Neal Asher - The Engineer Reconditioned

“You got them,” said the girl. “We’re safe now.”

“I wish I could agree with you,” said Chapra, stepping up into the control cockpit. She grinned at Abaron, but saw he did not look happy. “What is it?” she asked. He was studying the radar display.

“We’re ahead of it at the moment, but there’s a craft coming after us.”

“Not missiles?”

“No.”

Chapra sat down and began using the onboard computer. “We’ll be able to get into orbit and land before it catches us. We’ll be a couple of hours ahead of it.”

“Will that help?”

“Of course it will.”

Chapra’s smile was set. She thought about infrared tracking and scanning, about the weapons that craft might have. She checked the time piece under her fingernail. They had roughly fifty hours until the Cable Hogue arrived. They just had to survive that long.

In high definition hologram Schrödinger’s Box died. It drifted in space surrounded by a swarm of smart missiles and a spreading halo of dispersing air and water crystals. Occasionally a missile or two would detach from the swarm, dart in through the laser defence to pierce the hull and detonate far inside. The long tail of the ship had broken away as had many of the external sensors and probe ports. There were gaping holes in the hull rimmed with skeletal members black over red internal fires.

“There’s a com laser in the nose section,” said Speck, his hands moving in a caress across the weapons console. A smart missile moved in close, flashing red in coms laser fire. Another went in underneath it like a pack dog going for the underbelly. It flashed and, trailed vapour, detonated above the science vessel’s skin. That area of the hologram went black for a moment, then cleared to reveal a warped and glowing area of hull. “It’s down. Couple more like that to deal with and we can send one of the General’s gunships across.”

Kellor glanced at Conard then returned his attention to the hologram. It wasn’t enough that the ship was gutted: Conard wanted no less than total annihilation, which on a ship of that size was a demolition job rather than an attack.

“There won’t be anyone alive over there,” Kellor said, just for the hell of it. “They’re away in that shuttle.”

“That will soon be remedied. I have some of my best men on it,” said Conard tersely. Kellor smiled to himself. He had met the soldier Beredec and immediately recognised a career mercenary. Conard’s best men were not the usual Confederation grunts. Conard went on, “There is no-one alive over there, but there are AIs. I want them all.” He turned to one of his aides. “Take four men over with you. Let Davis carry the CTD.”

The aide grinned nastily and turned on his heel. Kellor looked at Jurens, who pressed a thumb against his chest then tapped the knife at his belt. Kellor gave a slight nod and Jurens grinned, exposing artificially white teeth in his bearded face. He had lost his original set to an officer just like that aide. Atmosphere thundered against the ceramic undersides of the shuttle’s stubby wings and wide body. Haden was an orange and white arc cutting the screen in two. Around the edges of the screen was a red glow from the heating hull. They had managed to dump velocity with ion engine braking but were still entering atmosphere at design limits. The shuttle gravity was sluggish to compensate for this kind of treatment and they were not completely cushioned from the violence of entry into atmosphere.

“It’s going to have to be the sea,” said Chapra. “We won’t be able to get the speed down enough for a vertical landing. Take too long. I suggest we all get into full environment suits.” She did not comment on their chances of surviving in a sea of boiling water if the shuttle broke up. Perhaps it would be better not to wear a suit at all then death would be quicker.

“Can’t you use the AG units to slow us?” asked Abaron.

“A little, if I tilt them. We don’t want to end up skating across the gravity field else we’ll take as long to slow as if we’d stayed airborne.”

Abaron nodded then went back into the passenger compartment. He was gone for a little while before he returned wearing an environment suit with the visor flipped up and carrying another suit for Chapra.

“I almost forget,” he said.

“What?”

He gestured with a thumb into the passenger compartment. “She doesn’t need one.” Chapra nodded, then handed the controls over to him while she pulled on her suit. In a short time the view through the screen was of the crinkles of mountains, red flat deserts and jungles of light green vegetation. The sun was bright orange, oblate, and its corona filled half the sky with concentric bands of its refracted spectrum. The rest of the sky was a red ochre that reminded of African earth.

“Are you well-strapped in back there?” Chapra asked.

“I am,” replied the girl.

“Okay, be ready to be thrown about a bit. We’re landing on the ocean and internal gravity is unlikely to be able to compensate quickly enough. Could be bumpy.”

“I am prepared,” said the girl, which was not really a little girl sort of thing to say. The edge of the land mass came into view. An orange sea foamed against slabs of rock and wide sandy beaches. Out beyond this they lost sight of the sea as Chapra turned the shuttle to its optimum braking attitude. The constant roar increased in pitch and hot sparks of something skated across the screens.

“I’m using braking thrusters!” she shouted over the noise. The braking thrusters added to the roar and the labouring AG units, normally only used for gentle manoeuvring, made a deep thrumming sound. There was no perceptible change of velocity.

“Going in!”

The noise was terrible. They were jerked forward against their straps, flung back. Spray and volatile water foamed across the screen. Then the nose abruptly dipped and ploughed into the sea. A hand of force flung them forwards again and held them against their straps. Chapra could not get her breath. The pressure was huge, and this was with the shuttle gravity compensating, unless it was out. How was the shuttle holding together? The roar went on and on then slowly started to diminish. The pressure came off, and as it did so, Chapra turned off the AG. She looked up. Spray quickly slewed from the screen’s frictionless surface. The braking thrusters were slowly bringing them to a halt. Outside was a rolling sea. A quarter kilometre ahead of them was one of a wide scattering of jungle-covered atolls. Chapra checked the radar and shivered when she saw how many of them they had missed.

“We’ve got a couple of leaks,” said Abaron. “Automatics are dealing with them.” Chapra studied a schematic on one of the lower screens. There were more than a couple of leaks. She made some adjustments.

“I’m bringing up internal pressure to match,” she said. “What’s the mix out there?” Abaron said, “We could breathe it if it was cooled down a bit.”

“Funny man.”

“I’m a barrel of laughs. By the way, we’re sinking.”

Chapra compensated with the AG; making the shuttle light as a wooden ship so it floated and bobbed on the sea. They both peered through the screen. It was Earthlike out there, yet, only the two atmospheres of pressure kept the sea from boiling. If they stepped outside the shuttle without environment suits the heat would flay them. They might survive for a few minutes while they were being boiled alive. Chapra swallowed dryly. And they must go out there.

“That’s it,” she said, and flicked off the braking thrusters. For a moment there was quiet then she turned on external microphones and the shuttle filled with the sound of sea. Only the sea gulls were missing.