Eric and the Quantum Dragon
Chapter 43

Curtis Testing Field, outside Pan City Walls

Saturday December 29th, V26 (2046)

Achmed whooped with excitement as the Guard VTOL raced over the massive city walls, clearing the upper gun towers by a scant ten meters then dropping close to the empty bushland beyond. He gripped Lilly’s hand tightly as she sat next to him, his expression full of as much joy as hers was of sheer terror.

“Are they flying so low on purpose?” she demanded queasily through her helmet microphone, her voice echoing in Achmed’s ears.

“Yeah!” he shouted back gleefully, forgetting his voice was being relayed via his own helmet microphone directly into the girl’s earphones. “They call it Nap of Earth flying, or N.O.E. for short. It’s used for approaching ground targets that may have air defences set up”

Lilly blanched, her face barely visible behind the big helmet, goggles and mask all the aircraft occupants were wearing. She grabbed the safety harness that criss-crossed her chest and muttered a short prayer.

“Are we expecting to be shot at by anyone?” she managed to gasp out as the VTOL did a quick rise and drop over a line of big gum trees. Out of the side windows they could see the ground rushing past at an alarming rate, the low scrub and bushes rocking in the wash of engine exhaust.

“It’s just for practice” Achmed assured her and grinned madly at the view ahead. “We’re nearly there, so hang on for a bit longer”

With a final leap over a surrounding fence, making Lilly gulp to keep her breakfast down, the VTOL roared across a broad expanse of paved runway. A small series of buildings, low to the ground and made of white painted concrete like bunkers, rushed towards them. At the last moment the pilot, a Jill from the Guard, rotated the massive engine pods to the front and slowed their forward speed with a burst of power.

Whining loudly, the VTOL slowly descended to the landing spot marked out in yellow paint next to the bunkers. As the engines noisily wound down, Achmed helped Lilly undo her safety harness then remove her flight helmet. He did the same and left them propped on the padded couches.

“That was brilliant!” he declared and Lilly gave him a weak smile.

“You are such a boy” she told him and gratefully took his hand to lead her to the exit ramp at the aircraft rear. As the two of them walked past, Eric and Lucky nodded to the pair, both already unstrapped and moving some of the hard plastic cases that had been loaded in with them.

They descended the ramp together and walked a short distance on the cracked tarmac. Weeds were poking up through the narrow gaps, a patch of vibrant green against the dark grey runway surface. A pair of white coated technicians approached from the closest bunker, an automated trolley rolling in their wake.

“Morning, Mister Leroi” called out the leading technician, a short man with a close trimmed beard and bald patch on the crown of his head. A pair of Smart Goggles covered his eyes, the flickering of a data stream visible from the outside. The other technician was a taller woman, her fair skin and long red hair reminding Achmed of his girlfriend, except quite a few years older. She smiled warmly at them so he smiled back.

“Hi Quan, Grace, this is my friend Lilly” Achmed greeted them in return. “She wanted to see what I have been up to out here”

“Nice to meet you at last, Lilly” Grace replied. “You are even prettier than Achmed told us”

“Is that so?” Lilly answered and threw an inquisitive glance at her boyfriend. “Does that mean Achmed has been telling you I am only averagely pretty?”

Grace laughed and Lilly joined her, then erupted into more laughter at the confused looks on the faces of Achmed and Quan. Achmed was eventually able to assure Lilly she was indeed very pretty and they progressed to the reason for today’s outing.

“As a Scanner, I can read and modify the programs that operate things like robots and drones” Achmed explained to Lilly. “With practice, a good Scanner can actually run mechanicals directly, sending commands into their processors. It’s like using a remote control, but I can do it at the speed of thought”

Eric and Lucky had arrived now, followed by the robotic trolley that was loaded with the bulky cases. Achmed nodded to his companions and pointed to the hard plastic containers.

“In there are flying drones that the Guard have provided for our tests” he continued. “Today we are going for the big one”

“What’s that mean?” Lilly asked curiously.

