Savage World

by Jennifer Slusher

  Remy rolled his eyes. “Classy,” he retorted, shaking his head as he collected the line.

  “Come on, Thing One, Thing Two. We've still got a lot of ground to cover.”

  Too conditioned to jumping when a senior soldier ordered them about, Remy and Frankie hurried to fall in behind their sergeant.

  XIX

  Ancient City

  They named the city Babel.

  'They' being the eggheads who argued for an hour before reaching their decision. Jules who was volun-told as the mediator for the discussion, had sat through staff meetings less boring. The suggestions ranged from the poetic, like Babel, to the overly romance-novelish Serengettica. Seriously? More like Bullshittica, Jules thought contemptuously. In the end, it was Luke who ended the argument with the best choice.

  Babel. It was what Dr. Hall chose.

  Jules agreed. Olivia and Dr. Nakamura chose the name Babel for their landing site even before the expedition set foot on the planet. It was biblically poetic. Babel was the first great city of man to be struck down by God and this city, with its overgrown grass and chambers filled with dust and cobwebs, had apparently suffered a similar calamity. Further to that, everyone agreed (or chose not to argue), the valley should be named after Olivia Hall.

  It was fitting because Olivia Valley was a much more appropriate location for establishing a colony than their original landing site.

  The mountain protecting the valley on either side kept out the worst of the elements and the storms generated by the sky crabs. Even with the wide river running through it, a good portion of the valley was above the floodplain, making it perfect for setting up housing. Not unlike the Nile Delta where the early Egyptians began building their civilisation.

  The soil was also given a high passing grade by the team's pedologist. Declaring it extremely fertile for growing crops, he believed the odd rows of trees here and there were perfectly situated to prevent soil erosion by the wind. More and more, it was becoming clear this was a better alternative than their original landing site. It was certainly more conducive to the large-scale agriculture they would have to put into effect almost immediately. With no signs of catastrophic flooding, there was very little chance of crops being wiped out.

  From her vantage point at the main gate, Jules saw none of these things. Instead, she saw Angkor Wat, Mohenjo-Daro, or Teotihuacan. After college, and before joining the Space Corps, she'd spent a year backpacking and visiting those landmarks, cognisant she'd never have the time afterwards. How right she had been. They were all gone now, each and every one of the seven wonders, from the Great Pyramids to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

  Profound loss stabbed her heart and for a moment, Jules's eyes misted over.

  * * *

  With a little Luke Rickman ingenuity and a whole lot of creative cussing, the broken monolith blocking the main entrance was heaved out of the way by the Sharks. Putting their backs into it, they tipped the limestone block into the brush off to one side, promptly crushing the verdant overgrowth beneath it. More sweat, cursing, and encouragement from the nafs followed and before long, the greenery under their boots was cleared, revealing an ancient cobblestone path.

  For now, there was no longer any need to crawl under the massive rock or through waist-high weeds, but more drastic measures would be needed later, Tom thought. Maybe a controlled burn once the expedition completed its analysis. Or maybe next time someone ventures down to a planet full of grass, they could bring along a bloody lawn mower and a whipper snipper.

  A group of squints swept past him and Jules, chattering on about bloody theorems and WhoGivesAFuck's Law of Disorder. He couldn't fault their eagerness. This discovery was bloody Christmas morning for this lot. Stepping back out of their way, he took advantage of the moment to get a good look at the pyramids.

  “Got to say,” he admired the craftsmanship and the sheer balls that went into building something like that with primitive tools. “It looks even more impressive now we're up close.”

  When she didn't answer immediately, he glanced over to see the deep introspection on her lovely features. “Oi, you alright?”

  “I'm fine,” Jules straightened up, schooling her face. This wasn't the time or the place to get melancholy. Despite exchanging spit last night, she wasn't ready to let her guard down just yet. She gestured to the overgrown jungle and the ruins beyond.

  “It's impressive, you know? I half expect spider monkeys or snakes to come out of the undergrowth.”

  “Well, I can shoot those,” Tom patted the sidearm at his hip affectionately. “It's the big buggers that fly and zap you I'm more worried about.”

