Chapter 61

Calla didn't really sleep that night, she only dozed occasionally. Early the next morning she lay on her back with her hands behind her head, staring at the stars in the black sky and thinking about what she had seen and experienced both out there in space, and back here on Earth. Suddenly she noticed the sky turn to the darkest grey; and so realising it would be light soon, she rose up and snuck over to her dragon.

"Windstorm... wake up girl" she whispered.

"Rrrr" the Nadder gave a low moan.

"Shhhh... quiet girl, we're going for a little ride.

Moving slowly and silently, Calla carefully fitted her dragon's saddle and bridle before getting up into her seat.

"Okay girl, as quietly as you can."

The dragon lifted off with only a gentle whoosh, but it was wasn't noiseless enough to go unnoticed.

"Come on Speedy, let's follow her" Blue said as he reached for his own saddle.

Calla and Windstorm flew southwest towards the sea, looking down on the devastation that had been hidden from the eyes of the Dragon Riders by the darkness of the previous night. What had once been a dense forest was now a mass of half flattened trees with all kinds flotsam now filling the waters of Casuarina Bay. It did not take long for her to spot the first body and within a few minutes, she had seen several more.

"Why are you doing this to yourself?" Blue asked as he and Speedy pulled alongside.

"What are you doing here? Can't you leave me alone for two seconds?" Calla barked.

"Of course I can; I just don't want too" Blue replied.

Although she did not want to talk about it, Calla felt a kind of heaviness inside and she knew it was causing her current mood swing. Blue could sense something was wrong, but he could also tell she did not want to talk about it. On top of everything else, Calla started to feel guilty; Blue must think she didn't trust him enough to talk about her feelings, but she knew deep down she was just hesitant to appear weak. Calla had rarely shown her vulnerable side to anyone, but on the rare occasions when she had, she had always felt like she had let everybody down afterwards, and they must think less of her. Of course this was not true and all in her own mind, but that did not diminish the fear she felt and it was still a very difficult thought to live with. And so Calla stayed quiet a little longer and the pair just flew on down the coast in silence for a short time.

"You've certainly changed since yesterday" Blue unwisely pushed her.

"Yesterday was a mistake" Calla declared "People were in danger and all I could do was make out with my boyfriend."

"Hey, when we were preparing to leave the island, none of us knew there were other people in the area; so you can't blame yourself."

"People are dead Blue, and maybe we could have saved more if we'd been quicker."

"To be any quicker, we would have to keep the dragons constantly saddled and always ready to fly; and you know we can't do that to them, it would be cruel."

Calla went quiet again, so Blue let her be again for a few more minutes. Eventually the silence got too loud for her and she finally she relented, deciding to share more about her past life with him.

"When I was a kid in New Zealand, we had a few waves just like the one that hit last night. When I was six I got to see the first of them from the hills where we lived; it was frightening but spectacular and when it was over, Emerson and I went down to find what had washed up on shore.

But when I was eight another one came while Dad and I were down on the dock fishing. The meteor must have hit many hundreds of kilometres away because we didn't hear much, but Dad knew what it meant when the seawater started to recede. He just threw his rod down and pulled me onto me feet and we ran. There were other people there too, friends and neighbours, and Dad shouted for them to run too. But they all stopped to pack up their fishing gear; whereas the only thing Dad picked up was me when I stumbled."

The young lady stopped briefly to wipe her eyes before continuing.

"Then we heard the roar... a rumbling in the distance. I looked back but I couldn't see anything, and then I noticed the horizon was actually rising up. The water got closer, the noise grew louder, and then it hit. The only thing that saved us was that the hills were not far from the coast where we lived. Behind us... I could hear people crying out... we were the only ones who made it. Mom and Dad told us to stay on high ground for a few days nut even so... the next day when the water had receded, Emerson and I snuck away and went down again to check out all the damage... and there they were... the bodies... some on the land and some floating in the bay."

"And last night brought all those memories flooding back" Blue noted.

"I thought I was over it Blue, but the people we saved... they were screaming... they were frightened of us; and they sounded just like the people caught up in the wave when I was a kid. I think that was why I couldn't sleep last night; the sound of the wave, the sound of the people screaming in terror, it was the sound of death."

"I know this may not help" Blue tried to explain, "but there was nothing you could have done when you were younger, but you did do everything you could last night... and you did it very well."

"It's not what I did or didn't do Blue, it's... seeing it all again... hearing it all again... and seeing the same result."

