He was honored by his selection for this small action, clearly a demonstration to be observed by Graka clan. A prelude to something larger his clan leaders were certain. Perhaps they might earn an early role in fighting the new enemy that had been found.
The larger and more powerful clans traditionally reserved the early battles with a new species for their own training and testing. The rich grew richer in both status and experience.
Therefore, he was excited to learn after his octet landed that their fight would be against members of this new species called humans. His octet was to be permitted two different matching’s against them.
His initial briefing consisted mainly of images of what the enemy looked like, and their relative size compared to a Krall in recordings. They were obviously much smaller and certainly would be slower and weaker, but said to be intelligent and able to use basic weapons. In combat, the soft looking bipeds were shown wearing a sort of armor, clearly implying that they needed protection from even the lesser weapons being used.
His octet was to be limited to the same weapons these humans were given. A very detailed video of the compound’s terrain was furnished. This he shared with his octet, because every Krall had an inborn ability to memorize such details for a mission. Repetition was unnecessary.
After a day of training his novices at the only inhabited Krall compound on Koban, using the simple weapons allowed, they were ready for a shuttle flight to a former Maldo clan compound. Once there they would have an opportunity to see examples of what they would be hunting, and imprint how these animals smelled for tracking. He asked about human scents and edibility.
One Dorbo clan sub leader made a snorting remark that implied a human’s bad smell was only exceeded by their worse taste. Oh well, fine tasting races like the Raspani were rare.
The K’Tal pilot did not speak to them during the flight, and without side ports, there was little to see looking over his shoulder. He’d hoped they would see some of the legendary Kobani animals, but that would have to wait for their deployment.
Tyroldor spent the hours with his experienced warrior discussing how they would employ their standard tactic of a full out assault by the novices, once they had located the enemy. The two experienced warriors would stay back to flank and kill any survivors that escaped that initial attack, if any.
All they knew of the force they would meet was that four hands of enemy had been selected to face his octet, and that they might divide their forces into smaller units that would fight separately. This seemed to counter the claim that they were intelligent. Nevertheless, it only meant that they would have to track all of the units down, requiring more time.
The shuttle landed near the compound’s standard construction dome. As Tyroldor and his warriors stepped onto the tarmac, a strong animal odor reached their noses that they couldn’t identify. It was different from the background scents they had smelled at the other compound, which had been identified as native to Koban.
They were greeted by Telour, the Graka clan Translator placed in charge of the humans. He informed them that the smell they detected was human. Just then several armed humans appeared out of a large alien ship parked near the dome. They looked even smaller than Tyroldor expected. From their movements, it was apparent they were even less adapted to the higher than normal gravity than his recently arrived octet was.
Leaving the other warriors to size up the humans they could see and smell, Telour directed the octet leader to where several simple wheeled transports were parked, and one wheeled and tracked transport.
He was informed that these were available for his warriors, but the shuttle was reserved only for the two higher status warriors. He advised that a number of human combat teams had gone out earlier and would be waiting for them.
In Krall ultrasonic Tyroldor said, “Telour, you speak of combat teams, not octets. We were told that humans fight in odd size units.”
“Yes,” Telour answered, “These animals may choose to fight as individuals or in any size group as they decide, and might change their minds once combat is engaged. They are very unpredictable. Some may cooperate, or they may operate entirely alone.
Telour added, “Because you know little of our new enemy, I will tell you that the humans you face today have divided their forces.” He could also have mentioned that they had prepared surprises by making some of their own weapons, but let the Kimbo warriors adjust as they learned this. If any died, it benefited his plan.
“There are preferred locations where humans have chosen to fight us through nearly five Koban years, as we learned about them. Of course you have seen the terrain inside the compound walls. They are not stupid, so will not face the native life to leave the compound. Like us, they see advantages in certain places to hide and fight, and they have had time to learn where those places are. Use your instincts to think of those places, and plan your movements to increase your opportunities of finding them quickly.”
“There are many places they can hide. But why do they not attack?” Tyroldor asked.
“Because we are so much better at fighting that they attack only from ambush or when they must fight once you find where they are hiding. You have but one full Koban day to complete your mission, so you must find and kill as many of them as possible in that time. Do not permit them to submit, kill any that you find. This ensures they always fight as hard as they can.”
“We will find them all if they each smell as strong as those here. Can they smell our warriors as well?” he asked.
“That is more than I will tell you. You must learn of their ways as other octets have, in combat,” was all he would say.
“I can fly the shuttle I was told.”
“Yes.”
“I will scout with that to cover the larger area, but I believe an enemy would chose the high ground or forest as most defensible. They have use of these same transports?” he gestured to the parked vehicles.
He watched for any reaction from Telour that might provide a clue, but he saw nothing.
“Yes,” was all Telour said.
“Then I need to start our hunt.” He was about to turn away when Telour’s voice brought him to a halt.
