Ashlyn Chronicles 1: 2287 A.D. (24 page)

***

Novacek addressed the team, “We will observe the pods for only—r-repeat—only t-thirty minutes b-before we move in. Use the t-time to rest. Y-you will n-need it for the return leg. T-team leaders, set up your s-spotters on whatever h-high g-ground you can find. Baker and Charlie t-team, split left. T-tango and Cash, split r-right. Mama Bear will follow P-Papa Bear up the center. Radios are for emergency use only. We don’t want any broadcasts. All right everyone, m-move out.”

At their positions, around the landing area, they waited. Twenty minutes later, a runner from the Baker team reported to Novacek, “Sir, Ensign Vasquez said he saw movement inside one of the pods.”

“Inside? D-did he see w-what it w-was?”

“He’s not sure. It wasn’t much more than a shadow. The fact that he saw something move was all he could say for sure.”

He thought of Steven’s warning. “Give word t-to our units to stay p-put an extra t-t-twenty minutes. If a grain of sand shifts, report back to me.”

They waited patiently, watching. Novacek trusted his men, and if they thought they saw something then he accepted it as gospel.

As the twenty minutes expired, the teams sent a runner requesting further instructions. Novacek moved up the dune to the sniper with the Titan rifle. “Hansen, have you s-s-seen anything t-through the scope?”

“No, sir. It’s deserted. It’s easy for the eyes to play tricks, with all the shadows down there.”

“I hope you’re r-right.” Novacek slid down to the waiting runners. “T-tell Vasquez to b-blow up the p-pod that he s-saw movement in. Let’s see w-what happens. Warn your units about w-what we are d-doing and that we will initiate t-the attack in three m-minutes. Tell t-them to be p-prepared for return f-fire.”

On top of the hill, Vasquez took control of the second Titan rifle, setting it to full power. Targeting the pod, he pulled the trigger. In a flash, it exploded in a ball of flames. Amidst the explosion, a small, shrill scream could be heard coming from inside the flaming pod.

Instantaneously, return laser fire erupted from a dozen or more pods. The heavy volley of return fire that pummeled Vasquez’s position surprised all of them.

Knowing they did not have time to engage in a lengthy firefight, Novacek gave the order to destroy any pod in which the enemy was hiding. He was thankful Steven had ordered him to take the heavy assault rifles. With the briefest touch, the pods exploded in flame, and it wasn’t long before the Nephilim evacuated the pods in favor of natural cover, little as it was. Within minutes, the skirmish was over.

The teams moved quickly, following their orders to strip the pods of their life rafts—and as they were able, Novacek ordered the team to gather any alien weapons they could carry. Overall, the mission was a huge success, some 94 rafts and 4 undamaged enemy weapons retrieved.

An hour before sunrise when the detachment returned to the forest’s perimeter, a signal was sent, per Novacek’s security instructions, to the stationed sentries who were waiting for their return. When no reply came, Novacek picked five of his team to accompany him into the forest, leaving the others waiting behind. Beneath the shroud of trees, the darkness was intense. With little choice, they forged ahead, their flashlights illuminating the way. Twenty meters in, they found the first body—face down.

Novacek turned the body of the young man over. A small white spider crawled out of his mouth. It was the size of a thumbnail, with two black eyes, that sat on the end of long, flexible, yellow stocks.

“There’s a dead one on his shirt.” From the spider’s squished body, a clear fluid oozed. “It’s blood is dissolving his shirt, like acid.”

“There’s another one!” said a scared voice in the darkness behind Novacek.

All eyes shifted, following the path of the flashlight as it scanned the trunk of a nearby tree. A dozen or more scurried away from the flashlight’s beam, reacting to its brightness. No one took so much as a breath as the lights moved higher into the leafed branches above. “Everybody run!” screamed Novacek. Above them, thousands, tens of thousands of spiders were in the process of lowering themselves down on near invisible web strings.

A pained scream like none Novacek had ever heard before came from Private Withers to his right. “It bit me!” He tried to swipe it away. The more he flailed, the more it seemed to excite the myriad of descending spiders.

Novacek stopped to help. In the process, his swaying flashlight illuminated several that scurried up his pant legs at sprinter speed. The flashlight became a swatter, batting them away. A sudden tickle under his collar panicked him. He could feel the spider crawling. Slapping his neck several times and not forgetting that the spiders had an acidic poison, he expected to feel horrifying pain from the blotch of moisture he felt clinging to his skin.

