Crucible of a Species (20 page)

Lieutenant Alex Thrumbold
looked up as a series of dark, swift shadows passed over the map table. This was the lieutenant’s first chance to be outside the Argos since the original liftoff and it felt good to be under a wide-open sky in the fresh early morning air among the wonders of this new planet. It was an exciting start to what he hoped would be a beautiful day even if it did begin with a map reading.

An excited smile arose as he identified the passing shadows as belonging to a group of flying reptiles similar to the ones he had heard Dr. Sandra Shieve call pterosaurs. The flyers were gliding in a line down the wind currents of the valley like a graceful flight of impossibly large pelicans. They soared on long, thin wings stretched out to carry their white-spotted, fuzzy reptile-grey bodies with little effort. Each sported an orange head-crest that topped a tapered beak packed with pointy teeth. Lazily the flight winged its way out toward the red sunrise laden skies of the eastern ocean.

Lieutenant Braxton Johnson briefly turned his head to follow Thrumbold’s gaze and then returned to the charts spread across the table. He’d seen these sights many times in the last few days and right now the only thing he wanted, besides another cup of coffee, was to recover his Hunter Recon from the ocean floor as soon as possible.

Colonel Drake noticed his aide’s distraction but his concentration focused on Braxton, “Sounds like a pretty crazy scheme but we desperately need that Hunter. It remains at risk as long as it sits down on that seabed. What does our Chief of Engineering think about this whole idea?”

“Sir, he agrees with the plan. Since the craft hasn’t lost cabin integrity, the easiest way we can retrieve the Hunter, without inflicting more damage, is to carry parts down and repair the drive right where she sits.

“It’s going to be a bit tricky getting the parts into the airlock. Lieutenant Anderson suggested we use Hunter Recon Two and simply set it down on the sandy bottom next to my Hunter. From there we can do an airlock-to-airlock transfer. This way, we don’t have to risk our necks swimming down from the surface and there will only be a short distance where we’ll be exposed underwater during the transfer. Then it’s just a matter of fixing the drive and I can fly her home.

“Anderson’s agreed to go along with me so I’ll have the Gravitonics Drive expert right at my side. Here’s a list of parts that Sgt. Martel and Alex assembled. All we need is your approval for withdrawal from stock and for execution of the plan.”

“Very good, Lieutenant. Let’s do it, dismissed.”

“I never envisioned the valley to be so beautiful, Colonel.” Lieutenant Thrumbold commented.

“Huh? Have you been paying attention here Thrumbold?

“Aw, belay that. You’re right, let’s take a break. I guess I haven’t had much chance to sightsee.”

The colonel picked up his cigar, stood back and stretched as he looked out across the river far below them before finally focusing on his XO, a
nd that’s just one of the reasons why you keep the guy around. He’s always there to show you a new angle on the problem or to relax things just a bit. Someday I’ll tell him how much I appreciate these little interruptions.

Drake noticed Chief Gorman “Cookie” Slap approaching. The chief came to attention and presented a quick salute. Slap was the galley’s CPO and always joked that with a name like his he preferred being called “Cookie.” Colonel Drake set down his cigar and returned the casual salute before picking up his coffee mug, “I think your coffee’s getting better since we landed, Cookie. What can I do for you?”

“I think it’s the fresh water we’re now using, Colonel.

“Sir, we encountered a problem while offloading supplies. At least half of the flash-processed food crates have been broken into. They aren’t very big holes so we didn’t notice them right away. I think those dinosaurs that Chief Meecham caught are the culprits since the buggers only hit the crates holding meat. It ain’t pretty, sir. The little devils must have defecated right inside the boxes as they ate their way through the stores. We haven’t completed a full inspection of the remaining supplies but I’d say that, if we’re careful, we’re down to about three weeks rations.”

“Three weeks! You’ve gotta be friggin’ kiddin’ me! Those compartments were locked tight and sealed. How the hell did something get into the compartment much less cut through all the sealed containers?”

“Sir, I’m just reporting our status. Meaning no disrespect but it’s not my job to guard the foodstuffs. It’s also not my job to get the food. I just cook it.”

