Chapter 57

On the way back to camp in the rescue vessel Tom and Jim went over all of the current developments since the ship had better communications. The Samutz had tried a flanking manoeuvre from one side then the other to pull the limited number of troops out of position. They were currently using a variety of suit that could render the wearer invisible, like the Tandra units. The Samutz units were prone to overheat though. They did not have the needed mental controls but did work for a short time.

General Shingle had foreseen this and dusted the entire area as a precaution. When the shield overheated it had to be lowered they ingested the virus. The battle had ended but most of the Samutz casualties were from our weapons not the dust.

After returning to the Souts base both Jim and Tom went to medical to be treated for the injuries that the med unit couldn't handle. Tom was finished sooner and watched the information while Jim was still on the table. The shoulder was now just pink, the bruising on the forearm and head were gone. There was deeper damage in the brain pan, and this too was remedied.

When both were rated fit for duty, Tom asked, "How did that bruise get on my leg?"

"Ah... I was overseeing the capitulation of one of the enemy when I was out flanked by another." Then being serious; "Rather than be brained, with a rock, I knocked it out of the boy's hand and it hit you. If you hadn't been still twitching you could have helped me with the lad."

Tom took this as a rebuke and closed his mind.

Jim reached out and stopped Tom. "I was only joking. I was in trouble but it was none of your fault. I should have been more careful like you always tell me to." Jim opened his mind to the scene after Tom had his major orgasm.

"You seem to like the boy."

"Yes, I do, and the women, and the children too, but not all the same way. I noticed how you got quite attached to the youngsters yourself. Were you thinking of starting our family with a few of the pre-made units? There are many more in the compound."

Tom seemed to think over Jim's words and said, "The women and children we found were nice. I just did not like all of the bruising on the children, women or even the boy. It seems that the only way an adult male on this planet gets his point across is with his fists. But to answer your question, I don't know yet, but I know you want a family and I want you to be happy."

"Thanks Tom, I never had a good family life. I don't want that for any of my future family. We don't have enough time yet to handle our own children properly. When most of the Samutz are killed the pace will settle down and then maybe we can work on it again."

"I would like that."

Frieda gave them another fighter and soon they were doing passes on the Umal Mountains with a flight of 23 combat drones as escort. The fighter served as to relay the weak signals to the satellite for processing.

Tom worked very diligently and with the help of the drones spotted and killed six out of seventeen Samutz targets they found. The Samutz were getting to be very adept at jumping from one hole to the next. It was very disturbing to know that there could be a thousand Samutz below and cloaked. He would never know it. The probes would have to almost be right on top of them and the probes used an easy to hide energy form to transmit their data. Unlike electromagnetic radiation this energy attenuated more quickly. Light was propagated at the square of the distance. The probes used leptons that were modulated in another dimension and attenuated at the cube of the distance. This necessitated the ship being close to retransmit the data to the satellite and in turn become an easy to hit target.

Tom compared the locations or probable Samutz activity and found that they did not intersect with any sizable godough areas. He brought up a computer representation of the last 12 days and saw the Samutz actually pulled back in many areas that had made up the animals hunting areas.

Just before their shift was to end they caught three Samutz crossing a ridge line into a lovely wooded valley.

Jim quickly said, "Tom, let them go."

"What?" He said incredulously.

"Let's see what they are doing. Detail two drones to follow them and see what happens."

Jim brought the fighter down to only a few metres and soundlessly hovered so as to be hidden among the trees.

"Ok, but that was not in our orders."

"Well let's see what the boss wants."

"That is ok. We will just do it your way."

"It is fine Tom. I want the general to know what is happening."

"General Shingle. Are you there?"

"Yes Jim. What do you boys want?"

"We spotted three Samutz going into a fairly well hidden valley about seventy six metres north east of us. On my own initiative we allowed them to continue with two drones to follow them. The valley has a high rock face in the west and reflects sunlight into the deep valley. There is a waterfall and lots of cover from trees making it a good place for the Samutz to hole up."

"Very good, I should have put this sort of thing into your briefing. Are you going to pursue? The drones have very little range. I can see from one of your drone's images that there is a large cave on the west wall."

"I have thought of getting Tom to hide the fighter in the rocks overlooking the valley. He can use his weapons to cover the valley, transmit data and cover my ass when I go down there with a repeater."

"I think the two of you better go. You tend to get a little too reckless when you are by yourself."

"But General..."

"That is an order. I am sending another team there soon. They will need the information from the drones. Besides, I am sure Tom would rather keep you close to him too."

