Handing over a fistful of protein bars, Dillon asked how he had rigged his gun, where had he gotten the explosive, how far back in the cave had he been. Mirikami held up his hand to still the questions.
“I’m famished and thirsty, so give me some water and a few minutes to eat these bars. Could you please bring me the first aid kit from the shuttle? I don’t know if my leg is broken, but a big chunk of rock fell on it when I brought the roof down yesterday.”
He practically needed a cordon to hold back the congratulations and back slappers as he refueled his new metabolism. Finally, knowing he’d have to explain this several more times before the day was done, he told them what happened.
“I removed my armor for two reasons. I brought a flat sheet of plastic explosive with me, taped to my chest, which I needed to remove. Then I decided to use the suit as a decoy to get the Krall to charge that if my claymore missed him. I tied one of my pistols to the right hand of the armor, and piled rocks to hold it pointed out of the cave. I tied the claymore lanyard to the spring loaded trigger, running it behind the suit so I could pull it from back inside the cave. I used some of the climbing rope to tie to a mechanical detonator trigger for the plastic explosive I planted in the cave roof.
“I tried to kill the warrior with the claymore at the next cave down, but it was too suspicious of our traps by then, and was about to figure out I wasn’t hiding inside the shit cave. Forgive me Dillon, your shit cave.” He laughed with Dillon and the others at the reference.
“I remotely fired the claymore while lying in hiding on the ledge, behind this rock in fact. I missed him. I jumped up and dove into the cave while shooting at him. I think I actually hit him once. Then I crawled back in the cave and started repeatedly pulling the lanyard to shoot out of the cave mouth. He fired continuously back at the source and probably demolished my armor, thinking it was me.
“By that time I was around a bend where I couldn’t see the entrance, so I used the Katusha,” he patted the device slung from his ammo belt. “I aimed it at the front entrance through the rock to gauge when he was coming inside.
“When the little light brightened, I waited a second then pulled the climbing rope to detonate the explosives in the ceiling. I guess I wasn’t far enough back, and a piece of rock either ricocheted back to hit me or fell from the roof. It may have fractured my right leg. It was instantly dark so I couldn’t see a thing without my helmet light, and I nearly choked on the dust until I pulled up the Smart Fabric to breathe through. I think I lay stunned for some time from the overpressure.
“When I regained my senses, I heard noise at the front and thought it was the same or another Krall trying to get to me. The Katusha only indicated one. I crawled farther back inside and waited in the dark with my pistol. Eventually I slept.
“This morning I heard sounds outside and the Katusha showed there were a lot of individuals out there. I crawled a bit closer to the front in the dark, ready to call out when you scared the crap out of me with that big explosion. The outside was bright, and Dillon was blindingly backlit before I could finally see it was a human coming and not a Krall. I decided not to shoot him, despite the painful ringing in my ears. I called to him, he found me, he carried me out. End of story.”
Deanna gave him her first big hug. “Tet, you have no idea how much your survival will mean to the already deliriously happy people back at the dome.” She gave him her second hug, but wrinkling her nose this time.
Mirikami saw the reaction and said, “I’m rather tickled about it myself, but we’ll all enjoy these warm and fuzzy hugs more once I get this foul smelling suit off and I’m clean again. I’d stay out of that cave for a few days. We need to stock these with paper; this is another shit cave I’m afraid.”
Thad laughed with the others, but injected a serious note. “I’m wondering if we will need to go back in there anytime soon, for a hunt I mean. Last night Telour sounded like the agreement was over, and he was leaving today.
“Really? What did he say?”
Noreen told him of the brief conversation the night before.
Mirikami, back to thinking form with protein bars in his stomach, pulled at his lip. “So he called it an old agreement with new prey. That does sound like something is about to change, and with our status. I wonder why?”
He continued, “As ruthless as Telour is, he considers agreements, even with prey animals, a matter of his and his clan’s honor. He wouldn’t abrogate an agreement easily, unless the debt of honor had been met.”