  “You can't shoot spider monkeys!” Jules snorted, eyeing the weapon at his hip. “Besides, that won't do a damn thing against sky crabs,” she said, hitching her pack a little higher. “I know what they did to the shuttle but they're animals all the same. They were just defending their territory. If we must shoot them…” Jules didn't finish her thought. She didn't like the idea of shooting an innocent animal at all.

  “We're not going to repeat Earth,” Tom offered quietly, glancing at her.

  Humanity had systematically buggered every environment they landed on by having little or no regard for its natives. The sky crabs scared the shit out of him but in their way, they were also magnificent. It was like finding out you'd landed on a planet of dinosaurs. Killing them wasn't something he'd like to entertain.

  “I'm keeping my fingers crossed this lot can figure out a way to scare them without resorting to that. Maybe some kind of repellent.” Surely, there had to be an answer in that giant smear of sunblock that just walked past them.

  “Maybe.” Jules went to her toes for a second, absently dropping a hand on Tom's bicep to keep her balance as she scanned the groups for Luke. “My money is on Luke,” she said, going back to the flats of her boots. “So how long have you known the Rickmans?”

  From the way they acted together, she'd guess longer than just the six months spent on the Ruthie together.

  “Oh, since the big bloke was a bloody hippy hanging about Miramar on Earth and Luke was shoo…uh… gawking at every bird that walked past. I ran into Derick at a local bar and started talking in between drinks. He wasn't a Marine yet.”

  “A… Gunny was a hippie?” Was he pulling her leg? After a moment of side-eye, Jules decided he wasn't and glanced at the tall Shark who looked like he'd been born with that roguish high and tight. She couldn't picture him in flip flops and board shorts. “How long ago was that?”

  Tom stared for a moment. How long had it been?

  “About ten years I think,” he calculated out loud and blinked at just how much time had passed.

  Ten years? A whole fucking decade? Had it really been that long? Suddenly, the passage of years from that kid at Miramar, suffering the loss of a brother who meant everything to him to the best 21C Tom ever served with, made Tom feel inordinately old but also proud.

  “He was in a difficult place at the time. You know the one where you have no idea what the fuck comes next until some drunken bastard at the bar gives you a kick up the arse?”

  “And the drunken bastard, was you?” Jules grinned at the expression on his face, the one that suddenly realized he was closer to forty than he liked. Had she ever been in a 'difficult place'? When her dad died, yes. She'd felt so empty because a man like her father was supposed to live forever. “What were you doing in Miramar then? I was stationed there for a couple of years.”

  “Prisoner exchange,” Tom joked as they resumed walking down the paved street bringing them to the foot of the largest pyramid in Babel. Sharks were hacking away at the vegetation around it, trying to clear space for the squints who would need room to work. For a moment, they looked like worshippers bowing repeatedly in front of their god. “I was in town to take part in a joint live fire training exercises with your Marines. Spent two weeks in San Diego, went to Sea World, and charmed the ladies with the accent.”

  “The ladies at Sea World?�
�� Jules smirked, deliberately misunderstanding. “You must have made quite an impression on the sea lions and the seals. Probably broke some hearts, huh?”

  “Well I had something special with a manatee, but it was the lasses at the local bars that liked the accent,” he winked. “And no, I didn't leave a lot of broken hearts behind, just celibacy vows.”

  “Oh, for God sake!” Luke's exasperated voice exploded in their ear pieces. “Turn off your headset already!”

  “What's the matter, Rickman? Not into sea creatures?” Jules retorted, eyes twinkling at Tom. Was she embarrassed at being overheard possibly flirting with Tom? Maybe. Maybe not really.

  “Tell them about the octopus, Luke.” Derick's dry remark left Jules giggling in an undignified manner.

  “All I can say is you can't always tell whether they're female or male.” Luke's voice sounded pained and there was a very female 'eewwgh'.

  “If the hole fits,” Tom threw in, prepared for the response that comment was about to get. It was all a bit of fun, wasn't it?

