The Hipno Chronicles:
Ghosts of Liandris
Chapter 3:
A Revelation
2025 HOURS, DECEMBER 27, 2485 (IMPERIAL CALENDAR) \
ZETA MULRADIS SYSTEM, PLANET LIANDRIS BETA,
ABOARD HERON DROPSHIP, TEN KLICKS SOUTH OF CAMP CURRAHEE
Then it was Shane's turn.
He couldn't move his legs.
"Hurry up, loser," the boy behind him said, and gave him a shove.
Shane stumbled forward--halting only a half step from the edge. He turned and stopped himself from shoving this kid back. The kid was a wolf, a good head taller than Shane, with scruffy, black fur. He had hair that fell forward, covering his eyes and making it seem that he was missing his forehead. Shane wasn't afraid of this creep.
He turned back to face the night rushing past him. This was what he was afraid of.
Shane's legs filled with freezing concrete. The rushing wind was so loud, he couldn't hear anything else anymore, not even his own hammering heart.
He couldn't move. He was stuck on the edge. There was no way he could jump.
But now he was so scared he couldn't even turn and around and wimp out, either. If he sat down, though, and then slowly inched back...
"Go, dumbass!" The creepy kid behind him pushed. Hard.
Shane fell off the ramp and into the night. He tumbled and screamed until he couldn't breathe.
Shane saw flashes of the dimming sunset, black ground, the white caps of the mountains, and stars. He threw up.
Some confusion will be normal.
The red handle! He had to grab it. He reached up, but there was nothing there. He clawed at his shoulder until two fingers found purchase. He tugged.
There was a ripping sound, and something unraveled from his pack.
Shane jerked upright, his legs whipping after him, and his fangs snapped together from the sudden bone-jarring deceleration.
The spinning world stopped.
Gasping and blinking away his tears, Shane saw the last bit of amber light fade from the edge of the world, and the stars gently rock back and forth around him.
Overhead the wind whistled and rippled through a black canopy. Ropes connected Shane to this wing, and his hands instinctively grabbed them. As he pulled, the wind turned and angled in that direction. The sudden motion made him dizzy again, so he let go.
Shane squinted and made out shapes swimming around him: black on black like the lizards back on Archon V. Those had to be the other kids.
His face heated as he remembered how he'd chickened out at the last minute in the Heron...in front of everyone. Even that little wolf had jumped.
Shane had never wanted to be scared like that again. Maybe if he imagined that he wa already dead, then there would be nothing to be afraid of. It'd be like he'd died with his family on Archon.
He mustered this mental image--dead and nothing to fear--and to test it, he looked down. Past his dangling feet there was two-centimeter green square. After a moment, he realized it was the field where all the Herons had landed. Tiny lines snaked from the field illuminated by tiny firefly pinpoints.
"Nothing to be scared of," he whispered, trying to convince himself.
He forced himself to pull the ropes, to angle downward, and speed toward the green field.
Wind whipped through the black silk wing, and tore at Shane's face. He didn't care. He wanted down fast. Maybe if he was the first one down, he'd show everyone that he wasn't scared.
Shane saw tiny people and scorch marks where the Herons had burned the grass. And no other parachutes yet. He'd be first, and he'd land right in front of the Black Knight.
Shane hit the ground. His knees pistoned into his chest and knocked the wind out of him.
The black wing caught a breeze, jerked him back on his feet, and dragged him across the grass and dirt. He gasped for air, but he wasn't scared. He was angry that he'd look so stupid having to wrestle with this parachute.
The Eagle Wing hit the fence, and stuck there, fluttering.
Shane got up and unclipped himself from the harness. Something hot trickled down his legs. There was no way he'd been so scared he'd pissed himself. With dread, he looked. It was blood. The skin on the back of his legs was raw. He took a tentative step and fire crawled up both thighs.
He laughed. Blood or piss, what did it matter? He'd made it.
"Hey, dumbass. What's so funny?"
Shane turned and saw the kid who had pushed him. He lay on the grass, half-tangled in his harness.
Shane marched over to him, ignoring the pain in his legs.
The kid got to one knee and held out his hand to shake. "I'm Rob--"
Shane hit him square in the nose. Blood gushed from the kid's face and he reeled over.
He was going to pay for shoving him. He was the only one who knew that Shane had frozen on the edge and wimped out. He'd have to pay for that too.
Shane started pounding him with both fists. The wolf held up his arms to fend off the blows, but Shane got a few good ones in, skinning his knuckles.
Robert headbutted Shane, and he fell off. He stood, shook off his harness, then, growling, leapt onto Shane. They rolled on the grass, kicking and punching.
Shane heard a loud snap and he wasn't sure if it was his or Rob's bone breaking; he didn't care, he kept hitting and hitting until blood spilled into his eyes and he couldn't see anymore.
Large hands grabbed Shane and pulled him off. Still swinging, Shane connected with one of the Navy men, bruising the bone over his eye.
The man dropped him.
"Stand down!" barked a voice with godlike authority.
Shane blinked and wiped blood from his eyes. The silver furred wolf who had given the order to jump stood between him and the other kid.
The Navy man he'd hit pressed one hand to his swollen eye and said, "Chief, these two were going to kill each other."
"I see that," the old wolf said. He nodded approvingly at Shane, and then turned to Robert.
Robert ignored the old wolf and took a step toward Shane with his hands raised.
"I said STAND DOWN!"
Robert dropped his hands and staggered back as if he'd been struck.
"I think you're right, Sergeant," the older Navy wolf said. "They really might have killed each other." He smiled, but it wasn't a smile. It was more like he was baring his teeth. "Very good. That kind of fight left in them after their first jump? A night jump? My God, I only hope the rest of them are like this."
0000 HOURS. JULY 19, 2533 (CIVILIAN CALENDAR) /
NARROW-BAND POINT-TO-POINT TRANSMISSION: ORIGIN
UNKNOWN; TERMINATION: SECTION ONE, OMEGA SECURE
ANTENNA ARRAY, KEIDRIAN EMPIRE LEGION HQ TAU CETI SYSTEM,
TAU CETI V
///AUTOMATED REROUTE LEGION SHIP REG-96667
ABY/// FILE ACCESS GRANTED///WORM-PROTOCOL FIREWALL
ENABLED/FILE ERASED///
PLNB TRANSMISSION XX087R-XX
ENCRYPTION CODE: GAMMA
PUBLIC KEY: N/A
FROM: CODE NAME COALMINER
TO: CODE NAME SURGEON
SUBJECT: PROGRESS REPORT/OPERATION HYPODERMIC CLASSIFICATION: EYES ONLY, CODE-WORD *RESTRICTED* TOP SECRET (SECTION ONE X-RAY DIRECTIVE)
/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/
/START FILE/
INSTITUTIONAL RECORDS ALTERED AS PER INSTRUCTIONS.
INITIAL CONTACT WITH BASE AI MADE. HELPFUL, BUT I DON'T TRUST IT.
PACKAGES DELIVERED. SELECTION PROCESS STARTED. OPERATION UNDERWAY AND ON SCHEDULE.
CANDIDATES EXHIBIT MARKED AGGRESSION WELL OUT OF BOUNDS OF THE SMITH-KENSINGTON INDEX. AS MUCH WORK TRAINING THEM AS IT IS KEEPING THEM FROM MURDERING EACH OTHER. THEY'RE REAL HELLCATS.
COLONEL CLAIMS ALL UNDER CONTROL. HE HAS A PLAN FOR EVERYTHING. UNSURE WHERE HE'S GETTING THIS CONFIDENCE, BUT I DO BELIEVE HE KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING. ARE YOU SURPRISED?