On the Way to Kirby Village
Mac and company have been hiking for three days since the Risuners arrived. The company is traveling alongside the Forest's Edge, a dry plain between the taigas and the wetlands. While they had a brief encounter with Fauna's Forest diplomacy party; that group chose to travel ahead with their buggy back to Kirby Village. According to Charlie he's gotta get back to cooking for a sheep festival he and Sir Passionfruit have been planning for weeks. The talk festivals puts a spring in the Risuner's step. While the Risuners are dissatisfied with the lack of sex with Sanalites Enoch told Caroline the Risuners feel very welcomed thanks to the s'mores party and chestnut samples.
The Risuners are driving three wagons via horse. Each wagon has both rations and nuts for trade as “currency” (which loopholed through NASA's income taxes). Every wagon is surrounded by one musketeer, two bowman, and many spear men. The six Sanalite soldiers are divided up between the front and the back. Their priority is to spot trouble before it arrives. Lieutenant Caroline and Sergeant Johnson man the buggy leading the caravan to NASA. Mac chooses to hike alongside Enoch, Taman, and Rimba who are leading the caravan. As for the five deadbeat escorts they hike alongside the buggy. Lieutenant Desuvious Akai can't keep his empty gray eyes off of the buggy. Lieutenant Akai leans over to the tires. His “nose” was so close that his face almost touched the tire. Caroline gently tugs on the deadbeat Lieutenant. She says “be careful lieutenant. Those tires can rip off your face in seconds.”
The deadbeat lieutenant chuckles and smiles. “Oh! Was I that close. Sorry about that.” Desuvious adjusts his hat, then says “sometimes I'm a bonehead when I see something facinating.” The other deadbeat, Sergeant Kimiko Aurus, removes her hat and brushes her tied pink hair. “Permission to speak freely sir?” she asks. Desuvious grumbles, “granted sergeant.” Kimiko smiles and says, “perhaps we can ask to examine the buggy when its not in operation. The Sanalites wouldn't want us to get any broken bones.” Desuvious scratches his head. “Ah! Well... That sounds reasonable, sergeant.” Desuvious continues. “Still nothing beats observing a machine in action.” Johnson in the gunner's seat says “with all due respect lieutenant. NASA is under a grand directive that prohibits us from disclosing how our technology works to native species.” Desuvious folds his arms. “I heard...” he says. “Bah! This grand directive stuff leads to dead ends. Especially on trade deals.” Mac puts his hand on Desuvious's shoulder and says “I got a deal. How about I show you and the kid how to drive the buggy?” Desuvious's eyes roll over. Enoch meanwhile steps in front of Mac like an excited teenager. “Really Mr. Mac?” “Mac!” Caroline yells at him. Mac shrugs and says “As long as we don't show him what's under the hood I think we can get away with it.”
Johnson blows a whistle. “Hold!” The buggy stops. Mac waves to the rest of the caravan to stop. The Risuners all look at each other confused. The Sanalite soldiers all hustle to the front. Mac turns around. Jonathan points his gun at a tipped over buggy just down the side of the hill. Caroline and the Sanalite soldiers take formation. Desuvious and his deadbeats load their guns. The armed Risuners on their coaches stay alert. Mac loads his pistol just to be safe. Johnson tells Mac to take the gunner's seat. Johnson leads two Sanalites to the tipped buggy. Caroline asks Johnson, “sergeant, what do you see?” Jonathan and the two Sanalites examine the buggy. “It appears the buggy has been stripped of all supplies.” Mac asks, “think this is the diplomat caravan heading back?” Johnson examines the buggy's number. “No,” he says. “This is unit 04. The diplomat caravan is unit 02.” Caroline says “unit 04 is a supply caravan. They were on their way to the border camp to restock. That would explain why the checkpoints haven't gotten their supplies yet.”
“Help!”
Johnson sees a leg under the buggy. “We have a survivor!” The two Sanalites lift the buggy while Johnson pulls the survivor out. Its a spaceman with a cracked helmet. Johnson examines the victim. “His face is a little bloody,” says Johnson. “His leg is sprained, but nothing is broken.” Caroline takes a step forward. Then Mac hops off of the gunner's seat. “Out of the way civilian!” Caroline shouts at Mac.” “Hold on!” Mac says. “Something's not right.” Enoch looks at Mac confused. “Why not!? He needs our help.” Enoch runs past Mac and Caroline. “Oi! Kid!” Mac chases after him.
Johnson is talking to the man on open radio. “We'll get you back to the village. Just stay calm.” The man is clearly in shock. “They're dead!” He cries. “Everyone's dead!” Johnson grabs the man's shoulders. “Who's dead!? Keep talking.” The man takes something out of his pocket. “And you'll be dead too...” The man drops a bomb. Johnson's eyes widen open. He yells at the Sanalites. “RUN!!!” Mac grabs Enoch with both hands and pulls him away. The two Sanalites run as far away from Johnson as they can.
