Koban (38 page)

“Yes Sir, he reported back by transducer a few minutes ago. Under
the overhang of that big parking area are eight doorways, four are almost wide enough
for three people to pass at once, and four with what seems to be retractable doors
must be for large vehicles to pass through. All were closed, and he said there was
some sort of control panel at each, and with mechanical looking latches. There was
a Krall looking out a window. Chack got one of the smaller doors to open, and went
inside. That was two minutes ago.”

“Link me to Chack Nauguza,”

“Done Sir.”

“Chack, how are you doing? Anybody home inside?”

“Yes Sir. A Krall was looking out a window in one of the large
doors when I drove up. A warrior class in black and he didn’t approach me. He’s
still looking out the window at the ship. I made sure my tattoo was showing for
that guy before I tried to get inside. I had to remove my helmet and open the suit
top for that, but I’ll button up when I get back to the hauler.”

“Smart precaution,” Mirikami complemented. “We don’t know what
he was told about the new arrivals. What do you see inside?”

“There seems to be a large maintenance area in here, probably
for the trucks parked under the overhang. There were no humans to see at first,
but two have peeked in from windows along a back wall. They dashed off as soon as
they saw me.”

“Do you think you can open the other doors, at least the smaller
ones like you went through, and leave them open for our people? Let’s get our folks
inside and worry about hellos later.”

“I left the door in the middle wide open, and I’ll do the same
for the other small ones if that Krall lets me. The doors look like they can be
electronically locked, but mine had a simple manual lever and latch system that
worked smoothly.”

“If you can get the small doors open, we probably won’t need
the big vehicle doors. As soon as you have them open go back to cover the evacuation
line. Ricco will be bringing a few injured people on his pallet.”

“Mister Walters told me. I just unlatched a second door and swung
it open. I’ll have to go past the Krall to do the others, so I prefer to walk along
the outside to get to them Sir.”

“Fine,” he appreciated his caution. “Call Mister Walters if you
have a problem or if any human shows up to talk to you before you start back. Mirikami
Out.”

So far, it looked like Telour’s prediction was accurate. Their
noisy landing had to have been heard, and yet there was no human present to welcome
them or to offer help. Just a curious Krall watching animals.

His thoughts were disrupted when a shout, followed by a scream
of pain sounded from out on the tarmac. There were other warning cries from the
bottom of the ramp.

As Mirikami looked out, there were people pointing up in several
different directions, and a man in the vanguard of the evacuees was down on the
ground writhing in pain about halfway to the dome. A Steward was headed for him
from about fifty feet away, but he was also looking up at the sky, his hand shading
his eyes from the bright afternoon sun.

Noreen had joined Mirikami, and she had seen something,
grabbed his arm, and pointed at a spot in the sky. He saw several gray and blurry
looking objects rapidly shifting position in darting motions. Up down and to the
sides, visually hard to make out.

Then he finally realized the blur was their wings, and the bodies
looked long and slender, like an Earth dragonfly or a dartfly from New Honshu. He
thought they were close because they looked small, but then they all flashed down
towards the injured man. That’s when he realized they had actually been over the
dome and must be at least two feet long.

The three landed on the back of the now weakly moving man, and
each stabbed out with a black proboscis five or six inches long. The man jerked,
but made no sound. The three people nearest the man were making ridiculous shooing
motions at the insects, but stayed ten feet from them. The bugs ignored them.

About then several more of the insects swooped in from the side
of the line of people on the tarmac. They made a low pass over the shouting and
screaming people, but many of them had things to swing at them.

They each curled their long tails forward under their bodies
as they swooped, deftly dodging the swats made at them. They were apparently trying
to sting anyone they could reach in passing. They were all lightning fast they passed
over and weaved through the group. An umbrella suddenly popped open as it looked
like one was about to strike a woman holding only a short table knife. That insect
instantly darted straight up and away in a blur, apparently startled by the object
that had suddenly grown large in its path.