“What would pay off that debt?’ Thad asked.
“Exactly the right question. He offered me and those I selected immunity. Provided we helped him demonstrate that humans were capable of fighting back more effectively. Killing three Krall...” he was interrupted.
Thad told him “Five warriors died. At least only three came back.”
“OK, five dead Krall. That is certainly a much higher rate than I expected. How many people did we lose?”
“Eight all told. The three in the swamp, four in the canyon, and the one in the jungle was virtually a suicide to try and take a warrior with him,” Answered Deanna.
“Well this was a huge day for us captives, but they certainly won’t fall for so many tricks the next time around,” Tet predicted. He gave an example.
“The octet leader would not directly approach the cave entrance where I had aimed my last claymore, and he started shooting from off to the side. He spotted where I had hidden the claymore. I triggered it just to give myself a chance to duck into the cave, counting on that distraction to save my butt.”
Noreen cut the story time off. “Let’s get you back to the ship for a proper shower and a real meal.”
“Aye Aye, Mam,” he answered.
“Don’t give me that. I was scared to death I’d have to try and fill your shoes by dealing with Telour.”
They carried Mirikami on a makeshift litter to the shuttle, and flew him back to the ship.
After Mel Rigson checked him out in the dispensary, he announced the Captain had a deep thigh bruise, but no fracture.
Mel allowed him to finish a shower then wrapped his thigh in a smart bandage, as Mirikami ate from a hurried breakfast plate, and drank some of his Earth coffee.
Putting on a fresh utility uniform, he felt much better. He wasn’t even particularly tired, since he’d had nothing to do all night but sleep in that cave, where it was relatively cool. He’d had to swat at the occasional kant that crawled on his hands or face, but those were only scouts from some distant nest. Luckily, none of them managed to sting him.
Noreen broke in with a Link as he left the dispensary. “Tet, Telour has called for all of the Training Day survivors to report to him in the Great Hall, right away. He sounded as impatient as he did last night.”
“Have you told Dillon?” he asked.
“Not yet, Sir, but I will next. I’m sending a truck for you both. I know it isn’t far, but I don’t want you to walk on that bad leg.”
Ricco drove Tet and Dillon to the dome, also collecting Tet’s “spider” team as they started across. Presumably, the four survivors from the jungle team had been told, but they already lived in the dome. A stream of Fancies were headed over as well, and waved as they passed. Obviously they had also heard of the summons.
When Mirikami entered the Great Hall at the head of his team, Telour’s head whipped around and his red eyes immediately locked on him. For the first time he thought he saw an expression of surprise on a Krall’s difficult to read face. At least when it was an expression other than rage.
“Little clan leader, I believed you were dead. Your clan mates also believed this. I watched as I thought I saw you killed in the cave yesterday. Another trap that Kimbo clan’s octet could not avoid.” A hard snort of amusement sounded.
“You have done well for me. I called for the survivors to honor the agreement to award immunity. I did not expect to award you today.”
“Yes,” Mirikami replied. “The reports o
f my death are greatly exaggerated.”
Hearing Maggi snicker in the background suggested she’d heard of the Mark Twain quote.
Detaching a Katusha from his harness, Telour ordered him to approach.
Mirikami was close to refusing the dubious honor, until Thad quickly murmured that he needed the prestige the marks would grant him. He was right, and not for the Krall’s respect but more importantly for the people who he wanted to feel hope.
Telour used his Katusha to mark all ten of them with red marks in their tattoo ovals, one each for eight of the survivors, but Mirikami received three dots, and Dillon two dots, in recognition of their greater contribution to the human’s overall success and number of warriors killed. These were proof of their permanent immunity from Testing Days.
Telour indicated that he was well satisfied with the first successful demonstration of human war making capability. “Your traps were well laid, and your tactics were effective against the Kimbo clan’s assaults, the clan which provided the handpicked octet. That small clan has received much attention for their successes in interclan battles recently.”
