Battlefield Earth Part 31

"You ruined this whole trip for me," said Terl. He relapsed into moody silence. At length, he rubbed at his aching head and fumbled around for his kerbango. He brought up an empty container and threw it down. Jonnie clipped it into a rack so it wouldn't go adrift. Terl found another one under the seat. He chewed off a slug of it and sat there gloomily.

"Why," asked Terl, at length, "were they cheering yesterday?"

"I told them the end of the project would see them highly paid," said Jonnie.

Terl thought that over. Then, "They were cheering because of pay?"

"More or less," said Jonnie. Terl was suspicious. "You didn't promise any gold, did you?"

"No, they don't know anything about gold. Their currency is horses and such things."

"High pay, eh?" said Terl. He was suddenly very jovial. The kerbango was taking effect. He had just had a wonderful thought. High pay. He knew exactly the pay they would get. Exactly. At the muzzle end of a blast gun. He cheered up enormously.

"You fly this thing pretty good, rat brain, when you're not trying to kill everybody." This struck Terl as very, very funny and he laughed from time to time all the way home. But that was not what pleased him. How stupid these animals were! High pay, indeed. No wonder they'd lost the planet! He had his leverage. He'd never heard such enthusiasm!

Chapter 2.

Forty-eight hours after their arrival at the "defense base," Jonnie was very glad he had Robert the Fox along. He had to handle a threatened war.

Two of the young men, amid all the flurry of settling in, had yet found time to discover the remains of a weapons cargo. A truck, in the last days of man's civilization, had apparently run into a road cutbank and a cave-in had covered it. There it had remained for more than a thousand years until Scot hands uncovered it.

Jonnie had just come in to the base with a group driving wild cattle before them. He had been very busy settling the group in. He had lots of help. No one required much in the way of orders. They had swept out and apportioned off an old dormitory.

They had dug latrines. The parson had made the chapel useful. And the old women had found a place that could be protected from deer and cattle and, being near the water, was ideal for a vegetable garden; Jonnie had used a drilling machine to plow it up and the women a.s.sured him that now n.o.body would get scurvy- they had brought seeds, and radishes and lettuce and spring onions would be up in no time in this sunlight and deep soil. The schoolmaster had appropriated the ancient academic building and had a schoolroom set up.

The Scots had proven remarkably ingenious with machinery; they seemed to know what some of these pipes and wires were all about, having heard of them and read of them in their books.

Thus Jonnie was not too startled to find a youth- Angus MacTavish-holding out an ancient piece of metal to him and requesting permission to "make this and the rest of the lot serviceable." Jonnie had not thought that among all this bustle anyone would have time to dig up an old wrecked man-truck and its contents.

"What is this thing?" said Jonnie.

The youth showed him some stamped letters. The object was covered with what must have been a very thick grease that, down the ages, had become rock-hard but had preserved the object. The letters, which the youth had cleaned off, said "Thompson submachine gun...." It had a company name and serial number.

"There's case on case of them," said Angus. "A whole truckload. And airtight boxes of ammunition. When the grease comes off these, they might be fired. The truck must have run off the road and gotten buried in the cave-in. May I clean it up and test it, MacTyler?"

Jonnie absently nodded and went on with the cattle. He was thinking about getting over to the base and getting a horse. There were plenty of wild horses but they needed to be broken, and driving in cattle for food on foot was not the safest occupation he knew of. He was also speculating about using one of these small Psychlo trucks to do the job. Food shortage had been a problem for the Scots and there was no reason they could not be very well fed; it would make them even tougher and more able to stand the work ahead.

He was not prepared for the deputation that came to him as he finished supper. A mess hall had been set up, and although the women were cooking outside, eating was being done inside- off broken tables with much eroded cutlery. Robert the Fox was sitting there with him.

Angus MacTavish held out the weapon to him. "It works. We cleaned it and figured out how to load and operate it, and the ammunition will fire."

Jonnie could see that others in the mess hall were giving them their silent attention.

"There's lots of these and lots of ammunition," said Angus MacTavish.

"If you climb the hill and look over to the east, off in the distance you can see the Psychlo minesite." He smiled. "A group could sneak over tonight and blow them to pieces!"

There was an instant cheer from the rest.

Young men from other tables stood up and crowded around.

Jonnie had a horrible vision of slaughtered Scots and blasted plans.

