“Damn,” muttered Drake. “Sorry, sir. What about a supply drop? We load up a cargo capsule with supplies, food, vitamins, whatever consumables they might need after a few months, then Heinlein can return and drop that. At least let them know that we made it back and Earth knows about their situation and is working on it.”
“We have people looking into that,” Howard replied. “And, yes, getting the refueling pod finished. That’s how I know those numbers. But I should tell you, there are some who don’t want a return mission.”
“What? They want to just abandon eight people on another planet? Who?”
“Nothing public yet. But your revelations about terraforming has scared hell out of a lot of people, Drake. They’d rather just drop the whole idea of interstellar travel. Of course, there was opposition to that before you left.”
“Sooner or later we’ll have another Unholy War, and then what? We might not get off so lightly next time.” Then, in a lowered voice, “Sawyer was right.”
“Come again?”
“A discussion we had while still in the Alpha Centauri system, sir, when we realized the planet had been terraformed. We were afraid there would be people who just wanted to pull their heads in and retreat from space. That’s one reason she opted to stay, to help provide a reason to go back. Admiral, this is too important. Even if the Terraformers are long gone, there are probably other spacefarers out there.” He remembered a discussion he’d had with Darwin. “Hell, if they seeded Earth life out into the galaxy, there could well be spacefarers descended from the same proto-mammals that we are. If we don’t find them, sooner or later they’ll likely find us—and unless we make such a mess of this planet that even we can’t live here, they’ll likely consider the place very attractive.”
“Now there’s a disturbing possibility,” said the Admiral.
“That was the idea. Maybe we can disturb some folks to get off their butts and get us out there again.”
“Oh, I’m with you on that, but you’ve been away for a few months. Things are getting a little crazy.”
“Aren’t they always?” Drake heaved a sigh. Gods he hated politics. “Sir, please let me know what I can do to help get things rolling. I promised those people we’d be back for them, I don’t want to be made a liar of.” Drake paused. “Besides, we really need to know what else they’ve discovered. Anything they’ve found that would confirm or contradict the terraformer hypothesis would be interesting. And if folks are really worried about aliens, maybe we ought to go clean up after ourselves. In addition to the crew, we left a lot of junk in that system.”
“Indeed you did, Commodore. That’s an interesting point. I’ll pass that along.”
“Thank you, sir. And if you would, please keep me informed.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Now, if there’s nothing else?”
Drake wondered how much of that was brush off, although Admiral Howard was usually a straight-shooter. “No sir. Thank you for your time.”
With that, the connection was dropped. Drake rose from his seat and turned to leave the communications room. As he strode down the corridor, he wondered what else he could do to help push for a return mission.
Chapter 9: Elephants
Epsilon Eridani II, fourth day
The crew had already gathered specimens from within easy walking distance of the landing site, including a variety of plants, insects and small animals. The geologists had taken core samples and were mostly doing aerial instrument surveys by drone. On this day, Captain Lee had taken a small team further afield.
Lee watched warily as a herd of shaggy elephantoid creatures ambled past. The thin air was cool this afternoon, and he wore a thick jacket, but it was a balmy day compared to the time he’d spent in the Tibet Province back on Earth. The air was more breathable, and the lower gravity let him ignore the gear he was carrying.
Lee Shing and two of the scientists, Wang Wei and Zhang Min, had trekked across two kilometers of the plain to a rocky area to gather more samples. The grass—whatever the plants growing here were, they strongly resembled grass, but the biologists were still arguing about it—was dry and growing in sparse stalks about thigh high, except where the herd of mammoth-like creatures had passed by in their continual grazing. The crew had joked about staging an elephant hunt, but they all knew the idea was ludicrous. They had weapons, of course. Unlike the Americans and Europeans on the Centauri mission, the Chinese government had no fetish about the mission being unarmed, since they were heading into unknown territory. Each of them carried the standard QBZ-95-2 issued to most Chinese forces, a 5.8x42mm bullpup-style automatic rifle, with the magazine and chamber behind the pistol grip and trigger. That made the weapon shorter overall, and easier to carry. Lee imagined they would be about as useful against one of the elephants as using chopsticks to throw grains of rice at them. Since the mammoths hadn’t seem particularly concerned about the humans, Lee decided it was just as well to give them a wide berth.
