Farthest Reef (25 page)

Chapter 12

1
It had been thirty-six hours since the two ships had entered the slipstream. Cruising steadily downward in the middle of the river of air, their progress was slowed by a strong headwind, but for the most part it was clear sailing. In fact, the only obstacle to their progress had been the ‘snakes’, Tony’s term for something he’d spotted on the radar fifteen hours into the flight, an odd meandering tube that had suddenly poked out from the cloudy edge of the river of air. Jeanne Warren saw it, too, from her radar station aboard
Tai Chi
. Comparing notes, they watched it on their screens. It stayed on the scope for several minutes, writhing and twisting slowly and bending with the flow of air toward the two approaching ships. Alex switched on the running lights to full strength, but before they reached it the thing withdrew back into the wall of cloud.

While the rest of the crew debated about the nature of the snake, Professor Baltadonis had been listening to the conversation over the intercom in the darkness and sanctity of his instrument cocoon. Finally he stopped their conversation with a word. His voice, sounding hollow inside his sphere, boomed on the cabin intercom. “Tornado,” he said. “It was a vortex, or eddy. Call it what you will.” When no one responded, the Professor continued. “Yes, it looked alive, it’s true. But warm and cold air masses rubbing together causes small … or large … vortexes. This one was small.”

Though he was ready to accept anything about their new and strange surroundings, Alex was dubious when Tony had identified it as a snake. Surely it was too cold outside for life. But the word tornado was no more comforting. He wondered what might happen if they were suddenly engulfed by one as it leapt blindly from the deceptively placid wall of cloud. The idea made him shiver. “That’s great news, Johnny,” he said sarcastically. “Do you expect any more will jump out at us?”

“Can’t say, Alex. Since we’ve only witnessed one … Something to watch out for, though.”

“Of course we might have entered a zone where they are common,” Matt answered Johnny from
Tai Chi
.

Alex looked at Mary. No longer curled in her seat, she was sitting upright, gripping the arms of her chair with her seat belt fastened snugly. “More relaxed?” asked Alex. She looked at him dubiously. “Maybe not,” he muttered.

“Scared stiff,” said Mary, giving him a toothy grin. “Alex, I just hate this place. It’s nothing like Jup–” She sat up straight, almost at attention. “A call from the
Goddard
.” She listened for a moment then touched the panel in front of her. “It’s Commander Stubbs requesting a private conference, Johnny.”

“Are we secure, Baltadonis?” said the voice of Stubbs over the intercom.

“Of course, Harry,” said Johnny. “I’ve switched off the cabin speakers.”

“Well, we’ve been able to follow the drift for the most part,” said Stubbs, sounding hurried. “I’m told we’d should make this quick while the link is good.”

“I’m listening,” said Johnny. But so was the rest of
Diver’s
crew. Alex looked around at Tony and shrugged, then put a finger to his lips. Mary nodded that she understood. No one needed to be told that Johnny had left the intercom on intentionally, and they all knew that his doing so was a gesture of trust. Likewise, they knew enough to keep quiet. Johnny might have switched off his cabin reception, but then again he might not. The three of them sat back in their chairs and watched the viewscreen.

“The mission’s proceeding too slowly, John,” said Stubbs. “Too much consideration is being given to safety, we think. You can’t see anything out there anyway. We think you should head into the cloud … use its downdraft.”

“You’ve two ships down here now, Harry. Is that a more acceptable risk?” Johnny said cynically.

Stubbs coughed. “Johnny, Those tugs you’re driving are well built. They can take it. The analysis of Rose’s ship, before we did the modifications … well, suffice to say, it’s rock solid.”

“Speed it up, eh?” muttered Johnny. “Where we are now is dark, Commander, but the clear air lets us see at least. In the clouds we won’t have any warning at all.”

“You have an excellent radar system, John. Alex is an excellent pilot. Tony is an expert at radar and Mary can get your message through. What’s the problem?”

Alex, Mary and Tony gave each other the thumbs up sign. Mary studied Alex’s face, savoring his satisfaction at hearing praise. He saw her look at him and smiled. “Maybe we should shut off the intercom,” he whispered as softly as possible.

Mary rolled her eyes. “Just enjoy it.” She mouthed the words, but he heard them in his mind.

“This isn’t just my idea, and it’s not without merit. Something to think about, Johnny. It’s your ship. You can decide the best course of action. But the clouds do give you one advantage.”

“One that doesn’t spring to mind,” said Johnny dubiously.

