AMP Siege (12 page)

I pressed the button on my comm. "Frig, are you there?"

Several seconds passed before Frig replied. "What is it, Sir?"

I spoke. "What can you tell me about the Grid? Was there any indication of fighting or systems shutting down from the Duke's virus?"

Frig replied, "The last information I had from a comm interchange showed the comm system to be infected, and under control by other than Grid security, while the remaining systems stayed as they were. It has been four days since that data was the current set, Sir."

As I looked back across the plains at an advancing Frost, piggybacking the Gonta captain, I spoke into my arm pad. "If we lose the Grid to the Duke, we are dead as a species—that is, both yours and mine. I'm not sure how many Gambits there are out there, but I would say their chances for a free and full life drop dramatically once we Humans are gone. This galaxy is just too overrun with hostile species."

Frig replied, "If indeed the Grid has been taken, we will just have to take it back, Sir. We have done it before."

I held out my hand to help the captain up to my position as I spoke into the comm. "Yeah, we will just have to figure out how we are going to do that this time. You are still months away from a full portal opening."

Frig paused. "About that, Sir. I have been working out the calculations for exactly what it would take to open the meter-wide portal and to keep it open long enough for someone to pass through. I may be able to route power from these generators so that they each provide a peak burst in succession. I would need the timing to be precise, but I may be able to open the full portal for up to eight seconds at a time. It would require a significant settling period for the generators afterward, but it is a real possibility."

I replied, "Well, heck! Let's give it a shot!"

Frig grumbled. "I am not confident that this method will work as calculated. I will have more confidence once we have drawn closer by another week or two. I give my calculations a 60 percent chance of failure at this time. That will rise to a 50 percent chance of success in the coming weeks."

I grumbled back. "There's always a catch in there somewhere. I think we should at least prepare for it. A good test might be to do it once and toss through a satchel of power packs. If it fails, we don't lose anything. If it works, we at least have our battle suits back. Even if it is only a single test, it should give you some better data points for your calcs."

Frig replied, "Indeed it would, Sir. I will work on putting a test in place. I should have an answer for you in twelve minutes."

I looked at the captain and back at my comm. "Twelve minutes will do. I'm passing you scan data on the hills we will be going through. They level out into a plateau. Pick a spot up there so you can test this without having to worry about us. Just let us know where it opened, and we will retrieve the goods."

Frig spoke. "I will let you know the coordinates when the testing is complete."

As Frost continued her piggyback runs, Frig successfully conducted a battery pack delivery. I had the coordinates locked into my arm pad and had taken the initiative to continue forward on my own. The others would follow when the rest of the group had been reunited.

The test had proven successful from the battery pack delivery perspective, but the portal had only opened for four seconds. The diameter of the portal had been less than full. Two of the five battery packs, along with one-third of the satchel, had been frozen and cut apart as the satchel was tossed through. Luckily, the cuts had not severed the two power packs, leaving the remaining three intact. I looked forward to the comfort the battle suit offered as I scaled rocks and crossed ravines. I was soon climbing towards the plateau.

The climb up onto the plateau took twenty minutes. I was happy to have a head start on Frost, as she would have been tempted to follow just behind me. Fifteen minutes later, I reached the damaged satchel and retrieved and installed a power pack. The suit was slipped on, and I was soon reveling in the wonder that climate control had to offer.

When the others arrived, I passed a fresh power pack to Sergeant York. "I'm sure you will appreciate this as much as I do. Frost, how’s that new cell holding up for you?"

Frost replied, "Still at 60 percent, Chief."

I turned to the Gonta captain. "How are you and your men doing, Captain? Do you need a rest?"

Meecha replied, "We are ready to continue moving, Mr. Grange. The Gonta physiology may be of a slighter build than that of you Humans. Our stamina, however, is long running. Evolution has been kind to us in that regard."

York clipped in her new power pack and pointed across the plateau. "Sir, I say we piggyback again until the edge of the river basin is reached. We can evaluate how to get down there once we are all there."

I replied, "Pick up a rider and lead the way, York."

I looked back towards the plains we had come across. "The Targs have to be getting close. Hopefully that climb will slow them down."

Half an hour passed before I arrived with the last of the Gonta at the basin's edge. Sheer rock walls descended four hundred meters to a flat, winding river. A million years of erosion had carved the rift into the otherwise flat landscape.

I shook my head as I talked. "That is a strange-looking place down there. All of the foliage on those plants is bright red. Not a speck of green to be seen anywhere."

York replied, "This is an iron planet, Sir. But that does raise a good question: Why are the Fergies green in color while the Hargets are brown? You would think that they would each have colors that blended into the landscape."

Meecha replied, "They were here when we discovered this planet hundreds of your years ago. Perhaps they are not originally from here? Perhaps they were placed here by another species or crash-landed here on their own."