“Who else knows about this?”

“Just the galley staff, sir. I told them to keep their traps shut and came straight over to you.”

“Well, you did something right. What do you suggest we do about it, Cookie?”

“Shit, I don’t know. I guess someone’s gotta go and … yeah, that’s it, Colonel. There’s plenty of game around here.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. We don’t even know if we can eat the monsters walking around outside the fence, Cookie. Hell, anyone I send out there hunting is more likely to be eaten than to bring back food for our shelves.”

Cookie immediately returned, “How about them skinny things, the ones that keep running after the dozers? They’re all over the place and they don’t seem to be so fierce.”

Drake chewed on his cigar a moment before answering, “There’s not much meat on ‘em. As you well know, we have four hundred and seventy nine mouths to feed on this plateau. I don’t want to turn hunting into a full time job.

“Alex, did Nolen keep any samples from the tyrannosaurs that attacked the berm?”

“Nothing I’d want to try and eat, Colonel. Stuff goes bad very fast in this heat and the engineers were more interested in getting the AutoSentinel berm up and running than in taking samples.

“Sir, maybe we should ask Dr. Shieve and see what she suggests. Sandra’s the closest thing we have to a local animal expert.”

“Good suggestion, Lieutenant. Let’s do that and I’ll take it a step further.

“Cookie, you will keep this quiet. Tell your people that not a word is to get out about the break-in. Do one last thing for me and then you’re dismissed. Go out and give my regards to Ensign Petrika and Sgt. Martel. Ask them to come over as soon as they can. Also find and invite Doctor Shieve to join the meeting.”

The lieutenant carefully waited until Cookie left before continuing, “Colonel, have you considered the possibility that the crate damage may not have been caused by dinosaurs? I don’t see how they would have known there was food in crates whose contents are both flash processed and sealed.”

“Yeah, that’s just my thought Alex but Cookie’s not the right guy for us to be telling we have saboteurs among us. You know he can’t keep his tongue still.

“As soon as you can, update Chief Meecham. Tell him to make sure that all the suspects are never alone. Keep them busy and paired with someone he trusts. Then contact Nolen and ask him to have his people analyze some of the crates. See if they can determine who or what caused the damage.”

“The ensign’s already headed this way, sir, and it looks like he brought everyone. That was a quick response. They must have been expecting your call.”

Ensign Petrika, Sgt. Martel, Dr. Shieve and Tom Bradley arrived at the command tent. The colonel glared at the journalist as he approached the outdoor command center.

“Good morning,” Colonel Drake presented a salute to them but quickly returned to stare at the journalist. The cigar bobbled in his lips as he growled at the journalist, “This is a bit of a surprise Mr. Bradley. Do you need something?”

“Yes sir, I need to contribute and earn my keep. I hear you’re planning an expedition down into the valley and I’d like to help. It’ll mean one less of your people that you’ll have to take off the regular duty roster.”

“I’ll vouch for him, sir.” Sgt. Martel spoke up. “The young man seems to handle himself well and we could use an extra pair of hands and backpack.”

The colonel pulled out his cigar and examined it for a moment as he thought over the comment. This was the first cigar he’d been able to enjoy since leaving Earth and he would be damned if he was going to waste it, “Have this all thought out already, do you? Okay, Mr. Bradley, you’re in but you listen to what these guys tell you to do. Also remember that this is a working expedition and not a photo holiday, so don’t slow them down. Now, let’s get back on topic.

“I asked you here because we need to replenish the foodstuffs lost to those scavengers. I gather you already know this much or you wouldn’t have arrived so quickly nor would you have been so well prepared. So much for Cookie keeping his mouth shut.

“I won’t bore you with the details since you seem to already have a plan. I assume this is your doing, Sergeant. So, go ahead and see if you can bring back something edible. Dr. Shieve, that’s why you’re along, as of now you are our official dinosaur expert.

