Thad had a simple answer. “Don’t bother to explain it, or worry about having to do so. You are attributing a level of curiosity to the Krall that we would have for suspicious human activity. Assume instead that you are watching a trained dog carry its balls and toys in and out of different rooms of your house. You might be aware of his movements, but you don’t care, because it’s just an animal that often does pointless things.”
“But they told us they plan to destroy the bottles we need to survive,” countered Noreen. “Moving something big enough to be one of them might raise a red flag, particularly if they are watching for us to try that.”
Thad said “They don’t know that Jake overheard that ultrasonic conversation, so they won’t be on guard.
“Besides, they won’t see us move big unidentified things out of our ships if we don’t do that. We only need to move the disguised dead units into them. Hiding a perfectly good fusion bottle under furniture in the back of the hold of the same ship is as good a place as any to keep them. Look at where your science labs were placed.”
Mirikami gave his stamp of approval. “We have been diverting the Krall’s attention like this all along. Telour told us that we’re a worthy enemy because we are tricky and treacherous. Why stop now?”
“I think Telour was only talking about you, Tet” Dillon said. “But maybe I can grow up to be tricky and treacherous just like you.” He grinned.
Maggi was ready. “But I already see you as a match for any Krall warrior.” She smiled warmly. Dillon looked flattered until she finished with “Big, dumb, and gullible.”
The meeting ended on that high note. They split up to organize the day’s activities, with Mirikami arranging for the ships in orbit to arrive in a specific sequence of landings. These he hoped, would furnish distractions for the Krall in the dome, to aid the Chief’s group in moving the dead fusion bottles.
There would be three passenger ships landing and a mass unloading while the cutting work to free an old fusion bottle was going on. The hustle and bustle of the unloading would hopefully hold Krall interest, if they had any at all.
Then a single cargo ship landing on the opposite side of the dome would serve as a distraction when the large hauler carried the removed bottle over to a ship with a similar size unit to replace.
They would move the four bottles, using landings and the hustle of movement all around the tarmac as cover for their secondary activities.
The first two landing rotations had gone reasonably well, the passengers suffering an anticipated number of stings and fall injuries, and one unanticipated death of an oldster. The shift of two dead fusion bottles into the target ships were masked by the movement of people, haulers, and cranes moving cargo.
On the third group of three passenger ships, the tarmac close to the entrances was more crowded, and the landings were farther away, requiring longer round trips of the trucks. It was on one of those trips that a lone rhinolo introduced itself, quite forcefully.
Jake had previously reported the animal, identified as a lone old bull by its faded hide and long broken tipped horn. It was browsing leaves and grass closer to the dome as the noise and activity continued. Thad had gone over to the west entrance with binoculars to take a look, and said it didn’t seem agitated, and only looked towards the dome occasionally.
Thad didn’t claim expertise in rhinolo behavior, but thought this old bull had probably been pushed out of its herd by a younger male seeking control of the bull’s females. It was probably taking advantage of the plentiful leafy bushes and grass, plus and lack of cover for rippers near the flat tarmac. Without a herd, it probably felt more vulnerable.
He couldn’t possibly know of the irritation factor and pent up hostility the old bull was harboring. After the next three noisy landings to the north west part of the tarmac, designed to distract from fusion bottle removal on the south east side, the bull stamped and tossed his head. It was annoyed at these loud things trying to force it away from its succulent feed.
At nearly eight feet high at the shoulder, fifteen feet in length, and probably four tons, nothing short of a full pride of rippers could force him to run. When it sighted a herd of smaller green animals coming towards him in line, he’d had enough of being pushed around. They were not taking his choice feeding ground.
He faced them, tossed his head and horn, bellowed loudly and stamped his massive feet, tearing up chunks of red soil and teal grass. They ignored his warnings, continuing in his general direction. Therefore, he did the only thing instinct and years of experience told him to do when outnumbered and faced by unknown animals. He charged.