  Jules eyed Tom in amusement. “Anything else I should know about you?”

  “Nothing I'm willing to say on an open channel,” Tom grinned and then laughed when he heard Luke's voice in the nearby distance.

  “Thank Christ!”

  * * *

  When they arrived at the entrance to the main pyramid, the Gunny and his team were already present and waiting. Nearby, the squints were unpacking their gear, eager to study this new playground and talking a mile a minute.

  Of the nearest group, Tom recognized Hanae and her assistant Mahmud trying to collect insect specimens for study. Mahmud was a tall, skinny kid and he moved like he wasn't quite sure what to do with his long legs and arms. When he finally finished fiddling with his net, Hanae shooed him off and turned her attention back to the insects already occupying several specimen jars.

  Behind Hanae, Dr. Andropolis had commandeered French to help him move what Tom assumed was a weather sensing device to the top of their pyramid.

  Dr. Hall should have been here. Not for the first time, Tom felt a pang of sorrow at her absence. Sucking in his breath, Tom resolved he and Jules would do right by her and her team. They would try and keep them as safe as possible. She deserved that much, and Tom was determined her final expedition would also be her greatest.

  Nodding once to himself, Tom moved closer to the Sharks. “Right then,” he regarded his troops, “Reports!”

  Predictably, Derick spoke first.

  “So far, no one's showed up to claim the place,” Derick crossed his arms over his chest, resting them on the butt of his rifle. “Altars are in this one. The graves are that way,” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating a freshly cleared path of chopped up undergrowth. “Lorio and Anderson are working on clearing a path to Lorio's Crater…”

  “Why's it got my name?” the younger man's voice was thick across the links.

  Grinning at Tom, Derick wiggled his eyebrows. “You fell in it, it's now your hole.” There was a collective groan from the Sharks.

  “At least it was a hole he fell in,” Ozzy grumbled under his breath to Jazz, who snorted.

  “Hey, we can name any steaming pile of unidentifiable stuff, an Ozzy,” Ren quipped, ducking behind Maya, who smirked.

  “Fucking comedians. You and Gunny shouldn't be allowed to name anything!” Ozzy grumped, rolling his eyes.

  “Score one for Orphan Annie,” Derick laughed, winking at her without realizing it. “Richards's statue was found in that pyramid.” One hand waved in the general direction of the third building. “We secured it according to Dr. Nordin's instructions.”

  “Thank you, Gunny Rickman,” Dr. Nordin stepped forward. Despite being in her fifties, she had a head full of dark hair coiled into an elegant bun.

  There was an air of authority about her that reminded Tom of Mrs Butterworth, his fourth year English teacher. The woman could make him piss himself with a single glare through her bejewelled glasses. To this day, he still had nightmares about conjugating verbs and now, his nightmares would include Mrs Butterworth in fatigues.

  “Under normal circumstances, I would cite the preservation of the site's integrity to avoid contamination, but these are not normal circumstances,” She explained. “Might I suggest the first thing we do is scan the cemetery and the bodies there. These people left a perfectly good city in a predominantly fertile and well-irrigated valley for no obvious reason. We need to know why. We must investigate all possibilities, especially disease.”

  Judging from the Sharks' reaction, no one liked the sound of that. Tom didn't blame them. There had been diseases on Earth. Smallpox remained viable even decades after the fact. A raging sickness was the last thing humanity needed right now.

  “Let's make that a priority,” he said sharing her concern. “Also, I'd like to know what made that crater. You lot got anything in your bag of tricks to figure out what caused it?” He scanned the scientists present.

  A slender, Asian man raised his hand and spoke up. “I am Jae-Sun Park, the team geologist,” he introduced himself. “I can conduct a survey to determine what might have created it. It does not appear to be the result of natural erosion or a meteor crater. I may not be able to give you any definitive answers, but I can rule a few things out.”

  “Thanks Doc,” Tom nodded, appreciating the honesty.

  “We'll also conduct a C14 scan of the remains,” Nordin added. “That will tell us just how long the bodies in the grave have been interred.”