“We’re looking for any edible foodstuffs. Apples, potatoes, fruit, nuts or anything like that would be good. I’m primarily looking for a good supply of meat that we don’t have to go after with a tank or Hunter Recon. However, the animal should be something big enough that we won’t have to kill a hundred of them to meet our needs.”

The answer was obvious to the doctor, “We were a bit lucky on this one since the only foodstuffs we lost were meat and vegetables and fruits would have been harder to get. I don’t know if you noticed but most of the plants in the upper plateau are gymnosperms. You know; pines, palms and other similar plants. The flowering plants that produce our edible fruits, nuts, and even potatoes are just beginning to evolve. I’d be surprised if we find anything at all in the way of fruits and vegetables of any size to make them worthwhile cooking. Still if they are here, we’ll probably find them down in the river valley where it’s not as dry.

“As for meat, I recommend we try the hadrosaurs. They’re the big ones with the flat nose that looks something like a duck. Hadrosaurs are the closest thing around here that is equivalent to a steer in our world. The herds I’ve seen are big. They are grass eaters, so the meat should be sweet, and I expect we’ll find they are relatively gentle. I’ve seen several herds down along the marshlands in the valley.

“Can we use the Hunter to fly in and back out?”

“No, we’re concentrating on lifting Hunter One from the seabed today and for most of tomorrow. You people will be on your own for this one. That means hiking down to the valley floor, butchering and bringing the meat samples up here on your backs.

“Still want to go Mr. Bradley?”

“Yes, Colonel. Like I said, I’m willing to earn my keep and besides, this will probably be the best place for a good story.”

Drake raised an eyebrow, “Eh? Okay but remember what I said. Don’t slow them down.

“Ensign Petrika, you’re in charge but you listen closely to anything the sergeant recommends. I don’t want to hear that you guys were acting like tourists. Just get down there and bring us something that Cookie will be happy to work with. One last thing, I don’t want anyone packing any electronics and that includes radio equipment. Remember what happened to our communications shed. The damn animals are drawn by anything with an electric field.”

*~~*~~*~~*

Ensign Petrika
decided to use a trail they’d found that started from a point near the top of the waterfalls. The engineers working on the defensive berm had explored the narrow, treacherous path over part of its length but nobody had ever followed it to its end. With any luck, the trail would be passable all the way down to the valley floor.

The meadow around them was finally beginning to look like a proper base. Three of the self-fabricating workshops were already under assembly and almost all of the ship’s crew was out this morning. Morale seemed higher than it had for more than a week.

With the exception of the AutoSentinels, all noncritical electronics outside the shielding of the Argos were shutdown. The sensitivity of any theropod meat-eater and particularly the larger tyrannosaurus predator dinosaurs to any electronic emissions restricted their use to only those instances when it was a necessity and then only for short messages. They would be out of touch until their return to Argos Base.

Ensign Petrika halted the team before entering the clearing bordering the berm, “Sarge, move forward and announce our arrival. Keep your head low, I don’t know how jumpy they might be.”

The sergeant covered the last forty yards and then crouched behind a tree before shouting out, “Patrol entering the security area, request permission to move forward.”

“Permission granted, come on in Sarge,” replied the guard who had instantly recognized the sergeant’s voice.

Corporal Ryan Tyree, a tall marine engineer with thin sandy hair, broad shoulders and a trim waistline walked over to meet the team. Sgt. Martel emerged from the brush and smiled, “Nice to see you on your toes, Corporal. You having any problems out here?”

“Quiet as a mouse, most of the locals seem to be avoiding the clearing since the big ruckus they raised during construction.”

“He’s just being macho, Sarge,” Private Sara Hsu, a short, auburn-haired marine commented from the top of the berm. “We would have been in deep shit if it weren’t for the AutoSentinels. We’ve had at least a half a dozen incidents in our shift where something big passed close enough to draw fire. The dinos are following the length of the berm but they’re staying out of the clearing. We can hear and see them in the IR targeting scopes but they never fully show themselves and it seems like we’re seeing more and more of them as time goes on. They ain’t so dumb, though. Somehow, even new ones coming into the area quickly learn about the barrier and most of them keep well back from the clearing.”