Gariel's face went serious again. "Jenny, I want you to monitor communications between Sanglarka and the Alliance. We need to coordinate these attacks very closely to be completely effective and to give us the least chance of casualties.
Tarafau I need you, Lyra, Nona and Mynn to watch the perimeter of our camp. Do not engage any enemy you see unless it is necessary. You three have access to the sleepy-time bots, as Bob calls them, and can deploy them at will. If they don't see you first, that will be our best strategy."
They immediately stood up and left the tent without looking back.
Bob interrupted. "What are we planning on doing with all the sleeping beauties we're creating? That sleeping potion will keep them out for at least ten hours, based on what your scientists know about their physiology and Xao Ting's suggested dosage. We can't leave them here and I think your current holding facility is full up."
"The council is still debating the final disposition of prisoners. Half of them are all for trying to rehabilitate them and put them on a non-gated planet that would be under their surveillance. The other half want to euthanize them and be done with it. Ingot is still unsure how the vote will go, but it has to be unanimous for euthanization. By the way, a bit of good news: you should also know that Guaray may not end up being executed. He has been very useful to the Council and they are considering also taking into account that his family had been threatened."
Jenny's heart swelled at this. The impending execution of Guaray had never been completely pushed to the back of her mind. She couldn't help but wonder how she would have reacted under similar circumstances and she knew that most of her fellow Guardians felt the same.
A small chime sounded from the split screen above them showing each sentry and all eyes were riveted. Two of the guards collapsed like puppets with cut strings, followed by another and another. Jenny wanted to hold her breath until the final pair of sentries collapsed.
A soft cheer went up from Burt and Bob and there were smiles all around as the Troopers came into view and dragged the sentries off into the underbrush. They returned, dressed as Groga and gave the thumbs up sign, one at a time until all were accounted for.
The viewpoint of the bots suddenly changed to a different set of bots atop the perimeter of the camp. Gazing down, it all seemed business as usual, soldiers milled about either set at different tasks or drilling or moving from one area to another in small groups or as individuals. Nowhere did anyone seem to be hurrying or excited.
"And now it begins," said Gariel.
Chapter 34: When All Else Fails
Jenny peered through the darkness. Once again, she found herself tied to a chair, helpless and furious.
It had all started out so well. The assigned Troopers had infiltrated the edges of the Groga camp and found and liberated three of the portal devices and had brought back three sleeping Groga, adding them to the sentries they had captured, restrained and put under guard in one of the hovercars. Two of the devices had been stored in a bot and were sent flying back to the mainland where a pilot waited to fly it to Puerto Rico and from there it would be sent back through the gate to Alliance headquarters. The other device had been examined by Burt and Bob.
The extractor had been used on the Groga captains and they were able to decipher the use of the various knobs and buttons. The location of the intended assault had also been extracted and sent to Lova. They were exultant to have this first part of the plan go so well.
When they had gotten word that the Alliance did indeed have a gate on that world and that the Troopers were deploying, it seemed they couldn't help but win.
As soon as the Groga force was seen deploying through the gate and the last one stepped through, Gariel had sent their 200 Troopers to the camp. There only seemed to be about 150 left behind to guard the camp.
It had been a wonder to Jenny that all was working so well, especially after Gariel's grim statement that even the best plans had their unseen flaws.
Bob's nanobots went to work, buzzing and biting and making the Groga nearly dance with frustration and irritation.
Then Burt's drones invaded the sky with an angry buzz. They could be as silent as a gentle breeze when programmed to do so, but in this case, they sounded like gigantic angry wasps as they flew at the Groga, dropping something that looked a lot like maple syrup on their heads.
The Groga fired at the buzzing nuisances, occasionally hitting one, but the drones were so quick and nimble that the hits were few and far between.
As soon as the enemy was fully sticky, the syrup coating heads, hands and even their weapons, the Troopers poured in, their weapons trained point blank at the Groga who had been herded by the buzzing drones into a bunch, facing out.
