James Somers - The rise of Lucin

"What are we getting on scans of the mountain?" Lucin asked.

"Not much, sir, we have a lot of interference from heavy metals," the science officer said.

If they are running through a rail car system through the mountain, then they must be expecting to go somewhere that could provide them all with a way of escape, he thought.

"Bring us around, helmsman. I want to be waiting on the other side of this mountain when they emerge."

"Yes, sir."

The Vorn warship left the main group, still attacking the city, and began its trek over and beyond Mt. Ortiss. Smoke pillared up into the sky behind them as the Guniran province fell to their onslaught.

Kale pushed the rail car's thrusters to the limit as they sped through the mountain. The rails groaned under the pressure along with the glide-wheel assemblies on the car as they strained to maintain the vehicle's integrity. The gravitational forces pulled unrelenting on the passengers, but Kale had to keep pushing hard to maintain the distance between them and the attack pods.

Something flashed off of the rock behind the headlights corona. Then the car shuddered as a laser blast sheered off one of the glide-wheel assemblies.

"We've got a pod on our tail!" Tiet said.

"This thing won't go any faster," Kale said.

The car shifted around the next sharp turn on the four point rail and metal squealed for mercy.

"What's that?" Mirah shouted.

"We've lost a rail guide! We're only anchored at three points now," Kale said as he examined the system failure warnings on the control display.

"How long will that hold us?" Merab asked from the rear seat.

"Not long enough," Tiet said. "Kale, if we don't slow down a little the other rail guides will twist off…"

"And if I slow down the pod blows us away. I could collapse the tunnel maybe, but we're traveling so fast it might hit us first or the pod might get through before it came down."

"No," Tiet said, "I want you to slow down a little and-"

"But-"

"-And then when I tell you, deploy the drag chute."

"I get it."

Kale reduced thruster power slightly and the car slowed a few miles per hour in speed. He sensed the pod gaining on them. At the same moment, Tiet yelled, "Now!" Kale triggered the release and the chute burst away. The wind speed caught the chute's billowing folds and it bloomed to its full circumference, trailing behind the car and quickly reducing its speed.

"Release it!" Tiet shouted.

The pod came upon the rail car abruptly and blasted away with its laser turrets as the billowing canopy flew back and enveloped it like a Carcarion Jellyfish. The blinded pod-pilot failed to follow the tunnel path on the next turn. The pod dragged against the tunnel wall, then burst into flame leaving a burning carcass of debris on the ground as the rail car continued on ahead.

Kale tapped the microphone, "Emil, how are you guys doing? Any pod trouble?"

"No, we've had a pretty smooth ride. We're almost to the hangar. Father will get the Equinox ready as soon as we arrive. How about you?"

"We've had some trouble-we lost a rail guide to a pod attack, but I think we're okay now. I've reduce speed to compensate. We should be there soon-don't go leaving without us."

"Always ruining my well-laid plans-copy that."

Tiet leaned forward behind his son to look at the map readout. They approached the terminal point on the rail that reached into the hangar, but their speed was still too fast.

"Ease off the power all the way, Kale."

The hydraulic brake system flashed a failure warning on the display. His father was right, they were approaching too fast. Better deploy the drag chute…oh boy.

Kale pulled the throttle all the way back to the lowest thruster setting, but the glide rate remained steady.

"We're not slowing down fast enough!"

Tiet reached over his son, pushing him into the canopy with the effort and grabbed the lever for the rear grapple. He pulled the lever and the grapple shot away from beside the thruster vent and found a purchase in the rock wall.

The tow cable threaded out fast and the cable tensioner quickly slowed its release rate to slow the vehicle. The end of the rail came fast and they slammed into it, but not as hard as they could have. Tiet pushed the damaged canopy open allowing everyone to get out.

The rail car had been smashed up pretty good, but they were still alive. Kale helped his mother. They made their way onto the platform where the Equinox was exhausting from its engine vents across the hangar bay. Other cars came through but not many. Evidently the pods had stopped the others before launch.

Kale ran on ahead to the ship. He needed something. The boarding ramp stood down for them and Tiet, Mirah and Merab made their way up into the ship. Kale ran back down past them as they entered.

"Where are you going?" Tiet shouted after him.

"They're coming! Get the ship going, I'll be back!"

Juli came running after Kale in the hallway. "Where is he going? Emil said we were leaving."

"He'll be back in time," Mirah said. "Let's get you strapped into a harness-things are about to get rough." She calmed Juli, who looked like her viral illness had still not abated. Heat radiated from her skin. She had left her in bed while they went to the meeting, but she probably wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now.

She strapped the girl into a flight chair and checked her temperature again.

"I'll be right back. You need something to bring your fever down again."

The whining sound of approaching pods flooded the busy hangar as people boarded several large transport ships. They were large enough together to accommodate nearly the entire population of the province. Not even a third of that number had made it to the hangar. The people scrambled for the transport loading ramps as the pods came through the numerous rail car tunnels. The pod fighters immediately rained down a firestorm on the transport ships and those trying to board them.

Kale ran toward the hangar's rock wall where the pods came through. He had a Barudii blade in hand. A pod veered in his direction. Laser blasts strafed the pavement on either side of him as he seized the attacker with his mind, pulling the pod down. Kale leaped up to it as it descended. He used the pod as a springboard, leaping away higher as it continued downward and slammed into the hangar floor.

Kale flipped over in a tight ball higher and higher and then unfolded to land on another pod. He used the centrifugal force of his somersault to slam his ignited blade straight down through the top of the pod cockpit. He hit the pilot square on and leaped away again as the pod dropped out from under him.

An alarm sounded all over the huge bay. The main hangar door started to retract. Open sky peered inside from beyond-freedom for the Gunirans if they could get the transports away in time. The pods blasted away at the large ships as they groaned to bring their hulking masses up from the tarmac. Other than scorch marks, the small pods did very little damage to these behemoths-flies biting at giants. But for those caught outside the fleeing vessels the pods brought the sting of death.

The Equinox waited to move out. Kale landed back on the pavement and released a few spicors at some incoming pods and then he sprinted for the boarding ramp. All but one spicor slammed into their targets and brought the pods down in flashes of debris and fire.

Kale sensed his father's urgency-they had to escape before the warships figured out where they had run to. He ran up the ramp and triggered the mechanism to raise it. When Kale got to the bridge, Grod had already activated the thrusters to raise them off of the platform. As the ship swung around, three Guniran transports made their way up and out of the underground hangar bay ahead of them.