∞ ∞ ∞
The team spent several hours collecting whatever they could fit in a sample container: more samples of rocks, and anything living—or once-living, including mammoth dung.
Lee raised his wrist omni to check the time, then used it to call the ship. “Xinglong, this is Captain Lee. We have finished gathering our samples and are ready to return to the ship. Anything to report?” He wasn’t expecting much, they would have called him already if something urgent had come up.
“Nothing to report. Doctor Shufeng has finished his analysis of today’s plant specimens. Tell Zhang Min that she lost her bet. Shufeng says the DNA proves that the fields out there are covered in actual grass.”
Lee grinned at that. “Did he explain how grass seeds managed to blow across ten light-years of space? Never mind, I am interested to see his results.”
“You will be back before dark?”
The day was shorter here, and the season was early fall, but they should still have several hours of light left. Lee looked to the west, where a cloud bank hung over the horizon, possibly an incoming front. The sun would drop behind that before setting, but they were less than an hour away from the ship. There should still be plenty of light.
“That is affirmative. ETA is seventy-five minutes. We’ll be back for dinner.” That would give them a few extra minutes if they came across something interesting on the way back, which Lee doubted.
“Acknowledged.”
Lee called to the others. “All right, doctors. Grab your gear and let’s go.” He swung his own pack onto his back and snugged the straps, then reached to pick up his rifle from where he’d leaned it against a rock. He gave it a quick visual inspection to check the safety and that the magazine was secure. That was one thing he didn’t like about the bullpup design. With the magazine behind the pistol grip, he felt that it was more vulnerable to being dislodged by an accidental kick, or bumping the ground when the weapon was propped up on its stock. Not that he’d ever seen that happen. He slung it over his shoulder and turned to look at the others. They were also geared up and ready to go.
“Very good. Let’s head back.”
It was as they rounded the last rock outcrop before the open plain that they saw the pack of dire wolves.
∞ ∞ ∞
They weren’t actually dire wolves, of course, any more than the large shaggy elephantine creatures were elephants or mammoths. But they resembled wolves, or perhaps some wolf-bear hybrid, although each was easily twice as large as the largest wolf Lee had ever seen, even in pictures. Maybe bigger than large bear. One of those could intimidate a tiger, he thought.
Lee had raised his fist in the standard military halt signal as soon as he’d seen them, but Wang Wei and Zhang Min had already frozen, they had spotted the beasts too.
Fortunately, the beasts hadn’t spotted them. The pack—Lee could see at least a
dozen sneaking through the tall grass—were apparently fixated on the mammoth herd. In particular, on a smaller mammoth, perhaps a female or juvenile, at the rear edge of the herd.
Lee slowly unslung his rifle. He gestured to the other two to do the same, and pressed a finger to his lips. Quietly. There was almost no wind, but what there was blew from the herd toward the pack. Of course, the hunters would be approaching from downwind. Their own position was more crosswind, so for now they hadn’t been noticed. But they couldn’t cross the plain with that wolf pack there. No doubt Lee, Wang, and Zhang Min would make a much easier target than a mammoth. They had their rifles, of course, but the wolves would have no idea what those were, and they might have to shoot a few before their pack mates got the idea. From what Lee could see, the wolves outnumbered them three to one, with perhaps more hidden elsewhere in the grass. If one wolf got through, he’d lose a person. At least.
He scanned the area. There, there was a rock outcrop they could scale. It wouldn’t be much help if the wolves decided to go for them, they could jump or find a way up that rock too, but it would give the men a tactical advantage. He pointed to the rock, then made hand gestures to indicate moving to and climbing it.