"Yes sir." then to Tom he said, "See what you did."

"I did nothing. I didn't say a word to the General. But he was right on both counts."

"Yes, I suppose so. Since we don't have any combat suits we can just plant the spare repeater and the one from this ship. Then work our way back here."

Tom broke out the weapons, the two signal repeaters and some spare shields. All the equipment went into two of the shield units. Jim used the other probes to find the best place to conceal the ship, for it could not cloak itself. If it did not have a repeater there was no real reason to place it insight of the valley. The AI controlled weapons were fair but not as good as a Human or a Tandra to guide it. If it had a mobile position it would be better able to handle trouble when it happened and both knew that it was going to happen.

With both repeaters removed from the craft they could not access the data being transmitted, but relied on verbal orders given by Huang Yi.

Jim told Tom to place his repeater about 500 metres from the mouth of the cave, about the limit of its reception. Jim took the more risky objective and wanted to place the repeater right before the cave in the small grove of trees. Shadows were falling fast for the sun was now behind the west wall and no light could be reflected down into the deep valley.

Jim made it to the trees but almost stumbled on seven Samutz laying on the long grass and talking in their guttural speech. Their shields were down and three were eating. Jim used his mind to transmit the sounds to Huang Yi for interpretation.

"They are just talking of what they will do with us after they have won. The cave has officers and a few guards inside the entrance. The drones are small but visible. Find a spot close by and I will drop you a few drones and you can put them into your suits. The repeater and the drones need to be placed inside the cave."

Jim did as he was asked and two drones did land at his feet. Seconds later Tom came to him and said, "How are we going to get in?"

"A diversion is too risky and I don't know what the interior is like. I was hoping to just follow behind one of the Samutz as they walked inside."

Two Samutz walked out of a small entrance forty some metres away from the larger objective and each held large portions of the Masis bison. Jim thought quickly and then ran as fast as he could across the small clearing. Then a meter away he locked his step into that of the second Samutz.

The inside of the cave was very defendable. The entrance was a long narrow tunnel that continued for quite a while without appreciably changing in size. Jim was reminded of a gate passage with murder holes from an old castle he once visited in Britain.

Two guards were on duty, but only idly watched the Samutz go by. A few words were uttered and accompanied by a dry chuckle. There were dust, leaves and other debris on the edges of the path. A small stream from inside the mountain cut a deep but narrow channel in the track he just travelled. Further along, it formed a large wet spot in front of the cave. The churned up muddy area had not been altered in the least.

Further back, the cave widened and Jim was surprised to see twenty or so troops gambling or arguing in a small side tunnel. The main gallery continued for two hundred or so metres and all the stalactites and stalagmites had been knocked down and carted out. Tiny streams joined into one roughly in the centre of the wide floor then continued toward the entrance. In the back of the cave many shield structures had been set up. Including one that was very large. Here the Samutz were even more prevalent and most sported brighter tunics and even swords.

Jim stopped and was immediately pushed forward. Turning he could see nobody. "Is that you Tom?"

"Yes it is. Why didn't you keep walking?"

"Why didn't you stay out there? You could have helped the General."

"You are always getting hurt. If I am with you the chances are less that you will do something crazy. Besides, it was the General himself that ordered me to stay with you."

"I wish you didn't come. I don't know what I will do if you get hurt."

"The same goes for me. Now let's find a place to hide the repeater and get out of here."

Tom spied a small ledge in a dark area above the artificial illumination. After hiding behind the large shield their own shield was lowered to get the repeater and the two drones. The air was rancid with the heavy smell of unwashed acidic bodies and both urine and faecal matter.

Tom climbed on Jim's shoulders with the repeater and eventually Jim had to use his hands to boost Tom up far enough to reach the ledge. Small stones descended making loud noises as they struck the cave floor. Two Samutz turned around and looked as the men froze. The repeater was precariously balanced and could fall at any moment.

After a very long half minute the Samutz turned back to what they were doing. Tom positioned the repeater further back and caught the larger stones as they fell.

Jim held his extra shield with his rifle tight to him as they backtracked their way to the entrance. Jim and Tom memorized the layout to help them when the team decided to exterminate the Samutz here.

They decided to walk out the long passage, but had to quickly retreat as a single Samutz walked back inside. They decided to try again and made it out, but had to quickly move to the side as two more Samutz entered the cave. One stopped and looked at the disturbed bush and small stones before deciding to ignore the incident.

