Ten minutes later they were walking across the tarmac on the airfield to where all the HERCs were parked. They moved quickly and saw no one. They climbed aboard a HERC, stowed their gear, buckled in, and lifted off.
“Head east, low to the ground,” said Mazer. “We’ll only go a few kilometers outside the base. Hopefully we’ll be beyond the jamming out there.”
Reinhardt turned the HERC east and accelerated, flying only a few meters above the tarmac. “You think anyone will follow us?”
“They’ll know we’re airborne by now, but it will take a few minutes for them to scramble a crew. We’ll be long gone by then. Patu, can you remove the tracker?”
She unbuckled her harness and came forward. “As long as Mr. Ace Pilot here can keep us steady.” She slid on a headband light, grabbed a few tools, and lay down on her back under the dash. When they reached the end of the airfield, Reinhardt lifted the HERC a few meters into the air to clear the fence and then continued east across open country. Ten seconds later Patu came out from under the dash holding a small box. She handed it to Mazer and returned to her seat.
They cut north for another two kilometers before Mazer pointed to a field and said, “Park us over there, keep the gravlens running.”
Reinhardt banked to the left, descended, and slowed the HERC to a stop, a meter above the ground. Mazer opened his door and dropped the tracker box onto a thick clump of grass, hoping not to damage it. He then closed his door, lowered his visor, and called up the map on his HUD. They were still on base, and none of the other HERCs were airborne yet. They still had a lead.
“Take us northeast to the river,” Mazer said. “Fast. We need distance between us and the box.”
The HERC lifted and shot forward in that direction. The base was roughly ten square kilometers, most of it grassy flatland, which wouldn’t provide much cover. The river, however, with its canopy of trees and narrow valley walls would give them some decent concealment.
“Patu,” said Mazer. “Have that sat receiver ready. I want us getting a feed as soon as we’re clear of their jammers.”
“Assuming we can get clear of the jammers,” said Fatani. “We’re only guessing at their range.”
“The Chinese aren’t going to invest money and equipment to jam feeds over farmland,” said Mazer. “I think Patu’s right. We go far enough off base, and we’ll pick up something.”
Reinhardt crested a hilltop and descended quickly down into the river valley. It was still full dark, but the night-vision feature inside their helmets gave them a clear view of everything. The HERC dipped down between the trees directly above the river. Using the water like a road, Reinhardt took them north, weaving them back and forth with the curvature of the water. Twice he had to quickly lift them over the trees where the canopy was too thick to squeeze through. Another time he hopped up to avoid a bridge.
“Hey,” said Patu. “How about a little warning on the hops? I’m holding sensitive equipment here.”
Reinhardt gave the stick a little wiggle, wobbling the HERC and jostling Patu in her seat.
“Funny,” said Patu. “Real funny. How would you like my boot, Reinhardt? Up your ass or in your teeth?”
“On a bun with mustard please,” said Reinhardt.
Patu only shook her head.
They moved north through the river valley for another five minutes and then suddenly they were over rice fields. No fence marked the end of the base’s borders, but the difference in landscape couldn’t have been more distinct.
“Anything, Patu?” asked Mazer.
“Not yet.”
“Northeast,” Mazer said to Reinhardt. “Keep your eyes open for a spot with decent elevation and a place to hide the HERC. As soon as Patu gets a clear signal we’ll land.”
Captain Shenzu’s head appeared in the holofield above the dash. “Captain Rackham. You and your team will kindly return to the airfield immediately. You are not authorized to seize government property whenever you choose. Disengaging the tracker box is a serious offense. Please, for your own safety, return to the airfield. If you fail to comply, we will be forced to take action to recover our property. I repeat, we will be forced—”
Mazer shut off the holofield. “Patu?”
“Working on it. Still no signal. But the jamming is weakening the farther we go out. That’s a good sign.”
“Keep on it.”
“So what are we going to do if we do get a signal and nothing is happening?” said Reinhardt. “What if that ship is just parked there in space doing nothing? We can’t sit out here and watch it forever.”
“Couple of options,” said Mazer. “Once we run out of rations, we could fly the HERC back to base and face the fury of the Chinese, who, worst-case scenario, arrest us and imprison us for life, or best-case scenario, throw us out of the country.”