Scrambled, page 11
part #14 of Directorate Series
Chapter Twenty-seven
Water World
16 Jumada 1411 yp
“Q says she’s made some calculations and thinks she can roughly locate the seven worlds that were in the whirlpool with the One split and the Earth split.”
Ebsa brightened. Paused. “Roughly locate?”
Ajha shrugged. “She asked if we could send people to go check the ground, or failing that, perhaps sell them some equipment. Izzo agrees with my preference that we stay deeply engaged, if for no other reason than being in the loop and up to date if something else disastrous happens.”
Ra’d flashed a grin. “Yeah, I really want to see this. Someplace where I won’t get mistaken for this . . .”
“Doppelganger?” Ebsa offered.
“Little brother. And shot.” Ra’d snorted. “So when do we go?”
“Right away. Stand by to check anything Q wants checked. Take a variety of vehicles, in case the Junkyard won’t work.” Ajha checked his comp. “Q’s put a new gate at J12. It’s to an empty world, in case there’s a need for quarantine.”
Ebsa gnawed a lip. “Is . . . there anything we ought not do?”
Ajha snorted. “Start a war? Stop thinking? This is . . . a weird phenomenon that we’ll be studying for decades. Record everything, see and remember all you can.”
***
Back at Warehouse Fifty everyone looked hopeful.
Except Paer, frowning down at her huge belly. “I thought twins were supposed to arrive early!”
Ebsa shook his head. “Good thing they didn’t. Else you couldn’t have showed a whole world how to do Medgicianing right.”
Paer rolled her eyes. “One more week, and the twins are going to get evicted.”
Heak snickered. “Vehicles said they have two utes that you can have right now, a few dings and such, and I’m sure I didn’t hear anything about ‘that won’t bother them.’ Do you want both of them? And a three meter enclosed trailer. They said they could get you as many as you want. They choked a bit over another crawler, but barely whimpered when they admitted they had a brand new one ready to go.”
Ebsa sniffed. “The Junkyard is the only crawler I’ve ever rolled. And I did it on purpose.”
“Both times.” Ra’d grinned. “So, we could use the new one for an office and for you guys to sleep in, Q too, although I suspect she’s got something of her own.”
“And then the Junkyard or the utes for exploring Across.” Ebsa nodded. “Paer? Will you take the Junkyard now? We’ll collect the rest from the motor pool and join you shortly.”
Paer perked up.
The Black Horse Guard on duty scowled. Haiz was young and trying a bit too hard to be grim and protective. And didn’t appreciate being called Hazy.
“Hazy, go check in and see if you guys are allowed to cross over with Paer. I hate to set a precedent, but you may need to drive her to the hospital if we’re in the middle of a crisis.”
Poor girl looked horrified. But she stepped away and started muttering on her comm.
Girl? Oh One! Have I reached the age where one of the Guards is significantly younger than me? I’m only twenty-eight! Or is it just the accumulating experiences?
Ebsa wandered over and looked at Heak’s expanding supplies list. “Three laser repeaters? It’s only one gate away, and they’re probably already planting the set up.”
“Right. And then you’re going to go exploring on how many worlds? Three is what they have in stock.” Heak grinned. “Do you know how cool it is working for you guys? Everyone knows who you are, and always expedites my orders.”
“Oooo! We have reputations!” Azko grinned. “Well, all right. You three have reputations. I’m mere coat-tails. But think how much I’ll impress Gamer if I’m part of the crew rescuing her!”
Ra’d shook his head. “And now I have another little sister.”
“I don’t think your little brother is going to let you go all protective over his little sister.” Ebsa snickered. “And pity the poor girl with two big brothers like you.”
Paer and Heak started giggling. Hazy looked horrified. “I have two older brothers. And they were bad enough!”
I wonder where Nick wound up? And his family. I didn’t dare look for them on Nuked One. Didn’t know where to start, for that matter.
But maybe I’ll find out.
Three hours later, they were surveying a beautiful grassy meadow.
