Nellie and the Nanites - Bk2 - Ch.21

Chapter 21

Contact

Nellie and her crew flew a slow circle around the massive walls surrounding Duke’s place. The Abomi-toads had clearly passed here already. The number of dead bodies was pretty low, given the creature's cannibalistic nature and voracious appetite. Still, the blood spray everywhere was enough to tell the tale.

Deep furrows had been gouged out of the landscape by the most oversized turrets Nellie had seen on the planet; they dwarfed even the defenses of the Hub itself. Yet another sign that Duke had bigger plans. Those turrets were also a pretty clear sign the man was no mere farmer. Secrets upon secrets, that was Duke.

Large craters at regular intervals argued that he also had some explosives on that wall.

“Someone was prepared to defend this place against an army,” Lucy called over the comm unit so everyone could hear her.

“At the least,” Nellie called back.

“I’m inventorying the various arms for consideration on our own defenses,” Salem’s voice crackled as a comms malfunctioned when they flew past a strange-looking device that was mounted on a rail that ran along the top of Duke’s walls. It was like three silver cylinders contained within a series of metal rings; their sensor readings around it got really weird.

“Is that a scattering field generator?” Nellie guessed.

“No,” Lucy replied, “That’s stronger. A suppression field generator with built-in EMP.”

“Fuck,” Nellie laughed. “Duke really isn’t messing around.”

“Everything seems fine here,” Baz called. “Shall we head for the village?”

“Let me just land and check how they did,” Nellie said. “They might have some insights on the best plan for the village.”

“Should we scout further out?” Baz asked.

“No, just circle and wait for me,” Nellie replied after a moment’s thought. “Just in case we have to move out quickly.”

Duke came out to meet her himself. The usually smiling man looked grim and tired as he smiled and waved to her.

“Hey, Bea,” Duke said. “If you need supplies, you may have to load ‘em yourself. Was a long night, so I let everyone get some rack time.”

“I saw,” Nellie said. “Did everyone make it okay?”

“Yeah, the little buggers aren’t too much threat as long as our walls are standing.” Duke lit a cigar and drew deeply. “At those numbers, we had to kill ‘em so they couldn’t pile up. Doubt they’ll be the last of it, though.” He looked towards the south with a weary tension in his shoulders. “The slower things tend to be bigger, which might be a problem.”

“I figured,” Nellie nodded. “Any sign of those soldiers I sent your way?”

“Not yet,” Duke said. “We could use the numbers before the bigger stuff gets here, so if you see ‘em, send them along, okay?”

“Will do, Duke,” Nellie said. “Look, I better go and help out the village before the Abomi-Toads hit it. Check back with you in a few days, alright?”

“Abomi-Toads?” Duke chuckled. “I like that.” He waived for her to wait and rolled a large crate out on a grav sled. “Take this with you; it will boost your comm range quite a bit.”

“Sure, thanks, Duke,” Nellie said.

“Hey, you were the only one we supplied to come to check on us; how's that for customer loyalty?” Duke shook his head. “You really find out who your friends are in times like this.”

“Shit, sorry.” Nellie shook her head as she pushed the Sled up into the cargo bay. “Hey, maybe they are just slower getting here?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Duke said, drawing angrily on his cigar. “Take care of yourself, Bea. Shit’s gonna go bad fast in the next few weeks.”

“You too, Duke.” Nellie nodded to him and closed the bay doors.

“You think no one else is coming to check on him?” Paren asked as they walked back to the flight deck.

“They might be, or they might be dead,” Nellie said as she slid into the controls. Her mind was on Crush and his people. They were traveling, so they might have been caught out in the open… “Listen up, we have a little detour to make on the way back to the village. Follow my course.” She punched the controls to maximum and swooped towards the northeast.

Lucy helped determine the most likely path the soldiers would have taken, and they started a quick search. It didn’t take too long to find the first signs of battle.

“There,” Paren pointed down at a blood-soaked field with a large arrow of clear space in the center. “They must have been hit by the Swampies there.”

