by James McEwan
Rod had pulled his body armor off and taken his undershirt off. He tore it up and wrapped his head and face as well and then put his armor back on. He thought about offering it to one of the women. But then wasn’t sure which one and decided that was a can of worms he just didn’t want to deal with. If they thought he was a jerk for not offering then so be it. After all, it was better than getting between three women. He hobbled over to the others, “I think Eve is in trouble, she is not moving.”
Fiona and Freya rushed over to Eve’s side, “Eve you alright?” Freya asked loudly as another strong gust of wind hit them.
Eve stood straight up unmoving with one arm out as if she was frozen. “The sand moving over my plasta flesh is generating far too much static for my systems to handle. My Van de Graaff eliminators are over loaded and if I don’t go into a low power state I could suffer irreparable damage. I have already had to shut down my motor systems,” Eve yelled.
“What can we do to help?” Fiona asked.
“I’m far too heavy for you to carry and besides you need to help Rod. I will be fine I just need to wait out the storm. But if you could push me over on my back and cover up as much as you can that will protect me from the storm,” Eve said. She couldn’t see the look on their faces because of the static had disrupted all of her sensors including her vision. However, she could tell by the lack of response that they didn’t want to leave her behind. “Really I will be fine and I will catch up to you I promise. Now please before it gets any worse.”
It took both of the twins to push Eve over as she landed on her back in the soft sand. Freya and Fiona worked as fast as they could. They used their hands to push as much sand as they could. It didn’t take them long before the only trace of Eve was her forearm sticking out of the sand. “Stay safe and you better catch up,” Fiona said. The rest of the group then pushed on into the oncoming storm.
They got to the ridge just before the wall of sand hit them. The structures sticking out of the sand were not rocks, but bones. Bones of some long dead creature, one big dead creature. Lex spotted what looked like a door in the side of the large rib bones.
Once they reached the door the wall of sand came crashing down on them. A few more minutes out in the open and their bones would have been added to the collection. Lex was the first to the door as the twins were helping Rod. There was no lock of any kind that she could see. She grabbed the handle and pulled. It budged a little at first. It wasn’t stuck. It was just too heavy for her to open on her own. “Hey, help me,” she cried out.
The twins left Rod and came to help. It took all three of them to open the two foot thick door. The door had been carved out of the bone and on the other side they found stairs leading down. It was dark inside, but with the brunt of the sand storm now upon them, even the dark was better than staying out in the open.
Commander Cotton Paw led the way since she could see better in the dark. The stairs spiraled down for at least two flights before coming to an end. As soon as Commander Cotton Paw stepped off the bottom stair and into the room she tripped a motion detector. Soft bluish lights flickered a few times before staying on.
The room opened up to a large square room with what looked like a hallway across the room from them. It was easy to see that the room was cut out of the bedrock using a slaver designator. Along the walls were crates and cases. Lex entered the room, pulled the fabric from her face and walked across the room, “What do you think are in these?”
“Some clothing I hope,” Fiona said as she removed the fabric from her face.
After some quick exploration, the three women came back into the main room, “I found a shower or at least that is what I think it is. I haven’t figured out how to make it work yet,” Freya announced as she entered.
“That’s great, but I found something even better, a kitchen and it is fully stocked,” Fiona said with a smile on her face.
“Well, ladies I found some clothing, not the height of fashion, but it should protect us from the conditions,” Lex said as she held up a brownish robe.
“Right now I don’t care if it was freaking trash bag, I am so badly burnt, I swear I’m not going to sleep for a month,” Freya said.
“Well it seems that we have stumbled on to someone’s oasis shelter,” Lex said.
Fiona couldn’t help herself since Lex’s golden blond hair reminded her of a childhood story, “Okay Goldie Locks, let’s hope that the bears don’t come home anytime soon.”
Lex had never heard of the story of Goldie Locks and didn’t understand what Fiona was talking about, “Bears?”
“Never mind. I will tell you later. Right now I’m going to see if I can get that shower working,” Fiona said.
“While you do that I will see if I can make use of that kitchen and make us something to eat,” Lex said.
“Let me check on Rod and then I will come help you Lex,” Freya said.
“Anyone seen Cotton Paw? I haven’t seen her since we got here,” Lex inquired after her cat.
“Oh, she was in the kitchen with me and I found some heavy cream. I guess that this is one of her favorite things so I gave her a bowl. It was so cute to see her take the bowl in her little front paws and up end it right into her little mouth. After she was done she wiped the cream off of her whiskers with her forearm and then she set the bowl down and found a corner. She curled up and promptly went to sleep,” Fiona relayed the story.
Lex laughed, “For an advanced race she sure does act like a house cat some times.”
Fiona figured out the shower and was the first to wash the sand from her sunburned skin. It was everywhere and she was so relived to get clean as every step was like having a rough piece of sandpaper between her legs. After her shower she found an aid kit that had some skin cream. She applied it to every inch of burned skin. It was cool and felt great. She got dressed in the desert robes that Lex had found and despite the look they were remarkably comfortable and seemed to be designed to keep you cool.