Blue knew there was nothing more he could say to make Calla feel better, this was something extremely deep inside of her, and it would be with her for the rest of her life. But at least he knew he could be there for her when she needed him.

'

'

The Dragon Riders never did find out where the people they had saved had gone after they ran off. Blue looked around as they flew out later in the morning but there was no sign of anyone. As the young group started the last leg of their journey, Sarah Spencer began what she hoped would be the last day of coping with General Neville Sage. Now that all the supplies and equipment had been transferred to the MTV, the launching of humans could commence on the next orbit.

Sage took great care to choose just the right people to send on the first flight; he did not tell them why, but in reality he was picking those he considered to be the weakest of his force. Major Dias was bound to co-operate knowing that his wife and child were still at risk, but even now Sage still had doubts about what plans Doctor Spencer may have to stop him.

"Okay General, your forces are clear to board the first three capsules" Sarah informed Sage as they stood in the main staging area.

Without acknowledging Doctor Spencer's report, Sage turned to one of his commanders.

"Don't screw this up Rake."

"We're ready sir, and we won't let you down" Carson Rake saluted and marched off to take charge of the first wave.

The next three capsules to be sent into orbit had been totally reconfigured to carry only passengers and their firearms; ten per capsule for a total of thirty soldiers. The ready room techs helped the raiders into position and as each capsule was sealed, it was sent on its thirty five kilometre journey down to the very end of the railgun.

"Shall we head to the control room?" Sarah asked as the railgun tunnel door was closed and locked.

"No, you and I shall observe from here" Sage ordered.

"But why? There's nothing we can..."

"BECAUSE I SAID SO DOCTOR" Sage barked "You know I like to keep you on your toes by being unpredictable."

"Yes of course... I should have realised... sorry" Sarah shrugged.

They didn't have to wait very long for the first launch, but for Sarah it felt like a minor eternity. Just standing next to Sage was hard enough, but when he didn't move and didn't speak, the waiting became unbearable. Eventually though the floor began to vibrate and the heavy steel railgun door creaked as the pressure built up until with a loud bang, the first capsule shot passed on its way to the top of Mount Singgalang, and onto low Earth orbit.

"May I check with the control room on the launch status?" Sarah asked.

"I wouldn't bother if I were you" Sage replied "It was either a successful launch, or I kill you; we'll find out eventually."

Three minutes later the second capsule made its way to space with the third not long after. With all three now gone, Sage turned to Doctor Spencer and smiled eerily.

"Well then, shall we see how they went" he gestured for Sarah to go first.

Back at the control room, they ran into April Dias as she was on her way out.

She was surprised to see him as she too had assumed Sage would have chosen to leave on one of the first three capsules.

"Everything is looking good" April reported "All launches went very smoothly and all capsules are on the correct trajectory, with solids lighting as planned."

"Wonderful Mrs. Dias; now if you will please step back inside" Sage requested.

"But I was just about to go feed Rose."

"Step back inside... please" Sage repeated.

Not wanting to cause trouble at such a delicate time, April did as ordered and the three took up positions behind the technicians staring into their computer screens and giving random reports.

"Capsule One seven seconds to shut down and ejection of booster... booster away."

"Capsule Three at Max-Q."

"Capsule Two at exit velocity."

"Capsule One now under MTV control."

"I wonder how many of my raiders have soiled their pressure suits?" Sage laughed as the technicians continued their work.

"Capsule Two booster away."

"Capsule Three at exit velocity."

"Looking good" Sarah said encouragingly.

"Capsule Two linked to MTV computer."

"Capsule Three booster shut down and ejected."

"Capsule One twenty five minutes to rendezvous."

"Well we appear to have a little time up our sleeve, so may I use it to feed Rose?" April asked politely.

Sage did not reply, he just looked at her and smiled his 'You can do nothing unless I allow it' smile.

"You may" he eventually nodded. "Try to be back before docking."

"Certainly" April agreed.

"And you know what I mean when I say try."

"You mean be back before docking; end of story" April sighed to herself.

"You always were perceptive Mrs. Dias."

Taking the opportunity while she still had it, April hurried back to her room and threw the door open.

"A little late today April" Sue smiled.

"Shifty, are you still there?" April asked urgently.

"Still here Mrs. D" a voice came for the air vent.

"What the... who's that in the pipe?" Sue gasped.

April shut the door and hurried to the vent.

"Things have gone a little wrong Shifty; Sage didn't go in any of the first three capsules."

