Starship Spring by Eric Brown

Hawk’s cruiser.
    I turned to the Skeath and the Yall, and the latter gestured towards the ship. “Go, you have played your part. Go quickly.”
    I ran forward, towards the monster, and plucked Ella from its shadow. Kee was already sprinting through the golden glow towards the cruiser, followed by Matt and Maddie. Gripping Hannah’s hand and clutching Ella to me, we raced towards the ship. On either side the alien army raised its weapons.
    We staggered up the ramp and collapsed into the sanctuary of the ship. I ran through to the flight-deck, where Hawk was strapped into his sling, wires and cables connecting him to the smartcore.
    Seconds later the ship vibrated, its engines powering up.
    I held Hannah and Ella and stared through the viewscreen as the Skeath and its army brought their weapons to bear on the apparition of the Yall—
    “Hold on!” Hawk yelled.
    I cried out as the Skeath poured fire upon the Yall…
    And then we were no longer in the chamber, no longer underground. We had left the golden column and were speeding through bright blue sky above Tamara Falls.
    Hawk banked the ship and held it steady perhaps a kilometre from where the shaft of the column thrust from the Falls. We crowded around the viewscreen, staring at the wonder before us, the dazzling trunk of light identical to the Golden Column one hundred kilometres to the north.
    And I knew then what the Yall had commanded Hawk to do.
    Kee was explaining to Matt and Maddie. “The Yall came to Hawk, too,” she said in a quiet voice, “and told him to take this ship and fly it into the Golden Column, with the exit point at the Falls preset, so creating this column.”
    “And now?” Maddie asked.
    Kee smiled. “Now watch,” she said, gesturing towards the viewscreen.
    We turned our attention to the golden column ascending from the Falls, and seconds later—like an optical illusion which leaves the observer baffled and incredulous—it vanished.
     
    * * *
     
    Hawk brought his ship down on the landing pad above the villa, and Kee led the way through the jungle to a hillock overlooking the waterfall. From this vantage point we could see across the broad swathe of water to the far bank—and the vast, circular pit whose darkness contrasted with the blue of the river and the vivid green of the forest. It was as if a great cheese-screw had been inserted into the land, turned and withdrawn, taking out a column of bedrock and all it contained and leaving a perfectly circular hole in its stead.
    Already, fascinated tourists were making their way up the walkways and crossing the Falls to get closer to the pit. One or two small planes circled in the clear blue sky, their pilots no doubt incredulous at the inexplicable phenomenon far below.
    “It’s gone, Daddy,” Ella said, voicing our collective amazement.
    “What did the Yall say?” Maddie asked. “That the Skeath should be dispatched to a realm from which they would never be able to terrorise the innocent again…”
    “I wonder where that might be?” Hawk said.
    “Imagine the media interest in this,” I said. “I just hope we can keep our involvement a secret.”
    Kee looked at me, seriously. “David, do not worry about that. My people, the Elders, will explain the threat of the Skeath to the authorities, and they will not mention your part in their banishment.”
    As we turned from the river and made our way back through the rainforest, I realised that although much had been explained by the events of the last hour, there were many questions yet to be answered.
    Not that I cared…
    I carried Ella on my back, joyous at her safe return.

TEN
     
     
    Three days later we were lounging beside the pool in the dappled sunlight filtering through the shola trees. Maddie emerged from the villa with a tray of drinks, followed by Hawk. Hannah sat up and removed her sunglasses, smiling across to where Ella was splashing in the pool.
    Kee sat to one side, staring into the forest. She had been quiet