Almost in unison most of them put their weapons on the ground in front of them in obvious surrender, but a few fired at the Troopers who corrected that mistake with quick shots that put those who had fired down. The first casualties were on the Groga.
Jenny quietly sent up a thank you to "The Creator of All Things" and was turning to comment to Bob and Burt, who were conferring with Gariel, when she realized they were standing there with their hands raised in surrender. That was when the lights went out.
Now, as she tried to peer through the darkness around her, she noticed the sound of breathing around her. From her earlier experience, she knew better than to call out vocally. "Burt? Bob? Tarafau?" she sent cautiously. Someone exhaled loudly behind her and Tarafau responded, "We're here, Jenny. I'm sorry. We have failed you."
Bob's mind chimed in. "Tarafau, there was nothing you could do. Everything pointed to a win and we never saw anything in the surveillance cams until they were right on top of you. Blow darts, really? Of all the primitive, low-down, sneaky…"
If Jenny hadn't been so frightened, she would have laughed. It was definitely ironic that their enemies had used a variation of their own tactics on them.
"They weren't even Groga," Burt added suddenly just beyond Bob. "Evidently, the Groga aren't as concerned about polluting the culture of the natives as we are. The glimpse I got of our attackers tells me they were probably Amazonians. We were just lucky that they didn't coat those darts with curare. Obviously the Groga want us alive, at least for now."
Jenny was pretty sure she knew who their orders had come from.
Lyra piped up, "Does anyone have any idea where we are?"
"We could be pretty much anywhere. We may still be on earth or they may have taken us to one of their conquered worlds or even one of the home dimensions." Burt replied. "Were any of us awake when they transferred us?"
The lack of a reply said all it needed to say.
Jenny suddenly realized that it wouldn't be like last time, with Burt and Bob busting down the door to rescue her. She had never felt more helpless and alone. And then she remembered the counsel her father had once given her, before she had joined the hiking club.
"It's easy to panic when you find yourself in a difficult situation. You need to remember, OODA," he told her as he drove her to her first hiking club meeting. She had been in junior high school at the time and she rolled her eyes at the funny word, assuming her dad was poking fun at her.
"OODA is a term," he went on, ignoring her teen age reaction, "used by the military to make decisions when things aren't going well. Every commander knows that strategy and battle plans tend to go out the window after the first shot is fired. And people in combat often find themselves in unexpected situations.
But this happens a lot in life. Panic usually brings the very worst consequences, because it is based on fight or flight reactions that completely by-pass your brain.
OODA stands for: Observe. Orient. Decide. Act. Let's say somehow you got separated from your hiking group in unknown territory. Instead of running around in circles or plunging off onto the first path that looks inviting, you follow the steps.
First, observe. Take a deep breath and take inventory of your surroundings and your resources. If you know you have enough rations
and supplies to last for a while and you observe that there appears to be nothing dangerous in your vicinity, the best plan might be to stay where you are.
Then orient yourself. After taking stock of what you have, you may realize that you have the ability to make some kind of signal, preferably one that won't attract the beasties around you who might be looking for a snack.
That puts you in a position to decide. After taking stock, line up your choices and choose one that makes sense.
Finally, act. Once you have decided, get moving. Thoughtfully act on your decision immediately and with confidence. By going through these steps, you know you have made the best decision you can. Don't second guess yourself. Got it?"
Jenny nodded to herself as she had on that day. Her dad's advice had come in handy many times in her life.
"OK, everyone, let's take stock. Do all of you still have your MDPs?" Jenny wiggled her wrist as much as she could. Amazingly enough, the MDP was still there.
Burt said, "MDPs can only be willingly removed, kinda like the ruby slippers. If someone tries to remove them, for instance by cutting off your hand or killing you, they will explode into bits of confetti. Which is why I can guarantee all of us still have them."
All of a sudden something occurred to Jenny.
"Mynn, Nona, are you here?" No reply. "OK, either they are still unconscious or somehow they escaped, or…" she trailed off realizing she didn't want to think about the "or.”