“These humans have an honor agreement with the joint clans that if they kill even one of your warriors, the hunt is over. If any human survives to the next morning after the hunt ends, they are also allowed to live.”
“If I lose even a novice, our hunt ends?” he asked incredulously. This sounded like a deliberate effort to blunt Kimbo clan’s successful attack strategy.
“It was agreed by clan leaders long ago.” This took the matter out of any possible discussion. “However the humans are not effective fighters, being slow and weak. To them we are very difficult to kill. Until you personally verify a warrior has truly died from their action, the hunt continues. But you are honor bound to stop the battle if you know of a warrior’s death.”
Mollified somewhat, he acknowledged the hunt guidelines, and decided that he would not be quick to confirm a loss of a novice, since Kimbo’s new tactic of risking them for clan advantage was known. How could they demonstrate their successful methods if their very use eliminated the advantage because of an agreement with a prey animal?
Tyroldor assigned three novices each to two of the wheeled transports, a driver, and two in the back to catch scents. These vehicles were slightly faster than the ones with halftracks, and would let them expand their search area more quickly, but could not enter the marshlands. He sent them in arcs around the dome at a distance to seek a scent trail.
As soon as they had moved far enough away from the stink around the dome, they detected several old scent trails, and one strong fresh trail that followed tracks of another transport.
Tyroldor and his second in command Pitda confirmed the scent trail. The transport that first found that trail was rewarded, allowing it to follow it as fast as they could travel, to report on what they found.
The other transport was sent to search the ju
ngle, bypassing the marshland, and fording the river at a place where it split into several shallower streams. They were permitted to explore any fresh scent they detected on the way, but to report back first.
Telour made a swift return to the dome to watch from the top level. He had noticed the final return of the small human shuttle earlier, and had watched as it landed at multiple locations, below his line of sight each time. However, it appeared the humans had dispersed widely, so he approved of the octet’s leader spreading out his search pattern.
The last place the human shuttle had landed was at the base of the ridge before returning here. Earlier he had seen humans working on every ledge, setting up or burying devices, walking into caves and then leaving them. He was certain that none of them had stayed on the ridge itself, and the shuttle had brought all of them down to the base, where he could not see how many made their exit.
The shuttle had returned empty except for the pilot, which he confirmed by a scent check from a warrior he sent past the shuttle to be certain. The shuttle then took the remaining humans out to various locations near the marsh, the river canyon, and the woods. Always parking to prevent a Krall viewer in the dome from seeing what was unloaded.
He was not going to help the upstart Kimbo clan, nor did he think any of his warriors would have made an agreement with so weak a clan. Nevertheless, he decided it had been a wise precaution by the humans to make sure they revealed as little as possible.
He wasn’t sure what the last landing near the ridge base was for, but it lasted less than two minutes before rushing back to the dome to land. That was just before the shuttle carrying the octet reported that they had the compound in sight. The humans had cut that flight a bit close, almost revealing where they may have been planning to fight.
38. Pay Back
Noreen, just below the Krall level in the dome said, “The Captain cut that a bit close. Jake reported the Krall shuttle was inbound just before he sent Roni back.”
“You don’t think the Krall team saw that, do you?” asked Maggi.
“Probably not,” Thad answered, before Noreen did. They were still low on the horizon when they were detected, and Roni stayed low and circled a bit to the west anyway, just in case she was seen. They couldn’t track her back to the ridge landing area.
“Besides, Roni Linked after landing to say she couldn’t detect any sign of the team, and hovered only long enough to dust off foot prints in the landing area, and perhaps their scent. Frankly, we rather hope they send a shuttle there anyway, though I see they just sent two trucks on different paths. I wish we knew if the two leaders were in the truck cabs.”
Jake, promptly interpreting the “I wish” and “we” as instructions to him, spoke to all four observers “The two higher ranking warriors, one in a dark gray uniform, the other in black, have entered the Krall shuttle and closed the main hatch.”
“Well Thad” comment Nan Willfem, the fourth observer. “You managed to trigger our friend. Were you trying to do that?” She grinned; sure his surprised look indicated he had not.
Maggi had some choice words to add. “Golly, Thad. The way you tilted your head and paused with that typically vacant male expression, you’d think you were listening to something.”
Laughing, Thad held out his hands in a warding off gesture. “OK, you got me. I’m just as bad as you are, but in my defense I’ve had a lot less practice listening to and talking to ghosts.”
Noreen, watching a video feed from Jake, spotted the Krall shuttle lifting and heading to the north east towards the Ridge and valley area. It reached that area well ahead of the dust that marked the truck on the dirt trail. It hovered a moment, then settled below line of sight. It seemed close to where Thad told them the clearing was for the favored Krall truck parking area.
In a bit of inspiration, Thad asked, “I wonder if the Krall shuttle reported anything to the truck they sent.”
Jake told him “I can’t tell you if the transmission was for the Krall in either of the trucks, but the shuttle did report a parked truck under trees.”.
