“Alright, Burgess, keep an eye on the scan and buzz me if they figure a way through.
Meanwhile, tell the boys to be ready ta drop and burn if’n they do get through.” Cappy sighed
sullenly and went back to the bathroom.
Chapter 19
Everyone on the bridge turned in surprise when Kepler whooped. The captain gave him a
sharp look, but did not say anything.
“My apologies, Captain.” Kepler said, blushing in embarrassment.
“I assume this means you have news?” The captain asked. He eyed Ensign Kepler with
just a touch of humor in his expression.
“Yes, sir, I think I do. I may have figured out how to break through the interference in
the ionosphere. It should, at least, let us scan the surface.” Kepler bit his lip, trying to hide his
excitement. He loved a puzzle, and this one had been a tough one. The lives of the kids on the
drop ship might also ride on the answer, which had only made Kepler want to solve the puzzle of
the ionosphere even more.
“Very good, Ensign, you may proceed.”
“Thank you sir. The key to the whole thing is to determine the frequency of the existing
interference. We should be able to do this by pulsing phased radio…”
The captain interrupted Kepler with a raised hand. “Ensign, I meant that you can proceed
with your plan. I don’t need to know how it works. Just make it work.”
“Yes sir. It will only take a few moments to ” Kepler nodded excitedly and turned back
to his console. He typed in a short program telling the computer what to do and sent the
command to the computer core. Kepler imagined that he could hear the humming of the pulsing
radio waves streaming down on the planet from the ship’s communications array.
The captain watched the planet on the main viewscreen with interest. He smiled when
the pearly white atmosphere began to change color. The white gently bled into a cool green, and
then to a soft blue. He looked over his shoulder, pleased that Ensign Kepler’s scheme seemed to
be having some effect on the interference keeping them from rescuing the kids from the drop
ship.
“Any idea how long this may take, Ensign?” The captain said, turning to address the
pleased-looking, young officer.
“It depends on the modulation. If the interference in the ionosphere changes too rapidly,
it may not work at all, but if it stays the same then it should not take more than ninety minutes.”
“Excellent work, Ensign,” the captain said. “Inform me as soon as we have an answer.”
Kepler watched his console intently as the ship beamed different radio frequencies at the
planet, watching the shifting colors. If the computer could generate the right combination of
radio waves the ships sensors would be able to penetrate the interference. Given enough time,
the interference could be eliminated completely.
Kepler felt good. For the first time since the accident with the drop ship, there was a
chance to save the children.
Chapter 20
The changing colors of the sky had set the creepers off, causing them to hoot wildly and
scamper among the underbrush in seeming panic. DeepRoot and ClearSky simply stared up the
changing sky for a moment and then began to herd Devon and the others out of the clearing,
deeper into the woods.
Jacinda gave Devon a questioning look and then gestured at the sky.
Devon Shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe that is why we crashed.”
The three friends followed DeepRoot and ClearSky out of the clearing. The creepers
moved very quickly through the dense bushes and trees. The foliage almost seemed to part for
them, opening a path wide enough for the children to follow with ease.
Devon could felt a sense of urgency in DeepRoot and ClearSky. Something about the
way they were moving made him think that wherever they were going was important. He only
hoped that he could figure out what the creepers wanted from them.
They climbed up hills and down ravines, scurried across meadows and slogged through a
gloomy swamp. All the while they watched the shifting colors of the sky.
Devon was not sure how much time had passed since they had gone with the creepers,
but it seemed like hours. He was getting very tired and was not sure how much farther he could
go. With just a look, he could tell that Jacinda and Merrell were feeling the same way.
DeepRoot suddenly stopped. ClearSky turned, motioning for Devon and his friends to
stop as well. Devon had a chance for the first time in a while to survey their surroundings. They
stood in a dense stand of trees that resembled bamboo, but a thick as his waist. There was a brisk
breeze blowing trough the trees, making them sway. They gave off a soft creaking sound as the
moved with the breeze.
Devon began to hear another sound above the sound of the trees swaying. Just at limit of
his hearing he heard what sounded like some sort of grunting. DeepRoot and ClearSky also
heard the sound. DeepRoot held up a cautioning hand, cocking his head as if to hear better.
The grunting grew louder, coming closer. It almost sounded like pigs, but with shrill
yaps between the grunts. The sounds were making Devon nervous. Whatever was making them
sounded big, and in a jungle like this bigger usually meant trouble.
The breath caught in Devon’s throat as four huge beasts ambled into view. They looked
like huge, bristled-haired wolves with long tusks jutting out from their lower jaws. They tested
the air with their fleshy noses every few feet. As they came closer Devon realized that these
things, whatever they were, were more pig than wolf. But that did not make them any less
dangerous. He knew in his heart what these must be.
Devon looked back at Jacinda and Merrell. Merrell looked worried, but Jacinda looked
on the edge of panic. Her eyes went from the creatures to Devon and back again. He mouth
moved as if she was trying to speak, but nothing came out. Merrell sensed Jacinda’s panic and
drew him into his arms. It seemed to help. She shut her eyes tightly, shutting out the sight of the
creatures.
Coming from a mining colony on an asteroid, the biggest animal Jacinda had ever seen
for real was a large cat one of the workers smuggled in. Of course she had seen vids of the
creatures of old earth, like elephants and horses, but seeing a picture of one and being confronted
with creatures this size were two different experiences.
