– Prior –
Meanwhile, in the cargo hold of the LX-374.
With a resounding creak and hiss, the hatch had fully closed. Prior turned her head toward the black figure who had just jumped in. It seemed to be a man. Dressed entirely in black, with a black hood. He pulled the hood down and smiled at her. He looked relatively young, was short and rather slender. But he had a very likable face. It was more round, and he had black hair as well as black, almond-shaped eyes.
He took a few steps toward her and said, "I made it! I'm Wander-Hualin Zho." His voice was distinctive, sounding more like that of a teenager. But he was definitely older.
Then he pulled a knife from his pocket, and Prior flinched and stepped back. Had King Tyron decided to have her killed after all?
"I just want to free you. Don't be afraid. I'm in the service of Prince Kashion."
She didn't know why, but there was something about him that made her trust him somehow. It was his presence. Hopefully she wasn't wrong.
Then he removed the gag from her mouth. She immediately took a deep breath, swallowed, and moved her lips.
Then he cut the rope that had bound her.
She stood up. "Thank you," she said.
Zho seemed to ignore her and looked around the cargo hold. Then he seemed to find what he was looking for. He had stopped at a set of emergency suits, the kind every spaceship and transporter was equipped with. He examined a few, then took two. He walked over to Prior and tossed one to her. It was a suborbital protective suit.
"Quick, we don't have much time."
Prior looked at the suit at her feet. What was this about?
"Why?"
"No questions, put it on. After launch, we'll have at most two minutes, otherwise we'll be too high."
"After launch?" What was that supposed to mean?
"Aren't we leaving now—"
He had already started taking off his clothes. Prior turned around.
"Too risky. Hurry up!"
Without knowing what she was doing, she began taking off her pantsuit.
Suddenly, the transporter started moving. It began to vibrate slightly. The engines were on. She really had to hurry. She quickly grabbed the pressure suit and put it on. It wasn't easy because it was so tight.
When she had put it on, Zho was already at her side. He checked that everything fit correctly. Suddenly, the transporter launched, and the pressure and speed forced Prior downward. She held onto a bar. It became very loud.
"Put on your helmet!" Zho shouted.
The helmet had slid to the side. Prior tried to grab it, but it was too far away.
"Take my hand," Zho said. So she grabbed his hand. His grip felt much stronger than his slender body would suggest. Zho himself held onto a bar, and through the extension she was now able to reach the helmet.
Zho had also put on a helmet and said, "Quick now!"
She put on the helmet. "What are you planning?" she asked.
"The hatch has an emergency release," he looked at a display on his suit, "we've already reached the optimal altitude. I'll trigger the emergency opening briefly, and then we jump. Don't worry, there's an automatic parachute integrated, but if it doesn't open, just pull the second cord from the right later."
Prior listened, but shook her head. Jumping out of a transporter? That was madness.
"And at 5 meters above the ground, you have to pull these red lines up here to slow down." He pointed to his shoulders, to something like a red cord. She reached to her own shoulder and looked. She saw the cord.
Then she looked at the display on the right arm of her suit. They were already at 40,000 meters.
She knew suborbital suits were for emergency landings. They supplied oxygen for a short time and balanced the pressure. At such an altitude there was almost no air pressure, which would be devastating for the body's blood vessels. Without a protective suit it would be fatal. With a suit, it was extremely dangerous, but there was a chance.
"Ready?" Zho shouted over the noise.
Prior shook her head. "This is madness. I can't do this!"
"It's the only chance, or you'll fly all the way to Saturn. We can do this!"
She panicked.
"I'm opening the hatch now. Once we reach orbit, it's too late. We have to do it now. Hold on and jump when I tell you."
She held on, but was certain she would never jump.
Zho pressed a few buttons, and the hatch opened with a hissing sound. A sharp gust of air tore through the cargo hold as the pressure escaped instantly. Prior saw her pantsuit get sucked out—and it was gone. She shook her head.
"Now!" Zho shouted. She looked at the display: 49,000 meters.
"Go!" He held out his hand to her. "We jump together!"
Saturn or Kashion? Prior wondered. Suddenly, she saw Kashion's face and felt his embrace. Almost automatically, she took a step forward and grabbed Zho's hand. She let go of the bar, and then everything happened so fast. Zho pulled her, and they seemed to jump.
But Prior only felt something like a violent impact. The air current hit her like a blow and knocked the air out of her lungs. She lost Zho.
Then everything went black. Suddenly, she came to again, but she was completely disoriented. At first, she didn't know where she was. Still in the spaceship? No. The sky was deep dark, almost black, while the Earth blurred beneath her. It was as if she were at the edge of space. She didn't know what was up or down. Everything moved so fast and seemed to spin. Her arms and legs felt like they were in an empty, completely open space. She was breathing rapidly, unable to get enough air. And it was cold. Very cold. Her heart was pounding so fast, and she felt nothing but panic, as if she would fall forever. It felt like the suit was pressing against her body—but that was exactly its purpose.
Suddenly, she could breathe better. The breathing mask of the helmet. And everything seemed to stabilize. She no longer felt like she was falling uncontrollably. Still fast, but different.
She looked at the display on her arm. 25,000 meters. She took a deep breath. She felt her body slowly getting better. She tried to spot Zho somewhere, but she couldn't see him. She kept staring at her arm. At the display. 20,000 meters, everything in the green. Gradually, she felt the wind and air more. The Earth also looked flatter. 15,000 meters. Everything was happening so fast! Suddenly, everything was covered in a kind of haze. Thin clouds! She was falling through clouds! 10,000 meters. When was the parachute supposed to open? What had she learned? Shouldn't it be now? 7,000 meters. What had Zho said? She would have to pull a cord in an emergency. Which one? Panic rose again. 5,000 meters.
