The lonely crackle of static washed over the comm. An eyeblink later, he lost sight of Aaron, but he heard the crunching thud over the comm as his friend’s body smacked into the pavement.
X stared at the ruined buildings, the air seized from his chest, unable to process that Aaron was really gone. He had only seconds before he had to flare his chute and hit the ground himself, but he couldn’t pull his gaze away from the towers or bear the thought of finding Aaron’s mangled corpse. Not now, not after surviving this many dives.
At some point, he snapped out of his dazed state, jolted alert by his promise and his duty. Humankind was counting on him. Aaron had died, and Will and Rodney before him. But X couldn’t die. He still had two things to do: find the power cells and see Tin through to adulthood.
The square of dirt was rising up to meet him. Bending his knees slightly, he pulled on the toggles to slow his descent and performed a two-stage flare. A halo of dust billowed up around him as his boots connected with the poisoned ground. He tried to run out the momentum, but with no grass or leaves to flutter in the breeze, he had misgauged and approached crosswind. His knees folded, and he lost his balance.
X hit the ground hard, his body tumbling and then skidding across the bare dirt. When he finally fetched up, he was on his back. He lay there for a few seconds. That horrible crunching sound still echoed in his ears. He couldn’t see or breathe. He had lost his entire team in a single jump, in what was supposed to be a green-zone dive.
Furious, he thrashed at the risers and cascade lines wrapped around his midsection and legs. The loose low-porosity nylon rippled in the toxic breeze. He squirmed and pulled it away from his armor, tripping and falling again in the process. Pulling his knife, he sliced through the harnesses, finally freeing himself. He swore again and kicked at the dirt from a sitting position.
The wind had calmed, and the roll and clatter of thunder was far away. He sheathed his knife and lingered on the ground before finally pushing himself to his feet.
Wobbling as the blood rushed from his head, he looked through the bees swarming in his field of vision at his HUD. The beacon of the supply crate Ty had dropped was a half mile away.
Reaching down, he activated his wrist computer. A map rolled out across the screen. He flicked the surface with a fingertip and dragged a navigation marker to the crate’s location.
At least he wouldn’t have to trek across the wasteland for hours to secure his gear. He checked the map for a second time to search for the main target. The Hive’s records put the nuclear fuel cells in an old warehouse two miles from the supply crate. He set a second nav flag to mark the location.
When he had finished plotting his route, he checked the radiation readings. His heart skipped when he saw the digital telemetry on his HUD. Something had to be wrong. The numbers were astronomical.
Green dive, my ass!
He hadn’t the time right now to curse Captain Ash’s team. He had to get moving. His layered suit wouldn’t keep out all the radiation, so the clock was ticking. He pulled his blaster from the holster on his right hip and cracked the triple-barreled break-action open to expose two shotgun shells in the breech. It was good he checked; he had forgotten the flare. He plucked one from his vest, inserted it in the top barrel, and snapped the action shut with a click.
The training and experience he had acquired over ninety-six dives kicked in. He scanned the devastation all around him, framed on either side by hundreds of skeletal buildings, and at the top by the swirling storm. It was a sight other Hell Divers had seen countless times, but this time X was the only man left standing to see it.
TWO
“Please Maria, there’s still time,” Mark Ash said. “Jordan can take over. You’ve done your duty to the Hive. It’s time you looked after yourself.”
Captain Maria Ash hunched over the sink and spat blood into the bowl. She shivered and gripped the cold metal to steady herself.
“Jordan’s not ready,” she said. “He has a lot to learn before he takes the helm.” She closed her eyes and waited for the dizziness to pass. She opened them to her husband’s reflection in the mirror. What little brown hair he had left formed a crown around his skull, like a monk’s tonsure. He positioned his glasses farther down, against the bulb of his nose, then smiled when he saw she was looking at him.
Even though she should be accustomed by now, she still gasped at the sight of the woman next to him. Her pale skin accentuated the bags under her green eyes, and her tailored white uniform couldn’t hide the weight she had lost. Her face was haggard, and for a moment she wished she could buy makeup off the black market. But she had to set an example, even if it meant looking like a walking cadaver.
She ran a hand through her bright-red hair. At least that had come back. Her hair had always been a defining feature, and losing it had been like losing part of her identity. Two days ago, when one of the Hive’s doctors told her the throat cancer had returned, the first thing she had done was touch her hair. It was her one luxury, the one bit of femininity she could still show to the world. She deftly twisted it into a bun and secured it with a handful of pins.
Mark put a hand on the back of her shoulder. “I love you, Maria, since the day we met nearly twenty-five years ago. I don’t want to lose you.”
She turned away from the mirror to face him. “And I love you, but you know how important my dream is to me. I have to find us a new home. I know there’s a place out there for us—a surface area that’s habitable. I will find it.”
He gave a little sigh. “You want to believe it’s out there, but even your own staff doesn’t think such a place exists. Please, I’m begging you. Let Jordan take over. Accept treatment again. I almost lost you once already.”
Maria shook her head and turned back to the mirror. She was a fighter. Always had been. Before she was captain, she had been a lieutenant in the Militia. She always wore her uniforms with pride.
“The ship needs me, now more than ever. We just dropped Team Raptor into an electrical storm, for God’s sake!”
Mark crinkled his nose—something he did when he wasn’t sure what to say.
“There are only two airships left in theentire world,” she said. “I will not abandon my duty now.”
“Okay, I understand.” With a defeated nod, he opened the bathroom door and left her staring into the mirror.
Maria picked her wedding ring up off the sink and twisted it back into place. It was loose on her bony finger, and she had to curl her hand into a fist to keep it on. Mark was right. Most of her staff didn’t believe there was anywhere on the poisoned surface where humanity could start over, but she had to believe. Most days, that small ray of hope was the only thing that kept her going.
An undecipherable voice broke across the PA speakers outside, recalling her to the bridge. After losing contact with Team Raptor, she feared the worst. They needed those nuclear fuel cells to keep their home in the air, and to stiffen her resolve to keep looking for a new home. It wasn’t often that they came across potential locations for nuclear cells—which made today’s mission even more vital.
Maria flicked off the light and walked back onto the bridge. Mark had returned to his shift at the water treatment plant, but her stone-faced executive officer, Leon Jordan, was waiting for her at the entrance of the room. She studied him from afar, trying to get a read before he broke whatever news he had. He was a stoic young man with stern features that she might expect from someone twice his age. His strong jaw and dark brown eyes revealed no hint of anxiety, only strength. It was partly why she had selected him as her XO. He was smart, loyal, and ambitious, and like her, he cared about the Hive and its passengers. He would make a fine captain someday—maybe someday soon—but she wasn’t ready to hand over the reins just yet.