Chương 75: 2.16 Incoming

The thump of grenades echoed over the hollow where the team had set their trap, and the spine-bag erupted with fleshy geysers; Perry and Mathews had scored perfect hits with their launchers—right into the sphincter-like egress tubes. The resultant explosions sealed the blimp-like creature's fate. Like a deflated balloon, it drifted downward, crashing to the corpse-laden field where Hector and the others had killed its children.

Hector checked his ammo counter, frowning when he saw he was down to his last nine bullets.

"Need to resupply," he announced in comms, and Red, standing closest to him, nodded, twirling his two pistols and holstering them.

"Supply's running low, but I reckon we're about done with the killing. Eight hours until exit, and it's gonna take the techs most of that to harvest this haul." Hector grunted in agreement as he let the gimbal sling stow his rifle behind his right hip. He took a step and his leg almost gave out on him, so he thumbed the safety and depressed the trigger for his armor's auto-injector, exhaling with relief as the nanites got to work blocking the pain signals from his many gashes and puncture wounds.

There'd been nearly thirty spine thrashers inside the host creature, and they'd gotten some licks in before he and others put them down. Perry bounded toward them, his armor whirring and whining as the actuators increased his momentum. He waved the barrel of his stubby grenade launcher at a nearby corpse.

"Damn thing had some big ones in it. Thought they would've left home and looked for careers of their own." Kristy, always the quickest to join Perry in his attempts at humor, laughed and added, "The one that latched onto Mathews at the start looked like it should've been off to finishing school by now." Freddy, sober since his alone-time with Hector, said, "They have different castes. These are soldiers, and the mother nest always has some living in it.

Hunters and juvenile females are the ones you see the thing dropping off all over the countryside." Hector smiled, pleased by the kid's gravity, but Kristy groused, "Oh, come on, schoolboy! You don't have to look smart all the time, do you? Sometimes the best thing to do is smile real nice and look pretty."

"That what your daddy taught you, Kristy?" Red asked, and Hector had a feeling he would've winked at Freddy if his face hadn't been obscured by his wide-brimmed helmet. Kristy wound up her fist like she was going to wallop the cowboy, but Mathews barked, "Stow it, knuckleheads! We're in hostile territory and we just made enough noise to wake up the neighborhood. I want you all on perimeter duty while the techs harvest. Restock your ammo in pairs. Double-time!" Perry turned and started stomping toward the mules.

"I guess me and Hector will load up first. I'm out." Surprised that the big guy had thought of him, Hector walked beside him toward the camp perimeter while the others spread out around the battle site. The techs were already pushing forward, a row of gray and red workers, all sporting big mirror-faced breathers. It wasn't that the rift world's air was impossible to breathe; it just wasn't easy.

The mix was a touch low on oxygen and always too damp for humans to feel comfortable—every breath felt just shy of full, the air thick enough that it never quite cooled the lungs on the way in. Hector walked close to one of the subcontractors' tractor-like cargo wagons, shaking his head. He really was worried that the things were too damn close to the mass limit. He resolved then and there that he'd pass through the rift well ahead of them, just in case they made a ripple.

"You're a regular pit fiend, man," Perry said, slapping him on the shoulder with a heavy, gloved hand. Hector was feeling thorny, so he threw out a little jab: "Feeling some regret?"

"About?" Perry turned his alligator-head helmet toward him, and when Hector didn't respond immediately, he laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, I know, I know. I was a dick when we first met. I'm not regretful, but, yeah, let's just say you proved yourself. Cool?" Hector knew better than to examine a gift too closely—at least in front of the gift-giver—so he nodded and thumped the guy's armored shoulder.

"Water under the bridge."

"I mean, shit," Perry continued, lifting the cover off the mule's rear cargo container, "you and Freddy pulled off a miracle. We've already got more potentia than we pulled in our last two raids combined. Yeah, the biomass is gonna be light, and old Bobby hasn't dug up shit for minerals, but I think we're gonna be just fine as far as bits go. Plenty of money to keep us all flush until the next raid we get drawn for." This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Feeling like he should encourage this new friendly side of the big lug, Hector nodded.

"Potentia is what it's all about."

"Damn right! Two more levels and my shield will double in duration—for almost the same aura!" He passed Hector a pair of rifle mags.

"Better leave the rest for the others." He reached back into the container and hauled out a box of grenades.

"Hang back while I load this launcher, yeah? Commander's gonna holler at me if you get back on the line while I'm still lingering." Hector reloaded his rifle, nodding.

"Not a problem. Hand me a water cannister, too, will you?" As Perry shifted to a different cargo container, looking for Hector's water, footsteps approached. They were light and quick, and he figured it was probably Paige. When he turned, he gave himself a gold-star for guessing right.

