‘You ain’t even here on contract Paul. Your only here because of that pretty thing you call a wife, Sara. She’s the one that has the contract and lucky for us too. All kidding aside, we’re pretty lucky to have you here too.’
The robotic dumpster behind him came to life as Anton logged onto it with his Hive-Tab. Monitoring the cycle ramp controls before him, a Hive-Tab shared portion of Anton’s mind knew the dumpster had floated over and was ready to spill into the SilFuser. Slowly he began sifting the sand into the breach.
‘We won’t lose much time anyway with the Hive-Tab robotics since they can run most of the process curve without help. Just a little adjustment here and the rest should be automatic. Then we want to cart it over to the force molds on the cliff.’
Anton stepped down from the control platform and walked across the cleared plateau. His work harness supported a Python pistol securely against his chest and a rifle is harness-slung across his back. ‘Mark’s orders but this thing can get in the way.’ He cursed as the barrel bumped against the railing. ‘Guess it makes sense since I’m outside security here but this thing is really a pain in the ass.’
The MA2 Python pistol and MR43 shoulder-fired weapon are both manufactured and marketed by GraviDynamics. The MR43 is still called a rifle by the security personnel even though the barrel is not rifled. Both can selectively fire solid or hollow core slugs that form within a half a centimeter of the barrel exit, rapidly spinning and moving at over seven times the speed of sound.
There isn’t much to the pistol on the outside. No clips, slide, ejector or gas vents. It is loaded by pressing a guard button to release the ammunition case from the handle. The metallic bar that neatly fits into the casing and then pushes up firmly into the pistol’s frame is the ammunition and can be substituted for just about any other crystalline or metallic element or in an emergency something as common as beach sand.
When loaded, a section of the frame clears to reveal a gas-gage type indicator. The pistol has two safety switches that the shooter’s hand depresses when ready to fire. One is on the back of the handle and the other is located on the trigger itself. There is no need for chambering a round or cocking the pistol. It’s ready to go as long as it has ammunition.
Each pistol is keyed to the shooter’s hand so only they can fire it without re-keying. Re-Keying is quick and simple. Grasp the pistol and then reach over with the other hand and, with your thumb and finger, grab and squeeze the two red pads on the frame just below the rear site. The grip is intentionally unnatural but it can be performed quickly when the shooter needs to re-key someone else’s weapon.
The pistol has no recoil or explosive kick since the slug is not accelerated by reaction. You could also set the size of the round; a “three” setting in is about a 50-caliber slug while the control setting can be tuned up to a very powerful ten.
The Python is a spin-off technology from the Gravitonic Drive. It doesn’t create a field big enough to move whole objects at once like the drives do. The field is too small and the controls too simple-minded. Like the drive, it generates an intense fluctuating magnetic field to create a small gravitonic source. The shot of a Python releases a train of flash-field pulses to shave electrons from the bar and accelerate them for a split second by the emission of a gravitational radiation pulse. Molecular monolayer-by-monolayer the flash accelerated electrons rip their parent molecules from the atomic matrix and carry them as a charged molecular plasma along the spiraling field lines. The molecules exit the barrel of the gun as a rapidly spinning plasma stream. They immediately solidify as a slug, properly shaped for hypersonic flight and they are already spin stabilized by the flux lines of the Maxwellian magnetic field. There are no wasteful explosive gases and the pulse is highly efficient. All of the gravitonic-released energy goes into forming and accelerating the slug for that tiny fraction of a second. The only sound you’re supposed to hear is the sonic blast from the small slug ripping through the air.
Reaching down into the sand softly flowing into the SilFuser, Anton felt it’s warmth and wetness. ‘Yeah, that should be about right for the fuser.’ As he swung over to check the output his Python again scraped the units projector screen. ‘This damned things going to scratch the controller. There, now you stay within reach. We’re making too much noise around here anyway. Nothings going to bother us and you’ll watch my back, right Paul?’