A road—possibly two kilometers long—ran north-south, with five stubby roads to the west and seven to the east.
They’d driven out of the northern-most of the west side roads. A quick scout showed only one other gate—the third on the west side, which gave a view of the Disco HQ on Embassy.
By the time they’d parked everything, Q had shown up and grinned at their preps. “See? Xen’s fussing about getting equipment and grumbling about how long it’ll take. So I called the insatiably curious Ajha, and voila! A few hours later, I have equipment and trained personnel.”
Paer laughed. “So what’s this about ‘roughly locating’ one of the worlds?”
“The shape of the whirlpool pattern, I figured they went flying out in various directions . . . for some definitions of direction and flying. Anyway, I’ve got six I want to look at right away, which will tell me if I’m on the right track or not.” Q grinned. “So, I’m going to open a gate and see if the world’s got an attachment scar. Those powered gates leave a pretty obvious mark. But I need someone to look through the gate as I try to keep it from ‘landing’ so-to-speak, and shift it toward the scar, and look around.”
Ebsa grinned. “And if it looks promising, we’ll roll through and see if we can find any survivors.”
“Exactly. So, Earth, Nuked Earth, and Nuked One are all showing interest in this project, but I figured I’d stick to the useful people until I have a success.” Q waved across the street. “And hopefully, seven more worlds. C’mon. I’m dying to find out if I’m right.”
They followed her across the street, where she sat at the end of the stubby side-road . . . closed her eyes.
Ebs glanced to the side. Paer was sitting down, a bit awkwardly, and closing her eyes too. I know she sees fog in the gates—a sign of a weak dimensional ability. Can she see the inbetween too?
He looked back at a bright spark opened up wide in front of Q. Nothing showing but blue. The inbetween? Or . . . “Raise it up! I think you’re underwater!”
“How odd.” The blue lightened toward the top, darkened, lightened . . . then sunlight as the top of the distant gate broke the surface. “I’ve never touched down in the ocean before, and I was trying to reach a scar . . .”
“There’s a building! Sticking up out of the water. Several buildings.” Ra’d stared. “To your right, a roof just above water. Attach to the roof, the crawler’s tires distribute the weight fairly well . . . and they’re amphibious.”
The view wobbled closer to the barely visible roof. As Ebsa watched, a wave broke over the top of it.
The good news is, the structure is full of water, which will help support the roof. The bad news is the water that just splashed through, and the next wave looks kind of large . . .
“Q, if it’s attached, it’s time to get out of the way.” Ebsa hovered, not wanting to lay hands on one of the most magically powerful people in existence . . . The wave rolled up the roof and half a meter of salt water leaped through the gate and rolled Q. Ebsa grabbed her arm and staggered back and the water spread out quickly. Paer had been further back and less immersed in magic. She was up and only wet halfway up her calves.
“Right, let’s get the Junkyard through . . . Q can we have a corridor from this roof to . . . Uh, maybe the roof of the crawler, don’t want to flood the inside . . .” Ebsa stopped backing away from the gate and ran for the Junkyard.
He jumped in the driving seat and pulled out. Spotted Paer waddling—never ever say that out loud or even think it!—toward the Disco gate.
Yeah. May need help here.
He lined up with the gate and stopped where Heak held up her hand.
She trotted around and popped through the door. “Q says there are hundreds of people trapped. Leave this door open, she’ll jump in as you drive by and stick a corridor from the building roof onto the top of the crawler. Ra’d will stay up top to handle people. Azko will stay on the roof to send them on through the gate. Paer’s gone for help. Have fun! Don’t sink the Junkyard. You don’t want to have to swim for it, the sharks they have here.”
Sharks!
“Gotcha!”
She clipped the door open and jumped out.
Through the gate, Ra’d beckoned. All wheels forward and go.
The usual twist and lurch, two quick thumps, then he could hear the door closing behind him, but all his attention was focused on the water, specifically the wave direction and—power to the props, disengage wheels—turning into the big swell . . . because we’re not a seriously sea worthy craft!
