“I still don’t like doing this in a bright red suit.”
“Ith dawk. No oneth going to notith. Therth a waging thunderthtorm ath well. You’ll be OK. Weady to go?”
“Yes I’m ready.” Joe checked the harness holding the grav pack on his back.
He allowed the sergeant to push him off the loading bay platform and steer him towards a massive piece of sunshade.
The nearby sunshade was a few hundred kilometres square and the sergeant’s men were already fanned out hiding bugs in its inflated skeletal structure. The bit Joe was heading for was some of the curtain that had become eroded and separated off. Navs reckoned it was due to leave orbit and burn up in the atmosphere. It would leave an ionised trail to hide Joe as he followed.
“All wight. Thith should be the plathe. Navth? Are we on?”
“Turn 30 for one hundred meters. Stop. Turn 170 for 12 meters. That’s it.” Said Navs over their suit comms.
“Ok Navth. Were on”
“Joe turn your grav coils on.” Said Navs
Joe imagined a mental switch. “On” He could see the input through his skull port.
“Ok I’ll control your descent from the ship. Once over the Capital the Embassy beacon should home you in. Understand?”
“Yes” Joe had run through this dozens of times as the Vengeance approached Mirconium and settled into orbit.
“Sergeant. Stand by with your charges.”
“OK Navth. Chargeth thet.”
“Countdown for detonation…Five, four, three, two, one, detonate”
“Detonate” echoed the Sergeant. There were slight noiseless flashes and clouds of smoke round the edges of the torn sunshade. It bent and moved and folded and tumbled away from Joe and the Sergeant.
“Its so rotten its turning into powder,” said Joe
“Don’t worry,” said Navs “It’s still made of solid matter. It’s going to burn up the right trajectory. Are you ready.”
“Yes.”
“Good luck.” Said the sergeant.
“I’m sending you off now.”
“Right”
“Wadio Thilenth.”
Joe was slowly leaving the Sergeant and his men and the edge of the main sunshade and the open door of the Vengeance. He waved. It was already too far to see if anyone waved back.
Below him was the daylight side of the planet. Clouds and seas.
He was moving quicker now. The junked piece of curtain was just in front. Still folding and bending.
There was a large circular swirl in the clouds below. A hurricane.
He was getting faster
Ahead it was dusk. White clouds turned to grey with pink and gold highlights. Turned to black.
He was faster still.
Only the highest clouds were still glowing in the sunlight. Then it was all black. Except for the curtain.
Joe could see the curtain was giving off flashes and sparks. It was meeting stray molecules of atmosphere. Now there was a flare. It went out. The curtain flared again. Two flares. Three. Sparks and bits of glowing gas were streaming out behind it. Joe was sailing through them. Past them.
He was in thicker atmosphere. There was the rush of wind in his ears. He was leaving a trail as well. The suit wasn’t burning, it was inside an anti grav envelope. He was heating the air as he moved through it.
The air itself was shining.
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