Mac embraces Enoch to cover him. The Risuners scream after the explosion. They're knocked onto the ground. The other two Sanalites kiss the ground. The buggy is engulfed in flames. Enoch is shaken but he's fine. Fortunately Mac's spacesuit to the brunt of the impact. Caroline is yelling on the radio. “Johnson! Do you read me! Johnson! Respond!” The other two Sanalites are on the ground knocked out cold. Desuvious yells at his troop. Desuvious, Kimiko, and Valena all run downhill. The other deadbeats command the Risuners to take a defensive formation. One of the deadbeats check on Mac and Enoch. Enoch is in shock, but he's mostly unharmed. The other two Sanalites are placed on their backs. Caroline and the Sanalite medic slide down hill. Mac gets Enoch onto his knees. Mac says, “the kid's fine. Check the others.” The medic checks on the other two Sanalites. They're knocked out cold but they will recover. Caroline searches frantically for Johnson. “Johnson! Answer me!”
Caroline trips over a a body, or half a body. The lower half of the body is vaporized. Caroline scrambles to her knees. Sheer dread overwhelms Caroline as she removes the steel helmet. Caroline gasps. Its Johnson. His dead face reveals the sheer horror within his last moments in life. Caroline's eyes well up with tears. She closes closes Johnson's eyes. The other Sanaltes tend Enoch as Mac approaches Caroline. Caroline swipes inside of Johnson's helmet. His computer is still working. After swiping to a virtual keypad Caroline enters a number. Then an antenna pops out of Johnson's backpack. It unfolds into a dish and begins spinning. Caroline puts Johnson's helmet back on him. She says, “Johnson, you will be found. And you shall return home.” Mac puts his hand on Caroline's shoulder. “I'm sorry.” He says. Caroline keels over and sobs. The other Sanalites lower their heads. The deadbeats all remove their hats and bow. Just as Enoch recovers his senses he looks around for Mac. “Mac!” He calls. Mac looks at Enoch. “Where's the other guy!?” Enoch asks. Mac can only lower his head. Enoch sees Caroline crying over something. Enoch edges closer to see.
Enoch's scream breaks the silence.
Caroline decides to camp upwind from the burning wreckage until a second wave of Sanalites arrive. They arrive with firefighters and rangers. The firefighters put out the burning buggy. The rangers brief Caroline about their operation before heading into the forest. Rations this time are salted pork and mashed potatoes. Mac manages to make a gravy out of salted pork brine, flour, black pepper, and dried milk. The deadbeats volunteer to take watch over camp for the night. Mac puts on a fresh pot of black coffee for the deadbeats. Enoch sits in front of the campfire under a space blanket. Taman and Rimba sit next to Enoch. They try to get Enoch to eat but Enoch refuses. Mac sits next to Enoch. He takes a deep breath before breaking the ice. “Mozzies have been a problem before we crash landed,” says Mac. “They're a murderous cult who twist Sana's words against you. And if they can't make you disown Sana then they isolate and kill you.” By now the AI translator has interpreted Risunese. So Enoch now understands Mac's translated words. Still Enoch grits his teeth. “Why!?” Enoch stares at Mac. His eyes filled with tears. “Why didn't you save him!?” Mac looks away. “Because this wasn't the first encounter I had with a Mozzie.” Mac takes a deep breath. He looks Enoch in the eye. “That tactic was how they wiped out my unit.” Enoch gasps. He sees Mac isn't lying. Mac stares at his plate. “Instead of using bombs. They used guns.” Mac inserts the plate into his food socket. Then Mac pulls his right hand from inside the suit into his helmet. With the food inside his space helmet Mac spoons a bite out of the salted pork. Then he says “I was in the rescue force of the military. Our job was to rescue civilians who get caught up in accidents inside the station.”
“There were seven of us. A bullet train was derailed on the 5th line in Sector Delta. The train was touching the rail. It was completely electrified.”
“Electrified?” Enoch asks. Mac throws a log in the campfire. “Electricity is like fire, but it goes through your body kills you faster.” “Oh” says Enoch. He's getting some appetite back from Mac's story.
“Anyway we had to be careful not to touch anything metal. Electricity runs through metal. While the blokes and I had our suits on the civilians caught inside the train didn't. Objective's clear: Carry the civilians out as safely as possible. The blokes and I got all of the civilians out of the car easy. It was the engine car we were having trouble breaking into. We found the conductor and five passengers inside the engine room. The blokes and I secured a rubber bridge for the passengers to escape. I was running between the cars and the buggy securing the escaped passengers.”