The Junkyard’s nose rose, and then fell as the crest of the swell passed beneath them.
Props in reverse, slow down we don’t want to bury the nose at the bottom . . . Now props forward . . .
:: Okay. Corridor is high on the port side, Q is back home. That house right over there, :: a weird complex of vision and pointing, :: has people trapped in the attic and desperate. ::
:: Right. Them first. :: Ebsa cut across the waves carefully, avoiding the breaking surf that marked either rocks or buildings just underwater. And the wheels still scraped occasionally. Turn down what might be a street below.
The house in question was just a bit taller, or built on just enough higher ground than its neighbors. One! How many people drowned, trapped in their attics.
He shut down his imagination and turned to just barely touch the left side wheels to the submerged slope of the roof. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ra’d leap out onto the roof, almost clear of the water.
He trod to the peak and sliced a hole. Leaned way in, and emerged with a child. Set it down and grabbed another being lifted through the hole. Helped a woman, as she was boosted through . . . then Ra’d disappeared inside.
A man climbed laboriously out, boosted from below. Ra’d climbed out after him and swooped down to grab the larger child and carry her to the crawler. One foot deep in the water, he paused, probably for a wave by the gate, then tossed the kid through.
The mother, clutching the other kid, wavered at the edge of the water. Ra’d reached, took the toddler, and tossed him. The mother lurched forward, desperate; Ra’d grabbed her and threw her. The man wobbled over . . . Ra’d held up a hand . . . then waved him in. Knelt and boosted him upward.
Ra’d retreated a few steps, then took a running jump and scrambled up to the top of the Junkyard. :: Next stop, over there. That flat topped office building. ::
Ebsa eyed the low wall. :: Everyone’s on the roof, looks like the top floor is about half underwater. How about a shield, and just slide them right though the corridor? ::
:: Yeah, that’ll work, once they get up the nerve to jump. ::
Ebsa worked his way through houses, as Ra’d jumped down and grabbed a rope out of the locker. “We’re coming up on an open channel. That office will be on another slice. Holy . . .” He threw the props into reverse and the Junkyard wallowed in the swells as the fin passed them. Large fin. And a smaller tail fin barely breaking the water twenty meters behind . . . The water was murky enough that he could only make out the blurry bulk.
Ra’d chuckled. “Want to stick your arm in that fellow’s mouth?”
“No.” Ebsa watched the shark out of sight, then put the props back in gear. “So that’s why the rope?”
“That, plus I’d hate to slip and get crushed between the Junkyard and some bloody stupid Earther’s office building.”
Ebsa nodded. “Yeah. Crushed against a Oner office building would be a much superior painful death.”
Ra’d snorted and headed up the ladder.
It took all day. But they successfully evacuated over a thousand people.
The shark didn’t survive its first attempt to bite the Junkyard, and a fist fight broke out between starving, dehydrated Earthers and Oners in the meadow that was being used as a large outdoor mess hall.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Black Horse Round Up
16 Jumada 1400 nyp
"Well, frankly, we need to be here, not off at Versalle. So we need to move the horses, tack, feed, supplies . . ." Captain Ahco eyed the people here. "Wiz, Booze? I'll leave you in charge here. We're going to hike for Versalle, and start ferrying horses . . ."
Myyk's voice from his comm, "We can have a drive. They'll pretty much stick together. I'll get them saddled and loaded with feed—we've got a couple tons of oats, fortunately bagged. The grain cribs didn't come with us, likewise the hay barn. I'll try to figure out how to secure the sacks on the horses."
Ahco considered a hundred and sixty loose horses . . . "Let’s make it three drives. We'll lead the pack horses and let some other run loose with us. Work on the packs and we'll hike there, looking for a route on the east side."
He eyed a car, slewed across the alley between buildings. "If we go completely around the vane with the Red Zone, it'll be nearly sixty kilometers."
The other followed his gaze.
"Finders keepers?" Wiz hopped up from the rock she was sitting. "Let's see if we can get it started."