Slowly regaining the trees, Jim called, "General Shingle; is there anything else you want us to do?"

"As a matter of fact there is. Do a visual reconnaissance of the other cave. The probes don't have enough power to make it to either of the repeaters."

The other entrance was more open, but the area in front of the cave had water about 20 centimetres deep. Mud was churned up by the many feet that entered the cave. It was dark enough now that the Samutz would not see four holes in the water progress to their home.

This area was fairly large, but the floor travelled up a shallow incline. The artificial lightning showed two large areas covered in blood and four Samutz sitting at a small table. They were playing a game after their job was done and drinking from a common bottle. The entire back of the cave was sectioned off with about 20 Tandra, 8 bison, 2 godough and even one Softay. The Tandra sat back against the wall and some even wept, but it was done softly because their tears must have been shed for a long time. Since they stayed in their own groups the only explanation they could come up with was a shield over the entire area.

Jim saw the blood and immediately wanted to kill the Samutz in the room. Tom held him back and said, "They have been butchering the bison, not the Tandra. Look at the hide on the floor."

Jim's insistent pulling slowed and he tried to think. The large godough stood on all fours and looked in their direction as Jim came to a conclusion. "If we go out and report this, the General will probably tell us to leave. If we can think of something now by ourselves, we can free everybody here."

Tom was hesitant about disobeying authority but in this case they were not told not to do anything. They separated and walked around the room paying attention to the splashes on the submerged floor. Jim found the small opening where water shot out of hard stone to wash away the more soluble variety.

"Jim, come over to the far end of the godough cage."

Small steps were heard before Tom said, "What have you got?"

"The connector powering all the cages is here. We just need a way to shut it off."

Two of the Samutz got up after much arguing and two picked up weapons while the other two got bails of hay. The cage for the bison was lowered from a control panel and something like hay thrown into the cage. The shield was quickly raised again. The Tandra and lone Softay were even easier to feed and did nothing to resist their capturers.

The last cage was done much differently. The food was placed before the cage and a new shield placed outside it. All the Samutz picked up their weapons and it seemed like they were shaking as the inside barrier collapsed. The godough lunged at the new screen and even one Samutz shot his weapon, and the energy ricocheted around the room. The Samutz seemed to be petrified of the animal. Both men wondered why the Samutz held it captive. Was it a trophy or something special to eat?

Jim looked around and came to a new insight into the Samutz and tried to think of a way to use it. "What do you make of that?"

"I don't know. The godough are good fighters, but with the Samutz in a shield and there is nothing that can hurt them. It appears to be an irrational fear, similar to what I have read Humans have."

"Ya, I got that idea too."

Returning to Tom's discovery after the Samutz nervously sat, he looked up. "Tom, the wall has a lot of loose rock. If a large one fell, it could break the connection and the field will fall. I know this godough and her cub will leave quickly, as will the bison. They have good speed, it is the Tandra that look underfed and will not be able to reach the ridge before the Samutz recapture them."

"What about the four Samutz? They will give the alarm and if we kill them then the rest of the Samutz will know we have found them."

Two Samutz came in from the guard detail and talked in an excited voice. The one that fired his weapon left with them to face some sort of judgement.

Jim looked at the bison skull on the floor and had an idea. "Tom if we get the shield down in sections we can get the Tandra out a few at a time. The rest of the gang should be on the ridge, either waiting to attack, or waiting for the General to hear something important from the Samutz officers. Once they are safe, we can release the godough and then the bison. It is a sad thing to think that the bison on escaping trampled then gored their keepers."

"I like it, but the Tandra will need a lot of help to get up to the ridge and it might be advantageous to just wait. If an attack comes we can just stay here and protect the captives."

"Yes, I agree. But do we trust the General in a matter like this?"

"I think we should. We have looked into his mind a lot of times and know he will do anything to save us."

"Well, I guess you are right. Let's leave and report."Jim knew that the 'us' was in reference to the Tandra.

"General Shingle, the cave extends a long way into the mountain and is cut by the water over the centuries. There are presently 23 Tandra, one Softay, a female godough and her cub, and 8 bison. It appears that they are all rated to be slaughtered eventually."

"Thanks Jim, I didn't want to mount a rescue yet. The Samutz are discussing strategy with a much larger group and if they succeed there will be no more life on the planet. It is not a matter of just a few beings, but all Tandra, as well as all the other animal life too. I see in your mind that you were not too sure about me. Why don't we see what we can come up with as a compromise? Our own people will be assisting. But it is up to you to keep our presence completely unknown, for the sake of the entire planet."