Jason Sieko was the only one of the six outbound truck drivers and guards that was from the Flight of Fancy, so his transponder provided the only warning from Jake of the charging rhinolo. He was fourth in line, in a clattering halftrack, and had no way to signal the other drivers.
All the transfers had gone smoothly and no active ripper activity had been seen anywhere in the compound. The other guards and drivers had shed the hot armor and helmets that permitted communication.
He shouted to his “shotgun” rider, whom he only knew was called Aaron, and pointed out to their left front. “Rhinolo, we need to get everyone to turn back.”
“Right.” He agreed. “We can beat him easy if you push it hard.” He was referring to the accelerator rod in the console that controlled speed.
“Let me get the other trucks attention,” Sieko shouted back. The wind, tracks, and frame rattling at fifty miles an hour on the slightly bumpy tarmac made normal conversation difficult.
He leaned out of the cab so the two drivers behind could see him, and waved frantically and pointed at the now lumbering beast just over a mile out. They immediately slowed to turn around, but the three lead trucks were focused on the recently landed ships, two of which were extending their personnel ramps and opening their cargo hold doors.
The Krall didn’t put anything like a warning horn or siren, or even rearview mirrors on their ground transports. Seiko could only warn the front trucks by pulling up beside them. He shoved the power rod in all the way and the electric motors drew more current from the small fusion bottle. The halftrack surged ahead.
His rider screamed “What the hell are you doing, turn around! It’ll catch us.”
“We need to warn them,” he shouted back. “He have time, we’re faster than a rhinolo.”
However, the speed of the lumbering looking animal was deceptive, and the big beast was making close to fifty miles an hour, despite his age and mass. As Seiko passed the first truck, the driver looked over in surprise but quickly saw where they were pointing. He immediately started veering to his right to turn back.
“Turn around, now!” his rider screamed again.
“In a moment, we can make it after we get their attention.”
The man pointed his rifle across his lap at Seiko and shouted “Now. Turn Now!”
As he made his threat, they were passing the second truck in the line, and that driver and rider looked their way as they heard the clattering tracks. They too started a right turn.
“You turn back now or I’ll kill you and do it myself, damn you!” Seiko’s rider shouted.
Reluctantly, Seiko nodded and started drifting to the right starting a turn. However, he had never pulled back on the power rod, and as they swung past the back of the other truck, they barely clipped its rear, as Seiko had intended. At a nearly twenty miles per hour faster speed, the bump wasn’t terribly hard, but it was enough to jar Aaron’s rifle against his trigger finger.
The buckshot hit Seiko in the ribs of his right side. Because he wore his body suit the pellets didn’t penetrate, but the force of the impact broke several ribs and punctured a lung.
He was knocked to his left, and his right leg pushed against the steering yoke, causing a sudden hard swing back to the left, tipping the vehicle up onto the right side wheel and track. It balanced that way for a precarious moment, traveling dozens of feet before
it heeled all the way over onto its side, skidding with sparks flying.
There were no doors on Krall trucks to impeded rapid dismounts, nor any safety restraints. Aaron found himself frantically grabbing at anything to prevent falling out of the cab and becoming a smear on the tarmac. His rifle did fall, and snapped in half as its butt caught on the tarmac.
Seiko, using his left arm to hang onto the side of the cab, now the top, also used his legs to push against the floorboard and console to keep from falling on Aaron. The pain in his right side was excruciating, and he was having trouble taking a breath. He couldn’t believe the bastard had actually shot him. It looked like they were both going to die here.
As the truck slid to a halt, the vehicle they had bumped had looked back, slowed and was turning towards them. Seiko could see them through the open roof of the cab. That driver had been so focused on who had hit them and the crash that they apparently still had not noticed the charging rhinolo. Either that or they were suicidally brave.
He started to feel the heavy thumping as the rhinolo came thundering onto the landing apron, and its bellow of challenge could be easily heard now, with the noisy tracks automatically shut down when they tipped over.
