Tailspin, page 48
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Silao said you were going out with him. I didn’t want to waste the opportunity,” he said. “Would you ask Malaki to join me?”
“You want to fly with Mal?” Tingles of…what, jealousy? Spread through me.
He coughed. “Look, I don’t ask for things very well, and I’d fumble talking to her.”
I tried to stop myself from laughing. But I couldn’t.
“Don’t be a dick,” Justin said. “She intimidates everyone, and you know it.”
“I know,” I replied. “I’ll ask her to meet us there. She might have something planned, though.”
“Let me know either way. I’ll pick up someone else if I must, but I’d sooner have her give me some pointers.”
“I’m sure you can both teach each other a thing or two,” I said, and I meant it as a compliment, but he’d gone.
I was used to talking to Malaki while in the shower, so I called her, and she answered.
“Heading to Station Five, got permission to take up a helo with Silao training. You and Justin?”
Her curse was soft but there. “I’ll meet you there. When?”
“In the shower.” I was washing my bits. “Bout forty minutes?”
“You always call me in the shower. You got some fetish going?”
I stopped washing, looked down at what I was doing, and felt flush. “No, no, nothin’—” I caught on.
“I love winding you up,” she said, the laughter almost hidden.
Slowly I gyrated my hips, my dick flapping about in the water, and I made stupid slapping noises with my hand.
“I can hear that! Stop it!” she chided.
“Helicopter, helicopter!” I laughed and turned back to my shower.
“You comm me from the shower again, I swear I’ll chop it off.”
“See you in forty,” I said and cut her off.
I was dressed in no time. I shoved the rest of my gear in an extra backpack, slinging both over a shoulder each. Walking would be difficult with all this padding and carrying the excess weight. I headed out and met Silao on the way. We walked a short way, then caught a small shuttle to Station Five.
“You managed to get something decent?” I asked. “For practice?”
“Yeah, two Triumph 17s, ARD, and ARC,” he said. “Easiest to train in and has three designs. This one’s got access to eight drones.”
“You can’t get more than two to respond,” I said. His face fell. “I didn’t mean anything by it. We’ll get them to respond. Don’t panic.”
“I will,” he said. “This is everything to me. If I can’t do more, I’m fucked.”
“I understand that.” I heard and saw his desperation. “Believe me, I do.”
“I’m sorry, but you can’t,” he said and sighed.
“Not yet then,” I added. “I will soon enough.”
“You okay piloting for me?”
“Yes,” I said. “I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t want to do this. Let’s get in the air, right, and see what you can do and how you can command them. You just need a push.”
“I tried to get another DP to come help. One who knew what it was like. The textbooks are shit,” he said. “They’re all too busy.”
“Yeah, they are all lacking, and we’ve seen how busy the station is. You know why, right?”
“They’re rushing us through the program. They’re desperate.”
I stared out the window momentarily, watching the buildings whizz past, graffiti and tags.
“What should I do?” Silao asked.
“You can’t guess here. You can’t read or listen to the instructions, even my instructions. You have to do it yourself.”
“I knew you’d say that. Not gonna be much help, are you?”
I shrugged as the shuttle stopped. He nodded, and we hopped off, walking toward the elevator to Station Five’s foremost landing pads.
“What pad?”
“Eight,” he said and when the elevator emerged, he stepped inside and pushed for eight.
“Wait up!” Malaki shouted from across the lot. I put my hand in front of the doors and stopped the elevator.
“Glad you could join us,” Silao said with a smile as she slid before us. I let the door go, and it closed.
“No problem,” she said. “Any airtime is better than being stuck in a classroom.”
“Even with Justin?” I asked.
Malaki was about to open her mouth.
Silao choked. “Hey!”
“Sorry,” Malaki said. “He has a reputation, but he is a great pilot.”
“Yes, he does, and he is,” Silao said.
“Have you flown a Triumph 17?” I asked her.
Malaki folded her arms under her chest. “Seriously, you’re asking me that?”
“It’s a Sector-Three helo,” Silao said. “Only ones I could get.”
Malaki turned to him. “They wouldn’t have given them to you if they weren’t almost the spitting image of the Bumble.”
I sighed. “No better than that?”
“You need to do more homework,” Malaki said to me and reached over to tap the side of my head.
“Hey,” I said and knocked her hand out of the way. “I’m doing everything I can to learn, and that means all the time. My brain never stops working.”
“Expect when you’re in the shower—”
“Stop!” I chastised her.
Silao traded glances between us. “You’re both crazy.”
“You’re the one getting in a helo he’s never flown before.” She raised her eyebrows at him, and his face fell.
“If it’s no different from a Bumble, I’ll be fine.”
“I forget you’ve not come from the same training background as some of us,” he said. “If I put you up for something you don’t think you can do, please, just say no.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” I said. “I won’t put anyone at risk if I don’t think I can do something. I will let you all know.”
The elevator stopped, and we reached the helo pad, directed by one of the engineer teams to finish dressing in an open area. I pulled my gear out of my bag and finished loading myself up. The rest of the engineering team met Malaki by the helo, and she talked to them away from us for a moment. “Where is Justin?” I asked.
