Authors: Ben Bova
Venus (34 page)
T
he thrusters’ throttle bar jammed in the wide-open position while
Hecate
soared up and away from the white-hot fissure yawning below me. Fortunately they ran out of fuel within a few seconds. Otherwise the ship would have risen up like a rocket-driven artillery shell and arced halfway around Venus, then fallen back to splatter on the surface. As it was, little
Hecate
shot up from the surface like a scalded cat, her nose pointed toward the clouds thirty-some kilometers above.
he thrusters’ throttle bar jammed in the wide-open position while
Hecate
soared up and away from the white-hot fissure yawning below me. Fortunately they ran out of fuel within a few seconds. Otherwise the ship would have risen up like a rocket-driven artillery shell and arced halfway around Venus, then fallen back to splatter on the surface. As it was, little
Hecate
shot up from the surface like a scalded cat, her nose pointed toward the clouds thirty-some kilometers above.
The temperature cooled off to a “mere” four hundred degrees as
Hecate
soared upward. I was groggy, exhausted. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep. But Fuchs wouldn’t allow that. He bellowed in my earphones, screaming and roaring at me. His bawling, blaring voice became more insistent, penetrating into my mind, shaking me out of my heat-induced daze.
Hecate
soared upward. I was groggy, exhausted. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep. But Fuchs wouldn’t allow that. He bellowed in my earphones, screaming and roaring at me. His bawling, blaring voice became more insistent, penetrating into my mind, shaking me out of my heat-induced daze.
“Answer me!” he snarled. “Don’t you die on me, don’t you take the easy way out. Wake up! Snap out of it!”
It took me several moments to realize that he wasn’t raging
at me. He was pleading. He was begging me to stay awake and alert, to save myself, not to die.
at me. He was pleading. He was begging me to stay awake and alert, to save myself, not to die.
My eyes were still staring with fascinated horror at the mammoth fissure burning below me. The pit of hell, I thought. I’m looking into the pit of hell. And I understood what Fuchs’s mind was like, inside. The burning rage. The fury that he had pent up within him. It was enough to kill any ordinary man. It was a wonder it hadn’t killed him already.
“Answer me, damn you,” Fuchs was demanding, urging, cajoling. “I can save you, but you’ve got to give me some help, dammit.”
It was still burning hot inside
Hecate
and I felt as weak and limp as an overcooked strand of spaghetti.
Hecate
and I felt as weak and limp as an overcooked strand of spaghetti.
“I’m … here …” I said. My voice was little more than a rasping exhausted whisper.
“Good!” he snapped. “Now listen to me. You’re coasting about fifteen klicks above the ground. You’re out of fuel and gliding like a soarplane. I’m coming up after you, but
Lucifer
can’t reach you fast enough unless you help.”
Lucifer
can’t reach you fast enough unless you help.”
Fast enough for what? Then I realized, fast enough to get me before I died.
I looked out the forward port and saw that
Phosphoros
’s escape pod was still in the manipulator arms’ grip.
Phosphoros
’s escape pod was still in the manipulator arms’ grip.
“I’ve got … the pod,” I said. “You’ll win the prize … no matter what happens … to me.”
“Idiot!” Marguerite’s voice screeched. “He’s trying to save your life!”
That popped my eyes open.
“Pay attention,” Fuchs said, almost soothingly. “You’ve got to do some flying. Your control surfaces should still be working.”
“Yes …”
He started giving me instructions, his voice calm but imperative, trying to get me to swing around in a great descending arc so that he could bring
Lucifer
up close enough to take me aboard.
Lucifer
up close enough to take me aboard.
I’m not that good a flier, I told myself tiredly as I tried to
understand his commands and respond to them. I’m no jet-jockey. What does he expect of me? Why doesn’t he leave me alone? Why is he doing this?
understand his commands and respond to them. I’m no jet-jockey. What does he expect of me? Why doesn’t he leave me alone? Why is he doing this?
The memory of Marguerite’s shrill voice answered my question:
“He’s trying to save your life!”
“He’s trying to save your life!”
“You’re overcorrecting,” Fuchs said sharply. “Pull the nose up or you’ll dive back into the ground.”
“I’m trying …”
It was a good thing that all I had to do was slide my fingers across the control pads. It wasn’t easy, though; my fingers were burned and blistering so badly that I used my knuckles against the pads. The controls were much livelier than they’d been down close to the surface. Up at this altitude the air was about ten times thicker than Earth’s at sea level.
Hecate
was operating in a regime somewhere between a submersible and a soarplane.
Hecate
was operating in a regime somewhere between a submersible and a soarplane.
The ship was trembling, shaking almost like a living creature swimming through the thick, oven-hot air. I realized that holding the spherical pod up in front of her was not helping her aerodynamics. I could fly more easily if I released the pod. But I shook my head inside the helmet. Whatever’s left of Alex was inside that pod, I was certain of it. We’re going through this together, big brother, I said to him silently. We live or die together, Alex.