  “Good.” Tom swept his gaze across the entire group, Sharks and squints alike. “No one goes anywhere alone. We've done a sweep, but this is a large place and as we all know by now, the ionisation levels on this planet plays silly buggers with our sensor equipment. You want to go for a walk to scan something pretty, you take a Shark. That is not negotiable.”

  “You heard the man. Jackson, put two on the wall there to keep a look out,” Derick stated, just as he spotted what looked like a staircase carved into the outer wall. At the top, where it ended it looked flat. “Belay that,” he snapped his fingers, changing tracks. “Richards, on the wall,” he ordered, hoping to keep her out of trouble with the medical staff. “Jag, you're with her.”

  “Gunny…”

  Ren opened her mouth to protest but the look he shot her brooked no argument. She didn't like being sidelined for sentry duty, but she owed him. She nodded obediently, before heading for the wall. “Aye Gunny. Jag?”

  “Right behind you, ahot.”

  “A what?” Ren stopped short, causing Jag to bump into her from behind.

  “It means sister. It slipped.”

  Their voices died off as Derick continued, half-listening to their conversation. With no protest from Ren (finally!), he'd almost pulled her back until she reacted to Jag and shot him an evil look. Yeah, she was fine. “Mayday, you're on the ground with us. Sharks, I want any movement radioed in, especially if it takes you off a cleared path. Understood?”

  “Hold up, Gunny,” Tom spoke up, not ready to dismiss his people yet. “What about the structures themselves?” he asked Dr. Nordin, looking the main entrance and the wall above up and down. “Are they sound? I'd like to use the main chamber as a base,” he said, ignoring the baleful eye the woman turned on him.

  “Scans put it in the affirmative,” Luke answered confidently, no traces of snark or juvenile behaviour in his voice this time. “They built these things strong, probably to withstand the storms.”

  “Alright then! You lot know your jobs, no larking about, smoke breaks or humping trees! Dismissed!” Tom's bark prompted everyone to disperse like he was the pebble thrown into a pond.

  “That leaves you and me to set up base camp,” Jules said, grabbing her pack off the ground. “Let's go see what we've got.”

  “Yes ma'am,” Tom threw her a snappy salute and waved her ahead of him like a gentlemen. Who was he kidding? He just liked the view.

  * * *

  The Slurry rippled.r />
  A thing it had not done in years. In the crucible of its confinement, deep in the dark places where no living thing save themselves dwelt, they felt the presence of the others far above them. The disturbance hummed through the rock, nudging them gently awake from their long, black sleep.

  As the sleepers awakened, each new quiver in the Slurry brought the promise of prey and a deep, aching hunger. In the rotting putrefaction of their previous victims, limbs uncurled, and bodies jerked as the sleepers shook off the effects of their long hibernation.

  A vibration echoed from the Giver, a song of need and demand, to bring her sustenance flowed through. Like drone bees, the creatures slithered through the Slurry to silently breach the surface.

  Freed from the surface, feelers tested the slurry-free air and detected the sweet scent of prey. Lots of prey. Enough to sustain them through another long sleep. One by one, the dark shapes scurried into the dark undergrowth and prepared to feed.

  XX

  Mulks

  Needing more supplies from the Firefly, Luke and his Shark escort trudged back to the ship. Approaching the shuttle, he was once again struck by the damaged it sustained during the sky crab assault. Thanking his lucky stars, Derick's lucky stars and whatever the hell it was Tom counted on, they'd survived not only the attack but also the flight to the valley. Her demolished state reminded him of some wrecks he'd inspected during his first year out of college.

  The analytical part of him, removed from the ache of Liv's death, was surprised she'd been the ONLY casualty.

  “Don't get too far ahead, yeah?” Shiny's elegantly clipped voice reminded.

  Slender, with exotic dark skin and almost his height, Shiny looked like she belonged on a catwalk somewhere instead of standing hip deep in thick grass, toting an automatic rifle. At her feet, Private Henry, the furry critter who'd adopted them, trundled along with the occasional 'naf!'

  “You know,” Luke paused long enough to let her catch up. “You didn't have to come back with me.”