Crash Landing (10 page)

On a thunderous storm of burning sparks, Kaal swept into the sky, John clinging to his back, Emmie clutched in his arms. The heat was intense. John noticed more small holes in his friend’s wings, the edges singed and burned. His own skin was raw and blistering in places. Part of him wanted to squeeze his eyes closed and just hang on, but there was still a slim chance they could beat the Mega-Eruption and get off the planet. Kaal still needed his help.

On his wrist computer, a green light was flashing.
The science outpost
, John thought. A red light tracked their own position. Kaal was heading back the way they had come, but it wasn’t the shortest route. Yelling to make himself heard, John hung over his friend’s neck and pointed out a new course. “Can you make it?” he gasped.

“Think so,” Kaal grunted through teeth clenched with effort. “Heat good. Uplift.”

John frowned, puzzling over the words before he understood what Kaal had meant. The Derrilian was riding the super-heated air rising from lava below. It was pushing them higher, keeping them aloft. Kaal wasn’t so much flying now as controlling a long glide, his wings providing direction and extra speed. Even carrying the extra weight of Emmie, they were making faster progress than before.

But fast enough
? John wondered.

All around, more volcanoes were beginning to explode. The air was dangerously hot. Fine hairs on John’s arms were crisping. Every lungful of air he took was painful.

He could feel muscles beneath his hands begin twitching with fatigue. Even with the air currents helping, Kaal was tiring fast. “Getting closer!” John yelled. “Nearly there.”

His heart sank as he glanced down at the computer again. Encouraging words dried on his lips. There were still more than two kilometres to the science outpost, and volcano after volcano was now igniting as the Mega-Eruption spread across Zirion Beta.

An ember hit John in the chest, instantly burning its way through his light jumpsuit, sizzling his skin. He bit down on the cry of agony that escaped his lips, knowing that Kaal and Emmie were in far worse pain. With every passing second, the air was filled with the noise of fresh explosions. Below, the planet’s surface buckled and tore like paper.

And still, Kaal flew on. Wings tattered and torn, dripping sweat from exertion and heat, the Derrilian powered his way through the burning air.

“There!” bellowed John at last, pointing ahead wildly. Half-hidden by dust, ash, and falling cinders, a collection of low, squat buildings stood out against the rugged horizon.

Kaal corrected his course and dived for it, his wings driving them forward in one last, mighty effort.

“John! Kaal! Over here!”

John’s head snapped around, his heart pumping, as Kaal skidded to a halt in the dust. Lishtig hung from the door of a shuttle, waving frantically. Jumping from his friend’s back, John caught Kaal around the waist as his friend dropped to his knees in exhaustion. Gently, he took Emmie from Kaal’s arms. Relieved of her slight weight, Kaal managed to struggle to his feet again. Together, they staggered the last few metres to the steps of the shuttle.

“Can Tarz fly us out of here?” Lishtig asked as they climbed aboard.

John shook his head. “No...” he stopped dead at the front of the shuttle, eyes widening. “What’s going on here?”

A few rows back, Mordant was struggling in his seat, hissing and scowling. Crossing his chest and tied behind him were his own long black tentacles. Gobi-san-Art loomed over him, trying to swat away the screeching G-Vez.

“We got here ten minutes ago,” Lishtig explained. “Mordant tried to take-off immediately, said you were already dead and wouldn’t be coming back.”

“The coward wanted to save his own skin and leave you to die,” added Rantoo. “Just like Graal.”

“Must be the Gargon genes,” said Werril.

“Errr... Can we go now?” piped Bareon nervously from the back of the shuttle. “You know, Mega-Eruption and everything.”

Carefully, John settled Emmie in a seat at the front that had been left free. Trying not to move her mangled arm, he tightened a harness around her. Trembling from exhaustion, Kaal fell into the seat behind her.

“What are we waiting for?” John shouted to Lishtig over his shoulder. “Tell the shuttle computer to get us out of here.”

“This isn’t a Hyperspace High shuttle, John,” Lishtig replied, moving aside so that John could get a clear view of the pilot’s seat. “Old technology. Never supposed to be used. The Council wouldn’t waste a new shuttle with autopilot on a science outpost.”

“Get in the pilot’s seat, John,” said a small voice. “I’ll help you.”

Emmie was awake. John looked down into navy-blue eyes that were filled with pain — and determination.

