Three more men were running over with flood lamps. A medical team had a float unit setup. Pitiful, weak screams fill the field as they lift her lightly into the transport’s field.
‘Ok, we have enough men here now, you three come with me.’ Dan didn’t even stop to see if his orders were being followed. He shot down the trail.
Dan can clearly see the drag marks on the trail. They are fresh. Suddenly they stopped. Quickly he examines the surrounding area. There, that’s what he’s looking for. It must have picked up the body, it’s got to be Eric. There, deep prints in the mud. Running down the trail. ‘That must be when they came on site and found, what’s her name? Oh yeah, Cindy.’
‘Where’d it go?’ Dan stopped so fast the others almost ran past him.
‘Over here Dan.’ Tom calls, ‘You must have run right over it. There’s a hole in the side bank. Tracks lead right in.’
‘Dig in Tom. We’ve got a chance and he’s on the run.’
Tom stoops down and shines the light into the hole. Alex is right behind him. Without hesitation, Tom dives into the dark tunnel. Scrambling around a bend and collapses as something hits him.
Alex doesn’t skip a beat. He punches in with the tip of his Pulsar and feels it sink into the soft side of the black creature.
Before he can pull the trigger, lightning quick reactions flip the creature around in the tight tunnel confines. White teeth seem to fill the blackness of the tunnel before Alex. Then they are gone.
Alex dives forward followed by Tom. He lunges ahead, chasing after the creature when his foot catches on Tom’s harness. Alex’s helmet grinds against the side of the tunnel and bounces off the floor. Dazed, he lies there for a few moments.
‘Will you get your damn knee out of my face.’ Tom thrashes around and climbs over Alex. He gains his feet and takes off in the dark down the tunnel. He can hear the scraping of Alex’s steps as he moves down the tight tunnel behind him.
Tom pushes on, his helmet enhancing the dim confines of the tunnel. Footprints and a trail of spots that must be blood fluoresce in the infrared sensitive wavelengths. ‘Alex, watch out there are two sets of prints for the bad guys. They’re dragging him again. Hurry up, I’m going to ….’
Alex charges right into Tom’s back end as he stops abruptly in the tunnel. They crashed into the walls and a pile of freshly fallen dirt right in the middle of the path. Alex pulls back and Tom backs up and into a low crouching position. ‘Damn things pulled the roots and caused a cave-in. I can get over it. Quick, get outa my way.’
‘Tom! Tom! Stop. They’re gone. We missed them. You’re wasting time, they got away.’
‘Can you turn around? Back up and come over here, it’s a little wider. We need to head back and report what happened. Watch the trail as you go out. We’ll need a sample of the blood on the trail if we want to confirm that it was Erik.’
‘Shit Alex, that’s Erik! I wouldn’t leave you behind!’
‘Yes you would in this case. You know these tunnels. There’s a thousand intersections ahead as they get into the Hype warrens. They’ll be long gone if we both move ahead. Better to meet them up ahead.’
They moved back to the entrance. Dan was gone but David was there with three others. ‘We lost the trail Dave. They caved-in the tunnel as they ran. Hey, hey you. Oh Fred, sorry didn’t recognize. Do you have a sterile specimen box? Great, here. Please have that analyzed, we need to know if it’s Eric’s.’
‘No need. On second thought, do the analyses anyway for chemical trace elements.’ David broke in. ‘It just came across my Hive Tab. The Hypes found Eric down in their passages. The attacker is gone. He got away and Eric is dead.’
‘There were two bad guys here David. We saw two sets of tracks in there.’ Tom puffed out as he fell back to sit in the rain-soaked grass. ‘God, I forgot what rain feels like. I’m tired!’
* * * * *
A low, yellow halo of light emanates from the small desk lamp. It is an anachronism residing in the midst of the high technology of the office surrounding it. Mark rarely uses it, except as a conversation piece, but on this very early morning, the dreary rays seemed to match his mood.
‘We can’t stop them from landing Mark. It’ll be daylight soon and the shuttle will bring the board members down. It’s too late to stop them and I don’t think you want to. You’ll have to be up to the challenge.’
‘Since when have I not been up to the challenge Matt?’
