Lord of the Flies-HOMEPAGE

My Home Town-HOMEPAGE

CHAPTERS

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The Christa Affair

Chapter Eight

As they approached the domes, the airsleds broke formation and came in slowly from opposite sides of the deserted camp. Jashi brought his sled to a full stop about fifty yards outside the west edge of the site, hovering just above the tree-tops. Karli had the Uzi, covering the area of the camp visible from their position. "See anything from your side?" Jashi spoke into his communicator.

"Nothing from here," came Toko's reply from the other sled, which had taken up position on the east side of the domes. "Shall we go back up for another look?"

"Affirmative," responded Jashi. "Straight up -- fifty feet. Ready... Now!" Simultaneously, the two sleds shot into the air on opposite sides of the camp. "Nothing here. How about you?"

"Nothing," answered Toko, "Wait a minute... Looks like the sled. Next to those bushes by the south-west dome. See it?"

Jashi manuvered the hovering sled for a better view of the indicated area. "Got it," he said. "Take a position where you can cover as much of the area as possible -- we'll land and come in from this side. Anything you can't identify -- shoot to kill. That's an order. My responsibility." Jashi hesitated; all comm transmissions were automatically recorded in the control room of the \Klondike\, and became part of the military log... "Correction. Make that \anything hostile\, shoot to kill... But don't take any chances." Jashi circled down to a landing between the two domes on the west side of the camp.

As he and Karli dismounted, they could see the number two sled hovering a hundred feet overhead, slightly off to the south-east corner of the camp. From their position, Suu Toko and Roi could see the entire campsite; two Uzis and a Carlson were held ready, should anything threatening appear below. "We see you and have you covered, Jashi," said Toko." Sing out when you're ready to move."

Jashi acknowledged Toko's transmission, then called the ship. "Captain to \Klondike\. Got us on your scanners?" He and Karli were crouched back to back between the sled and the dome, weapons at the ready.

To his surprise, it was Mowii who answered. "Five good returns on the bioscan, Captain, plus..." She faltered for a moment. "Plus Rang. If it's him." Her voice steadied again. "No change since you left here; still weak but steady. Anything I can do to help? I'm okay now."

"Just what you're... Wait a minute! Lito, circuit delta -- private." Now he could talk to Lito without the others hearing, and without that damn military recorder.

"She seems to be fine, Jashi," Lito acknowledged on the private channel, anticipating Jashi's question. "I let her have a Revtab. She's alert and wants in on the action."

"Okay," Jashi replied, "I'll rely on your judgement. Have her unship and power up the number one landingcraft. And that's all! When it's ready to go, make sure she comes back inside. And watch those scanners. If there's anybody here but us, I want to know it before \they\ do." As an afterthought he added, "Better log it -- the Admiral'll have my head if we don't follow procedure. Yell when she's finished." He switched back to the common circuit.

(.... "Good decision, Jash. May need a little high-power backup. She'll be fine. Ready when you are... Let's go get Rang! ....")

(.... "Careful, Karli. And stay close. Wonder if we have to log \this\ for the Admiral? ....") "We're moving out now, Toko," he spoke into his communicator. "We'll try the south-west dome first. Mowii's warming up one of the boats, just in case." Jashi and Karli moved quickly to the entrance to the dome, and ducked inside.

They crouched at the ready just inside the entrance-way, warily scanning the dome's interior. Karli gasped as she spotted the crumpled body in the center of the room. (.... "Wait! ....") said Jashi, as she started to move toward it. Rang lay where he had fallen, his Uzi on the floor beside him; if he was alive, it wasn't apparent. (.... "Watch outside ...."). He handed her his Uzi.

Satisfied that the room was empty except for the still form in its center, Jashi scrambled across to Rang and turned him face-up, feeling quickly for a pulse. "I found him," Jashi transmitted to the others. "He's alive. Bring in the med-unit, stat! Everybody look alive, no more air cover." Seconds later the other sled swooped to a landing just outside the entrance-way.

Suu and Toko carried in the medical unit, while Karli and Roi guarded the doorway. Working quickly, they attached the headband and turned on the bioscanner. He appeared to be in a deep coma; heart rate and respiration were well below sleep-normal, but his brain-wave readout was twice what it should be if he were conscious. "Look at that brain-scan!" exclaimed Jashi. "Adrenaline?"

"Negative!" snapped Suu. "I don't like the brain-wave level. His other signs are low but stable... Let's just get him back to the ship." They began lifting the limp body onto the stretcher. "What's this?" Jashi asked, as a shiny golfball-sized sphere fell from Rang's hand and rolled across the floor.

"Big trouble, guys!" Lito's voice was tense over the comm. "Five life-forms -- non-human -- five hundred yards north, moving your way fast."

"Roger, \Klondike\." Jashi tucked the mysterious sphere into his pocket. "Looks like we're gonna need some backup. Can you handle it Mowii?"