“
Me
?” he gasped. “Why me? What about Kaal? Or Lishtig? Why not Gobi?”

In reply, Kaal slumped in his seat, groaning. John could see at a glance he was in no shape to fly the shuttle.

“Not me,” said Lishtig. “Have you seen my take-offs?”

“You do it, John,” said Gobi. “You’ve been having extra lessons.”

“Will somebody just
get us out of here
?” screeched Mordant. “Before the whole planet explodes!”

Throwing himself into the pilot’s seat and fastening the harness, John looked over the controls.

“They should be similar to the ones on the t-darts,” rasped Emmie behind him. “Close and lock, then start engines.”

John looked down. Sure enough, by his feet was a locking lever, just like on the small spaceships he had flown around the hangar. He pulled it and the door hissed closed. Looking to the right of the control panel, he found the “start engines” panel and stabbed at it with his finger.

The shuttle rocked, almost toppling, as another massive earthquake shook the ground. Through the windscreen, he saw the ground split apart in a great jagged gash that raced towards the shuttle. Nearby science outpost buildings collapsed, throwing more dust into the air. The rear of the shuttle dropped into the newly formed ravine with awful suddenness.

Mordant began screaming hysterically, twisting in his seat. The sound was quickly cut off, as Gobi slapped one of his massive hands across Mordant’s wailing mouth. Lishtig managed to grab the equally crazed G-Vez and stuffed it into a bag.

Every student on the shuttle held their breath.

“Now, grip the control stick firmly, power up, and release,” Emmie continued, as if nothing had happened.

His hand shaking, John gripped the stick. All the terrible take-offs he had ever made came back to him at once. And those had been on the hangar deck of Hyperspace High, not on a convulsing planet about to explode.

I can’t do this.

“You can do this,” Emmie said gently, as if reading his mind. “Power up now.”

John’s hand reached for another panel. He punched the power up to three. The shuttle began to vibrate softly.

“Now release and pull the nose up gently.”

John flicked the switch on the control stick. The shuttle began to drag itself out of the gaping chasm.

“Nose up,” said Emmie sharply.

Fighting down panic, John pulled back on the control stick, as Sergeant Jegger had taught him – firmly but smoothly. The front of the shuttle rose. Centimetre by centimetre, the little spaceship dragged itself, with a squeal of metal, from the hole, thrumming with power. With a final lurch, it came free and started climbing slowly. John heard dull thuds and clangs as embers rattled against it.

“Now point her at the sky and punch the power up to max,” Emmie panted through her pain. “Get us out of here, John.”

John’s fingers were reaching for the panel before she had even finished. Every student was thrown back in their seat as he accelerated hard. Fighting against the G-force, his hand reached out and hit “acceleration boost”, for good measure.

Gripping the control stick, John allowed the force to push him back. Already the viewing screen was coated with dust. All he could do now was keep the shuttle pointed in the right direction and hope they weren’t hit by anything larger than a cinder.

The shuttle ploughed into the sky. John squeezed his eyes shut.

“John. John...
Riley
. It’s OK. We made it. Slow her down now.” Emmie’s voice again.

A small matter-of-fact part of John’s mind told him that the crushing weight of the gravitational force on his chest had gone. The pummelling rain of cinders had stopped.

They were in space.

Safe.

John blinked. He turned, looking directly into Emmie’s shining eyes. She smiled at him. Behind her, Kaal managed to raise a hand in salute. “Nice flying,” he said quietly.

“Woo-hoo! Doctor Slobber was right about one thing. That is freaking
spectacular
.”

John craned his head round the back of his seat. Lishtig was kneeling, staring through the viewing window. Beyond him, Zirion Beta burst into fire. Every volcano erupted at once, cascading white-hot lava. Great fountains of white, red, and gold spewed, before crashing back to cover the entire planet in a sea of molten rock. Across the atmosphere, clouds of sparks danced in continent-sized swirls of glittering light.

Students crowded in around Lishtig, eyes wide in awe as they watched.

Soon, John could no longer see for students. He tore his eyes away from the scene with only a tiny pang of regret. He’d already seen enough volcanoes erupt that day to last a lifetime. Instead, he reached out to power down and slow the shuttle’s mad velocity. As he touched the screen, a speaker on the control panel crackled and burst into life. “Shuttle just departed from Zirion Beta.
Come in
. Repeat: Shuttle departing Zirion Beta.
Report
.”