One of the other two insects managed to strike the arm of a man
close to the woman that had popped open the umbrella. He dropped his hammer and
clutched his bicep bellowing in pain as he dropped to his knees.

Mirikami heard Aldry shout that these were the scorpion skeeters.
He had learned their sting was reported to be temporarily paralyzing to a human,
and caused excruciating pain. They sucked blood from their prey, and if there were
a lot of them present and you had no help, you died. Multiple stings could kill
too, if your respiratory system shut down.

A second two insects from another direction came in low towards
the crouching people. Many of the terrified people were trying to look everywhere
at once, and a lone man was standing with a walking stick raised, but with his back
to the oncoming insects.

They both had their tails curled forward, only ten feet from
a double strike, when suddenly there was a buzzing sound, and one dropped instantly
to the tarmac amid several panicked people. The other turned aside, in an erratic
path, but disappeared around the curve of the ship’s hull. Several people stomped
and swatted at the still form of the one on the ground.

Alfon Hanson was holding a small black Jazzer that he had just
used to good effect. There were cheers from those he saved.

Another buzz was heard farther away, near the man with three
of the bloodsuckers on his back. Steward Javier Vazquez had reached the now motionless
first victim. He too had a small black Jazzer in his hand, and all three insects
had collapsed on the man’s back. He tore them off and threw them down with disgust,
stomping on them. Blood splattered from their bodies as he crushed them. They had
only been on him perhaps ten seconds.

Walters shouted out, “Jazzers out, they work!” Rigson pulled
another of the short range little nerve scramblers from under his uniform tunic,
as did Walters himself. The hauler driver, Ricco, had one as well. There were eight
in all.

Another skeeter dived towards an isolated woman, and a Jazzer
buzzed from a Steward. The insect was too far away at twenty feet to be dropped,
but it turned aside with less speed than it had started its dive.

Mirikami saw that people had quit going down the ramp, and nobody
was moving towards the dome. “Get the hell moving,” he shouted. “These Jazzers have
short range, and the power packs have charges for five or six shots. Get to that
damned dome now!” They only had four spare power packs.

Those already on the ground moved towards the dome with more
purpose and speed now, but clustered near Stewards for protection. More people reluctantly
started down the ramp.

“Walters,” he ordered, “have Rigson look at the man down out
there, and use the hauler to move all of the injured to the dome now. Ride along
as another guard.” He pulled the black bag off the Chief Stewards shoulder.

“Yes Sir.” Walters went carefully down the ramp alone, walking
between two human chains.

Maggi walked over to him. “Did
we
make these?”

“I wish,” stated Mirikami. “These are from our small arms locker.
Only nonlethal, non-projectile weapons are permitted on civil transports. They are
almost certainly useless against a Krall; they are nearly harmless to a lightly
shielded human soldier. I was worried about how a trigger happy Krall might react
to seeing a strange weapon in our hands.”

Reaching inside the almost empty bag, he pulled out two larger
bell mouthed pistols in holsters, with belts. He handed one to Noreen, and kept
the other.

“These are Sonics, multi-frequency audio stunners to repel or
subdue rowdy or rioting passengers. On humans, they are less effective than the
Jazzers are, but they have twice as many shots per power pack, depending on the
intensity setting. These are also short range, perhaps fifteen to twenty feet to
subdue a person. We have just three of these. The other hauler driver, Chack has
the third one.”

They heard another scream of pain, and saw a flying skeeter flashing
around the side of the ship, which it had used as cover to sneak in and sting
the neck of a tall man. He let go of the hands ahead and behind him, and dropped
to the ramp clutching the back of his neck. He rolled down at an accelerating speed
in the heavier gravity, legs flailing and kicking people below.

When he reached the bottom, he was still, limbs and neck at awkward
angles.

Those with Jazzer’s were now at the bottom of the ramp or spread
along the tarmac, out of range to protect those at the ramp top. Mirikami pulled
his weapon, set the Sonic at high intensity, and stepped onto the ramp between the
chains of people. He turned to his right, braced with left leg extended down the
ramp, watching where the insect had started its dive. He had noticed that they flew
in twos and threes, so another one might be looking for its chance.

