by Marcus Sloss
CHAPTER 17
Desmond was waiting outside the trooper station. They had zero weapons, stunk to high heaven, and were pitiful looking. I guess he held back the fact they had been robbed of everything. My heart turned on and kicked against my chest when I saw how much good we were accomplishing by rescuing them. Since I was the boss, I got to order the other RVs to take the smelly folks on board.
Within ten minutes, we were cruising down the county road for our dirt trail. I focused on the drone that was covering the Xgate. The view was boring after a few minutes of complete inactivity. The Xgate drifted aimlessly across the Colorado landscape. My eyes darted to watch the road pass under us. The morning sunshine was bright in the spotted, cloudy sky. A deer jostled out of the woods. I was startled when the snap of rifles sounded. The crew were probably the best there was. They were the most experienced killing machines in recent memory. I was not surprised when the deer tumbled in a death spiral.
My radio crackled. “Bravo team deviating to collect the trophy,” Slister said.
“Nice shooting, Six out,” I replied into the radio. I muttered, “Maybe we can do some bonus later.”
Dedric’s hand shot into the air with a finger pointing up. “Ah-ha! You get so busy I forgot to ask my question. Loot for drivers. We will never be outside the vehicles. How do we figure into it?”
“You heard about that?”
“Pfft. You think you can bring up pay without it spreading like wildfire. The rumor mill is you are wanting to do fifty, fifty,” Dedric said with raised eyebrows. We hit our dirt road and the convoy turned. A few bounces later, he continued. “If that is the case you will get some upset people. My drivers included unless they are added in somehow. Not to mention, that ratio will make looters far richer than others because you will have to save money behind. Meaning the fifty percent you take from a raider will only allow, say, twenty percent to go to a farmer.”
Nancy came to the front to sit with her back against the center console. “Why not do an equal divide communism style to start?”
I rubbed my forehead. Willow stood behind me and patted my shoulder. Torrez was intently listening. Even Douglas’ drone started to drift.
“Droneanator eyes on the Xgate, please,” I said in a serious tone. “Eventually, I like capitalism. You do skilled work, you get paid more. You work extra you earn more. Right now there are so many unknown variables. My desire is to avoid drama, increase happiness, and improve the sense of community.”
“Why not hoard everything until you know? Start a bonus sheet. That way people get kudos for achievements with IOUs at a future date. Justification - unknown variables. Most of those will be solved in eight days, correct?” Willow asked.
Nancy scoffed while picking at a mud stain at the bottom of her fatigues. “I read those reports. They do not say how many people can cross. What the trading is like, or anything. It leaves me with more questions and a few answers.”
“We can make a small payment to everyone before we go. An equal across the board with IOUs for bonuses. If we get chickens, the IOUs may get cashed in for fresh eggs,” I said and Nancy groaned at my statement. “You are right though, Dedric. A fifty, fifty would cause farmers to become raiders. Else they would never benefit. Maybe a small bonus or something. Your concern is noted and will be addressed.”
“Thanks, Cap. Going to be nigh impossible to please everyone. Maybe holding off until you have more information is the best. I think most people are used to waiting for their first paycheck.” Dedric gave me a thumbs-up.
I sent Jacky the message to start building a few contingency plans while waiting for golden Xgate to start.
“So, Cap. Are you going to let everyone come? To the trade fair that is?” Nancy asked.
“Probably send a recon team, then adjust. Just because the gate goes blue to gold does not mean we are safe. We still could run into human bandits, those giant cockroach monsters, or even a buxen army staged here waiting for easy prey,” I said with a grimace. “Not to mention, I refuse to leave our base unguarded. It is the only thing keeping us alive. If we got raided while shopping, we would be screwed.”
Torrez cleared his throat for attention. “If we do it right, we can set up shopping trips. I know the night crew would want to go. There was what? Twenty two hours of peacetime? So, we won’t have to rush if there is unlimited in and out allowed. Assuming we have control of the lane there and back. Does the gate stop?”