Running like a mad man, Novacek was a flurry of emotions and movement. He waited for the pain from the acid, searching frantically for other spiders that might be about to bite, when he was unexpectedly sent tumbling to the ground, tripping over the thrashing, collapsed body of the man in front of him.

Breaking clear of the forest, Novacek ripped off his shirt and found at least four more clinging to the back of it. A quick
wide
blast from his hand laser, and the spiders and shirt burst into flames.

When a winded Jenkins came running up to him from out of the darkness, Novacek damn near fired on the kid.

The retrieval team waiting for Novacek’s return, having heard the screams, came running to their aid. By the time they arrived, there was nothing that could be done.

Of the team of five that ventured into the forest, only Novacek and Jenkins had survived. Two of them, Novacek had seen die. The fifth man he had never seen fall, but without a doubt, he knew that he was dead.

Novacek thought it likely the spiders were nocturnal, so he decided to make the team wait until an hour after daybreak before again entering the forest.

***

At first glance, Novacek’s bare-chested appearance seemed almost comical. Only the intensely sad and worn look on his face said differently. As Steven neared Novacek, he saw that Novacek wore a woman’s white gold solitaire diamond ring on a necklace around his neck. The fact that he had been married was something Steven had never known.

“The watches reported seeing explosions. What happened?”

Novacek related the story of the spiders’ attack and then lastly the ambush.

“Stratton, have we heard from our lookouts recently?”

Stratton was involved in his own discussion with the members of the returning team when Steven made the inquiry of him. “Yes, sir, I made the rounds with them just a few minutes ago.”

“Okay. Stratt, send runners to tell the teams not to go into the forest. And, Stratt, get a team to prep four of the rafts, full provisions, ASAP.”

“Aye aye, sir.”

“The spiders are nocturnal, like the ones Enlil seeded back on Earth. They stay in the forest but don’t come up into the rocks. It’s a hatchery. That’s why the Nephilim stay away from here. We walked right into their nest.” Steven shuddered. “I sensed death down there. I didn’t pay attention to my instincts.”

“It’s not your fault, sir. No one knew.” Novacek’s eyes glazed over in remembrance of what he had seen. “They are weaker than the adults on Earth. When it bit Private Withers, he didn’t get the
Rage
—instead, the venom attacked his lungs. I saw pink foam spewing from his mouth. There is also a difference in that, where the adults can excrete fluids that will burn through solid steel, the hatchling’s body fluid only burned a hole through my clothing, with no effect on my skin. I know—I squashed one on my neck. Your advice to observe the pods before approaching was rather amazing. Without it, a lot of us might have been killed. Overall, we accomplished what we set out to do. We recovered 94 rafts and a few enemy weapons.”

Listening to Novacek, Steven questioned why, after all the years they had worked together, they had never become good friends. He saw a new side to Novacek, a human side. “Novacek, I wanted to say that I’m sorry we haven’t gotten to know each other better before now. You are a good man. I am honored to know you—you deserved more from me. I’m sorry.” Steven put his hand out.

“As am I.” They shook hands. Novacek continued, “It’s funny, but I was thinking much the same thing while walking in the desert last night.”

Both men smiled. Steven jumped the conversation ahead. “I should tell you that I’ve sent a transponder down the river. It’s been transmitting for almost five hours now.”

“I knew that was coming, sir.”

“Am I that easy to read?” said Steven. “I’ve decided to take a team of twenty down the river and see where the trail on the map leads. If the map is accurate, we’ll eventually be forced to leave the river and trek on foot. When we reach that moment, I’ll send a series of three separated pings, at precisely five-minute intervals. If the signal stops, or you don’t receive those three pings, then it means we have run into trouble and that the river route is too dangerous to take. I expect to return within six weeks, but if we don’t, you will have to make some choices. Whatever happens, try to find Enlil. Take him down.”

“May I ask, what’s your objective? What are you looking for?” asked Novacek.

“There’s a new symbol on the map that I uncovered. I want to check it out. Something tells me that I need to see it.”

“A new symbol?” asked Novacek.

“I’m reluctant to say what it is; my guess might taint your judgment. You should look at it; see what conclusion you come up with.” Through a heavy sigh he continued, “I have a big favor to ask you.”