Suddenly Fuchs yelled, “No, no, no! Level off! Use the horizon as your guide. Keep your nose on the horizon.”
That wasn’t as easy to do as he thought. The air was still thick enough to distort long-distance vision. The horizon wasn’t flat. It curved upward conspicuously, like a bowl, like the meniscus of a thick liquid in a narrow glass.
“The body of your ship will provide lift if you maintain the proper attitude,” Fuchs said, more calmly. Then he added, “And speed. You’ve got to maintain speed, too.”
Hecate
was soaring along now; still shaking, vibrating, but gliding on a more or less even keel. I felt giddy from the heat, my mouth dry, every muscle in my body screaming with pain.
was soaring along now; still shaking, vibrating, but gliding on a more or less even keel. I felt giddy from the heat, my mouth dry, every muscle in my body screaming with pain.
“Attitude and speed determine altitude,” Fuchs was saying,
almost as if he were reciting an ancient formula. “You’re doing well, Van.”
almost as if he were reciting an ancient formula. “You’re doing well, Van.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“Stay with it.”
“I don’t know … if I can stay … conscious much longer,” I stammered.
“You’ve got to!” he snapped. “There’s no alternative. You’ve got to keep awake and pilot your ship, Otherwise we won’t be able to make rendezvous.”
“I’m trying.”
“Then try harder! Stay awake.”
“It’s hot—”
“Just a few minutes more,” Fuchs said, suddenly coaxing, almost pleading. “Just a few minutes more.”
I blinked my eyes. Far off against that baking-hot horizon I saw a dark spot moving. We were still on the nightside of Venus, but the glow from the ground was bright enough for me to make out a dot against the sullen yellow-gray clouds above me. It couldn’t be anything else except
Lucifer.
Lucifer.
Or eyestrain, that sardonic voice in my head sneered. Or even a hallucination.
Fuchs’s voice crackled in my earphones again. “I can’t see you visually yet but we’ve got you on radar. Maintain your current speed and attitude, but turn left ten degrees.”
“Ten degrees?” I blinked at the control panel. It seemed blurred, baffling.
“Turn left. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
I slid my knuckles across the control pads, slowly, carefully, my failing eyes on that dark spot off along the curving horizon.
“Too far! Hold it there! Hold it. I’ll adjust our course to match yours.”
All I wanted to do was sleep. Collapse. Die. It didn’t matter anymore. I didn’t care. But then I remembered why I was here, what I had promised myself that I’d do. Very well, I said to whatever gods were watching over me, if I die it won’t be because I gave up.
Just at the moment, as if in answer to an unvoiced prayer,
Lucifer
lit up like a Christmas ornament. Running lights came to life all along her teardrop-shaped body and began blinking on and off, like a welcoming beacon.
Lucifer
lit up like a Christmas ornament. Running lights came to life all along her teardrop-shaped body and began blinking on and off, like a welcoming beacon.
Whatever reserves of adrenaline or moral fiber or just plain stubbornness that remained in me rose up. I still ached from scalp to toes, still felt as weak as a newborn kitten, my suit was still sloshing with perspiration and the heat was suffocating me. But I kept my eyes open and my burned hands on the control pads despite the heat, trying my best to hold the speed and attitude that Fuchs wanted.
Then he said, “Now comes the hard part.” And my heart sank.
“You’ve got to lose a little altitude and a lot of speed, so you can pass beneath us where we can grab you.”
I remembered that rendezvous was such a tricky maneuver in the simulations that I had botched it more often than not, and that had been with
Hecate
flying on her own power. I was piloting a glider now; I had used up all the thrusters’ fuel trying to break free of those arms that were holding me down on the surface.
Hecate
flying on her own power. I was piloting a glider now; I had used up all the thrusters’ fuel trying to break free of those arms that were holding me down on the surface.
“You’ll only get one shot at this,” Fuchs warned, “so you’ve got to do it right the first time.”
“Understood,” I said, my voice a dry, harsh cough.
“I’d do this with the automatic controls from here in
Lucifer,
” he added, “but your systems aren’t responding to my signals.”
Lucifer,
” he added, “but your systems aren’t responding to my signals.”
“Must be damaged,” I said.
Fuchs said, “Maybe the heat.” But I remembered
Hecate
slamming into a boulder or something when the tidal wave first struck. Most likely the antennas for the remote-control receivers were damaged then.
Hecate
slamming into a boulder or something when the tidal wave first struck. Most likely the antennas for the remote-control receivers were damaged then.
“Okay now,” Fuchs said. I could hear him taking a deep breath, like a man about to start an impossibly difficult task. “Diving planes down five degrees.”
I knew where the diving plane control was. I had to stretch my leg to get the toe of my boot on the left pedal. My foot cramped horribly, but I think the pain actually
helped to keep me awake. The digital display read minus one, minus two …
helped to keep me awake. The digital display read minus one, minus two …
Abruptly I heard a tearing, grinding noise and
Hecate
flipped over onto her back so hard I was banged against the overhead in the narrow cockpit.
