A Paradox in Retrograde (18 page)

Landaus scratched his head and puzzled for the moment about
the legalities involved with commandeering a private vessel. He
realized if this was an emergency of the first order that the law
would authorize that and more if need be. "Yes Ananda we can
get you an airship."

"Good, there are other things as well that we will need. We will
also require a large quantity of steel cable, or if that's not available perhaps even some stout rope."

Landaus began to see what Ananda was on about. He as well as
all assembled there had been easily swayed by Ananda’s words.
"I think I see what you're thinking Ananda. Those airships are
equipped with a lifting body designed to transport goods, but
only for short distances. It may be possible to adapt the body to
support the increased weight. If we are able to estimate the
weight within a relative degree of certainty, it might well do the
trick."

Ananda thought now was as good a time as any for him to take
control of this operation. He would do it in the guise of a helpful
ally. To do so he would present it in such a manner as to make
Landaus think it was his idea all along. So he spoke up, "If I had
help I could make it work. I possess the necessary skill and there
is ample technology all around us that we can scavenge from. If
we were to lash the alien ship to the side of an air ship we could
return it back to Baldur and begin work as soon as tomorrow. If
it so pleases you, I will spearhead the work on getting that thing
down here."

Ananda looked upon them staring with a glare of confidence he
said, "We may have enough here to build a formidable weapon.
With a little luck we may have the means to make a first strike.
If all goes well, to deliver a blow of our own we shall build from
this wreckage, a ship. And if God is willing we shall then destroy
this world of theirs once and for all." To this he had gotten the
response he had anticipated. He watched as the looks of despair
evaporated from their faces. These Men, who had until that moment been filled with fear and doubt, now brimmed with a new
hope. He had within their hearts and minds placed a seeds of determination. They had been shown the image that there was perhaps another option. They could act to defend themselves and
more if need be. It was soon acutely clear that this desperate action may be their best and only option.

Though air ships were used generally in the trade of goods and
occasionally for exploration, as far as any of them knew no one
had ever tried such a maneuver. Ananda assured them it could be
easily done. A group of scientists who were there took the trouble
to do the math. They were surprised that no one had ever thought
of a feet such as that. Not only was it possible, but it was well
within the ability of these craft to do so.

As this next course of action had been determined, the orders
were given and the men began exiting the great hall. As they
streamed out Ibsen saw his opportunity to move. He scrambled
down quickly to keep pace. This time the need for quiet had there
diminished. Among the riot of activity he now moved with more
urgency.

Within the shadows of the large hills, the airship field sat snuggly, sheltered from winds that blew off the sea. Though the ships
could be seen easily from where they stood, they were in fact
clustered on the far side of the town. The scale of these ships easily deceived them for despite their apparent proximity, it still took
them a good portion of an hour to reach them on foot. Upon arrival there, they could see the large floating masses of gas and fabric buffeted, gently rocking in the breeze.

Immediately upon arrival there, they set themselves to work.
There they came upon the one that was ultimately selected for the
mission. It was a large ship, considerably larger than the others,
standing perhaps two hundred feet in length and maybe thirty tall.
Below the mass of the balloon there was a gondola that was large
enough to carry a sufficient compliment of men as well as their
potential cargo. Landaus directed his men to follow Ananda's
instructions in construction of a makeshift frame and winch that
was to be affixed to the lifting body of the gondola. There about
the air field lay remnants of derelict ships that had been long ago
abandoned. While other more modern ships stood at anchor.
Ananda ordered the derelict ships be stripped for their raw materials.

Within hours they had managed to install by use of cable lashing, a crude but workable frame that would not damage or endanger the ship itself, nor hinder its flight. Soon the work was
completed. Since the work had gotten underway there had been
a marked change in the weather. As these mighty ships sat
moored on the air field the wind had begun to cause havoc. Subtle movements at their tops transmitted downward waves of
stress along the mooring ropes. Each time the ropes were tested
so they let out a sharp noise reminiscent of a cracking whip.
This noise reverberating from a hundred ropes foretold of a
coming storm. They would need then to make haste for to them
nothing was promised. Landaus now would have to the order
the reluctant ship captain to proceed with the flight. Despite the
captain’s legitimate objections, under threat of arrest the ship
was soon ready for take-off.

