Chapter 12 - The Chase

689 108 59
                                    

"Gabi is from Earth? Is that what you mean?" Denton exclaimed while fighting to control the craft. The quad lift swerved left and right above the street, coming within feet of the buildings around it. The curious onlookers that had been fascinated by the craft on the ground scattered in all directions. Some took shelter in nearby buildings, others ran away as quickly as they could.

"Why'd you have to land this thing right between these tall buildings anyway? The park behind the building would have been better. It's a more open area, and there are much fewer people. I'm going to kill myself at this rate," Denton said, his voice terse, as he narrowly avoided breaking the glass on the third floor of an office building.

"You'll be fine. Like I said, use the autopilot if you have to. It has a take-off, landing and transport mode. "

"I'm not taking my hands off of the controls," Denton barked and gripped the controls tighter until his knuckles were white. He had to calm down. Otherwise, he would end up with his craft in the office of some corporate executive, trying to explain why he demolished their pristine office. He took a few deep breaths and focused on the controls and the sound of the aircraft. Although he rarely talked about it, he had been an excellent pilot at one point. Tanner had been right. It was like riding a bike, whatever that was. The point was, once you learn it, you never forget.

After a few minutes just hovering a few floors above the street, Denton relaxed. The movements of the craft, the whine of the engines and the vibrations that radiated throughout the hull of the craft became more familiar. He felt more in tune with it as the controls changed from being objects that needed to be subdued to an extension of himself. He took a deep breath and exhaled with relief. Maybe he'd be ok after all.

With the craft comfortably under his control and level in the air, he increased the throttle and the quad shot skywards. He cleared the surrounding buildings and glanced at the map on the control panel as he pointed the craft towards the spaceport.

"Is she still heading for the spaceport?" he asked Tanner.

"Yes, her destination still appears to be the spaceport. I think your destination should be the same."

"Well, yes, obviously.," he said and suppressed an urge to throw up as the craft suddenly dropped, reminding Denton of the unpredictable nature of flight and that he needed to be careful. He regained control and altitude and set a course for the spaceport.

"Alright, I'm on my way. Please alert the spaceport security office about the situation and have them detain her. She can't be allowed to leave under any circumstances."

"Right away," Tanner said and disappeared off the air.

In the silence left behind, Denton increased the speed of the quad. He enabled the emergency lights that would allow him priority access to the traffic lanes that lined the sky above the city. All airborne transportation had to follow set lanes and rules, not unlike ground-based traffic. Unfettered access to the skies would lead to chaos and endless accidents. As a result, only emergency vehicles were allowed to deviate from the invisible paths that crisscrossed the sky.

With the spaceport set as his destination, he allowed himself to relax and take in the view. He had leveled out at an altitude just above the regular traffic lanes, partially to avoid causing traffic problems, partly to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to himself from daily commuters. 

He could see the spaceport in the distance, built on a vast open expanse at the outskirts of the capital city. Airborne and ground-based traffic streamed into it from all directions, and he could see shuttles from space arriving and departing on regular intervals. It was the main gateway to space on this side of the planet. 

The DescentWhere stories live. Discover now