Anton set down the rifle and turned to Paul, ‘This fringe area is still covered by the Gravitonics Field. We finished the extension to the Station generator two days ago. This means we’ll be able to use the field lines to float over the soft SilFuse output without pipes or sleuths. A very clean and contamination free process. Of course the Field will only cover us up to the edge of the ravine. Work on the other side will have to be done the old fashion way with pipes until that new generator comes back from Earth.’
‘Come on, let’s walk the edge of the safety field, don’t try to get past this faint red screen. Actually, even if you tried you shouldn’t be able to but it’s still better to be safe. OK, here it comes, that slightly yellow tube coming down the waist-level delivery port is the first of the viscous liquid silicon output. That color is a good indication we have the proper mix.’ Anton’s HiveTab reads in the color-temperature of the delivery to confirm proper and uniform heating. ‘Yeah, looks ok. We lose the field over by the cliff edge so I want to be over there when the first batch drops. Come on let’s….’
Paul’s rifle is already in his hands as he turns towards the nearby bushes that Anton is staring at so intently, ‘What’s up Anton. Did you see something?’
‘No.’ Anton says slowly as he withdraws his pistol. ‘Didn’t see or hear anything but I thought something was about to come out from those bushes down there. Just a movement in the shadows. Somehow it didn’t feel too friendly.’
‘Well, I don’t see anything. Maybe you should go back for your rifle and I’ll keep an eye on the edge of the jungle.’
‘Yeah, I’ll stay in sight all the while, watch my back. Last thing I want is some crazy young troondoon coming at me.’
‘Come on, let’s get on with it Anton. Now you’re getting me spooked and I didn’t see or hear anything.’
Anton walked over for his rifle. Paul noticed that he was careful to keep the SilFuse unit between him and the edge of the jungle where he saw the movement. ‘Paul, there’s something out there. I can feel it so let’s move over and put our backs to the ravine while we look at the rest of the pour. I promised Matt I’d have this base pillar up by the end of next week and if we’re going to let every little shadow slow us down we’ll never finish on time. We’ll be ok if we simply keep on our toes.’
* * * * *
His brother pulled back slowly with his back feathers rippling in warning. They had come to this site by accident, a first contact along their path. This wasn’t the source of the vibration and noise but the musty scent is strong here.
He had also seen it. The prey not only didn’t look right, they didn’t react properly. They somehow sensed his brother’s presence much too soon and moved strangely in response. Best to pull back and continue on our original quest. We can come back later when they aren’t so vigilant.
His brother brushed him in passing. An admonishment to pay attention. His turn to move, he did not return the touch as he passed his silently watching brother for he knew the fault was his. The prey use a strong and broad trail here. The herd must be large. Stay away from the trail but near enough to watch. Trails carry danger and unexpected surprises. Far enough, now freeze and watch for threats.
Silent and easy as the low, early morning mist moving down the hillside, his brother passes through the brush beside him. His turn now. The vibrations here move the very ground beneath his feet. The forest about him is silenced by the noise. There is no fear of discovery here. No fear of traps for unwary prey.
Their prey is here. He stops and a small flick of the tip of his tail calls his brother forward. Ah, they are t
he fish-eaters. Why do they not fear the big digger?
Careful, there is another of the strange ones behind the digger. Now!
Fast as the strike of a giant cobra, they reach out at the same time. Jaws clamp over two of the stunned dinosaurs pulling them back into the brush. Holding until they lie without movement. He looks up to see his brother has just pulled in the third fish-eater. Time to move back and eat.
* * * * *
Tom handed the canteen back to Alex and turned to complete his pass on the road. ‘Hey Alex, are those three bozos back there with you? They aren’t up front here and I don’t want to hear the squealing if I run ‘em over.’
‘What? No, they aren’t here or behind you. Well don’t that take the cake. They never lit off like that before. Sure wish I knew what drew them off like that, I’ve never been able to get rid of them for more than a few minutes.’