The car was unlocked, and the registration address a few blocks south.
"If the owner bailed out and ran for it during one of the, umm, normal times, he or she is probably home safe." Wiz leaned under the dash board, and the engine purred to life. "There you go, Boss."
"Sometimes I wonder about Princess training," Igloo muttered.
Ahco shrugged. "Let's clear the road and get out of here."
The car made one round trip—slowly and carefully around the tip of one vane, then due west to Versalle—before it ran out of gas. But it got more riders there to lead the horses with the improvised packs, and he had a load of weapons and ammo. And a lot of loose horses, but they all trailed along and came in to eat. Not all black. They always kept nice mounts for the president, his wife, and in this case, their spoiled brat son. Plus extras for guests. And horses for the close bodyguards to ride. Of course, half of those were black horses that hadn't had the disposition needed for the ceremonial guard mounts.
A hundred and thirty-two parade horses. Twenty-nine other riding horses.
Well, they're well trained and healthy. If we're marooned, we'll be glad of them.
If we don’t find gas, we'll be glad of them immediately.
***
Wiz and Booze had been busy with rubble, and cleared a space for long picket lines. "No idea why we bothered. We're going to have to graze them almost immediately."
"Yes." Captain Ahco looked at his lines of horses and wondered how the hell he was going to feed them. "A hundred and seventy-one horses and not a single bloody cow."
Myyk grinned. "Mare's milk. It's the next big thing. I spotted some wild horses, so depending on their exact species, we may manage some foals. Or, of course, we could try to catch some wild cows. What did they call them? Aurochs or some such?"
"Please the One, let us not be stranded for so long." He winced. "Except we didn't have a working gate. Earth, on-the-other-hand . . . One. We'd better think about capturing calves, and maybe some colts."
"Hunting for food." Key—Ifki—put in. "The grocery will be stripped by tomorrow."
Chapter Twenty-nine
Black Horse Guards
17 Jumada 1400 nyp
Myyk nodded. "We've kept an eye on the Red Zone people. They've teamed up with some Native miners from one of the Earth's mining worlds. They're exploring and hunting. Azho—the miner I talked to said everyone called him Nick—bagged a leopard yesterday. The Miner recommended deer as much tastier."
Dipper nodded. "We found the remains of a cow that something had killed and eaten. The foot prints around it . . . well, either they have really big birds around here, or there are smallish carnivorous dinosaurs out there. Raptors. I looked them up, there are several species, from ostrich sized to horse sized. Don't know what we've got."
Hi walked in. "The horses look pretty good. Frisky, some of them."
Dipper rolled her eyes. "The ones we dosed with Azho's potion. The worst injured. The mares are in season and acting like idiots, and the geldings are worse! Honestly, carrying on like stallions."
Ahco snorted. "We'll take them this afternoon then. They can get it out of their systems with a long ride. Some scouting and some hunting. Find out who's to the west, and the northwest of us."
Jay walked in, arm in a sling, but no splint or wrappings. "We should recruit some civilian workers, get them involved instead of sitting around waiting for someone to fetch them another bucket of water. I think I've found all the sheared off water mains and sealed them. Shut off valves to all the ruined buildings. Can't be sure until we pressure up the whole system."
"But you've got enough pipes to reach the stream, and a sump pump." Ahco waited for his nod. "So tomorrow we'll have water at ground level."
"So long as fuel for the generator holds out. We'll get some sort of large containment built, and adapt a windmill or some such to pump water into it. In theory, we can get enough water pressure to get water to all the apartments. If those insane people won't come down."
"Good. So water, and hopefully meat. Now what are we going to do about grains, fruit, and vegetables?"
CeeCee—Ecci— grinned. "I snagged every packet of seeds from every store I could find, and grabbed lots of beans. Sweet corn's the only grain, and it'll take years to grow enough to eat, but we ought to be able to do it."
"There are oak trees. For acorns. Probably some native nut and fruit trees."
