by Pam Uphoff
Crossing the gully was . . . interesting.
"That's going to be quite an angle between the ute and the trailer. Ogly? Come down here, in case I have to go help them. And . . . well, everyone needs to be strapped in. I have been known to roll this critter."
Ogly handed the BFG to Paer and with one foot and both hands had no trouble getting down. And as small as the crawler was, no trouble hopping to the driving deck and strapping into the navigator's seat.
Paer was deploying straps over the kids, so Ebsa turned his attention to the ute as it dived over the edge.
The coupling between ute and trailer proved to be quite strong enough for them to lever each other around. The ute lost traction until the wheels of the trailer crossed the lip of the down ramp. Then it was all a matter of control, with enough forward speed to get up the other side before the rear wheels again lost traction and the whole thing ground to a halt.
Yeahza cursed over the radio.
"Oof. All right. Yeaza, we'll come give the trailer a friendly nudge. Brace yourself and be ready to go."
"Shit. You're going to add to the dents in this thing." Ogly braced himself as Ebsa cantilevered them over the lip. They tilted and plunged down the ramp. Scraped the forward under carriage, drove on and up the slope taking aim at the trailer.
Ebsa threw out the soft shield, anchored it to the crawler frame and rammed the back of the trailer. The spell cushioned the impact, and gave the trailer time to react, to start moving before actual contact was made, left a slick layer so the trailer could tilt, lift, shift, and get jerked forward as the ute gained traction and hauled it over the lip.
Ebsa didn't even try to follow it. He let the crawler roll back to the flat bottom and backed as far as possible.
"You clear Yeahza? I need at least thirty meters, and preferably more so I don't hit you."
"Right. I'll turn onto the highway before I stop to check connections and see what you've done to Directorate property. We're clear now."
Ebsa floored the accelerator all the way up and managed to flop over the lip.
He drove sedately around to the "highway" and parked behind the trailer.
Yeahza was out and eyeing the rear of the trailer.
"Well, it's only a little bent."
Ebsa nodded. "They build them tough. Guess they've seen crazy people before. If we ever do that again, I'll go first and winch you the rest of the way up."
"Yeah. Better yet, we explain to the bulldozer crew what 'negotiable by wheeled field vehicles' actually means."
"That would work too." Ebsa climbed back aboard the crawler and found Ogly in the driver's seat.
"And to think I was worried about your weapons qualifications." Ogly shook his head. "Not to mention that I slept half the day, so why don't you take a break."
Ollie turned his head stiffly, hands still gripping the arms of the passenger seat. "And clean up those smelly children."
Ebsa grinned. "What? They didn't drop the shield to piss? No surprise there."
"I think it's a good idea." Paer released her restraints. "I'll fab some clean clothes, while you introduce them to the concept of the shower."
The shower proved to be familiar tech, and they both stripped and jumped in. Much soap was applied. Then warm air and towels. Fluffy soft jammies, meat cubes, and into bed. Once they realized there were high bunks, they gleefully insisted on them.
Ebsa made a more elaborate dinner than meat cubes for everyone, Paer washed the kid's clothes and the sheets they'd, umm, added aroma to. Ebsa hit the shower himself, then stretched out in bed. Another couple of hours to the base. He dozed off and on. The sunset turned the sky red behind him.
Ebsa woke fully when Ogly started cursing.
"They've got bugs swarming."
Ebsa rolled out of bed and stepped up to the driving deck. Ogly must have been chatting with someone. The radio channel was still open even though there was no one talking to them at the moment. He could hear gunfire in the background.
And closer to the mike, Wxxo's voice. "Is that . . . a rat?"
Ebsa and Ogly exchanged glances.
"We're a quarter of an hour out, yet. Yeahza's going as fast as he dares." Ogly beat his fist on the steering wheel. "They don't have a 20mm there. And from what I heard, even a 12mm doesn't work really well."
"Depends on the ammo. We'll roll into camp loaded and ready . . . Ogly, the wine I gave you was Comet Fall Joy Juice. Your leg is probably healed enough to walk on. I don't know if it's up to the really rough stuff."
