imagined it, he flashed her a cryptic wink before slipping his own helmet on.
What that implied, Lea could only guess.
She strapped herself back into the passenger seat, listening with the others as Pallas counted the distance until landing. She rubbed her gloved hands together, unable to wipe the sweat from her palms or slow the urging of her heart, both of which made her feel alive and restrained at the same time.
“Contact,” the hammerjack said.
There was a horrendous jolt when they touched down. The driver instantly threw the APC into gear, bouncing everyone around as the vehicle lurched down the landing ramp and into the open air. The hulking outline of the transport filled the narrow slats of the forward windows, but only for a moment; as soon as the APC rolled away, the transport lifted off again and was gone. When the roar of the turbines faded, all that was left was a cloud of settling dust.
And a lonely highway that stretched into forever.
“Move out,” Lea said.
Trees swayed in the dim afterglow of the headlights, assuming illusory life in a steady wind that blew from the northeast. The APC stayed at the center of the road, where radiation from the surrounding woods was the least potent, proceeding at a painfully slow speed. Lea kept her eyes glued to the mission feed, increasingly restless as the image faded in and out on the dashboard monitor. As the static grew heavier, the driver slowed even more, until the signal disappeared altogether and the APC ground to a halt.
“That’s it,” the driver said.
“How far out are we?” Lea asked.
“One klick, give or take. It’s impossible to be precise without that patch from the CIC.”
“What about backup GPS?”
The driver tapped his monitor, in the vain hope it would do some good.
“Dead and gone, Skipper. Nothing getting in or out.” He turned back to her. “We can keep going, if you want.”
Lea considered it briefly. The approach was risky enough with Pallas keeping precise track of their coordinates—but without that information, they were driving blind. Rumbling too close to town in the APC was an open invitation for Inru snipers to pick them off.
“Keep it here,” she said, climbing out of her seat. “We’ll go the rest of the way on foot.”
In back, the advance team was already on the move. All it took was a single nod from Lea, and Tiernan popped the hatch. A blast of frigid air flooded the compartment, raw and utterly clean, but with an ionized element that everybody seemed to notice. It was their first taste of Chernobyl, which settled quickly at the back of Lea’s throat.
“Go,” she ordered.
Seconds later, the entire team had boots on the ground. Lea was the last person out, but jogged past the others to join Tiernan at the head of the column. They exchanged a brief glance, then looked back at the troops—a collection of otherworldly figures, at one with the primordial dark. Their breaths fogged the air in eager anticipation.
The team moved as a single entity, pulse rifles constantly sweeping the edges of the road as a defense against some Inru surprise. Tiernan kept a lookout for heat signatures in the icy forest, while Lea closely watched for radiation. Her sensors held at forty microroentgens, with occasional variations depending on the wind. As the team neared the top of a small hill, a sudden jump in the readings caused her to halt.
Everyone immediately crouched into defensive positions. Lea and Tiernan went a few steps farther, stopping at the highest point. The lieutenant leaned in close to her, keeping his gaze leveled at the area out in front of them. Lea did the same, holding her breath until her dosimeter leveled off again.
“Almost a hundred microroentgens,” she said.
“Yeah,” the lieutenant agreed. “Welcome home.”
Down below, shimmering in the ethereal glow of the infrared, lay the ghost town of Chernobyl. Heat still emanated from the entombed reactors, casting a dirty light that
What that implied, Lea could only guess.
She strapped herself back into the passenger seat, listening with the others as Pallas counted the distance until landing. She rubbed her gloved hands together, unable to wipe the sweat from her palms or slow the urging of her heart, both of which made her feel alive and restrained at the same time.
“Contact,” the hammerjack said.
There was a horrendous jolt when they touched down. The driver instantly threw the APC into gear, bouncing everyone around as the vehicle lurched down the landing ramp and into the open air. The hulking outline of the transport filled the narrow slats of the forward windows, but only for a moment; as soon as the APC rolled away, the transport lifted off again and was gone. When the roar of the turbines faded, all that was left was a cloud of settling dust.
And a lonely highway that stretched into forever.
“Move out,” Lea said.
Trees swayed in the dim afterglow of the headlights, assuming illusory life in a steady wind that blew from the northeast. The APC stayed at the center of the road, where radiation from the surrounding woods was the least potent, proceeding at a painfully slow speed. Lea kept her eyes glued to the mission feed, increasingly restless as the image faded in and out on the dashboard monitor. As the static grew heavier, the driver slowed even more, until the signal disappeared altogether and the APC ground to a halt.
“That’s it,” the driver said.
“How far out are we?” Lea asked.
“One klick, give or take. It’s impossible to be precise without that patch from the CIC.”
“What about backup GPS?”
The driver tapped his monitor, in the vain hope it would do some good.
“Dead and gone, Skipper. Nothing getting in or out.” He turned back to her. “We can keep going, if you want.”
Lea considered it briefly. The approach was risky enough with Pallas keeping precise track of their coordinates—but without that information, they were driving blind. Rumbling too close to town in the APC was an open invitation for Inru snipers to pick them off.
“Keep it here,” she said, climbing out of her seat. “We’ll go the rest of the way on foot.”
In back, the advance team was already on the move. All it took was a single nod from Lea, and Tiernan popped the hatch. A blast of frigid air flooded the compartment, raw and utterly clean, but with an ionized element that everybody seemed to notice. It was their first taste of Chernobyl, which settled quickly at the back of Lea’s throat.
“Go,” she ordered.
Seconds later, the entire team had boots on the ground. Lea was the last person out, but jogged past the others to join Tiernan at the head of the column. They exchanged a brief glance, then looked back at the troops—a collection of otherworldly figures, at one with the primordial dark. Their breaths fogged the air in eager anticipation.
The team moved as a single entity, pulse rifles constantly sweeping the edges of the road as a defense against some Inru surprise. Tiernan kept a lookout for heat signatures in the icy forest, while Lea closely watched for radiation. Her sensors held at forty microroentgens, with occasional variations depending on the wind. As the team neared the top of a small hill, a sudden jump in the readings caused her to halt.
Everyone immediately crouched into defensive positions. Lea and Tiernan went a few steps farther, stopping at the highest point. The lieutenant leaned in close to her, keeping his gaze leveled at the area out in front of them. Lea did the same, holding her breath until her dosimeter leveled off again.
“Almost a hundred microroentgens,” she said.
“Yeah,” the lieutenant agreed. “Welcome home.”
Down below, shimmering in the ethereal glow of the infrared, lay the ghost town of Chernobyl. Heat still emanated from the entombed reactors, casting a dirty light that
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