Koban (71 page)

“The activation codes can be sent from here. Our friend can use
the dome repeater, so it won’t appear to involve the ship. I’ve already used my
helmet com to send a warning, so I can take credit for the signals if they detect
them. I have immunity anyway.”

“So did the two men you challenged, Thad.” Maggi pointed out.
“You can be challenged the same way.”

“Life’s a bitch, and then you die. If I have a hand in killing
any more of these bastards I will have had some payback for my other friends. How
close is the truck and shuttle now?”

“Sir, the only truck I have detected is about one minute from
reaching the shuttle, which has landed next to the dirt track farther from the trees
than I first estimated.”

Thad gave Jake instructions on which devices he wanted to use,
and in what order. They all watched the monitor screen with the long-range video
image. The shuttle could barely be seen beyond some tall brush, but the truck was
kicking up dust that drifted in the slight breeze, clearly marking its progress.

As the truck neared the shuttle, the rear hatch started to lift,
but none of the warriors appeared at the opening to get out.

“They may just be picking the other two up. I want their attention
before they get inside and can’t hear the explosions. The noise has a long distance
to travel.”

“Jake,” Noreen ignoring their usual com security for speed. “Trigger
the mortar that Thad selected so that it’s firing and impact sound will reach that
shuttle just before the truck reaches the shuttle.”

Jake replied immediately. “I have just fired device number nine,
the mortar that Colonel Greeves selected as the first one to be used. The time for
the launch of the round may arrive at the shuttle location five to six seconds after
the truck arrives. The sound of the impact explosion depends on how long the projectile
takes to hit the ground and the distance it travels. I will…”

“Stop.” Noreen cut the AI off.

“I never even thought about having the computer do that for me.
Thanks. It was almost too late to try.”

Maggi was looking out the window. “I saw a puff of smoke on the
ridge top, I think.”

They watched as the truck slid to a stop perhaps fifty feet from
the open shuttle, and two figures, moving like typical Krall, rushed towards the
craft. They both entered and the hatch began to lower.

“Crap. We were too late. We need to try again when they land
nearer to the forest.”

Suddenly the hatch reversed itself, and a warrior could be seen
stepping out, looking east in the direction of the Ridge.

“Mortar impact detected,” said Jake.

Maggi pointed out the dome window. “I can see a column of smoke
and dirt rising above the trees out there, but I doubt it will rise higher than
the ridge top.”

Thad agreed. He told Jake to fire one of the claymores that were
aimed up the rock face at a cleft, where they had hoped a warrior might climb down.

Noreen stayed focused on the Krall outside the shuttle, still
looking towards the east. As Jake acknowledged he had fired the mine, the Krall
instantly darted into the shuttle. In seconds, the dark gray clad octet leader emerged
with a warrior, possibly the first one, and both were looking east.

Jake spoke. “I estimate the sound of the mortar impact should
have reached the shuttle.”

Simultaneously Noreen shouted, “They ran back into the shuttle
and the hatch closed!”

The craft lifted, and immediately sped towards the ridge.

Tyroldor waited impatiently for the truck to reach the shuttle.
He planned to place his warriors along an arc to the south of the thinner part of
the forest, to check for a fresh scent trails. Then if they found any, they could
follow them into the heavier jungle in the interior, where prey as clever as this
one would surely go for cover.

He raised the hatch as the vehicle approached. His eyes immediately
saw the discoloration of the side of the head of the female warrior standing in
the back of the transport. She was turning her muzzle, properly sniffing the air
for human scent, but the right side of her head was not the same as the left. Whatever
had prevented his ranking novice from this set had perhaps also damaged her.

He needed to learn what weapons the humans used, but could not
permit the inexperienced warriors to tell him anything he must not hear, such as
evidence proving how lethal the weapons could be. He may have to debrief each of
them alone, to “sacrifice” them if necessary in the coming combat, to retain Kimbo
clan’s honor with their silence.