“As a Grade Two, he should be able to control at least two drones at the same time” Quan explained. “We think Achmed is actually ready for Grade Three status, so he will be trying to control four drones at once”

“Okay, let’s get the monitors set up and get the drones in the air!” Eric declared and the technicians bustled about with enthusiasm.

=====

Lilly was lying on the roof of one of the bunkers, enjoying the sunshine while Achmed messed about with the drones. So far he had gotten three in the air at the same time, using a mixture of their onboard flight programs and his direct control for complex moves.

Her boyfriend had sent them buzzing up and down the main runway, two of them reconnaissance drones about the size of a small suitcase and a combat model as bulky as a motorbike. The constant humming of their rotors was getting annoying so Lilly had obtained a pair of headphones from Grace, sending music to them from her phone memory.

She guessed Achmed was especially excited today as he was allowed live ammunition in the combat drone. A series of targets had been set up by Lucky in the open ground at one side of the runway. The plan was for Achmed to try and shoot them with the machine gun mounted below the drone’s body while keeping the two smaller ones orbiting overhead.

The headphones were a good brand, cancelling all the surrounding noise and letting her listen to her favourite group, a J-Pop Boy Band that Achmed absolutely loathed. She was kicking her toes in time to the music and opened her eyes to see one of the drones falling from the sky, trailing black smoke from its central fuselage.

“Don’t tell me he shot down his own drone!” she muttered and sat up, watching as the drone slammed into the runway about fifty meters from her location. Her eyes widened at the sight of Grace running towards the bunker, waving her arms wildly and shouting something.

Lilly took the headphones off her head and was immediately assaulted by a cacophony of noise. Shouts, gunfire and the roaring buzz of rotors and turbines as a war was being fought over her head.

“Lilly!” Grace screamed as she got closer. “Get under cover! We are being attacked!”

She was stunned but quite able to think fast, one of her many talents. Her eyes roamed the area in front of her, seeing Achmed sheltering behind the armoured bulk of the Guard VTOL. Eric and Lucky were with him, weapons drawn and taking occasional shots at the sky.

Quan was on the ground, lying beside the robot trolley and she couldn’t tell if he was wounded or just keeping low. Overhead she spotted Achmed’s two remaining drones, the unarmed spotter and the combat drone. Both were dogfighting wildly across the sky with at least four big drones, two of them delta winged versions with jet engines.

“Lilly, please get down from there!” begged Grace from the foot of the bunker. At that moment Lilly saw one of the attacking drones race low along the runway, a few meters off the tarmac, lining up on the oblivious technician.

She triggered her Teleportation without thinking, appearing next to a surprised Grace and wrapping her arms about the taller woman.

“Hang on” was all she had time for and then translated them both into N-Space.

=====

Grace Sandilands was not a religious woman. She had no expectations of experiencing anything beyond this life but nothingness. As far as she was concerned, when you died it all ended. There was nothing that came afterwards.

When Lilly appeared suddenly at her side, she was confused. She had not known Achmed’s friend was a Teleporter but she knew with her calm, rational scientific mind that this Ability had a sound basis in Physics in order to work.

Then she was Teleported into N-Space by the girl and everything changed.

The translation in real terms was less than a second. To Grace it was a lifetime of revelation, the vast immensity of Null Space shining brightly before her eyes as Lilly moved them from one place to another.

In the blink of an eye the real world popped back around them, Lilly still holding her tightly.

Noise and violence intruded onto her senses once more and she saw they were in the rear passenger section of the VTOL, their companions nearby as they fought the attackers.

“Are you Okay?” Lilly shouted to her, making her young voice heard over the roar of gunfire outside.

“I think I saw God” she answered the girl then shook herself. “Sorry, I mean I am fine. Thank you Lilly for saving me”

“My pleasure!” she beamed back and let the woman go at last. The pair of them hunkered down, looking out through the Ceramiglass windows as the aerial battle raged. A rattle of loud pings startled them, caused by a line of bullets bouncing off the VTOL’s armoured hull.

