. And she proved it in this alien sky.
Finally the last dinos turned to flee.
This time they did not come back.
Mairead sent a missile after them, taking out one of the cowards. The others squawked and vanished around a mountain.
"Yeah, you better run, you scabby bastards!" she said.
The dinos had taken out five of her Firebirds. Five of her friends. A third of her squadron.
A squadron we need to fight the damn scorpions who hunt us across the galaxy, she thought. The humans on this planet better be worth it.
"Come on," Mairead said into her comm, shoving down the rising horror. "Let's find these humans and get the hell out of here."
The rest of the fleet kept flying. Ramses was still here. That was good. Mairead would never admit it, but she was relieved. She liked Pharaoh. Even if he sometimes beat her at cards.
They flew several times faster than sound. The forests and rivers streamed beneath them. Finally they saw it ahead—the valley the Mayday had come from. The words from the distress call returned to her.
Only fifty of us remain. We are human. We are hunted. Help us, Heirs of Earth!
Mairead shuddered.
In the valley below, she saw signs of civilization. A collapsed barn. Trampled fields. Ravaged gardens and fallen huts. A town had been here.
A human town.
