[Hope]
Hope bypassed the flyer safety constraints and sped low over the colony, coming within ten meters of the rooftops. The excessive speed and out-of-bounds course would attract the attention of the authorities, and an investigation would surely follow. But that was a problem for later.
A few deep breaths helped still her racing heart. Hope muttered, "I can't believe we did that."
Faith leaned back in the front passenger seat with her eyes closed and face pale. "But we did." She opened her eyes and smiled. "You were awesome, Hope."
"No. We were awesome!" Hope let out a single chuckle. "We need a superhero name. How about the Sisters of Virtue?"
The firearms and Krav Maga martial art training that their father had insisted on, sometimes reluctantly received, paid off. Hope had many questions, though, about why the training became so needed. She filed them in the back of her mind, another issue for later. Now was a time for celebration.
But the joy did not last long.
Hope's eyes widened as she glanced at the rear view display. "Oh, crap. There's more of them."
Faith swung her head around to peer out the curved rear window, grimacing from the effort it took on her weakened body. Two flyers approached fast from behind. With a tap on Hope's arm, she said, "You fly fast. I'll keep an eye on them."
Hope firmed her lips and pushed the thrust lever full forward. The whirr from the fans increased in pitch and volume, enough to drown out normal levels of conversation. The acceleration force pressed the women into their seat cushions. The pursuers adjusted their speed to match, coming closer still.
A right-side door of one enemy flyer swung up and a dark-clothed man leaned out with a pulse rifle. Faith held up a hand. "When I tell you, bank hard left." The man took aim and Faith dropped her hand. "Now!"
Hope jerked the yoke to the left. The resulting forces pushed the sisters to the right, straining them against the seat restraints. Two orange plasma bursts streaked by on the right side. Another movement of the yoke sent the flyer down, skimming the hilly brush-covered ground just outside of the town. Another plasma bolt missed above.
Faith gazed out the rear window. "The one firing at us is dropping back."
Hope nodded. "The open door probably increased the aerodynamic drag and they couldn't keep up. At least that limits how much they can shoot at us. And it would be hard to hit anything leaning out the door like that anyway."
Hope flew low to the ground in a zigzag pattern, dodging periodic shots from her pursuers. Both sisters jumped as a plasma bolt slashed a forward fan cowling, erupting in a trail of orange sparks.
Faith narrowed her eyes. "You were saying?"
"Lucky shot."
"So, do we have any kind of plan?"
"Sort of." Hope shrugged. "We'll go through the canyon and see if we can lose them."
Upstream from the family cabin, the river narrowed into a deep red-rock canyon where two rocky ridgelines surrounded the river valley. Hope knew the area. Kayaking the tumbling water within the scenic canyon was a favorite family activity, at least through the lower portion where the white-water rapids were not too treacherous.
A vibration from the pocket sleeve of Hope's leggings caught her attention. With one hand, she extracted her viewer and tossed it to Faith. "Answer this for me? If it's Carlos, tell him I'm busy."
A smile brightened Faith's face. "Dad!" She touched the speaker button. "Hope is here with me."
Moon returned the smile. "Are you alright, Faith?"
"I am now. Hope busted me out of the hospital."
He scowled. "Hope, I thought I told you to go straight to the evac point!"
Hope raised her voice, but kept her eyes straight ahead. "Well, good thing I didn't! Some goons were trying to drag Faith away."
"Okay." Moon held up his hands. "We can talk about this later--"
"Yes, let's..." Hope growled, gritting her teeth. Her voice took an angry edge. "We have lots to talk about!"
"Where are you now?"
Faith answered while Hope executed a tight turn. "We are in the flyer heading towards the canyon. Some more of those goons are chasing us in two other flyers. And they are shooting at us!"
Moon lowered his eyes and manipulated a control panel. "Okay. Here's the plan. In..." He paused. "In twenty-eight minutes, we will do an atmospheric quantum insertion above the canyon rim. Make sure you are on the ground by then. It makes one hell of a pressure pulse."