Ibsen during this work period had managed to stay out of sight
as he continued to shadow the men. From a vantage hidden just
beyond their view, he watched them working diligently to prepare the ship. He noticed the men dare not lift their heads from
their labors, for there was much work yet to be completed. Being so pressured the workman had not thought to guard against
intruders or thought there be a need to. So he drew ever closer.
His mind raced to formulate a plan. It looked to him as though
he could stow away out of sight below the ship in the newly
erected section. Though it was open to the air he reckoned that
there he could easily secure himself. With this makeshift plan in
place he steadied his nerves for he would have to move quickly
and soon. As the last of the men and equipment had boarded the
ship he ran from his hiding place to the frame below the gondola. There he quickly found a place where he could again keep
himself well hidden and secure. As Ibsen silently waited for the
ship to lift off, he pondered again the notion thatsomehow he
had been betrayed by his own father. His mind revolved over the
facts. Why was it being the discoverer of the object, despite his
age, that he had not been included? He wondered was he perhaps
being stubborn and selfish. He concluded that he probably was,
yet this time he would not be denied.

Moments after he had safely secured himself the sounds of the
motors and the props cutting the air filled his ears. Soon the ship
was rising upward and the ground swiftly raced away below him.
He tried not to think of the fear or of how cold he felt; for there
was little he could do about it now. For fear of falling as he spied
from his lofty vantage, he held tightly onto the frame. From there
he was afforded the most spectacular vista. He could see the far
mountains bathed in the light and the distant fog shrouded valleys.. For many miles a patchwork of field and forest crowned
hills rolled out below him like a thick green carpet. From here the
scale of things began to play tricks on his mind. At distance large
things began to appear small enough for him to hold in his hand.
He was old enough to know this to be an illusion so; yet young
enough to be thrilled by it. He had never in his short life seen
such sights. Soon his focus would change for the high elevation
of the mountains was abruptly upon them. Ibsen held tight onto
the frame as the high jagged rocks appeared now to grow too
close for comfort. One story above him, the pilot wrestled with
the controls as he roughly navigated toward the coordinates of the
crash site. This tough landing would soon become exceedingly
more so. Mother Nature it seems was about to supply one more
surprise complication. Just as the pilot brought the ship near to
the approximate position, the conditions grew suddenly worse.
The crisp wind that had been creeping its way up along the same
mountain had finally caught them. With it came a thick blanket of
fog that had pushed its way upward from the valley. There
amongst the rocks and trees this veil of mist began to obscure
their view. Anxiety began to grow among the crew for without
sight of the ground beneath them, all reckoning would soon be
lost.

The pilot yelled out "Full stop, reverse engines." This action was
all he could do to keep from crashing blind into the hillside. The
engineers dutifully made the necessary adjustments.There was a
sudden jar as the momentum shifted. "Colonel if you have any
suggestions now would be the time to make them. You'll have to
order me to land this ship. It just doesn't seem safe. If it were up
to me I would turn around for home." Landaus pondered this for
a moment for this had been unexpected. It could not now be
their fate to crash and burn but to go in blind, what other fate
could await them? Then he remembered something he had seen
from the corner of his eye. It had barely registered, now he saw
it as clear as day in his minds eye.