“Good catch,” Nellie gave her a little smile, and they came in to hover a few feet above the ground while Lucy ran scans in the area. Large vehicles had been parked in the center of the wedge, and from the tracks leading away, they had turned aside here.

Good thing, too. The Toads were less than an hour and a half from here.

“I’ve determined their direction of travel, and there is a small village on that heading,” Lucy called. “Five minutes flight time.”

“Let’s go,” Nellie called, and they moved off, following the soldier's path while staying only a few dozen feet off the floor. Nellie had Paren keep an eye on the trees, just in case, while she got on the radio to try to make contact. Flying up on jumpy soldiers without warning was a good way to get blasted out of the sky.

“This is Bea, looking to contact Crush-Cha,” She repeated the message a couple of times before a familiar voice came on the line. It wasn’t Crush.

“This is Commander Brix, what is your message?” Brix’s voice sounded more strained than she had ever heard him during the battle for MOG-Fiver. For a second, she was frozen with surprise.

“I’m the Captain who arranged supplies, Commander Brix,” Nellie said. “Coming up on your location in three armed shuttles. I have to warn you about a wave of dangerous creatures coming up in the next couple of hours; please do not fire.”

“We already dealt with the Swamp Dogs, Captain,” Brix sounded relieved, “No need to warn us–”

“Not them; there is worse on its way,” Nellie cut him off. “Much worse.”

“Great,” Brix sighed over the line. “Don’t suppose you know where we can get a piece of walling from by any chance?” His tone was sarcastic and bitter.

“Funny you should say that…” Nellie said happily.

“Seriously?” Brix asked.

“We don’t have much time,” Nellie replied. “How much will you need?”

“Uh–” Brix seemed hesitant.

“Permission to approach and assess for ourselves?” Nellie sighed.

“It won’t be perfect,” Nellie said as she walked the gap in the wall. “But it will help.”

“They will have to fill the gaps between the old and new with rubble, but it should be doable,” Salem noted a couple of points on her clipboard.

Nellie nodded as she checked the curve of the walls again. There was no way a bit of Duke’s walls would fit, but it would cover the gap relatively well. From there, the soldiers had plenty of rubble from the old wall to fill in the small gaps where the walls met. The new piece would overlap the gap easily, so that was promising.

“This is going to take us at least a half hour to get a piece in place,” Nellie called up to Crush and Brix, who were standing off to one side. “You better get people ready to fill in the gaps.”

“We’ll be ready,” Crush nodded to her.

“Okay, back in a half hour,” Nellie headed back to the large cargo shuttle, which she had landed close by. “It’ll be close, but we can manage it.”

“Thanks!” Brix called after her.

===<<<>>>===

Commandant Ahern waited for the map to update. They had left sensors behind where their troops withdrew. Together, those sensors made up an early warning system that would allow them to transfer the necessary troops to each city to make sure they could withstand the wildlife.

A little over a day ago, the first wave of wildlife had passed the outer sensors. The first few waves were nothing for the cities to worry about, being made up of the smallest animals, the fastest runners. He watched as they moved closer, noticing a few areas where they seemed to lose numbers. There were a good number of places where people had held out, it seemed.

It was almost enough to make you feel sorry for them. Almost.

Ahern pushed any sympathy for those stuck outside the cities aside. He would have liked to save them, but the truth of it was they were already dead. All they could do now was thin the numbers and maybe delay some of the bigger animals for a few hours. Their sacrifice would ensure his victory.

Carefully entering orders to send rescue troops into a disconnected command unit, he watched and identified areas of interest. The orders went nowhere, but they would show up in the records. They would show he tried valiantly.

His personal log would show how upset he was at the failure of his troops to respond. In about a week, once things were bad enough for no one to expect him to send people out, they would ‘discover the fault,’ and he would choose one of the local recruits to blame and execute for sabotage.