"I wondered about that. Didn't test it though. May have to now."
Ebsa pushed back and headed down. "I'll get everything loaded, and take the crow’s nest."
The crawler jolted.
He spun and watched a ball of flame rising above . . . whatever had just exploded in the base.
Chapter Ten
20 Jumada 1408
Main Camp, World X 22845
Thirty-six rounds left. Half explosive.
Ebsa braced himself in the crow’s nest, and watched Vee race to open the gate. Movement to the left. Large. White. He snugged into the gun. Recoil spell, ear protector spell. Aiming . . . talent. He squeezed the trigger. The rat convulsed and thrashed.
:: Moving! :: Ogly warned him, and the crawler ground forward just behind the trailer.
Ebsa turned, keeping an eye on Vee as he closed the gate and galloped for the crawler door. Yeahza had kept going, heading for the double row of offices and domiciles, where hopefully the majority of the people had taken refuge.
Vee jumped aboard and the crawler rolled down the gravel road.
The mess tent was . . . gone. From the pattern of debris, the explosion must have centered there.
"There's nothing that explosive there." Ebsa bit his lip. Rye and Woofie would have been there. Unless they finished early and forted up in the barracks.
There were two burned carcasses of giant rats. Still smoking a bit.
Rats moving ahead. Rats being held off from the core of the base . . . barely.
Ebsa took aim and started dropping them as he spotted them. Ogly turned the crawler and drove slowly around the perimeter of the office and housing block. The ute and trailer were stopped halfway down the center street.
Ebsa shot the rat that leaped up onto the trailer. Nothing else moving. Ogly drove on.
"Ebsa, right!"
Ebsa turned, raising his left hand, slashed the rat reaching for him, mouth wide . . . He ducked down the hatch to catch his breath and let the remains slide off. "That's seven. Anything coherent on the radio? Where do they need us?"
"East side!" Iqgu's voice yelled through the radio. Ogly must have patched into the Team comm net.
Ogly put it in reverse. "Crap, I hate backing up. I can't see a . . . "
A jolt and squeal. Ebsa spotted a rat limping off, considered his ammo and let it go. As they cleared a building, he shot three as they turned toward the vehicle.
Now he spotted the Action Team. Up on the roofs, trying to keep the rats away from the buildings.
A babble of voices from the radio, mostly about how they wanted "one of those." Olgy backed further, then turned and moved forward. "Is everyone accounted for?"
Ebsa couldn't hear the details, but it sounded like "mostly" was a reasonable summary. But "dead" was in there too. He shut down his emotions and concentrated on rats. He'd run out of live ones.
"Ogly? See if anyone can spot rats."
No answer.
Wxxo came on. "I think we're out of rats. I suppose we'd better get back to killing bugs."
Ogly told him to save his ammo. "We've got poison that works pretty good. Keep everyone inside and we'll spread it around."
"Good. Because we're pretty well down to clubbing the damned roaches."
Ebsa dropped down from the hatch and got to work making bug bombs.
Paer jittered, chewing fingernails. "It sounds like they need help in the clinic."
Professor Ollie nodded. "Toss some bo
mbs so we can move safely between buildings, and I'll get out of your way as well."
And faintly from the radio, "I'm coming!" from Yeahza.
Ebsa tossed the first bombs, then Paer tossed a last look at the little elves in the bunk, and headed out, with Professor Ollie on her heels. Yeahza galloped past them and started grabbing bug bombs. Vee loaded bird shot and stepped out to look around.
With a few pauses to let the Teamers on all the roofs move out of the way, they coated the block with bug poison, and then spiraled out until they had everything inside the fence covered and a wide strip beyond.
They backed carefully into the center street.
Ebsa backed down the ladder. He gave what he hoped was a reassuring wave to the kids, then washed all the insecticide off himself—there'd been no way to avoid all the drifting powder—then applied himself to the fab for food.
The base level was getting low. I've only got one refill . . . tomorrow is either going to have to be a massive reorder day, or more sensibly, a get the hell out of here day.