As the transport slid to a halt, the two warriors leaped out
while it was still moving, as the urgency of the hunt required. However, Tyroldor’s
experienced eyes saw dried blood on multiple small wounds on the driver’s arms,
legs, and muzzle, and probably on the torso under the black uniform.

The female had abraded and missing skin on the left side of her
head, and had surely lost her ears there. She moved with more caution than expected
of a Kimbo novice, and had multiple small wounds on her left side. These were too
small to be from explosive pistol or rifle rounds, he thought, but there were many
hits, as if from the multi-pellet rounds. These punctures were too spread around
to be from those almost useless and ineffective shells.

He used a talon click to start the hatch closing just as the
warriors flashed through the opening. He thought he detected a distant thump sound
as the hatch lowered, and Sitdok instantly crouched to try to look out under the
closing hatch, clearly sensing the same sound.

Pitda said in confirmation, “I sensed a distant explosion. Sitdok
did you see the source?”

“It was east but I did not see where.” He answered.

Tyroldor tapped to reopen the hatch, and Pitda stepped out to
look to the east. He returned quickly to say he saw a small white cloud rising above
the ridge. The octet leader rushed out with him to observe for himself.

The white smoke was dissipating, but his infrared vision told
him it was warmer than the surrounding air. He watched for a moment to see if it
would repeat, when the sound of a more powerful explosion swept over them. It came
long after the original sound and from the same direction as the ridge.

“The humans from the cave may have survived and are making an
opening to escape,” suggested Pitda.

“We will see.” Tyroldor raced back to the cockpit. “These humans
draw us to them. They are not stupid, and they have weapons we did not expect. Like
at the cave and in the marsh, this may be to call us to where they want us. We will
scout from the air before we land to seek another trap.”

Flying over the ridge, they saw no humans, but a still warm small
object was concealed within bushes at ridge top, where they had seen the smoke.
Down in the valley, a pillar of dust was drifting in the wind, away from a small
crater not far from where the transport had been parked.

Had this been a clumsy effort to destroy their empty transport?
It made no sense to Tyroldor for them to have failed, because it was not defended.
It had no value anyway.

He could see the collapsed cave was the same as when they left
it a short time ago. If humans hiding near the ridge crest were waiting for them
with the unknown weapons, he was not going to provide targets. From the dome, Telour
could easily see the ridge, and might observe a novice make a Kimbo style sacrifice
charge. The humans on the ridge responsible would die before a confirmation ended
the hunt, but he knew his reduced octet burned with hatred to kill every human out
here.

He spoke to Pitda. “I will land on the other side of the ridge
from before. We know in the valley the animals have set traps and led us to them.
Take our warriors to form a perimeter around the shuttle, except for Motgar. I need
to learn from her the nature of the human weapons before we destroy these animals
in the most painful way possible.” He snarled.

Pitda responded with a snarl of his own, and offered a left hand
salute, talons extended. He too wanted their prey’s blood drained from many wounds
while they still lived.

They scouted the steep side of the ridge from the air, and the
evidence that many shuttles had previously landed behind a large boulder was easy
to see. The location gave good shelter from the ridge and its terraces.

They landed there and four Krall formed a defensive square around
the craft, with Pitda using the huge rock as a place to observe the ridge from the
right side, a novice on the left side of the same boulder. The other two novices
crouched by sizable rocks near the other two corners of the impromptu grid.

In the shuttle, Tyroldor gave the female specific
instructions. “Motgar, answer only what I ask of you, and volunteer nothing about
things I do not ask you.”

“I will obey my octet leader.” She was confused by this instruction,
since battlefield debriefings were common in novice training.

“What weapon damaged the side of your head and your ears?” He
asked her.

“I believe it was a small bomb the humans throw by hand, that
does not explode quickly. It lies on the ground and explodes without warning.”

“How far can they throw this bomb?”