"I'm fine, but it'll be another ten minutes," answered Mowii.

"Don't move in until I order it. Just let me know when you're operational," responded Jashi. Ten minutes could be an eternity.

(.... "Company coming up the road, Karli! Sing out when you spot em ....") They had Rang on the stretcher and strapped down.

"They're splitting up, guys. One coming straight in, two circling around each side. Wait a minute... The one coming in from the north has stopped." It was Lito, pinpointing the intruders with the \Klondike's\ scanners. "Looks like he's waiting for the others to get into position. Get out of there, guys!"

Jashi acknowledged as they started toward the door. They were almost there when he heard the staccato hiss of an Uzi, spitting repeated micro-second bursts of energy-beam as someone leaned heavily on the trigger. (.... Shock .... excitement .... exultation .... "Got the son of a bitch! ....") "One down -- east side... They're grasshoppers!" shouted Karli over the comm. "The other one made it back to the trees."

(.... "Such language! ....") "Understand one down, east side... one in the trees. Grasshoppers?!"

(.... "Yes, Darling, grasshoppers... And they're \ugly\! Sorry ....") "Affirmative. Grasshoppers."

"Confirm hostile intent."
"Well... It was taking aim at me when I killed it! Good enough?"

"The two on the west are coming up to the back of your dome," said Lito. "Did you say grasshoppers?"

"Affirmative, grasshoppers... Estarani!" snapped Jashi as they reached the door and lowered the stretcher to the floor. He turned toward the rear wall of the dome, Carlson drawn; the air crackled as he held down the firing stud, slicing sideways with the beam. The dome sagged slightly as a four-inch horizontal slice of the wall disappeared along the entire west side. "That'll give em something to think about! Lito?"

"Both pulled back into the trees. You may have tagged one of them. Slower than the other."

The dome creaked and sagged dangerously; the damn thing was going to collapse! "Lito... We're gonna have to move. This dome's falling apart! How much longer on the boat?" Jashi ran across the room and flung himself prone on the floor, peering into the woods thru the gash in the wall.

"Three minutes," responded Mowii, her voice steady. The dome creaked again -- louder this time -- and debris rained down around Jashi. Three minutes? They had to move now!

"Roi, get across to the south-east dome. When I tell you, cut a hole in the wall and set the woods on fire with your Carlson. Use the whole charge, even if it melts down... I'll do the same on this side. Jashi slammed a fresh power unit into his Carlson, returning the half-used one to his utility belt; it would probably take the whole charge to start a good blaze in the green trees. He spoke into his comm, "Zero him in, Lito."

"Can do, Jashi." There was a long burst from both Uzis, as the females raked the woods beyond the camp, then Roi was out the door and sprinting across the courtyard between the domes.

"He made it!" shouted Karli.

"Still stationary, Roi," transmitted Lito. "Zero-eight-zero degrees relative -- thirty yards. Wait... it's moving! So's the north one... Damn! Here they come -- all four of em!"

"Now!" shouted Jashi into his communicator.

Ozone and the smell of death filled the air as the world seemed to come apart around them. Jashi torched the woods with the beam of his Carlson, holding down the firing stud until the grip of the pistol blistered his hand. Tossing it away, he sprinted for the door.

From the woods, an energy beam answered his fire, taking out most of what remained of the damaged wall; as he ran, the roof came crashing to the floor behind him. Without slowing, he grabbed for Rang's Uzi -- and missed. Jashi reached the shelter of the entrance-way, and found Toko and Suu loading Rang aboard the sled; Karli lay prone beside the tiny craft, firing her Uzi in short bursts toward the north woods. (.... "Don"t see it, but I'll bet that'll keep its ugly head down. Let's split, Jash! ....")

"Woods burning nicely, Captain. Here I come!" yelled Roi over the comm. They were rocked by an explosion; Roi's dome shattered as he burst from the door. Thrown to his face by the force of the blast, Roi rolled twice, then regained his feet and quickly made the relative safety of the sled. His Uzi lay where he had fallen.

(.... "Carlson, Karli ....") She tossed it to him, almost without looking. "Where's that damned landingcraft?" Jashi holstered the Carlson, and turned to help Toko and Suu. Roi groaned and collapsed -- most of the back of his flight-suit had been singed away by the explosion.

Leaving Toko and Suu to finish lashing down the stretcher, Jashi picked up the Roi and dumped his large unconscious form unceremoniously into the rear seat of the airsled. Something whistled over their heads, and the back of the collapsed dome exploded; seconds later the north-west dome erupted in a ball of flame. The grasshoppers were laying back beyond the burning trees and lobbing \explosives\ at them.

"Everybody in -- now!" yelled Jashi. He keyed his communicator, "Where in the name of the gods is that landingcraft?!" he screamed into the mic as he scrambled into the pilot's seat and gunned the little craft straight up at full power, pressing them viciously into their seats. "Get the hell out here or we're all gonna die!"

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