Because Thad hadn’t asked for anyone else to be included, he was the only one to hear, so he repeated it for the others.
“Jake said they reported seeing the truck I parked there for them to find.”
Noreen instantly recognized something that Thad apparently took for granted. “Friend, Link the four of us here until we ask different. How do you know what the shuttle told the trucks?”
“I monitored the broadcast, Mam.” Jake answered.
“You always monitor those, but did they speak Standard?” she asked.
“No Mam, it was high frequency audio modulation in the Krall language. What you have called ultrasonic conversation.” He answered.
The three Fancy representatives looked at one another in stunned disbelief. Thad broke the spell. “You didn’t know he could do that?”
“No!” Was the consensus and shocked reply from all three of the women.
Noreen asked another question. “Friend, did anyone ask you to learn the language and report to us when you had finished?”
“No Mam. I am designed to learn new words in any language, and I informed the Captain on the day we were boarded that I was building a dictionary of Krall words. It is not completed, and they in effect have two languages, one ultrasonic and one in the human audio ranges that…”
Noreen cut him off from a longer explanation. “We can discuss this later friend. For now, tell us whatever the hunters transmit if you can understand the words.”
“Holy shit! You’ve had an intelligence source you didn’t even know about. No way do they believe you can understand their ultrasonic language, they don’t even think you can hear it.”
“Sir, the shuttle has ordered the truck to follow the humans and report if any are found.”
“Isn’t that basically what you wanted them to do Thad?” asked Maggi.
“Since there are no fresh scents there but mine and the dirty clothes, yes. I want them to go into that cave where I hid the clothes. I wish I had a remote actuator to blow it if they go inside, but I knew I’d not know when or if they entered.”
“I wonder if we should broadcast to the Captain and Dillon that we can listen in on the hunters?” questioned Willfem.
Thad pointed out, “We don’t have a secret language or a way to hide our transmission. It might reveal too much if we try a broadcast, because Telour may be listening as well. It’s hard to predict what we might need to tell our people later today. I’d suggest we hold that in reserve.”
“I can see the shuttle again,” Noreen told them. On the monitor, the shuttle was well above the valley and moving towards the top of the ridge. Once over the ridge, it flew along the top slowly, from one end to where it crossed the river gorge and along the other side to where the ridge gradually dwindled into a low line of rocks out to the compound wall.
The shuttle next flew west towards the jungle to the north and north west of the dome. It followed a grid like pattern over the trees for several minutes. That continued until Jake reported a transmission from the truck in the valley.
“A transmission from the valley says the human truck was found.” Jake told them. “They are confused by something, and I don’t understand the words. Five humans were joined by one more human this morning, and all of them moved up the side of the valley. Only one human was in the truck.”
“Their sense of smell is remarkable. I was the human driving the truck. The rest was dirty clothes pulled behind me. Apparently, they can tell the difference. I should have put the clothes in the back of the truck before I started so they could smell them there. I hope they don’t get suspicious.”
“The shuttle is moving rapidly towards the valley,” Noreen observed. “I guess they want to do surveillance for them, join the assault, or direct the action.”
“The warriors were ordered to approach a hole where the scent leads,” Jake relayed.
“They now report one human left the hole a
nd his scent ends on the ground below there.”
“I came out of the cave and got on our shuttle.” Thad explained that anomaly for the others.
Soon, Jake reported another transmission. “Krall from a truck report hearing a shot and after investigation they have scented three humans and have their position surrounded. They have requested permission to attack.”
“What?” exclaimed Maggi. “There isn’t anybody actually there, is there Thad?”
“Hold on. Was the Krall truck in the same location as the valley?”
“No Sir. It was the second truck, on the other side of the river. It passed behind some low bushes near the marsh and it has not reappeared on the trail where its previous speed predicts it should have been visible. It may have stopped.”
Knowing exactly what Thad had realized, Noreen said, “They’ve found the three hiding in the marsh.”
Jake spoke again as soon as she finished. “The same Krall voice from the shuttle has ordered them to attack.”
Thad reminded them, “They have helmet receivers, I can warn them.”
“Won’t Telour know the warning came from the ship as well?”
“I have my helmet, Maggi,” He was wearing his armor, but his helmet sat on a high Krall table.
He leaped over, snatched the helmet up and locked it down. He quickly activated a general push that anyone in armor was going to hear.
“The three people up to their necks in muck have been spotted by hunters. They are coming for you now, load up and defend yourselves.” He knew their names, but that warning was specific enough.
After a minute, Thad heard back a brief transmission. “Thanks. That Goddamned Gladys had to shoot at a Goddamned eel.”
He told the others what he’d heard. “Cody Masters answered me, so they’re warned. He says Gladys shot at an eel, which must be what drew the Krall’s attention. It’s three against three, and they have terrible positions to defend. It doesn’t look good, even with the claymores and grenades.”
Koban Page 51