Page 33 of Lost in Barbarian Space

Honor climbed in, settling into the partly reclined seat. He followed suit. Something jabbed his hip but other than that, he fit. He pulled the harness across his chest and snapped it into place.

“Drake, this is Marlin Alpha,” Honor said, the controls flaring to life under her hands. “Preparing for take-off.”

“Roger that, Alpha.”

The canopy slid closed, and as Honor’s hands danced over the controls, more lights appeared on the console in front of them. Colm felt a faint vibration beneath him.

“Drake, engines are hot and we are ready for take-off.”

“Acknowledged, Alpha. Opening hangar doors in three, two, one⁠—”

Colm saw the large doors ahead retracting. There was a vague purple shimmer across the space, and beyond that he could see stars. He breathed in—this time, there would be even less between him and the space beyond. Just the flimsy canopy of this small craft.

Honor touched the controls and the marlin lifted up from the floor. They moved forward, and a second later, shot out of the Drake.

Once they were clear, the marlin tipped to Colm’s side and shot forward and down. He had an uninterrupted view of Ansar below and his stomach dropped.

“Hold on, warrior.” She grinned at him. “You’re in for a ride.”

She whizzed them in closer to the moon and he pressed a hand to the console between them.

She glanced at him and smiled. “You’re handling yourself well. What do you think of the marlin?”

“I like the speed.”

She snorted. “Men. You really aren’t all that different, despite what planet you come from.”

He watched how her hands moved across the dizzying array of controls. “It appears you need just as much instinct and courage as experience and training to fly this thing.” The marlin turned as she adjusted their course. “I think it’s a little like riding a hargon beast.” He eyed her with speculation. “Maybe I can try flying⁠—”

She laughed. “Hell, no.”

The comm line crackled to life. “You’re about to hit atmo, Alpha.”

“Roger that, Drake. Hold on, Colm, we’re entering the moon’s atmosphere.”

It got a little bumpy as they left space. He watched it all with great interest, and it dawned on him that he was the first Markarian to ever do this.

Soon, they were soaring through dense clouds.

“Marlin Beta, how are you two doing?” Honor asked.

“Right on your six, Agent Brandall,” answered Wu.

“Coming up on location one. Let’s circle around, then land.” She turned the marlin in a wide loop over the location.

Colm looked down through the canopy.

“See anything?” she asked.

He grunted. “Snow.” He couldn’t see anything that looked like a ship. It was all white snow.

She slowed the marlin. “The ship’s computer will pick the safest spot to land. Wouldn’t want to land right on top of the entrance to an ice tunnel.”

The ship slowly started to descend. They touched down on the snow.

“Ready for a stroll?” she asked.

Colm grabbed his long winter coat. “As good a time as any.”