by Paul Kidd
“Exactly! So come along, no dawdling! Acid and explosives have to be loaded into the other aircraft. Then we need to do a quick run around to gather other things – tools and the like. We’ll only be able to make one trip!” She leapt up into her budgerigar’s saddle like a true trail veteran. “Our current aircraft has an even dodgier power plant than the last one. Still – it should last the trip home.”
“Really?”
“Hopefully.” The mantis consulted a hand drawn map. “Right, we go a kilometre that way, then two levels down. Yoiks and away!”
“Yoiks and away!” Snapper called back. “Beau! Mount up! We’re working.”
“Yes dear!”
Snapper gave a growl. “Stop that! I mean it!”
Snapper and Beau mounted their animals, then took hold of the pack beasts, along with Kenda’s abandoned beetle horse. With Throckmorton whirring along above, they headed off after the mantis before she could get into trouble.
Up above, the golden morning sun streamed inward through the city’s ceiling, and the artificial birds gave forth a peal of song.
Whilst the security robots were now well and truly deactivated, their past handiwork had left dreadful evidence. As the explorers rode across the vast, deserted city, they found signs of other massacres. Victims had been driven into corrals and gunned down by plasma weapons. Survivors had been hunted down inside the gigantic tree hotels. Some must have managed to escape – clearly there had been many more aircraft in the hangars. But the city was a terrible graveyard.
There were countless skeletons and bones jammed about the locked doors leading down into the storage decks. Kitterpokkie winced, and dismounted carefully. She led her budgerigar quietly forward, gently moving bones aside to clear a path.
Bolts and locks were seldom designed to resist serious work with hammers, chisels and crowbars. Beau and Snapper – far stronger than Kitterpokkie – set to work while Throckmorton hovered above on guard. Kitterpokkie knelt down to quietly move old bones aside, laying them quietly on the scorched, burned plastic grass.
All of the bodies were blue or red chipped – aside from a highly rare gold. Most of the chips were horribly burned and warped – although the gold one and three of the blues seemed in good condition. Throckmorton drifted down and retrieved the gold chip, turning it over and over in his tentacles.
“Should we take these chips?”
Snapper was almost finished hacking through the old bolts on the access door.
“Yeah… Yeah, they don’t need them anymore. When are we ever going to see a gold again?” She wrenched at the door. “Keep it as a souvenir!”
The doors were finally wrenched open. A ramp led down into wide grey corridors below. Light strips flickered into life here and there. Warning signs on the walls were exactly what Kitterpokkie’s dreams were made of. She pushed forward, read the signs, then beckoned everyone to come swiftly down the ramp.
“Hazardous chemicals storage! Come on!”
Snapper raised a finger. “Kitt? What if they’ve leaked and mingled into a hellish fog of doom?”
“Oh don’t be such a baby. I’ll go first.” The mantis sniffed the air as she reached a lower level of the decks. “Seems good!”
Beau looked to Snapper, shook his head dubiously and started down the ramp with Pendleton trundling along behind. Snapper and Throckmorton followed with Onan and the pack animals, half expecting a sinister fog of acid to come pouring through the walls. Snapper came down into a great, broad service corridor – a veritable road that ran around the circumference of the city. A flat-bed cargo carrier stood parked beside the wall, alongside a row of old dusty, half perished overalls hanging from hooks.
Noises of insectoid glee were coming through a large door a few metres beyond. Skulls and crossbones had been stencilled to the doors – along with warnings that breathing equipment was mandatory beyond that point. Snapper found a rack of old filter masks – none of which would fit a shark snout. She growled and pushed her way through the doors, holding them open while the entire procession of companions, riding beasts and pack animals all walked through into the echoing, reeking space beyond.
“Kitt! Be careful!”
The mantis stood in the centre of a vast array of shelves – hopelessly in love with what surrounded her.
Carboys, kegs, canisters and bales of all manner of noxious chemicals were teetering all about. Shelves ran from floor to ceiling, segregated according to the chemicals they stored. Hefty sheets of clear plastic wall formed barriers between each section, the doors sliding aside as Kitterpokkie approached. A rusted forklift stood by a shelf beside her and a metal ladder had been folded neatly beside one of the doors. Kitt ran deeper and deeper into the massive storage room, looking around herself in amazement.