‘Well if you meet them looking like you do then you’re going to do more damage than good. Look at you, you’re even snapping at me. Take a nap and then a shower. You’ve got almost four hours before the board members touchdown. We’ll keep things running but you need to be up for this meeting.’
‘I can’t sleep. I’ve lost two, maybe three people in the last two days. How am I going to smooth this over? I can’t get that poor girl out of my mind. What could I have done to prevent it?’
‘You couldn’t have done anything. Look at this logically. We’ve never encountered anything like this before. How could you have anticipated them being on the plateau, right inside our own security?’
‘I’m not going to sleep, not right away anyhow. I want to take a shower now but first I need your help.’
‘I want all of the meetings moved inside of the Argos. No more leaving the ship’s doors wide open either. I want full gene ID automated scans before anyone comes inside.’
‘I know that Dan’s already started on it. I want you to check up on him anyway … but stay out of his hair. Just stop by and watch occasionally. You can give me your impressions later but if you see anything that really bothers you, then come right over. I don’t care if you have to wake me up, although I don’t intend to sleep if I can help it.’
‘Check on David and Alex’s whereabouts. If they are available then I want them to brainstorm just how we can get these two SOB’s. I want ideas on it this morning at the latest.’
‘Look, we can’t hide this from the board. Don’t even try. Answer all questions openly. At the same time, I want you to have Dan place a few people on the Essex. I don’t want any messages going out from them. Complete isolation on this until we resolve the situation. If the Captain gives them a hard time, then have him call me.’
‘Thank you Matthew. You know I always appreciate your support. Now go. I need a little time on my own.’
* * * * *
A small patch, thinner than a piece of paper and the diameter of a piece of chalk, rested on the skin just above his mastoid behind his right ear. Monomer tendrils entered through the pores of his skin far enough to penetrate through the subcutaneous without disturbance. From there they took in small samples of power from every synapses firing within a two-centimeter area. The device is not greedy, it absorbs just enough energy from the host to run the organic circuitry.
Twenty-four hours a day, this little patch monitors body functions and brain-nerve synchronizations. It also accepts external data from gravitonic emissions or even direct touch contact with custom outputs or other nearby hosts. The internal clock synchronizes to the stable shifts of what were once called dark-matter frequency slides. Leading edge technology for storage, processing, rendering and transmission of information as well as other, more mundane functions. The patch is not an isolated computer, it’s a human augmentation called a Hive Tab.
The Hive Tab sends in a very high frequency pulse directed just below the cortical centers of his brain. Just a low-level stimulation, not even something he would remember. Seth Sassaman rolls over and immediately stands up. He is fully awake, no drowsy stretching. He would not expect less since that’s the preference setting he put in for wake-up calls.
Tall, thin and with the hard, smooth evenly developed musculature of an ex-marine, Seth stood and walked out onto his balcony. Deep blue eyes set in a frame of lightly sanded, short cropped hair looked out over the clear horizons of a seascape washed clean by the rains of the evening before. A moonless night then, now the stars are so
plentiful their radiant light illuminates details from far out in the ocean and even the nearby fused silicon of the dark landing pads below. The faintest hint of yellow on the distant edge of the horizon begins to rise in promise of another beautiful day in paradise.
Then the memories of yesterday crowd back in. An angry determination floods into him, ‘Well, maybe we have to make a few adjustments first. Then we can get back to paradise.’
‘Focus on the job.’ A phrase, etched by Staff Sergeant Cheek way back in his early days at Parris Island, echoed around the edges of his anger.
A flash-shower and shave and then down to the Hunter Recon bay. Breakfast could wait until he was on board. A pop-up flitted across his thoughts; Sara Wenford was also en route. ‘Good! No late-starts from the civvies.’
He quick walked down the stairs and out onto the tarmac. Sara was just coming up the side. ‘Mornin’ Doctor Wenford. Let me help you with the bag. So, glad to see you, ah… walking out here by yourself?’