"I thought he said he would pick one at the last minute" Shifty replied "but why is that a problem anyway?"

"Err... April, who's that voice?" Sue tried again.

"I'll explain in a minute Sue. It's time for me to come clean Shifty; I know Sarah and I said we weren't going to try anything, but we did do a little something... very little, but it's not safe here anymore."

"Is there anything I can do?"

Yes Shifty, you've got to take Rose and get her out of here. Sage may not notice what we've done, and I certainly hope he doesn't, but you can be sure he'll go bananas if he does."

"Okay Mrs. D but... what do I do with her?"

"Take her to your dad, then get her to Panjang; I'm sure our friends there will help look after her."

"But what are you going to do?"

"Try and survive" April admitted.

April ran to her refrigerator and retrieved a number of small bottles and placed them in a soft cooler bag. She then hurried to her bedroom for her baby travel bag and returned to the main room. There were four small clasps holding the vent on and as soon as they were given a quarter turn, the vent fell onto the couch.

"Here's a bag of nappies and other baby things, and this bag has milk for her."

"Milk? Where did you get milk?" Shifty wondered.

"Where do you think I got it? From me of course" April said gruffly.

"Eww" Shifty sneered.

"Oh grow up" April snapped "Hand me the baby Sue."

"April... I think you should go too" Sue said seriously.

"I can't; if I suddenly disappear, Sage will explode and people will get shot."

"Then perhaps I should go; Sage doesn't even know my name" Sue suggested.

"Are you sure about this?" April asked "Crawling through a vent shaft can't be easy."

"It isn't, but let her come if she wants to" Shifty insisted "We're gonna need all the help with Rose as we can get."

April could see the look of determination on Sue's face, bringing back painful memories of the night she had given her first born son over to Sarah Spencer.

"Thank you; give Rose to me and get up in the vent."

April took the baby and placed her in the corner of the couch so she could help Sue into the air pipe.

"Ugh... a forty two year old women should not be forced to do things like this" Sue complained.

As soon as she was in place, April picked up the baby and handed her to Sue.

"See you soon April" Sue smile.

"I certainly hope so" April nodded.

"Later Mrs. D" Shifty added as he and Sue started off.

A fast as she could, April replaced the vent cover and hurried back to the bedroom. Standing in the corner was probably the only cot ever built by aerospace engineers. Grabbing a towel and a blanket, April made a quick baby facsimile and placed it in the cot before hurrying back to the control room.

A short time later, Smit and Gavin felt a tug on the rope and started to pull.

"Shifty must e on a diet, he seems to have lost some weight" Gavin noted after a few minutes.

"In the last hour? Doesn't seem likely" Shifty's father admitted "Say... can you hear a baby."

"I can do more than hear a baby, I can see one" Gavin said as Sue and little Rose neared the top.

Smit reached down and grabbed Sue by the arm.

"Gavin take the baby" he ordered.

"I-I don't know how to hold a baby!" Gavin gasped.

"Then help the lady and I'll get the kid."

Doing as he was told, Gavin reached in and wrapped his hands under Sue's right arm.

"Um... excuse me Ma-am, I don't usually make a habit of grabbing ladies I've just met" He apologised.

"Oh; do you wait until after an introduction and then grab them" Sue smiled at her own joke.

"Well then, who do we have here?" Smit smiled "Aren't you a handsome little boy."

"No she's not, so just ignore the blue blanket she's wrapped in; I'm Sue and this is Rose. Now we'd better find a place to put her so I can give you a hand as Shifty is a little bit overloaded. Once he's up, we have to disappear quickly, because things may get a little crazy soon."

"Sounds like a god idea" Smit agreed as he lowered the rope.

'

'

I just heard on TV about Italy having the lowest number of new covid cases in the last seven weeks. Here's hoping the news continues to improve.

I think you're right Mr. Guest (or is it Ms. Guest?); I'd say that Florida would be pretty devastated in the world of Blue Dias. I don't think Adelaide, the city I live in, wouldn't do very well either. Only the people in the hills behind the suburbs would have any hope.

In other news, it normally takes me four to six days to write a chapter. Then when it is time to publish, I'll take a few hours to rewrite and proof read, but not this one. It took me two days to make additions and alterations just to make sure there weren't any errors in the plot, although you may still find some. I also found I had gotten over excited about bringing the story to an end, and had just rushed through said plot without putting in very much detail (fixed now).

I get the feeling the last five chapters will also need a bit of love. Oh well, back to work ;D

See ya soon, Marty.