“Nitrate fertiliser! Hydrochloric acid! Chlorine!” She plunged down into another row, and screeched to a halt, pulling a carboy from the shelf that was so heavy it almost tore her arms out of their sockets.
“Mercury! Oh my god – it’s mercury!” She staggered and set the container on the floor. “We take that! And these!” She trotted along a row of shelves, pointing at carboys of nitric acid. “Yes! All of these… Ah, but not those ones…” Five or six of the carboys had leaked. The floor beneath them was discoloured and covered with a yellowish-white crystal. “Oh, and no one walk there. I think it might burn your feet off.”
There were rows and rows of hefty transparent carboys, all labelled with faded strips of coloured plastic. Snapper finally managed to catch Kitterpokkie and haul her to a halt, forcing her to calm down.
“Kitt? Kitt! We have to get back home. If Kenda’s bringing Screamers and an army, hours count.”
“Yes yes yes…” The mantis turned around and around, then something clicked within her. “Right. Okay. Get to the corridor and check that cargo truck out there. See if it can be driven into here. The map showed the road out there goes straight to the hangar.”
“I’m on it.” Beau gave a bow. “Perhaps you might calmly – calmly – prioritise the things we need as cargo?”
Off he went, with Pendleton strolling along behind him as companion and bodyguard. Kitt took a rapid inventory of the shelves, moving almost at a run – leaping over a few piles of spilled chemical powders here and there. She came back and towed Snapper along to show her shelves and labels.
“Right. All those there? That’s nitric acid. And those ones there – hydrochloric. So – fifty-fifty, as many of these as we can. And the mercury. If we have space, the nitrate bales over there.”
Beau came trundling grandly in through the main doors, driving the cargo truck. Pendleton stood on the cargo tray, long tongue hanging out as he enjoyed the ride. The truck’s tires were rather cracked – it was a rough ride, but the machinery still worked. Beau parked and happily waved a hand. “Right! What are we taking?”
Snapper dragged the metal ladder free from a pile of dust.
“We need to move! Fast!”
“Well the robots are all shut down. Should we split up?” Beau coaxed Pendleton down from the truck. “We will cover more ground.”
Snapper hated to do it – hated the thought that someone might get into trouble. Then again, she had been a lone prospector for years. Surely her friends could take care of themselves for a while? She pushed back her helmet, then finally agreed. She looked at the acid carboys. “These things are heavy, so Beau and I will load them. We can drive it all to the aircraft, then unlock the damned thing.” She headed toward the metal ladder. “Kitt and Throckmorton, you guys both fan out for other cargo.”
Throckmorton pulled out his little blackboard and took notes.
“What should Throckmorton try to find?”
Everyone looked to Kitt. She nodded, swiftly forming her thoughts.
“Silver. Throckmorton can take the pack animals around those restaurants and collect silver, sheet brass, copper…” She looked up at the flying plant. “Plates are best – statuettes, that sort of thing. Cutlery is usually an alloy
. Check the restaurants, hotels, ball rooms....”
Throckmorton saluted.
“Throckmorton shall look.”
“Anything else really interesting, just grab it! Batteries, power packs…” The mantis flicked open her notebook and consulted her map. “Meanwhile I shall head off and find those explosives…”
“Go! Take Pendleton and Onan with you.” Snapper had the ladder locked in place against a shelf filled with hefty carboys. “Meet at the aircraft in two hours!”
Throckmorton took the lead ropes for the beetles, budgie and beetle horse, and headed off back towards the upper city. Kitt came running up to Snapper, kissed her on the cheek, and flitted off.
“Be careful storing the acid!” The pink mantis seized hold of Pendleton and Onan, then vanished into the gloom. “I’ll set off a bomb if I get into trouble.”
“Absolutely.”
Snapper sighed. She looked to Beau, then to the great clear bottles filled with horribly dangerous substances. She could only guess as the state the bungs and corks were in.