“When we rescue passengers our protocol says we stay behind them just in case something goes wrong. The Mozzies used that knowledge to trap us.” Mac ejects the plate out of his helmet via food socket. He slips his arm back into the suit. Then sets the plate down. Mac continues. “I was in front of the group when it happened. The five passengers turned on my squad with hidden rifles. They sprayed the engine car with bullets.” Mac says nothing for a while. Enoch can only imagine goofy space men with guns firing other space men riding in a mine cart. “Every single one of my mates died that day. And the conductor as well.” Mac clenches both of his fists. “I was so fuckin' pissed. I wanted revenge. When the Mozzies turned their guns to me. I already had the rubber carpet in my hands.” Mac pulled an imaginary table cloth. “I yoinked it. The Mozzies fell in the metal doors. They were electrocuted. Instantly killed.”
“I got the hell outta there. The other passengers were safe.” Mac sips some water inside his suit. “I had plenty of witness testimony saying that I saved them. The people worship me as a goddamn hero. But am I really?” Mac stands up. Enoch stands up with Mac as well. “I think you were a hero for saving those people.” Mac shakes his head. He puts his hand on Enoch's shoulder. “Nah mate. The goddamn heroes are people like Johnson who used their lives to save the rest of us.” Enoch sees Caroline at the edge of the campsite. She's curled up in a fetal position. Mac leaves Enoch's side. Enoch yells “where are you going!?” Mac grumbles “I need time to myself. Piss off!” Rimba and Taman pull on Enoch's shoulders. Enoch sits back down by the campfire.
“Wow...”
Morning arrives.
“Wow...”
There's something making noise in the distance. Enoch's ears twitch as he hears a giggling in the distance. Taman and Rimba are asleep by Enoch's bedside. Enoch quickly gets up and gets dressed. Taman and Rimba both wake up. Enoch tells the twins “stay here. I'll be back.” Enoch heads outside of his tent.
“WOW!!!”
Enoch is so surprised by the noise he falls on his ass. Ten meters away there's a pair of giant tortoises right in front of Enoch. The tortoises are huge. They have what looks like leafy green moss hanging from their backs. “WOW!!!” The male tortoise looks like a giant snapping turtle with a beard. The female who's a little larger than the male is right underneath him. “WOW!!!” The male tortoise roars with every thrust asserting his dominance as the king of the wetlands. The many Risuners around the tortoise have already begun taking their clothes off. One of the Sanalites try to stop them. “Now now now! Don't make any sudden moves! We don't want to-”
“WOW!!!”
The tortoise blows away the Sanalite with his mighty turtle breath. The Risuners have begun their morning orgy around the giant mossbacks. The female mossback doesn't know what's going on, but she certainly likes the mood. A stray female Risuner picks up Enoch. Enoch happily accepts her embrace. He begins undressing her coat. As for Mac he cracks open a cold beer and enjoys the show. Tema and Rimba grab Mac's legs and pull him off the log. Mac spills his beer inside of his suit. “Oi oi oi! Let go of me you sluts!” Mac twists and pushes himself up. Tema and Rimba are no match for Mac's strength.
Just then a buggy speeds alongside Forest's Edge. A plump squat spaceman jumps out of the driver's seat with two Sanalites behind him.
“MAC!!!”
The plump spaceman sprints to camp. He bends over to catch his breath. “Mac! Where'ya mate!!” Mac waves at the plump spaceman. “Over 'ere ya dingus!” The plump spaceman jogs over to Mac. “I 'eard wha' 'appened to Jonny's nephew. And I 'ad to see if your okay.” Mac walks behind Charlie and picks him up. “Oi! Mate! What'dya doin'!?” Mac sets Charlie in between Tema and Rimba. “Well ladies,” says Mac as he drops Charlie to the ground. “You remember ol' Charlie do ya?” The twins grab both of Charlie's arms and giggle. “Mac! What are ya-” Mac slaps the twins' asses. “Have fun!” The Risuner twins drag screaming Charlie off.
Mac lifts the glass visor to his helmet. He takes out a cigar from his pocket and lights it. Mac takes a few drags before spitting out the cigar in his hand. He closes the helmet before smothering the cigar in his hand. “You know if the atmosphere doesn't kill you then smoking will.” Caroline walks up from behind Mac. Mac hawks a lugie in his suit. “Yeah, I know. And I don't care. And fuck off with your PSA.” Caroline sighs. She holds out her hand. Mac chuckles. He hands Caroline his half-smoked stogie. Caroline lifts her visor and lights the cigar. She takes a few drags herself before closing the helmet.
“Your career is going to be fine,” Mac says. “Johnson was an idiot. He shouldn't have gotten that close.” Caroline coughs up a lugie. “I still can't help but think that should have been me down there.” Mac sighs. “We all think that. But we gotta know our place.” Mac looks at Caroline in the eye and says “our goal is to survive this rock, fix the ship, and leave with the finest ingredients in the universe. Can't do that if we're all dead.” Caroline nods. “Its a shame you're out here and not in the Principal's office.” Mac puts his hands on his hips and says “who wants to serve that corrupt black hole of a council?” Mac turns around. “Anyway, time to pack up and leave. Don't you think lieutenant.” “Yes,” says Caroline as she returns to camp.