"They can take care of themselves," Lyra said, cutting her off from going any further into that thought. "If they escaped, they have already fallen back to the contingency plan and are heading out to the rendezvous place. We won't know until we can count heads, if that is a possibility. We must assume the worst and work from there."
Jenny knew that Gariel had led his Troopers to the Groga camp following Burt and Bob's distractions and wouldn't find them missing until they had secured that area.
"So, we have our MDPs, probably none of the weapons we were carrying outside of them, we're all tied up and there is a possibility no one knows where we are. We do, however have our little bug friends and we have one another. Everyone keep your eyes open and your mouths shut. We don't want them to have anything more to go on than they were able to see in the command tent, which was way more than I ever wanted to give them."
Bob spoke up. His mental touch was so much him that Jenny could almost hear his matter of fact baritone. "Well, one more bit of good news. All of the bots are waiting the next command signal, and no one can give it without the 64 bit hexadecimal password code. If they try even once to access any of it without that code, the whole thing will blow up in their face."
Burt said, "I just remembered something. As soon as we saw that the Groga were nearly drowned in syrup and our people had cornered them, I automatically triggered phase two of my distractions. And the drones are on search and destroy for a two mile radius from the Groga encampment to track down any strays. The first little distractions were humorous, but those drones mean business now. I'm guessing whoever grabbed us, if they went through the portal had to do it under fire. They won't stop searching for Groga until I give the code to Stage 3, so maybe…"
He never finished his sentence. The place they were in was suddenly flooded with brilliant light as, what looked like a heavy curtain was drawn across a small door, spilling in sunlight. The bright light was somewhat painful.
She knew before a word was uttered who stood silhouetted against the bright light.
"Looks like we have all the ingredients for a party. And you know how much I love parties, don't you?"
Sam gestured, and two short native women came in to light torches that stood in all four corners of the little house. The walls of the hut, for that was what Jenny assumed it was, looked like it had been woven from palm fronds or some such. The little native women hurried quickly out of the hut, their heads bowed, looking at the ground. Their posture bespoke fear and subservience. At least now Jenny knew they were still on earth.
The curtain fell as the women hurried out. Sam/Engoza, stood with her arms outstretched as if greeting hoped-for guests. "So good to see you all. Even the kitty cat. Only, what brought you out of your disguise, big man? What? No purrs for your good friend Sam?"
Sam was fully in her Engoza persona. Her long robe hung open, a short tunic and sheer leggings peeking out, all of it in black and silver. Her long black hair was plaited into dread locks and her claw-like nails were painted (unless it was her natural color in this guise) the color of blood.
She grinned, walking a full circle around Jenny. "Look at you! Playing soldier, I see. Unfortunately, you lost your blaster somewhere along the way. And last I checked, R2D2 is in a galaxy far, far away. Your cavalry is in the room, so I doubt a rescue is on the way. A pity about your girlfriends…" and she trailed off, wrinkling her nose.
Jenny refused to engage her. She just sat there, glaring back at her, willing herself to be brave.
"Do we have to go through THAT again?" she demanded, hands on her hips. "Really, Jenny, this is just so very tiresome. You already have one beautiful art treasure ala moi. Certainly, that's enough for anyone. You should know the time will come when I will drink your blood. I got a little taste and I like it. But for now, I have orders to the contrary." She licked her lips as if in ecstasy.
Jenny thought of the butterfly on her arm and took courage from it. She noticed the others weren't saying a word and she was grateful for the solidarity. She knew what was coming next and winced at the thought, but she knew her companions would not thank her for giving in, if they were tortured. Even knowing this was true, she also knew that Sam didn't think of Jenny as brave. She knew she would try torturing at least one of her team, even potentially killing one of them, if she thought that might get her what she wanted.
Suddenly, there was an outcry from outside the little hut. Sam growled, an almost bestial sound. "You'll keep until I return. I think we understand each other." She whirled around and sped out the curtained door.
