Escape (Complete)

Chapter 1

Getting a sponsor

War had been going on for almost five years. I was eighteen and had completed both regular school and a advanced school in engineering. I was home on Cloud before I submitted an application for the fleet marines. A lot here was still being researched because of the properties. I was three quarters amer indian and my father was the head warden for the major preserves.

I was sitting in his headquarters when the Mayday from a shuttle came in. I moved to the holograph board and watched the shuttle track down out of the atmosphere. I shook my head, “it is going into the Sky Islands.”

I looked at dad and he nodded, “and we do not have a ranger to go after them.”

I should mention my father lost both legs in combat and was still regrowing new ones. I looked at the holograph, “drop me with a glider and I will find them and walk them out.”

He frowned before finally nodding and moving his chair to a cabinet, “take my equipment vest.”

I smiled as I went to look before reaching for a standard vest and then his long bladed synth knife. They were unique in that they cut anything as if they were an energy knife. I had a small slim small one I normally carried. The long knife would work a lot better in the planet’s bush. Especially in the Sky Islands where a lot of tech gear did not work.

I headed out as dad called his flyer pilot. The only way to avoid the flyer from crashing because of the field properties in and around the Sky Islands is to fly at max attitude. I was wearing soft pants and a long shirt with leather mocs. I sat and began checking the synthetic silk shroud I would use to glide down to the area we thought the shuttle had wrecked in.

I glanced at the pilot when he turned and he grinned, “take a oxy mask, you will need it.”

I did not bother telling him it would only work for a few thousand meters before the field properties caused the electronics to fail. I checked our position before packing the shroud and standing. I slipped the mask on and moved to the door before sliding it back. I turned to watch the pilot and several minutes later he looked back and nodded.

I dove out and spread my arms and legs as I looked at the area below. I was searching for a hint of the shuttle as I released the shroud and it opened right behind my back. The straps yanked at my body and hips as I grabbed the two controls, one in each hand. I was still spread out as I turned towards a distant reflection.

I turned away when I realized it was just a large formation of synth crystals. I was at thirty five hundred meters when I saw the trail of broken vines between two floating islands. That was when I tore the mask off because it stopped working. I turned and headed down as I watched for signs of predators.

I had to shift and move around a few things as I went between the islands and then I saw the broken shuttle. I was still a thousand meters above and behind it and growled at the pack of wyvern wolves. I checked the wind and pulled a container of pepper spray. I dropped my feet and flared the shroud as I approached and landed on a wing.

The huge stubby winged wolves growled as they moved towards me and I released the spray. As soon as it hit them they coughed and started shaking as they backed off and then turned to run. I smiled as I released the shroud and turned to fold it and put it back into the pack it had come out of.

I moved to a hatch and used the manual release to open it. I stepped in and found broken seats and dried crash foam. I moved around and looked down the center isle and only a dozen men in suits looked back. I started towards them, “the pilot and copilot?”

A man pushed through the others and I saw the uniform with stars, “dead with the engineer.”

I nodded and began checking them, “anyone injured?”

They shook their heads as I moved through them and looked into the crushed cockpit. I turned, “okay this is what is happening. You crashed in a restricted area called Sky Islands. It is restricted because electronics do not work here and I am sure you saw the floating islands. What that means is we can not fly you out. There are several different predators so stay together.”

One cleared his throat, “if they can not fly us out how did you get here?”

I grinned, “I jumped from above twenty thousand meters and used a silk shroud to glide down.”

The general chuckled and I turned to gesture towards the door I had opened, “we have a long walk ahead of us.”

I walked to the hatch and looked out before moving onto the wing. I moved out and looked around as they came out. I went to the broken wingtip that was resting against a large tree and looked down before turning and starting down. I waited on the ground as they followed and looked at them, “stay close and do not wander away to pee on a tree.”

I pointed a dozen meters away, “especially those trees, they are alive and walk. We are not even sure they are trees and not animals.”

I turned and headed east, “Sky Islands is an area a couple of thousand kilometers across north to south and a thousand east to west. You crashed about a hundred and fifty from the east edge.”

I stopped when I saw the crawler and then started to circle around it as I pointed the eight meter millepede out, “those are poisonous. The poison paralyzes the victim and they eat it while it is still alive.”