"There were brambles down at the stream. Maybe berries, later."
Water World
16 Jumada 1411 yp
“Q says she’s made some calculations and thinks she can roughly locate the seven worlds that were in the whirlpool with the One split and the Earth split.”
Ebsa brightened. Paused. “Roughly locate?”
Ajha shrugged. “She asked if we could send people to go check the ground, or failing that, perhaps sell them some equipment. Izzo agrees with my preference that we stay deeply engaged, if for no other reason than being in the loop and up to date if something else disastrous happens.”
Ra’d flashed a grin. “Yeah, I really want to see this. Someplace where I won’t get mistaken for this . . .”
“Doppelganger?” Ebsa offered.
“Little brother. And shot.” Ra’d snorted. “So when do we go?”
“Right away. Stand by to check anything Q wants checked. Take a variety of vehicles, in case the Junkyard won’t work.” Ajha checked his comp. “Q’s put a new gate at J12. It’s to an empty world, in case there’s a need for quarantine.”
Ebsa gnawed a lip. “Is . . . there anything we ought not do?”
Ajha snorted. “Start a war? Stop thinking? This is . . . a weird phenomenon that we’ll be studying for decades. Record everything, see and remember all you can.”
***
Back at Warehouse Fifty everyone looked hopeful.
Except Paer, frowning down at her huge belly. “I thought twins were supposed to arrive early!”
Ebsa shook his head. “Good thing they didn’t. Else you couldn’t have showed a whole world how to do Medgicianing right.”
Paer rolled her eyes. “One more week, and the twins are going to get evicted.”
Heak snickered. “Vehicles said they have two utes that you can have right now, a few dings and such, and I’m sure I didn’t hear anything about ‘that won’t bother them.’ Do you want both of them? And a three meter enclosed trailer. They said they could get you as many as you want. They choked a bit over another crawler, but barely whimpered when they admitted they had a brand new one ready to go.”
Ebsa sniffed. “The Junkyard is the only crawler I’ve ever rolled. And I did it on purpose.”
“Both times.” Ra’d grinned. “So, we could use the new one for an office and for you guys to sleep in, Q too, although I suspect she’s got something of her own.”
“And then the Junkyard or the utes for exploring Across.” Ebsa nodded. “Paer? Will you take the Junkyard now? We’ll collect the rest from the motor pool and join you shortly.”
Paer perked up.
The Black Horse Guard on duty scowled. Haiz was young and trying a bit too hard to be grim and protective. And didn’t appreciate being called Hazy.
“Hazy, go check in and see if you guys are allowed to cross over with Paer. I hate to set a precedent, but you may need to drive her to the hospital if we’re in the middle of a crisis.”
Poor girl looked horrified. But she stepped away and started muttering on her comm.
Girl? Oh One! Have I reached the age where one of the Guards is significantly younger than me? I’m only twenty-eight! Or is it just the accumulating experiences?
Ebsa wandered over and looked at Heak’s expanding supplies list. “Three laser repeaters? It’s only one gate away, and they’re probably already planting the set up.”
“Right. And then you’re going to go exploring on how many worlds? Three is what they have in stock.” Heak grinned. “Do you know how cool it is working for you guys? Everyone knows who you are, and always expedites my orders.”
“Oooo! We have reputations!” Azko grinned. “Well, all right. You three have reputations. I’m mere coat-tails. But think how much I’ll impress Gamer if I’m part of the crew rescuing her!”
Ra’d shook his head. “And now I have another little sister.”
“I don’t think your little brother is going to let you go all protective over his little sister.” Ebsa snickered. “And pity the poor girl with two big brothers like you.”
Paer and Heak started giggling. Hazy looked horrified. “I have two older brothers. And they were bad enough!”
I wonder where Nick wound up? And his family. I didn’t dare look for them on Nuked One. Didn’t know where to start, for that matter.
But maybe I’ll find out.
Three hours later, they were surveying a beautiful grassy meadow.
A road—possibly two kilometers long—ran north-south, with five stubby roads to the west and seven to the east.