Fiona switched out with Freya who went next to the shower, followed by Lex and Rod last. After everyone had a chance to clean up they all sat down to a hot meal. Soon they were all fast asleep in the bedrooms that were also a part of the facility.
Thad had made good time even making his way through the heavy jungle. Every once in a while he could hear the sound of a Ralnai grav sled flying high overhead. The jungle canopy was far too thick for them to see him visually and there was also too many life signs for the limited sensors on the grav sled to pick him out. Thad easily avoided detection and he was able to stay well ahead of the Ralnai who were hunting him. They may have been in their element, but Thad had a head start and frankly, he was smarter than them.
The Ralnai, because of their heightened sense of smell, make decent trackers, but that was on the ground. They never thought to look up. Thad had taken to the trees like a spider monkey, and several times he sat unmoving high above the Ralnai and watched as they passed by looking for him.
Thad kept moving west the best that he could. It was just after midday when he felt it was safe enough to come down out of the trees. He had been walking for a while when he came upon the spot where Rod and the girls had camped and were attacked by the killer plants. He was looking around when he spotted a Ralnai disruptor rifle laying on the ground.
Thad picked up the weapon. It was clean so that meant it hadn’t been there long. He looked around for he the owner of the rifle, but he was no were to be seen. Thad set the weapon down and continued to investigate. He looked up and saw that the lower branches and foliage showed of weapon fire. “Strange,” Thad said out loud.
He noticed a strange looking vine that he swore wasn’t there a few seconds ago. He reached with his left hand and touched the vine. It moved quickly and wrapped its self around his hand and wrist. Thad didn’t do anything to stop it. He was fascinated by the plant it reminded him of some the strange and exotic plants in Doctor Hammer’s greenhouse garden.
One second he was watching the vin
e wrap it’s self around his wrist then next second he was yanked off his feet. He was being pulled upward at a remarkable speed. He still had his right hand and arm free so he grabbed his force sword off his back and got ready to deal with whatever was on the other end of the vine.
Thad had to use his force sword to cut away a few branches on the way up to avoid being bashed around. Upward the vine pulled him and he began to wonder just how high these trees went. Near the top he finally got a look at the pods that were on the tops of the trees. Most of them were shut, but one was open and it was attached to the vine that was pulling him up. He waited to the last second before he swung the sword and cut the vine. He waited so long because he needed to be over a branch large enough for him to land on. He really didn’t relish the idea of the long fall back down.
Now, with his feet on a wide branch, Thad watched as the plant pod snapped at him. He stayed just out of reach and kept an eye open for any more nasty little vines. Fearing that these pod plants had gotten the girls and Rod, Thad went to work cutting the pods open to find out. He slashed at the closest pod to him and a dead Ralnai slumped out of the slit. He had found the owner of the disrupter rifle and it didn’t end well for him.
Thad made his way from branch to branch cutting open all of the full pods. He found a few more Ralnai and some other local animals. He also found the pod that Cotton Paw had shredded, but no signs of any of his people in the pods, and that made him feel much better. Thad was going to start the climb down when an explosion near him nearly knocked him off the branch. He had to drop the sword to grab on to another branch to keep form tumbling down through the canopy.
Thad didn’t have to see who had just shot at him. He knew it was the Ralnai and from the sound it was a Grav sled. Once he was stable and not going to fall he could see the lone sled turning round to line up for another shot. Thad weighted his options and he didn’t feel that he had time to try to get lower in the canopy and out of sight. He felt he stood a better chance of standing and fighting. He unslung the cone submachine gun and raised it taking careful aim. He wished it was cone rifle for the range, but it was what it was and it would have to do.
He waited and waited as the sled got closer and closer. It had a much better range than his handheld weapon did and the pilot opened fire. The foliage around Thad erupted in mass of steam and flying debris. This sled was fitted with twin sonic disruptors and a single missile tube. The disrupter fire was all around Thad, but he held his ground or in this case, his branch. The Ralnai pilot who misjudged the shot ended up hitting everything, but his target.
As he passed overhead Thad let loose with a long burst from his weapon emptying the magazine. He tagged the sled pretty well. Most of his rounds smashed into the armored bottom of the sled, however, one of them had made it through and it passed through the pilot’s right foot. The Ralnai growled in pain and turned the sled around for another pass, while Thad cycled the weapon and got ready to take another shot.
The pilot was pissed and he was done playing with Thad. He armed the missile and fired. Thad caught the flash of the missile’s rocket engine. He only had a second to react. As the missile streaked down towards him, Thad new that even his nano protein wouldn’t be able to heal him if he was in a million pieces. He had no choice. It was jump or die.
Thad jumped off the branch diving for a lower one, but he missed just as the missile slammed into the branch that he had been standing on. The blast wave from the explosion sent him tumbling out of control. He bounced from branch like a ball in a pachinko machine. The smaller branches snapped under his weight and he bounced off larger ones with a sickening sound each time. This was not his preferred method of getting down out of the trees, but the bounces kept his fall from ever gaining any real speed.
