Jeffrey Carver - Eternity's End

They skidded sideways as he banked left, then right. He thumbed the com. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! We are under attack!” He glanced backward at the other flyer, just in time to see it peel off at high speed. Apparently its occupants didn’t want to be seen by witnesses.

“We’re not going to make it,” Harriet said nervously.

“Yes, we are,” Legroeder said, as they careened over the house and low over the forest again. He began a new turn, trying to coax some additional power out of the propulsion. The inductors wheezed a little, then slowly oozed back to life. He banked in a slow hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, back toward the clearing. He had just enough power to maintain control. “Good… good…” he murmured, leveling onto a straight course for the clearing. There was some crosswind. He compensated, then brought the nose up a little, and settled into a final approach. That was when he noticed the faint glitter of a forcefield over the clearing. Oh shit .

The com blared to life. “ Unidentified craft approaching McGinnis estate, identify and state your purpose! ”

He thumbed the com and rattled, “This is the flyer, Legroeder and Mahoney aboard. Mayday! We’re disabled, sinking fast, and your clearing is the only place to land.”

“ I just tracked a missile. If you’re in a fight, take it elsewhere. ”

“Mr. McGinnis, we’re falling out of the sky! We didn’t come to fight! We urgently request clearance to land!”

There was a pause that lasted forever. “ Very well, you may land. But I warn you, my defensive lasers are charged. ”

Legroeder was too busy flying to answer. Harriet pressed the switch on her side and said, “You’ll get no trouble from us. We were attacked, and we don’t know by whom. We need your help!”

“I’m shutting off the forcefield. Land to the west of the house. It’s smoother there.” The sparkle of the forcefield vanished from the air, and a man came running from the house, waving them toward the far side of the clearing.

The ground was coming up fast. Legroeder ballooned the power from the inductors, and they slowed, wobbling. They slammed, bounced, and lurched to a stop. He cut the power, and looked at Harriet. Her face was pale as she gasped, “ Damn , Legroeder—that was good flying! Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Legroeder whispered, his throat dry. He glanced out at the approaching man. “I don’t think this gent is too happy about it, though.” Legroeder popped open the door and allowed fresh air to blow across them before he released the seat restraints.

As they climbed out, the man was scanning the sky, shading his eyes with one hand. A large brown dog, some kind of retriever, had come to join him, and was standing alertly at his side.

Legroeder, too, studied the sky. He saw no sign of their attacker. Keeping a wary eye on the dog, Legroeder greeted their host—a short, stocky man with black eyebrows that set off his grim features. “Robert McGinnis?”

“Yeah. That flyer that shot at you took off toward the west.” McGinnis pointed over the treetops, where the edge of the forcefield was glittering; evidently he had switched it back on already. “Mind telling me what the hell’s going on?”

“We’re not quite sure,” Harriet said, breathing hard. “But thank you for allowing us to land.”

The retriever, ears raised, was sniffing the air around them. “That’ll do, Rufus,” McGinnis said, snapping his fingers. The dog, lifting his nose one last time, circled back to McGinnis’s side. “Well… I didn’t seem to have much choice.” McGinnis rubbed his chin. “Except to let you crash in the woods.”

“We’re grateful you didn’t,” Harriet said.

“No doubt you are. No doubt you are.” McGinnis pointed to the side of the flyer near the main inductor cowling, where a meter-long burn mark showed the lasershrap hit from the exploding missile. “I’m not overjoyed at having missiles fired over my property. Is there an explanation for this?”

Legroeder bent to inspect the damage, sobered to see just how close they had come to being blown out of the sky. “We’ll tell you what we know. But it’s not much.” He hesitated, then stuck out a hand. “I’m Renwald Legroeder, and this is Harriet Mahoney.”

“Legroeder,” McGinnis said grimly, resting his own hands on his hips. “ Rigger Legroeder?”

Legroeder let his hand drop. “You’ve heard of me?”

Harriet forced a chuckle. “You’ve been in the news, Legroeder. I’m sure even out here, Mr. McGinnis has heard of your case.”

“Well,” McGinnis said. “I don’t pay a lot of attention. But I have heard of you.” He cocked his head. “They say you were responsible for handing over a ship to Golen Space pirates.”

Legroeder felt a flash of anger, but Harriet put a calming hand on his arm. “That is what I am accused of,” he said grudgingly.

McGinnis barked a laugh. “Well, I didn’t say I believed it, did I?” He stared out into the woods for a moment. “Did you all come out here to see me? If you did, it was a risky thing to do.”

“Apparently so,” Legroeder agreed.

McGinnis turned to Harriet. “And your name was—”

“Harriet Mahoney. I’m assisting Legroeder in trying to prove his innocence.” Harriet adjusted her glasses as she returned McGinnis’s gaze. Either she had recovered quickly from the trauma of the attack, or she was hiding it well. “We undertook this… visit… because we were hoping you could help us.”

“Is that so? And what gives you that hope?”

As McGinnis cocked his head, Legroeder observed that the man’s left eye was synthetic; then he realized that a good portion of the man’s face was synthetic. Legroeder’s glance did not go unnoticed, but McGinnis said nothing.

“I apologize if we were mistaken,” Harriet said. “But your name came up in some research we were doing. You are known as a collector of historical materials on the subject of rigging—particularly materials dating back a century or so. As it happens, we are very much in need of information from that period.”

“In order to prove Rigger Legroeder’s innocence?”

“Precisely.” Harriet patted her forehead with a handkerchief. “Mr. McGinnis, do you suppose that we could step out of the sun somewhere? I’m feeling rather faint, after that close call we just had.”

McGinnis grunted, not answering. He bent to make a closer examination of the scorched side of the flyer. When he straightened up, he had a troubled look on his face. He again gazed up into the sky, as though struggling with some decision. And then, as quickly as the cloud had come over him, he relaxed. “Yes, of course. I’m being a poor host. You both must be shaken up. That was a very fine landing under the circumstances, Rigger Legroeder.”

“Thank you. Just Legroeder will be fine.”

“Legroeder, then,” said McGinnis. A smile worked at his lips. “I guess there’s someone out there who doesn’t like you much. Or maybe doesn’t like lawyers,” he added with a glance at Harriet.

Harriet’s eyes gleamed. “Did I mention that I was a lawyer?”

McGinnis looked startled. Another shadow seemed to cross his brow. “Now that you mention it, I don’t recall. I—suppose I must have seen your name in the… news, too. Let’s go inside, shall we?”

As they walked to the house, he spoke to his dog. “Stay and watch out here, Rufus.” The retriever trotted to take up a position under a tree, and stood alertly as the humans made their way across the lawn to the side door.

“If your attackers come back, my security field should keep them out,” McGinnis said, leading them into his living room. The place looked like a converted hunting lodge. The living room breathed with space; it had an open-beam ceiling and wood-paneled walls. A ceremonial sword and several sidearms were mounted on the walls, along with half a dozen holos of military spacecraft.