sects kept them fed during the long three-year
back.
winter, it seemed. That was about the only
Another few steps and they were back by
part of the food web she felt she understood.
the abandoned cart. They’d walked the full
She was keen to study the talpids further,
perimeter. Nothing. Twelve scratchers were
when she found time. The warrens especially
still missing. “Nobody’s stolen them.” Jadey
intrigued her. Each tunnel was just under six-
said, more to herself than to Helma. She ran a
ty centimeters in diameter, forming a cylinder
hand through her short brown hair. It was
as wide as Jadey’s shoulders. The entrance-
possible some K-town low-lifes would under-
ways—and maybe the interiors—were slicked
take a two-hour joyride way out here to steal
with spit or mucus hardened into a ceramic-
the valuable herd but, if they had, they would
like shine. The talpids had constructed trap-
have left tire tracks.
doors made of hardened sod, a clever protec-
And, in any case, without a contract,
tion against the stub-winged hawks, other
thieves would get just pennies on the dollar.
predators, and, presumably, prevention
K-town was too small for a black market.
against the occasional scratcher stumbling in.
Maxxco wouldn’t buy back the herd from any-
Helma spoke in her ear. “At least we know
one but Helma—the upscale exotic leather
the talpids didn’t take ’em.”
market required assurance the stock had origi-
The scurrying talpid stopped next to the
nally come from the Maxxco embryo tanks.
last scratcher, Lotto, and raised a forepaw. A
The lump sum amount would be Helma’s only
spur jutted out from its wrist and swiftly gored
profit for the year, and Jadey’s only paycheck.
Lotto’s foreleg.
Assuming they found the missing scratch-
The scratcher jerked but couldn’t pull free.
ers, of course.
Helma started forward, shouting, and Jadey
Helma grabbed Jadey’s arm with a damp
grabbed her by the sleeve.
hand. “Please. I can’t report to Dad that we
Cole snarled.
lost ’em.” The weekly reports were a require-
Jadey whistled a sharp command.
ment of her father’s backing of this venture.
Cole hesitated then came to her side.
And a silver-collared pain to Helma.
“Stay here, boy. Those talpids have nasty
Jadey shrugged. “So don’t tell him. Yet.”
claws.” She knuckled his furry head. The ani-
“And, dammit, if half are gone, how can I
mals weren’t known to attack, but on their
make payments on that third loan?”
home turf they certainly might defend.
Jadey bit her tongue. If Helma hadn’t fool-
The talpid dragged the terrified Lotto to the
ishly bought some second-hand equipment at
nearest trapdoor and used a hind claw to flip
the K-town auction last week, junk from a de-
the circle of sod open. It released its spur from
commissioned shuttle, the ranch could have
her hamstring then head-butted poor Lotto
afforded tags and cameras. Supposed to get
right into the hole. With a dim look back, as if
food staples, she’d come back with miscella-
it knew the two humans were watching, it
neous equipment and a case of beer. And pre-
scooted downward after the scratcher, its
sumably less stress, since Jadey had noticed a
hind claw again catching the edge of the lid
charge for “recreational sex, one male” on the
neatly.
accounts.
The trapdoor flopped shut with tight finali-
Nearby, Cole barked at a velvet-furred talpid
ty.
scuttling near the scratchers he hadn’t yet
“Well, I’ll be a ship’s grunt!” Helma kicked
rounded up. It ignored him, heading for a trap-
at the ground in disgust.
door near the dentwillow.
Jadey squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out
Jadey squinted into the sun, watching its
the sun and the failing ranch.
path. Fleshy appendages, slightly larger than
They knew nothing about this planet.
the Eimer’s organs on Terran moles, ringed its
Nothing at all.
snout like wiggly worms. A little row of blunt
HOME ON THE FREE RANGE
111
ANALOG
Jadey’s tea had gone cold since they’d start-
fans in the barn and nearly killed Cocoa. She
ed brainstorming. She set her mug down
lifted her mug, tempted to throw it against the
squarely on the plastic kitchen table and rest-
bland beige wall. Two standard months from
ed her blue-crusted fingertips on Cole’s head.
now, H-bar-H Ranch’s results—or lack there-
“Okay, say we borrow an excavator from
of—would determine if Maxxco would give
Maxxco and level the hillside . . .” Helma
them more breeding stock or simply decline
trailed off before Jadey could even raise her
to renew Helma’s contract.
eyebrows. There were only about six things
“Maybe we could force nitrogen down the
wrong with that.
burrows and kill off the talpids,” Helma said.
“If we knew how the ecosystem func-
“If we had some handy.”
tioned, we could work with it, not against it,”
“No, Helma. Just no.”