“Stealth,” said Stubbs. “Now patch me over to Tsu.”

Johnny didn’t hesitate. The loudspeakers in the cabin popped and fell silent.

“Are you keeping your eyes on the road, Alex?” said Johnny’s voice.

Alex looked over at the Professor’s bubble and laughed. “What was that about stealth?”

“I was wondering that, too,” added Mary.

There was a hiss of air pressure and Johnny’s cowl raised to the ceiling. “He has a point, Alex,” said Johnny. “We’re fighting the wind, using energy. The clouds are a fast track down.” He unbuckled and got up, walking somewhat stiffly to the service panel. “I need some coffee,” he said softly.

“You’re not listening in on Tsu,” said Tony. “Why?”

“She’s not sending. Stubbs isn’t talking to her anyway. He’s talking to Matt. How many coffees?”

“Four, counting yourself,” said Alex. “Tell us what he meant by stealth.”

“I really have no idea.”

2
“It’s a democracy,” Mary looked at the three men facing her. “You have a quorum. I don’t know why my vote is so important.”

“It has to be unanimous,” insisted Johnny. “I can’t authorize without full agreement.”

“It’ll make it a shorter trip, Mary.” Alex was almost pleading, not so much to get his way but to get her off the spot.

Johnny had insisted on a quorum from both ships. Howarth and Tsu had radioed almost immediately after Matt’s talk with Stubbs. Everyone aboard
Tai Chi
agreed with the Commander, enthusiastically so.

“Jeeps,” said Mary. “All right, then. Call it unanimous. But you won’t get me to call it a good idea.”

“Fair enough,” said Johnny.

“Is that it?” asked Tsu.

“Let’s get something straight, guys,” said Alex in a loud voice. “When Mary has doubts, I have doubts. Not because I love her, but because I’ve come to respect her instincts.” He looked at Mary, hoping she’d explain her position, but she just smiled.

The voice of Tsu responded. “Everyone aboard
Tai Chi
is ready, Professor.”

“Ready as we’ll ever be,” added Jeanne Warren meekly.

Johnny had been listening like an invisible referee inside his bubble. After Warren’s comment he cleared his throat. They heard him sip some coffee. “I’ve been watching the radar with our new long range boosters. It’s cold as hell, behind that wall. But it’s still just air.”

“Stubbs’ comment about stealth is all that bothers me,” said Matt Howarth.

“Me, too,” added Alex.”

“There’s another one … are you seeing it, Tony?” shouted Johnny suddenly.

“Jeez, it’s close.” said Sciarra. “It’ll miss us, though.”

Diver’s
light caught the edge of a funnel cloud as it snaked between the two shuttles.
Diver
twisted at an odd angle, but Alex righted the ship immediately. Shouting came from
Tai Chi
as Alex clutched the drive stick and gunned
Diver’s
engines, assuming the whirlwind was right behind them. “Talk to me, Connie!” he shouted.

“Careful, Alex,” shouted the Professor. “Don’t get too far away from them.”

“We’re okay,” said the unsteady voice of Jeanne Warren. “Connie’s … she didn’t have her belt fastened.” Connie Tsu’s voice could be heard in the background saying, “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“She has a cut,” added Jeanne. “Hit the chair.”

“Great,” replied Johnny. “A casualty already?”

“It’s a cut, Professor,” offered Matt Howarth. “Jeanne is handling the helm while she gets some Newskin on it.”

“Matt, what’s your status?” interrupted Johnny. “Any damage?”

“We got clipped … but we’re in one piece. We see you up ahead. Our power’s at ninety percent for some reason. Other than that … what?” Someone could be heard whispering in the background. “Okay. Make that eighty-five percent.”

“Here’s the Newskin spray,” Jeanne’s voice said.

“I’m checking on that power drain,” continued Matt. “A cable disconnect or something. It was rough for a second. We flipped over twice. Actually we never saw what hit us. Are you okay?”

“Dammit, Matt.” Johnny sounded annoyed. “You’re all supposed to be strapped in.”

“Tsu was getting coffee, Professor,” said Matt. “But that’s over now. Are … are we still going into the clouds?”

“I don’t know,” said Johnny, uncertainty in his voice. “Steady as she goes for the moment.”

Sciarra was finally able to merge the radar data with the camera data on the viewscreen. Alex was relieved to see a virtual representation of the surrounding topography, rendered in dim orange lines. The radar tracked air density and movement and blended perfectly with the infrared image provided by the forward cameras. “That’s the ticket,” said Alex happily. “Thank you, Tony.”