“Reports say it did. I fear we’re going to get more and more excitement around this event. Personally, I love the coalescing around the goal of an alien shopping day. I will have the Mother Hens draft some outline so we can distribute a ‘here is our plan’ guide. I am sure a simple bit of information will calm many minds.”
The trailer bed was dragged away from the gate. I waved to Mitchell as the convoy entered the stronghold. We dropped off our guests and had to wait. The road was too narrow for a firetruck and an RV to pass side-by-side.
My feet thudded down the RV stairs and onto the mulch of sawed wood. The first building was almost done in the hour we had been gone. The second building was focusing on the roof to start. I liked this idea. We really needed roofs more than walls at the moment. I decided to collect some stones from the river. I noticed the sewage hose had extended overnight to well beyond the hydro pumps. Jevon probably sent a trip out with the drone coverage available. Good, because I wanted the nasty stuff way downstream. I picked a few rocks out of the water and awkwardly carried them. A box, bucket, or just about any container would have worked better. I glanced for the big salt trucks to not see any in our vehicle lot. A team was organizing all our cars, trucks, and trailers away from the mansion. I saw Gary drawing outlines in the grass with spray paint. Oh… We were getting a lot more buildings soon. Nice.
I stepped over to where a trail from the mansion to the woods was already killing grass. I plopped my stones down. When I spun to get more, I saw the bulldog following me. Well, I heard it throaty panting first. I was fine with having the nearly silent company. The dogs would be eating well with the parts of the deer humans normally avoided. When I returned with more stones I saw some kids playing with them.
Jill waved. I had avoided giving her an inspection earlier. She had long black hair, brown eyes, and a porcelain complexion. She was short, petite with minimal hips or chest, and still standoffish. She had an elven appearance with high cheekbones and a defined sharp jaw. Her face was very appealing while her body was not my type. Then again, I loved Perci before she put big tits on her frame. I gave her space while depositing my stones.
“If they want to help. A stone or wood chip path from the mansion to the woods would be great. Also, we have another mom who lost her husband yesterday. Can you help with her -” I said and Jill gave a confused smile at my abrupt halting.
I received an urgent alert. A video of a naked woman being ejected from the buxen gate was displayed. Well, shit. I sent out an emergency load up to my excursion team. I bolted for the RV and the poor bulldog desperately tried to keep up. Slister’s recon team was already peeling out the gate when I arrived at the RV. The bulldog bounded up the stairs behind me. I plopped into my seat and I spun to face the door.
The panting dog got on my nerves but I was not going to deal with the issue. The rest of the team filed into the enclosed RV with Dedric slamming the door. The woman was sprinting away from the Xgate for a nearby road.
“Douglas, let her see the drone. Lead her to a section of woods not far away. Dedric, the moment the fire station convoy is in, we are out,” I said while dialing up Bradley on my Gpad. The fire chief was startled when I forced his Gpad to answer. “Rush in. Slam that pedal without killing anyone. We have a freed human we need to rescue.”
“Explains the trucks screaming so close to me we screeched metal. At least we know you fight for the defenseless. Pushing the convoy faster.”
“Thanks Earl Fireannihilator. Six out.”
I bounced my right leg in agitati
on. Slister was going to get there far faster than we would. The trailer stayed out of the way ensuring the road was clear while we waited. A big fire truck had its sirens on, with the horn blaring. The new arrivals charged into our base. When the arriving convoy darted in completely, the other sped out. People were in shock at the activity. I was sure they would figure out the ‘what the why’ soon enough.
My convoy left Stronghold Mansion behind in our dust as we sped down the dirt road eager to get to the returning woman. The drone video showed the woman running barefoot down the road, ignoring the drone. I sighed. There was no audio output feature to tell her to slow down. Luckily, she was running the correct way for Slister and her vehicles. Her eyes kept darting over her shoulder as if someone was coming after her. The drone went high to watch the gate. It drifted slowly over the terrain without any disturbances.
A call came in from Mitchell. I put him into command.
“Earl fire guy wants to keep weapons. You okay with that?”
“Do you feel threatened?”