This was high praise and surprising, but quickly was revealed as a reflection of Telour’s pleasure with himself.
“My status has risen within my clan because of my new method of using humans in a surprising victory over eight of the best fighters Kimbo clan could send. True, three of those you killed were novices, but they were highly trained, selected as the best novices that clan could find.
“However you also killed two of their most experienced combat tested warriors, chosen for the same reasons. Their loss was the culmination of my victory.” For a Krall he was almost giddy.
Funny, Mirikami thought, I don’t recall your ass being out there yesterday, or even directly involved. It was typical of a Krall to dismiss the achievements of what to them were mere animals.
He continued, “The last test has attracted attention far outside that of my Graka clan, from other powerful clans that recently lost to Kimbo clan’s aggressive tactics. My success with you, combined with other news just received, may see completion of my plan sooner than I expected. We will prepare to leave now.” He left the cryptic remark unexplained, and promptly left the hall, the hand of warriors following him to an elevator.
After they were gone, Mirikami paused in thought. “I think Telour just paid us off.”
“What do you mean?” Noreen asked.
Maggi knew. “He was honor bound to pay what he agreed to give for the success of yesterday. From his remarks about leaving, he sounds like he may think the agreement has been completed.”
Jake broke in with a warning. “A Krall shuttle has been detected approaching from the southeast.”
“That could be from the other compound, coming to pick up Telour,” said Noreen.
“Why wouldn’t he use one of the two shuttles they have here already?” Roni wondered.
Mirikami and his core supporters headed back to the Fancy to observe the arrival. They watched on a screen on the Bridge as the craft approached.
Even before the third shuttle landed, they saw a mass of Krall exit the dome on a second screen. It was a mixture of uniforms, blue, brown, and black. There were more Krall on the tarmac than the Flight of Fancy complement had seen since their arrival.
“I think that must be every Krall in the dome,” commented Thad. “There are more than can fit in two shuttles, if they take that equipment with them.”
For the first time the others noticed the Krall were pulling a number of wheeled carts loaded with mostly unrecognizable gear, and what surely were Krall heavy weapons. Thad said he had never seen them before.
Two of them looked like twin barrel plasma cannons, based on the magnetic coils wound along their length and the bell mouths, and had small Krall design fusion bottles under their rotatable mount. They weren’t portable weapons, but the ten foot long by five feet wide carts showed they were easily transportable.
All of the equipment went into the newly arrived shuttle, along with two of the K’Tal and the pilot that had helped them load. The other Krall entered the other two shuttles, and without fanfare, the three lifted together and departed in formation to the southeast.
Mirikami received a Link from both Nory Walters and Mel Rigson.
“Captain?” queried Walters, the Chief Steward. “Mister Rigson and I think the Krall may have evacuated the dome. Cal Branson has gone up with a few crewmembers and some Primes to check on things. Based on the head count as they headed through the outer doors, we think they all may have left. They didn’t say anything to us. Any idea what’s happening?”
“Jake, Link this call to everyone with me please,” Mirikami ordered the AI.
“Nory, Mel, you are in a Link with a lot of people,” he advised them out of curtsey.
“We watched the same thing you did. Telour said there was a big clan meeting at the main Krall compound. He said they were leaving after the immunity awards. A third shuttle arrived to carry them and some equipment.”
“We watched them lift,” Nory affirmed. “The Primes that have been here the longest say they’ve never seen so many Krall at one time. They don’t generally know how many are even here.”
“Let me ask a friend,” Mirikami proposed.
“I wonder if there are any Krall left in the dome?” he asked for Jake’s benefit.
“Sir, I am excluding the five I was informed have died in the outer compound today. With those five exceptions, every Krall I have observed enter the dome since our arrival on the planet have now departed, the last that I am aware of are in the three shuttles now airborne.
