Angel shrugged. "I think I can support that idea, Administrator. There had to be some reason for them to dig this tunnel. There may be others around here, with some real artifacts."
Ron had his own shift scheduling problems. He had 16 Explorers, including himself, to mount guards on the barrier fence as well as escort the scientists. And they had to escort them, in case a jelly monster or a millipede slipped through the barrier and found the tunnel. That meant twelve-hour shifts of boring duty. Ron was getting worried about them losing their edge, so it was a relief when Angel called a meeting after only four days.
"I'm planning to recommend to the Administrator that this expedition be terminated." He announced. "I simply do not believe that we need to remain in these primitive conditions to continue our work. We all have our samples, and we've all experienced trying to do serious work on our tablets. I feel that the analytical work can best be continued back at the colony. Comments?" Ron braced himself for a barrage of objections, but only two of the scientists argued for remaining at the site.
Angel and a relieved Ron called Ken. "We're ready to come back," Angel reported. "We're planning to pack up in the morning. Would you send the airships for us, please?"
Ken nodded, smiling. "Actually, it's a relief. The rumor mill has been running full out. I've even seen a blog that claims we're in secret negotiations with 'alien creatures'. I was tempted to post to it and remind him that we're the 'alien creatures' here."
Angel chuckled and shook his head. "Wait until we get back, and the theories start flying."
"And what about you, Ron," Ken asked. "Are you ready to come home, too?"
"That depends," Ron replied with a smile. "Have the twins managed to destroy anything essential?"
Ken shook his head. "With their mother hovering over them every second? No, it's safe to come back. Of course, if they'd been staying at their grandfather's place…
"Hey!" Came Vlad's voice in the background.
"Then yes, sire," Ron replied. "I think we're ready. But you might wait until day after tomorrow. The helis are a lot faster than the airships, and we'll want to make sure we get the scientists started back before we leave." Ken nodded, and Ron continued, "Uh, sire, I'd like permission to leave the camp site pretty much intact. I mean, we'll take the tents, of course, but I'd like to leave the barriers and power array. I think we'll be back here."
Ken nodded. "So do I. Yes, by all means, leave the site intact. Let me know when you're ready for the helis."
Chapter 24
Thirdmonth 17, Year 39 A.L.
"Glad you're back, Ron," Ken said, looking up from his monitor. "We're just reviewing some of the vid footage." He shrugged. "I still don't see anything worth generating the rumors that're flying."
Vlad walked over. "What d'you mean?" He looked at the vid, which was currently showing a scene moving down the tunnel and into the room. Vlad frowned for a moment, and then his expression cleared. "A tube car! That thing's a tube car!"
Ken jumped. "What? What? What are you…Why; it does look like a tube car. That's why I've been thinking it looked familiar!"
"A what?" Lee looked as dumbfounded as Ron felt.
"A tube car," Ken explained. "Rapid Intercity Transport, back on Earth. Expensive, but quicker than flying for fairly short trips. Cars are mounted into sealed tubes. Like maglev, but they'd pump air out in front of the car, and back in behind it, so it could travel faster." He looked at the still confused faces of the Planetborns, and waved a dismissal. "Tablet it. The point is, that thing almost has to be a tube car. And that means…"
"A tube, of course," Vlad continued. "If we're right, that thing is a passenger car, and there will be tubes running from it to, well, who knows?"
"I don't understand," Ron complained. "If that's what it is, how come no one figured that out right away?"
Ken shook his head. "It would take an Earthborn to recognize it; you kids wouldn't have the concept. And tube transport was expensive, even on Earth. Most people never saw one."
Vlad chuckled. "Most people didn't live in 'Cago and get panic calls about robots in SanLou or N'yawk from people willing to pay for the trip."
"So," Lee said, "You think that room is really a transport, and that it's sitting in a tube?" He asked. "A tube to where?"
Ken grinned. "Ah, that's the question. Along with why it doesn't seem to have been used for a long time, and how come the entrance is hundreds of klicks out in the wilderness, with no settlements nearby?
"Ron, get a shower and a good night's rest. Drop the boys on Grampa, here, again. Because tomorrow, you're going to be leading another team up there. All Explorers, this time."
