“Here is Rocco,” Hudro supplied, following Cade’s gaze. “I know too for long time now. My work with Hyadeans makes me live close with MOPAN bandits, try to spy. But it works backward. I get to know them. Yassem tells me about God, and I learn bandit peoples know God too. So I am on wrong side. Maybe live with bandits for time before go to Asia. Teach defense to Hyadean devil weapons. Many tricks. Makes me the big prize, eh?”
Rocco acknowledged Cade and Marie with a nod. Cade returned it. “We owe you a big thanks. I never realized we were so well known here already.”
“If Hudro says you’re two important people who could make some difference to this war, that’s good enough for me,” Rocco said.
“So how did you pull it off?”
Rocco indicated Hudro and Yassem. “You have to ask them. They got into the system that controls the Hyadean robot flyers. Brought it down where it wasn’t supposed to go. We were waiting.”
“Where are you from, Rocco?” Marie asked.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. No family left anywhere. All wiped out in the fighting. Now I just live to fight Globs.”
“Globs?” Cade’s brow creased.
“Globalists,” Marie supplied.
“Forces of governments that work for the criminals,” Hudro said. “Is more complicated here than Earth is told.”
“And every day getting more complicated,” Rocco said. “What do you think is going to happen in the north?” he asked Cade and Marie. “Places in the western states ordering federal troops out. Air bases being taken over.”
“We hadn’t heard about it,” Cade said.
“A lot of people say they’re gonna split.”
Cade turned his head to Hudro. “After you left Tevlak’s, we tried to send a file to Vrel via his phone. Did it come through?”
Hudro nodded. “It comes through. But we cannot send to Chryse. Vrel think he knows somebody in California instead. If they ever get it, I don’t know.”
“Where’s Vrel now?” Cade asked.
“Waiting for us. Is with Luodine and Nyarl. When—” Hudro looked away as a call from the pilot up front interrupted. Rocco got up, ducking his head, and shouldered his way forward between the rows of figures hunched over guns and packs. Hudro straightened up on the floor in readiness to rise. Next to Cade, Marie pulled herself closer.
Rocco came back and shouted down to Hudro. “Segora is under attack. We are being warned off. The pilot wants you up front. We’ve got incoming radar from somewhere.”
“What’s Segora?” Cade asked Hudro as he unfolded up from the floor.
“Is where we were supposed to land. Maybe have to change plans now.” Hudro followed Rocco forward. The guerrillas had become alert, straightening up in their seats to watch something outside. Cade turned to look out of the open hatch, past the machine gun. Several miles away, perhaps, an aircraft shaped like a black arrowhead was climbing away from the ground, followed by a second a short distance behind and to one side. A boiling cloud of black smoke mixed with flame rose behind them. More planes were visible as dots higher up.
“Air strike,” Yassem commented needlessly. Smoke was also coming up from other places among the trees. Whether it was due to air attack, artillery, or conflagrations on the ground was impossible to say. A brilliant pink light flashed past the open gun-hatch; then came the jolting of objects hitting the helicopter’s structure. The cold realization came over Cade that they were being shot at. Yassem put her helmet back on and secured it.
At the front, Rocco turned and shouted back instructions. One of those behind clambered up to man the machine gun, while another hooked up the ammunition belt from the feeder box. Everyone else clung tight as the pilot went into a violent evasive maneuver. Cade was thrown outward from his seat, then hard back on the wall. He and Marie braced their arms on the sides and tried to steady themselves against each other. . . .
And then nothing.
* * *
Fragments of awareness. Blurred smears of sensations coalescing from a vacuum.
Spinning patches of light. . . . Churning noise. . . . Lurching motion.