They’d driven out of the northern-most of the west side roads. A quick scout showed only one other gate—the third on the west side, which gave a view of the Disco HQ on Embassy.
By the time they’d parked everything, Q had shown up and grinned at their preps. “See? Xen’s fussing about getting equipment and grumbling about how long it’ll take. So I called the insatiably curious Ajha, and voila! A few hours later, I have equipment and trained personnel.”
Paer laughed. “So what’s this about ‘roughly locating’ one of the worlds?”
“The shape of the whirlpool pattern, I figured they went flying out in various directions . . . for some definitions of direction and flying. Anyway, I’ve got six I want to look at right away, which will tell me if I’m on the right track or not.” Q grinned. “So, I’m going to open a gate and see if the world’s got an attachment scar. Those powered gates leave a pretty obvious mark. But I need someone to look through the gate as I try to keep it from ‘landing’ so-to-speak, and shift it toward the scar, and look around.”
Ebsa grinned. “And if it looks promising, we’ll roll through and see if we can find any survivors.”
“Exactly. So, Earth, Nuked Earth, and Nuked One are all showing interest in this project, but I figured I’d stick to the useful people until I have a success.” Q waved across the street. “And hopefully, seven more worlds. C’mon. I’m dying to find out if I’m right.”
They followed her across the street, where she sat at the end of the stubby side-road . . . closed her eyes.
Ebs glanced to the side. Paer was sitting down, a bit awkwardly, and closing her eyes too. I know she sees fog in the gates—a sign of a weak dimensional ability. Can she see the inbetween too?
He looked back at a bright spark opened up wide in front of Q. Nothing showing but blue. The inbetween? Or . . . “Raise it up! I think you’re underwater!”
“How odd.” The blue lightened toward the top, darkened, lightened . . . then sunlight as the top of the distant gate broke the surface. “I’ve never touched down in the ocean before, and I was trying to reach a scar . . .”
“There’s a building! Sticking up out of the water. Several buildings.” Ra’d stared. “To your right, a roof just above water. Attach to the roof, the crawler’s tires distribute the weight fairly well . . . and they’re amphibious.”
The view wobbled closer to the barely visible roof. As Ebsa watched, a wave broke over the top of it.
The good news is, the structure is full of water, which will help support the roof. The bad news is the water that just splashed through, and the next wave looks kind of large . . .
“Q, if it’s attached, it’s time to get out of the way.” Ebsa hovered, not wanting to lay hands on one of the most magically powerful people in existence . . . The wave rolled up the roof and half a meter of salt water leaped through the gate and rolled Q. Ebsa grabbed her arm and staggered back and the water spread out quickly. Paer had been further back and less immersed in magic. She was up and only wet halfway up her calves.
“Right, let’s get the Junkyard through . . . Q can we have a corridor from this roof to . . . Uh, maybe the roof of the crawler, don’t want to flood the inside . . .” Ebsa stopped backing away from the gate and ran for the Junkyard.
He jumped in the driving seat and pulled out. Spotted Paer waddling—never ever say that out loud or even think it!—toward the Disco gate.
Yeah. May need help here.
He lined up with the gate and stopped where Heak held up her hand.
She trotted around and popped through the door. “Q says there are hundreds of people trapped. Leave this door open, she’ll jump in as you drive by and stick a corridor from the building roof onto the top of the crawler. Ra’d will stay up top to handle people. Azko will stay on the roof to send them on through the gate. Paer’s gone for help. Have fun! Don’t sink the Junkyard. You don’t want to have to swim for it, the sharks they have here.”
Sharks!
“Gotcha!”
She clipped the door open and jumped out.
Through the gate, Ra’d beckoned. All wheels forward and go.
The usual twist and lurch, two quick thumps, then he could hear the door closing behind him, but all his attention was focused on the water, specifically the wave direction and—power to the props, disengage wheels—turning into the big swell . . . because we’re not a seriously sea worthy craft!