Done issuing his orders, Ahern returned to watching the map. It was actually a fascinating exercise. Already, they had identified two anomalies. First was the species known as the Swamp Dog. They had started their run inland long before there was any sign of trouble. A small lab had been set up to examine the creatures and figure it out. He even ordered a couple of eggs placed in stasis for himself. They were bound to be useful in the future.

A couple of hours later, he flicked the map off as a knock on the door indicated it was time for his daily update. An officious-looking local in Fed armor marched in at his command and gave a crisp salute. Ahern had never taken to brackta girls; the scales reminded him too much of a salamander species on the training planet he ran as his first command. The damn things would always find a way into his quarters, and their scent glands gave off an awful smell when they were startled. He spent two years hesitant to turn on a light in case one of the damn creatures was in the vent. The mere sight of scales left him feeling nauseous to this day.

“Officer Prit-Mal, Sir!” She snapped off a smart salute, “I have the daily reports for your signature.” She held out a datapad for him to thumbprint.

“You a local, Officer?” Ahern asked, turning to stare out the window so he could avoid the sight of scales.

“Yes, Sir!” She answered. “I worked on Fig-Seven for years.”

“There are dark times ahead, Officer,” He said gravely, “We must do our best to save as many people as we can.”

“Whatever it takes, Sir!” Prit-Mal was almost vibrating with duty when he turned back to her.

“Prit-Mal, was it?” He asked and made a note. “I will remember the name.” He gave her a friendly smile and thumb-printed the pad with barely a glance. “ Dismissed!”

“Sir!” She marched out, pad in hand, and he managed to keep from looking away from the scales that showed on the back of her neck.

With a thoughtful glance out the window, he decided she would do. A suitable fall guy for the sabotage and one who had definitely been in his office.

Plus, it would be one less set of scales to look at every day.

===<<<>>>===

Crush-Cha watched the massive wall section being lowered carefully into place.

“Clever, isn’t it?” Five said from behind him. “How the three of them work together to keep it in place.”

Crush resisted the urge to tell the big man to shut up in the presence of the Company Commander but was pleased to hear a thump as One made the point for him. She really was a natural at this.

Five was right about one thing, Crush admitted to himself: Bea knew what she was doing with this wall. The largest shuttle was actually carrying the weight, while the two smaller shuttles had lines tethered to each side. With tiny movements of each shuttle, they managed to stabilize and maneuver the wall to the exact spot they wanted as it was lowered down. It was the kind of precise flying you rarely saw, except in the best of pilots.

In all his time working on Fig-Seven, he had only seen it a dozen times, and only one of them… well, never mind about that one. She was definitely dead. For a second, he had a flash of the moment he had seen her kill that young security officer. It still made his blood boil….

The wall touched down, and the lines detached as the small charges on their contact points detonated. The wires were retracted, and the wall settled into place.

“Bea to base. Good Luck,” The comm unit crackled.

“Same to you, Captain,” Brix called back. “We owe you one.”

“Get yourselves to Duke’s once this wave passes; he could use the help, and his walls are high and strong.” Bea’s voice came back. “There is worse coming, apparently.”

Brix shook his head and growled before acknowledging the transmission and signing off.

Crush was still thinking about that other Captain, and maybe that was what made him notice, but there was something familiar about the way the large shuttle was flicked onto a new heading and led the others off into the distance.

Flying, much like walking or running, had a style to it that was as individual as a person’s gait. Crush frowned as the ship flew away and tried to convince himself he had seen what he thought he had.

Crush directed the troops, filling in the small gap between the old and new wall, but his mind drifted. He had seen the Captain of that shuttle and spoken to her. It was not her. Still, something was nagging at him, something he had seen but not noticed. He turned away and focused for a moment, forcing himself to remember every detail of the woman he had once called a friend. The way she walked, the way she spoke, even the way she smelled. Brackta had great noses, and to be honest, spacers often didn’t wash as frequently as they should. He was so focused on the task that he even considered what he had seen that day through the camera replay. That young security officer fired at the Captain, and then Nellie talked her down and–

His own memory jumped, and he saw Des doing the same thing.

