The IX (32 page)

Throwing up a hasty salute, the soldier reined in and addressed Marcus. “Sir, the forest ends abruptly, about a mile ahead. It . . . It’s . . .”

“Spit it out, man.”

“Sir. It’s awesome, come and see.”

Signaling for the immediate group to follow, Marcus put his heels to Starblaze’s flanks and spurred his horse forward. A few minutes later, he reached several other sentries who were waiting to one side of the road. The highway veered away sharply to the southwest, so Marcus was surprised to be led off the tarmac and into the gloom.

An eldritch veil thick with antiquity closed about them. Specimens that looked like a cross between beech and cedar, oak and elm, ash and spruce, each endowed with massive boles, filed off into the distance. Stately monarchs of a forest that seemed to suddenly hold its breath in anticipation. Threading his way between iron trunks and cable-like roots, Marcus wondered what secrets this brooding edifice must contain, and if it would ever be possible to find your way out if a person became disoriented.

You don’t realize how dense this place is until you leave the safety of the main thoroughfare. I’ll have to order markers placed to ensure our more inexperienced travelers don’t go getting themselves lost. And I’ll restrict hunting too, at least until we’re more familiar with the area. Goodness knows how much further it goes.

He needn’t have worried. After five more minutes of painfully slow travel, the swathe drew back and shafts of rose-gold brilliance punctuated the canopy in one place after another.

Everyone relaxed as they sensed a change ahead.

Even so, when the party broke free from dappled shade and rode into the harsh glare of direct sunshine, everyone was taken completely by surprise.

Mars preserve us!

Shocked, Marcus could only stare.
I can see why my sentry was rendered speechless.

A shattered plain rolled away on both sides, providing a severe counterpoint to the undulating barrier of the forest’s perimeter. The compact, ruddy surface of the plateau shimmered in the heat of the midday sun. As the mounted group moved out onto the shelf, their movements caused swirls of scarlet dust to dance into the air.

Shading his eyes, Marcus tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

The ground was littered with pock-marks, each of which contained a smattering of gold and red rocks. A foul-smelling steam issued from a number of fissures and scalloped clefts. Wherever the vapors concentrated together, the soil was stained by a copper-colored residue.

Marcus could make out the shimmering white line of a bridge, about five miles away, obviously accommodating the continued course of the main highway. Closer to him, a smoother, rectangular area stood out in stark contrast to their cratered surroundings.

Hmm.
Obviously a parking area for vehicles.

As intriguing as these distractions were, however, they paled under the imposing presence of the leviathan before them.

A huge canyon, over seventeen miles across and eight deep, gouged its way across the plane of their sight. Marcus knew from his mission briefing that the company now stood at one of the narrowest points of the Shilette Abyss. The gulf itself stretched away for over a thousand leagues, east and west; and for most of its length, the other side was so far away it would be impossible to see.

He marveled as to how the Ardenese had contrived to construct anything to cross such a gaping chasm, for the cliffs of the valley
were an unstable maze of razor-sharp edges and unforgiving rocks that could give way without warning.

There, not three hundred yards in front of them, sat the real surprise. The bluff plunged away to form a huge cleft, a monster fissure over seventy feet wide which appeared to have been hacked into the earth to form a
V
-shaped crevice.

Cantering forward, the excited explorers discovered a tiered series of shelves, corresponding to levels of strata, leading down the cliff wall.

“It forms a chimney!” gasped one of the Husker-Trent geologists selected for the mission. Marcus glanced across to see Matthew Keegan almost falling from his saddle with excitement. “What a stroke of luck. Just look at the weathering. And the banding. We’ve struck red gold.” The scientist’s eyes glittered as he surveyed the multiple hues contained within the various layers of sediment.

“Weathering? Banding?” said Marcus, who was also finding it difficult to tear his gaze away from the stunning panorama before them. “I take it, that’s good, yes?”

“Better than
good
, Marcus. We’ve struck the mother lode.”

As the rest of the expedition emerged from the timberline, those closest to the lead group crowded round to listen to the geologist’s explanation.

