“No. No farms in that area. It's too big to be an air car. Very big. And I noticed something.” He motioned for them to follow. He went over to the tallest tree and scaled it quickly. When he got as high as he could he cleared the brush around him so he could see.
“If you think I'm going up there you're nuts,” the bear growled, looking up from the base of the tree.
“Wouldn't dream of it. At least while I'm up here too,” Jethro said lifting the binoculars to his eyes and then scanning the line. “Yeah. Thought so,” he breathed, seeing what he'd expected. He climbed down and then handed the grizzly the binoculars. “Scar. Looks like a crash scar. A big one. Too big for an air car.”
“Oh?” The bear played back the recording and then grunted. “And from the look of it, it's not that old. I don't see much growth. From the looks of things there was a fire centered right where that metal is. Good call.”
“Could it be an old crash?” Sergei asked.
“No. All the signs are fresh,” the bear said handing the binoculars back. “No it's recent all right. A year or so at any rate. I think we need to detour to check it out.”
“Great. Thanks a heap ole buddy, ole pal, ole friend,” Sergei said sarcastically as he slapped the panther on his ruck.
“Sure. But I think you’re not going to complain when you see what I think we'll see.”
“And what's that?” the Liger asked as the moved out.
“You'll see,” Jethro said with an ear flick of humor. “I don't wan to spoil the surprise.”
“Veeeeryyy funny. Regular laugh a minute,” the Liger grumbled.
...*...*...*...*...
Valenko pulled a branch to one side and then grunted. Slowly he let the branch fall back. “You knew it was there,” Jethro breathed.
“Yeah, but I had to see it with my own eyes,” the grizzly said shaking his head. “Sensors can be fooled.”
“Yeah I know. I remember what gunny said. Trust your eyes above all else. So what now? Knock and see if someone's home?”
“Maybe,” the bear grunted. He personally didn't like that idea. “You're right, it's definitely fresh. Which means within a year or two. Maybe two and a half or three but that's pushing it. The only ships to have visited in that time are the pirates, Destiny, and us.”
“And since Destiny didn't lose a shuttle...”
“Yeah I know. Let me think,” the bear sighed softly. After a moment he shook his massive head back and forth. “Every time I think about it, I keep thinking they'd have been picked up. The pirates had plenty of time.”
“If they knew they went down in one piece. If the shuttle radioed a mayday.”
“And if they care about their people like we do,” Hurranna said sniffing the air.
“Got something?” Jethro asked. He started taking his gear off.
“Old. Not enough to go off though,” she said.
“What are you up to?” the bear asked.
“Someone's got to check it out. I can do it cloaked.”
“Yeah. But...”
“Got a better idea?” Jethro asked, still pulling his boots off.
“Actually, I do,” Hurranna said. She dropped her ruck and looked up. She gathered herself and sprang into the trees.
“What is she doing?” Jethro asked, pausing. He saw her move from one tree to the next, pausing to check the shuttle for signs of life.
“Playing Tarzan,” Valenko sighed shaking his head.
“Oh.”
They watched as the lynx made her way along the trees. She crept across a vine bridge, then when she was on the other side paused and half crawled downward. She took a long look at something then came back up to where she could see them. She motioned with her hands, object and then motioned explosion. Valenko grimly nodded.
“Traps.”
“Yeah. I'd have passed that spot,” Jethro breathed. It was the easiest way to the fallen shuttle craft. He remembered what he'd been taught in sniper school, easy paths are likely booby trapped.
“And you'd have set the thing off,” the bear growled. He watched as the lynx took it even slower, making sure of her every move and surroundings before moving on.
When the local birds were scared into flight she froze. She paused looking around, eyes wide. Jethro caught sight of a local predator chasing a deer creature and pointed. She looked over her shoulder to him. He pointed to his eyes and then teeth and then to the predator. She looked, then he saw her body relax almost explosively. She nodded and continued.
As she moved out of sight they carefully moved the screening branch again. “Can't use the radio or sensors. I don't want to let them know,” the bear breathed.
