Dinosaurus Planet Survivors

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When Kai’s group reached the campsite, they found four vehicles of various sizes from the Zaid-Dayan already awaiting them. A work party was busy tearing out the old forcescreen posts. The replacements, thicker by half again, lay to one side alongside the control mechanisms.

As Kai glided in to land by the vehicles, Fordeliton emerged from the largest and waved to him. Then both men turned to watch Triv bring the shuttle down in a deft landing on the exact spot it had occupied forty-three years earlier. Experiencing deja vu, Kai found that he had to turn away from the spectacle and so engaged Fordeliton in conversation.

“I think you’ll find that everything you ordered through Mayerd is here,” Ford said, waving expansively at the three sleds and the sleek pinnace. “A few incidentals were added by our commander.”

“A bottle of the Sverulan brandy I’ve heard so much about?” Kai asked, with a grin.

“That would surprise me. She guards the vintage like the destruct codes. However, she was looking quite pleased with herself and there hasn’t been a hair seen of the hide of that Dupaynil. Lunzie have anything to say for herself?”

“I haven’t had time to ask her,” Kai said, having forgotten all about that aspect of the previous evening’s events. “Lunzie never makes gratuitous admissions.”

“Takes after her great-great-great then.” Fordeliton compressed his lips in exasperation. “However,” and he changed moods, “let us not prod imponderables. I have here the little device which Commander Sassinak mentioned. I have coded it with information from our various tapes and files about this planet. Even fed it that tape from Dimenon about the fringes. So it only needs to be set in place.” He beckoned Kai after him to the pinnace, where he laid hands on a small black plastic traveling case. Kneeling, he opened it and lifted out an opaque globe. He rose, displaying the object to Kai, a big grin on his face. “This is quite a device.” Opening a small compartment, he made a few minute adjustments and closed it. “Now, we just let it sail.”

“Sail?”

“Well, we give it a bit of upward impetus,” Fordeliton amended, beckoning Kai to follow him out of the pinnace. He spotted and then walked quickly to a small cairn of stones. “This was adjudged the exact center of the area enclosed by the forcescreen. So,” and flexing his knees, Fordeliton gave a leap, heaving the globe upward at the top of his jump. The globe continued up and then paused, spinning in a leisurely fashion, a pale light coruscating from it. Fordeliton dusted his hands together. “Now, nothing small, large, medium, programmed or unrecognizable can approach this site without you knowing, and the intruder, if on the unwanted list, being stunned senseless. Feel safer?”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” Fordeliton gripped Kai’s shoulder in a firm but understanding grasp. “Now, what else can we do for you?”

Just then the forcescreen came on and a cheer went up from the survivors as well as the volunteers from the Zaid-Dayan.

“Now we can get back to the business interrupted forty-three years ago.”

“Once the domes are up,” Ford amended. Kai nodded agreement.

This time, Trizein elected to have a dome instead of quarters in the shuttle. He also volunteered to supervise the three youngsters so one of the larger units was erected, providing him with a large working area and four small sleeping sections. Dimenon and Margit elected to return to their secondary camp. Portegin, Aulia in tow, settled on a site for their dome. Triv took a single, as did Kai. Then a place for the largest dome, meeting room cum mess hall was chosen. As the supply of domes had been generous, two more were placed, one for Varian and another for such visitors as might care to stay over. As Kai once again surveyed the natural amphitheater, its forcescreen spitting as it demolished unwary insects, he could not fail to notice that none of the newly erected domes had been sighted where those of the first encampment had been. An understandable phenomenon.

Among the volunteers were two stewards from the Zaid-Dayan and they supplied a midday meal utilizing some of the Iretan fruits and greens.

“Surprised me, it did,” the man said, “considering how this planet stinks. Wouldn’t have thought anything would taste halfway edible: And it does!”

“I think we can’t taste right, is what I think,” the second caterer said, “with all that smell messing up our tasters and smellers.”

“Just goes to show, doesn’t it,” Margit allowed, “that neither looks nor smells is everything. So, Kai, shall Dim and I get back to our bailiwick?”

An ear-piercing whistle interrupted any answer Kai would have made. As he glanced upwards, thinking the globe was alerting them, he saw Ford depressing a knob on his wrist comunit. A momentary flash of disappointment crossed the officer’s face but was quickly erased. He turned to Kai with a rueful smile, nodding to his men who had been alerted by the noise.

“I’m sorry, Kai, that’s recall. We’ve been on yellow alert since we landed. It’s now red.” He rose to his feet, making a broad sweeping gesture with his arm. “All right, now, crew. Recall.”

Disappointed mutters and groans could be heard but the crew members moved quickly toward the door.

“Don’t like to eat and run. Me mammy said it was bad manners,” the older caterer said, grinning apologetically at the disarray in the catering area.

“We’ll save ’em for you to come back to,” Margit called in a good-natured taunt as she followed the crew out.

“If I can, I’ll let you know what’s up,” Fordeliton said as Kai jogged with him to the pinnace. “I don’t think you need worry about anything with the globe up there.”

“Good luck,” was all Kai could think to say.

Triv opened the veil of the forcescreen to permit the sleds and pinnace to exit, then closed it and walked purposefully back to Kai.

“Does their emergency mean we’re stuck in here?”

“Ford didn’t mention any restrictions on us.”

“Then shall we indeed pick up where we left off?”

“Portegin, is the new core screen working?”

Portegin raised his eyebrows, a knowing expression on his face. “It is indeed and a very interesting tale to tell us.”

“How so?” Kai asked as they all climbed the rise to the shuttle.

“You’ll see,” Portegin replied confidently. His meaning was as plain as the blips lighting the screen in the shuttle’s main cabin. Where once the duality of core lights had confused the geologists, only single clear lights formed a network.

“The Thek have recovered all the old cores?”

“That’s what it looks like. Did they eat ’em, d’you think, Kai?”

Portegin asked. “Dimenon thinks they do.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Triv said.

“How long have the faint cores been gone from the screen?”

“There were still fifty or more yesterday when I was setting the screen up and testing it,” Portegin replied. “I didn’t have it on today until we’d finished setting the domes up. I had a look at it just before they rang the chow gong. There were only a few left,” Portegin indicated the edges of the screen, “and now, not an unblessed one of ’em. They must eat ’em. Cores will register through anything.”

“Except a Thek,” Margit said.

Triv smiled. “Cores should register even through the silicon of a Thek.”

“Then they did eat ’em.” Portegin would not be dissuaded from that opinion. “And digested every last morsel.”

Kai looked at the screen for a long moment, not seeing its display. “We’re here. We have equipment again. We still haven’t finished our original mission. It’s better to be busy than sit around idly speculating on what we can’t change and better not interfere with. Margit and Dimenon, you two get back to your camp and continue the survey. At least we don’t have outside interference to upset Portegin’s screen. Triv, what’s your option?”

“I’d like to strike north, past the last point we surveyed. There’s quite a volcanic chain north and east that might be very interesting geologically.”

“Good. Will you take Bonnard along as your partner?”

“Be delighted.”

“Lunzie,” Kai turned to the medic, “have you plans for the rest of the day?”

She shook her head.

“Would you pilot Trizein?”

“You’ll be base manager? That’s perhaps a good idea.”

“I rather thought you’d approve.” He grinned at her.

“Well, you look a shade better, but I wouldn’t like to see you overextend yourself without a damned good reason.” She strode out of the shuttle.