by Pam Uphoff
Ebsa threw up the rifle and started shooting. Vee hit it with the shotgun, Paer's 10mm joined in . . .
The frog collapsed.
"Yeahza, drive on. Please." Ebsa tried to scrape up some humor . . . "Unless anyone wants frog legs for dinner? They're fresh."
The ute jolted forward.
"Picky eaters."
Paer elbowed him. "Behave."
Vee leaned around her to eye Ebsa. "He was kidding, right?"
"Probably. But don't count on it. He loves to cook, and I have witnessed him eating some really gross things."
"Prissy."
Harder elbow.
Ebsa grinned suddenly. "You do realize that we're trapped in a Grade B Science Fiction Flick, don't you?"
That got a few snickers.
"Yeah, saw that one. I think they did three sequels before they ran out of absurdities. And they never did learn a thing about special effects." Yeahza slowed and turned. "That's where we're going, dead ahead."
A dome of rubble, almost a small hill. A building collapsed in on itself. Half a kilometer of rough terrain between them and the dome.
Ebsa eyed it. "It looks almost like it fell in large slabs, and could have free space underneath. And you noticed the radio static burst while you were tracking down a weak magnetic pulse?"
"Yep." The professor climbed out and stared at the dome.
"Right. First we're going to have a very good look at what we're dealing with. Especially we're going to see what is supporting what. We can remove a lot of the loose rubble, and see where the support looks reliable, and then remove rubble from underneath." Ebsa paced up to the building. "The foundation looks intact on this side."
"That's going to take too much time."
"Collapsing the overburden into whatever space is in there and crushing that possible working machine would be very unfortunate for your career." Ebsa eyed the old man. "Not to mention the career of the poor fellows underneath it all."
Reluctant nods.
Professor Coffee scowled. "Yes, well, we shouldn't have sent Ogly in so quickly. But we thought, just a quick look . . ."
"Right. Yeahza, you and Vee go that way around, with half the archaeologists, Paer and I'll go this way with the other half."
Ebsa and Paer each had a shotgun slung across their backs, and the rifles in hand. Yeahza, roughly the same. Vee had only the shotgun . . . and lots of shells. He took one of the sacks full of bug bombs, Ebsa carried the other.
He studied the ruins carefully, how material had fallen, the glimpses of long slabs that could roof over spaces below, areas with lots of big roaches boiling out . . . He threw bug bombs onto the rubble pile, falling short of the cracks the majority seemed to be calling home, but getting plenty of powder between them and the bugs.
"Where are they all coming from?" Paer raised her gun, but the roaches were dying fast.
"There must be space, under the rubble. One! I really hope we don't need to go in through a big roach nest." Dr. Rich tried to peer into the crack from a safe distance.
"Yeah." Ebsa eyed the crack, jagged, twenty centimeters wide. Enough rubble underneath that they could probably clear out space to get under the slab . . . Good thing I don't have claustrophobia. They walked on, noting possible entry points, and met the other group eyeing an almost vertical gap between two slabs.
Yeahza looked over at them. "This is where we went in. The earthquake . . . we ran for it, everyone got out safe, then that damned rock rolled down from the top, bounced off the edge up there, and hit Ogly's leg.
Professor Coffee nodded. "We had to pry it off him." His eyes drifted back to the gap. "We couldn't find a way deeper in. We were going to clear the rubble, see if we could find a way to go further down."
Ebsa pulled power, and concentrated a small ball of light. Visible spectrum, this time. He tossed it in the gap, and the scientists all maneuvered to where they could see.
"It turns to the left and drops down . . . " Dr. Ajbo edged forward.
"Don't even think about it, Beau!" Coffee shifted uncomfortably. "I ought to be the one to take the risk."
Ebsa snorted. "Nope. This is my kind of thing." He stepped up to the gap. Turned sideways and eased in making as little contact as possible. It's stood for a century, why would it go and fall now? . . . Umm, Ogly must have had a bad moment, when the earthquake hit . . .
Around the corner, more holes not designed at all, let alone for human convenience. A faint whiff of decay. The people got out, but something got crushed.
