by Pam Uphoff
Ebsa nodded. "Move as close to his location as we dare, and go over the wall again. But . . . should we take the corridor with us, place it by the crawler, or place it away from the crawler so we can either run for the crawler or for the corridor in case one of them is discovered?"
Ra'd snorted. "Trying to figure out the strategies that dimensional bubbles and corridors make possible? The problem with the corridor we have is that the far end is ten kilometers from the gate. Or perhaps that's an advantage. If we are being closely pursued, we can duck through the corridor, and even if they find it, they won't have also found the gate."
Nighthawk nodded. "I can attach the corridor here, and start a new one. Anchor that one by the crawler, closed at that end and open at this."
Ebsa nodded. "So if they find the crawler, they haven't found the corridor to here. If they find the two open ends of the corridors here, it doesn't do them any good, because the other ends are closed. Right. Then we anchor a third corridor, right here. Inside the crawler, and take the end with us. Find Yffi, pop back to here, and drive through two corridors. Then cross country to the gate."
Ra'd grinned. "I wonder how long that plan will last?"
"As long as my nap. I think we shouldn't move until dark."
They both nodded. Ebsa headed for his bunk.
At dusk, they set up the corridors and rolled south.
Nighthawk kept "listening" and called down when she started picking up the Helaos' glows. "About a kilometer to the southwest. Nothing Oner yet. Keep going south."
Ebsa eased through the weird colors of the lowlight augmentation for another kilometer, angled behind a thin screen of trees and peered ahead. "No cover. I think we're going to have to leave the crawler here." He eyed the grove, and backed carefully into it.
Nighthawk nodded. "I smell smoke. I think, after our last raid, that they widened the clear space around their base. We'll have to go on foot, from here." She bit her lip. "Ebsa, that rib isn't healed. I'll set the second corridor here, like we talked about, and take a third one with me when I go in."
"When we go in." Ra'd crossed his arms.
Nighthawk nodded. "Because we're sneaky and faster than you even when you don't have a broken rib."
Ebsa bit his lip. Nodded. Climbing that wall again . . . She's right. One dammit.
He sniffed. "Oh, admit it, you just want someone here to babysit your eggs."
Double snort.
Nighthawk flashed a grin. "But since you'll be here . . . Let me fasten some handles on the fast bubble."
Ebsa glumly peered out the windows, not seeing them walk away. "Which is a good thing. They're invisible." He eyed the two sticks lying on the table. Fast bubbles and bags of the . . . well, not Prophets in this case. Both of them very handy. I'll have to try to keep them, when we get back. He spread the sticks, lifted the lid of the incubator and shifted the eggs around. Closed it up.
He eyed the sticks on the table. So . . . what do baby dinosaurs eat, anyway? Triceratops are vegetarians . . .do the mother Triceratops regurgitate chewed up vegetation for them? He stepped outside into the deep twilight and plucked an armful of the softer looking stuff around the crawler, then retreated back inside.
Rolled the eggs around. Stared at the rectangle of bronze on the wall. Checked all his equipment. He eyed the sticks on the table, then checked his comp. Which informed him that chicken eggs hatched in twenty-one days. "Which." He informed the eggs as he rolled them again. "Is not terribly informative. But probably, at twenty to one, you won't hatch until sometime tomorrow. I hope."
He looked at the heap of weeds he'd picked. Back to the sticks on the table. He separated the sticks and plugged in the incubator. You can hatch later, when there's someone around to feed you.
When the bronze rectangle started to open, he grabbed his pack and guns and stepped through into a dark room.
"We're on the second floor." Ra'd voice was just a breath. "Dr. Yffi is on the other side of that wall. Four men, two alert, they feel like guards, so probably armed. The other two are doing the questioning. I'll take out the guards, you stun the inquisitors. In case the directorate wants to ask them a few questions in turn."
Ebsa nodded, turned his head at a flash of light through the window. He stepped over beside Nighthawk and glanced out. Leaned and stared. Floodlights around an area with nothing but a low ramp . . . Then a bright spot in midair swelled out into a vertical circle.
"Their gate." Ebsa eyed it. On the other side, a similar floodlit area, concrete by the look of it. "Look at the base of the gate. It's right at ground level, instead of below, like ours."