The others nodded, they understood.
Lee gave them the move out signal, pausing to take up the rear. He looked back to where the pack was hunting.
The wolves had advanced a few meters, slowly sneaking up as close as they could. At the herd, one of the large bulls looked back and, apparently noticing the juvenile straggling behind, turned and began walking back towards it. Uh-oh, that was not good. If the pack lost this target, they’d start looking around for another. He checked his rifle. He knew there was no round in the chamber. He’d seen no reason to charge the weapon when they left the ship. The wolves were the first potentially dangerous animal they had seen, and if he had spotted them from a distance, instead of almost tripping over them coming around that rock, he could have chambered a round in less than a second. He still could, but not quietly.
Lee shifted the hold on his rifle, pistol grip in his right hand, flipping the fire selector from safe to full auto, and slipping his left hand up under the carrying handle to rest his fingers on the charging handle. If he worked it back and forth slowly, quietly...he would be risking a misfeed with the cartridge jammed at an angle in the breech. No. He’d just work his way towards the rock slowly, ready to charge the weapon and fire if the wolves made a move in his direction.
Note to self, he thought, all weapons to be ready to fire, except for the safety, when leaving the ship from now on.
∞ ∞ ∞
The dire wolves were still circling the mammoth herd when Lee made it to the top of the rock with the two scientists. It was a worn outcrop, a rounded rectangular shape with a flat area about two by three meters at its top. On the side towards the plain, it dropped at about a sixty-degree angle, but it was no more than two to three meters above the surrounding terrain. To the rear, it sloped down gradually. They had had no difficulty climbing it, probably the wolves wouldn’t either if they felt so inclined. If they were hungry, they might be so inclined. But it would channel them into a single field of fire. Well, unless they could leap the two to three meters up the other side.
In a low voice, Lee spoke to the others, who had been lying on the rock observing as he’d come up behind them. “Status?”
“We’ve counted eleven wolves so far, with perhaps another three based on movements in the grass. Most of them are behind the mammoth herd, but there is motion which suggests at least two are circling to the herd’s right flank, or further forward.”
“Intelligent behavior.” Lee was impressed. If the two on the herd’s right made a feint to attack, it could stampede the mammoths in the other direction, leaving the straggler behind, away from the bull that had dropped back. He wondered how they coordinated such a maneuver. He did not want his team caught in the open by such a pack.
“Sir, we could shoot the straggler. It would distract the wolves.”
“That’s not a bad idea. But we don’t know how the animals will react to the sound of our gunshots. And I’m not sure that beast would even notice if we shot it with these pop-guns.” Lee had heard about so-called elephant guns, designed for hunting such beasts. They fired bullets more appropriate to an anti-aircraft gun than the lightweight 5.8mm rounds in their rifles, at as much as three times the caliber and ten times the mass. “Not until the action starts, and wait for my order. And conserve your ammunition, we have only ninety rounds between us and perhaps fifteen wolves. Single, aimed shots.”
They only had the magazines in the rifles, no spares. This wasn’t supposed to have been a damned combat patrol. While everyone had gone through obligatory People’s Liberation Army training, his team comprised scientists, not soldiers. Lee figured they’d be lucky to get one hit per wolf, let alone the four each they had ammo for, and he wasn’t sure even four bullets would take down something as large and mean looking as those dire wolves without a very lucky shot. And unlike enemy soldiers, the wolves wouldn’t understand that being shot at meant they should take cover. They might just charge.
Out in the grass, the wolves were still warily circling their prey. The mammoths had slowed their graze on the march, and some were looking about, lifting their trunks as though to sniff the air. Did they sense the wolves? Things were about to get interesting.
Lee had to update the ship. He raised his omni to his lips, thumbing the button for a connection, and spoke quietly into it.