:: Ebsa? ::
:: Just rocks. :: He opened his shields and let her—and anyone else listening—see what he was seeing as he belly flopped on a slab of what looked like marble and wiggled across to drop his ball of light down . . . maybe ten meters of a rough slot.
:: That's new! There was a shelf down to rubble a couple of meters ahead. :: That was Rich.
Ebsa pulled his light back and sent it across the hole.
:: Yeah. That's where we went. The shelf collapsed into that hole. Can you tell if it ends, or if there's space down there? ::
Ebsa sent his light out of sight down the passage, and stared down into the dark hole. His eyes adjusted slowly . . . was there a faint light down there? Or just his wishful thinking?
He summoned another light ball and dropped it. Pushed in the direction that faint glow had come from and out of sight. A faint rustle . . . distant roaches, disturbed by the light?
The sound got louder. Ebsa elbowed backwards, off the marble slab, and stood up. The sound was definitely getting closer. In the light from the entrance, he eased softly back to the corner, wiggled and ducked through a thin spot. His last glance back showed movement, dimly seen, on the marble slab. He stayed cool and worked his way out.
"I think there may be roaches coming. Let's all step back. I put a good deal of power into both lightballs, so we should be able to see their light through any cracks, tonight. If we stay until dark." Ebsa eased through the group and grabbed his sack, grabbed a bug bomb . . . He could hear skittering over the voices, Professor Coffee saying he should take a look himself, Ollie protesting . . .
"Guys! The bugs are coming! Step away."
The roaches erupted from the gap. Half of them were on the walls and leaped, spreading their wings.
Screaming men dived away from them, stumbling and falling on the rubble.
Ebsa threw the bug bomb, threw the anti-chitin spell, threw up his shield and tried to block the bugs. And dropped the shield at the first shot. Ricochets were nothing to take lightly. Yeahza grabbed Coffee's shirt collar, hoisted him to his feet and threw him toward the road.
Vee got a clear line to the gap and started shooting.
A sharp crack from Paer's gun, as she got clear of the group.
A scream. Ebsa yanked Rich out to the street. Turned back and threw the anti-chitin spell. Kicked the softening bug off Ollie's leg and hauled him off the rubble.
A shriek from the road. Ebsa spun. Ten meters of scaly whip-thin snake coiled and reared its head to strike.
Ebsa called up the slice spell and threw it hard and high. The head flew, the body thrashed.
Ebsa turned back to the rubble, threw the anti-chitin spell as fast as possible. "One damn it all! Run, you idiots!" He grabbed Ug, and turned him. "That way! Get to the ute! Yeahza! Grab Beau and lead off."
Professor Ollie was frozen, staring at the clamping jaws of the snake's head. Ebsa bumped him off balance. "Head for the ute. Now!"
Coffee grabbed Ollie and hauled him away.
"Vee, back away, Paer, you too. Rich? Rich! Stop staring at the damned snake. Move it." Ebsa cursed, leaped over a writhing coil of snake and hauled Rich back across it.
"Vee, keep your eyes up for flyers, Paer, low on the left, I'll take the right."
It was far from an orderly retreat, but they did stick together all the way to the utility vehicle.
No bugs in sight. He and Paer threw the anti-chitin spell around anyway.
Paer cl
eaned and wrapped Professor Ollie's leg, then checked everyone. Very much to Ebsa's surprise, no one else had been bitten.
"Well, for all the sound and fury, and terror . . . that wasn't quite a disaster." Paer heaved a relieved breath. "Cockroach jaws really aren't designed for attacking things our size and shape."
Ollie shuddered. "Yes. They have to crawl up on you. Then they can bite you."
Ebsa looked at his watch. "Not quite thirteen hundred. So, let's relax for a bit, then some of us should recce back around to where we left our bags of bug bombs and poison the crap out them. Give it a day, then we'll return and see if it's any safer to explore."
Yeahza, standing guard a few meters off, turned his head. "I don't understand why there are so many bugs. Last week there were just a few of them. And no frogs or snakes."
"That was a toad." Professor Coffee looked around. "Well, it evolved from a Sonoran Desert Toad. Probably."