“Iron can easily be found in areas where there’s a steady flow of water, or mineral hot springs,” Matthew began. Gesturing to the canyon, he stressed, “
That
, we have in abundance. It must have taken millennia for the river at the bottom of this baby to have achieved what we see here. All those ribbons of color are iron oxides. Hematite, magnetite, and so forth. As the years have gone by, erosion has done the rest, and exposed the seams to open air.”

Pointing to the violet and black layers closest to them, he said, “The deposits nearest the surface possess the highest iron content. The further down you go, the poorer the quality. Don’t you see? The stuff we want is right there, at the top. The presence of this cleft is a huge blessing.” Punching the air, he concluded, “That’s why the dust here is so red, and why we have so many gold and brown mineral deposits. This whole region for miles around is so saturated in oxides, we won’t even have to drill.”

It took a moment for the news to sink in, before everyone gave a loud cheer.

Wilson Smith, who had been listening intently, had to raise his voice to be heard. “Excuse me, but didn’t the maps of Tar’e-esh show the presence of a huge lake within its boundary?”

Matthew Keegan’s face lit up in further delight. “Yes, you’re right. It did. The Esteban. It’s an inland sea about seventy, seventy-five miles northeast of where we are now. My God, I’d totally forgotten that.”

“Why?” Marcus asked. “Is that important?”

“You bet your ass it is,” Matthew replied. “If I remember correctly, the Esteban’s headwaters issue somewhere up in the Caglioso Mountains. That’s the next range south from the Erásan massif. The Esteban also has underwater mineral springs feeding its sediment. With the proliferation I’m seeing here, don’t be surprised if we find a raging torrent spilling into the Abyss further along the plateau somewhere. All the perquisites of another rich site.”

As an afterthought, he added, “It probably explains why life is so abundant throughout this zone. The propagation of iron oxides must act as anathema to the Horde, and a magnet to everything else. If the spaceport operation goes smoothly, we’ll be able to expand our search to other areas of the planet. Just wait until Selwyn King finds out.”

And Commander Cameron
. Aloud, Marcus said, “Please gather your fellow scientists together, Matthew. If you can, I’d like you to complete a preliminary check of the geological features of the plateau by tonight. Include everything you feel Rhomane will want to know. Be sure to add any recommendations you think are necessary as well. I want to ensure our first report secures us the additional resources we’ll need.”

Turning to his camp commander, Marcus said, “Tiberius? Have your optio begin the construction of our defenses. Start with the null-shield emitters. I’d prefer them placed within yards of the timberline. Once they’re erected, I want three separate trenched walls with staggered entrances encircling the encampment. The final one will be the fort. Each tier is to have a moat covered by a collapsible bridge. Remember to factor in the weights of the vehicles that will be involved. Oh, and get Lucius to liaise with Matthew regarding the location of both the foundry and forge within the camp. I suggest you also put the smithy nearby. That way, we can group similar resources together and make them easier to find.

“Once he has his orders, send your Tesserarius back through the forest to mark a route. Again, remind him of the size of the transporters we’ll be using to move the iron. Tell him to choose a path that harmonizes with any natural clearings and so forth. The less felling we have to do the better, as the trees will act as natural cover.”

Finally, Marcus turned to the leaders of the mining crew.

It had been decided that the best man to lead the team was petroleum engineer, Leonard Tam. Leonard possessed over thirty years experience in the business, and was also a qualified geologist, making him perfect for the job. His second was the ex-diamond miner, Joshua Osborne.

“Leonard, Joshua?” Marcus began, “Will you men also cooperate with Matthew and his party, and pick the best site to begin operations? If you don’t mind my saying, as long as the ore is pure enough to do the job, don’t be fussy. Volume and simplicity will be an overriding factor for us to consider. Make your lives as easy as possible. Understood?”

Both men grinned and nodded, before moving off to start work.

