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Authors: Stephen W Bennett

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BOOK: Koban: The Mark of Koban
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****

 

Grodol wasn’t happy. His status wasn’t high enough to earn a
landing at one of the larger enemy compounds. He was fortunate just to have won
command of a Clanship, and Telour had chosen him at random from a pool of
sixty-four eligible warriors having equal status.

There had been no humans at the landing pad, though warriors
reported fresh scent of what they believed was one at a nearby building. None
of his novices had ever been to Koban and had never seen or smelled a human.
The trail of this one ended underground, at a massive hard metal door, which
their explosive and armor piercing rounds merely discolored and chipped.

After wasting thousands of rounds of ammunition putting
holes in two small light space craft, and one very tough ship that only dented,
the novices raced towards an infrared glow of a warm bubble, perhaps five
hundred leaps away on this light gravity world.

The covering proved to be an inflated, lightly pressurized
dome that housed unfamiliar plants and animals that must be food for humans.
There was a smell of recently present humans again, perhaps six of them. This
time they were luckier, they saw two probable humans. At least they matched the
general description.

These animals were running towards an exit on the far side
of the bubble. The warriors had simply torn their way through the transparent
soft bubble to make an entry, and outrushing air was starting to deflate the
soft dome.

Sixty or seventy Krall, all wanting the first kill, began
firing at the two figures on the far side of the large dome. The distance was
too far for good pistol accuracy, even with Krall eyesight and steady hands,
but several hundred rounds of explosive and armor piercing rocket propelled
ammunition managed to hit both targets multiple times. More warriors were
entering as the first arrivals were racing to claim credit for the two kills.
They all continued firing as they ran, so that when they reached the red smears
that had been two humans, there wasn’t much left for over a hundred warriors to
divide kill credits.

Grodol arrived as the dome roof settled over the internal
structures and meat animals that were frightened by the noise and strange scent
of the Krall. The roof also settled on almost a hundred of his novices, who now
had to cut and tear their way out through the collapsed material.

When the Krall commander heard that at most there had been only
two humans killed, for all this time on the planet, and so much ammunition
used, he was enraged and humiliated. His command would prove to be ineffective
and wasteful if they did not find many more humans to kill, and do it soon.

The sounds of possible human animal calls, similar to a
language, and the noise of machinery came from the direction of the glow of the
rest of the human compound. The dome had seemed a likely center of human occupation
before landing, but that wasn’t the case. They should have landed on this other
side.

Grodol ordered his warriors to resume their rush to reach
these humans before they could escape. It was obvious they were not going to
attack the warriors. That was why the commander had closed the Clanship and
permitted the K’Tal pilot to hunt with him. Humans were weak and helpless, and
so far had made no effort to resist his warriors.

Finally, they found their prey in quantity, fleeing in small
four wheeled transports, in wide lanes between what could only be individual
nests for producing their smelly cubs. Only there were few cubs. Humans here
didn’t seem to be hatching as many young as their vast numbers elsewhere
suggested.

Regardless of the lack of human cubs to mutilate for the
atrocities Telour had ordered, the warriors found multiple mature targets for
their weapons and knives. The transports were easily destroyed, and the humans
inside, if not killed, leaped out and made loud noises in the Krall’s lower
auditory range. Warriors pounced on the helpless prey, mostly shooting them,
clubbing or tearing open some with taloned hands, or carving up a few with
short swords or knives. They intercepted hundreds in the paved lanes dividing
the compound into rectangles.

Because of the wanton firing before they even reached the
population center, the ammunition the warriors carried on their utility belts
was running low. There was no one now at the Clanship to transport fresh
supplies, using the shuttle housed inside. This was another unfavorable
reflection on their inexperienced leader, Grodol.

The alternative was still pleasurable, but the rate of
killing switched from a high numbers game to one of close up and personal
pleasure. It was more satisfying but considerably slower. Many of the animals
in the vanguard of the exodus poured out of the other side of the open compound.

