Task Force Mars - Kevin Dockery [89]
Jackson repeated the announcement through the intercom for the benefit of those of his men who were not wearing the translator earpieces.
Immediately the big turbofans roared, the force of their blast directed straight down, burning what remained of the grass into the ground. Quickly the vehicle rose into the air, with the pilot, as well as Jackson, Harris, and Falco, scanning the surrounding skies. Thankfully, there were no other aircraft in their immediate vicinity. Even as he looked around, the lieutenant couldn’t help noticing that the craft moved much more smoothly than it had with Falco at the controls.
For now, the air battle seemed finally to have ended. There were many columns of smoke in the sky, a number of them rising from the park where the SEALS had fought the oncoming Eluoi. The mountainous bulk of the Batuu City pyramid continued to smoke and burn in a number of locations. The huge structure seemed to have been the focus of the attacks. The turrets and emplacements of its defensive batteries had been pretty well demolished, in many cases leaving gaping craters in the thick concrete walls. From the depth of some of those holes, it was clear that the walls must have been dozens of meters thick.
Two massive airships hovered above the wrecked pyramid, directing streams of water down onto some of the raging fires. To Jackson, those firefighting machines seemed more like dirigibles than winged aircraft—they had long swollen fuselages with numerous hover fans mounted on the sides—but to judge from the impressive volume of liquid they dispensed, they must have had some seriously powerful engines simply to get themselves off the ground with all that weight.
The only other aircraft they could see were white Eluoi jetcars similar to their own flying circular patrol patterns over the perimeter of the city or buzzing back and forth over the heavily damaged pyramid. There was no sign of the Assarn attackers who had survived the frenzied battle.
The flying machine banked away from the park, gliding smoothly under the control of the blond long-haired pilot. He took them up at an easy angle, flying toward the east and the city’s outer wall. Approaching that lofty barrier, which by then was far below them, he banked to port and assumed an easy cruising altitude, as if they were simply another Eluoi jet on perimeter air patrol.
Holding the control stick casually with his left hand, the pilot leaned back and twisted in his seat so that he could see Falco and Jackson. His breezy confidence was infectious, and he seemed to have a natural feel for controlling the aircraft.
“So you are strangers here,” he remarked. “I think not Eluoi or Shamani and certainly not Assarn.” He twisted farther and flashed a wink at Char-Kane, who was seated directly behind him. “Except you, a consul of the Shamani, I am assuming.”
“You are most observant,” she said coldly. “I am a consul de campe.”
The pilot whistled. “You’re keeping rather casual company for one of your exalted status, are you not? No offense, but these men seem a little rough around the edges compared to the serene Shamani and the ritualistic Eluoi.”
“We’re from a planet called Earth, in the star system known as Sol,” Jackson explained. “Only recently have we ventured into the stars. Our world was first visited by the Shamani some three years ago.”
“Ah, I see. We have been preparing to contact you, but here you are on an Eluoi world.” He cocked an eyebrow, making the statement an unspoken question.
“They took us against our will,” the officer said. “The Eluoi infiltrated one of our outposts. They brought us back here when their presence was discovered.”
He glanced over at the third chair, where Char-Kane was watching the exchange, her expression aloof and haughty. Jackson continued. “In fact, we had initially been informed that the Eluoi presence in our system was in fact your own Assarn.”
“Of course. The Shamani and the Eluoi each consider us to be the scourge of the universe. Did you hear that we eat our children? Worship beasts