“Bowzers,” Jacinda muttered under her breath.
At the sound of her voice, the head of the largest bowzer snapped toward their hiding
place. It squinted at them with its small, piggy eyes, sniffing the air greedily for any scent. It
moved closer, led by its furiously working snout. It stopped for a moment as if analyzing a new
smell.
The rest of the beasts noticed that their companion was on the trail of something.
Interested in sharing in any hidden morsels, they turned as a group and began to follow him. All
of the bowzers sniffed the air in excitement. They soon caught the scent of the children as well.
They squealed in excitement and rushed toward the group of hidden creepers and children.
DeepRoot stepped out from his hiding place, putting himself protectively between the
bowzers and the children. He let out a deep, rumbling hoot and the bowzers stopped in their
tracks, but still pranced nervously. DeepRoot hooted again. ClearSky joined in and began to
hoot in a sad harmony. Their hoots mingled together, almost sounding like a song. This seemed
to calm the bowzers, who began to mill about, sampling nearby foliage. Soon the bowzers lost
interest in the children and simply wandered away from the clearing.
Devon realized that he had been holding his breath. He let it out with a rush, then sucked
in a deep breath. He looked over at Merrell and Jacinda to make sure they were alright as well.
Merrell had released Jacinda, but still stood very close to her. Jacinda was back to normal.
Gone was the look of terror and the familiar look of determination had returned.
DeepRoot and ClearSky turned to each other and clasped hands. Devon wondered what
they could be talking about, if that was they were doing could be called. They must be
communicating. They stood that way only for a few moments but a decision had obviously been
made.
ClearSky motioned for Devon and the others to follow her. DeepRoot turned and strode
out of the clearing. Devon could see DeepRoot disappearing into the trees, a purpose in his
stride.
ClearSky motioned again for Devon and the others to follow her. With a sigh, he turned
and followed her into the darkening forest. The sun was going down, but he no longer feared the
bowzers. The little demonstration made it obvious the creepers knew how to handle them.
Devon felt much more hope for their survival.
***
Their spirits buoyed by their successful encounter with the bowzers, Devon and the
others walked with new enthusiasm. Most of their tiredness had fallen away and their steps were
lighter. ClearSky sensed this and picked up the pace.
The trail began to slope gently upward. The change was small, but Devon’s legs began to
tire. Jacinda and Merrell also showed signs of tiring. Devon gave a sigh of relief when he
realized that they were at the top of the slope. The sigh caught in his throat as he crested the
ridge and saw what was on the other side. He heard Jacinda gasp as she saw as well.
The forest ended abruptly at the peak of the ridge. The far side of the hill had been torn
away. With no canopy above, smoke filled the sky over the valley beyond, if it could be called
that. The valley looked more like some mythological leviathan with an unquenchable hunger for
dirt and rock had fed for days. The valley was now a great wound in the earth with small pools
of molten lava dotting the floor like the oozing blood of the planet.
Devon, Jacinda, and Merrell stared down at the destruction in utter disbelief.
“This isn’t natural,” Jacinda said.
“What? How do you know?” Devon asked.
“Believe me, I have lived in and around mines all my life. I know what natural rock
looks like. Someone did this on purpose.” There were tears in Jacinda’s eyes.
Merrell shook his head. “Who would do something like this?”
“Probably the same people who attacked the creepers,” Devon answered.
As if on cue a small ship passed overhead with a roar. Jacinda gasped.
“I recognize that ship from the vision ClearSky gave me. It
is
the same kind of ship that
attacked the creepers.”
They watched the ship descend into the valley and skim the lava below. It slowed and
then began to hover in the shadow of a steep cliff. It swayed in the roiling updrafts from the
surrounding lava, slowly descending. With a start Devon realized that the ship was about to land
on some sort of structure sitting near a large pool of lava.
“Do you see that down there?” Devon asked the others.
“I sure do,” answered Jacinda. “That looks like some sort of mining platform.”
Devon looked confused. “Mining? What would they be mining, lava?”
“Exactly. I have read a lot about it. The miners pump lava in and filter out all of the
heavy elements from it. They pump the rest out as slag.”
“That sounds dangerous,” Devon said.
“It is,” Jacinda nodded. “If you make any mistakes it can be deadly. That is why they
only do it on dead worlds. It is just too dangerous to do on inhabited worlds. The mining can
cause lots of problems with the air.”
“Like pollution?” Merrell asked.
“Yes, pollution, and worse. I don’t understand how it all works but I think that to the get
the most valuable stuff, which is heavy, they have to stir up the lava. I have heard that they use
big bombs or other really destructive stuff. That’s what makes it so dangerous. On a dead world
there is nobody affected by the earthquakes or new volcanoes that pop up.”
“How could they do it here? They are killing the creepers.” Devon’s voice filled with
anger.
“My guess is that these are outlaw miners. Not much better than pirates.” Anger also
showed in Jacinda’s voice. “I bet they figured that Forrestal was a backwater that nobody would
care about. The creepers were an unexpected problem so they just decided to blast them. People
like this give all miners a bad name. Jacinda and her family were happy to be miners, but they
knew that a lot of people looked down on miners. Many people saw them as uneducated and
simple, unable to make a living at anything other than digging holes. Jacinda’s father always