"Right." Nighthawk nodded. "That's why they have the ramp, to raise vehicles enough that their wheels can get through."
Ebsa bit his lip. "Their beacon must be right there on the surface . . . Probably set in cement . . . Nighthawk, your bubbles can't, like, scrape underneath through solids, can they?"
Her teeth gleamed in the light. "Actually, with a little telekinesis added, it's quite possible to shove them through anything."
Ra'd cleared his throat. "We shouldn't split up."
Ebsa nodded. "Right. So first we grab Yffi as quietly as possible." He reached into his pack and pulled out the spoons, and he trusted, the invisible bubble. And a stunner.
Ra'd scowled and took it.
"Let's do this quietly. Don't worry, you'll probably have plenty of opportunities for loud later." Ebsa pictured a force like a physical shield, shrunk down to a needle's thickness, a molecule's width. Twenty centimeters of micro slice. He traced a tall oval on the wall.
Ra'd kicked it in and went with it. Someone was screaming. The stunner buzzed twice.
Ebsa slapped a stun spell across the two standing figures. The screaming was coming from the man on the table. Dr. Yffi. His eyes widened as he focused on Ebsa. He stopped in mid-scream and started panting.
Ebsa touched his forehead and applied a pain blocker and sleep. Then a quick visual check. No gross damage. An IV, lots of electronic monitors. He ripped off the electrical contacts, eased out the IV. Pulled his wooden spoons apart, added two bad guys and one good, to the bubble. He glanced at the stunned guards, shrugged and left them. Put his spoons together.
He stepped back and looked around. All quiet.
He followed Ra'd back through the oval. Nighthawk had the 10mm, her attention on the door. She flicked a single glance their direction, then opened the door and led the way out.
The second door across the hallway let them into a stairwell. Nighthawk waved her hand and the world dimmed and grayed.
:: They have roaming guards. Probably because of our raid . . . was it only two days ago? :: She trotted quietly down the metal steps.
::It's been a busy two days. :: Ebsa grinned. :: And I'd have to go back and check to be sure it has only been . . . two days? :: And his back didn't hardly hurt, thudding—quietly—down the flights of stairs.
Ra'd gave a quiet snort and eased out the door at the bottom of the stairs.
The wide corridor led to double doors to both east and west, corridors leading off north and south. They turned to the east doors, then squeezed back against the wall at the sound of running feet. Two soldiers, slowing and sweeping the corridor with their gazes, and easing their direction, eyes going to the stairwell door.
:: Vidcam monitors. They spotted the door opening and closing. ::
More footsteps, soldiers charging through the east doors.
Ebsa nudged the others and they slipped out the doors before they closed, sidestepped another squad . . .
:: I think they're upset. :: Ra'd sounded amused.
:: We can't possibly have killed more than thirty or forty of them . . . I lost count at the Maiasaura. :: Ebsa trotted after them, heading for the lights around the ramp. The floodlights were off, the gate gone. I probably ought to have watched to see what was coming or going. But what the heck, sabotage will work too.
Ebsa sprinted across open ground, knowing that Nighthawk and Ra'd would have no trouble k
eeping up with him. He slowed to move quietly as they neared the gate ramp. Looked down at a round glassy looking plug set in concrete.
Nighthawk knelt, hand on the ground. :: It's only a foot deep, then power cables leading off south. Should be easy. ::
:: We're going to need to get out of here fast. How long does it take to open the corridor? ::
Nighthawk reached out to a ramp support. Less than half a meter tall. She touched it top and bottom. Glanced to check for guards in line of sight. Shifted and touched two other spots. A dim gleam of the inside of the crawler . . .
:: Go. I'll be there in a moment. :: She turned back to the glassy beacon. Made a grabbing-at-nothing gesture . . .
Ebsa turned and crawled through the corridor, rolled out of the way and stood up. Ra'd followed, hovering over the corridor.
Ebsa prowled, checked out every window, turned back as Nighthawk rolled through the corridor and made a quick gesture. The guards charging toward it disappeared.
She rubbed her forehead. Overdoing the magic. "Got it. Now I'll open the other corridors so we can get out of here."