“Right. Acid and chemicals.”
Beau eyed off the ancient carboys.
“Are we about to be dissolved by acid?”
“There’s a distinct possibility. Keep your gauntlets on.” Snapper tied a cloth about her face. “Right! Bottom rows first. Let’s go.”
Kitterpokkie clambered aboard Pendleton and rode him at a gallop along a long, high road beneath the city decks. Onan ran easily alongside them, wonderfully pleased with the outing after being penned up. Kitt could immediately see why Beau adored riding Pendleton. The creature’s movement was wonderfully silky, and his fur made for a plush, luxurious ambience. He also smelled rather pleasantly of leather and spice. They all raced along the road, through sparsely lit dark zones, and on into a side corridor where orange robots dusted walls and floors to a startling gleam.
Kitt had to screech to a halt at one section of road where a tangle of crashed old vehicles blocked the way. She found a side route, ducking under vast humming machinery, and came at last to a storage room with a solidly locked door. She climbed down from Pendleton – the huge moth politely extended one strong leg to provide her with a stepladder. The mantis scratched his furry ruff with all four arms.
“Thank you, Pendleton, dear! You are a gentleman.”
The creature basked in her praise.
Onan inspected the door locks, then peered in through a little window in the door. Kitt joined him, looking in to see a sturdy strongroom with a great many sealed crates. She unshipped her plasma rifle, and flicked the mechanism on.
“Right! A pace to the rear, boys! Mind the flash!”
A plasma bolt seared out to blast the central lock out of the door. Kitt used only the barest charge, governed by her very own, self-designed controls. She was wonderfully pleased when the doors sagged open. That she did not suddenly blow up was a bonus. She took a crowbar and used it to push the smoking door leaves wide apart.
“Excellent! Aaah – here’s the ticket!”
The explosives were stored in sealed crates, each one thoughtfully provided with carry handles. There were also detonators, along with remote control units designed to trigger off them off. She also found a store of hard hats, respirators and radios. Using her meagre muscles to the fullest, Kitt loaded up Onan and Pendleton. It all seemed to take a horribly long while, and the effort was utterly exhausting.
With the store room emptied of useful materials, the mantis flicked open her map and tried to find the most useful route back to the hangar. Dog tired, she turned the map around until she had it the right way up, took a breath, then tapped at the paper.
“Right! We’ll head back via maintenance. Might be something worth seeing.” She straightened her back. “Come along chaps! Let’s not be late!”
And so it was that two and a half hours later, Kitterpokkie finally staggered into the hangar deck. The two riding animals were laden down with explosives, detonators, assorted power tools, drill bits and measuring equipment. The mantis herself heroically carried a sack full of antibiotics and an emergency solar power generator slung across her back. The others were all working busily at the rear of the sole remaining aircraft, but all ran forward as Kitterpokkie arrived. Snapper had clearly been concerned.
“Kitt! You’re an hour late!”
“I found… Stuff.” The mantis collapsed to the floor. “Good stuff. Radios. Big, big batteries. Power drills… And… a power thingy.” She waved an exhausted hand back the way that she had come. “There’s a big stock of copper, steel ingots and polymers and so on about a kilometre thattaway. Should we try taking them?”
Snapper took charge of the sacks of parts and pieces Kitt had salvaged. Her eyes bulged as she tried to lift them – Godfish only knew how the mantis had managed to carry them two kilometres through the passageways. With an effort she slung them into the rear of the aircraft.
“I think we’re getting close to full weight limit. The computer thingy’s already giving us gyp.” She heaved boxes of explosives down from Onan’s back. “Hey birdie! Did you have a nice walk?”
“Nice walk! Good birdie. Clever!” The cockatoo looked guilessly at Snapper. “Salty cracker?”
“Yeah, here you go.” Fortunately the new aircraft had also held a small store of crackers. “Pendleton? Cracker?”
The huge moth creature stuck out his disturbingly long purple and magenta tongue. Snapper placed some crackers on the thing, and Pendleton reeled it back in. He munched in great contentment while Beau busily unloaded explosives off his back.