"Shouldn't you be out with the harvesters?" She put her fists on her hips and stared for a moment, maybe deciding if she ought to take offense at the question. Apparently, she decided against it: "Yeah, I will. I just wanted to check on you. I saw one of those spine thrashers drive its tail spike right into your thigh." Perry glanced at him, and though his helmet hid his reaction, Hector could see him looking at his leg.

"Didn't realize that, Hector. Shit, you didn't even limp." Hector shrugged.

"I punched in another dose of bugs."

"That's your second one, right?" Paige asked.

"Can you lift your visor?" Hector frowned, but complied, tapping the side of his helmet so the visor slid up. The warm, wet air hit his face, and it felt like it wanted to sink into his lungs when he took a shallow breath. He took a deep lungful of it—and immediately wished he hadn't. His throat itched, and he almost coughed, but held it back. Even with his ribs stretched tight, he felt like he needed to inhale more.

"I'm fine." Paige held a small device up, focusing a glass lens on Hector's left eye.

"I'll be the judge." The device beeped several times, and he could see her sharp green eyes narrow, even through the sheen of her visor.

"You better lay off the trauma nanites for a few days, mister. If we were going to stay longer, I'd make you do a flush." Hector reached up to close his visor, inhaling deeply when it sealed with a hiss. His helmet didn't carry oxygen, but it filtered and conditioned the air, nudging the mix back toward something breathable.

"Got it."

"Anyway, if—" She cut off mid-sentence and spun, staring at the distant rift. Hector followed her gaze, straightening. What the hell spooked her? //Hector, the monitoring drone has reported an object in the rift, moving fast. // How fast? //Too fast—the drone already detected a ripple. //"Son of a bitch…"

"Oh, no!" Paige cried. Then in comms, " Commander! Something's coming through the rift—it's causing ripples!" Hector stared at the rift, using every ounce of zoom his enhanced retinas could manage, combined with the helmet's optics. It was a couple of klicks distant, but even so, he could see the jagged echo of a red-tinted wave pulse.

"At least one big ripple already."

"What the fuck?" Perry cried, stepping forward, brushing past Hector and Paige and almost knocking the smaller woman over.

"What does that mean?" Hector didn't reply, but he couldn't silence his inner voice: Means we're probably screwed. //One ripple might not be so bad—// Evie's voice stopped short as she apparently received new data from the drone. //No, it's a steady series of ripples. The object is already halfway through. //"We're going to be stuck," Paige said, and Hector heard a hitch in her voice.

"Like, for how long?" Perry growled, grabbing her shoulder. Hector pushed his hand away.

"It's not her fault." He turned his helmet toward Hector.

"How long, man?"

"Until the next rift cycle—unless it moves."

"Moves?" The pitch of Perry's voice reached maximum whine. Paige tried to calm him, or maybe she was trying to calm herself. Her voice had a breathless quality, like she might be on the verge of hyperventilating.

"If the ripples are bad enough, it might shift physically. Hopefully not far, but—""But what?"

"But sometimes it's very far." Her voice cracked, and she grabbed Hector's arm, her eyes searching his visor for his.

"I knew it was too much. I knew I was pushing my luck doing this again. Why didn't I listen to my sister? Why didn't—" Hector grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently.

"Calm down. Breathe. Let's not start crafting elegies yet."

"Man, is she right? Are we gonna lose the rift?" Perry asked, grabbing his arm.

"Load your launcher, soldier. Stay ready." Hector shook himself free and started walking toward the commander. She was still standing at the center of the battlefield, near where the spine-bag had gone down. He wanted to have a few words with her. The situation had gone from an easy stroll out of the rift to what might amount to a desperate fight for survival over several weeks. //The rift is still quickening; if it continues at this rate, the next window will open in just under nine days.

//"If it's still here," Hector growled. //The object is almost through. //"It's a drone!" Paige announced through comms.

"A big one!" Scowling, Hector turned back toward the pulsating wound in reality, and Evie highlighted the object for him, already fifty meters from the rift and moving fast.

"Why a drone? Someone was desperate to send a message through?" He spoke to himself, but Perry heard him.

"Yeah? Why a drone? Why so damn fast? Why make ripples, man?"

"Anyone got eyes on it?" Mathews asked. Hector's scowl had deepened as his mind chased possible scenarios to likely conclusions. It's not broadcasting? //Nothing. // Into comms, Hector said, "Everyone split up. Take cover!" He'd thought maybe his first guess was right; maybe it was coming to deliver some kind of desperate message—something for Frederick about an assassination attempt or coup or something.

With no message being broadcast, though, his theories had narrowed down to one: someone meant to kill some or all of them. He just hoped it wasn't a nuke.