“Exactly,” the leopard said, resting on a limb above them. Jethro looked up to see the sniper watching the lynx through his scope. He was covering his team mate. He should have thought of that.
“She's about run out of high road,” Letanga breathed. “No, no don't do it girl.” He grimaced as she tugged on a vine and then swung out. When the vine reached it's apex she dropped onto the roof of the shuttle.
“Sure. Smart. But how do you get back? Did you stop to think of that?” the bear growled shaking his head.
“She'll think of something. Or one of us can go,” Letanga said. He watched as she peeked in the windows and then looked up and shook her head. She went to the open hatch and flipped down from above and in. She crouched in the doorway, pulling her pistol, and then moving inside.
“I've got a funny feeling no one is home,” Jethro said watching things.
“Yeah, I'd say you're right. Which makes me wonder. Are they dead or...”
“Someone survived. The trap,” Jethro pointed out.
“Ah yes,” the bear nodded. “Yes. Interesting that.” He watched the shuttle intently.
“What the hell’s going on?” Sergei said from the base of the tree. The bear grimaced but didn't look down.
“Shut up and stop shaking the tree. It's bad enough with Valenko up here. I don't think it can take any more,” Jethro growled glancing down. “Hurranna got to the shuttle. She's checking it now.”
“She's out,” Letanga breathed. Jethro returned his attention to the lynx. She motioned no one home. Then watch and a question.
“Good question,” the bear growled. “Did they get picked up or what?”
“I've got a feeling they didn't.”
“What, the raids?” the bear asked.
“Sure? Why not. They probably decided to hunker down somewhere and wait for rescue. When that didn't happen they blew through any emergency rations they had then had to improvise.”
“Makes sense boss,” Letanga said. “And raiding a farmstead is risky, but it's got concentrated food and materials there. Most likely they tried sneaking in and taking what they wanted at first, but then got cocky and fell into old patterns of looting and plundering. If it had no survivors they were golden. Dead men tell no tales.”
“True,” the bear nodded. “I wonder if they were planning on trying to get a radio in case their people came back?” He shook his head and then looked at the rather sheepish and impatient cat on the shuttle.
“My question is, how do we get her out of there?” Jethro said.
“I'll go,” Letanga said. He passed down his rifle and then ran along the tree limb on all fours. When he got out as far as it would bend he leapt to one on another tree. He caught the branch but it snapped as it bent. He fell in a tangled rustle of snapping branches until he caught a vine. Carefully he swung back and forth until he got to the tree trunk then latched onto it. He shook his hand for a moment then continued on. Every once in a while he would pause to sniff the air and tree to smell out the lynx's path.
“Great.”
“Think he'll get her out?” Jethro asked.
“Yeah,” the bear dropped to the ground near Sergei. “We need to disable the trap and see if there are more.”
“Trap?” Sergei asked.
“Bomb. Near a tree,” Jethro said, turning to loo
k at him and then back to the leopard.
“We should blow it,” Sergei growled.
“Disable it,” Schultz growled. “Set it off and they will know someone was here.”
“And if we try to disable it, we may hit an anti-tamper device and have it blow in our faces. SOP is to blow it in place if you can't go around.”
“Which we're not sure if we can,” the bear sighed. It was a dilemma, if they blew it then they were letting everyone in the area know something was going on here, but if they played with it they invited it going off in their faces anyway.
“The deer,” Jethro said shaking his head as the thought came to him.
“Deer?”
“Local. Think about it. Why didn't it set the bomb off?”
“Trip line?”
“Maybe. Then again, maybe not. We need another look.”
“Wait until Hurranna gets back. Pull her feed and see,” the bear said looking over to Sergei, their resident bomb expert.
“Good idea,” the Liger nodded. “Cause I ain't playing Tarzan. I don't think any of these trees would support me. Let alone the vines.”
“Point. I was meaning to put you on a diet. Now I've got the perfect excuse,” the bear said with a grin.
