After the last expedition had returned in March, they closed, locked, and braced the door with all of the timber supports constructed for that purpose. Lt. Commander McCloud had estimated the door could withstand a hundred thousand pounds of force and, although the dinosaurs caused the wall and door to vibrate slightly as they threw their weight against it, everything held. The greater threat was that the wall would be scaled by dinosaurs climbing on the backs of fallen herd members, but McCloud had foreseen that possibility and, during construction, directed the embedding of two-inch thick steel rods with sharpened points into the wall a meter apart and two meters from the top. Angled downward at a hundred twenty degrees and projecting two meters from the stone blocks, the spear-like rods would slow any attempt to breech the walls.
By the time the first of the crew coming on foot reached the wall, dinosaurs standing on the bodies of fallen comrades were snapping at the defenders on the wall. Lindahl was trying to get rifles reloaded for another volley while half the defenders used spears to jab at the heads of the dinosaurs. The still-out-of-breath reinforcements were able to fire their weapons almost point blank into the faces of the dinosaurs, coating the wall and clothes of the defenders with splattered blood and pieces of flesh and bone, but for each dinosaur that fell, another took its place immediately. By now, dinosaur bodies were stacked against the wall in a mountain of flesh, but the undamaged creatures didn't even seem to notice they were standing on the bodies of family members as they fought to overcome the defenders and enter the valley.
It was only through strength of numbers and the use of firearms that the defenders were eventually able to drive the dinosaurs back. The bulk of the camp was now at the wall, although less than half could fit on the top walkway, and firearms sounded almost continuously. The dinosaurs must have finally realized they weren't going to get through and the herd turned to abandon the effort, leaving many seriously wounded and bellowing members behind. Many of the dinosaurs retracing their path through the pass had serious wounds, which would eventually lead to their deaths over the following weeks if they were unable to catch food. None of the defenders on the wall would mourn their passing.
The dinosaurs had come very close to breeching the wall, a fact not lost upon the defenders, but unlike the previous encounter, not a single crewmember had been lost or even injured, except for a few cases of severe powder burns common in situations of close fighting with flintlock weapons.
With the immediate threat gone, the sentry on duty blew the all-clear signal on the horn, mostly for the benefit of the guards at the South Pass who would be anxious to know the situation. Although limited to eight-hour days, Admiral Vroman was now back to work. He looked out over the parapet at the dead and dying dinosaurs, shook his head, then turned to the fighters.
"Good job, Captain," he said to Lindahl. Raising his voice he said, "Well done, everyone."
"Admiral," Lindahl said, "should we begin mopping up?"
"Let's ask our paleontologist and dinosaur expert. Lieutenant Croff, what do you think? Will they attack again?"
"My first impression is not, sir, but I'm sure you realize they fought more ferociously today than they did at the South Pass. Part of that is probably because it's midday and the sun is shining directly down into the pass. Remember, as cold-blooded creatures, they need the sun to help warm their bodies."
"But will they attack again, Lieutenant?"
"They didn't attack a second time last fall, so I would guess they won't, but it's just a guess. I'm sorry, sir, but I can't be any more specific than that."
"But last fall it was already after dark."
"Yes sir, I'm sure that was a factor, as was the fact that we had probably killed all the alpha leaders in the initial attack. The latter holds true for today."
Vroman turned again to look out over the parapet. They couldn't just leave the dinosaur carcasses outside the wall to rot. Besides providing a platform for future dinosaur attacks, they would start to stink, draw flies and scavengers, and represented a waste of resources. A winter of shorter daylight hours had depleted the camp's lamp oil supplies; the carcasses would allow them to refill all storage bladders.
"Captain, start mopping up. Kill the wounded dinosaurs and drag all the carcasses inside the wall. Reseal the door as quickly as possible."
"Aye, Admiral," Lindahl said and immediately began issuing orders.
It required a great deal of effort to remove the support posts that helped seal the doors because of all the dead weight pressing against them, but it was finally accomplished. Using ropes attached to gelks, they dragged the carcasses inside the wall one by one. The gelks didn't need much encouragement to pull because they were extremely anxious to get away from the dinosaurs. The difficult part was getting them to come back to drag another.
It was almost dinnertime when they dragged the last carcass inside the gate, and closed and sealed the enormous doors. The cooks had been excused earlier, so as soon as the bracing supports were reinstalled, everyone except the sentries headed back to the camp to eat. After their meal, workers would attack the wagons piled high with dinosaur flesh they had brought back to the camp. The oil extraction process would then begin in earnest while available crewmembers would return to the pass to continue skinning and carving up the other dead creatures.
The camp was still talking about the dinosaur attack the following morning. It would probably continue to dominate the conversation because it would take days to process all the carcasses and clean up the mess.
At breakfast Vroman said, "I'm sure that we can all see the importance of completing the South Pass wall as quickly as possible. Last year the dinosaurs had already passed through the valley before we arrived so we didn't encounter them until they started their return migration. But now we've interfered with that migration twice and there's no telling what consequences that will have. From what we know of the topography of this region, it's possible to reach the South Pass from the North Pass without traveling through our valley, but it will probably take several weeks."