“This looks as safe a place as any” Grace observed in hushed tones. She cast about and sat in one of the couches, shivering with delayed shock. Her eyes showed her terror and Lilly was torn between staying and helping Achmed and the others.

“It’s Okay, Lilly” Grace managed to say. “I know you AURA members are all used to this kind of stuff, but I am just a technician. You don’t need to stay here if you have to go fight”

“Actually, I am not a fighter either” Lilly told her. “This stuff scares me silly too!”

Then Grace saw her focus on the distant shape of Quan, still lying beside the robot trolley. Her eyes narrowed and Grace reached out a hand to touch her arm, making the youngster turn to regard her.

“He may be dead already, Lilly” she told her. “It’s too risky to go out there again”

“Maybe” Lilly answered her. “But if my Ability lets me save someone, I have to try”

With that the girl disappeared with a pop of air and Grace was alone in the cabin.

=====

Quan Tran had worked in the Guard Armoury for years, working on designing and building drones of all sizes and types. He was well used to the sounds of gunfire and explosions from his many visits to the firing ranges and this testing field.

What he was not used to was having the gunfire and explosions all around him as the drones tried to kill him! He huddled deeper into the gap beneath the trolley, hoping none of the attackers thought the empty cases it carried were a target worth shooting at.

His Smart Goggles were linked to a military grade processor and communications link he wore at his waist, so he was able to see the data feeds coming in from the sensors scattered about the testing field. Four enemy drones were flying around, engaged by Achmed’s two remaining drones.

It was a very one-sided battle, yet Quan noticed that the enemy seemed content for now to keep them pinned down in their current positions.

“Why aren’t they trying to destroy the VTOL?” he muttered to himself, focussed intently on the data streams he was observing. A line of bullets stitched the tarmac not far from his head, making him scream and duck his head even lower.

Then he saw it on the long range radar display – a lone drone maybe five kilometers away, hovering like a hawk over a field, waiting for the prey to show itself. It was a big machine, likely a stolen military model by the radar signature.

Quan lifted his head and spotted the others in the cover of the VTOL. The aircraft gave them protection but it was also a trap. While it sat there unmoving, the enemy knew exactly where their targets were. An alert sounded from his visor and he checked the long range radar again.

There it was! Exactly what he had been expecting them to do!

Quan had started to shout a warning to the others when the girl suddenly appeared next to him. She was a Teleporter!

“Hold on tight!” she said to him urgently and grabbed him around the waist.

“Wait a second!” Quan yelled but then the world disappeared.

=====

This was her third jump in a short time and Lilly was wondering how many more she could attempt. As brief as the translations were through N-Space, she could feel each one taking longer to complete. There were stories about Teleporters disappearing into N-Space, never to return. It weighed on her mind even in the moments she was between worlds.

Then she appeared next to Quan and quickly grabbed the surprised technician, glad that he was alive and unharmed. He said something to her but she wasn’t listening, telling him to hold on while she mentally fixed their destination in her mind.

Her fourth jump was the longest, probably a whole second in the real world but it felt much longer in the swirling lights of Null Space. With a pop of air she appeared in the cabin of the VTOL and released her passenger. He staggered slightly then looked around in alarm at where she had brought them.

“Not here!” he wailed. “This is where they are targeting the missile!”

“Huh?” was her reply.

=====

Achmed was as elated as he was terrified, the two emotions warring in his body even as he fought with his mind in the sky above. His heart was hammering and his left leg was jittering uncontrollably from the adrenalin rush he was experiencing, but his thoughts were focussed like a laser beam.

He kept his primary attention on the bigger combat drone, using its armour to shield the smaller recon drone as they whirled and dove through the air. One of the enemy drones, a slower one with four rotors keeping it aloft, finally slipped into the targeting scope of his machine gun. With a manic grin he triggered a short burst and whooped in delight as the rival drone shuddered and dropped from the sky.