“He’s on his way, maybe five minutes.”
Malaki moved out onto the helo pad. It wasn’t busy, but there were other engineers milling around.
“She’s more thorough than you are,” Silao said.
“She knows helos, and she knows me. I’ll trust her if she checks it and it’s cleared.”
Malaki waved me over then, and I ran to her from the edge of the pad. “We have a schedule, but there’s room to move.”
“That’s good,” I replied. “I don’t think with training you can have anything that strict.”
“Hop in,” she said. “Ask me any questions now while you can.”
I obeyed her, and within a second, I had Apex overlay everything that looked different from the Bumble. “It really is similar.”
“No questions?”
“What’s it like when the DP hooks in?”
“Ahh.” She pointed to the seat beside me, and I glanced over, noting the terminals for his nodes to lock in.
“It will feel very different to respond. But nothing you can’t handle. Mostly sluggish, that’s about the best way of describing it.”
“Doesn’t sound so bad,” I said. “Sluggish.”
The radio crackled in front of me, life…
“Connect up,” she said. “I’ll see you in the air.”
I put my wrist on the central console. “Aim high.”
“Fly fast.” She turned and ran off.
I called after her. “Fly home!”
Silao brought my bag over and secured them both behind our seats.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Yep, preflight checks. All go.”
I waited while he did a good walk around, even if Malaki had done it herself. Then he hopped in. I started checks myself, and with the help of Apex, we were powered up and ready for takeoff.
“Ice71, this is Dizzy101. We are ready. Call green.”
“Give us another minute,” I replied. I frowned at Silao. “How did they get their checks in so fast?”
“You just don’t have the flight time,” he said. “Don’t worry. Take your time.”
I did precisely that.
“Dizzy101,” I said one minute later. “All green.”
I heard the general channel click. “FC, Dizzy101, we’re all green. Good to go.”
“FC to Dizzy101. Power up and clear the landing zone. Course agreed to New Forest. Copy?”
“Copy,” Malaki replied, flicked back to me. “Let’s go. Keep on my tail till we’re out of their airspace and in New Forest.”
“Copy that,” I said, waiting for her to stop. There was a little difference in the way this helo felt. Heavier. I guessed that was down to the drones and not having a whole crew, though they were probably balanced without either. It still felt different.
We settled in beside Malaki and powered forward to New Forest. I cast Silao a glance.
“Nervous?” I asked him.
“Yeah.” He wiped sweaty hands down his pants.
58
“Steady ahead,” Malaki said. “ETA till New Forest, eight minutes.”
“Copy,” I replied to her. “Sticking to your side like glue.”
I glanced to Silao. “Talk me through it,” I said. “I don’t know the procedures for DP. Let me in.”
“You know it hurts, right?” he asked, and he popped the buttons on his shirt. “I won’t hook in till I get the all-clear off Malaki.”
“Understood,” I said. “And yes, I gathered it hurt.”
He turned his back to me, and I could see the spinal TAP in full, his pants slung low. I traced the TAP down his spine, noting him shivering, “Sorry. Gonna be showing my ass to everyone as well, I guess.”
Silao cast me a glance over his shoulder, but his face was pinked. “Yep, get used to it, and tighten up that booty.”
“You saying I have a saggy ass?” I teased and feigned, holding my heart. “I’m hurt.”
“Thought you’d like that one.” Silao laughed.
“What model is it, or level, or anything you want to tell me?” I asked him, easing the cyclic over slightly and adjusting my course so I wasn’t really up Malaki’s backside.
“It’s a Trinity05, and as I said, I’ve four nodes out of twelve activated nodes.”
“Way over my head as yet,” I said. “But it sounds good.”
“It could be better, but I’ve been upgrading as I could in anticipation.”
“How much?” I asked.
“Rus.” He frowned. “You shouldn’t ask those kinds of questions.”
“Sorry.” I cringed. I knew I shouldn’t; it was personal. “I’m still way out of what’s normal and isn’t. I guess it’s like asking what abilities and skills you have.”
“Yeah, family and close friends don’t usually mind talking about it.”
“I am sorry.”
“Civvies can see some of the low-HC models and the illegal stuff. They’re the best they can get on low incomes. No one there could afford these. Those will give them some chances to upgrade and get jobs using a TAP, but nothing like this.” He waved his hand over his seat and his own connecting nodes. “This is way above what any civvies can afford, and I’m not being mean.”
“I get it.” They didn’t know where exactly I came from or who. But it was clear the more they got to know me I had neither upbringing nor money.
“So you’ve only seen the HCs?” Silao asked when I froze. Then he added, “No judgment from me.”
I shook my head. “I’ve seen those and the TH10.”
“Oh man, you’ve seen a TH10? I’d love to upgrade to that beauty. Way out of my price range, maybe in a few years.”
“Approaching position for testing,” Malaki said through to me. “DP in place.”
Silao’s face flushed. “Don’t ditch her,” he said and nodded at the cyclic.