He paused. "But how are we going to move the car out of the way? Those cars are a tight fit in the tube, if I remember correctly."
Vlad nodded. "Yar. And I'd say that one's been there awhile. Moving it might not be easy. I'd say take a drill with you, and drill a hole in one end of the car. Push a light and a fisheye lens through the hole, and we'll know whether it's a tube car or not. If the drill hits rock, we'll know we're wrong."
"And if it is?"
Vlad shrugged. "Depends on what's on the other side of the hole."
Ken nodded. "Sounds like a plan. I'd better call Angel. He's in charge of investigating the thing."
"And I'd better call Susan," Said Vlad. "If we're going to have another visit from the kids, she'll want to be warned…uh…be told."
"Uh, Ken," Lee said. "It might be wise to send Kerry along. She can report on the progress, and show the people that we're not trying to hide anything. People are already getting nervous about this thing. Too many mysteries."
Ken nodded. "Good idea. Call her and see if she'll volunteer."
Lee stared. "Are you kidding? I'd have to hogtie her to keep her here!"
They only took one heli this time, but it was full of ten Explorers, their equipment, and Kerry. They also had several comm repeaters, in hopes they would permit the team to remain in contact with the colony while they were in the tunnel.
The solar-powered barriers were still in place, and the site had only been vacant for a day, so Ron considered a simple spray-down sufficient precaution before they set up their tents.
Night and day are irrelevant in a tunnel, and the solar power array easily accommodated only eleven people. So they didn't wait for morning, even though it was late afternoon before they could turn their attention to the tunnel.
Whatever the material of the tunnel, it blocked comm signals. However, a repeater in the tunnel's entrance could keep them in contact with the colony. Another repeater had to be set up in the room/tube car, since they easily lost line-of-sight with the entrance repeater.
The drill Ron had brought was insufficient to penetrate the material of the car. Ron finally used up six charges in his hand laser before he succeeded in burning a hole through the car's hull, which turned out to be some four cems thick. Everyone cheered when the hole revealed blackness, instead of solid rock.
It was a tight fit to get the stalk lens and the high-intensity fiber-optic light through the small laser hole, but Ron finally succeeded. He watched, transfixed, as the light was nearly swallowed by darkness, but it managed to reveal the white surface of tunnel wall.
The excitement in the Administrator's office and the colony itself was palpable as the images came in from the camera, complete with Kerry's narration.
"Ha!" Vlad shouted triumphantly, "I was right! It is a tube car!" There were cheers and applause. Ken, though, was silent, lost in thought.
Finally, he roused, and motioned to Lee. "Take the other heli and get up to the mine," he said. "Tell Jorge how hard it was to burn through that material, and that we want to cut the end out of that car. Better yet, tell him we want to cut the car up and ship it down here in pieces. Ask him whether we need a mining laser, one of the big ones that use nuclear charge bottles, or some cutting charges. Whatever he recommends, get it, and get it up to the tunnel."
Lee looked confused.
"What's the rush? Now that we know the tunnel's there, we can explore it at our leisure."
Ken shook his head. "Two reasons. First, that tunnel runs two ways. I want to make sure something isn't going to come out of it! And second, we've already got frightened people on our hands, here. With a reporter and blogger on the scene, we have to be seen to be taking action. Kerry's been broadcasting almost nonstop. Everyone in the colony is seeing these images and listening to Kerry's reports. I want them to be able to see us doing something even before they start shouting and demonstrating."
"Vlad," he continued, "I want you to go get that SoAm Robot you've been playing with for years. Get it on the airship, and get it up there. We may actually need the thing.
Vlad nodded, and headed out the door. Ken turned to Lee. "Lee, on second thought, take the airship. I'm not sure how big a mining laser is, or how much it weighs, but you'll probably be carrying too much for the heli."
"It's slower," Lee cautioned. "It'll take hours to cover 500 klicks."
Ken nodded. "I know, but I don't think we have much choice. Use the small airship. I'll still be able to tell the people that we're already working on it."