The raid leader had ample time to eradicate every member of
this small cluster in the two days allowed. They could move the Clanship closer
to where these mindless animals were fleeing to hide. Destroying all of the
humans here would soften the reports of how poorly organized the initial assault
had been. There was always tomorrow.

 

****

 

“There’s no tomorrow,” Sanji spoke in response to a comment
by Brad that at first light they could barricade the entrance to the mine.

“Sir, it’s dark out here, we can’t see outside of the glow
of vehicle lights. We parked the trucks and cars like you said, to illuminate
the roadway into the mine, and parking some on the ramp gave us light there.
Only I don’t think we can bring up the heavy equipment tonight, not with people
trying to walk all the way to the bottom. After what they saw behind them, I
can’t blame them.”

This mine had never operated at night, and the lighting in
the depths did not help up here at the mouth. Nook had no moon, leaving nights
with only starlight for human vision. There was no telling how well these
aliens could see in the dark. Even after they destroyed the power distribution
grid, the killing and screams went on without respite.

“What I mean Brad, is that we can’t stand around and wait
for them to come out here to find our people. At least fifteen or twenty
thousand of our friends and neighbors never made it out of town. We can’t count
on mercy from these monsters, so we need to get the creatures moving in another
direction, or make them pull back.”

“We don’t have weapons Sir and I watched how fast they moved
when they focused on cutting off the escape columns out of town. We can’t match
them physically, not even close, and all I can find are clubs and a dozen
drilling lasers.”

“Brad, the drilling lasers are good, but they are not our
best weapons. What do we
usually
do with them?” he had an idea, not a
great one, but the only one that came to mind.

“I’m no miner Sir, I guess for drilling, obviously.”

“Saul, will you tell Brad what we do with those small bore
holes the lasers burn for us?” He turned to one of his engineers that had
sought him out in the dark and confusion.

“Fill ‘em with explosives and blow off a rock face, or
crumble a flat area, like for the big bucket excavators when they drag the
rocks to conveyors and pile them up for hauling and processing. Anything like
that would slow or stop them.” He responded.

“Explosives are weapons turned to peaceful uses Brad. We
have some here, and I think Saul can round up some crews to drill into the face
of the cliffs leading back here, and do that tonight, as soon as possible. The
explosives shack is safely clear of the mine, but we must have some stored
there. Right?” He looked at Saul.

“Yes Sir, but not a lot. This old volcanic lava tube is
almost played out, so we weren’t doing much blasting.” Saul pointed that out to
his boss, seeing a glimmer of what he had in mind.

“But do you think you have enough that you could bring those
cliffs down along the road when needed, on top of those murderous pricks when
they come for us out here?”

“Absolutely, Sir. If we have enough time to drill and ram
the explosives and rig them in the dark.”

“Saul, I think it’s safe to say that speed is needed more
than safety, so can you have someone rig and string the charges in the road
while others drill? Do just enough to pull the sides down and bury some of the
bastards, and delay the others. The AI estimated there were just over five
hundred of them. We may hurt them enough to make them pull back.”

“They can get around the blockage Sir, if determined. We
can’t cover every route here.” Brad noted.

“Thus the second part of the plan to divert them away.” The
shrewd CEO informed him.

“As everyone that lives in Gem Town knows, the main
explosive storage dump is all the way on the other side of the spacepad, closer
to where that ship landed tonight. I need to get there, along with a small crew
that can rig explosives, run the big front loaders, and operate two or three of
our largest dumpers.” The latter were the forty-foot long, twenty feet high
dump trucks that hauled overburden and kimberlite deposits around.

“Sir, what will you do with the Big Dumps?” Saul asked, using
the slang reference for them.

“Battering rams at a minimum on their ship, Saul. Perhaps
more. Find some volunteers to go with me. We have the material and know how,
and I’m sure we have the guts. We can take my family’s three air cars to get
there faster, and skirt well clear of town. Which pit has the closest Big Dumps
to the explosives? We can drop people off to drive those over.”

“Why not let the AI’s drive them Sir?”