While peering through the gondola window in an instant before
the fog closed in, Landaus thought that he had seen something
on the ground below, a ship perhaps. Maybe he thought it was
the crash site, he could not be sure. By now they were running
blind and they knew they would need to land soon or abort. If
they did not they would be in perilous danger of crashing into
the jagged rocks that crowned the mountain. He knew he would
have to act win or lose, so he gave the order. Landaus speaking
directly to the pilot said, "Turn this ship around. I think I saw an
opening down below." Not expecting to hear what he had
heard, the pilot turned and gave him a startled look. Landaus
gestured with his hand said, "If I assume you have been following a straight course, I would suggest you make a correction in
your heading of two hundred and twenty degrees. I think I saw
something below in a clearing." The ship's captain thought if
they were to crash and burn, then there was as good a place as
any, so he told the pilot to turn the ship in that heading. The pilot killed the main motors. Buffeted by the breeze the great bulk
of the ship floated to a silent stop and then began to slowly turn.
The smaller hovering motors would now be used to guide the
ship downward. The tension was palatable during the tense
moments of the descent. Not a word was spoken as the ship it
dropped. There into the relative quiet the thick fog all but stifled
the noise. As they grew closer down below Ibsen could see that
there was in fact an opening in the trees and they were heading
straight for it. There was something else there. He could barely
make out the faint outline of a long cylindrical shape. Then it
was gone. The crew above could barely believe their good fortune. "So far so good" said the captain as he made certain the
ship's crew stayed focused on their duties.

The captain then ordered the ropes to be dropped as the ship
slipped to within two dozen meters of the ground. Four crew
men made their way down to the forest floor via suspended
ropes. They as was there duty were quickly able to find makeshift
moorings among the trees. When this was done they then sent a
silent signal to the captain that all was safely secured. He
acknowledged this by giving the order to drop the ladder.

From within the gondola a rope ladder was lowered to the
ground. Landaus and Ananda both eager to be the first down the
ladder, jockeyed for position. Ananda stopped himself. Deferring
to Landaus he said, "After you Colonel." Landaus without hesitation obliged and stepped onto and down the ladder. In an instant
he had reached the ground. All there was eerily quiet. Except for
the light hum of the motors there was barely another sound. He
stepped carefully, drawing his flintlock pistol up to the height of
his chest. He cocked the hammer back. He would be ready in case
he had to swiftly engage an enemy. Ananda soon followed and he
too made himself ready. Ananda armed with a pair of matching
swords knew not what they might find there. The winds began to
change and again began to blow with greater force. So the men
still aboard ship feared it may soon be difficult to safely exit the
craft. They scrambled then to get their feet on the ground before
it became impossible. Soon the gusts grew stronger. Kicking up
over the side of the rise it was pushing the wall of fog further up
the mountain side. In the mists of the lessening fog there began to
form silhouettes of something moving as shadows before them.
Soon their movement stopped as they too became visible. Landaus let out loud a stern order, "Who goes there? Put up your
hands, and lay down your weapons!" He saw now the figure closest to him emerge from the mist and bolt towards him with the
speed and agility of a deer. Landaus was looking into the terrible
expression of his attacker, when he drew nearer, but he did not
hesitate. He fired his weapon and his ball struck the creature right
in the center of his chest. It stumbled forward a few more steps
and fell writhing in the dirt within feet of him. His gun with that
sound of crashing thunder signaled to all the men that the battle
was engaged.

Ananda by now had already gone on the offensive. He easily
matched their speed and outmatched their sword play. Moving
with lightning speed, he was hunting the enemy within their
midst. His blade he wielded fast and true. Soon others among the
crew that had emerged from the ship joined the battle. Guardsmen as if having leapt from the ship in numbers were following
behind him. They instinctively formed a column behind Ananda as he cut a wedge through their ranks. There they met the enemy with their muskets, pistols and swords. Despite the fearsome appearance of their adversaries, the men were spurred on,
encouraged by Ananda's blind courage. Soon they were all engaged. The thunder of shot piercing the air was followed closely
by the din of crashing swords. After this short but intense engagement a signal of retreat was given as they moved back into
defensive positions nearer to their ship. Soon defensible lines
were formed among the tangle boulders and fallen trees. The
creatures, many of who had become wounded in the hail of lead
and steel would make this onslaught their final stand. Though
most of their number had now been wounded by pistol and rifle
shot, they would continue to stand their ground.