Hecate
flipped over onto her back so hard I was banged against the overhead in the narrow cockpit.
I must have screamed, or at least yelled out something. Fuchs was bellowing in my earphones but I couldn’t understand his words. The ship was spinning madly, slamming me around inside the cockpit like the ball in a jai-alai game bouncing off the walls. My head rattled inside the heavy metal helmet; despite the padding I saw stars and tasted blood in my mouth.
One thought came screeching through my pain, one lesson I had learned in the simulations. The stabilizing jets.
Hecate
had a set of small cold-jet units placed at her nose, tails, and along the sides of the hull. I started to reach for the bright yellow pad that would fire them, then realized that all this had started when I’d moved the diving planes. I’d have to bring them back to neutral before the jets could stabilize the ship’s spin.
Hecate
had a set of small cold-jet units placed at her nose, tails, and along the sides of the hull. I started to reach for the bright yellow pad that would fire them, then realized that all this had started when I’d moved the diving planes. I’d have to bring them back to neutral before the jets could stabilize the ship’s spin.
I saw a glaring red light blinking at me from the control panel. One of the diving planes had not responded to my command. That’s what flipped
Hecate
into this spin. It must have been damaged down on the surface, bent or broken against that boulder.
Hecate
into this spin. It must have been damaged down on the surface, bent or broken against that boulder.
Fuchs was still roaring at me, but I concentrated every gram of my will on the control panel. Bracing myself against the constant slamming around caused by the ship’s spin, I brought the diving plane back to its neutral position and then fired the stabilizing jets.
For a moment I thought
Hecate
would tear herself apart. But the spinning slowed and then stopped. The ship was under my control again.
Hecate
would tear herself apart. But the spinning slowed and then stopped. The ship was under my control again.
And diving straight for the ground.
“Pull up! Pull up!” Fuchs was bellowing. “Get her nose
up!
” His voice was hoarse, scratchy.
up!
” His voice was hoarse, scratchy.
“Trying,” I croaked.
The smaller control surfaces seemed to work all right.
Hecate
swooped up in a zoom that dropped my stomach far behind me.
Hecate
swooped up in a zoom that dropped my stomach far behind me.
Following Fuchs’s painfully rasping commands I made
Hecate
climb back up almost to his altitude, then slowly coasted toward
Lucifer.
Staying away from the diving planes, I jinked and jerked my ship raggedly closer and closer. My strength was fading fast. It was so damnably hot, and whatever reserves of adrenaline I had been riding on were totally spent now.
Hecate
climb back up almost to his altitude, then slowly coasted toward
Lucifer.
Staying away from the diving planes, I jinked and jerked my ship raggedly closer and closer. My strength was fading fast. It was so damnably hot, and whatever reserves of adrenaline I had been riding on were totally spent now.
Looking up through the forward port I saw
Lucifer
looming bigger and bigger, its lights still winking and blinking insanely. Its cargo bay doors swung open and the grappling arms extended down toward me. I lowered my manipulators slightly so I could get a better view of the grapples.
Lucifer
looming bigger and bigger, its lights still winking and blinking insanely. Its cargo bay doors swung open and the grappling arms extended down toward me. I lowered my manipulators slightly so I could get a better view of the grapples.
“Velocity looks good,” Fuchs was saying, almost crooning like a father lulling his baby to sleep. It would be good to sleep, I thought. Then I realized again that he was my father. Did he have any paternal feelings for me? Until a day or so ago he despised me as the son of his deadliest enemy. Now he was guiding me back to safety.
“Hold it there,” he said softly.
I couldn’t hold it.
Hecate
wasn’t an inanimate object but a ship alive in the sluggish winds and currents of Venus’s thick hot air. She had a soul of her own, and I was not her master, only an exhausted, terrified mortal trying to get this willful creature to go along with me for just a few moments more.
Hecate
wasn’t an inanimate object but a ship alive in the sluggish winds and currents of Venus’s thick hot air. She had a soul of her own, and I was not her master, only an exhausted, terrified mortal trying to get this willful creature to go along with me for just a few moments more.
“Nose up.”
Automatically I moved my scorched hands against the control pads.
“Little more … little more …”
Hecate
began to shake again, more violently this time, bucking like a stubborn bronco that didn’t like the way she was being handled.
began to shake again, more violently this time, bucking like a stubborn bronco that didn’t like the way she was being handled.
“Don’t let her stall!” Fuchs shouted. “Drop the nose a bit!”
Lucifer
’s cargo bay loomed before me, with the grappling
arms dangling, reaching. It looked to me as if I was going to crash into them.
’s cargo bay loomed before me, with the grappling
arms dangling, reaching. It looked to me as if I was going to crash into them.
“Another few meters,” Fuchs coaxed.
“I … can’t … .” Everything was fading, melting, running together like watercolors in the rain. It would be wonderful to feel the rain, I thought, to stand in the cool gentle rain of Earth and feel blessed water splashing on my face, running across my burned and aching body.
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