Ebsa hopped in the driver's seat, winced at a twinge from his shoulder, and flicked on the low light system. All wheels forward and go.
Nighthawk trotted to the tall straight tree she'd used to attach the corridor, and pulled at nothing, opening a triangle to the further grove . . . full of Helaos . . . She let go and made a poking motion.
Stalked back to the crawler.
Ebsa pulled out and turned east. "I think we should take the scenic route."
Chapter Fourteen
4 Rajab 1405 yp
World EM 0925
Ra'd sighed. "Ebsa's going to be insufferable if all this pre-planning of his keeps turning out to be a good idea."
"Well he's not perfect. He forgot to close up the triceratops eggs." Nighthawk climbed up to the driving deck and peered out to the south.
"I was afraid if we got stuck for a day, they'd hatch and starve."
"Oh. Good thinking." Nighthawk squinted a little.
"You should stop pretending to be indestructible and eat and drink something." Ra'd stepped up and held out a glass. "Booster. Glucose and electrolytes."
Nighthawk took the glass and sipped. Then drank it all. "Thank you. That was exactly the nasty drink I needed."
"And anyhow, if I hadn't done the fancy two-step with the corridors, there wouldn't have been anything there for them to discover. We'd be a short drive from the gate."
Ra'd grinned. "Over thinking. I'll remind you of this, next time we're planning a raid."
"Depending on what they've done over there. I keep forgetting that they aren't just sitting around while we do things."
Ebsa turned northeast, aiming toward another grove of trees. Tried to ignore the twinge in his ribcage. Gave up. "Hawk? How come this joy juice you guys brag on doesn't completely and totally heal a mere broken rib?"
She bit her lip, gave up and grinned. "My father says it's because you guys don't drink enough. It runs on alcohol, and without it, it turns and eats itself. Everything in the potion will be completely gone in a couple of days."
Down below, Ra'd laughed. "Now I'm picturing the nurses in your hospitals serving the patients beer."
Nighthawk turned and glared. And suddenly laughed. "The cities and towns do have regular hospitals, but . . . well once witches armed with the wine enter the picture . . . I think the term most relevant is 'Happy Hour' and that's the mild version. But if that horrible machine can produce alcohol, giving Ebsa a beer is a good idea."
Ebsa grinned. "Hit custom code . . . let's see. If I remember right. 329C. 1745 G."
Down below, loud sniffing noises. "It smells like beer. How did you learn codes like that?"
"My mom's a professional chef. I know lots of specialty codes. Trust me, this will only do if you can't get real beer."
"Oh? I figured it was from your gang days."
"I wish. I tried to make friends by fabbing cheap beer. Got laughed at. Gangs can afford good beer." Ebsa took the glass and sipped. "Bleck! It's even worse than I remembered. You're sure this is good for me?"
Nighthawk dipped a finger and tasted. "Umm . . . well. It's got alcohol in it."
"And there's no one else out here, so you don't have to worry about driving drunk." Ra'd added.
"Ha! As if I could drink enough of this to get drunk on." Ebsa sipped and steered them between trees. The ground was dropping slightly to the east and he turned north. No need to get trapped up against a river that the crawler might not be able to handle, nor stuck in thicker tree cover. "And anyway, we Oners drink a lot, just, mostly when we're out on dates or at parties. Not every day." He took another sip. "And we never drink on duty."
Nighthawk rolled her eyes.
"Oh, hey, speaking of healing, should we get Dr. Yffi out and dose him?"
"Not yet. I need to eat and sleep." She actually sounded embarrassed to be tired.
"Oh, sorry, yeah. Does that light warp take a lot, well, I guess you have to hold it for however long you need it . . . "
She nodded. "I'm a little headachy."
"Then come down and eat." Ra'd called.
"And turn the eggs." Ebsa added. "I really want to see them hatch."
Ra'd sent him off to eat and sleep. He turned the eggs, slept, got up mid morning to find Nighthawk driving. Turned the eggs, ate breakfast, turned the eggs . . . Took over the wheel.
"This one's coming along nicely. Maybe one more fast session." Nighthawk was down checking the dino eggs.
The crawler was a bit sluggish. Ebsa eyed the battery meters. "Eighty percent of charge. Not too serious on a bright day, but I think we need to park and charge up. We may need to move tonight. I'll look for a good spot."
