The groaning of the blades drew Sophie’s attention back to the windshield. The brown dust was slowly dissipating. In the distance, she thought she could even see a hint of night sky, but it was difficult to judge; the dark colors seemed to swirl together.
“Halo 1, this is Black Echo, do you copy? Over.”
A welcoming grin spread across the pilot’s face as he reached for the transmitter. “Back in business! Black Echo, Halo 1 here. Over.”
“Roger. Good to hear your voice, Halo 1. Thought we’d lost you in the storm. Over.”
Sophie ignored the chatter, watching the winds slowly calm.
“Black Echo, that makes two of us. Preparing for landing. Over.”
“Roger, Halo 1, we’ll leave a pot of coffee on the burner for you. Over.”
Silence once again filled the cockpit, the sound of the storm finally gone. Sophie slumped in her seat, her fingers still gripping the metal armrests. Relief flooded over her body like a cold shower after a long run. In the days after the solar storms, when she’d risen out of the shelter with the rest of her team only to find smoke crawling across the horizon, the flames from cities all across the United States licking the sky, she’d felt something similar. It was a feeling she would never forget. And it was on her skin again.
It was odd that she could be preparing for death one second, and then staring at a night sky full of stars the next. In many ways it was what made her appreciate science even more. It was a way for her to control her destiny, from an experiment in her lab to an article on quantum physics.
She knew what some people would say: “God saved them in the storm. God wanted her to live so she could save humanity.” But it was all bullshit to her. They hadn’t survived because of divine intervention; they had survived through a combination of luck and teamwork.
Sophie smiled. “Nice flying back there, Captain. How long till we get this thing on the ground?”
“Thank you, ma’am. Worst storm I’ve ever flown through. Didn’t think I was going to make it home there for a second,” he said, checking the control panel again. “Should be on the ground in fifteen minutes.”
With a simple nod, Sophie turned to watch the night sky, the cracks in the windshield now nothing more than an afterthought. It was a beautiful view—a view like the one she hoped she’d be seeing on Mars soon.
CHAPTER 2
THE grinding sound of the metal door made Sophie cringe. She tapped her foot and watched artificial light from outside creep in as two NTC soldiers pried the broken chopper door open with a crowbar.
Finally the twisted metal gave way, and the door slid open. Sophie jumped out of the chopper’s belly, ignoring the hand of one of the soldiers. She didn’t have time for formalities. The tarmac was full of other helicopters and planes, which meant her team had already arrived. She was wasting time.