Johnny cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “To answer Matt’s question … if we’re going to crash dive through Old Blue, we should prepare for it like we would a crash landing. I’d recommend running computer simulations to see what happens when we crash the wall.”

The two ships continued down the cold labyrinthine corridor, eyeing the walls for hints of other tornados. Though Alex couldn’t tell from the image on the viewscreen, the instruments said they were heading downward at a steady angle of five degrees, on a long spiral course toward their objective seventy kilometers below.

A half hour later, no replays of their near disaster had occurred. Tsu had recovered fully, having slipped rather than fallen, or so she claimed. Back in her chair and healing under the influence of Newskin, Tsu watched her viewscreen. Two vortexes had been detected on radar but both were at a great distance and no threat. However, the new details provided by Tony’s imaging work revealed undulations in the curtain of dark cloud that bordered the river of air they were following.

“I really think we should just go for it,” said Johnny, finally. “Do you hear me, Matt?”

The speakers popped. “Yes, we do.” It was Matt’s voice. “Following your lead, sir.”

Alex studied the undulating walls surrounding them. “Ready, sir.”

“We go on three!” said Johnny, nervously. “One …”

3
The maelstrom howled menacingly as both shuttles simultaneously broke through the wall of cloud. Three hundred meters apart,
Diver
and
Tai Chi
cut power as they oriented themselves for the dive into the heart of Old Blue.

The jolt snapped open Johnny’s seat belt and sent him sprawling onto the cabin floor. At the same time Tony was hit full in the face by a squeezer of coffee. The lid popped off, dumping the hot contents all over him. Holding the drive stick in a vice grip, Alex felt the tempest outside resisting his best efforts to control the ship. Then the viewscreen went black. “Where’s the radar!” he shouted.

The roar of the wind outside was so loud Alex could barely hear his crewmates. Suddenly the radar grid flickered on again. “Sorry Alex … I hit something.” Tony shouted. “Shit! Now I’m gonna smell like this for the rest of the trip!”

“Forget the coffee, Sciarra, we need to locate Connie!” yelled Johnny as he strapped himself back into his chair.

“I’m on it,” Sciarra shouted back.

Mary had the arms of her chair in a death grip, watching Alex. He heard her in his mind asking,” Was it supposed to be this rough?”

“There she is,” yelled Tony. “Connie’s right and tight from what I see. Take a look, Alex.” He relayed the radar image of Tsu’s ship to the viewscreen. She was directly behind
Diver
.

“Pretty impressive, people,” grunted Johnny as he tightened his seat belts. “We’re in the pike, I would imagine …”

Suddenly
Diver
flipped over as a crosscurrent hit them.
Tai Chi
became a blur on the screen. Then the screen itself went blank. “Tell me we’re not blind, please,” pleaded Alex.

“I still have the thermal imaging. It’s showing the cloud mass,” said Johnny. “Switching it to the viewscreen.” The view returned, minus the radar lines, as a fuzzy blue image. Outside the windows they were still in total darkness, without even the flashes of lightning which were common during dives into Jupiter’s spot.

Alex watched, fascinated, as the ship moved through clumps of blue matter. Johnny explained that the viewscreen image was in the far infrared, perceiving the air around
Diver
in terms of density and temperature. Alex switched to the rear cameras and saw an oblong black dot directly behind them. “Tsu!” he shouted. “I see you behind us … maybe five hundred meters.”

Johnny interrupted with instructions to Matt Howarth and settings for the cameras. “Our angle of descent hasn’t changed much,” added the Professor. “And we seem to be still in a shallow spiral.”

After a moment
Tai Chi
radioed back. “I see you on our viewscreen, Johnny,” said Matt Howarth. “Ahead and slightly to our right.”

“That’s great,” answered Johnny. “I think we should …”

“Hold it,” shouted Tony. “Don’t … what the hell is that?”

“I see it, Tony,” said Matt. “Something up ahead.”

It was extremely thin and large. On the radar it looked like a floating flat shaft of material attached to a tether of some kind that extended up and down as far as they could see into the clouds.

“It’s a half kilometer ahead,” said the Professor. “Do you see it, Jeanne … Matt? Ahead, two o’clock or so.” The winds outside quieted as they approached the object. On the radar it looked like a massive sail. On the viewscreen, seeing only thermal densities, it was almost invisible, indicating that the object had little mass and was cold as the surrounding air.