I spoke. "Could have been placed here by the Duke for some strange reason. Unless we talk to them, however, I don't think we are going to find out. Anyone want to go back and ask?"

There were no volunteers.

We began our journey along the edge of the river canyon. The red vegetation varied from stubby shrubs and grasses to tall trees with long, slender leaves. A section of canyon wall was soon spotted that had vegetation growing nearly up to the rim.

York pointed. "That looks like a good egress point to get off of this plateau. If the plants are capable of growing all the way up there, we should be able to find a path down. What do you think, Sir?"

I replied, "Captain? How are you and your men at steep terrain? This looks quite a bit steeper than the way we came up. And with power, our suits now have gravity assist."

The captain spoke. "We will manage, Mr. Grange. Lead the way and we will follow. And Miss York, is your beacon still active? It will still be required when our ship arrives."

York replied, "It is, Captain, pops off a signal every fifteen seconds or so."

As the others began the slow climb down, I turned back towards the plateau and scanned for signs of the Targ. They were there!

I spoke with a raised voice. "OK, we have a problem! The Targ are flooding onto the plateau. I would guess we only have about twenty minutes on them now. We need to get down to that river and find ourselves a faster way to move. York, what would you say is the speed of that river?"

York replied, "I place it at twenty kilometers per hour, Sir. That is slightly faster than our pursuers. It does look like there are some nasty rapids down there, Sir. I would not recommend going straight in. We will need something sturdy to ride upon."

I glanced down into the canyon. "Why don't you head on down and see what you and Frost can find. I'll stay up here as long as I can to provide status."

For fifteen minutes I stood at the canyon’s edge, watching as the hordes of Targ moved ever closer. Their numbers on the plateau had swelled to what I could only guess was more than a million strong. I soon lost my nerve and headed down the path the others had taken. The last of the captain’s men was just reaching the canyon floor as I started.

I spoke into my comm. "York, how's it going? Any ideas for transport?"

York replied, "We have two trees downed using the Gonta blasters. We have sectioned them into logs and are lashing them together with a variety of vine we found down here as well. We will have it in the water in another ten minutes, Sir."

I paused to press the button on my comm. "You better try to make that five, York. Those Targ are coming quick, and if we don't get that thing launched, they are going to be all over us."

Frost spoke. "Just get your ass down here, Chief. We will get the raft done!"

I set the gravity assist on my suit to maximum and was soon jumping down ten and twelve meters at a time. I forced my way through the thick foliage at the base, only to be confronted by a strange, and angry, heavily fanged animal. Before I could draw my blaster, the creature sprang forward and crashed into me, knocking me to the ground. The fangs dug hard into my battle suit, but the suit did not yield.

The creature, a red lion as I would call it, had a broad head that sat upon a powerful neck and shoulders. Four strong legs propelled the muscular beast while two undersized arms with clawed hands sliced away at my torso. Again the suit held, but the large beast was tossing me about like a play toy.

Before I had regained control of the situation, the red beast exploded in front of me. After wiping the bloody red remains from my face shield, I saw Meecha standing before me with his blaster.

Meecha spoke. "Come, Mr. Grange. Hurry, the raft is waiting. Frost performed a scan; these woods are full of whatever that was that attacked you."

I was up and sprinting along with the Gonta captain when I glanced back up at the ridge behind us. The first of the Targ pursuers had made it to the canyon rim. As I turned back, I was startled by another bolt from Meecha's blaster as a second of the great red beasts exploded off to my left side.

As I ran, I spoke. "Leave some of those for the Targ, Meecha. Maybe it will slow them down a bit."

The front end of the raft was pushed into the raging water, and one by one we boarded as York did her best to hold it in place with her powerful legs. With a final push, we were away from the bank. I looked back at the canyon's edge and took note of the hundreds of caves lining the canyon walls, which were now visible to us. The entrance to each cave held at least two of the red lions that had attacked me. Several fish jumped from the water onto our raft as we moved into the swifter currents.

The river had provided fish for the enormous pride of red lions as they lived their peaceful lives along its bank. I watched in awe as the hordes of Targ warriors began to make their way down the cliffs to the forest below. I could only believe that they had no idea what lay in wait for them. Thousands had made it to the water’s edge before the lions sprang into action.

It was chaos, pandemonium, and every other word that could be used to describe the carnage that was taking place. As we moved down the river, I became confident that the Targ would not be following us. At least not for a short while.

As the Targ threat faded, the threat from the river grew. We were entering a section where the fall of the riverbed increased. The fast currents soon became raging torrents as our hastily put-together raft careened from one partially submerged rock to another.

York spoke. "We have about two kilometers of this to go through. I would suggest everyone be prepared for this rig breaking apart at some point. If possible, get yourself behind it, as you don't want one of these logs pinning you to a rock or bashing your head."

Meecha replied, "We have much water on our home planet. We are capable swimmers."