Painfully, a grin spread across John’s cracked and blistered face.

“Hello, Zepp,” he croaked.

At the sound of Zepp’s voice, the shuttle exploded with cheers. “John. John.
JOHN
!
” chanted Lishtig, kicking away from his seat and floating forward in zero-gravity to slap John on the back. The rest of the students rushed to join him.

“You should get the Galactic Medal of Outstanding Awesomeness,” squealed Queelin, throwing her pale-blue arms around John’s neck.

“We’ll get Lorem to put up a statue of you in the Centre.”

“You saved our lives.”

“Way to go, John.”

Only Mordant was silent. Still tied to his seat, he scowled furiously.

Blushing, John held up his hands for quiet. Zepp was still speaking, drowned out by the cheering. “Hey!” John bellowed. “It’s Kaal and Emmie you should be thanking, but shut up and listen.”

“I was just saying,” said Zepp, “that thanks to whomever sent out the distress call, the ship is on its way at maximum speed. Stand by, Hyperspace High is coming to get you. Estimated time of arrival four minutes and twenty-six seconds. We are all
very
relieved to hear your voices.”

More cheering followed. John found himself unclipped from his harness and tossed from hand to fin to claw to hand along the length of the jubilant shuttle.

“Put me down!” he yelled, as the familiar shape of Hyperspace High appeared outside the viewing window. “I’ve still got to land this thing.”

“Taken care of,” said Sergeant Jegger’s voice through the speaker. “We’re patching into the shuttle’s systems now. You’ve done enough for one day, cadet. I’ll bring this bird in.”

Once docked, and still cheering, John’s classmates bundled through the door onto Hyperspace High’s hangar deck. John waited for the crush to die down before untying Mordant’s tentacles. His reward was a look of pure poison.

“You may think you’re the big hero now,” Mordant spat, “but tomorrow you’ll be back on your own pathetic little world. In a week’s time no one is going to even remember you.”

As John’s hands curled into fists, a voice behind him said, “I’ll remember him.”

“Me, too.”

John relaxed as he turned to look over each shoulder. On one side, Kaal was on his feet, swaying but upright. On the other stood Emmie, cradling her broken arm. With a thin smile, John folded his own arms and said, “Guess you’re wrong again, Mordant. But you must be getting used to it by now.”

Without another word, Mordant stalked off the shuttle. “Thanks,” John said simply, smiling at his friends. “Now, let’s get you both some medical attention.”

“Ha,” said Kaal with a grin as they walked down the aisle. “A Derrilian isn’t a Derrilian until they’ve got a few scars. I’m going to be telling stories about these for years.”

“Don’t forget to mention me.”

“Believe me, my grandchildren will know all about the incredibly stupid human grandad had to pull out of a volcano.”

John grinned at his room-mate.

By the time John and Kaal helped Emmie out of the shuttle door, the three of them were choking with laughter, despite their wounds. They stopped abruptly when they saw the headmaster waiting for them. Behind him was every student and teacher on Hyperspace High. The entire ship had come down to see the first years safely returned. John caught Sergeant Jegger’s eye as his gaze swept across the crowd. The flight teacher stood to attention and nodded approvingly to him and then to Emmie.

The last shred of laughter died on John’s lips as he spotted Doctor Graal standing among the teachers, a worried look on her usually stern face.

Noticing where John was glaring, Lorem stepped forward. “We picked up the escape pod en route,” he said, softly. Changing the subject, he tilted his head and continued in a louder voice, “John, Kaal, Emmie. I am already hearing amazing things about the three of you. Perhaps, however, you would be so kind as to tell me what happened yourselves.”

“All in good time, headmaster,” interrupted a high-pitched voice. John had never seen the woman with metallic-looking skin and enormous black eyes who stepped forward, but from her crisp, white uniform – and the fact that she was walking alongside a floating hover-stretcher – he guessed that she was the ship’s doctor. “I
must
see to them first.”

“Of course, Doctor Kasaria,” replied Lorem, stepping back to let her pass. “How remiss of me.”

“It’s only Emmie and Kaal that need a doctor,” John said quickly. “I’m all right.”

“Multiple first- and second-degree burns,” replied Doctor Kasaria briskly, looking him up and down. “They will need treating as soon as possible.”