I was constantly looking around and watching the men as well as what was around us. I stopped when I saw the large flock of jelly birds, “see the floating bags? We call them Jelly Birds because they are like old earth jelly fish in many ways. The hanging things below them have tiny barbed hooks that inject poison that will liquify a human in about six hours.”

Once the jelly birds had gone by I started walking again. We managed just over twenty kilometers before I stopped in a group of rocks. I slipped out and used the demo gun in the vest to kill an animal. I cleaned it and brought it back before starting a fire to cook it. The general watched me just as he had the whole way here.

He smiled, “ever think of joining the military?”

I grinned, “this is my vacation before I apply for officer training.”

He nodded, “you have schooling?”

I kept checking the openings into the rocks, “an advanced degree in engineering.”

He grinned, “we get out and I will personally get you in.”

I smiled and started handing sticks with meat to each man, “hold the meat and turn it so one side does not burn.”

Four days later I was swimming beside them as we crossed the last river before we were out of the dead zone around Sky Islands. I glanced back and up to see a wyvern and shook my head. I walked out first and quickly pulled the demo gun as I turned and walked backwards.

The others were coming out as the huge creature dropped out of the sky. I knew better than to try shooting through the hide, it was to thick and even a grav pulse rifle would not penetrate. The men were scrambling out as I aimed. The wyvern back winged with claws reaching for me as the last man ran past me.

It roared and that gave me the target I needed. I fired six times into its mouth and through the roof and into its brain. I back stepped as it jerked and then fell while convulsing. The wyvern wolves were distantly related to the wyvern which was why I had used the pepper spray. I looked at the huge creature as it died and waited before cutting off the claws on one forefoot.

I struggled to cut a huge piece of hide with the synth knife before rolling it up. I turned to look at the men and smiled as I started walking, “you just met one of the major predators here on Cloud. That was a Wyvern.”

I stopped a kilometer later when I saw the large slates of grav stones. They were covered in vines and debris or they would be floating a lot higher. I looked around, “we are setting up camp here.”

The general walked to one of the smaller stones and pushed on it, “what are these?”

I smiled, “grav stone.”

I had killed a Tree Snipe and let the men collect wood to build a fire. While they worked I went to the slate stones and collected vines and found four large flat pieces I could use. I used cord from the vest and vines to link them together. I sat up all night thinking about what I was planning. While I was doing that I cleaned the four huge wyvern claws.

I used my small synth knife to bore holes and then added cord to hang them around my neck. I lay back and relaxed to wait for morning. I was up with the sun and grinned as I put men on each piece of slate. I started at the back and moved toward the front as I cut the vines holding the grav stones to the ground.

I jumped onto the first as it started to rise and glanced back to see the men clinging to the vines I had put on. I shifted around and pulled out the silk shroud as we rose above the trees, “ready to wind sail home?”

I flipped the shroud and it caught the morning breeze and filled out. I leaned back as it started pulling and towing us after it. It was not long before the men were laughing as we flew above the trees at about two hundred feet. The breeze was only about five or six kilometers an hour but it picked up once the sun rose higher.

Eight hours later we were out of the dead zone and I collapsed the shroud. I held it as we drifted and pulled out several items that snapped together. I squeezed the side handle a dozen times before opening the comm, “dad?”

“Very funny Star Hawk. Devlin should reach you in an hour.”

I grinned at the general, “I was tired of walking. Let the port know the pilot, copilot and engineer died on impact.”

“Copy.”

I glanced around as we floated, “I had to kill a Wyvern.”

Dad was quiet for a long time, “I saw it attack and told the council.”

I put the comm down and relaxed and the general cleared his throat, “what was that about the Wyvern?”

I looked at him, “they are protected and only found in the Sky Islands. As far as we know there are only around a hundred. We tried catching and moving one but it just flew back and left a path of dead behind while it did it.”

An hour later a flyer hovered and dropped a line before landing. I grinned at the men, “hang on.”

Devlin, his copilot and engineer used a wench to pull us down and then used nets to hold the grav stones on the ground so they could be brought back later. It was a couple of days later that I walked into dad’s office and looked at the general when he turned. I smiled as I crossed to sit, “finished with your business sir?”

He smiled, “I was speaking with your father and waiting for you since I was told you would be here.”