That was surely still too high for the parachute, right? She waited a bit longer to see if it would open on its own. She kept looking at the display. 3,000 meters.
She reached frantically to her shoulder and side several times, trying to find a cord, but she didn't know where. 2,000 meters. The ground was getting closer. Then she heard a sound. Suddenly, she was jerked upward. A strong jolt ran through her body. The parachute had opened automatically! She breathed out in relief and looked at the display: 1,500 meters. A parachute symbol had appeared.
She looked down. Slowly, she could make out shapes. That was even worse. When it had been blurry, it had almost been less frightening. The parachute would hold… right? Her breathing quickened. Then she closed her eyes.
"Prior, you're strong. You can do this. Think of the positive," she tried to calm herself.
She opened her eyes again and could see the landscape more clearly. Green trees, a river, and further back, the sea. It was a beautiful sight. She felt the wind carrying her. She started to smile. Then she laughed. This was all so crazy!
She began moving her arms and legs. A suborbital suit was relatively flexible. She looked down again. It seemed she was lucky—she would land in a field, not in a forest or even the sea. And suddenly, she saw Zho in the distance. She laughed again. He was gesturing wildly, as if trying to wave. She waved back. Relieved, she closed her eyes. Good—he would be able to find her.
She felt free now. Felt the wind everywhere and almost like she could fly. Well, she actually was flying.
Her gaze drifted to the hills and rocks by the sea. Everything looked so peaceful and free. She really wanted to go to the sea and see the waves up close.
She looked back at Zho. He hit his shoulder with his hand. What did that mean?
Then she remembered what he had said about landing. She looked at the display: 100 meters. 90 meters. Okay, just before 5 meters she would start pulling. Zho waved at her again, then lifted his leg and pointed at his backside with his hands. What was that supposed to mean?
Was she supposed to try landing on her butt? She looked at the display: 40 meters. Okay, almost there. 10 meters. Prior readied her hands. 6 meters. She pulled hard on both sides and was jerked upward again. Then her speed actually decreased. She almost enjoyed the view, though she was still afraid something might go wrong. She tried to keep her legs up as the ground came closer. Finally, she landed with a big thump on her backside.
She rolled a little on the ground. Suddenly, everything started spinning again. She took off her helmet and tried to breathe deeply. She heard a ringing in her ears that grew louder, everything kept spinning, and she saw points of light. She covered her ears. She saw Zho running toward her—he had also removed his helmet.
He stood in front of her and said something, but she couldn't hear him. He knelt beside her while she kept covering her ears. He placed his hands on her shoulders and kept speaking. Prior removed her hands from her ears.
"…okay? Is everything alright?" she now heard faintly.
"I hear a ringing," she said.
"Look at me!" he said. "Everything is fine. We've landed. You're safe. Breathe slowly and deeply."
She tried to do as he said, and gradually the ringing subsided. He reached for her shoulders again, but this time he detached something from her suit, and she felt everything become much lighter—the parachute had been released.
But suddenly she felt so nauseous that she knew she was going to vomit. She tried to stand, but her legs gave way. Zho grabbed her arm and helped her up. She pulled away and turned to the side, then threw up. She hadn't eaten much that day, but somehow everything had to come out.
Then she turned back and saw Zho holding out a cloth to her. She felt embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," she said.
Zho shook his head and smiled sympathetically. "The first time you do a jump like that, it's normal."
"Oh, have you done this before?" she asked.
He grinned and shook his head. "For me, it was also the first time. At least from that altitude."
He reached into one of the pouches strapped to his suit and pulled out a small water bottle. What didn't he have!
He handed it to her. "Drink!"
Grateful, she took large gulps. That felt good.
Prior sat down again, and Zho did the same.
"Kashion sent you?" she asked.
"Not directly. But I saw you being put into the transporter and acted quickly."
Prior had so many questions.
"Why didn't you get me out earlier?"
"Too risky. King Tyron and his men might have overpowered me, and then it would have been too late. I can't fly a spaceship either. Jumping seemed like the best option."
Prior shook her head slightly. "And how did you even notice?" she asked.
He smiled. "I've been keeping an eye on you."
She looked at him in shock.
"No, not like that, not like that," he said, raising his hands defensively. "I mean, I've been watching you. Since the incident with the tiger, we Hualin know that you're the prince's special person. Wanyi assigned me to watch and protect you."
The prince's special person—that made Prior smile.
"I also watched you when the woman from the New Dawn intercepted you," he continued, "but when I saw she didn't harm you, I didn't intervene."
Prior's eyes widened. "The cracking twig. That was you!" Yes, she had seen a dark shadow.
He looked at her questioningly. She shook her head. It was reassuring to know it had been him—and it explained the feeling of being watched. "Zho, in the future, you don't have to do that secretly anymore. You don't have to be a shadow."
He smiled. Then he suddenly seemed to remember something. "Ah, I almost forgot. Excuse me." He took his messenger from a pocket and began typing a message.
After a few seconds, he looked up again. "Shall I call us a hover back to the palace?"
Prior thought for a moment. Back to the palace? She didn't want that right now. She thought of the view of the sea.
She looked at Zho. "I don't want to go back to the palace right now."
He looked at her in surprise. "But…"
"Can we go to the sea first? Would that be possible?"
He pressed his lips together, then grinned and nodded. "Alright, then to the sea."