Hope's mouth gaped. "Dad, are you crazy?" Coming out of quantum space within an atmosphere is incredibly dangerous.
He shrugged. "I've done it once before. No worries."
Hope huffed. I hate it when he says that!
Gabriel leaned into the view. "Hope, take them through the slot. That should shake them off." He put on that cheesy grin of his. "I can't wait to watch Dad kick your butt!"
Hope grumbled while executing another turn. Another plasma bolt shot past. "If we make it, you can all kick my butt."
Moon growled, narrowing his eyes. "Everyone focus! Or I'll kick everyone's butt."
Hope inwardly smiled. Gabriel's teasing actually inspired a measure of confidence in her, easing the tension in her chest. He had presumed she would be alive and well for the butt kicking.
Faith pointed ahead. "There's the canyon."
A series of tight turns, weaving between craggy hill tops and rock monoliths, brought them to the rim. Tumbling white water sparkled below where it met the sunbeams. Hope pushed the control yoke forward, diving into the canyon.
Diving into the canyon, the tall red rock walls swallowed them up. Hope skimmed the churning water, following the curves of the river and dodging enormous boulders along a long bend that swept around a towering rock spire.
Faith gazed behind. "They're not following so close now. And they stopped shooting."
"Good. Let's keep it that way."
The canyon narrowed with the walls growing higher and steeper, limiting the maneuvering room. Ahead, the walls closed in, forming a dark narrow passageway. The river gushed through it, churning in turbulent fury.
Hope shouted out. "Gab, we are coming to the slot. How do I take it?"
"Stay low to avoid the overhangs." he replied over the viewer, "And make sure you bank hard left the second you enter or you'll become a greasy smear on the side wall."
"Wonderful..." Hope rolled her eyes.
Gabriel grinned. "You've got this, Hope. Just like we did before."
Despite their sibling rivalry, his affirmation warmed Hope. Gabriel had flown through the slot once with her as a passenger. But they were both grounded for ten days once their father discovered the daredevil stunt.
Hope took the flyer low enough above the white water that the fans kicked up a trail of mist behind them. She firmed her jaw. "Here we go!"
Shadows engulfed them as they entered the slot. Hope shoved the yoke hard left, banking the flyer along the curving walls. Again, forces pushed the sisters against their seat restraints. The flyer lurched as the undercarriage scraped against rock. After two long seconds within, they emerged beneath a red rock overhang and back into the sunlight, leaving the slot behind.
Faith kept her eyes facing back, looking for their pursuers. One came through too high, slamming into the overhang. The flyer shattered, pieces splashing down into the rushing water. "Got one!" She waited for a moment. "I didn't see the other one."
Hope shook her head. "Damn. They may have pulled up out of the canyon. Keep a watch out."
The canyon widened and the river calmed as they raced along. With a pull on the control yoke, the flyer cleared the wall. A massive rounded monument of red rock loomed ahead.
Moon spoke over the viewer. "Where are you?"
Faith answered. "Coming up on sentinel rock."
Moon nodded. "Okay. We'll come out of quantum space above it in..." He glanced down. "...five minutes. Make sure you land in four. We will lose communications soon. Be careful." Two fingers went to his lips. "Love you both."
Faith smiled. "Love you too, Dad."
A tightness emerged in Hope's chest. "I wish we knew where that other flyer--"
A deafening crash and the sound of shredding plas-steel interrupted her words. Faith ducked her head as wind rushed through a jagged gash in the rear door behind her. Before Hope could react, another explosion racked the flyer. Fractured shards of the high-speed fan blades whistled as they pierced the cabin, ricocheting inside, some of them imbedding themselves in the wall beside Hope. Faith cried out, tilting her head back.
The flyer lurched to one side, nearly overturning. As it tilted, Hope caught a glimpse of the enemy flyer behind them, close enough that she could see the scowling expression of the man holding a pulse rifle.