Robert the Fox caught Jonnie's eye. He seemed to want a nod and Jonnie gave him one. He stood up.

The old veteran was one of the few Scots who had ever seen a Psychlo up close before the freighter had arrived. Raiding for cattle down into the lowlands where cattle now wandered amid ruins, Robert the Fox had once encountered a party of Psychlo hunters from the minesite in Cornwall. The Psychlos had wiped out the other members of the party. But Robert, clinging to the belly of a horse, had been able to flee the carnage un.o.bserved. He was well aware of the power of the Psychlo weaponry and the murderous character they exercised.

"This young man," said Robert the Fox, pointing to Angus MacTavish who was standing there holding his man-machine gun, "has done very well. It is a credit to be resourceful and brave."

The young man beamed. "But," continued Robert the Fox, "it is one of the great wisdoms that one best succeeds at what one prepares totally. One minesite destroyed will not end the power of the Psychlos. Our war is against the entire Psychlo empire and for this we must work hard and prepare." He became conspiratorial, "We must not wipe out just one base and alert them to our intent."

That did it. The young men thought this was very wise and happily finished their dinner of roasts and steaks.

"Thank you," said Jonnie to Robert the Fox. The precipitate war was averted for the moment.

A bit later, in the lingering twilight, Jonnie took the older men down to show them the trench.

He had begun to realize he had a sort of council. It consisted of Robert the Fox, the parson, the schoolmaster, and the historian.

Jonnie probed about in the gra.s.s, looking for iron bits, and at last he uncovered the almost totally eroded frame of a weapon that might have been similar to the Thompson. It was very hard to tell what make it was, but it had been a gun.

Jonnie told his council the history of the spot according to Psychlo records.

They hardly needed to get the point. Such weapons had not stopped the Psychlos.

Then the historian- Doctor MacDermott- looked about curiously. "But where are the remains of the tank?"

"It defeated them," said Jonnie.

"Now that is very odd," said the historian. "Not that they were defeated here, but that there's no rusting remains of any Psychlo battle equipment."

"This was a defeat," said Jonnie. "The Psychlos may have suffered damage, maybe not. But they would have taken any damaged equipment from the field."

"No, no, no," said the historian. And he told them about a handwritten romance in the university library about a similar battle. It had occurred on a line between two ancient villages known as Dumbarton and Falkirk, at the narrowest point above where England and Scotland had once met, just below the Highlands. "And the remains of Psychlo tanks can be detected there to this very day."

"That's true," said Robert the Fox. "I have seen them."

The historian said, "No Psychlo has ever come north of that point- not until you, MacTyler, flew in your demon. It is the only reason we can still exist in the Highlands."

"Tell me more of this romance," said Jonnie.

"Oh, it is quite badly written," said the historian. "A curiosity, not literature. It was scribbled by a private in the Queen's Own Highlanders who escaped north from the battle. A sapper, I think he was. They handle land mines."

"Land mines?" said the parson. "Mines for ore?"

"No, no," said the historian. "I think they used the word 'mine' for explosives buried in the earth- when the enemy crossed them, they exploded. The private used the term 'tactical nuclear weapons.' He goes on about how a fragment of a regiment that had been in bunkers escaped the ga.s.sing and withdrew north. The captain, I think, had a girl in the Highlands. And they laid a string of mines from Dumbarton to Falkirk. Psychlo tanks in pursuit hit them and these mines exploded. The Psychlos were not out of tanks or troops. They simply withdrew south and they never came back to recover their dead or their equipment. The romance says it was due to the spirit of Drake intervening, for drums could be heard...."

"Wait," said Jonnie. "Those were nuclear weapons."

"Whatever those are," said the the parson. parson.

"Uranium," said Jonnie. "There must still be a band of uranium dust between those two towns." He explained to them about Psychlo breathe-gas.

"Aye, it fits," said Robert the Fox.

The historian looked enlightened and drew his shabby old cloak around his shrunken shoulders. "It sounds like the magic ring of fire, or the geometric signs the creatures of the netherworld dare not cross."

Jonnie looked at the eroded remains of the weapon in his hands and then along the trench. "These poor men didn't have any uranium, didn't even really know about Psychlos. They had only these."

"They died like brave men," said the parson, removing his cap.

The others also removed theirs.

"We just have to be sure," said Jonnie, "we don't wind up like them!"