The Junkyard’s nose rose, and then fell as the crest of the swell passed beneath them.
Props in reverse, slow down we don’t want to bury the nose at the bottom . . . Now props forward . . .
:: Okay. Corridor is high on the port side, Q is back home. That house right over there, :: a weird complex of vision and pointing, :: has people trapped in the attic and desperate. ::
:: Right. Them first. :: Ebsa cut across the waves carefully, avoiding the breaking surf that marked either rocks or buildings just underwater. And the wheels still scraped occasionally. Turn down what might be a street below.
The house in question was just a bit taller, or built on just enough higher ground than its neighbors. One! How many people drowned, trapped in their attics.
He shut down his imagination and turned to just barely touch the left side wheels to the submerged slope of the roof. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ra’d leap out onto the roof, almost clear of the water.
He trod to the peak and sliced a hole. Leaned way in, and emerged with a child. Set it down and grabbed another being lifted through the hole. Helped a woman, as she was boosted through . . . then Ra’d disappeared inside.
A man climbed laboriously out, boosted from below. Ra’d climbed out after him and swooped down to grab the larger child and carry her to the crawler. One foot deep in the water, he paused, probably for a wave by the gate, then tossed the kid through.
The mother, clutching the other kid, wavered at the edge of the water. Ra’d reached, took the toddler, and tossed him. The mother lurched forward, desperate; Ra’d grabbed her and threw her. The man wobbled over . . . Ra’d held up a hand . . . then waved him in. Knelt and boosted him upward.
Ra’d retreated a few steps, then took a running jump and scrambled up to the top of the Junkyard. :: Next stop, over there. That flat topped office building. ::
Ebsa eyed the low wall. :: Everyone’s on the roof, looks like the top floor is about half underwater. How about a shield, and just slide them right though the corridor? ::
:: Yeah, that’ll work, once they get up the nerve to jump. ::
Ebsa worked his way through houses, as Ra’d jumped down and grabbed a rope out of the locker. “We’re coming up on an open channel. That office will be on another slice. Holy . . .” He threw the props into reverse and the Junkyard wallowed in the swells as the fin passed them. Large fin. And a smaller tail fin barely breaking the water twenty meters behind . . . The water was murky enough that he could only make out the blurry bulk.
Ra’d chuckled. “Want to stick your arm in that fellow’s mouth?”
“No.” Ebsa watched the shark out of sight, then put the props back in gear. “So that’s why the rope?”
“That, plus I’d hate to slip and get crushed between the Junkyard and some bloody stupid Earther’s office building.”
Ebsa nodded. “Yeah. Crushed against a Oner office building would be a much superior painful death.”
Ra’d snorted and headed up the ladder.
It took all day. But they successfully evacuated over a thousand people.
The shark didn’t survive its first attempt to bite the Junkyard, and a fist fight broke out between starving, dehydrated Earthers and Oners in the meadow that was being used as a large outdoor mess hall.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Black Horse Round Up
16 Jumada 1400 nyp
"Well, frankly, we need to be here, not off at Versalle. So we need to move the horses, tack, feed, supplies . . ." Captain Ahco eyed the people here. "Wiz, Booze? I'll leave you in charge here. We're going to hike for Versalle, and start ferrying horses . . ."
Myyk's voice from his comm, "We can have a drive. They'll pretty much stick together. I'll get them saddled and loaded with feed—we've got a couple tons of oats, fortunately bagged. The grain cribs didn't come with us, likewise the hay barn. I'll try to figure out how to secure the sacks on the horses."
Ahco considered a hundred and sixty loose horses . . . "Let’s make it three drives. We'll lead the pack horses and let some other run loose with us. Work on the packs and we'll hike there, looking for a route on the east side."
He eyed a car, slewed across the alley between buildings. "If we go completely around the vane with the Red Zone, it'll be nearly sixty kilometers."
The other followed his gaze.
"Finders keepers?" Wiz hopped up from the rock she was sitting. "Let's see if we can get it started."