“Phillip?” said Novacek anticipating the question. “It would be my pleasure. So I assume Ashlyn is going with you then?”

“Yes. I can’t, in good conscience take Phillip down that hole. It’s too risky.”

“Agreed. I’ll teach him how to catch a fish. He’ll be fine. I’d always wanted to have children,” said Novacek. “It’ll be fun to borrow Phillip for a few weeks.”

“Gordon—the ring on your necklace—you were married?”

“A long time ago,” Novacek said in a tone that betrayed a great depth of sadness.

“Can I ask what happened?” asked Steven, daring to intrude on his privacy.

“Her name was Jennifer. She was so vibrant—she loved music, sunshine.” His mind could be seen drifting to a far off place. “She was murdered by a gang in Britain three days after we were married. They made me watch what they did to her. I couldn’t do anything.” His inward struggle to banish the images from his mind was clearly evident as his hand made a tight fist around the ring. “This is all that I have left of her.”

“I’m sorry, Gordon. I didn’t know.” Sadly, Steven thought,
Everyone has their burdens to carry; some are just heavier than others
.

“How long before you go?” inquired Novacek, letting Steven off the hook.

“As soon as Stratt has the rafts ready—and I talk to Phillip.”

Walking together, they found Phillip playing poker with a few of the crew. “Don’t let him steal your shirt, guys,” Steven quipped to the officers who were obviously perturbed at their string of losses to an eight-year-old.

“Hey! Don’t listen to him, Phillip. Go ahead and win a shirt for me,” said a chuckling, bare-chested Novacek.

When Phillip’s winning hand was over Steven bent down to him. “Son, I need to speak with you.” Poker faces notwithstanding, the men all beamed at Phillip’s departure.

The two of them sat side-by-side. “I’m going to be leaving for a while, Son.”

“Where are you going?”

“Down river. I’m going to try and get us some help.”

“Can I go with you?”

“Not this time, buddy. I need to travel fast. I want you to wait here.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“I really don’t know. It’s a long way. It could be a few weeks. Gordon is going to watch you while I’m away. I want you to promise me that you’ll do whatever Gordon tells you, all right?”

Phillip nodded, closing the deal with a tight hug and a kiss.

***

With the rafts about to depart, Ashlyn walked up and tossed her bag of gear into Steven’s raft. Dressed in her black, one-piece stretch, sheathed knives adorning her black, lace-up armguards—she fought the chill in the air by donning a tight, black, leather midi jacket.

“Ash—the knives—you’re trained to use them in combat?”

“What do you think I was doing all those years at the Foundation? We went through a wide array of rigorous training programs. I learned a lot more than how to pilot a fighter.”

“Brooks only told me about the fighter training,” said Steven. “I guess I should have realized.”

As the goodbyes began Ashlyn said, “Phillip, can you take care of my balalaika while I’m gone? A close friend gave it to me, and I don’t trust anyone but
you
to watch it. I talked to Hitch and she said that if you want to learn how to play, she would teach you. Would you like to do that?”

“Yeah! I would.”

“Phillip, I love you!” Wrapping her arms around him, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. He returned the hug along with a few tears.

“Al-l-l-a-a-aboard. Last call, the RMS Titanic is ready for departure,” said Reeves with a grin.

After saying his own last goodbye to Phillip, Steven climbed into the raft, taking up an oar.

“Hooyah!” said Ashlyn as she climbed in, taking a seat near Steven.

“Hooyah!” shouted Avenger’s crew in enthusiastic response.

“Brummon, we’ll start with your raft on point. Keep your bow flood on and warn us of any dangers. We’ll rotate lead every four hours.

“Tomlinson, Reeves, keep the floods pointed at the ceiling. The ambient light will illuminate the tunnel for us,” said Steven.

“These oars are the pits. It’s like they were made for Oompa Loompas or something,” grumbled the sandy-haired Brummon.

With the rafts loaded, they shoved off. The entire crew had gathered to say goodbye. Novacek stood with his hand atop Phillip’s shoulder, waving until the rafts disappeared from sight.

“He’s a good kid,” said Ashlyn.

“And he really loves you, Ash.”

“And I love him.”

Not a hundred meters down the tunnel, Steven realized with a start that Novacek had told the story about the desert trek and his wife without stuttering.