Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (190 page)

The summit revealed itself in the flood of afternoon sunlight streaming into the broad, shallow caldera. Alex increased the tinting on her goggles and checked the feed to her mask. Even with the supplemental oxygen, her lungs begged for more air, protesting the deepest breaths as inadequate.

The mountainside had served as a bulwark, but now the wind whipped into them with bitter malevolence. Layers of thermal garments designed to capture and amplify the body’s natural heat felt as effective as porous gauze in the face of the onslaught.

She drew her hood in tighter. “Fuck it is cold.”

“You are the master of understatement, baby. But look….”

She glanced over to find him facing the interior of the volcano. The summit displayed a gently sloping concave exterior. Puffs of jade-white steam shot out of holes in the spongy gray material filling the caldera.

“Whatever. Look at
this
.” She gestured in the opposite direction, for the view beyond the summit was nothing short of magnificent.

The research station where they had begun their trek was a tiny speck far below and to the right. In front of them the terrain swept downward to a frozen plain stretching to the horizon. Her initial inclination was to liken it to parts of northeastern Alaska, but this was a decidedly alien landscape.

Jagged fissure rifts split the sheets of ice to allow the same jade-tinged steam to escape into the air, unveiling brilliant emerald crystals beneath the surface. Large swaths of the sheets glowed pale green where the ice grew thin and new fissures would soon form. The sun blazed across the landscape, turning the ice iridescent and filling the sky with daytime auroras.

But for the single dot of humanity in the valley below, it was untouched. Untamed. Nature loosed to run free.

An apt description, I do believe. Does the planet feel alive to you?

It certainly
looks
alive, Valkyrie. But peaceful somehow…or at peace with itself. Hopefully it doesn’t mind us intruding.

She dropped her head onto Caleb’s shoulder. “You take me to the nicest places.”

“I really do. But next week, I’m thinking a sweltering jungle somewhere, full of serpents and flying insects.”

“So long as it’s warm, I’m in. Though I will point out, a nice, luxurious hot tub overlooking a white, sandy beach is also warm.”

“True. And it has other benefits.”

Her chuckle sounded reedy in the rarefied air. “I’m temporarily too cold to think about other benefits. Shall we?”

“We shall.”

She opened her pack and removed the small glider harness. It consisted primarily of torso-hugging straps attached to a small rectangular module, but when activated the module would unfurl a pair of airfoils. Made of a hyperlight carbon nanofiber, when fully extended and locked open they were strong enough to endure 240 kph winds and a 150 kN impact. Pockets beneath each wing enclosed the hands to provide the wearer a measure of control during the flight, and tensile ankle straps kept their legs from flapping awkwardly and destroying the aerodynamics. But there was no frame, no motor and no brake; the glider was as close to natural wings as humanity had achieved.

They checked the secureness of each other’s harnesses, then she grasped his hand and squeezed. “I
love
you.”

“Prove it. Fly with me.”

Brandishing a spirited grin, she stepped aside to create space for the six-meter span of the gliders. The wings unfurled at her side; she slid her hands into the pockets and felt the material tighten reassuringly. She nodded.

“3…2…1…Go!”

She took a deep breath and leapt.

The second of free fall ticked by in a thousand transcendent nanoseconds. The rush of vertigo spinning her stomach. The stronger rush of wind forcing its way past her layers of clothing to bite into her skin like needles of ice. The feeling that she could fall forever as frozen land and endless starshine rushed past her vision in a blur.

The rush.

For an instant the force of Valkyrie’s exhilaration had overwhelmed her thoughts—had come dangerously close to overwhelming her actions. She blinked and reasserted her own will into the forefront.

Keep on like that and you’ll let us plummet to our death.

Perhaps I became carried away by the experience.

We need to talk about you and your ‘perhapses’—later.

Alex spread her arms, and with a reassuring jolt the wings locked…and she was soaring.

Now, isn’t this better?

There was no response.

Valkyrie?

I find I am at a loss for words.

Finally.

A shadow grew overhead as Caleb crossed above her. It had been years since she’d used a glider, and she tweaked the wings a couple of times before finding the proper adjustment to gain altitude and draw up beside him.

Cut it a little close there.

I was in the moment.

He shook his head, but thankfully let her off the hook. They veered to the left, leaving Khione behind to sail above the fullness of the plains.

From above, the sunlight roused the emerald ice into sparkling a fiery, brilliant green. Any imperfections in the tundra vanished as it washed out to a pure white. If only the sun on her back held any warmth whatsoever, it would be perfection.

She laughed in delight as an aurora swirled beneath them, its elusive rays seemingly just out of reach.

Her focus on the colorful show, she didn’t notice they had company until she glanced in Caleb’s direction—she instinctively jumped in surprise, which very nearly sent her tumbling through the air. She jerked her arms level and kept them stiff until the wings stopped teetering.

An animal, the same breed as the one that attacked them, flew barely fifteen meters beyond him. It maintained an altitude and speed to match their own.

Jesus!

It’s okay.

Caleb tilted his head in her direction. She looked to her right as two additional creatures banked in to take up positions beside her.

What are they doing?

We’re no longer prey. I think they’re saying ‘hi.’

Here in the air, they projected a far less ferocious and far more graceful manner than one had on the ground. The membranes turned out to serve as true wings, and the extensive connections meant all their limbs were pulled up into the span, giving them an appearance closer to an ocean ray than a many-limbed reptile.