There was a clamor of voices and shouts not far from the hut and the smell of smoke. It seemed that one or more of the buildings were on fire. Sam's voice could be heard above the rest shouting orders.
Once again, the curtain drew back and a very old little native man peeked in. Looking from side to side he entered and drew a knife from his sash above his loin cloth. Jenny tensed. "Oh well," she sent to the group. "We did our best…"
The little man bobbed his head and grinned. "You speak the mind," he sent. He pointed to his chest. "I too." With his knife he hurriedly cut Jenny's bonds, mind-speaking as he worked. "I shaman. You shaman too?" Jenny shook her head.
"Ah well," he sent as he freed her ankles. "You good. You kind. Your mind says so."
He moved from one of them to the other, each of them standing in turn, rubbing their wrists and ankles. "You come. You follow."
He moved what appeared to be a set of shelves to reveal an opening smaller than the door, but simple enough for all of them to get through. Tarafau had to struggle, but he made it. The little shaman pulled the shelves back in front of the hole and beckoned to them grinning. The hut backed up against the rainforest. He slipped between two banana trees and they followed him.
The forest canopy in this area was so dense that it felt almost like night time with the exception of the tiny pinholes of light that glimmered here and there on the jungle floor. It was as if the constellations had been plucked from the sky and placed beneath their feet.
"I light fire," the little shaman continued. "Old building. We make it again. Water is not close by. They must stamp it out with blankets and things until they get water. Keep them busy. We hurry, yes?"
Jenny nodded at him, wondering where they were and where they could possibly hide quickly enough to avoid being found. She didn't know if Sam had Groga soldiers with her or if she was relying entirely on her native "friends".
The sounds of the panicked cries fell quickly behind them as they walked so fas
t as to nearly be at a run, barely avoiding tripping on vines, stones and the detritus of the jungle floor. Finally, the little man, who had managed to stay well ahead of them, despite their level of fitness, stopped in front of what looked like a large rock. "You stay here. I go back. I be mad at the strange woman. I tell her to not make fires my village. I yell very loud. She not know to check on you for a time. You disappear. Poof! I go now." And he sped off back along the way they had come.
Without saying a word, Tarafau moved beyond the rock and disappeared. He sent, "Come around the rock. It's a cave."
They all moved quickly around the rock where the path rose a few feet and then, sure enough, there was a path downward behind the rock into a fairly spacious, dry cave.
Tarafau had already removed a camp lantern from his MDP. It was considerably cooler in here and Jenny could see that, since there was that little rise on the path before it moved down into the cave that, even when it rained, the little cave would stay dry.
"Is everyone ok?" Burt asked. "Besides some sore wrists and ankles, that is," he said, rubbing at his wrists reflexively.
Jenny looked around at the weary little group standing there. Her team. "What about tracks? Can they find us? I don't think we aren't out of the woods yet," she sent, pursing her lips at the weak play on words. "And I think, based on what I know about caves and echoes, we should probably continue to use mindspeech." They all nodded, waiting to hear what she had to say, which flummoxed her. Why weren't the more experienced ones taking control of this situation?
Burt spoke up. "I did what I could to cover our trail. Thank heaven for boy scouts, right?"
"OK, what are our resources? How do we find out where we are? How do we contact the cavalry, if they're still in the vicinity? How much time has elapsed? And what are our next steps?"
Bob scratched his head. "Well it all depends what each of us have in our MDPs, I guess. But I can tell you where we are. We are about four and a half miles from our command center, based on intel from our still operational bots. Evidently no one has given them any new commands, which may come in pretty useful. As far as the cavalry is concerned, we're currently on radio silence, since the attack on the Groga. I assume our troops found our abandoned hover cars near our command tent and have scattered, per instructions. It may be some time before they break that silence, if at all. I'm guessing we've been out for about 24 hours, which means it will be dark in about two hours. As far as next steps are concerned, that isn't my call."
The House on Infinity Loop Page 33