Then he had to evade as a faster, jet engine drone roared in from the east, its own gun pod blazing. He was quick so only a few bullets slammed into his combat drone but one of the four engine pods disintegrated. The heavy machine spun and fell, nearly hitting the rock hard tarmac before he surged power to the remaining engines and got it limping into the sky once more.

The second ultra-fast drone came winging in from the north, looking to finish off his damaged fighter. Out of options, Achmed used a sacrifice ploy and launched his recon drone towards the incoming attacker.

Jet powered drones were fast but they lacked the agility of the rotor propelled models. Achmed timed it just right, letting the faster drone close in on his wounded one before leaping the smaller drone into its path.

With a brilliant yellow explosion the two drones collided, sending pieces of wreckage in a broad arc over the runway. Achmed, Eric and Lucky all ducked instinctively as smoking sections of both machines bounced off the VTOL sides and fell around them.

“Things are looking pretty bad!” Achmed shouted to Eric. “How far away are the rescue team?”

Eric paused only a second, accessing the data via the Quantum Network.

“We have two combat VTOLs on the way with drones in support and they will be in here in three minutes”

“Okay” Achmed acknowledged. “We should be able to hold out until then. Let’s hope nothing else goes wrong”

At that moment Lilly appeared at the bottom of the VTOL ramp, her face showing an expression of utter terror.

“Guys! We have to move. There is a missile coming right for us!”

=====

Eric let out a very adult curse when he heard Lilly’s words. He knew now why the attacking drones had used the tactics they did, making them hunker down in the one location thinking it was safer!

Odds were the bunkers would have been just as bad a choice to hide. The attackers could have had the location of each building pre-programmed, ready to send the missile there instead.

<Pilot> he signalled via the Network to the Jill in her cockpit. <Can we lift off in time?>

<Negative, Sir> she answered instantly. <The starboard engines are giving me foreign object warnings. I can’t start them until they are cleared>

“Dammit!” Eric swore aloud. Some of the wreckage from the drones must have landed in the engine intakes. He made a split second decision.

“Everybody listen up! Abandon the VTOL and head to the bunkers!” he shouted out to his companions. “Achmed, keep those drones busy until we can get clear”

“Copy that!” he answered and sent his last drone into the attack, firing short bursts at the three drones as they circled about the VTOL.

The Guard Pilot appeared at the ramp exit, a standard assault rifle in her hands. She was unarmoured, as were Lilly and the technicians. Eric had a lightweight armour vest under his AURA coveralls and Lucky was in his usual armour vest and cap.

“Looks like we are the decoys, Lucky” he told the Guard clone who just nodded his agreement. He looked to the others and they all met his eyes. “Let’s go people!” he commanded and he stepped into the open.

His companions ran past as Lucky and he stood in the open, firing bursts from their rifles as the enemy drones dove towards them. Bullets were sending up chunks of broken tarmac in a long line right towards Eric when there was a flash of movement overhead. Achmed’s last combat drone flew into the line of fire, absorbing the deadly machine gun bullets.

Sparks and pieces of busted drone flew from the machine as it roared on its remaining engines right at the incoming attacker. Achmed fired until the gun pod was empty then smashed it with a resounding boom into the other drone.

Eric and Lucky switched their fire to a second drone as it raced in low along the runway. The boy and the Guard felt the heavy bullets from the drone zip past them like oversized mosquitoes, humming with deadly intent. Then their own fire ripped into the forward body of the drone, sparking from the armour plating until Lucky lived up to his name.

A single armour piercing bullet from the Guard hit the main sensor eye and plunged deep into the electronic brain that lay behind. Immediately the drone spun wildly out of control and hit the unforgiving runway surface, bursting into flames as it cartwheeled along the ground.

“Get to the bunker!” Eric ordered Lucky. In the distance he could see a shining speck of light, trailing a thin stream of rocket exhaust in its wake. It grew rapidly closer and for a moment he was transfixed, calculating its flight path. As if sensing his intent, the missile veered slightly and came in on a new course.

Eric looked towards the bunker where his friends had just vanished inside. Lucky was nearly to the doorway and stopped to check on Eric.