"Are you suggesting that the dinosaurs will attempt to outflank us, sir?" Lindahl asked.
"Not at all. I don't credit them with that kind of intelligence, but they may accidentally enter the South Pass while searching for a new migration path to their summer grounds. We must push the construction along as quickly as possible. We can't count on the wooden barricades to contain them if they come through the pass at noon."
"We've made a hell of a dent in their herd size, sir," Commander Fannon said. "At some point they're going to learn not to attack us."
"It seems that if they were going to learn a lesson about taking on mankind they would have learned that lesson last fall."
"Not necessarily, sir," Croff said. "Last fall they faced a barrier of sharpened logs, but this time it was a stone wall. Their simple minds might not have connected the two situations as being related."
Vroman nodded. "Perhaps, Lieutenant. I still feel we need to complete the South Pass wall as soon as possible. Does anyone feel it would be wasted effort because the dinosaurs might fear attacking the wooden barriers again?"
When no one spoke up, Vroman said, "Okay, the construction of the wall in the South Pass gets top priority, except for the planting of crops. As we've previously discussed, there will be no more expeditions outside the valley until after the dinosaurs move North in the fall."
* * *
Jenetta stood at the SimWindow in her office, sipping from her coffee mug while watching the activity in the port. Using the window's controls, she zoomed to different parts of the cavern and checked on the progress of various projects. Engineers were completing repairs to the ships involved in Operation Clean Sweep, while others continued to work on captured ships, making them ready for action against their former Milori owners. They had moved the most recently captured Milori ships, those too badly damaged to repair quickly, into a secure area outside the asteroid to await final disposition. They were available for parts sh
ould the engineers need them.
Jenetta was increasingly aware of the extra burden of a command preparing for war. The expected arrival date of the Milori invasion fleet was still more than two months away, but time was slipping away faster and faster. Ships returning from patrol duties were being provisioned, rearmed, and checked for battle-worthiness before being sent back out to wait in one of the half dozen staging areas located in remote areas a few hundred billion kilometers from the base. Well away from any normal traffic routes, the areas had been carefully selected as most unlikely to be in the path of Milori ships headed for Stewart, yet the Space Command ships would be just minutes away when needed. On Jenetta's orders, any private vessels unfortunate enough to happen across one of the staging areas would be detained incommunicado until after the engagement. Each of the areas had previously been carefully swept for hidden Milori or Raider ships, or observation equipment.
By April 30th, everything should be ready for the conflict. The details of her plan played over and over in Jenetta's head as she examined the minutest details, even to rehearsing what she would say to the Milori commander when he arrived and demanded her surrender, as she knew he would because the asteroid would be sealed. He would want to avoid using his precious torpedo resources, knowing they would be needed later to combat Space Command forces. Jenetta took another sip from her coffee mug and returned to her desk in time to hear her aide announce a visitor.
"Admiral, Trader Vyx is requesting a few minutes of your time."
"Send him in, Lori."
"Aye, Admiral."
A few seconds later, the office door opened and the familiar figure entered.
"Welcome back, Trader. How's your new ship performing?"
"Thank you, Admiral. The new Scorpion is wonderful. I really appreciate having a sixty-percent improvement in speed and the larger space, although I occasionally miss the intimacy of my old, smaller ship."
"I understand. It's like losing an old friend."
"Yes," he said, smiling. "What is it about us humans that allow us to form personal relationships with inanimate objects?"
"I suppose it's our need to love and be loved. When we feel most lonely, we channel those feelings to objects around us, especially those objects that we associate with fond memories. How did you make out on Scruscotto? You've returned a lot sooner than I expected."
"Your hunch was right, Admiral. I found him."
"You're sure?"
"As sure as I could be without getting his fingerprints and a retinal image. After spotting him, we hung around until every member of my team had seen him and agreed. My team recorded as much as they could. Here's the data."
Jenetta took the data ring he was holding out and touched it to the spindle in her media tray while Vyx walked to the synthesizer and prepared a beverage. When he returned to the desk and sat down, Jenetta was engrossed in watching the video footage.
"It's him, Trader!" she said when the video had ended. "Well done! I didn't expect you to find him so quickly. What about the base?"
"It's located in, or rather under, a town named NeTrediar in the southern hemisphere. The residents there just refer to it as Nee. They have a legitimate mining operation as a front; penetration of the base is difficult. I took a job as a miner, and it got me inside the compound, but much of the company property is restricted even to the miners that have been with the company for some time. However, we were able to determine that there's a great deal more cargo container traffic than could reasonably be expected as necessary for operations, so I penetrated the underground using a stolen ID badge. Admiral, there's a vast underground complex down there, with a staff that's apparently never permitted to go topside. I found one cavern that's over fifty meters below the surface and at least two kilometers long. It was filled with shipping containers. I'm guessing the floor of one of the hangers at the mine's spaceport is used as an elevator. Another enormous underground cavern is segmented into a labyrinth of rooms. I have no idea how many or what they're used for because I was confronted by a security guard and had to get out of there in a hurry."