She switched her attention to Emmie. “Hmmm,” she said. “Impacted fracture
and
a dislocated shoulder. We’ll see to you first. Please lie down,” she said, pointing to the hover-stretcher.

Emmie started to protest.

“I’m afraid I will have to insist,” said the doctor firmly.

“It’s best not to argue with Doctor Kasaria, Emmie,” the headmaster cut in. “However, doctor, perhaps you could spare us John Riley and Kaal for a few moments. I will have them delivered straight to the medical centre as soon as possible.”

“Very well, headmaster,” said Kasaria reluctantly, pushing Emmie towards the TravelTube. “Please make sure it
is
only a few moments.”

“Well... John? Kaal?” Lorem said, as Emmie was whisked away.

John and Kaal looked at each other. Kaal nodded at John to go ahead.

“It started when the shuttle was hit by asteroids. That was when Doctor Graal abandoned us,” said John bluntly, in a voice loud enough to be heard by every student. “She forced her way past everyone, climbed into the escape pod, and blasted away before anyone else had a chance to get in with her.”

A shocked gasp ran around the hangar deck, followed by Doctor Graal’s voice. “How
dare
you! Headmaster, I must protest. I have already explained what happened. It was a simple accident.”

“When we picked up Doctor Graal, she explained that she was preparing the pod for launch when she pressed the wrong panel,” said Lorem evenly. “She was as horrified as anyone else when the pod launched.”

“I
told
you,” Mordant Talliver spat. “It
was
an accident.”

It was John’s turn to gasp. “That’s not what happened,” he choked, ignoring Talliver. “She was pushing everyone aside in her hurry to escape.”

“I was trying to get to the pod as quickly as possible,” Graal squelched forward on slimy tentacles, her voice blubbering with outrage. “
That
is true. As you know, headmaster, all teachers are trained for emergency situations and I didn’t want to waste a second. Really, I shouldn’t have to be cross-examined in front of the whole school by a
student
, let alone a primitive who shouldn’t be on board anyway.”

“But—” John began.

Lorem raised a hand, stopping him before he could call the teacher a liar in front of the whole school. “I understand how the situation must have looked, John Riley,” he said firmly. “But Doctor Graal is a respected teacher, and I will take her word as the truth. That is, unless you have any proof to back up your accusation?” Lorem looked into his eyes searchingly.

John returned the gaze, reading a warning in Lorem’s eyes. Mouth set in a grim line, he shook his head. “No,” he said at last. “I don’t have any proof, but—”

“Then perhaps you could proceed with your story,” said the headmaster more kindly.

Let it go
, said a small voice in John’s mind.
It’s your word against hers.

John shook his head and continued, slowly at first, but with increasing speed as he warmed to his tale. Here and there, Kaal interrupted, supplying the headmaster with details that John had skipped over. As the story progressed, other students began to chip in, too.

“It seems to me, John Riley,” said the headmaster, as John finished, “that everyone on board owes you – and Kaal and Emmie – a debt of gratitude.”

Over Lorem’s shoulder, John saw Doctor Graal’s mouth twist into a sneer. Deciding to ignore her, he looked back at the headmaster.

“Well... everyone kind of worked together,” he said, his cheeks feeling hot from embarrassment as well as from his burns. “It wasn’t just us three.”

“Nevertheless, it is plain from what you have said, and from what your classmates have told me, that the three of you acted with courage, showing loyalty to your fellow students and great leadership. Everyone at Hyperspace High is proud of you three.”

Still blushing, John looked down. “No problem, sir,” he mumbled.

“And now,” Lorem continued with a smile. “I’ve already kept you too long. Those burns look painful and I made Doctor Kasaria a promise.”

“I’m fine. Honestly. I just need to get to bed,” yawned Kaal. “I’ve never been so exhausted.”

“Let the doctor take a look at you,” replied Lorem sympathetically. “It won’t take long and her objections will almost certainly give
me
severe ear damage if you do not.”

Despite Lorem’s promise, however, the doctor was very thorough. It was another two hours before John and Kaal said goodbye to Emmie and left the medical bay. Clean and smothered with a sticky lotion that Doctor Kasaria promised would heal their burns quickly, they both climbed into bed without a word.

“Anyone for some music?” Zepp’s voice asked.

The only reply was a snore like a rumbling volcano from Kaal’s bed pod.