"Ebsa?" Ogly looked down from the driving deck. "It sounds like they've got a bunch of critical burn victims at the aid station."
"Oh. Time to make wine." Ebsa turned back to the fab. What the hell, it's not like I don't have demerits all over the shop anyway. What's a charge of massive distribution of an illegal substance going to hurt?
The aid station was overflowing, literally, with patients in three other office buildings and a line out the door.
Ebsa bit his lip. Then raised his voice. "I have Comet Fall Joy Juice. It will cure you. You've all heard about the aphrodisiacs and fertility aids? They don't compel behavior, so grit your teeth and behave. I'll leave one bottle out here, for you with non-life threatening injuries. Take a very small sip ONLY IF YOU WANT TO."
Paer showed up at his elbow, and took two of the bottles. "Haas, take two over to building four, I'll get building three. Ebsa? Bad Boy. Thank the One! Go make more."
Ebsa handed over two more and then pointed at Iqgu, who was trying to ignore the scorch down his shoulder and back. "Take this one. You're in charge out here. I'll go make more."
He bolted back to the crawler. Rye and Woofie. I'm afraid to ask. Damn, damn, damn, they're so young! Please, please don't be dead.
He gave the little elves a hug and made more bottles of wine. Doped them up and handed them out to the bright-eyed giggling semi-drunk acting volunteers at the door.
Ogly shook his head. "I had barely half a glass, and felt like that."
He gimped over to the fab. "That's the code, eh? I'll take over here."
"One more bottle for the critically burned, please?" Dr. Itchy grinned through the door. "Woo! That's how I survived that spider bite, isn't it?"
"Yep." Ebsa anointed one and handed it out. Refilled his little vial, and anointed the next two. Refilled his vial and tucked it back into his belt. "Just pour a bit back and forth. It spreads quickly."
He checked the kids. Worried. Fighting off sleep. He hugged them, awkwardly patted them, tucked them in, and watched them sag down and drift off. Poor kids. Can't even understand what's going on.
Buildings three and four held the critically injured. Offices of some sort, now with makeshift beds and Paer crying silently beside a small figure covered in gauze like a patchwork mummy. Ebsa froze. The mummy was breathing in small gasps. He forced himself to relax and walked closer.
Paer looked up and wiped her cheeks. "Ryej. I had to turn off her pain receptors and force a sleep spell on her. Even with the wine . . . I don't think I can save her. Wfne is nearly as bad. They were the closest to the explosion. We've got a couple dozen bad burns and twice that with minor burns. And the ants and roaches before the explosion, and then the rats came . . . "
"What exploded?"
"Rye was carrying about ten kilos of flour from the fab back to the kitchen. A couple of rats ran into the tent. She threw the flour at them and ran. Woofie said he was frying something, and ran without turning it off. But even if it had caught fire, it couldn't cause that size of explosion." She gulped. "Ocho said it was the flour. Just like a fuel-air explosion, he said."
Ebsa winced. "Fabbed flour is easy to get too fine . . . In this dry baking heat . . . and the fans, if some of the flour hit a fan it would have sent a fine powder everywhere."
Paer grunted to her feet. "And the tent canvas caught fire, as it was shredded and blown all over the place. All the . . . probably hopeless cases are in here. Dr. Atly's in surgery aided by one of the directorate scientists who's had enough medical experience to be useful. Haad and I are trying to deal with all the non-surgical issues. We're just trying to keep everyone alive until help comes. Wxxo sent for EMTs and ambulances. And . . . I can't even sit with her." She looked around the room. "They've all had the Joy Juice. They're all sleeping and in no pain, and that's the limit of what I can do for them."
She hooked his arm and led him outside, and around to the next building. Twice as many patients, but mostly awake and aware. Paer took his wine bottle and made the rounds, doling it out to them all. "Last dose for a while guys. Sleep if you can."
Then to building six, which had people standing around outside, chatting while keeping their eyes moving and looking around.
"If you're feeling well enough, head for your own beds."
Paer glanced inside and repeated that. Then led him back to the aid station.
A short line of patients. Paer straightened her shoulders and got to work.