“Lucky!” he shouted, not even thinking about using the Network to call him. “The missile is being re-targeted onto the bunker!”

=====

Achmed felt exhausted, the time spent controlling the drones in practice and then actual combat had left his mind feeling like it was made of jelly. He had staggered into the outer room of the bunker with the others, half his mind trying to tell his body where to go while the other half had been in the sky, piloting the last drone.

It left him weirdly disconnected from the world around him, despite the frantic terror they were all feeling.

Then he heard the words shouted by Eric, echoing into the concrete walled room the others were gathered in. Lilly was beside him, red faced from their panicked running but also from her Teleporting. She looked all done in and he doubted she could teleport herself out of here, let alone anyone else.

Without a word he pushed past the Guard Pilot standing sentry at the doorway and into the open. Lucky turned to tell him something but his ears weren’t listening anymore. His eyes found the last enemy drone, racing on its way in a big arc around the bunker and he reached out with his Ability.

Eric was shouting now too, plus voices behind him, but Achmed shut them all out. All that mattered was that one last drone and his Scanner latched onto it. Like a cat pouncing on a mouse he grabbed control of the drone, throwing aside the commands coming from some distant operator.

Now he only had one thing to focus on, one machine to bend to his will. After everything else he had done today, this felt so easy! He looked at the world through the drone’s sensors and got a lock on the incoming missile.

It was nearly there, so close it appeared huge in the electronic signals of the combat drone. With contemptuous ease, Achmed boosted power to the jet engines and flew it right into the path of the missile.

The explosion was huge, filling the sky with a ball of fire and sending a shockwave in all directions. Eric, Lucky and Achmed were knocked flat by the wall of air, heat and bits of missile following behind.

Achmed felt a stinging blow on his cheek as a piece of drone or missile zinged past, leaving a bloody gash. Other pieces bounced and pinged off the ground around him and he was deafened by the boom.

He was on his back, dazed and his ears ringing, when Lilly appeared at his side. She was saying something urgently to him but he couldn’t understand what it was. Achmed looked deeply into her wide, beautiful green eyes and felt a surge of emotion.

“I love you” he said and she gasped. Then he passed out.

=====

Achmed awoke on a stretcher in the back of a VTOL. By the roar of engines and vibration through the cabin he could tell they were airborne. His head felt like someone had been using it for a football and his left cheek was on fire, with a thick bandage just visible when he looked past his nose.

“Hey, handsome” said Grace the technician, moving into his view. “You gave us all a scare the way you passed out like that”

It took a few attempts, then he managed to mumble out a single name.

“Lilly?”

“She’s fine” Grace assured him. “She’s asleep in one of the other couches. All that Teleporting must have wiped her out too!”

“Whe’goin?” he said with parched lips. Grace disappeared and then came back holding a water bottle. She undid the lid and dribbled a small amount into his eager mouth. After he swallowed he tried again.

“Where are we going?” he said more clearly.

“The Fortress” she answered. “Eric thinks the attack was the first stage of a co-ordinated strike against the AURA Project. I believe he has been trying to contact the rest of your team”

“Where is he?” Achmed asked and tried to look around the cramped VTOL cabin. He spotted Lilly, fast asleep with her head thrown back. She was snoring loudly too, but for once she was drowned out by the deeper rumble of the engines. Quan was sitting near the front, chatting to the Guard pilot as he flew them towards the Pan City harbour.

“Eric is in the other VTOL with the Guard, I think his name was Lucky” she replied. Grace gave him some more water but when he tried to sit up she gently held him down.

“Whoa there, Mister” she said firmly. “I’m not a Med Tech but even I know you should stay there until a professional checks you over. The Guard Paramedic patched you up enough for transport but that was all”

“Okay” he reluctantly agreed. He settled himself and allowed the woman to fuss over him while they raced across the Pan City sky. She really did remind him of a grown up Lilly he thought to himself and pondered what his girlfriend would be like as she got older.

It was thinking such happy thoughts he drifted off to sleep again, a big smile across his face.