“Funny boss. Really funny.”
...*...*...*...*...
“You know, we could do a stampede,” Sergei said as the crew ate a quick meal.
“Sure. You first,” Hurranna said with a laugh, dropping down from above. “Miss me?” she said impishly.
“Yeah, like a hole in the head,” the Liger said shaking his massive head.
“Yeah you've got enough of those already,” she grinned at him. He sighed a long suffering sigh then turned to the bear.
“You were saying?” the bear rumbled.
“I was saying, catch a couple wild critters, tie some branches to them and then send them off down that trail. Let them trip the traps.”
“Ouch,” Ox said shaking his head.
“What? Sucks to be them yeah. But better one of them than us,” Sergei said. “Besides, think of the barbeque we could have afterward,” he grinned suddenly at the thought.
“Just what I want, picking splinters and shrapnel out of my teeth,” Jethro said with a laugh.
“Bitch, bitch. You need more iron in your diet anyway. Doc Standish said so.”
Jethro snorted and opened his mouth for a retort but Ox got them back on track.
“And if it wants to go the wrong way?” Ox asked.
“Oh, I think we can give it the right... incentive,” the Liger growled menacingly, showing teeth and then stretching out his claws.
“Yeah. We could at that,” the bear rumbled a laugh.
“Don't bother,” Hurranna said shaking her head. “I checked it out. Even dumped her log.” She held up a portable scanner and then handed it to the bear. “She's a pirate all right. Twelve survived. They stripped out everything useful.”
“How...”
“They left a note. It's in German. My toot translated it. I picked up at least twelve different smells as well. The scents were faded though. Last ones were there about a week or so ago.”
“Okay...”
“It said they are...”
“Going to get set up on high ground and try to get a radio,” the bear finished, scanning her records. He'd started with the newest record of course.
“Bingo.”
“Which tells us they didn't come down with one. Or it got Dxed in the crash,” Ox rumbled. “I haven't found any anomalous radio or laser transmissions.”
“Dx'd?”
“Destroyed,” Schultz replied to the lynx. “Better finish your report and then eat fast.”
“Right. Traps along that trail. Trip wire, some sensor thing and a couple pressure pads I think. Most were made from local materials. Branches, dead falls, etc. The stuff we were taught guerilla's use. I could see some of it from the trees.”
“I did as well,” the leopard said, nodding confirmation.
“They don't want anyone there huh?”
“But they took out comfort items. Chairs, fabric from the destroyed seats, bits of wire...”
“Hmmm... which means they have been here a while,” Sergei grunted.
“It tells us more than that. It leaves a trail of bread crumbs to follow. They have to use passable terrain to move that after all. Terrain that will lead us right to their base,” Schultz growled. They looked at the gunny and then slowly nodded. Valenko's eyes lit at that.
Chapter 24
Schultz looked up at the thundering falls and whistled softly.
“Nice. I'd like one in my back yard,” Miles said looking around.
“If the brass picks this spot you'll get your wish,” Valenko said looking around. “This is the spot. Hunker down and wait. He turned to Jethro and Letanga. “Not you two.” They froze and looked up to the bear.
“Go set up overwatch positions. I don't like camping in an exposed place.”
“Yes sir,” Letanga said, shouldering his ruck back on and hefting his sniper rifle. He moved off to a nearby tall tree.
“Think there will be trouble?” Jethro asked looking around.
“No idea. I just want to be prepared. Get going,” the bear said turning away.
“Right,” the panther said, jogging as he left without a backwards glance.
...*...*...*...*...
Two hours later Letanga signaled. “We've got a group of riders coming up the trail hell for leather ensign. They are heavily armed.”
“Right, that's the posse,” Valenko nodded. He looked around. “Company's coming. Let’s stay frosty.”
The riders crested the hill and entered the clearing. They pulled up at the sight of the marines. A few took out rifles from scabbards attached to their saddles.
“Easy there folks,” Valenko growled. “We're marines.”
“Yeah? You look like whatever the hell's killing the folks around here.”