Jadey said for the fourth time. “The talpids’ be-
“Fish the scratchers out, then.” Helma
havior must be something to do with spring-
mused. “Like, what do ya call it, f isherpeo-
time coming. We just have to f igure it out.”
ple.”
She pointed at the summary of Section Six of
Jadey set her cup down very very gently
the Skale Territory bylaws that she’d printed
and pinched the skin between her eyes.
out and hung on the wall as a reminder more
Helma shrugged. “Vacuum them out?” Then
to Helma than herself. She read off the head-
she snorted. “Naw, that’s dumb. How would
ing: “First, do no—”
we do that?”
“—harm. Yeah, yeah. Well, the colony by-
“We could try the yard bot again?” They’d
laws never figured that the scratchers would
used it a few days ago, to try to suck up the
be held hostage by a bunch of kidnapping
thick layer of caterpillars coating the ground.
moles.”
It had immediately plugged up, and Jadey had
“There must be a way to rescue the stock
spent an unpleasant three hours cleaning blue
without hurting the talpids.”
gunk out of its f ilter and canister. “With a
“Jadey, honey, for pity’s sake, if the herd
stronger vacuum attachment?”
was taken late last night, they�
��ve been under-
Helma stated the obvious. “The hose is way
ground for fourteen hours by now. For sure,
too narrow. We need a better tool. Or a differ-
they’ve suffocated. All we can do is cave in the
ent tool that fits the purpose better.”
hillside and terminate the talpid warren so
Jadey nodded in resignation and sipped her
that the scratchers we have aren’t at risk any-
bitter tea, trying not to let her thoughts spiral
more.”
down familiar pathways. The talpid tunnels
“And end up in a cell next to Jaime Maxx?”
were the size and shape of the starship access
After witnessing the multi-million-dollar penal-
tunnels where her mother had died in dark-
ties and jail time for higher-level employees
ness, suffocated by a f ire. She knew the dan-
levied on Maxxco for the prairie devastation
gers of the psychological parallel, but she also
just after First Landing, Jadey had no wish to
knew the scratchers had to be scared stiff. She
bring down government wrath upon this tiny
pictured Lotto’s trembling legs and Fernie’s
ranching operation.
liquid brown eyes.
Helma grunted in reluctant agreement.
“Hey.” Helma sat up straight. “How about a
“And, after they’re out, we need to relocate
tanker truck?”
them away from the warrens.” But, contractu-
Jadey looked out the window across the
ally, they couldn’t do that either. Maxxco had
empty f ields to the Maxxco parking lot. The
specif ied that the stock must be raised “free
row of shiny red tanker trucks gleamed in the
range,” in situ. Even if they broke that condi-
sun. Used to deliver bamboo slurry to the
tion, caging the scratchers for more than a few
housing printshops in K-town, the trucks’
hours led to death. In all previous attempts by
tanks were huge and powered by hefty mo-
other ranchers, the scratchers had died when
tors. Today was a day off for the workers—if
confined. Speculation as to why ranged from
they stole one, there’d be no witnesses. As a
Skale’s heavier atmosphere needing them to
brainstorming exercise, it wasn’t a bad idea, in
be in motion all the time, like the constant
theory.
swimming of a Terran shark, to simple psy-
Helma threw an arm out. “It’s perfect! Think
chological reasons. Jadey had tried large air
about it! If a truck can suck up thousands of
112
HOLLY SCHOFIELD
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
liters of slurry, it’s gotta be able to suck up a
an arch, converting inward forces to compres-
few scratchers. We can just leave the talpids
sion, and the surrounding soil and tree roots
alone. And since you know how to drive those
would work like a truss, spreading out the
trucks—”
stresses. At least, that should be okay.
“I was fired, remember? I don’t have access
After an interminable time, at least a minute
anymore.” Jadey paused. “Unless they never
or two, Helma slapped the control, stopping
canceled my old passcode. . . .”
the vacuum abruptly. The whine of the huge
Helma whooped. “When have you ever
motor diminished as the hose slumped. “You
known the Maxxco administration to be com-
wanna do the honors?” She gestured at the
petent?” She set down her mug and headed
tank’s hatch and handed Jadey a headlamp
out the door. “Come on,” she called over her
from the truck cab.
shoulder.
Jadey shrugged. Once a grunt, always a
Jadey stood up. Should she?
grunt. She armed herself with a rake and thick
It would probably get her arrested.
gloves. The hatch opened with another swipe
It was dangerous to use the suction for
of the screen and lowered its short ladder. She
something besides slurry.
hopped up the three steps and cautiously
It might injure the scratchers. And the
peered in. The headlamp spotlighted a couple
talpids.
of furious talpids gnashing their tentacle
But Fernie and the rest didn’t deserve to die
mouths and scratching at the metal f looring.
trapped in a dark tunnel.
