"I'll have this thing warmed and ready to flit by the time you get back up here. Make it fast, will you?"
Pete had already dived down an escape slot. As Don started through his pre-flight routine, he reappeared. Jasu Waern followed him.
"What happened?" The older man looked around the littered courtyard, then at the flier which Don had pushed out of its cover. His eyes widened.
"But I thought they would use an inductor."
"They tried," Don told him. "Come on. Get in." He looked anxiously at his instrument panel.
"Little risky," he muttered, "taking off so fast. Synchs and generators haven't had time to stabilize. But it beats letting them get in range for some more target practice."
He eased a lever toward him and watched the pointers on a dial as the flier lifted. The red needle started to oscillate and he reached quickly to adjust a knob. The oscillation stopped. He looked overside.
"Hm-m-m," he said, "so far, so good. Well, let's have at it."
He reached out and pulled a handle toward him, watching the needles. They remained steady and he nodded and pulled another control toward him, then gripped the control wheel.
The flier leaped into the air and surged toward the mountains.