Panel lights flashed red warnings as Hope wrenched at the control yoke. A feeling of weightlessness tingled her gut while the flyer plummeted toward the ground. Furiously yanking the controls, she managed to level the flyer, but it went into a flat spin. Smoke trailed from the shattered right rear fan assembly.
Continuing its fall, the flyer spun like a top, flinging loose items across the cabin. Hope realized that there was no way the automatic stabilizer controls could handle a spin with only three working fans.
Think! Envision the rotational forces and counter with thrust.
Hope powered up the remaining fans and ducted thrust counter to the spin, doing this carefully, as too much thrust might roll the vessel. Once the spin stopped, she slammed the fan power to maximum and directed the thrust straight downward, regaining control only a meter above the rocky ground.
Pushing the yoke, she directed the wounded aircraft forward toward a rocky ridgeline. With a final shudder, the flyer dropped to ground, shaking the sisters and churning up clouds of dust as it skidded along the ground.
Hope flung off the seat restraints and pushed the door open. "Come on, Faith. We--"
Only then did Hope notice her sister's paled face and the growing crimson stain. Faith clutched the wound in her side, blood leaking around her fingers. Breathing quick and shallow, she said in an airy voice, "Hope, go. Get to safety."
"To hell with that! I didn't come all this way to leave you behind now."
First slinging a pulse rifle over her shoulder, Hope undid Faith's seat restraints and pulled her across. Faith stiffened and gritted her teeth from the pain. Stumbling along, Hope helped her sister move toward a defensible pile of boulders.
The whine of flyer fans came to their ears. Gasping, Faith yanked Hope to the side, tumbling them both down to the dusty soil between clumps of tall grass. Two plasma bolts burst upon the ground where they once stood, peppering them with bits of grit.
Enraged, Hope spun around while seated on the ground and shouldered her rifle, firing off three plasma bolts in quick succession. The enemy flyer, hovering above, banked away to escape the barrage, the orange streaks just missing.
Faith panted, lying on her side in the dust. As she coughed, a trickle of red rolled from the corner of her mouth. Hope hefted her up, looping arms around her torso, and drug her sister to the rocks. Faith's limp heels left shallow furrows in the gravely soil.
The flyer swung around again. Hope ducked down among the boulders, covering Faith with her body. Plasma bolts blasted off bits of the rocks around them. As the flyer retreated, Hope jumped up to fire back.
The last trigger pull produced only a click. The blinking red light on the rifle stock only brought dismay. Hope turned toward her sister. "It's drained."
Hope breathed deeply into aching lungs. Her eyes traced the enemy flyer as it circled around near Sentinel Rock, readying an attack run.
Dad, we really need you right now.
As if in answer, the Firebird Rise appeared above and westward, snapping into existence from quantum space like magic. Hope pulled Faith into her arms, kneeling over. The shockwave hit within a second, followed immediately with a thunderous roar. She closed her eyes to the blast of hurricane force winds. The starship's rounded delta wings cast a protective shadow toward the sisters.
Exposed, the enemy flyer faired much worse. The shock-winds tumbled the aircraft and slammed it onto the ground at the base of the towering red spire. A bright blue flash erupted from the wreckage as the power cells ruptured.
Hope watched the starship move slowly to the side, the thrusters whining at it prepared to land. The light of joy welled up within her. "We made it!" she shouted to the sky.
Hope's elation quickly faded at the sight of Faith's ashen face. Blood dripped from her wound, pooling thick and red on the dusty ground. A tear emerged on Hope's cheek as her heart sank. Drawing Faith's head onto her lap, her voice came out strained with emotion. "Hang in there... okay?"
A weak cough shook Faith. She whispered. "Tell Dad and Gab that I love them."
A sob wracked Hope. "You... tell them yourself. You can't--" The word would not come out.
A weak smile came to Faith's face. "It's okay. I am not afraid to die. A short life was always my destiny. I love you, Hope." She reached up with a trembling hand to caress her sister's cheek. "You are the Empress now."
Faith's eyes drifted shut and her hand fell away.
Deep sobs wrenched Hope as her heart fell into the abyss. I love you too.