While he had talked, the computer had recorded his report, printing it out on Jenetta's com screen. Jenetta suddenly smiled as she looked at the screen.
"NeTrediar," Jenetta said. "That fits right in with Mikel Arneu's ego and ironic sense of humor."
"How so, Admiral?"
"It's 'Raider Ten' spelled backwards."
Vyx stared at Jenetta for a second. "I'll be damned. I never realized that."
"Decryption was a favorite mental exercise of mine at one time." Sighing, she said, "I'd love to launch an attack on the mine immediately, but with the pending arrival of the Milori I can't afford to divert any of our forces. I just hope Arneu will remain on Scruscotto until we can go after him."
"When you do decide to take him down, exercise care. A normally reliable informant has told me he has four battleship sized phased array lasers hidden in buildings within the town. When needed, the roofs will roll back and the arrays will be able to knock out anything in orbit. I wasn't able to confirm that personally, but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand."
"Thank you, Trader; I'll keep it in mind. As I said, I didn't expect you to find him so quickly. Excellent work. Extend my appreciation and gratitude to your team."
"Will do, Admiral." He paused and then added, "Uh, my people would like to know what role they can play in the upcoming–– event?"
Jenetta looked at him for a few seconds before saying, "Your contributions to the safety and security of this base have been of immense value and I understand your desire to take an active role in the upcoming fight, but this is a little out of your area of expertise. Your ship, while armed, would not be suitable for the expected engagement, and you haven't functioned as officers aboard regular military vessels since your academy days. My other officers and crews have been training together for this engagement for months."
"I understand, Admiral," Vyx said, somberly.
"However, we could always use another spotter vessel. We don't have half enough to cover all the approaches to Stewart. And every minute of warning time will be invaluable."
Vyx brightened. "We'll be happy to serve in whatever capacity we can, Admiral."
"Okay, Commander. Get your ship provisioned and you'll be given an assignment area, operations designation, and the proper encryption codes for reporting to the CIC."
Standing up, he saluted as he replied, "Aye, Admiral. Thank you."
As an undercover agent, Vyx was exempted from normal military protocol, even behind closed doors, and this was just the second time in many years he had felt inclined to salute a superior officer. The recipient of the other salute had also been Admiral Jenetta Carver.
Returning his salute, Jenetta said, "Thank you, Commander. Carry on."
As the office door closed behind Vyx, Jenetta turned her attention to Vyx's report. "Computer," she said, "display a bas-relief image of Scruscotto, highlighting the town of NeTrediar in blinking red." A holographic sphere appeared, suspended in front of her, just above her desk. The sphere, showing all the major population areas, rotated slowly as Jenetta studied the planet.
"Okay, Mikel," Jenetta said aloud in the empty room. "I know where you are now and I'm going to pay you a visit real soon. Please just stay there until after we deal with the Milori."
* * *
"This stinks," Byers said as he cooked breakfast in the Scorpion's galley for the team.
"I hope you're talking about your feet and not about the breakfast ingredients," Nelligen quipped.
"I'm talking about our being stuck out here recording blips on a screen while everyone else is preparing to defend the Galactic Alliance against the single greatest threat that's ever faced any of us."
"They also serve who only stand and wait," Vyx said.
"Huh?" Byers said quizzically.
"Isn't that from a sonnet by Milton?" Brenda asked.
Vyx nodded. "He was reflecting that he still had a p
lace in God's universe despite his disability. He went blind about 1654. My adaptation is that we have an important part in this upcoming engagement despite how it may appear on the surface. Our intelligence indicates that Stewart is the target, and every minute of warning they receive as the invasion fleet approaches will help them be better prepared. We will therefore stay here recording blips on a screen until we're reassigned, or we know Stewart has been captured or destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Kathryn asked.
"It's always a possibility. The admiral believes the Milori are coming with an overwhelming force of ships. That makes sense. After what our forces did to the first fleet that arrived last time, they'll probably send everything they have. Moreover, they have to know we suckered them last time, so they won't fall for such tricks this time. They might just stay out of range and pummel the station with torpedoes. How much damage they do will depend on how powerful those torpedoes are and how many get through. However, the admiral has really fortified the base since she captured it from the Raiders. We aren't trying to conceal its identity so she's mounted every gun possible on the outside surface. For Space Command's part, they've assigned almost a hundred ships to the Admiral's command, and she's added another sixty from the ships taken in her last two battles. That still leaves us outnumbered three to one, facing a fight with ships every bit as capable as ours and a military every bit as dedicated to their task, but I'd put my money on the Admiral. I'm reasonably sure she has something up her sleeve that will put the enemy at a great disadvantage."
"Disadvantage?" Nelligen said incredulously. "With a three-to-one ship superiority?"
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