As I turned to look up the river for any signs of the Targ, the front of the raft struck a rock dead center. With my attention diverted, I was thrown forward, skidding off the front of the raft and into the raging torrents. I could hear the others yelling through my audio as I swirled, bobbed, and rolled. My face shield was down; there was no danger of drowning. At least not as long as I continued to move downstream. The danger lay in the possibility of becoming pinned between rocks or on the front of a rock while underwater. There would be no rescue that could free me.

My predicament continued for another five minutes before I had enough control to swim towards a side pool. I was never a good swimmer back on the Grid, but the gravity assist built into my suit gave me an advantage. I could move my arms and legs almost effortlessly and soon had myself out of immediate danger.

The raft continued to carry the others downstream as I made my way to shallow water and then pulled myself up onto the shore. The episode was over. I was shaken, but in no way injured or fatigued.

As the others raced away, I decided to try my hand at bounding along beside them on the rocky shoreline. Again, the suit proved invaluable, as the balance sensor helped compensate for any awkward moves that I made. The raft held together just long enough to get the others through the rapids and into a calm section of river.

I bounded up to the raft as York hopped off and pulled it the last few meters to the shore. "I tell you, I love this suit more with each and every passing day. This would be great for planetary ground exploration. I actually kind of enjoyed that little disaster in the making back there. Gets the heart pumping. Not that we have been in need of that the last few days, but just the same."

Meecha spoke. "Frost tells of a stream that empties into this side of the river another half kilometer down. Perhaps that would be a good place to exit to the other side of the plateau. I think it is in our best interest to continue to move away from the Targ. The plateau runs for another twenty kilometers before it again drops off into a hilly landscape."

It was a good plan and was soon enacted. The raft was pushed back out into the currents. When we arrived at the small stream, we found that it had cut a gently rising ravine into the cliff’s edge. Several tall waterfalls were encountered as we trekked upwards, but each offered rocky routes up and around them. We stepped from a spring at the beginnings of the ravine up onto the plateau.

My comm warbled as Frig spoke. "Sir, I apologize for my continued monitoring of your... your lack of coordination and control, but I believe I can extend the time the small portal is open by several seconds through the use of enhanced algorithms. You see, I can—"

I cut in. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Go ahead and just hold that techno-speak for your lab rats. Just tell me what you have planned."

Frig paused. "That was rather rude, Sir. But, I understand your lack of understanding. Anyway, I have an adapter configured that Miss York can use for recharging her prosthetics. It will draw energy from a standard suit power pack. Three packs should bring her back to full charge on her limbs. I have taken note of your current direction, and if you so desire, I will deposit the items in your path. I also took a moment to read a scan of the packs that you and Frost carry. I will deposit fully charged packs for you two as well. Are there any other items that would be helpful to you and your party while we are at it, Sir?"

I thought for a moment. "Food. We are running low."

I turned to the Gonta captain. "Meecha, is there anything we can provide to you or your men? I have not seen you eat anything of late. How are your rations?"

Meecha replied, "Our rations expired yesterday, Mr. Grange. We are a hardy breed, so we should be able to hold out until our ship arrives."

I spoke. "Nonsense. Frig, drop us rations for twelve for a week. And see if you can round up nine of our old battle suits with helmets and boots. Something about Ashley's size should do. The gravity assist is not as strong as these new suits, but the environmental systems should go a long way to helping the captain and his men deal with this hot climate. If you can squeeze those items through, I think that will put us in much better shape."

Frig replied, "I will see what I can do, Sir."

Meecha placed his hand on my shoulder as we walked. "Mr. Grange, I find it interesting that you are able to communicate with your people, and I am astounded that you are able to transport goods in the manner that you do. That is technology far beyond our own. Humans must be a powerful species and would be welcome in the fight against the Duke."

I gave a half smile. "Part of me says that I shouldn't discuss that technology with anyone, but I believe we are in need of the Gonta Federation as much as the Gonta Federation might be in need of us. The portal technology is in early development, with a single working generator. I will say that we are not interested in sharing that technology with any other species at this time. We may be willing to put it to use when needed, but again, it is in the early stages of development. I trust that you and your men will hold back on that information when your ship arrives. Most of our citizens do not know of its existence, as we have had too many close calls with spies."

Meecha replied, "We too have trouble with spies from the Colossuns. If we are able to survive until a ship arrives, I will hold your secret from our command as a sign of trust and good faith."

I stopped and held out my hand for the Gonta captain to shake. "I respect your word, Captain. I trust that your crewmen will follow your commands?"

Meecha nodded. "They will follow it to the grave, Mr. Grange. Gonta soldiers follow the orders of their captain. Insubordination in any way is highly frowned upon in our culture. Loyalty is highly praised and rewarded."

Frig signaled on my comm. "You will find the items you requested at the coordinates I am sending to you. We have included several dozen sensors for you to leave in your path. They will let you know if you are being followed and the size of the force following you."