I looked at dad as he sighed, “he has pulled a few strings. I gave him your application and he made a few calls.”

I looked at the general and he grinned, “you have a ticket waiting for the weekly shuttle and a slot at the marine officers course after you finish the basic training. I just need to hear your oath.”


Chapter 2

Captured

Basic training was hard but not as bad as I thought. The officers course was a lot different than I thought but I finished third in my class. My ensign assignment was with a company that did a lot of scouting and recon. I fit in extremely well and left a year later as a lieutenant JG (or junior grade).

I fired as the enemy attacked again, “second pull back, third cover.”

My platoon was facing at least three companies with almost no support. I had lost three men earlier and barely managed to evac them. I heard the platoon sergeant, “second is set.”

I nodded, “first pull back, second cover.”

I shifted and rolling to my feet and moving back before kneeling behind a tree. I moved again and then shifted to drop beside the last man in third squad, “second we need smoke.”

I started firing again as several smoke grenades exploded behind us and first squad came on, “first set.”

I glanced to the left, “third pull back, first cover.”

We were trying to move back to break contact but the enemy was pressing us hard. Suddenly artillery began impacting in front of us, “about damn time FO.”

I gestured as I rolled to my feet and backing into the smoke with the rest of third squad. I do not remember the explosion that threw me back or the company of enemy soldiers that found me. I remember waking up in a room with a thick bandage around my head and another bloody one around my left hand. I looked around and saw other soldiers in narrow cots and then I saw the guard watching me.

I tried to sit up and it took a moment for the dizziness to pass. He grinned, “you have a hard head lieutenant.”

His accent was not bad but I recognized it, “where am I?”

He shrugged, “you are a prisoner in our field hospital.”

I looked down and saw all my gear gone. I was just in my filthy uniform and boots, “for how long?”

He turned and pushed a button, “well now that you are awake we can send you up and intel can talk to you.”

Four hours later I was aboard a ship in a small empty room. I was restrained to a table as a tall captain walked in. One of the things I had been able to determine was they had not found my tiny synth knife. The captain sat across from me, “good afternoon lieutenant.”

I nodded, “sir.”

He smiled as he put a comp screen on the table, “I know this is a waste. Line officers of your rank do not really have information we can use. I was looking at your capture report and you impress me.”

I waited as he tilted his head, “your platoon and that is what we determined it was, managed to take out two companies and stop the battalion that was trying to flank your regiment.”

I smiled, “I tried.”

He nodded and looked at the screen, “we also found that your individual comm was voice activated and had a type of freq burner if another tried to access it.”

I grinned, “I am an engineer and built it just in case.”

He nodded again, “we did not think it was military issue.”

He checked his screen, “we are sending you to Melburn prison planet.”

I straightened because it was a known prison planet but not its location, “for a junior grade lieutenant?”

He smiled as he stood, “we have decided we do not want someone with your abilities loose in one of the other military prisons. In fact we do not want you exchanged and back in the ranks against us.”

He walked out and a large guard came in and growled as he removed the restraint and yanked me up. He pulled both arms back and locked them behind me before shoving me towards the door. I was shoved into a room with several other junior officers and one turned me to undo the restraints before pushing them through the door slot, “welcome to junior officer prisoner transfer cell one.”

A couple of other officers chuckled as I looked around, “I am Star Hawk Stone. Anyone else going to Melburn?”

They stopped chuckling and a lieutenant cleared his throat, “they told you that?”

I nodded and he looked around, “none of us know where we are going.”

I shook my head as I moved to a wall and squatted down, “lovely.”

One lieutenant knelt in front of me, “you have family?”

I nodded, “My father.”

He nodded, “I will make sure he knows you are alive.”

I lifted an eyebrow and he shrugged, “if we are headed to a regular prison we get care packages and can send a letter home.”

I nodded and smiled, “just let him now I am headed for the center of Sky Island.”

He frowned, “where is that?”

I sat, “On Cloud. It is a kind of dead zone for all tech stuff.”

He nodded, “so he will know you can not contact him.”

I nodded and he stood, “I will let him know.”

A couple of hours later meal packs were pushed through the door slot. When the room lights flickered I sat and a minute later the lights went out. I felt my knife as I thought of ways to use it but left it hidden. We were fed in the morning and then two guards opened the door and one pointed to me.