“Ha! No, they are greeting others with hugs and smiles. While some are even racing to the river to bathe to avoid the queue of the showers. They are ecstatic. I would -”
“Permission granted. I want those carrying to conduct live-fire accuracy testing. Assuming they pass the small arms or one-fifty range, then they may keep the weapons. Tell Bradley I have no problem with proficient people holding weapons,” I said, bobbing my head in agreement with my own statement. “Try to get him to not bother me until I get home. I have no problem with major stuff like this, Mitchell. Six over.”
“Wilco, Mitchell out.”
The panting dog was given some water while Dedric blasted the cool air. I twisted my face in concern. Our initial reaction was to save this woman. I should isolate her though.
“Nancy, thoughts on contamination?”
“She was mind-controlled, I would not say that, in and of itself, means she is infected. You would think we are going to be opening up Pandora’s box with potential infections due to the staggering number of planets we are suddenly linked to,” Nancy typed away furiously at her Gpad. She put a finger up. “This is one of the interesting topics I studied as information came in back when we had a Gnet with the rest of the world. Two amazing things happen when you cross a portal. Each world has a different air quality level. Fair expected.
“The first of the humans to go through a portal with monitoring systems found the air they ingested was that of earth, not that of the new world’s environment. This had to be wrong until they found a coating inside the air passageways. Whatever magic or science created these portals enabled them to add a layer of adaptive breathing.”
I grumbled and said, “That makes sense. I doubt that a volcano planet has the same oxygen ratios our planet does. This whole experiment or binding of worlds together would be useless if you died upon arrival to the other world.”
“It gets better. So, the University of Alabama did something remarkable. The citizens locked down their Xgate to do testing. They had a docile gate, and let’s be honest, a bunch of truck driving, gun-toting trigger happy Alabamians were eager to kill aliens. So the UA biology department said fuck trails. They sent a man dying of cancer through. No change. An old lady dying of the flu. Boom. Instantly cured. They -”
“Are you saying the portals kill infections but not mutations?”
“Uh… Yes, that about sums it up. At least for what we know for now. Back to your earlier point. I agree. The designers of these gates wanted interaction. They went to great lengths to ensure interaction occurred. I have to assume whatever life form was wise enough to build Xgates that can move without power or signs of acceleration would be wise enough to prevent breathing and infection problems.”
“Well, that is great news. I had figured as much.”
My Gpad pinged with an alert.
‘My vehicle will return with the woman. We will get her safely home. That way, you can continue the mission. Kellin will be in charge of Bravo Team in my absence.’ - sammy slister
‘Understood. Brief me when you have information.’ - cap
‘Wilco.’ - Slister MD
At least the name changes were easy to associate.
“Curious why you want to head into the portal over getting easy loot here?” Nancy asked with a sigh. “I trust you, Cap, either way. Go or stay.”
“Oh, we’re going. This whole planet linking system is to keep us engaged in survival. We know one party is nocturnal. The other just released a prisoner, and the third defeated. The moment we are home we will rotate to more looting. An hour out here, an hour inside the planet, and then scatter to loot. Two hours to get some vital intel is well worth it. I think our long-term survival relies on our willingness to explore,” I said, somewhat confidently. Was there some lingering doubt? Sure. Was I going to fret over it for hours? No. I wanted to see what was on the other side of this gate. “Torrez. Since you got the fastest legs capable of jumping onto the roof of the RV in a pinch, you’re holding our gate down.”
“Yes! Glorified button pusher… For real, that is fine. I figured as much. Do you want to get a briefing from the girl first?” Torrez asked. I glanced over to my friend who was watching his Gpad. “And she got in the truck.”