“I won’t,” I replied. “Hang tight. I’m sure it gets easier.”
“I hope so,” he said. “It is not nice.”
Silao wriggled back in his seat, and I heard the click as his nodes locked in with the helo.
The cyclic jerked to the right, and I held it easily. Expecting it to go one way or the other. It was instantly heavy, but heavy wasn’t the right word. It was just different, very different.
I turned internally to the helo comms and located his specific DP comms, so it was all recorded.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Same level of pain, but it’s okay.”
“Dizzy101 to Ice71, pull into a nice steady hover beside me. Are you ready to launch?”
“We’re locked in and ready,” I replied. I turned to Silao. “You really ready?”
“I’m game to try,” he said.
“Don’t try,” I replied. “Do.”
Malaki rounded on us, hovering and watching, and I steadied our helo.
“Opening drone doors,” I said.
“Attempting connection,” Silao replied, hopeful.
I waited.
And waited.
“Everything okay over there?” Malaki asked.
“We’re here to help,” I chided. “Not rush him.”
I tuned into Silao’s HUD ID again and asked, “What do you feel?”
“First two are easy,” he said. “The others, it’s like they don’t want to know, but wait, they’re all stuck in the back…maybe. Couldn’t get out either way.”
“Tell the others to move.”
“What?” he asked. “You are joking, right?”
“No, don’t pussy foot about. If you won’t even do that, how can you even think they’d take orders from you in the field?”
He laughed. “You’re basically saying they’re sentient critters, no?”
“Reactive,” I said. I held the cyclic steady, the engine’s thrum vibrating around and under us. “Do or don’t, but we have a long day ahead of us if you can’t even get one of them out of the hangar.”
Silao’s eyes faded. That was the only way I could describe it, and a minute later, I felt a movement in the belly of the helo. That was great, but then the helo pitched to the left, and I struggled slightly as I steadied it out again.
“You good?” Silao asked.
“All good, take them out.” I grinned.
“All of them?”
“What you can handle.”
Silao matched my grin, and it almost looked like one eye stayed focused in the helo at me, and the other drones darted around. I could only guess it. He was inside viewing through the drones.
I wondered, with terrible jealousy, what it all felt like.
Silao reached over and tapped my arm. “You’ll get there,” he said. “Don’t doubt it.”
“I don’t,” I said. “Soon.”
Justin’s voice came over the comms to me. “He did it!”
“Yes,” I replied. “He really did. You want to ask him to do any specific tasks, or—”
“Just let him get used to them all,” Malaki interrupted me. “It’s quite the jump before we ask him to do anything specific.”
“Fair,” I replied. “Hold course?”
“Track north,” she said. “Nice and steady, he can follow us and not feel the need to make his own route, knowing he’s safe.”
“Noted,” Silao said to all of us. “I admit it’s a lot of information to track, but I think I’m good. Good to go.”
“We’ll follow you,” I said and waited for Malaki’s helo to move away.
Silao never moved, but on my helo’s scanner, I watched as we turned. The drones didn’t follow at first, then a moment later, they all did. He stayed with us, entirely on course. That made me smile. He would get the hang of it, and it looked fucking fantastic out there. I wanted this so badly.
When we’d turned to head back to OOF, it wasn’t much later that Malaki tapped my personal number.
“What’s up?”
“Don’t ever volunteer me to fly with Justin again,” she said.
“Why? He adores you.”
“Exactly!” she said. “The guy’s never shut up asking questions or talking. I’ve never known anyone to talk so much.”
I laughed and got a side glance from Silao. “Mal, you can’t blame a guy for crushing on you. You totally know how hot you are.”
“Don’t say that!”
“Why? It’s true, you have the brains of a genius and the body—”
I never finished my sentence as a smoke plume erupted from the side of her helo. They dropped, and I mean literally fell out of the sky, like fucking lead.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Silao said, his hands grasping at his seat
“Mal!” I shouted to her. “Malaki, answer me.”
I reacted on instinct and dived after them. Just about to ask…
Already on it, it looks like a system failure, blades jammed, and badly. Trying to locate what and why.
Get out, I screamed inside my mind.
“Bail,” Silao said for me. “For fuck’s sake, bail.”
Though I had no idea what it would be like to jump out of a diving helo, at least it wasn’t spinning out of control.
“Weapons hot,” Silao said at my side. With a flick of a switch, he armed the rockets on his drone, sighted in, and let loose. I never even got a chance to respond to him.
I yanked back on the controls, banking us sharply left and forcing more power into the engines to straighten us up and then into a hover far away from the crash zone.
“FC to Ice71, SITREP?” came across our command channel.
“Wait out,” I replied, a little too flippant.
“Do you see them?” Silao asked.
I couldn’t, but Apex had. Yes!
Two tiny dots below us lit up in my HUD’s view. “Got them, going down.”
“Inflating pontoons,” Silao said as his hands moved deftly over our buttons.
The drag altered us as our pontoons for landing on the ocean filled with air. The Triumph hovered in close to the first downed pilot.
“Drones,” I said. “Bring them in first, then we’ll get them in.”
