Brynin 3 (5 page)

Vren announced, “According to recent scans, thousands of Oiins have clogged up the port vent. We’ll have to clean it out.”

The port wing’s secondary engine slowed down because several vents were blocked. ST7 dropped to the hangar floor.

Vren announced, “Good news. This scan indicates that the landing gear wasn’t damaged when we docked.”

I clenched my fist, angry. “We were lucky.”

Bya’s voice came out of my earplugs. “Don’t open your face masks; there are too many Oiin swarms inside the hangar. We’ll be using spray to clean them out.”

I shook my head, irritated. “Acknowledged.” We left the bridge.

After Vren, Ieeb and I reached the bottom of the steps, a short husky Qoowo in a sand-colored jumpsuit, a female with a wide orange face, walked up to us. “Hello, I’m Alip,” she said.

All three of us nodded.

Alip pointed at a door. “Hop into my giag. It’s parked right outside that exit. I’ll drive you to Rougt. We can’t fly you there because the winds are picking up. Guards will accompany us.”

I blinked. “Alip, what are the guards for? Are there any pirates on this planet?”

“Don’t worry about the pirates. A few days ago, thousands of Heos snakes sprouted wings. The only way to stop them is with bullets, flamethrowers or grenades. That’s just one incident among many.” She handed me a flamethrower and several grenades. She gave Ieeb a W-Nine automatic rifle.

I began inspecting the weapons. “I’ve only used a flamethrower a few times. I’m rusty.”

Alip, a serious expression on her face, narrowed her eyes. “You better hope your aim is good. Nobody wanted all these problems, but there’s no choice.”

Ieeb frowned. “I need to practice. This is lousy timing. I’ve been compiling databases, I haven’t used a W-Nine in several years.”

Alip scowled. “Good luck.”

While we were aboard ST7, Ieeb had told me that as part of her job she would arrange billions of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic vibracore readings, and place them on exabyte-size hard drives. As a result, software would divide the readings into HTML-like documents and use probability software to analyze the documents and determine which sites had the most titanium and gold.

Once the Geologists determined which sites were the best, they’d send those readings to other employees. In the meantime, because there weren’t enough microwave satellite dishes or wireless networks, vibracore readings had to be stored on portable hard drives, then shipped to Rougt by land or air.

Doing that was slow. Unfortunately, since Stio had died, another engineer had to replace him. There wasn’t anyone like him on Danig. A pilot would have to go to Icir and fly in a replacement. Obno hadn’t talked to me about it. I didn’t think they were interested.

Another topic came to mind. Not once during this entire time had Obno mentioned the fact that Ieeb and I would have to use weapons. I shook my head, disgusted. “Alip, why didn’t anybody tell us about these complications before we left Icir?”

“We’re understaffed. If you don’t like it, tell Obno executives. I’m just doing my job.”

“Where are the executives?” Vren glanced at her, an irritated expression on his face.

“That’s hard to say. Both CEO’s, Lyso and Raui, the men who make all the important decisions, could be at the Haar building complex. That’s there hundred miles from here.

“However, since the tablets don’t always work, it’s hard to say where they are. Thirty minutes ago, Lyso called and told me what to do. The odd thing is, he didn’t tell me where he was.”

Vren grimaced. “Alip, we need tritium. Where can I find it?”

“At a supply depot named Twob. It’s just a few bungalows, temporary buildings. Noi will drive you there.”

“Alip, isn’t Twob eight miles from here?” Vren scowled.

“Yes. In addition to Noi, several guards will accompany you. But it’s going to be tough. Ask Noi about it.” She pointed at another short muscular Qoowo woman in an amber uniform, and handed Vren a W-9 automatic rifle.

Vren began inspecting the weapon as he headed toward Noi and the guards.

I announced, “Vren, keep in touch.”

“Count on it.”

Next to him, Youn, Sone, Buar, and Tayt glanced at another driver.

Youn called out, “Jason, Vren, my dad will contact you about the dinner in a couple of days.”

I nodded. “Thanks. I’m looking forward to it.”

Vren glanced over his shoulder. “Me too.”

Alip murmured, “Ieeb, you’re prettier than any woman on Danig. Be careful. There are forty women on Danig—and two thousand men.”

Ieeb nodded, a worried expression on her face.

Alip, Ieeb and I went outside.

Alip looked at several muscular Qoowo males, security guards in amber uniforms. At the same time, she announced, “Let’s go.”