‘Package secured. RTB’ - Slister MD
‘RGR. Need field interrogation.’ - Cap
‘Typing while they talk, the recovered woman is named Suzanne. Seventeen years old, upset her family is dead. Slister stressed the importance of information. The buxen's actual name is unpronounceable. They freed her with a warning. Stepping onto their planet outside to use the gate for a transition to a different world will bring retaliation. They are not interested in trade until we can greet them after a golden gate with force. Slister is asking her to explain. The gates change. After the golden gates, the next blue will be a random new set of planets. They said the mind controllers fight the buxen. The mind controllers fight everything unprepared or weaker, and they fight whenever possible as part of their dwindling society. In exchange for not interfering with their revenge I… She was freed. She has no recollection from when under the mind controllers’ power. She thought she was dead, only to be freed by the buxen. Slister is putting her under. And she is down. Hope this helps, Cap.’ - Recon Reggie
I sent the message out on the command channel. I gave everyone a moment to digest the information. My eyes shifted to a brewing storm to the northwest. We had been fortunate to avoid rains so far. That may not hold up. Yup, the Gtower was expecting a rainstorm in twelve hours now. Well, darn. An electric truck going over a hundred flew down the road in a blur. Slister’s driver honked the horn in a friendly greeting. The rest of Bravo Team waited for the convoy. They tucked into the back and on we went.
“Douglas, is this your best drone that is airborne?” I asked while the convoy turned left down a side road.
The gate so far had meandered through openings between trees. The few places where trees or boulders were in the way the obstacles were passed through the gate without removal or destruction. I had no reasonable explanation. Nor did anyone else. It was another mystery of how it worked; like the gates themselves.
“No, the other drone is a DB-320. It has infrared. I was -”
“Wait. I thought we did not -”
“Sir. We have a better drone,” Douglas said.
“Got it. Tell Willow where it is so she can prep it.”
The young man removed his goggles, went to the back bedroom, opened a case, and returned with a new drone he set on the table. A few clicks later, he gave me a thumbs up. Well, you learn something new every day. Schooled by a kid. I was not going to grumble. At least he knew his stuff.
The paved road turned into a field. Xgate 232 towered a few thousand feet away. The lead RV continued forward without concern. I saw the upper atmosphere of the flapion planet. It was so brooding with despair. While I wouldn’t mind giving them a beating I did not think they would have stuff for our plan
et on theirs. The convoy halted as RV1 went forward to get eyes. They jumped a small berm with a jostle that I bet Mclain was hollering to his driver about. Even Dedric winced. A few minutes later, the large RV looked small against the construct.
“Mclain, what do you see?” I asked RV1.
“The deer army is on their side, I think they expected us to arrive. They are pointing a lot but staying calm. There is a lot of artillery moving with the gate on their side. Oh neat, they can push over trees with those sleds. A whole new way of making roads. I got Kryzon up top waving. Rotating to the flapion side. Empty... Correction they blend in well. We spooked a few scouts; they did not want a fight though. The puroon side is sunny. No sign of hostiles. Rotating for a second pass. The empty side is empty. The buxen are still unafraid. I cannot see the flapions this time. Puroon portal is empty at -”
“Six to convoy, we are a go.”
The rest of the convoy spread out. Gunners were at the ready above RV, or in position over the truck beds. Nancy was up top of our RV catching the drone. The group of vehicles slowed as we bounced the berm RV1 shot off of. Our convoy sped up over the rough rocky terrain. I wish I could write the designer or leave a review of how amazing the stability of this suspension was. I could see clearly into the flapion world now. I shuddered at the gloomy darkness. No thanks. We proceeded to the puroon gate with haste.
The convoy lined up with RV1 to my left. Torrez burst out of the door that Willow closed in his wake. His legs sent clods of earth flying behind him. You could see his mechanical toes curled for traction. The man slowed before crossing, he gave a slight low jump so only the top half of his torso touched the gate, and was distorted into the portal. A fraction of a second later, he was on the other side. He landed with precision. I watched Torrez spin, lunge forward, and disappear. Xgate 232 slammed into the ground with a loud thud. The convoy did not need an order. Into the breach, we charged.
Dedric pushed the accelerators until the blue light smacked us in the face. The moment was briefly disorienting. I saw nothing but a blue shine for a second and then orange sunlight caused me to squint my eyes. Dedric jerked the RV to the right, we drove a hundred meters or so, and he slammed on the brakes. The fifteen trucks and two other RVs transitioned smoothly to complete our aggressive posture. Willow launched Douglas’ fresh drone which forced me to leave my bucket seat. The video screen across from the RV table was directly broadcasting the feed. Our Gpads were not synced together here, so we had to use old school wifi.