Valkyrie’s voice took on a high-minded tenor in her head.
A reminder that danger can often be disguised by beauty, and beauty by danger.

She rolled her eyes.
Thanks for the insight, Confucius.

I was talking about you.

Smartass.

Well, yes.

The creatures accompanied them for another several seconds before dipping lower and slowing. As she checked behind her to confirm they were departing, she noticed dark streaks of discoloration and an open wound on the chest of the one that had first joined Caleb.

It was the same one they had confronted on the ascent.
I’ll be damned.

She murmured a quiet gasp of wonder and exhaled against the wind. With the next breath in she allowed the sensations to consume her fully. This freedom, this embracing of the wild unknown and meeting it on its own terms…this was her life. Now, this would be their life.

She acknowledged the quiet voice in the recesses of her mind, the one whispering it was all a lie—all a contrived creation by its masters beyond the portal—and put it aside for later. Its refrain had become a common one, but it could wait a while longer.

Far in the distance the terrain began to darken into the rocky, uneven crags they had flown past on the way to the village.

We should start descending.

Agreed.

As one their wings dipped, and the icy expanse rose to greet them.

The sensation of motion, of
velocity
, returned as the ground sped by, and it occurred to her she was moving rather fast and the ground looked rather hard and unforgiving. She rotated her shoulders to create drag on the wings—too much, her altitude dropped precipitously. She decreased the angle. Better.

Down there.

They aimed for a wide area of unbroken ice. When the surface was two meters below and her speed had slowed sufficiently, she drew her arms in and disengaged the wings’ locks. Her feet hit the ground at a run; then abruptly she was tumbling head over heels. After many bruising revolutions she lurched to a stop lying on her back. Yep, definitely hard
and
unforgiving.

A heavy thud signaled Caleb’s arrival to her left.

“Owwww….”

She was laughing, raggedly and in mild exhaustion, as he crawled over and collapsed beside her. When she decided she was capable of movement she tugged her mask off and shifted to rest on his torso. Then she shoved his own mask off and kissed him zealously, high on adrenaline and oxygen and adoration.

He tried to wrap his arms around her, which led to their unfurled wings getting tangled in one another, which led to a more fulsome state of entanglement. Which worked out fine.

She giggled against his lips. “That was spectacular.”

“It was. Should cure our restlessness for at least a week.”

“Maybe even two…” her eyes gleamed in only partially feigned playfulness “…but what then? What’s next? Dare that supernova to erupt on us?”

He regarded her intently. “You know what’s next. The sooner you say it, the sooner we can get started.”

Her protest lodged in her throat. Of course she knew. She’d known for weeks; part of her had known from the moment she sent the Metigen fleet slinking home.

“We’re going back through the portal.”

“Damn right we’re going back through the portal.”

“I mean, what are all those other universes? Are they like ours? Why were they created? What game are the Metigens playing? What are they—”

His mouth smothered hers to halt her rambling, and it was some time later when they came up for air.

She crossed her arms on his sternum and propped her chin up. “We should probably get married before we go. I doubt they’ll have the necessary bureaucracy on the other side.”

“Excellent point.” He had managed to untangle his left arm and reached up to softly caress her cheek. “We should. Let me check my calendar…two Fridays from today looks free.”

“Does it now. Okay, February 2
^nd
it is.”

“I like this plan. And I suspect there are a few other things we’ll need to take care of before we leave.”

“A few.” Her mind was already racing around the implications. Valkyrie was the biggest source of complications, but she’d also need to find a way to obtain the new engine and…his chest rumbled beneath her as he started chuckling. “What?”

“You’re as happy as a kid on Christmas morning right now, aren’t you?”

“Unh!” She punched him lightly in the shoulder and rolled off onto the ice. It was late afternoon in the daylight cycle, and the auroras flitted with increasing luminance above them.

“So, um, how do we get back to the
Siyane
?”

“We walk.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I am.” He wrangled his pack off and repositioned it to serve as a pillow. “I contacted Dr. Becnel as soon as we landed and humbly requested a pickup, noting we weren’t technically on Khione any longer. Somebody will be along in a vehicle. Eventually.”

“Terrific.” She curled her hands behind her head and stared up at the sky. “We can start planning while we wait. First, we’ll need….”

FOUR MONTHS LATER

EARTH

EASC
H
EADQUARTERS

The gleaming façade shone in the late morning sun, radiant and glittering in a way only newness could exhibit. Tiers of steel and glass rose in staggered, winding levels to soar into the sky. A work of functional art, the offset floors allowed for both gardens and landing pads to blend seamlessly into the design of the structure.

It was, Miriam had to concede, a far more attractive building than the one it replaced.

Construction of the new EASC Headquarters Tower had been completed while she was away. It didn’t officially open for business until the next day, but most of the equipment and furnishings had already been transferred from the temporary quarters in the Logistics building, and her new office reputedly awaited her presence.

She almost walked in the entrance brandishing a smile. Luckily she realized her error at the door and donned a stern countenance.

A lieutenant sat behind the front desk testing the functionality of a control panel, but on spotting her he leapt to his feet with a salute. “Admiral Solovy! Welcome, ma’am. We were told you wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow. Allow me to show you to your suite.”