Tom called to Alex over his Hive-Tab again, ‘Our push through this sand and limestone soil is easy here. We should make good time from here on out.’
The day seems hotter here, in from the cooling breezes of the ocean. Alex and Tom push on, sweating under their light body armor even with their heat regulators. Humidity seems to limit their effectiveness. After twenty minutes a call comes over their communicators.
‘Hey you guys, I’m coming up the trail. Don’t get trigger happy.’ A contact, instantly identified as Sotak, sings across their Hive-Tabs.
‘Just what the hell did you guys do to those three dinosaurs? You didn’t have to make such a mess, and right by the trail too.’
‘What are you talking about Sotak? Jeez, you actually look upset.’ Tom replied.
‘Don’t know nothing about it, huh? There are three, at least I think it’s three since it’s a little hard to tell. Wait, let me start over. I’m walking back from the ravine about a hundred yards from here. I was passing that high-grassy area between the rock-bed and here, when I heard what sounded like a thousand bugs singing in the grass. Naturally curious, I walked over and here’s this flattened out area just covered with every six to hundred legged crawly thing you can think of and more.’
‘It’s easy to see what attracted them, the whole area is splattered with blood, feathers and pieces of meat and gut. Well, dumb as it sounds, my first thought was that somewhere under that swarming mass of shiny blue and black moving mass of bugs were you guys. So, I went to shoo them off. Well, let me tell you this ain’t Kansas, Dorothy. I’ve seen plenty of kill sites back home but the guys that clean it up around here are in a totally different league. Some of those centipedes are eight to twelve inches and Sara says they sting you know! Well, they finally scattered but they weren’t happy about it and I’ve got a few chucks out of my skin to prove it.’
‘Anyway, I’m happy to say you guys weren’t under there, only some smaller dinosaur bones with skinny beaks. The whole area is covered with brown feathers and that red comb. I swear some chunks of skin and feathers where hanging from the low tree limbs. Looks like they ran into a blender and didn’t put the top on it.’
‘Oddly enough, there wasn’t all that much blood. I would of expected large black-pool from stains the way those guys were dismantled. So, that’s my bug story. Pretty obvious now who it was. What I want to know is, I know those guys were pests, but why did you have to be so messy? That’s really not very professional and a waste of time on your part.’
Alex climbed down from the dozer, ‘Well, we did kinda wonder where they had gotten to. They were there scrambling around in front of us as usual and I turned to talk with Tom. When I turned my head back, all was strangely quiet and they were gone. I guess we can’t be sure it’s the same three guys but that sure would be a coincidence.’
Sotak walked over toward the edge of the undergrowth, ‘I walked by that area not four hours ago and that kill-site wasn’t there. The whole thing looked fresh to me but I guess Mr. Pope would be the expert on that. Hmm, I don’t see any exit trails or other marks around here. How the heck did they drag them here without a blood trail? Maybe we need to put our guard up a little.’
‘Back to business. As I was saying, Mr. Dotschkal decided he didn’t like the way I was setting up the SilFuser back there. He and Doctor Paul are working it. I came back to see if you guys needed any help.’
‘Yeah, in light of this incident it might be a good idea if you stay. We have the road bed plotted with the GPS on the dozer but Tom still has to walk the path ahead to look for any unexpected drops, soft areas or actually anything that would interfere with the dozer pushing through.’
‘Yeah, like hornet nests.’ Tom interjected.
‘Oh cut it out, it wasn’t that bad Tom. Maybe the two of you could work together on this and cover each other’s backs? I expect I’ll be pretty safe up here from anything short of a T-Rex or Albertosaurus and we know they aren’t in season right now.’
Sotak hefted his Pulsar forward, ‘OK Mr. Bracken, lead the way.’