Throckmorton had done well. A clattering array of silver ewers, trophies and gee-gaws had been gathered in sacks, as well as assorted gems, rings and bangles from jewellery shops. The plant bustled over and brought some of his finds to Kitterpokkie for identification.
“Throckmorton is not sure if this is silver…”
Kitt took hold of a set of extraordinary looking necklaces and frowned.
“Platinum, I think. Still – good stuff for electronics.”
“What about this?”
The plant had found a gold statuette upon a circular base. It seemed weirdly stylised, as if half melted. The gold plating had been scraped away somewhat at the back, showing a silvery metal beneath. Kitterpokkie thoughtfully hefted the thing in her hands.
“Well, it’s certainly gold plated…” The mantis peered carefully at an exposed part of the metal underneath. “A tin alloy, I would think. Brittanium? Damned useful!” She read a label written onto the base of the statuette. “Who was ‘Citizen Kane’?”
“Year’s best citizen award or something?” Snapper slung the statue into a sack. “That’s it. That’s all we can take.”
The animals were all ushered aboard and threaded into place between carboys of acid, bales of nitrates and boxes of high explosives. Beau and Throckmorton, Onan and Pendleton posed beside the aircraft while Kitterpokkie took a photograph – and they took one of her in return. With all jobs done, there was a sudden silence in the air. The hangar echoed to the slow, low hum of the massive city’s engines. Kitterpokkie stood with Snapper, side by side, looking at the huge hangar bay, and then out to the blue sky beyond.
She rested a hand upon Snapper’s shoulder.
“Well then – let us be gone.” She looked about the empty hangar bay. “Who knows, maybe one day we’ll be back.”
“Yeah. Sure be worth it.” Snapper led the way up into the aircraft. “Is that a solar power generator you found?”
“Damned useful thing in the field. I can recharge my plasma gun. Well, eventually.” Kitterpokkie climbed into a seat. “Are we ready?”
“Ready as we can be.”
The rear hatch lifted slowly closed as the engines began to whine. Snapper settled herself into a seat, and a hologram opened up to hover in mid air beside her.
“Safety warning! Power plant will undergo catastrophic detonation in approximately forty five minutes.”
“No problem. ETA to Padbury,
please.”
“Thirty eight minutes.”
Snapper pointed at a position on the map..
“Right here. Five kilometres southwest of Padbury. And don’t spare the budgerigars!”
“I do not understand reference. Please explain budgerigars.”
Snapper waved a hand. “Just take us to the map position.”
“ETA Thirty eight minutes. Please have a good flight, honoured board member.”
The aircraft lifted ponderously from the ground, its power plant making disturbing noises. Slowly the craft turned to face the hangar doors, and began to move forward. In the main cabin, Onan flapped his wings and squawked. Pendleton peered out of a window, and a pack beetle fluffed out its wings.
Kitt opened up her notebook, and passed paper over to Snapper.
“Look out of the windows as we go. We’re going to want to make a start on maps for all those lands down below.”
“For when we head back?”
“Of course.” Kitterpokkie rested her face against the window, looking back at the mighty city in the sky as the aircraft slowly moved away from the hangar.
“We’re explorers. And the world is ours to find.”
Groaning, shuddering, and with the engine nacelles emitting great crackling sparks of energy, the aerodyne came lurching down onto the plains a kilometre from the front gate of good old Spark Town, right in the middle of the scene of Snapper’s mighty cavalry charge. With the computer hologram’s alarming count-down still ringing in their ears, the explorers opened the rear hatch. Onan, Pendleton and the pack animals all tumbled out onto the ground, looking about at familiar sights in delight. Excited vaqueros came riding in from the nearest ranches, utterly spellbound by the aircraft. They whooped in delight as Snapper emerged, with Kitterpokkie, Beau and Throckmorton in her wake. Riders sped towards the town with the unexpected news, while other vaqueros rode up and tossed flasks of cider to the new arrivals. Snapper drank deep, heaved a mighty sigh of satisfaction, then gave out a great roar of delight.
“The cavalry has arrived!”
