Mazer winced. A dense population compounded their problems a hundredfold. It had landed outside the city, though; that was some comfort. At least the lander hadn't parked downtown. "Fatani, find every emergency and news feed you can coming out of that city and relay it to Auckland and to base command. Also see if you can patch in to any seismographic feeds. My guess is that thing felt like an earthquake when it hit. There may be buildings down, utilities disabled."
"I'll see what I can find," said Fatani. "But don't hold your breath. It won't be easy to breach their system in under three minutes. And don't forget it's all in Chinese."
"Do the best you can," said Mazer. He clicked over to the radio. "Red Dragon, Red Dragon, this is Captain Rackham, do you read, over?"
Shenzu's head appeared in the holofield. He looked furious. "Captain Rackham, turn your aircraft around immediately. Do not approach the alien landers. I repeat, change your course at once and return to base. The landers are on Chinese soil. That makes them our concern, not yours."
"They're on Earth," said Mazer. "That makes them everyone's concern."
Shenzu said, "Captain, you are flying in a stolen aircraft. You have zero authorization to be in Chinese airspace. You are violating international law. Your commanding officer in Auckland has conveyed to us that he has ordered you to return to base. We have given you the same order. Unless you comply immediately we will have no choice but to shoot you down. We will not allow you to provoke the landers and endanger our citizens."
"We're trying to help your citizens," said Mazer. "The second lander is right in front of us. There might be casualties. We can be there in under two minutes and provide immediate medical assistance. There are no airfields or bases remotely close to here. It will take medevacs a while to reach that position. We're the best you've got for emergency air support."
"That is not your concern."
"You want us to abandon these people?"
"You are thinking about a handful of individuals, Captain Rackham. I am thinking about all of China. Flying a military aircraft toward that lander could be perceived as an act of aggression and exacerbate the situation. We are trying to maintain peace, and your blatant insubordination is threatening our efforts. You have ten seconds to comply and change your course, or we will drop you from the sky."
Mazer waved his hand through the holofield to make Shenzu disappear. Then he blinked out a quick command to start a ten-second countdown on his HUD. "Reinhardt, get us close to the ground. Stay on course, but keep us low and use as much cover as you can find."
Reinhardt put the HERC into a manageable dive. "We won't be invisible, mate. It's broad daylight. If they're sat-tracking us, they can put a precision-guided missile on us and drop us like a rock."
"Then go faster," said Mazer.
Reinhardt scoffed. "Get lower and go faster? These are jungle mountains, Mazer. You want me flying us into a cliff face?"
"Then fly as fast as you can as safely as you can. The closer we get to the lander, the better our chances are with the Chinese."
"Isn't the opposite true?" said Patu.
"Technically, yes," said Mazer. "But the Chinese's biggest fear is that we'll provoke the aliens. If they fire on us when we're close to the lander, they risk it looking like a provocation to the
aliens. So the closer we get, the safer we are. Hopefully. Punch it, Reinhardt."
"You sound unsure," said Fatani.
"I am unsure," said Mazer. "I could be completely wrong. But I think the Chinese are smarter than that."
"We'll know in three seconds," said Patu.
The second countdown reached zero just as the HERC leveled out from its dive above the trees at the crest of a low-level mountain. The aircraft flew straight for a moment, then the mountainside dropped away, descending toward the valley below. Reinhardt dropped the nose of the HERC as well, level with the terrain. They plummeted down the mountainside like the front car of a roller coaster on its first big drop. Mazer felt himself rise slightly in his seat and tighten against his restraining harness, the valley floor rushing up toward them at a sickening pace. Reinhardt pulled up at the last instant, and they all dropped back into their seats, Mazer exhaling and unclenching his fists.
"Easy," said Patu. "He said faster, not suicidal."
Reinhardt hit the throttle, taking advantage of the flat valley floor to pick up speed. "They're one and the same, Patu, my queen of the rice. One and the same."
The next mountain was coming up fast. Mazer scanned the radar and heat sensors displayed on his HUD. He didn't see any incomings.
"Sky looks clear," said Mazer.
"That doesn't mean we're home free," said Fatani. "They could have fired a missile from Beijing for all we know. Might take a minute to get here."
"Which is exactly why they won't fire at all," said Mazer.
The HERC rose sharply up the mountainside. They flew in silence, rising and falling with the landscape, shifting slightly off course here and there in the hope of evading detection, always scanning the sky around them, watching for incoming threats. None came. A minute passed. Then two.
"Looks like you called their bluff," said Fatani.