Time Salvager (Time Salvager #1)(25)
The collie sputtered and popped, giving him the impression of a crippled bird about to drop out of the sky. There was also a constant hiss somewhere in the cabin. He reminded himself to keep his atmos on at all times.
“James, how’s my reception? Gyros are showing a bumpy ride to the north pole,” Smitt’s voice popped into his head. He was sitting in the comfort of the Hops at Central.
“Just keep her low in case this thing dies,” James thought back. “It started leaking cabin pressure an hour after takeoff. Remember to fix that before we head out into space again.”
James leaned back in his chair and watched as the collie flew into one of the many electrical storms common in the northern part of the planet. The collie shook even harder, which James had thought impossible. He increased his exo and atmos levels, fully anticipating a midair explosion that would jettison him out into the ocean at any moment.
He was in luck in the sense that he didn’t die on the way to the jump spot. A little over three hours later, Collie hovered unsteadily over the resting place of the sunken Nutris Platform. He opened the door and looked down at the maelstrom raging below him. The brown raindrops striking his shielding were almost horizontal.
Below him, hundred-meter waves swirled and crashed against each other. With gusts howling at nearly two hundred kilometers an hour, it was so loud, he had a hard time hearing Smitt talking in his head. And to top things off, the radiation was at a dangerous level.
“At the drop zone. Disembarking,” James thought. “Get Collie out of here.”
“Confirmed. Pulling her up into orbit,” Smitt said. “Remember your jump window. I’ll see you in a couple of days.”
James looked down at the five-hundred-meter plunge into the black and brown ocean below. Even though it was water, it was risky. A drop from this height could kill him if he hit something solid. Not to mention that at drop speed, the impact from a crashing wave could be as dangerous as an avalanche of boulders. However, he couldn’t risk steering the collie any lower; one large wave could end up swallowing it whole.
He took a deep breath, stepped out into open air, and plummeted down like a rock. He looked up and saw the collie rapidly shrinking in size. Then a large wave struck him and carried him sideways. Immediately, his vision blurred and the clouds above him vanished from view. Another wave hit him from a different angle, and the sky reappeared as he bounced back into the air. He activated the jump band just as a third wave went over his head and crashed down on him, pushing him deep underwater.
James relaxed and let the current drag him wherever it wanted. He just had to let it go and conserve his strength until the force of the current dissipated. Visibility down here was nearly zero and the gunk caking onto the shield barely let him see his outstretched hands.
There was a bright yellow flash, and then the brown gunk began to break apart and clear up. Seconds later, James was left floating in crystal-blue waters. Disoriented, he looked up and saw a shimmering light break through the surface of the ocean, bathing the clear water in a white hue that danced in a gentle swaying motion.
Below him, thousands of fish, almost all extinct in the present, swam together as if one giant creature. They moved in unison, lockstepping back and forth, each a tiny star glittering in the light. In the distance, an impossibly large beast, possibly a whale or some other prehistoric monstrosity, passed by leisurely. James had seen these sea creatures only in pictures, which didn’t capture the reality of their size. He watched, mouth agape, as it gracefully slipped by him. After having been in nearly every part of the solar system, this was the most amazing sight James had ever seen.
“You made it through all right?” Smitt asked, voice sounding like it came across a distant funnel. “James?”
His friend’s voice in his head snapped James back from the spectacle. “Still in one piece, Smitt. You should see the view. It’s amazing.”
“You are officially in 2097. Enjoy the scenery, because it all goes to the abyss pretty soon.”
James looked up and swam toward the surface. A minute later, his head broke through the water and he looked up at the brilliant yellow light of the twenty-first-century sun. It felt soothing. Peaceful.
James looked east to the horizon and saw the Nutris Platform. He gaped. Any preconceptions he had had about the installation had been completely off. This wasn’t so much a secret military research facility as it was a giant floating city. And in a few days, it was going to burn down and sink beneath the waves.
Overhead, a large shadow flashed by, then another. James looked behind him and saw two dozen large craft flying toward the platform. The city’s new inhabitants were arriving. Little did they know that they were flying to their graves. James dove underwater and swam after them.
Sneaking into the secret military research base was much easier than James had anticipated. Greenland, the nearest landmass, was thousands of kilometers away, so Nutris security did not seem to bother guarding the perimeter. It took him less than ten minutes after reaching the floating city to find one of the underwater maintenance shafts. After he climbed up to the main level, it was only a few steps to the nearest nexus routing room.
He spent the next few minutes painting on his disguise. He kept his own face, albeit darkening his skin a few shades. Most people in this century seemed to enjoy baking in the sun, an impossible practice in the present. He preferred to keep as much of his natural appearance as possible. It used up less energy and also made it easier for him to talk his way out of being caught without paint.