Beyond the Hallowed Sky by Ken MacLeod

Author:Ken MacLeod
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Published: 2021-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

Hazeldene recoiled from the hand-held screen, blinking hard. ‘Do you think—?’

‘Yes, I bloody well think!’ Jenkins said.

They heard the heavy throb just before the chopper rose over the Ridge. Hazeldene squinted up, zoomed.

‘The Search and Rescue. Great, they’ll have the right kit.’

Then she saw another helicopter, close behind.

‘Oh good,’ said Sharianne. ‘They’ve sent the Chinook, too.’

Apart from drones and the flying boat, the two choppers were the base’s entire air force. This did not look good.

Jenkins stared at the incoming aircraft for a second, then straightened up and looked around.

‘Run!’ he shouted. But the fit and well young folk of the settlement were too far away, too dispersed, too preoccupied to hear. He made a dash for the hill. Nelson brought Jenkins down with a tackle. His rifle skidded across the trampled dirt. Georgi was on top of it a moment later, scooping up the weapon and slinging it over his own shoulder. Then he stood over Jenkins with a pistol aimed.

‘You ain’t going anywhere, mate,’ Nelson said, as he picked himself up and brushed himself off.

The SAR chopper landed in front of the ark. The Chinook hovered above. Everyone who could clapped hands to their ears. A dozen or so marines rappelled down from the Chinook. Two of them hurried over and grabbed Jenkins, who put up no resistance. Meanwhile, the other marines attached long cords with gecko-grips to the sides of the ark. They ascended the ropes and piled back in. The chopper rose, straining for a moment or two, then the ark was wrenched out of its bed. Jenkins yelled and struggled, then subsided. Around the village people kept yelling and wailing.

The two marines hustled Jenkins into the back of the SAR helicopter. The five scientists hurried after them. Hazeldene carried the little girl, who was by now zonked out on painkillers. Her father’s blank stare was the last thing Hazeldene saw before the door closed.

A few minutes later, as the chopper approached New Ardtaraig, Hazeldene saw the damage. She wasn’t at all surprised to be met at the landing pad by a squad of marines.

Everyone’s phone was taken and bagged as evidence.

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