Proof that the other driver wasn’t suicidal came when Seiko could see his eyes and the gunner’s eyes widen in terror. They had finally spotted the big teal colored bull headed straight at them, a quarter mile away.
Slamming their power bar full in, the rear wheels spun as they turned hard left to loop back towards the dome, leaving the other truck to its fate. However, the excess power to the rear wheels was enough that they refused to take a firm grip as they squealed and spun, accelerating the truck far slower than the two desperate men wanted. The rhinolo thundered past the fallen opponent, making for the still standing challenger that had started to flee.
The truck started picking up speed as the wheels finally gained traction. They were up to nearly forty miles per hour when the gunner had the foresight to stand and face the rear through the roof hatch. He aimed his rifle, dismayed that it would be almost impossible to miss because the beast’s head was only a few feet off their right rear side and closing.
He fired repeatedly with zero effect before he remembered he had loaded a buckshot clip for skeeters. He threw that clip on the seat and pulled one from his belt that held soft nose slugs, regretfully the heaviest ammo he had brought. Before he could fire again, the broken tipped horn slammed against the right side with stunning force, the strength of the rhinolo briefly lifting that side and causing them to skid slightly, losing some speed.
Recovering from a painful slam against the hatch edges, the gunner started firing rapidly at the top of the head and the massive shoulder hump. He drew blood, but these were superficial to the big bull. He had suffered worse injury from male challengers in his own herd.
The next powerful hit came as the truck had started to regain speed and pull away. The horn slid under the rear frame and the bull’s neck strength not only lifted the heavy truck, it flipped them so high that only the left front wheel stayed in surface contact. As they came down hard, the rear wheels bouncing, the gunner lost his grip on the rifle. The rhinolo battered them again, this time tipping them all the way over.
Seiko saw all this through the roof hatch of his own overturned truck. He and Aaron were now both crouched on the cab’s side panel and tarmac below the cab. Despite the pain in his ribs and breathing trouble, Seiko pulled his left pistol, holding his right arm against the pain on that side.
The other truck was only a hundred or so feet away, with the bull banging away at its bottom, slewing it around like a toy. He took aim and started firing at the animal’s rear quarters, all that he could see from their position. Aaron screamed at him and shoved his hand down.
“Stop it! It’ll come after us. You can’t bring one down with a damn pistol.”
He countered. “The ammo for pistols is the same as for rifles. If you hit them enough and in the right place you can bring one down.”
“I don’t give a shit, I don’t want to eat it I want it to leave us alone.”
Seiko aimed his pistol at Aaron’s face. “I have an armor piercing clip. Load your heaviest clip and start firing with me or get the hell out of this truck. You shot me once, so I owe you one.”
“I’m getting out, you’re crazy.” He stepped through the roof hatch and moved around the front to place the bulk of the truck between him and the rhinolo, which was pounding the other truck into scrap.
Seiko started shooting again, emptying his first clip, and he inserted a second with armor piercing rounds. He was sure he had hit the thing a few times because he saw some blood streaks on the rump. However, so far it had given no sign it felt the damage.
The bull backed up slightly and slammed the rear of the overturned truck so hard it spun around completely. For the first time Seiko could see the two terrified men through the open roof hatch. Moreover, they could see and be seen by the attacking bull.
The bull bellowed as it spotted the smaller animals that it connected to the small “bites” it had been feeling. The confirmation was when they bit him again in the face and head. He felt the impacts on his thick boney skull plates, which protected him when he dueled with other bulls.
The two men were firing point blank at the enraged animal, and realized that someone from the other overturned truck was also shooting. For a moment they had hope they could drive it off or even kill the massive monster. That hope didn’t work out for them.
The bull charged straight at them, and thrust its horn through the hole where they hid. He was rewarded when he withdrew his head to see the result of his attack, and found one of them dangling and wriggling from the horn. Completely run through at its midsection it was making a lot of noise, and pushing at his face to get free. He knew how to help it do that.
