One World

Part 18

The onboard computer counted down the final seconds to launch.

Then the engine roared and the fighter took off and along with several others, it left the mothership in perfect formation. The autopilot guided the small starship safely into space.

Despite the smooth flight, Gabriel's heart was pounding hard and his hands were covered in cold sweat. But a smile played on his lips. This was what he had always wanted, to fly through space, to see their home planet in all its glory.

There were many similar starships around the mothership, not only small fighters, but also larger transports and angular assault ships.

Tremendous firepower that humans could not match.

Slowly they flew past, heading further along the planet's orbit.

The Earthling's heartbeat slowed and he relaxed as he realised that there was no danger at all, the steering was completely under autopilot control.

He looked around and noticed the radio, wondering if he could contact his friends.

Eric had managed to hack into the Ardanian transmissions before, using enemy's radio channels to communicate between the rebels. Gabriel tried to remember the frequency Eric had told him he could find their encrypted transmission on.

He pressed the speech control button on the on-board computer and commanded in Ardanese, "Open a private communication channel on frequency 136.43."

"Of course, I'm opening a private channel on frequency 136.43," came a pleasant female voice, and the radio activated.

He hadn't expected it to be that easy, so he was startled when he suddenly heard Eric's voice talking to someone on this frequency, "I'm trying to increase the range, but..."

"Eric?"

"Gabe?!" came the hacker's shocked voice.

"Yeah, it's me," he laughed. "Alive and well. So far, anyway."

"It's Gabriel!" He heard Eric shout at the top of his lungs.

And then a second enthusiastic voice came over the radio, belonging to another of his comrades-in-arms, "Gabe, you bastard, you're probably the only one who can survive one's own execution."

"Greetings to you, Garret, and the execution was just a ruse to..." Gabriel paused, not knowing how to explain why Rag'ell had done it.

"Where are you?" asked Eric again, while voices and cheers could be heard in the background, repeating the rebel leader's name.

"In an Ardanian fighter in Earth orbit," he replied.

There was a moment of shocked silence, then an astonished "What?" was all that came out of Eric.

Gabriel quickly explained his situation.

"If I don't take control somehow, the autopilot will complete a training flight with the fighter and return to the mothership. And then they'll catch me again," Gabriel finished his explanation as he looked at the planet Earth through a narrow viewport.

"If you turn off the autopilot but can't control it, you'll be left hanging in space somewhere," Eric argued.

"I activated the fighter, why can't I control it?" Gabriel asked, looking at the small control panel where four purple rings were still flashing.

"It's odd that you activated it yourself," Eric said, puzzled, "probably a malfunction in their system. But the controls are linked to another security circuit with a genetic lock, it won't let you in. Their spaceships can only be operated by an Ardanian."

"We'll see. If this fighter is broken, I might be able to pilot it because of the glitch."

"I don't think so. And if I were you, I wouldn't even try."

Gabriel, however, ignored Eric's advice, totally enthralled by the thought of piloting an enemy starcraft.

"Send me your coordinates and wait, I'll be there in a minute."

"You want to land the fighter on Earth?" Garret's voice came over the radio. "Gabe, you'll get yourself killed."

"Come on, I'm a pilot."

The crazy idea excited Gabriel.

So much so that he forgot everything else; the risk of crashing, the fact that he could easily be injured or killed, all that remained was the thrill and excitement at the thought of piloting a space fighter himself.

He touched the tattoo on his neck. Find what you love and let it kill you.

And this was exactly what he loved, and if it killed him, so be it.

He took off his helmet and reached for the goggles he'd put on instead. He could feel them clinging to his skin at his temples, but otherwise nothing happened. Through the dark lenses of the goggles he could only see the interior of the starcraft.

Then he placed his fingers on the small blinking panel. The purple rings around his fingertips turned white.

"PPS55 fighter control is active," the female voice of the onboard computer informed him. "Do you wish to deactivate the autopilot?"

Gabriel swallowed hard as he realised that, against all logic, it had worked and he would be flying through space on his own.

"Yes, turn off the autopilot," he confirmed, and even though he knew how stupid and unreasonable it was, he couldn't help but feel like a little boy on his birthday.

The dark glasses displayed the plane's navigation: altitude, speed and course, while he felt a slight vibration under his fingers. He realised that by moving his hand over the panel he could determine the direction and speed of the ship.

He was really piloting the alien fighter.

It took him only a moment to familiarise himself with the controls. He found it very intuitive, in many ways easier than flying terrestrial aircrafts.

The starvessel responded to him as if it knew in advance what he wanted it to do, as if it were directly connected to his mind, becoming a part of him.

His heart was pounding with excitement, his palms were sweating and his body was flooded with adrenaline. It was beyond words.

He glanced at the coordinates Eric had sent. He would fly in the formation with the others for a while, then try to separate and change course for landing on Earth.

"I've deactivated the autopilot and taken control," he announced proudly to his friends. "Fetch some alcohol, we'll get drunk together tonight."

"Gabe, you're crazy," came Garret's voice, clearly filled with admiration.

"I'm about to get to the other side of the planet, where the radio signal will be interrupted. So wish me luck and watch the sky."

"Gabriel," Eric spoke up again, "you still have to disconnect the fighter's remote control, or they'll take over and force you back to the mothership when they find out you've stolen their starship."

"How?"

"There must be a remote control circuit somewhere under the main panel. Cut it and the fighter is yours."

"It's only yours until they find out what you've done and shoot you down," the older mercenary interjected.

"Still optimistic, Garret," smiled Gabriel as he reached under the panel and, following Eric's instructions, disconnected the circuit in question.

"The fighter's remote control is malfunctioning, please activate the autopilot and return to the mothership immediately," the computer informed him in a friendly voice.

No way, he thought to himself and entered the coordinates Eric had sent him. Straight back to Earth. Back to your friends.

Gabriel tried to ignore the gut-wrenching feeling that he was leaving something behind that he would soon painfully miss.

"Eric, Garret, are you still there?"

"Already losi...sig..."

"Never mind. I'll see you back on Earth."