Ebsa headed back to the crawler. Quiet and empty of everyone but the elf kids.
Back outside, to see Wxxo headed his way, Ocho, and Iqgu on his heels.
"C'mon. We need to talk." Wxxo turned to his office and they all sat. Weary. Done.
"Well." Wxxo scrubbed his face. "The explosion took out the radio antennae or something. I'm not getting anything on the radio from the soldiers on the gate. So I've sent a man for the army, and for transport for the injured. But I haven't heard back yet . . . and now that I've got the time, I'm worried about it."
Ebsa bit his lip, and glanced at Ocho. "Power and water?"
"We're good there. The water level's so high in the caverns, the archaeologists had to go back to working the surface ruins yesterday. Which probably explains why we're getting the critters up here. Food . . . well, we'll be out of here soon enough."
Wxxo nodded. "What we need to know is that there isn't a problem with the gate. If they were attacked . . . surely they wouldn't close it without checking on us?"
Ebsa paused. "Can they close it? I thought they'd need someone from Disco . . . "
"It was an experiment. After that mess with the Helaos, Disco came up with a way for us to collapse a gate. We got the first experimental version of it."
"Oh." Ebsa thought about the likely response to swarms of cockroaches. Ants that could snip off body parts. Rats the size of elephants. "Well. Perhaps we'd better go see. Then we'll know . . . if we can pack up and leave or if we're marooned. For a short while. Because with Paer here, they'll come looking for us even sooner than they might have otherwise."
Iqgu showed teeth. "All we have to do is stay alive long enough. We're getting low on ammo. And how about food?"
"Oh. We'd better go find out fast. There are fabs on the crawler and the trailer. But refills for them? I'll dig through the debris at the mess tent, and see what I can salvage. So . . . shall we take the crawler? Or something smaller?"
"Smaller." Wxxo sat up. "I'll drive, and throw my weight around to get the injured evacced. I'll need a shooter."
A ute was wrecked halfway to the gate. Bloodstains inside and out.
The gate area was splashed with blood and the gnawed bones of three rats.
The gate itself was gone.
Chapter Eleven
21 Jumada 1408
Gate Area, World X 22845
Ebsa looked at the empty hoop of metal. Stomach knotted. "Damn. And me with no good recipes for giant rat."
Wxxo rubbed his face,
too tired to even reply.
"Sorry. Not funny. Let's get back, and see how the patients are doing. As soon as it's light, I'll see what I can salvage." He steered the man back to the ute. "The fab and vendo refills were behind the wall, and may be all right."
Wxxo sighed. "Right."
"Relax for a bit. Center yourself. You're going to be the strong confident leader as soon as we drive back into the camp."
"One! I don't believe this blew up so fast."
"I think it's seasonal. On the coast, I think they spent a great deal of time underground. I don't know if the recent rains chased them out, or if they came out to eat the vegetation. But the first surveys had a distinct lack of these things, so I think they'll go away." Ebsa thought that over. "I hope they'll go away."
"Me too." Wxxo looked over at him. "Is it going to come down to eating rats?"
"Might." Ebsa paused. If Ra'd's whole family could do it . . . "Look, Paer and I know people . . . we know Nighthawk, Wolfson's daughter. I've got a dimensional bubble she gave me. If all else fails, we all climb in and check every few seconds to see what's happening. For as long as necessary. In fact, it might be a good idea to bubble up the worst wounded right now."
"Really . . . that's . . . useful."
Ebsa drove up to the camp barrier and hopped out, taking a quick look around before he opened the gate. Wxxo shifted over and drove through. Ebsa closed the gate behind him.
"Umm . . . did Ogly or Yeahza happen to mention that we rescued a couple of elf children from the underground museum?"
Wxxo stalled the ute. Restarted it. "You have a fascinating life. The next time you show up in mine, I may run away. Screaming."
"Yeah, not a bad idea."
Wxxo's announcement of their being marooned was met with two seconds of silence, then deafening outrage.
Ebsa spotted Paer and pointed to the side. Wiggled through the press of people. Only eighty of them. Everyone else is dead or injured. Or on guard duty.