Sara looked up at the wide, friendly smile that seemed perpetually fixed on Seth’s face but she instantly knew the reason for the question. ‘No Captain Sassaman, I could see you getting ready so I didn’t bother Paul. I knew I’d meet you. Hive Tabs are a wonderful thing you know. Now, I been property chided, I think we can go back to the less formal salutation. “Sara” will do, thank you.’
“I started the Hunter warm-up sequence so she should be ready for us to leave immediately. Hope you like scrambled eggs. I can’t eat a whole one by myself so I went ahead and ordered for both of us.’
‘Well you scared me for a second there. I thought you were going to suggest the stasis eggs from storage. Nope, duckbill egg is just fine with me.’
Seth walked along for a few steps, a puzzled look on his face. Then he said, ‘Duckbill?’
‘Oh, sorry. Guess I’ve already slipped into the slang of it. David complained during our entire hunting trip about talking about the Hadrosaurids. He didn’t like their name and insisted that we use an old term I hadn’t heard for years. Remember their beaks? Just like ducks, even the way they feed. So we all started calling them Duckbills.’
‘Oh, ok. Guess I’m ok with that, kinda like it in fact. Anyway, we need to be up there by oh-nine hundred local time. I’ve had the non-standard refreshments you asked for put on board. Are you ready for the tour?’
‘No, I’m not. Oh, I don’t mind giving them a tour, it’s the other questions that I’m not looking forward to. Let’s get this over with so we can turn them over to Mark as soon as possible.’
‘Oh-ho! I just got a nudge. Toshi and Molly were ordered to come with us. They’ll be about five minutes late and they’ll be staying up on board the Essex for a bit.’
‘All right, let’s get started on breakfast. We’re going on a tour! Thank goodness, the weather seems to be back to normal, sunshine and clear blue skies. That storm yesterday moved north and then dissipated. You’ve been flying a lot more than I have, any suggestions for the tour?’
‘Yeah, how about we swing over the pole and then down the coastline here? No use wasting time over the Alps unless you need to delay. With this route we’ll get the contrast between the warm polar area and the activity up around Yellowstone.’
‘Ok, Seth. That’s a good mix. We’ll see a lot of game and also give them a feel for the geographic and climate changes.’
‘Here we are and look at that. She’s all set and warmed up, ready to go. Even our eggs are ready. Have a seat, I’ll serve.’
‘Ah Seth, before we get going. Why the sudden change? Do you know why Toshi and Molly are coming?’
‘Nope, not officially.’ Seth commented between mouthfuls of egg and a tuber Mary Li found that now substitutes for potatoes. ‘Think about it though, they’ll be staying on board the Essex, a pilot and communications specialist. It’s my guess that Dan wants to control the situation. No unauthorized messages or communications back to the home office.’
‘Hey guys, come on board. Want to have a bite before we leave? We have four more minutes in the window.’
A tall, slim blond girl entered the mess area briefly sporting a smile as welcoming and natural as Seth’s. She grabbed a tumbler of reconstituted lemonade and sat down next to Sara. Molly moved on the bench to make space for a dark-haired, slimly built young man who dialed in a plate of eggs as large as the one Seth ordered. ‘Well, at least some good news. Doctor Graeme says Cindy has a real good chance of making it.’
Sara twisted in her seat when she heard the auto-chef cycling again. ‘Hey, hi Fran! I didn’t know you were coming along.’
A rather small hype turned a broad smiling face over toward Sara. Elegant bronze feathers fluttered down her sides in greeting along with a small flick of her striped and down covered tail. She had a metal chain with an active ID tag on her neck and a green shawl around her shoulders that seemed to move and ripple even when she was still. Fran turned with a small plate of eggs in her hands and a spoon.
‘Helo Sara.’ Fran squatted at the end of the table, human benches are uncomfortable. ‘Yes, I very excited. Seth! Hi! You get any more peaches for me?’
‘Shh, now you know we’ve been told to cut back on that. We only have so many of the original fruits left and the new trees are just coming in. I’ll talk with you about it later.’ He said with a wink of his eye.
Toshi properly chewed and swallowed his first forkful before turning to Seth, ‘What’s the chance of me having the pilot’s seat on the way up? You’ll be having all the fun coming back.’
‘All right Toshi. Do you think you’ll be stuck up there for the entire time they are here?’