“And how do you know that?” Hurranna snarled. “FYI we just got here,” she grimaced shooting a disgusted look to the others. “Ain't been feet dry a day and we're already getting flack.”
“How do we know that?” a man snarled. Valenko looked at the tin star the man was wearing.
“Are you sheriff Jessup?”
“Yeah,” the sheriff nodded, sitting back in the saddle. He pushed the brim of his hat up. “Ya'll ain’t from around these parts.”
“No. Nor are you from what we were told,” Valenko said with a shrug. “As I said before, we're Federation Marines. We were supposed to be looking for a new site to place a training base. But your leaders asked us to give you a hand.”
“That'd be Tommy I take it?”
“No sir. Mr. Seth Kessel.”
“Ah,” the sheriff looked around. “They are all right boys.” The rear guard came riding up. “Good. 'Bout time you caught up.”
“I thought I saw something in the trees back there.”
“Maybe you did. If you did I'll have to have a talk with Letanga. He's getting sloppy,” the bear growled. “I'm curious though. We were told to meet you here. Why didn't you know?”
“You're Ensign Valenko?” the Sheriff asked.
“Yes.”
“Ah. Now I know.” He shrugged and then spat. “No one ever told us you were Neo’s.”
“Got a problem with Neo's?” Sergei asked, showing his fangs. The horses danced away from the predator in their midst.
“Nope,” the sheriff said shaking his head. He kept shooting sidelong looks at the big cat as he got his mount under control.
“Least not when your packing serious heat like what you've got,” one of the posse muttered.
“What gives?” Chirby asked looking around. “We all have a mission to complete. It's the same mission.”
“Yeah well, we've got something killing people,” the sheriff said shaking his head. “Our friends and neighbors. This here is all the able bodied I can round up. Rest are out planting or de
ad.”
“I'm telling you it's a Dilgarth. One of those raptors or a pack of them,” a man said looking around nervously.
“Ain't been one of them seen for nigh on a hundred years Yuli, shut your yap and keep frosty,” another man said giving the nervous one a dirty look.
“Another attack?” Valenko asked.
The sheriff got off his horse and led it to the stream. The others in the posse did as well. He handed the reins to another man and then went over to Valenko and Schultz.
“Yeah. Another attack. This time we've got a survivor.”
“Oh?” Valenko asked.
“Kid. My nephew actually,” he grimaced. “He's four. He hid in the basement. Got out the storm shelter door when they set fire to the place.” He shook his head.
“Monsters of the two legged variety?” Schultz asked dryly. The sheriff nodded.
“Yeah, he swears he heard voices talking. He couldn't understand them though. They got his sister. My brother and his wife were dead.” The sheriff grimaced. “The fire did a number on them but we got Harry the undertaker a county over here. He was visiting his sister. He checked the bodies. Both had been shot,” the sheriff scowled and spat. From the sound of what was left out there was more to it than that.
“I take it that isn't all?” the bear asked.
“Yeah.” The sheriff got a dark look on his face. He spat a wad again. “Sharon had been raped before she'd been killed.”
“Oh.”
“So... your niece is out there?”
“I can hope. For her sake I'm not sure if I should be hoping she's alive or that she had a quick death,” the sheriff said. He hunkered down in the dirt and pulled out a boot knife.
“They're pirates you know that right?”
“They are?” the posse turned to the bear. “You some expert? Psychic or somethin' or other?”
“No. but we found their crash site yesterday about thirty clicks that a way,” He pointed to the shuttle crash. “Eighteen months old or there abouts. From their records twelve survivors.”
“Crap,” the sheriff rubbed his jaw. “Dang. Blast it. We ain't got the...”
“We'll get it done sheriff,” the gunny growled, patting his rifle.
The sheriff gave him a long look then checked each of the others out. He nodded after a moment, liking what he saw. “All right then. You've got the stones. We'll split the area with you.” He knelt.
Jethro Goes to War (Wandering Engineer Jethro's tale) Page 39