* * * * *
The cooling breeze rustles through short strands of hair. Graceful floating filaments capture the rays of the young sun; dancing refugees from the controlled casualness of the pulled and tied, sand-colored bundle behind her head. She tries to focus on the chart before her but the grey-granite floor edged with its vine-flowered stone railing frames her thoughts and draws her eyes. She knows it to be a barrier edging a two hundred foot drop to rocks washed by lazy rolling, breaking waves. Their continuous, hypnotic lapping motion adds a soft melodic element to the sounds in the room. Birdsong fills the air with other, not so random strains that have recently been the primary focus of her studies and now capture her attention.
The chorus-shared complexity of this new song strongly keys on the rhythmic regularity of the waves below. Residing softly in the background as an almost hypnotic melody; rising, then falling and changing slightly with the coming and passing of individuals. Individuals who walk by, seemingly not even noticing their participation in the communal symphony much as a man will whistle a quiet tune as his hands mold a piece of wood into a graceful figurine.
Her inner sense tells her there is a key hidden in these strange songs never before heard by humankind. A key to open an untraveled path, perhaps leading to an understanding of the alien complexity of the newly discovered friends. Perhaps, with understanding, it will eventually provide a common bond and justification for saving the species from its passing into extinction. An extinction that will soon remove the wealth and beauty of this culture based not in technology and manipulation of their environment but an intelligence of adaptation to their environment and the family group. How could they hope ….
‘Doctor Wenford,’ the calm voice of the expedition’s lead engineer Matt Zoeller cuts through her calm reverie, ‘I realize you would rather be out working with your studies much as I would, but we are both critical members of this expedition at a very grave point in time. This is something we all must understand very clearly and resolve in the next few weeks. Unfortunately the politics of an undertaking such as this can kill a venture much more quickly, and offer less chance of survival than a technical failure.’
‘We all have projects and research schedules to meet in this expedition. Unfortunately, if the next few days do not go well then we may never have the chance to complete them. This would of course end all of our studies as well as any hoped for publications and most of all, all chances of project bonuses.’
‘So please try and put your technical studies aside for a while and concentrate on this meeting.’
Mark Nolen, CEO of GraviDynamics Corporation, reached across the massive simulated-wood meeting table to lightly touch Matt’s arm with a smile on his face. ‘The view from your office meeting room can be a bit distracting Matt. We could turn off the virtual environment of course but even I like to be able to see and feel the world outside. Perhaps we have enough of the key personnel here to get started.’
‘For those of you who haven’t had time to read the project status report, and for those who
never read them, let me review the key elements for you. This report is the primary reason for this face-to-face meeting since I realize that too many are otherwise wrapped up in daily studies.’
‘The courier probe has returned from our corporate offices on Europa. After convening a meeting of the board of directors on Tycho Luna Base, they have tentatively approved most of the additional funding and supplies requested. By the way, they did find our time capsule at Luna Base, way to go Adrian and Seth. You did a good job both hiding it and picking a stable spot.’ Claps and laughter pass around the room.
‘The probe returned with a Gravitonic Field Generator for the plateau station and Anton has already begun the installation. Now here is the catch.’
‘Oddly enough, we had no problems with funding approval based on the Gravitonic Drive operational models update. They can all see that it’s just a matter of time before we have interstellar capability and have begun some extrapolation on their own based on our findings. They also unanimously approved the establishment of a resort site. Apparently, some of the members had been pushing for this behind the scenes and there may be some outside interests in it. I found this quite surprising since, by itself, it doesn’t fit our financial models in the business plan detailing minimum profit margins for any new venture. I think we’ll learn more in the next two weeks.’
‘The catch is they have not approved our proposal for an interstellar port.’
‘Two of the board members apparently had intentions of starting their own colonization and trading bases. The scenario of moving people to nearby stars in this era would not necessarily influence their initial efforts with these ventures. Systems colonized from this time frame will be significantly far enough away that it may be hundreds of years before contact is reestablished with Earth.’
Hunter's Moon (Cretaceous Station Book 2) Page 7