Paer bit her lip. "The weather changed very suddenly. We had a freeze just two weeks ago. Then it warmed up and we had that rainstorm—that was the day before you got here, Ebsa. I think maybe everything is just pulling out of hibernation or whatever they do during the winter."
"Umm, I wonder if they'll settle down once the hot weather hits?" Ebsa eyed the suddenly stubborn expressions on the Academics' faces. He sighed and walked to the back of the ute. Lifted the top and reached over the tailgate. Pulled a pair of wooden spoons out of his backpack, spread them and pulled a cooler out of nowhere. What no one sees won't hurt anyone. He lifted the cooler out, set it on the ground and distributed drinks, then sandwiches. Walked out and took over the watch so Yeahza could relax for a bit.
One bloody hell. That was not fun . . . how can I get these guys to leave?
Paer glared when he asked her to stay at the ute, and Vee looked rebellious. But Ebsa and Yeahza jogged quickly back to the battle site.
The snake was half buried in cockroaches. The other half was buried in ants. Almost a meter long, with a pair of twenty centimeter long serrated mandibles facing forward.
"Now, those guys look like they're designed to bite humans. Let's . . . avoid calling ourselves to their attention."
They were reducing the snake fast, and he imagined by the waving antennae they might be considering a dessert of live cockroach. Would that be good or bad? Roaches are gross, but their mouths point down, not out. Not that a bug battle is something under my control.
Yeahza grinned. "The wind is just right. Watch this." He raised his shotgun and turned the two bags of dichlor into a cloud of dust.
"Right. Let's get out of here and give the stuff time to kill as many bugs as possible."
Ebsa glanced back every few steps, but neither cockroaches nor ants followed them.
The drive back was quiet. The frog, toad, whatever, had been reduced to scattered bones. Ebsa dragged the skull out of the way, and they returned to the camp without any other problems.
Ogly eyed their exhausted appearance and demanded a report. He got it in pieces, as they all rotated through the showers. Cleaned guns. Ate garbage out of the fabs. None of the scientists complained when the Teamers shut everything up tight and crawled into bed before the sun set.
As Ebsa shucked his boots, Ogly spoke through the darkness. "You just took command, didn't you?"
"Yep."
"So . . . what is your official position, here?"
"Mess Chief."
A long silence. "Yeah, you always did have that . . . Alpha taste to your aura. That's why Edge hated you, he knew you were a threat to his leadership."
"Err, I thought he hated that both Ra'd and I were faster than he was."
"Oh, sure. But Ra'd's a lone wolf. Give him an order, and you'd never know whether he'd do it or not. But he doesn't lead. He goes his own way. You . . . well, Edge was right. You give orders and everyone just jumps."
Paer snickered.
Ebsa sighed. "Teamers, maybe, but Academics? Umm, no.."
"He yelled at them. Swore at them and called them idiots." Paer sounded happy about it. "And manhandled them out of a dangerous situation."
Ebsa sighed. "And they want to go back, again. Underground."
"They are idiots." Ogly thumped his bed in frustration.
"Well . . . in some ways . . . but what the hell is down there, making magnetic pulses?" Ebsa rolled flat. "I want to find out too. But first I'm going to kill a whole lot of bugs."
In the morning, he was relieved to see that the insecticide and spells had kept the camp fairly clear of bugs, and killed the ones that had flown in.
He goosed the fab into a decent sausage and scrambled egg breakfast for everyone, before keying in the codes for more bug bombs.
"Your leg looks really good." Paer waved her hand over Olgy's thigh. "I'll just hit it with the anti-inflammatory spell, and a general healing spell. . . really, by the time we're out of here, I think you may be out of the full leg splint. But not putting weight on it, mind you."
Ogly scowled. "Right. I'll just miss all the fun stuff."
"Spoken like a dedicated Teamer." Yeahza eyed the gun safe, but shook his head. "I'll stick to the 12 mm. How much ammo do you have?"
Ebsa paused. "Good question." He started pulling out boxes. "I wasn't actually prepared for a war . . . Maybe a hundred rounds. Let's load up all the magazines . . . "
Vee looked the boxes over. "I'm about out of double ought buckshot. I'll add in some number two . . . and find out if it'll still knock those roaches down."