‘I don’t know. Guess we have to see how things go. It would only be two weeks anyway.’
Seth finished off the last of his orange juice and stood. ‘OK, gotta get going. Wolf it down if you want the Captain’s chair. Let’s go.’
‘mmmf! Jeez, give a guy a chance!’ Toshi stuffed some egg into a piece of bread, dumped the rest of his half-finished plate into the recycler, and hurried forward.
Sara smiled and turned to Fran, ‘Well, you ought to be quite an attraction on board the Essex. Has Molly explained to you where you are going to be?’
‘Yes, we talk.’ Fran explained after quickly swallowing a mouthful. She was just learning to use a spoon but seemed to handle it nicely. ‘I do not really understand though it sounds like fin.’
‘That’s pronounced “fun”.’ Molly said. ‘Fran and I have been doing a lot of work together for the last two weeks. She’s been quite a help and, with the Hive-Bot shawl that Sara’s kid developed, she’s been able to even help with the communications work.’
‘Dan thought it would be a good idea for ship’s morale to bring her along. It’s also a face-saving excuse that Captain Dillard can use for our being on board.’ Molly snickered with a slight wiggle of her nose. ‘Fran can use the time to get to know the on-board crew members while the others get a chance to rotate down for some sightseeing.’
‘Are they still planning dirtside rotations after what happened last night?’ Sara asked.
‘Yes. There’s only six board members and their families, eleven in all. We can’t restrict them to the ship. The rest are all ship’s personnel. Dan would like to get as many as possible on the ground and kill two birds with one stone. He wants to beef up the on-Station security and minimize the crew level in orbit. This gives us greater control over the actions of the Essex.’
Fran turned toward Molly, ‘When we leave?’
Molly smiled, ‘We already left Fran. I explained about the reactionless drive to you, remember? Finish your plate and then you can go up the ladder to the cockpit.’
The small dinosaur finished her plate quickly and began to climb the ladder to the cabin.
‘Hold up on that Fran.’ Sara said. ‘I’ll go with you since this is your first time. She’s never flown in a Hunter before, right Molly? I think it might be quite a shock if she simply walked out into the cabin.’
&n
bsp; Molly set down her cup. ‘No, she knows what to expect. She’s been talking with Molly. Ah, you know, Molly-the-Hype. Oh, I wish they would have given her any other name. It gets confusing. Anyway, Molly told her about our trip back with Gabe.’
‘Well, the cockpit can still be a little unnerving. Someone should go with her the first time. This is only a forty-five minute trip. However, I do think that if you want her to get a good feel for what’s happening you need to get up front now before we get too high.’ Sara said.
Molly and Fran climbed up to the door of the cockpit. Molly held the handle, ‘Now, it’s gonna look like your way up in the air. Sorta like standing on the edge of a cliff but higher. Don’t be afraid, the Hunter’s hull is actually all around you, we just move the images inside so it looks like nothing is there. Here, hold my hand.’
Molly opened the door, Seth and Toshi appeared to be sitting in chairs that floated in mid-air. Two more chairs floated behind them. They already were so high that mighty trees looked like a child’s plaything and Fran could see the coastline travelling north for many miles.
Molly took a step out into the sky and seemed to float before them. Gently she pulled Fran’s hand. The Hype simply stood there, eyes wide. ‘Come on Fran, I told you what to expect.’
Fran trustingly took a step forward and felt the flooring. Molly guided her hand over to the arm of the chair. ‘Here, this chair’s been modified to fit you. Slide in!
Fran looked at Molly and gingerly slid into the chair. ‘Now try and relax. See, we’re still climbing. We’re already up over twelve thousand feet. Oh, wait. I guess that means nothing to you.’
‘Show her the plateau.’ Seth pointed behind them. ‘She needs a familiar frame of reference.’
The sky was already darkening as they rose upward towards the orbit of the Essex. ‘There, see that little dimple down there? Wait, I’ll put a circle around it.’ A circle magically appeared, floating in the air above a small finger of land with a river by it that stuck out into the ocean. ‘That’s our plateau, your home.’
Hunter's Moon (Cretaceous Station Book 2) Page 16