After what felt like forever for Thad but in reality his fall lasted about a minute before he finally came to rest on the jungle floor. Any normal human would have been a bag of Jell-O about half way down. However, thanks to a combination of his carbon based bones, superior genetics, and his body armor, Thad was scratched and cut on every part of his exposed skin but, other than having the wind knocked out of him, he was fine.
He lay on the floor of the jungle for a few minutes while he caught his breath and allowed the wounds to heal. High above him he could hear the grav sled circling around looking to see if there was anything left to recover. After seeing nothing of Thad he assumed he had killed him and reported it back. Finally the jungle was quite.
When Thad sat up his head felt like someone was playing a drum salute using his skull as the drum. He knew it would pass quickly. He took stock of his equipment. His DDDS was gone, probably smashed to pieces on the way down. His sub cone gun was bent and no longer functional which would not been a big deal as he had left the Ralnai disruptor rifle on the ground or so he thought. When he picked himself off the ground discovered that he had landed on the weapon and smashed it too. He held up the broken rifle and said, “Well, shit.” He looked around and discovered his luck hadn’t completely run out.
Three feet from where he had landed was the force sword he had dropped. It had landed blade down and had buried its self in the ground up to its hilt. Thad pulled it from the soft ground and flicked the switch and it still worked. He looked up and said, “There is a God.”
Thad searched around until he picked up their trail again and set off to find them. It took the rest of the day for him to reach the end of the jungle and the edge of the desert. The sand storm had finally reached the jungle and that forced Thad to retreat back into the Jungle a ways. He knew he would have to wait out the storm so he went to work building a shelter to spend the night in.
The force sword made quick work of cutting down the necessary tree branches he needed to make his shelter. The force sword also made it easy to start a small fire to for light and to keep warm. He no longer worried about the Ralnai as they would have reported him dead and would stop looking for him. His only concern now was any local predators or more killer foliage. He closed the makeshift door on his shelter closing out the night. His small fire provided enough light for him. Even though he didn’t need it, he still liked it. He lay down with sword in hand at the ready and, after not sleeping for two days; he figured a little sleep was in order. He was out long before the fire burned itself out.
Chapter 19
Amanda sat in her office busy writing orders and getting ready to take the new alliance to war. Her aide-de-camp, Colonel Caterzina Chavez, entered the office and sat down. Amanda looked up and asked, “It’s been a long day. What are you still doing here?”
“Sorry Sir, but I don’t go home until you do. That is unless you order me too and then you might have to court martial me. I know what is at stake here, and despite your rank, you are not the only who gets to work hard, Sir,” Chavez answered.
Amanda appreciated Chavez’s hard work as well as her loyalty. “Well, if you insist on staying then I might just have to promote you,” Amanda smiled. It was then that she smelled something good and remembered that she had no idea when the last time she had eaten anything. She had been so wrapped up in what she was doing she had failed to notice the two large boxes that Chavez had been carrying when she had walked in.
Chavez laughed, “If you promote me who will look after you?” Chavez untied the string that was holding the box lid closed.
“You are too good to me,” Amanda said as she cleared a spot on her desk. Chavez handed her a plate and utensils.
“Remember that when the times comes for my next performance review,” Chavez said.
Before Amanda could respond, Chavez’s ear piece beeped. She reached up and tapped the button on the side of the device. “SC Hayes’s office, Colonel Chavez speaking, how can I help you Sir or ma’am?” She referred to Amanda as SC, because it was shorter to say than Supreme Commander and Amanda thought Supreme Commander was a bit much.
She nodded her head before speaking, “She is still here. Please hold while I put you through to her.” Sh
e handed Amanda a container of food, “It’s Captain Hunter from London for you. I think you want to take this call.”
Amanda set the food down and said, “Put him through.”
About a foot off her desk a projection of a screen appeared and a second after that the image of Captain Hunter, “Sir, we have a problem,” he said addressing Amanda.
“What it the problem Captain?” She asked.
“It’s Ruby Sir,” was all he got out before she cut him off.
“What’s wrong? Is she alright?” she fired off the questions as if she was firing an auto pistol.
“She is missing Sir,” Captain Hunter answered.
“Missing? How in the hell did that happen?” She demanded.
“Sorry, Sir. Missing really isn’t the right word,” Captain Hunter said trying to explain but he wasn’t doing a good job of it.
“Well Captain what is the right word?” Amanda asked as frustration was creeping in to her tone.
“Ah, Sir, Ruby is not here. We believe she is on the Eden,” Captain Hunter said before she could ask another question.
“Erik, do you care to explain how she slipped past your security detail and got on the Eden without anyone saying anything about it?” She asked as she received the cup of tea that Colonel Chavez just handed her. She sat back, took a sip of the tea and waited for an explanation.
“I think it will be easier to show you than explain it,” he said. His image was replaced by security camera footage of Captain Hunter standing on the tarmac waving as the Eden took off. “As you can see I am standing their waving. Now what you don’t see is Ruby who I swear was standing right next to me waving as well,” Captain Hunter narrated the footage. “Now you will notice that I turn and talk to what I thought was Ruby and I even give her a hug as she said she was heading to bed.” The footage showed him talking to nobody and even hugging the air.