The Five Unnecessaries

Chapter 13 - Part 2

Ten minutes later, my fingers pulled down the straps of my pack to secure it to my back. Most of the medical canvas rolls had been taken out. I pulled at my standard black camo suit. I had waited weeks to put it on, wondering how I would look in it. Now I didn't care.

The hurried energy of people prepping our shuttle made me cling to the straps of my pack again, so none of them would notice my hands were shaking. Collin kept giving me directions, which I followed without asking questions. We ran the half-mile to the shuttle yards. I couldn't speak at the pace we were running, but Collin might not have answered me anyway. He was too busy listening to Sam to give him coordinates.

When we arrived, one shuttle was already taking off. I waved at Eva getting in the second shuttle. Collin turned to me.

"Stay with me. Just keep up, do what I do."

I nodded, copying Collin's movements closely. I stepped into the shuttle, threw my bag in the space under the seat, and strapped into the restraints. Patterson must have been behind us. He ducked his head in the open door just as Liam started the engine.

"Four miles, directly east. Start there, where Sam said to check." The other shuttle took off as he spoke. "They have south and north. You have coordinates of the last comm check?"

"Yes," Collin yelled over the engines. "I'll signal with four-thirty-three or eight-twenty-two once we have confirmation. I've got this, sir. I'm ready."

Patterson looked at him for a moment, then at me.

He didn't have to say it. And I couldn't fake brave now, with the shuttle engine rumbling beneath me. Instead, I asked with a shaking voice, "And I'm not. But it doesn't matter, does it, sir?"

Collin looked from Patterson to me, even while putting his MCU in the shuttle's computing unit.

"Sir," Liam turned around and shouted, "we're cleared. Waiting for confirmation code from you."

"You knew I wouldn't be ready," I choked out, but my voice was stronger as I continued. "You still called my name. You said you'd trust me. You promised me."

Patterson stared at me, even as I swallowed the rising fear. I didn't want him to see it.

He nodded, shouted, "Launch code four-ninety, YTPQ. Hit it!" and he closed the door.

I shivered as the shuttle took off, leaving the spinning lights of the shuttle yard behind. I'd never moved so fast in my life.

"Info in the SCU?" Liam called back.

"Yes," Collin said. He finished typing on the shuttle computing unit, closing his eyes as he folded the screen down. His mouth moved slowly, as if reciting something in his mind. I stared at the shuttle station until the lights were gone and then gazed forward. I kept listening to my breath, expecting it to stop from the fear of dying by a drone strike.

But it didn't. It kept going faster. I found myself taking in all the details around me. I started looking out the window.

"Remember, we need to slow down at three miles out. We don't want to miss them," Collin said to Liam.

"You thinking intervals every minute?" Liam shouted.

"Yes. Sidelights on. Aislyn," he turned to me and grabbed my arm, which was starting to shake, despite my best efforts to keep it still. But instead of telling me to calm down, he kept talking.

"Because of the range of the lights, they will see us before we see them. They've fried everything electrical, but Brie is old-school. And she's good. She'll probably have a small fire signal or something to get our attention. Every minute, we'll also stop, cut engines, and listen for anyone calling out to us. First stop is now."