Six hours later he was backing into a thicket with a few tall saplings that did a good job of breaking up their silhouette while not blocking much sun.
He showered, washed clothes, kept watch and fought with the fab to produce something edible for dinner.
"Oh, look, it's hatching."
Ebsa hustled to look. There was a rip at the upper end of one of the eggs, the tip of a beak sticking out.
He grabbed the nearest vidcam and set it up to record the whole thing.
Which took hours. At midnight Ebsa took the wheel again and drove on for a couple of hours, turned it back over to Ra'd and joined Nighthawk, watching the first triceratops baby finish the struggle out of its shell, as the second one got its beak out.
"I think this falls into the so ugly it's cute category. Is it a pup, or maybe a calf? Hi Ugly Puppy!"
Nighthawk shook her fist at him.
The first one cheeped like a little bird.
"Ah, a chick. Very, very ugly chick."
"He is not!" Nighthawk sounded more amused than angry.
The crawler halted and Ra'd jumped down . . . paused. "I think I'm going to have to agree with Ebsa on this one." He dropped a kiss on the top of Nighthawk's head and hopped back up to the driver's deck.
Ebsa put his collected vegetation through the blender and then looked back at the critter. "So . . . do they feed themselves like a chicken type chick, or do they need food stuffed down their throats like a songbird?"
"I suspect we'll find out, once your ugly puppy has dried off and taken a better look around."
Ra'd interrupted. "Speaking of which, I'm seeing movement in the mirror, but I can't tell what it is. Go take a look from the top."
Ebsa abandoned the chicks and climbed up to peer backwards . . . The fat half-moon was still high, the eastern horizon turning pale grey, Enough light to get a good look at something dodging behind a grove of trees. Tracks, large bore gun on a turret. "Oh crap. That looked rather like a tank, and it was being sneaky and trying to hide."
Ra'd yelled back. "Come down and take the controls. If it gets close enough . . . damn I wish I had armor piercing rounds. Even with the penetrating explosive rounds, I'll have to be very accurate."
"Yeah, and
this one has a bigger gun than you." Ebsa dropped down and grinned at Nighthawk strapping the incubator into a bunk. "Maybe a regular bubble would be a good idea?"
"I'd hoped I could get them old enough to release, before we left." Nighthawk walked back to the gun safe and frowned. "You'd think you lot were playing with dinosaurs, and not planning on a war. You're going to ruin the reputation Oners have if you keep this up."
Ebsa slid into the driver's seat as Ra'd slid out the other side. Ra'd grabbed the 20mm, loaded up with ammo, climbed the ladder with Nighthawk right behind him.
:: We're slow. Can we be sneaky? ::
Ra'd laughed. Nighthawk stuck her head through the hatch. She dropped back, grinning. "Side swipe a tree. I'll stick a bubble on it, and pull it along. At some point, I can turn it into a more proper corridor."
"Good idea." Ebsa headed for a stand of tall cycads. :: Don't shoot at them. The longer the chase, the further behind their lines we'll be when we corridor back here. :: He barely slowed and Nighthawk leaned out and tagged a tree.
:: What we need are some terrain obstacles. Pity we don't know anything about their tanks. I doubt they could be amphibious, with the weight of armor.:: A kaleidoscope impression as Ra'd scanned for ways to slow a tank.
Ebsa stiffened his mental shields, then jinked a bit to put a pair of scrawny trees between them and where the tank might be.
"Terrain obstacles . . . " Ebsa reached over and flipped on the tracking scope. Either the Quetzacoatlus or the T-Rex was north northwest, about fifteen kilometers.
He switched to mental communication. :: Why isn't the tank closing in on us? ::
:: Because we have their beacon. :: Nighthawk winced, mentally. :: They will try to capture us. They won't dare use that cannon on the tank, it might destroy their only chance of ever getting home again. ::
Ra'd's mental agreement came through. :: So they will have everything they can field out after us. Or blocking our access to our gate, if they've located it. ::
Ebsa bit his lip and veered around more trees. :: They may assume our gate is up in the fort. After all, why would we have it in some gully somewhere? ::