Alip, Ieeb, and I climbed into the front seat.

Behind us, the guards murmured as they piled in the back.

Alip started the engine and we drove down a dirt road. The giag shook as we went over holes.

I whispered into Ieeb’s ear, “Are you worried about having a miscarriage?”

She murmured, “No, my womb is strong.”

Wanting to know if there were any snakes nearby, I looked through the windshield.

Just beyond the right and left shoulders, on low hills, there was only dry grass, most of it shifting in the wind.

I raised the flamethrower and bit my lip, worried. If I got out of the giag and squeezed the trigger, the wind would blow the flame sideways, making the weapon useless.

Not far away, an Oiins swarm was coming this way.

Ieeb pointed at them. “We’re in trouble!”

All of us watched in horror as many of them came to rest on the windshield.

Alip shouted, “I can’t see!”

We hit a rock. The vehicle flipped over, ending up on the passenger side. Ieeb and Alip fell on top of me.

Alip rose to her feet, shoved the driver-side door open, and crawled out.

Ieeb yelled, “Just a minute.” She climbed out the same way.

After wiping broken glass off my sleeve, I stood, my adrenaline pumping.

Ieeb reached down, then grabbed my outstretched hand.

I jumped off the truck and landed on my feet.

Not far beyond the front bumper, Alip and the guards raised their W-9’s, and started firing at a huge swarm of Oiins.
Ket, ket, ket, ket!

One of the insects came to rest on a guard’s sleeve. They stung him.

The guard howled in pain, fell to the ground and went into convulsions.

Ieeb squeezed the trigger. Bullets tore many insects to shreds.

As a buzzing sound grew louder, Oiins started circling us. The wind died down. Otherwise, they would have gone back to their hives.

I lifted the weapon and squeezed the trigger. Flames engulfed hundreds of them.

Other insects droned louder, a nervous wracking sound.
Nnnnnnnn.

Some came to rest on my pant leg. Chills ran up my spine.

A guard fired. Bullets ripped their heads off.

I yelled, “Good shot!

“Why don’t we stand with our backs touching? Otherwise, the insects can sneak up behind us.”

Everyone else nodded and all of us turned around, leaned against each other and started firing.
Ket, ket, ket, ket!

As bullets tore Oiins to pieces, more insects descended. At the same time, they emitted a loud droning sound, a noise that sent shivers down my spine.

I raised my barrel and the flame swept across them. Behind me, a guard’s W-9 chattered faster.
Ket, ket!

To my left, a guard shouted, “Gos, aim higher.”

A guard’s W-9 chattered faster, the sound coming from behind. “I did. There are thousands of them.”

“Aim higher, Gos!”

The wind blew harder. Several insects took off. Soon the rest of them left.

Ieeb sighed. “We got lucky. If it weren’t for the wind, they would have killed us. There aren’t enough of us to stop them.”

A worried expression marred Alip’s face. “Let’s push the giag back onto its wheels, and head for Rougt.”

Alip stooped and touched the fallen guard’s neck. “Biw is dead. Gos, after the giag is upright, put his body into the back seat. We need to bury him.”

Gos wiped sweat off his forehead. “Fuck. What a lousy way to die.”

As light rain started falling, all of us pushed the vehicle’s roof. The giag budged, about an inch.

Alip yelled, “It’s too heavy. Wait a second.” She hurried over to the trunk, opened it, and returned. “This should work.” She shoved a jack underneath a door. The jack began humming as it raised the giag slightly.

Everyone pushed. The vehicle tipped over and its wheels hit the ground.
Cronnnc
! All of us piled inside.

Gos muttered, “Biw is heavy.”

Alip started the engine.

Eighty yards ahead of us, a huge fallen tree was blocking the road.

Alip grumbled, “Shit.” She rammed her fingers through floating icons of the steering wheel. The giag veered right and went onto the shoulder. As the engine roared louder, switching into a lower gear, we passed the tree. After bouncing over rocks, the vehicle turned, and went back on the road.

Behind me, Gos announced, “Biw stinks. He’s starting to decompose.”

Alip nodded. “I can smell it.”

Ieeb scowled. “If the wind dies down, the Oiins will attack. There are so many of them. We don’t stand a chance.”

Behind us, a guard grumbled, “Fuck this. What good is my money if I’m dead?”

“Alip, does Obno pay you well?” I paused.