"Did I mention the ants? They were snacking down on the snake when we went back."
Ebsa hauled out more ammo. Plenty of 10mm for the carbine . . . He split the 12 mm with Yeahza, loaded two spare mags. Loaded all the 10mm mags they had and brought along the shorter barreled carbine along with Paer's rifle. I'll leave it, and half the 10mm ammo in the ute. Just in case I need it closer than back at the camp.
The fab dinged to tell him it had finished the bug bombs.
Pity they don't let these things make ammunition or explosives. I wonder if there are override codes . . . or perhaps it requires all new special programs . . . or maybe the assembly process ignites the powder. He removed the sacks of insecticide. Coded in some mostly innocuous snacks and high value finger food. Sandwiches. Stashed it in his dimensional bag, and then decided to add the 10mm carbine. In case of tight quarters, underground.
Looked up to see everyone boggling.
Except Ogly, who laughed. "Don't tell me you got back together with Nighthawk! Man, you guys are unbelievable."
Paer grinned. "She's opening gates for Disco, now. Ra'd's assigned to Embassy Intel, trying to get her to whisper sweet nothings and a few secrets into his ears."
"One!" Ogly looked over at Yeahza. "I'll make it official. Follow his orders."
He eyed the archaeologists. Shrugged.
Ebsa cleared his throat. "How portable are any of your magnetic detectors? We might be well advised to try to pinpoint the location of this pulse as closely as possible before we go underground."
Yeahza nodded. "We already did it once . . . but, Professor Coffee? Maybe we ought to take the small magnetometer down underground."
Coffee nodded. "And you know how to use it. Good idea."
Ebsa's stomach curdled. He stepped back to the fab and ordered filters and goggles. "We'll be spreading the dichlor around, generously. So, even though it's not very toxic to humans, we'll take a few precautions."
What am I missing? A giant flyswatter, maybe? Ah. Brute force, of course. He turned away from the fab and opened the low bin of the repair tools. The crowbar was better than half a meter of hard steel, wide curve at one end, slight bend at the other, the end narrowing to a broad wedge. He added it to the bubble and closed it.
"Ogly? We'll leave the radio on and the sound turned up, so you'll know if there's a problem."
"For all the good it'll do?"
"Bet you could drive if you had to. We'll leave the gate open."
Ebsa decided to interpret t
he hand gesture as a farewell wave.
Ebsa added vid cams and ropes to his pack and they headed out again.
Yeahza drove cautiously but there were no toads, or insects large enough to be mentioned. Ebsa, again sitting on the tailgate, tuned out the radio chatter between the archaeologists until the static rose and covered it all, at a high volume.
A Bitter Victory . . .
Warlord Ngratei contemplated the portal machine. A very elegant design, no doubt his scientists would be delighted to have it. Could this be the reason he couldn't sense Ngorei and Zhodan? Should I beg the Goddess for this to be true? Or should I beg her forgiveness for being soft and vulnerable? For not admitting that they are dead.
A soft step behind him, the aura that of his war chief. "The castle is secured. There is no sign of the children."
"Yes. Chief, touch nothing in this room. I have sent for techs to operate this portal. I want to see where they have been. And where they may have taken my children."
The elf shifted, but wisely said nothing.
They think I am soft. They know that the mark of shame will ruin my children's futures. Only thieves, prostitutes and slaves have their ear clipped. They think I should forget them, take a new wife and have more children. Even Warlord Ftang understood me better than they do. May the worms eat his soul. He died too easily.
He was nothing but a pirate. His island barely produces enough to support his raiders.
But he has this elaborate gate setup. I wonder if he raids other worlds?
And why hit me? He knew my reputation, when I was in the Imperial Guards. He knew I won my right to pioneer a new island by my own martial abilities. He would not attack me for himself.
Someone must have paid him a lot of money to kidnap my children. I need to find out who . . . because they will also pay . . . but also because they may yet be holding my children.
He eyed the gate machinery. Possibly holding them on another world, so there was no evidence here.
In a moment his communicator toned, and he answered.
"We are in the air and will arrive on site in twenty four."