The Fringe Wars

1.14

The Trinity fired a warning shot across the Gryphon's bow.

"Shit!" Throttle snapped around to see the blast.

"Keep going," Reyne said.

"They're going to kill us," Demes said. "We should use the phase cannon to—"

"Don't you touch that cannon." Reyne wagged a finger at Demes. "What is it with everyone and the cannon?"

A second shot fired, this one even closer, and Reyne found himself gripping the panel. "Just keep going, Throttle."

Once they made it past the drones, they broke through the atmosphere. If the Trinity fired now, it risked hitting the surface, though Reyne wasn't convinced the CUF would care. It wasn't until they'd traveled a few more seconds that he allowed himself to relax.

Throttle let out a breath. "We did it."

"I can't believe we're still alive," Demes said. "You, Reyne, are the craziest man I've ever met. We just flew right through a drone blockade like a Sunday walk."

Reyne grimaced. "The drones are here to prevent anyone from leaving Ice Port. They aren't stopping anyone from landing."

"How'd you know that?" Throttle asked.

"Just a hunch. And I'm guessing we do not want to be in Ice Port right now."

"You ignored the Trinity," Demes said and used his hands for embellishment. "The Trinity. You do realize that we're all dead men, don't you? They'll never let us get by with this."

"Speak for yourself, pirate," Throttle said, before adding, "We're running out of time to land at the docks."

Reyne looked at her. "You learned to fly in Playa's atmo. You can do this." He grabbed the comm and broadcast to the ship. "Hold on tight. We're on approach for landing."

He turned back to Throttle. "Remember, make it close," Reyne said. "Don't break from approach until you get below the cloud cover. The drones are jamming all communications, but their onboard cameras will be running. We need the drones to record us on final approach so that the Trinity thinks we're at Ice Port along with whomever else they're after. We don't want them to send down chasers."

"We're breaking through the clouds now," Throttle said as the Gryphon entered Playa's low, heavy cloud layer. The ship rocked and bucked as Throttle fought the winds.

They popped below the clouds. The space dock was directly below and coming fast. He held on and grunted as Throttle banked the ship in a high-g turn to glide near-parallel to the surface below. They flew over the fringe station, kicking up snow and flying too fast to make out any distinct features.

"Remember the old cave I never let you check out in the hovercraft?" Reyne asked.

"Yeah."

"Now's your chance."

"This isn't a hovercraft," she countered.

Reyne continued. "As soon as that cave comes into view, line up for landing. Be sure to touch down just beyond the entrance. You'll have only ten thousand feet of runway ahead of you. You'll need to have the Gryphon slowed down enough for a short landing."

She sucked in a breath. "The winds aren't going to be any help today."

"You can do this landing in your sleep," he added and meant every word.

She chortled.

He kept analyzing their speed and rate of descent. As soon as they were within one hundred kilometers of the Tulan Canyon, he brought down the landing gear. "Slow down. We're coming in too fast. I'll drop the flaps."