“They are weak, and did not throw any farther than two or three
leaps. The bomb that damaged me did not fly but half a leap and fell into the grass
near where the human was hiding.”

“After the bombs are thrown, what time length before the explosion?”

She told him the interval, which seemed a ridiculously long time
to wait in a battle.

“You have holes in your arms, legs, and side. Were they all caused
by pieces from the first bomb?”

“No, some large punctures are from a second bomb thrown by hand.
Some smaller wounds and my head damage were from another kind of bomb.” She hoped
this did not exceed his instructions.

“Describe the use of the other kind of bomb.”

“It is not thrown, and sits on the ground with a flat metal front,”
her hands indicated the rectangular dimensions. “It was exploded by a human pulling
on a line connected to the larger bomb. It sent many small metal balls flying in
one direction, straight away from the metal plate. I have some of them I removed
from my body and head.”

“Show me.”

She pulled four spherical little balls from a pouch on her harness.
They were about the size of the smaller pellets used in some of the hunting bullets
used in pistols and rifles. Not very deadly if a only a few hands of them hit you.

“How many of these do you think were used in the bomb?”

“Very many, because the grass was cut down in a wide path in
front of the bomb for two leaps.”

“What other weapons did they have?

“Only two pistols were found for each human and more hand bombs.
There was one large bomb for each human, aimed in front of them.”

“Did these hurt you enough that you cannot finish the hunt today?”

“No. I will finish.”

“Then let us go kill this new prey.”

Suddenly there was the sound of several bullets hitting the shuttle,
one an explosive round, followed quickly by two simultaneous close explosions that
produced a tremendous rain of sound on the hull.

They heard screams of pain and rage.

****

Mirikami’s team had been patient, waiting for a chance to spring
their traps. However, all of them were beginning to lose some of that patience,
and the tension while they sat doing nothing had only grown.

I wasn’t until the surprise helmet com broadcast from Thad that
they had any direct evidence the hunt was even started. They knew immediately of
course that his warning was to the three hiding in the marsh. Deanna told them it
was Cody Master that answered Thad.

It was right after that they had felt the vibration from a large
distant explosion. It had to be from the cave in the valley since that was the only
place had such a large booby trap. They hoped it signaled the end of the hunt before
anyone died.

Shortly after that their visors showed them a brief view of a
Krall shuttle flying west over the ridge. They had heard or seen nothing for ten
or twelve minutes, until Dillon called out that something had just fired off up
on the ridge.

Dillon had control of the camera for the north end of the ridge,
and Mirikami the south part. He switched to Dillon’s view, and saw he had zoomed
in on white smoke at the top of the ridge.

“That was the large mortar. It was ranged to try to hit the truck
park in the valley. Did any of us do that by accident?” He wasn’t accusing, but
they were supposed to coordinate actions simply intended to attract Krall to the
ridge top.

There were five denials. They felt more than heard the thump
that told them the mortar round had hit and exploded on the far side of the ridge.

Mirikami tugged at his lip. “We have to assume it was remotely
triggered by someone at the dome for a valid reason. It could be a signal to us
or intended to draw Krall attention. Or do both I suppose.”

Sven Kirsten asked, “Wasn’t that mortar intended to try to draw
Krall to the top of the ridge from the valley?”

“Not just from the valley,” Dillon told him. “To draw them from
this side too, since a lot of our traps are spread along the terraces and at the
best places to climb. After the valley cave blew up the shuttle headed to the west.
Maybe it went over to the fight in the marsh, or possibly to search the Jungle.
We had expected the ridge to be the most likely place to look for us, because the
best places for us to defend ourselves are up there.”

“Well,” concluded Mirikami, “That mortar round will surely draw
attention. Keep your eyes open, I’ll swivel my camera to look for the shuttle.”

Using a joystick sitting on his knee, the tiny concealed camera
on top of the huge rock rotated to scan the sky away from the ridge.