[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
The small dial on the control panel ratcheted into place, initiating primary ignition. Then the ascending
rocket ship exploded in a terrific fireball.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
36
A Fireball in the Sky
A Rescue in the Clouds
The Last Photograph
The hovercraft transport shot away from the island and over the ocean. Dex looked up at the fading
fiery contrail of the rocket as it rose toward space, and then the ship bloomed into a dazzling cloud of
smoke and expanding debris.
The two old Unit Eleven scientists cheered. "Sky Captain has done it! The Earth is saved."
Dex gaped in surprise and dismay, unable to say anything for several seconds. Long after the flash,
the rumble of the incredible blast reached them. He swallowed hard. "He was a hero to the end..."
Nothing could have survived such an incredible blast.
Letting the hovercraft coast above the choppy waves, he removed a pair of binoculars he had found
in a storage compartment. Apparently, Dr. Lang and Dr. Schmidt had liked to cruise over the island
jungles to do prehistoric bird-watching.
Dex hefted the binoculars, focusing the lenses as he searched the sky in vain. The black clouds of
ignited rocket fuel spread out as shrapnel from the vessel tumbled like meteors toward the ocean. As he
swung his view slowly from side to side, an ice ball formed in his stomach.
But then he saw a tiny dot, a small object drifting down from the center of the explosion. Dex caught
his breath, twisted the focusing rings, and finally spotted a small armored life pod. The pod drifted gently
to Earth, held up by the scorched and ragged silk of a wide parachute.
Aboard the battered flying fortress, a young Royal Navy ensign stood on the flight deck, scanning the
clouds through his own pair of binoculars. He grinned and jabbed his thumb upward. "I see them,
Commander! They're alive!"
Franky Cook waited next to him, her posture perfect. She wore a clean uniform now and had
straightened her cap and her eye patch. She nodded, but restrained herself from showing anything but a
cool hint of relief.
She moved to the controls of a radio set and sounded a general announcement that reverberated
throughout the drifting air base. "Ready assault and rescue teams. All hands on deck."
By now, most of the fires had been extinguished on board the aerial fortress. Casualties had been
tallied, and the wounded taken to the sick bay. A great deal of damage had been done to the runways,
and many of the Royal Navy's attack planes had been destroyed. But Franky no longer had any doubt
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
that they could complete the obliteration of Dr. Totenkopf's remaining robots. The machine menace
would be eradicated.
"Increase altitude," she called out. "Let's get out of these clouds so we can all see what we're doing."
The deck of the flying fortress teemed with activity. Her crew scrambled to mount a retrieval mission
for the descending life pod. Heavily armed attack planes launched from the runways and streaked toward
the mysterious island to continue mop-up operations. The giant conning tower of the flying fortress broke
through the clouds, displaying the two-story-tall numeral 1 emblazoned on its front.
Franky stood on the deck, watching her loyal fighters complete their tasks smoothly and efficiently.
From a cottony mass of cumulus to the east, another conning tower appeared, this one sporting the high
numeral 3 on its side.
"All reinforcements have arrived as expected, Commander," the ensign said.
She smiled as a third conning tower came into view, joining the other two flying fortresses. Number
seven.
The three massive hovering cities clustered together, an airborne military that could stand against the
worst enemies of humanity. Wave after wave of aircraft launched from the decks, streaking away to
complete their mission.
The rendezvous with Franky Cook and her flying fortress could wait. Dex changed course and
maneuvered the hovering freight transport around the island toward the descending life pod. The two old
scientists stood at the side of the hovercraft, watching the bright parachutes. The life pod splashed down
safely in the water.
Overhead, swarms of fighter planes from the Flying Legion blackened the sky as they converged on
Totenkopf's island. Thousands of aircraft filled the air with the ominous buzzing hum of a wasp's nest. The
first wave broke off, and bomber squadrons descended to obliterate the target.
As Dex approached the bobbing life pod, he was startled to see giant prehistoric creatures swimming
by. A spiny dorsal fin broke the water, leaving a great wake. More and more of the beasts evacuated,
finding safety in the depths of the ocean.
A firestorm erupted in the center of the island as the first sequence of carpet bombing began. Military
aircraft accelerated upward as a second squadron came behind them, dropping enough explosives to
sterilize the landscape.
"We know Totenkopf's machines have independent programming," Dex said. "They can repair and
rebuild themselves. We can't leave even two pieces of metal bolted together." Later, when survey crews
combed the island, they weren't likely to find anything more than hardened puddles of slag.
The hovercraft reached the bobbing life pod. The fabric of the parachute bunched around the metal
vessel, drifting like seaweed. The hatch was already open to give them fresh air, but as Dex approached
he saw that Sky Captain and Polly remained inside the vessel, locked in an exhausted embrace.
Hearing the hovercraft outside, the two quickly pulled apart, but Polly was still grinning. She reached
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
into the cramped confines of the life pod and retrieved her camera. "One shot left, Joe."
"Better not waste it. What are you waiting for?" He looked out at the attacking planes of the Flying
Legion and the exodus of creatures that had never before been seen by man.
Polly raised her camera and framed the smoldering island. Nearby, prehistoric monsters swam from
shore. A brontosaurus raised its long neck and looked right at her. The whole spectacle seemed to be
closing in on her from all points of the compass. It was an epic vision.
"Looks like you got your story," said Sky Captain.
"Editor Paley will put this on the front page. You can bet your hat on it." Polly hesitated with the
camera, then suddenly turned to point the lens at Sky Captain. He smiled at her, blood streaking his
cheek, a bruise on his forehead. "This is a better picture."
His face filled with alarm. "Polly, you... you..."
She snapped the shot on his surprised expression. Then, satisfied, she lowered the camera. "Don't say
it, Joe. You don't need to." Polly felt warm and contented.
But instead he motioned to the camera. "Lens cap."
THE END
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]