An hour later, Lee called from the mines. "I showed Messer Fuentes the vid, and he got really excited. I think he's been a believer all this time. Anyway, he thinks a mining laser will work, but he says he'll have to go along to operate it. I told him you'd have to approve taking a civilian up there, but he insists we'll need someone who knows how to handle a mining laser."
Ken sighed. "I hate to saddle Ron with someone like Jorge. On the other hand, when an expert speaks his expertise, it's usually wise to listen."
"All right," he continued after a moment's pause. "I'm going to let him go, but I want you and Ron to take no nonsense from him. If it doesn't have to do with operation of the laser, ignore him. Ron is in charge up there, and I want you to back him up if Jorge starts trying to throw his weight around. Is he there?"
"Yes, sire. I'm just outside his office. He knows I'm calling you."
"Good. Let me talk to him." After a moment, Jorge's face appeared on Ken's tablet. "Jorge, we're under time pressure, here. Against my better judgment, I'm going to let you go up there with the mining laser. But I want you to understand that tunnel is not one of your mines. It's full of native dangers you don't understand. Ron Creding is in charge up there, and in any situation not dealing directly with operation of the laser, you will listen to Ron and obey him. If you don't, you'll find yourself on the retired list before dinner. Got it?"
Jorge looked annoyed. "Understood. But I don't why you're making such an issue of it. I can obey orders."
Yar, with a laser at your back, maybe, Ken replied silently. "Good," he replied aloud. "Then I expect you to obey Ron's orders as well as you expect the miners to obey yours. Put Lee back on."
When Lee appeared, Ken said, "Okay, get Jorge and that laser aboard, and get up there. I'll call Ron and let him know you're coming."
"I'm sorry, Ron," he said a few minutes later. "I hated to let Jorge come up there. But he claims that a nuclear-fueled mining laser takes a trained operator, and none of your people have ever worked in the mines.
"I want to get your people in that shaft as soon as possible. Once Jorge cuts you an opening, tell him to start cutting the car into sections, so we can fly it back here in pieces. It'll keep him busy, and we may learn something from it. Then get your people into that tube. I want to know that nothing's going to be coming out of it!"
"By the way," he continued, "I'm also sending you that JZ-whatever contact robot toy of Vlad's. We don't know what you're going to run into in there, and it may be useful."
Ron nodded. "Y'know, it just might be. Vlad showed the thing off to me some years ago. It's nuclear powered, and I think it has a big floodlight built in. I hope you're not sending Vlad along to operate it, though."
Ken chuckled. "No, of course not. Years ago, Vlad told me it was designed to be operated by explorers, not techs. I'll bet he thinks I won't remember that, but he's not going to be able to weasel his way onto that airship. Besides, he's going to have his hands full with me and the Creding kids."
He disconnected, and had slumped back into his chair when Vlad returned. "The JZE-101 is aboard the airship. I sure hope Ron doesn't need it."
"If you're talking about its major purpose," Ken replied, "I agree with you. But it's on tracks, and Ron tells me it's got a floodlight built in, so it should be worth taking."
Vlad nodded. "Yar, a high-intensity unit. It'll light that tunnel bright as day."
Ken told him about Jorge, and his assignment to cut up the tube car and bring it back.
"Good idea," Vlad replied. "I think you'll want that tube clear. Don't forget, cutting out one end isn't enough. That tube must run both ways. Sooner or later, you're going to want to head down the tube in the other direction."
Ken looked surprised. "I hadn't thought about that. I'll have Ron post a couple of guards on that end of the tunnel. We'll want to make sure no surprises come out of it."
It was several hours before the airship arrived at the tunnel. It had actually exceeded its carrying capacity. The two nuclear-powered machines were big and heavy. Jorge had only a few hurriedly-packed supplies.
As the two large tracked vehicles trundled up the path to the tunnel, Ron, Lee and Jorge discussed the job before them.
"That stuff's hard," Ron said. "I used six hand-laser power packs just to punch a hole in it. It's about four cems thick, and seems to have something like very fine wires and stuff embedded in it. I can't even guess how long it'll take to cut the whole end of the car off."
"Well," Jorge replied, "That's one of the most powerful lasers we've got. Cuts through two meters of solid rock like butter. Should we get started?"