She swept it across the length and breadth of
the large tank before seeing the three scratch-
The truck’s control panel lit up instantly in
ers huddled just left of the hatch.
response to her code, and Jadey slapped it
“Open a cage door!” she called back.
harshly into gear.
“Did it work? What do you see?”
Once she’d pulled the truck into the ranch’s
“I can almost reach Lotto.”
yard and backed it up the hill, she instructed it
“Is she okay?”
to lower its length of slurry hose. The f ilter
Jadey got a knee onto the rim of the hatch
came off easily. She left the tiny camera where
opening, grabbed Lotto by a horn and dragged
it was: perched on the hose end just behind
her closer. She came easily. Too easily. She ap-
the fittings for the mill tank openings.
peared stunned or drugged. She held the quiv-
Helma, in a burst of energy, had retrieved a
ering animal against her chest and staggered
dozen of the livestock cages from the barn
down the ladder.
and stacked them nearby. About a meter a
“Poor little girl!” Helma rubbed Lotto’s ears,
side, light but awkward, they could be lifted
turning her hands bright blue. “Oh yuck!” She
by one person but didn’t allow a scratcher
jumped back and wiped her hands on her
room to move.
shirt.
The talpids’ trapdoor rested cock-eyed in
Jadey lurched to the nearest cage, kicked
the opening. Jadey lifted off the heavy almost-
the door open, and shoved the dazed scratch-
circular flap of brillo, exposing the warren en-
er inside.
trance. She picked up the clumsy thick hose
“Oh, did you want me to help?” Helma
and hesitated. Was this as stupid as it looked?
paused in mid-wipe.
“This is gonna be fun. Just don’t tell Dad!”
Jadey slammed the door shut then forced
Helma grabbed the hose from her and jammed
herself to take a couple of deep breaths. What
it into the hole. Nearly the diameter of the tun-
had she expected, going to work for such an
nel, it stuck after about three meters. She
inexperienced employer? Helma was only in
f licked the screen, setting suction to maxi-
the ranching business to show her father up.
mum. The motor started up. With a whoosh,
He’d taunted her in front of the whole ship’s
the hose quivered then settled into a steady
&
nbsp; crew about an improper navigation instruc-
beat. A nearby air-badger shrieked madly.
tion in a shameful scene that Jadey wished
Jadey drummed her f ingers against her el-
she’d never witnessed. As soon as they’d land-
bow. They should have started with a lower
ed on Skale, Helma had declared her inten-
power level. What if the tunnel imploded? She
tions to be independent of both her father and
reassured herself: the tunnels would act like
the shipboard life. It wasn’t her fault she had
HOME ON THE FREE RANGE
113
ANALOG
zero coping skills in situations like these.
Cole nuzzled Helma’s clean brown f ingers
The other two scratchers slowly responded
and wagged his feathery tail.
to her low-voiced encouragement and stum-
Jadey couldn’t face the sight and started
bled toward her across the tank. Other than
pulling the suction hose out of the tunnel. Her
their drowsiness, they seemed in fairly good
back muscles stretched and pulled. The hose
shape, just banged up from being vacuumed.
resisted at f irst then came all at once, nearly
Their hides were sticky with small unfamiliar
tumbling her over. With deliberate motions,
brown pods.
she auto-coiled it then detached the camera.
The talpids gnashed and snarled as she
Was she always destined to lose the ones she
wrestled them out of the tank with the rake,
loved?
letting them fall the short distance to the
“Cole, come here.” She fastened the camera
ground. They both scooted up the hillside,
on his head between his colored eyebrows.
heading for a more distant trapdoor.
The sight would have been comical in any oth-
“Awesome!” Helma grinned happily. She
er circumstances, but the remaining talpids
flicked the switch again, forcing Jadey to jump
weren’t going to take kindly to Cole’s invasion
down and slam shut the hatch.
of their home.
Another f ive minutes of the roaring ma-
“Okay, Cole, go on! Go get ’em!” Helma
chine, another peek in the hatch. Two scratch-
practically shouted.
ers staggered toward her as she peered in.
Cole whimpered and tilted his head at
They were also covered in the little brown
Jadey.
pods. Some kind of seed?
“Yeah, go, Cole, go on. Fetch. Fetch the
The next three tries came up empty even
scratchers here.” Her voice grated and her
when Jadey pushed the hose inward as hard
throat hurt.
Analog Science Fiction and Fact Page 31