“Lee Shing to Xinglong, do not acknowledge.” He wanted it quiet. “We are cut off by a pack of large wolves. No immediate danger, but we are delayed. Nobody is to leave the ship without my permission, unless you do not hear from us for an hour. If you do leave, take arms and extra ammunition, loaded and locked. Estimate fifteen wolves, they are stalking the mammoths. Will update you when possible. Acknowledge by click only.” After a few seconds, his omni clicked twice. They’d received his message.
∞ ∞ ∞
It was then the dire wolves made their move. The two, no, three wolves at the herd’s right flank suddenly bounded up with a snarling, barking howl that sent the adrenaline surging through Lee’s body. He’d never heard anything like it. It took him a few seconds to overcome his visceral reaction to just run, then he worked the action on his rifle to chamber a round, making sure Zhang Min and Wang Wei did the same.
In that time, the rest of the pack were now up and, still silently, running to encircle the smaller mammoth and keep it separated from the herd. The mammoths had all stopped in their tracks momentarily at the first wolves’ howls, then raised their trunks and trumpeted while wheeling left and away. They seemed to be merely walking quickly, not galloping, but their long legs made that a speed a human would be hard-pressed to keep up with. The wolves didn’t have any problem with it, however, at least for short sprints. The feinters darted into the herd then swerved off, harrying the mammoths but avoiding their feet. Big as the wolves were, a mammoth could crush one easily with a footstep.
Then the situation changed. The big bull mammoths had moved to the outer edge of the herd, then turned to stand their ground as the females and younger males kept going. One wolf darted in to bite at a bull’s foreleg, only to be kicked aside with a yelp. A swipe of the elephant’s massive trunk knocked it another couple of meters. From his vantage point, Lee couldn’t see if the tusks had been used. They were not so curled as an old Earth’s mammoth’s might be, rather they were straighter, with points nearer the ground, more like an African elephant. If the wolf had been gored, he almost sympathized with it.
The rest of the pack had now surrounded the smaller, straggler mammoth. It was no baby, it was still easily two or three times the height of the wolves, and had tusks of its own. But the nearby bull had waded in to help it. Lee saw at least one wolf lyi
ng inert in the grass, trampled or gored.
The other wolves attacked in a coordinated pattern. Two or three would distract their target, the young straggler, from the front, while others would dart in from the rear, attempting to bite at the backs of its legs and ankles. If they ham-stringed it, it would be unable to walk. Sooner or later the rest of the herd would leave it, and they’d feast. Lee marveled again at the coordinated intelligence they showed. And bravery, if that was the term. Trying to bite a mammoth’s legs was no easy task, and Lee saw several wolves get kicked away violently. What amazed him was that they seemed to get up, shake it off, and try again.
The bull, meanwhile, was not having an easy time of it. About half the pack had surrounded him, and were harassing him with the same tactics the others were using against the smaller one, although with fewer attempts to disable him. Mostly they seemed content with keeping him too distracted to defend the other. He was too concerned with the wolves circling him, darting in and out, and howling that gods-awful sound. It raised its trunk and trumpeted loudly.
The bulls guarding their flank had by now realized where the main threat lay. Several of that group had split off and were coming to the rescue, ignoring the now two lone wolves trying to distract them.
The younger mammoth now limped, but was still upright and moving. There were fewer wolves on the attack. Lee could see several lying scattered, dead or severely injured, and a few others now hanging back from the attack, one of them favoring a probably broken foreleg. What had started as a coordinated, ferocious attack was turning into a defeat in detail, as a trio of bulls would surround a wolf and then gore or trample it.
Okay, the wolves weren’t going to dine on mammoth this evening. What was left of them—and Lee could see at least eight still active, with a few others possibly walking wounded—would still be hungry, and even a wounded wolf could be deadly to him and his men. It was time to pick a side.
Alpha Centauri: The Return (T-Space Alpha Centauri Book 3) Page 5