Looking around, Marcus discovered the only person left close by was Wilson Smith. Catching the young man’s attention, he said, “Need an assignment?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to divide my platoon into two sections,” Wilson offered. “I’ll send half out on a roving picket now, while the other half rests. We’ll continue to rotate every hour until the outer walls have been erected. Once they’re up and running, I’ll devise a more suitable rota to ensure we have time to penetrate deeper, and keep a continued presence within the Tar’e-esh itself. Long range patrols are our business. It’ll be nice to know what to expect out there if we have to turn to the forest for refuge.”

“Make it so,” Marcus replied, pleasantly surprised, “and please include the vicinity alongside the highway, too. About half a mile into the trees will do. Look for places that might prove useful as staging areas. Just in case.”

Wilson saluted and trotted off to deploy his men.

What a change. Without Houston’s influence corrupting him, we might make a mature officer out of him yet.

Left to his own devices for a while, Marcus dismounted and ambled across to a safe distance from the precipice. Contented, he stared out into the vast abyss before him. The crisp wind, crystal clear air, and vibrant scenery soon had him forgetting how harsh the glare here actually was.

Perhaps I’d better put those sunglass things on?

Resisting the urge, he shut his eyes, let the sun warm his face, and allowed his thoughts to drift. A poignant notion made him sigh.

Who knows? Perhaps I’ll come to love this place as much as Gaul?

 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Command Decisions

 
“This is turning into a real pain in the ass . . . Sir,” Stuart Williams of 1
^st
Platoon drawled. “Six days in the saddle. And for what?”

Jake Rixton ignored the pregnant pause before the honorific. Both men were newly promoted, and it would take a while for the reality of that fact to sink in. “It certainly is, Sergeant, and while I’m used to lengthy periods in the saddle, I’d prefer them to have some meaning.”

He looked about his men as they rode, and could see they were becoming more and more frustrated with the tedium of mindless patrolling.

All this plotting and scheming isn’t good for those of us who are used to straightforward action.

The first shipment of iron ore from the Shilette Abyss was due to arrive in the city in just over a few weeks’ time. Saul Cameron had expressed confidence in the fact that the mere presence of so much blood metal should act as a huge deterrent against any aggressive move by the Horde. However, he was a man known to hedge his bets. As such, the Commander had devised a strategy whereby a major operation would be put into effect, to coincide with the last stages of the convoy’s journey. Full details of that undertaking weren’t public knowledge yet, but everyone knew the mission involved the starport, had multiple objectives, and was time sensitive.

Jake was initially overjoyed to think he would get an opportunity to be in the thick of things during his first command. Then he’d received his assignment.

Their brief was to recon the major routes north of the city, between the Grisson Gap, Issamun Canyon, and Asterlan Lake, for areas that could be used as staging posts in the unlikely event of the caravan having to divert there in an emergency.

Although disappointed, Jake was well used to the chain of command. Taking the rough with the smooth was part of everyday life for a soldier, and he reminded his men that they would be playing their part by doing their job to the best of their ability.

But that was almost a week ago. They’d already completed one huge circuit of the area and marked the best sites for further scrutiny. The bile
of knowing this was as exciting as it was going to get had soured everyone’s mood.

“Sergeant? Will you task Corporal Spencer to take a squad of men and head out along the Issamun riverbed again? Check out that cave where those spooks tried to surprise us. You know, that day when Lieutenant Fox was still with us. The day he . . .”
Ah, darn it!

“Yes, Sir.”

Rixton grimaced as Williams trotted off to pass along his orders.
Idiot! The last thing I need is to shoot myself in the foot like that. As if we need reminding of what happened the last time we were here.

He was still chomping at the bit when the sergeant came cantering back. Sidling up close to his lieutenant, Williams murmured, “Don’t eat yourself up over it, Sir. It wasn’t your fault. We all knew who was responsible . . . Talking of which, how did that slimy, no good, two-bit rattlesnake take the news of your promotion? You never said.”

Rixton snorted. “Ah, now there’s the thing. He didn’t give a damn. I couldn’t believe it. I’d gotten quite nervous about having to face him and almost didn’t bother. But how would it have looked if someone outside of the regiment had sneaked in to hospital to surprise him? So I did it myself, and . . . and . . .”