Sanji looked over his shoulder to see a man he vaguely
recognized, but couldn’t quite place. “What’s that, uh…?” he left the sentence hanging,
waiting for the man to fill in his name.

“Will Dawfem, Sir. I’m a ‘Turd,’ I drive the Big Dumps. I
made my way over when I heard someone say you were looking for volunteers.”

“OK, Will, the AI’s can handle simple driving, so I guess
that can get them safely to the explosives storage dump? But can it be done in
the dark, with no lights?”

“Sure Sir. They have built in local maps updated every day,
and laser, radar, and GPS aided navigation for steering. I can link as many as
you want to the front truck and they’ll follow me like sheep.”

“OK, Will, and I need two more, ah,
Turd
you called
your position?” He laughed, despite the situation. “I’m constantly learning
more about this operation, after spending most of life listening to my
Grandpa’s stories.”

“I can do it myself Sir, you don’t need other drivers.” Will
told him.

“Will, we are going to split our force into three air cars,
to increase the chance we make it there with every skill set we need. I’m not
underestimating these invaders.” That placed a somber tone atop the recently
upbeat mood.

Turning, Sanji looked at Saul. “You ain’t drilling yet?” he
smiled to remove any hint of sting, but he needed everyone moving now.

Thirty minutes later, Brad had established lookouts on the
bluffs looking back at the town with com sets in hand. Saul had drillers on
cherry pickers starting boreholes, and in the roadway below the cliff faces,
two rigger crews were stringing explosives for each side of the fifty-foot wide
roadway. There were sixty-foot high rock walls to bring down, and they’d need a
lot of explosives to blast the rubble all the way across, burying whatever was
out there.

The first air car had lifted with Sanji driving, keeping low
with the eight seats filled. Will was in front with him, prepared to drop out
at the glamorously named Pit Number 3’s “Latrine,” the truck park where Will
said he’d find the dump trucks needed.

The other two air cars were taking different routes, and
they were going to pick up one big front loader apiece, to load the three huge
dump trucks. They were not the normal means used to load the 400-ton behemoths,
but it was what they could move to the explosives dump on short notice.

Sanji dropped Will at the truck park, using his lights only
down at ground level and set on dim until the driver had climbed the twenty
feet to the cab. The lights inside came on as soon as it detected the man’s
implant. Not just anyone could operate the huge Big Dumps. He motioned for
Sanji to leave, as he signaled two other trucks to light up remotely, setting
them up to follow his own lead truck.

Sanji reached the explosives dump, keeping as low to the
ground as he could, using hills to shield his movement to the extent possible
from the spacepad. His selected crew bailed out and the supervisor of the dump
unlocked the first of three isolated and shielded bunkers they would use. As
that was happening the second air car arrived safely, having dropped their
front loader driver. The combined crews started loading pallets of explosives
on haulers, and bringing them out of the bunkers.

Once the pallets were outside, the riggers started setting
detonators in place, using hand-shielded flashlights for illumination. They
finally heard the rumble of engines in the distance. Sanji hadn’t considered
this detail. The noise the heavy equipment would make.

A front loader was the first to arrive. As Sanji had
instructed, its hopper already held rocks two to three feet in diameter. The
driver had scooped them up along the way, from mounds of overburden. Then they
waited, with the explosives rigged with everything but the remote initiators
connected.

The second front loader drove up, also loaded with large
rocks. However, the key to the plan was the Big Dumps. With the other equipment
shut down, they were relieved when they heard the rumble, and soon felt it, as
the three enormous trucks rounded a hill. Will had taken a more roundabout
route than Sanji had anticipated, but considering the noise, it may have been a
good idea.

When Will brought the trucks up to the men signaling him
with flashlights, he pulled past them slightly, to leave the string of trucks
all well placed for loading. They reminded Sanji of images he’d seen of
elephants in his mother’s native country, India, on Earth. Like that line of
big animals following each other, linked trunk to tail.

BOOK: Koban: The Mark of Koban
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