“Yes. I’ve made more money in the last couple of months than I’ve ever dreamed of. When winter comes, I’ll leave, go back to Heuv. That’s a small town near Wcip. I have two sons. They’re staying with my sister. Shit, I miss them.”

Just over one hundred yards down the road, I spotted another fallen tree, likewise blocking our path.

Alip banged her fist against the door. “Damn it! More problems!”

The tree moved.

Ieeb gasped in horror. “That’s no tree, it’s a Tiel!”

Ten yards beyond the left side of the road, gigantic bushes began shaking. Not far behind them a huge cobra-like snake, a Tiel, a species with amber concentric rings around its mouth, raised its six-foot-diameter head and hissed.

Behind us, the guard’s W-9’s safety locks clicked, ready to be fired.

Gos muttered, “Jason, give me some grenades.”

I reached over the seat, and placed them in his outstretched hands.

Behind Alip, Vo, another guard, muttered, “These grenades better work, because no amount of bullets will stop that Tiel.”

Alip said, in a relieved tone, “It’s moving away from us.”

“Vo, why doesn’t Obno kill all the Tiel?” I turned toward him.

He glared at me. “Because they’re understaffed. A lot more guards will show up in a couple of months. But that won’t do us any good.”

Alip shouted, “It’s coming back!”

Outside her window, thirty feet away, the Tiel bared its fangs, then spit at us.

Vo tossed the grenade.

It bounced across the dirt and exploded. Shrapnel hit the Tiel. Its head jerked back.

Alip bellowed, “Throw another grenade!”

Vo flung it, cursing.

The weapon flew inside the snake’s mouth. It exploded, and the blast tore some of the Tiel’s fangs off. The wounded snake hissed and slithered away.

As my heart pounded faster, Vo hurled another grenade.

It bounced over the snake and went off. The force of the explosion tore some of the reptile’s skin off. The Tiel moved faster, trying to get away.

Ieeb wiped sweat off her forehead. “We scared it off.”

Alip grumbled, “For a while, anyway.”

I exhaled, releasing tension.

Vo complained, “I thought that last grenade would have killed it.”

Ieeb whispered, “Jason, I feel heartbroken because Biw is dead. Hopefully, in a couple of days, when I’m in a better mood, we’ll get married. Can you wait a few days?”

“Yes, I’ll wait
.
” I couldn’t believe I was actually saying the words. I paused, thinking. “Alip, is there a judge or a minister around here, someone who can perform the ceremony?”

“Boma, a Security Guard Supervisor, will do it. The thing is, there aren’t any courts on Danig. He can print out a marriage license. But if you ever want a divorce, those laws are vague. After all, this is a frontier planet, a place that doesn’t have any courthouses.”

Ieeb announced, “I want to get married anyway.”

Alip shrugged. “Whatever. It’s your choice.”

Wanting to speak with Vren, I spoke into my tablet.

A garbled voice, part of a word, came out of the device, “Hel.”

I called out, “I can’t hear everything you said!”

White noise and random popping sounds erupted from the tablet. The magnetosphere was distorting the call.

I spoke into the device. “Is anybody there?”

Part of a word, a meaningless statement, “Ye,” was replaced by an electronic hum.

Alip said, “Jason, give up for now. Try in a few hours. It’s been two weeks since I picked up a clear signal. Even then, it only lasted for a couple of minutes.”

I kept staring at the tablet, disappointed.

Rougt

The giag decelerated and parked next to the road. Alip looked at me. “Jason, Ieeb, Rougt, just a few domes, is at the bottom of the path.”

Ieeb and I climbed out, suitcases and weapons in hand.

Alip added, “ Jason, yesterday, Dr. Hia Xio, a Geologist, told me his team just uncovered sixteen tons of a valuable mineral. If you want to know what it was, ask Boma, a Supervisor you’ll meet soon.”

“Can’t you tell us what the valuable mineral is?” Ieeb glanced at her.

Alip shook her head. “See you later. I have to pick someone up.”

I called out, “Alip, thanks for your help!”

Using a finger, she drew a circle in the air, an Ulthe gesture meaning
You’re welcome.

Ieeb placed one of her suitcases on my back, attaching it to a holder. I took up my flamethrower.

Thirty feet away, at the bottom of a path, on one of several hundred-foot-diameter geodesic domes, a door opened. One by one, six muscular Glemal men in amber jumpsuits hurried out, coming this way.