The bull tossed its head up sharply, watching as the creature slipped free of the horn and rose straight up. It was a maneuver the bull had used in the past on similar sized predators that came after calves he was protecting. He agilely moved under it to catch it again on the horn, and it stopped making noise and struggling.
This time he shook his head side to side and felt the limbs slap against the sides of his head several times before the animal tore open and flew away to hit the ground and tumble several feet before laying still in a heap. That one would bite no more. Because he still felt “bites” nipping at his head and rump, he returned to the place where the other one was still hiding.
The driver had dodged the first irresistible thrust of that cruel long horn, but one of the shorter side horns had ripped through the top of his left thigh. He knew he was bleeding to death, but wouldn’t do that before the beast came back for him. No way was he going out like Mike had died. He loaded his last clip even as he heard the man in the other truck firing again. He looked over at his helper in gratitude, but knew it was too late.
When the bull turned its bloodied face back to look for him, he started blazing away, hoping to hit its eyes. He didn’t manage to do that with his hand shaking so badly. When it trotted to within twenty feet and lowered its horn, he fired a final shot into his temple.
Seiko saw that happen, and knew that the man was dead even before his body was ripped apart and trampled. He held his fire now since there was no one over there to help any longer. He pressed himself into the hollow of the floorboard space, as far away from view through the roof hatch as possible.
He heard the bull’s snorts and wide padded feet thumping as it came closer to his truck. If it came down to the same choice the other driver had made, he’d save a bullet to do the same thing. He knew it was time when he heard it bellow and its pace picked up. As the thundering hooves grew close, he placed the pistol barrel under his chin.
Just when he could hear the bull really close, there was a rapid series of gun shots from at least two guns, close beside the truck. At first he thought Aaron was trying to help him, but then heard him screaming as he fi
red. He must have been seen peeking over or from behind the truck and was spotted. The bull was after him now.
Despite what the ass had done to him, he would add his own firepower. He painfully stepped out through the hatch and heard the screams and shots farther away now. Rushing around the front end of the truck, he saw Aaron running away, firing over his shoulder at the rapidly gaining rhinolo.
Seiko emptied his last clip of heavier ammo at the back end of the bull, the only target he was presented with so far. He looked away as it caught up and lowered the horn. Aaron’s scream quit in mid shriek, and Sieko moved back around to the other side of the truck, not willing to watch the destruction of a human body for a third time. He inserted a clip of buckshot, confident it could get the job done if he put the barrel in his mouth.
The clop of hooves sounded again as it started back to his truck. He wasn’t going to get back inside the cab, bending over was too painful with broken ribs, and the other truck had shown the futility of that. He was bitter about the rib injury, but Aaron had paid a high enough price. He sure couldn’t try running when he could barely get his breath. Not even a Hub class athlete could out sprint a rhinolo.
He stepped onto the side panels of the rear truck bed, where he’d be more sheltered and he could stand upright. As he sought a grip for his left hand, the truck was struck by the four-ton battering ram, and as it spun around, he was thrown out onto the tarmac, losing his pistol. He scrambled after it as the bull continued past him and the truck, and lowered it haunches to stop quickly and turn back.
As it pivoted, moving too nimble for its mass, Seiko could see its eyes on him. He crawled to his pistol, prepared to take a few shots at his killer before turning the gun on himself. He took careful aim at one of the eyes in its heavy bony socket and pulled the trigger.
He heard the usual whoosh of the rocket propelled round, and was startled when the beast jumped and reared on its hindquarters, raising its front legs several feet in the air before they thudded back to ground. He figured he’d hit something sensitive near its eye, and was aiming at the other eye when, before he could fire, the bull jumped violently again. This time Seiko heard a distant boom that followed the leap. The animal looked over to its right, then back at him, and again started coming towards him. Seiko managed to get to his feet and planned to run around to the other side of the truck. Then the bull shifted the direction and speed of his slowly building trot to cut him off from that shelter.
Koban Page 69