“That was different,” Crush muttered to himself.

“Boss?” One asked, “Something up?”

“Nothing, One,” Crush snapped. “Get back to work!”

“Boss.” She raised her eyebrows but turned back to work.

Grinding his teeth, Crush-Cha strode down the wall a little and shouted at a few soldiers to get back to work. It didn’t make him feel better, but it was what you did. In the military, shit rolls downhill.

He didn’t have time for this, not now. The Captain was dead. End of story.

Crush turned back to the wall and threw himself back into his work.

He’d have plenty of time to think about what-ifs later.

Before the last piece of rubble was dropped into place, the lookouts warned of movement on the outskirts. Five and others were frantically tapping the rubble down as the first reports came in, and the soldiers hurriedly took to the walls. The largest vehicles were backed up against the gateways to reinforce them and brace them against anything that rammed them.

Crush and his team were stationed on the new wall, along with Brix and a couple of his aides. This wall was slightly larger than the old village wall and thicker as well. It was the best spot to get a clear view as the first flares were launched into the air.

“They can’t get up here or the other walls,” Crush told his squad. “We just have to hold the bastards away from the weak points and the gates.” He split the group, sending Five, Four, and One to the other end of the new wall to set up. He took Two and Three with him and took a spot there.

There were a few tense moments as the things closed in on the walls.

“Hey, Crush!” Brix called over to him, “Didn’t she have a funny name for these things?”

“Abomi-Toads,” Crush called back.

“Hey, that’s pretty good!” Five called back.

“Who’s ‘she,’ Boss?” Two asked.

“Never you mind,” Crush said curtly. “Just keep your eyes on those Toads.”

Then, the things came into range, and the darkness was lit by dozens of flashes as they started to fire down onto the tide of glistening bodies.

===<<<>>>===

“What the hell, Molly!” Nellie stormed out of the shuttle. “There are still people outside the walls!”

“It was just Swamp Dogs!” Molly snapped at her. “They were fine.”

“There are other creatures coming!” Nellie dropped to an angry whisper as Lucy reminded her not to start a riot.

“Are you sure?” Molly asked, clearly doubtful. “In this darkness…”

“They have already hit the place where we get supplies from,” Nellie said. “Also, we’ve seen them. Thousands of them. Everyone a predator.” She sent a recording to her pad and held it out for Molly to see. She had been expecting something dramatic from the woman. Panic, defiance, or worse.

“We don’t have any room,” Molly said grimly. “The ones outside are on their own.”

“Fuck off!” Nellie gasped. “They don’t stand a chance.”

“You don’t run this village. I do,” She sniffed. “I’ve given you my answer.”

Nellie wasn’t aware she was going to punch Molly until she had already done it. The Mayor rocked back, her nose spraying blood down her top as she screamed.

People began to shout and cry, and several even brandished weapons.

At her.

There was a very busy half-hour as she explained to the crowd what was happening and why she had lost her temper. At least at first, there was dead silence when she was done.

“She’s right,” Someone called. “There’s no room!”

It was all downhill from there. Nellie tried every argument she could to get the people outside to be allowed in. She argued that they would die, only to find that no one seemed to care. They were very much in the rather them than us mindset, and the likelihood of an attack only reinforced that.

Lucy reminded her the clock was ticking and asked what she wanted to do.

What could she do?

Nellie had the shuttles land outside the walls and start getting people on board.

Despite the broken nose, Molly looked smug as Nellie walked back to her shuttle.

“I think you’re right, Captain Bea. In the future, I’ll just deal with Salem.” She called.

“In the future, you may not be dealing with any of us,” Nellie snapped. “Best of luck.”

Molly was still swearing at her as the shuttle lifted off.

“Did you mean that?” Lucy asked.

“No,” Nellie admitted grudgingly. “They just pissed me off.”