Ron shook his head. "We'll wait until morning. It's already dinnertime, and my people have worked a full day. We'll just get the machines in the tunnel, so the airship can head back."
"But…" Jorge began, but subsided at Lee's glare. He grimaced. "Oh, all right. Tomorrow morning." He agreed gracelessly. "But can I at least get a look at the car I'll be working on?"
"Oh, sure," Ron said cheerfully.
They passed the two slow-moving machines and entered the tunnel. A string of lights had been rigged over its length, and into the car as well. Ron switched them on as they entered. "We're on solar power, here," he explained to Jorge. "So, we don't have a lot of excess power available for things like lights. That's one reason I want to wait. During the day, we're generating more than we're using."
Jorge merely grunted, but his thunderous expression softened slightly. Enthusiasm was driving him, and he struggled to slow his pace to match Ron's leisurely stroll. But even his enthusiasm couldn't prevent him from putting his nose almost against the tunnel wall, examining it closely. He bumped his head entering the car, and cursed.
Jorge was disappointed in the car. It was much smaller than he'd anticipated, and contained little of interest. The posts supporting the eight 'saddles' appeared to be bonded to the car's hull. He tapped on the metal of a post, and Ron commented, "The scientists took scrapings of the metal. They couldn't identify the alloy with the equipment they had here."
Jorge grunted again and rose from his knees as Ron indicated the small laser-burned hole in one end of the car. Jorge stuck a thick finger in the hole, and nearly got it stuck. He pulled a small magnifying glass from his pocket, along with a small high-intensity flashlight.
Jorge spent several minutes closely examining the laser hole and picking and scraping at the surrounding hull material, while Lee looked around interestedly, and Ron simply stood patiently.
Finally, he stood. "Gonna be hard to get the laser here," he said. "Might have to park it in the tunnel and use light pipes and mirrors to direct the beam. But I expect it can be done." He clapped Ron on the back, sending him stumbling. "Don't worry, young man," the big miner said. "I brought a few cutting charges, just in case. We'll get you into that tub
e."
Ron forced a grin. "Glad to hear it. While you're doing that, I'll be practicing with the JZE-101."
Vlad had told Ron the JZE-101 contact vehicle reminded him of a "big tombstone on a box." Ron had consulted the comp, and decided the robot did, in fact resemble some of the images of a tombstone that had appeared on his tablet's screen. It stood some 150 cems high, and was mounted vertically on a horizontal box half a meter tall, and a meter long and wide. The whole thing was mounted on tracks, to permit use on nearly any surface.
The 'tombstone' was actually some 30 cems thick, and contained over a dozen drawers and compartments containing what the manual called 'contact supplies'. Doors on the edge of the 'tombstone' concealed extensible jointed arms, with articulated 'hands', and a similar door on the top concealed stalked 'eyes', visual sensors supplementing those mounted in the machine's 'face', that could survey a full 350 degrees of the unit's surroundings. What appeared to be a large, faceted jewel near the center of the 'tombstone' was actually the high-intensity, focusable light Ron planned to use in the tube tunnel. The AI informed him that it was programmed to respond to the name, "Jazzy." He had no idea of the meaning of the name, if it had one, but Ron decided it was some Earthman's idea of a joke based on the JZE part of the robot's designator. Then it occurred to him to wonder if the joker had been Vlad.
Ken decided Lee should spend the night, and he, Kerry, and Ron spent a pleasant evening, though Jorge retreated to his tent quite early.
In the morning, Lee decided the chances of outright warfare between the miner and the explorer were remote, and when Jorge estimated a few days to a week to remove the car, Ken recalled him and the airship.
Several of the Explorers helped Jorge rig the laser drill with mirrors and light pipes to direct the laser's beam. Finally the miner was satisfied, and shooed them out, donning protective clothing and a nearly opaque mask before activating the laser drill.
Though orders of magnitude more powerful than Ron's hand laser, the mining laser's beam was actually smaller in size, more tightly focused. At first, Jorge kept flicking the beam on and off, inspecting the result every few seconds, and adjusting the controls. Finally, though, convinced he'd penetrated the hull material, he began cutting in earnest. Still, it took nearly an hour to cut a few cems. Ron was disappointed, but he forced himself to be patient.
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