"Aye," said Robert the Fox.

Jonnie laid the remains of the gun down and they walked back thoughtfully toward the cooking fires. The wail of a piper was soft in the night wind.

Chapter 3.

Terl was working with maps of the mountains. He had the latest recon drone pictures of the lode and he was trying to find any trails or roads that came near this deep gash. It was one awfully difficult operation, and when he thought about the animals undertaking something that would make an experienced Psychlo miner cough, it put spots in front of his eyes. The site was simply not accessible by ground travel.

His newly acquired secretary, Chirk, came in. She was stupid enough not to be any menace and good-looking enough to be decorative. She got drunk with economical speed and had other advantages. Her utility was in blocking off callers and shuffling administration papers back for somebody else to handle. Since he was now in reality the top Psychlo on the planet, he shouldn't be bothered with trivial details. Overload the already crushed Numph, was his motto.

"The animal is here to see you," she trilled.

Terl had hastily covered up the maps when her paws touched the door. He sc.r.a.ped them into a top drawer and out of sight. "Send it in."

Wearing his air mask and clothing of c.h.i.n.ko cloth, Jonnie came in. He had a long list in his hand.

Terl looked at him. Things were working out pretty well. The animal was on his good behavior, despite having no b.u.t.ton camera surveillance now. They had an arrangement whereby Jonnie could come over every few days and take care of food for the girls and confer.

Jonnie had suggested a radio link, but Terl had become very cross and adamant. No No radio. That was final. The animal could walk his feet off if he wanted to say anything to Terl. Terl knew there were plenty of receivers in the minesite, and radio might tip his paw and blow his security. radio. That was final. The animal could walk his feet off if he wanted to say anything to Terl. Terl knew there were plenty of receivers in the minesite, and radio might tip his paw and blow his security.

"I have a list," said Jonnie. "I can see that," said Terl.

"I want piping and c.h.i.n.ko cloth and the tools to cut and sew it together and some pumps and shovels-"

"Give it to Chirk. Sounds like you're rebuilding the whole defense base. Typical animal. Why don't you get busy with machine instruction?"

"I am," said Jonnie. And it was very true. He had been spending ten hours a day with the youths and schoolmaster.

"I'll send over Ker," said Terl.

Jonnie shrugged. Then he indicated the list. "There's a couple of items here that should be cleared with you. The first is the c.h.i.n.ko instruction machines. There are about six of them in the old c.h.i.n.ko quarters. The equipment controls are all in Psychlo and so are the manuals. I want to take those and all their discs and books."

"So?" said Terl.

Jonnie nodded. "The other item is flying trucks."

"You've got flying platforms."

"I think we should have some flying personnel carriers and flying trucks. I've been to see Zzt and he has a whole garage floor full of them."

To Terl's suspicious mind came the sudden feeling that the animal was looking through the desk top at the maps in the drawer. It was very true that there were no roads to that place. All carrying, he realized, would have to be by air- and it would be difficult flying at that. But a flying truck or a personnel carrier had the same controls as a battle plane and fewer guns. There was a hard rule that no alien race could be trained in battle. Then Terl thought of the inaccessible lode. Well, a mining truck was not a battle plane, that was for sure. Besides, he controlled the planet and he made the rules.

"How many you want?" said Terl, reaching for the list. "Hey! You've written twenty! And tri-wheel ground cars... three ground cars..."

"The order was to train them on equipment, and if I haven't got the equipment-"

"But twenty!"

Jonnie shrugged. "Maybe they're hard on equipment."

Terl barked a sudden laugh as he remembered the animal nearly going over the cliff in the burning blade sc.r.a.per. It tickled him.

He drew out one of the blanks Numph had signed and punched the animal's list in above the signature.

"How much time have I got?" asked Jonnie.

Terl was too secretive to come flat out with times. The times actually coincided with the semiannual firing of personnel and dead Psychlos. He calculated rapidly. Nine months total. Maybe three months for training to the next transshipment, and six months for mining to the second in the early spring of next year. Better give it an edge.

"Two months to get them all trained," said Terl.

"That's awfully fast."

Terl took the remote control box out of his pocket and tapped it and put it back. He laughed.

Jonnie frowned, his face mask obscuring the dangerous light that had leaped into his eyes.

He took a tight hold on his temper and voice. "I could use Ker to help ferry this stuff."