Two of them were hovering there, and they flew higher and away
from the ship when they saw him looking at them. They were clearly more aware than
most insects.

“Noreen cover behind me, and give warning if you see any,” he
shouted.

Noreen, her gun in hand, took the ramp one chain of people over,
and faced the other way.

They promptly were warned of a skeeter coming from Noreen’s front
by someone out on the tarmac. It was hugging close to the hull, as if it was using
it for cover, and she barely had time to see it and pull the trigger as it appeared
around the side. The Sonic’s noise hurt the ears of everyone to her front, but the
sound’s focus was along a narrow cone directly in line with the raised barrel, the
effects falling off rapidly to the sides.

The bug flew directly into the cone of sound, and rather than
drop, it shifted direction and nearly stung another woman in the line behind Noreen.
It missed only because the woman ducked as the loud sound startled her.

Mirikami saw and heard it buzz by below him on the ramp. Keeping
his eyes on his side, he asked, “Did you hit it?”

“I think I hit it dead center Tet. All it did was shift direction.
These Sonics may not work on the bugs as well as the Jazzers.”

The Hauler platform now also held the man that just rolled down
the ramp. Mirikami carefully went down the ramp to check on him.

“He’s dead Sir,” Branson said in a low voice, as the Captain
approached. “Broken neck.”

He looked at the hauler driver, “Ricco, load this man, and go
pick up the two men out on the tarmac and get all of them inside the dome. We still
have almost eight hundred people to move, so someone else will have to look after
the injured inside. You come back here and send Chack back…,” He looked towards
the dome and saw the other hauler was half way back. “Never mind, he’s on his way.”

“Branson, get halfway up the ramp and use your Jazzer for cover.
These Sonics may not stop the bugs.” As he said that, he spotted a flight of two
skeeters diving towards the hauler and its load of injured.

He shouted a warning, aimed his gun at the close pair, and fired.
The ear splitting sound diverted them, but one darted sideways and was hovering
next to the shelter of the hauler cage. It looked about to go after the still form
of the dead man, who was closest. Mirikami had no shot without risking his driver.

A buzz sounded, and Ricco had seen it too and shot it through
a hole in the cage. The insect dropped to the ground, fluttering weakly. Mirikami
ran over and stomped the thing. It had a surprisingly resilient body, but he managed
to crush the stinger and head flat. The translucent wings definitely resembled those
of five-foot wide dragonflies or dartflies. Convergent evolution on multiple worlds
had replicated a good design.

Branson climbed carefully up the ramp because the human chains
had broken apart. Maggi and her group were getting them organized again. They had
to keep people moving down the ramp and away from the ship. He checked his thumbnail
watch. It had been nearly fifteen minutes since the evacuation had started, and
the first few people were only now reaching the Krall shuttle.

 Mirikami, seeing Branson’s time check glanced at his own watch.
Every time anything happened, people quit coming down the ramp or stopped to see
what was going on. This had to stop.

“People,” he shouted, “If you don’t move like your lives depend
on it, and get to that damned dome, more of you are going to die out her like those
two men.” He pointed at the dead man on the pallet, and the hopefully only paralyzed
man on the tarmac.

Those on the surface started walking in earnest, but running
was hard when you weighed fifty percent more than your muscles were accustomed to
moving. It was hot and humid as well, so everyone was sweating profusely.

“Link me to Vazquez.”

“Done Sir.”

“Javier, how’s that man with you doing? It looked like they were
sucking blood already.”

“He’s dead Sir!”

“What? You got them off of him in seconds; they can’t have drained
that much blood.”

“When he was stung, all three of those hit him together. I don’t
think it was the blood sucking that killed him. I also shot him when I shot them.
Sir, I may have helped kill him. I’m so sorry.” The man sounded miserable.