The embarrassment is only temporary because we quickly turn invisible.
“Are you doing that or am I?” Six asks.
“Better that we both do it,” I tell her. “I’ve only had the Legacy for a few days. I could make a mistake.”
“Oh, that’s heartening,” Adam says.
“Don’t worry,” I tell him. “It’s really only flying that I’m still a little shaky with.”
“But we’re about to—”
Before Adam can finish that thought, I launch us up in the air. It’s not the most graceful takeoff. It’s a lot more forceful than necessary; but it does the trick; and soon we’re soaring above the treetops at high velocity. I remember what Five taught me—basically not to think too hard about what I’m doing and trust my instincts. That means going fast and forward. Adam’s hands grab my forearms hard, and I can hear Six laughing against my ear as the wind whips across our faces.
“This is so weird,” she says. “I feel like a ghost.”
“Let’s hope not literally,” Adam yells back.
It’s definitely strange: being invisible, flying through the sky, like we’re the breeze itself. I wish I had more time, or maybe the capacity, to appreciate this. All I can think about is what’s ahead, and soon that comes into view.
The steel-gray bulk of the scarab-shaped warship looms over Niagara Falls, casting a dark shadow on the rushing water. This warship isn’t as big as the Anubis. But it is still a frightening sight to behold.
“There’s the Loralite stone,” Six says. “That, uh, nondescript gray one down there.”
I glance to a patch of wilderness level with the start of the falls. I can’t pick out the stone from this height, but I can easily make out the crowd of Mogadorians securing the area. I can also see the three downed Skimmers that were taken out by the human Garde. More of the little ships zip through the air around the warship, patrolling the nearby woods in slow circles. I fly us closer to the warship while looking down.
“John,” Adam says as I survey the Mog patrols. “John!”
I look up just as I first hear the vibrating hum of a Skimmer’s engine. It’s practically right on top of us, the scout ship headed back to the warship. The pilot can’t see us, but he’s flying dangerously close all the same. I bank us hard to the right and narrowly avoid getting clipped by one of the Skimmer’s slender wings.
“Shit!” Six yells. Her nails scratch my neck as she almost loses her grip.
We do a barrel roll. The spinning disorients me, and for a moment we’re plummeting towards the rapids below. My fingers loosen, and Adam slips a few inches away from me. I grasp him hard under the armpits.
Gritting my teeth, I stabilize us and get myself flying straight again. Everyone’s holding on a little tighter now.
“Sorry,” I say.
“I take back any misgivings I had with your plan,” Adam says breathlessly. “If it means never flying with you again, I’ll steal a dozen warships.”
The Skimmer that shook us up leisurely flies into the docking bay of the warship, the doors left open behind it. Despite the scare, that’s perfect timing. I pick up speed, intending to get us through those doors.
As we near the warship, the force field finally becomes visible. You can’t really see it until you’re rushing right towards it. Once you’re within a hundred yards or so, the air around the warship seems to bend like heat lines rising from pavement on a hot day. I can make out a faint grid work of energy, like a net surrounding the warship, which gives off a faint red hue. It reminds me of the aura that surrounded the mountain base in West Virginia, the one that made me sick for days after I ran headlong into it.
“We’re sure this cloaking device is going to work, right?” I ask, too late, as there’s no way I’ve got the flying skill to put the brakes on now.
“Ninety-nine percent sure,” Adam replies.
We hit the force field.
And pass through it.
There’s a faint buzzing in my ears and an electric vibration in my teeth as we go through the field, but otherwise we’re fine. I glide us forward, slowing my speed so I don’t crash when we enter the Mogadorian docking bay; and seconds later we’re inside the warship, right as the Skimmer we followed touches down for a landing.
I keep us hovering for a moment so I can get the run of things. Even though Ella walked me through the Anubis, I’ve never actually been inside one of these ships. The docking bay is a huge, high-ceilinged area, with dozens of Skimmers arranged in neat rows. It seems they’ve only got a quarter of their fleet out searching Niagara Falls, and that’s a good thing for us since we need those ships stationary if we’re going to dismantle them. Besides the Skimmers, there’s not much going on here, just a lot of repair machinery, a few blaster racks and some fuel tanks.