The car was unlocked, and the registration address a few blocks south.
"If the owner bailed out and ran for it during one of the, umm, normal times, he or she is probably home safe." Wiz leaned under the dash board, and the engine purred to life. "There you go, Boss."
"Sometimes I wonder about Princess training," Igloo muttered.
Ahco shrugged. "Let's clear the road and get out of here."
The car made one round trip—slowly and carefully around the tip of one vane, then due west to Versalle—before it ran out of gas. But it got more riders there to lead the horses with the improvised packs, and he had a load of weapons and ammo. And a lot of loose horses, but they all trailed along and came in to eat. Not all black. They always kept nice mounts for the president, his wife, and in this case, their spoiled brat son. Plus extras for guests. And horses for the close bodyguards to ride. Of course, half of those were black horses that hadn't had the disposition needed for the ceremonial guard mounts.
A hundred and thirty-two parade horses. Twenty-nine other riding horses.
Well, they're well trained and healthy. If we're marooned, we'll be glad of them.
If we don’t find gas, we'll be glad of them immediately.
***
Wiz and Booze had been busy with rubble, and cleared a space for long picket lines. "No idea why we bothered. We're going to have to graze them almost immediately."
"Yes." Captain Ahco looked at his lines of horses and wondered how the hell he was going to feed them. "A hundred and seventy-one horses and not a single bloody cow."
Myyk grinned. "Mare's milk. It's the next big thing. I spotted some wild horses, so depending on their exact species, we may manage some foals. Or, of course, we could try to catch some wild cows. What did they call them? Aurochs or some such?"
"Please the One, let us not be stranded for so long." He winced. "Except we didn't have a working gate. Earth, on-the-other-hand . . . One. We'd better think about capturing calves, and maybe some colts."
"Hunting for food." Key—Ifki—put in. "The grocery will be stripped by tomorrow."
Chapter Twenty-nine
Black Horse Guards
17 Jumada 1400 nyp
Myyk nodded. "We've kept an eye on the Red Zone people. They've teamed up with some Native miners from one of the Earth's mining worlds. They're exploring and hunting. Azho—the miner I talked to said everyone called him Nick—bagged a leopard yesterday. The Miner recommended deer as much tastier."
Dipper nodded. "We found the remains of a cow that something had killed and eaten. The foot prints around it . . . well, either they have really big birds around here, or there are smallish carnivorous dinosaurs out there. Raptors. I looked them up, there are several species, from ostrich sized to horse sized. Don't know what we've got."
Hi walked in. "The horses look pretty good. Frisky, some of them."
Dipper rolled her eyes. "The ones we dosed with Azho's potion. The worst injured. The mares are in season and acting like idiots, and the geldings are worse! Honestly, carrying on like stallions."
Ahco snorted. "We'll take them this afternoon then. They can get it out of their systems with a long ride. Some scouting and some hunting. Find out who's to the west, and the northwest of us."
Jay walked in, arm in a sling, but no splint or wrappings. "We should recruit some civilian workers, get them involved instead of sitting around waiting for someone to fetch them another bucket of water. I think I've found all the sheared off water mains and sealed them. Shut off valves to all the ruined buildings. Can't be sure until we pressure up the whole system."
"But you've got enough pipes to reach the stream, and a sump pump." Ahco waited for his nod. "So tomorrow we'll have water at ground level."
"So long as fuel for the generator holds out. We'll get some sort of large containment built, and adapt a windmill or some such to pump water into it. In theory, we can get enough water pressure to get water to all the apartments. If those insane people won't come down."
"Good. So water, and hopefully meat. Now what are we going to do about grains, fruit, and vegetables?"
CeeCee—Ecci— grinned. "I snagged every packet of seeds from every store I could find, and grabbed lots of beans. Sweet corn's the only grain, and it'll take years to grow enough to eat, but we ought to be able to do it."
"There are oak trees. For acorns. Probably some native nut and fruit trees."
"There were brambles down at the stream. Maybe berries, later."
