Runaway World

Ascent

     "Ready to detonate the charges," said Winston.

     Cheval, in the pilot's seat, looked around at Andrew in the co-pilot's seat. "We ready?" he asked.

     "As I'll ever be, I suppose," Andrew replied, although he didn't sound convinced.

     Winston grinned in a way that Andrew didn't find at all reassuring. "Don't be so worried," he said. "There's a big hole in the building over our heads. If the building collapses, we'll be trapped by rubble all around us but there won't be much on top of us. We just wait for rescue. Play a few hands of poker while we contemplate the mysteries of existence."

     "Thanks," Andrew replied. "I feel much better now."

     Cheval kept looking at them, waiting for one of them to give a reason why they shouldn't proceed with their escape plan. "Okay," he said at last. "Detonate."

     Winston pressed the button on the small device he was holding. The floor shook under them and through the cockpit window they saw the wall ahead of them exploding into shards of rubble and ice. Andrew winced as several fragments hit the windscreen and bounced off without leaving a mark. There were no clouds of dust. In the vacuum even the smallest fragments of debris fell like bricks to leave the air clear, their vision unobstructed, and when the fragments had stopped settling they saw a ramp ahead of them leading up to the surface.

     "Drive," said Cheval.

     Andrew nodded and stepped on the accelerator. The two front wheels, the only ones in contact with the ground, turned and the rover shuddered as its belly was dragged over the mound of ice under it. It dropped suddenly to the left, bringing the other two wheels on that side, including the one on the newly repaired leg, down hard onto the ground with a heavy thump. Andrew looked at the image of the leg on one of the cockpit monitor screens, fed by a small camera they'd mounted on the side of the hull. The leg looked okay. The repair was holding firm. He allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief.

     A moment later the rover shuddered again as the last two weeks dropped onto the ground, and then they were climbing the ramp. Their progress was intermittent as rubble was pushed backwards under them by the spinning wheels, but metre by metre they climbed their way up until the cockpit rose above ground level and they were greeted by the sight of the frozen city, its tallest buildings looking like pieces on a chessboard as they rose above the ice that covered everything else.

     The belly of the rover scraped against the ice again as they struggled over the edge of the hole, but then the rover's nose tilted forward, bringing them level again as the front wheels dropped to the ice, and then they were driving. On solid ice once more, all six wheels in contact with the ground.

     "Just get us out of the city by the shortest possible route," said Cheval. "We'll circle around the city to pick up his trail."

     "Which is what we should have done in the first place," said Winston.

     "Easy to be wise after the event," said Cheval harshly. "Birch, how's the rover?"

     "I'd like to stop to perform another inspection."

     "No time. What does the status board say?" He could see it as well as Andrew, though, and he was already leaning across to study it. There were only two red lights remaining, both concerning the wheel whose leg they'd repaired. There were still an alarming number of yellow lights, but one of them turned green as automatic systems made their own adjustments. The other yellow lights all belonged to minor systems and the Sergeant nodded with satisfaction.