“However, there may be additional Krall inside that I have never observed. Several of my cameras can see into the windows of the top level and I do not detect any movement. It is....”
“Stop.” Mirikami ordered.
“You didn’t return those Katusha’s to the Krall yet did you?” Thad asked Avery. “We can check for any Krall on the top level with those. You have four of them, and the entire top level is easily within range from level thirty one.”
“I had one of them and Dillon had one, and Avery has the other two. Let’s get them over to the dome now.”
Cal Branson requested a Link while the Katusha’s were being sent.
“Captain, the few Krall areas normally blocked off from the Primes on lower levels were left open. We looked through the normally closed and locked doors but didn’t go inside. No one wanted to risk a death sentence to go up to level thirty two to check there, but it appears like they may have all pulled out.”
“Cal, we think so too. We’re sending four Katusha’s over with Ricco. Link up with him and conduct the same kind of search you did for Carltron and Blythe, from just below the top level. It may take hours, but we’ll know if they left anyone behind.”
“Yes Sir.”
Several hours later, they had confirmation that there were no Krall detected on Level thirty-two.
The Koban Committee, plus Thad Greeves, met for an early lunch. Before he knew what he was being elected to, Thad became the sixth appointed member of the unofficial group.
As Tet and Dillon fed their newly boosted appetites, to Thad’s astonishment at their capacity, Maggi and Aldry explained why they were so hungry. Why Tet’s deep bruise would heal in a day or two.
She told him of the boosted metabolism and heat adaptation that made life in the higher gravity and summer heat on Koban tolerable.
“Tet explained that to me previously,” Thad noted, curious as to why they were telling him again. “It was to eliminate the need for the pills you used to do the same thing, which are temporary and toxic or something, if overused.”
“That’s true, but it wasn’t the complete story. How do you imagine we made it permanent? An adaptation that helps people permanently cope with life on this world.”
“I give. How?”
“It’s something we biologists can do for every woman and man on Koban, increasing their c
hances of survival, and make their lives easier. We can provide greater energy reserves and improved skin and body cooling. Something not permitted inside the sphere of Human Space.” She waited for him to connect the dots.
“Gene modifications, you mean.” He stated it, rather than asking a question.
Mirikami’s own response waited while he swallowed a large bite. “Yes. It’s what kept Dillon and me going out there, despite not having Koban adapted muscles. We did things over the course of the day that even you long time captives would have found demanding. But we have been here only weeks.”
“How do you feel about this Thad?” Maggi asked him. “Was this an acceptable action to improve our survival chances on Testing Days against super aliens, or do the Hub’s prohibitions apply to us out here, hundreds of light years from the nearest edge of Human controlled space?”
“Terrific!” He boomed. “You hand me a loaded question with only one logical answer, and surround me with proponents of the answer you want to hear from me.” He eased their worried looks with a rousing laugh.
“You know your audience of one rather well, I think. You’ve heard me say I would do anything to destroy these monstrous self-declared ‘Lords of the Universe.’ Even if the treatment isn’t totally safe, I’d like to try it next.”
“Are you kidding?” Dillon asked.
“Forgive me you Gentle Men, but when I saw you two untrained rookies climb up onto that terrace while the hunt was still on, I figured you were goners. That’s a tough climb for people that have lived here for years, and they have made practice climbs first. I expected you to collapse right then. Several weeks ago, you could barely walk down your cargo ramp without breaking a leg. No, I’m not kidding, I want to try it too.
“In fact, I wish we could make ourselves a match for the smug murderous bastards.”
Maggi glanced towards Aldry, and very slightly shook her head no. It wasn’t the time.
Mirikami had some questions. “Thad, how do you think the other captives would react to knowledge of these treatments? Could they keep it secret enough so the Krall wouldn’t learn what we’re doing? I’m afraid they might decide to exterminate us all if they discovered we even had the capability to improve ourselves this way. I have no idea why they never did this to themselves.”
Koban Page 60