Jim was stunned and so was Tom. They wanted to rescue a few people but if there was any mistake the planet might die. The escape if it even proved faultless would require the deaths of the three remaining Samutz and that would be stretching plausibility to the limit.

Tom asked permission to contact the other Tandra techs, told them of the dilemma, and asked for possible solutions. Humans heard and entered the conversation trying to find the best solution. Dusting the cave complex, causing a landslide to bury the cave, beginning an all out attack now, kill all the local Samutz and just monitor the other groups were only some of the suggestions.

Jim felt really bad and the only flaw was three simultaneous deaths. But if they were sick and went for assistance...

Jim asked the group about making the Samutz sick enough to leave, or go unconscious and all the evidence had to point to something natural. A Tandra tech by the name of Demmak said, "The Samutz drink a fermented beverage and sometimes it has a slightly different yeast taking hold. Some batches cause the Samutz to enter a drugged sleep. The Samutz laugh at the others that happen to be unlucky enough to drink this."

The general jumped on this factor and found out from Frieda all about the circumstances around the surrounded this phenomenon. A quick strategy was worked out and a sample of the yeast was sent by fighter from Souts.

Less than fifteen minutes later a man dropped his shield and said to Jim, "Well, here are your sleeping pills Jim. I don't envy you one bit for doing what you have to do."

"Thanks Terry, but I know these Samutz are at ease and slipping this in their bottle should not be hard."

Jim and Tom re-entered the cave and got beside the Samutz but they found a newer bottle sealed, and the Samutz talking very animatedly. Their attention was on each other and their sight passed right over the bottle in the centre of the table.

Tom looked at the godough and said, "Godough if you can understand me, growl and cause your enemy to turn around. This may free you." There was no growl but the animal turned its head like a dog as if trying to understand better. Tom tried again, "Growl to save yourself and your young."

This time the godough did get the message and growled loud, as if calling its kind. The Samutz got up from their chairs, ran to the side of the room and picked up their guns. Jim had just enough time to remove the top, drop in a single pill, and shake the bottle.

"Thank you girl, now we just have to wait for them to drink."

The animal growled again, but this time in frustration. She did not understand the conception of time too well. She quieted, lay down with her cub and stared at the three Samutz, her enemy.

It took almost ten minutes for the Samutz to relax enough to put their weapons away and return to the table. Thankfully the excitement required that their nerves to be quieted. They passed the bottle around and drank deep, till it was empty. They used the method people did from time immemorial and their arms wiped their moist mouth of any residue.

The talk around the table slowed and in twenty minutes Tom and Jim were treated to the sounds of Samutz snoring.

"Jim, you have to go out and get the help now."

Jim did as asked and made splashing sounds in the water. Some more energetic Tandra in the cages noticed and told the rest.

Ten Tandra and an equal number of men soon appeared in the room. Tom had been waiting for this moment, dropped his invisibility and said in the local Tandra dialect, "I am a Tandra like you and have come here with my friends to help you up the side of the valley and to safety. I am going to lower the shield holding you captive and if my friends are rushed, or you make trouble, I will personally stun you and leave you for the Samutz."

Without waiting for their acceptance, he lowered their shield and the Tandra just stood in place. The men helped the larger Tandra down from the ledge they were on. They were each cloaked in invisibility and taken out of the cave. Individual Tandra from the base were also helping the smaller captives.

The lone Softay just stayed by itself in the back of the cage and would not come out. It was dirty, and much of its hair was missing. A lone Tandra came forward to help but the frightened creature just cringed in a ball in the corner. With procedures set down before this operation a small gun came out and a small stun charge struck the pitiful creature. The suited figure was put over a shoulder and quickly taken out of the cave.

Five minutes were to be given for the Tandra head start. The godough growled with its impatience and at the correct time the bison were released. They were shooed out of the cave with swats to their rumps. As the last animal left the godough was released and bent down and tried to get the young one on its back the usual way the youngsters travelled if young. This one was older and weak.

Jim walked up beside the pair as the mother's snarled. "I am going to take your baby up the hill with me." He pictured the baby falling if the mother carried it, then both being caught by the Samutz because they were slow. The snarling did not lessen, but Jim bent forward and cradled the small life in his hands allowing his true feelings to flow out to the mother. He deactivated his shield and with the youngster close, he reformed it and walked toward the entrance.

"Tom, pick up that rock we decided on, and break the connection."

The cub was light and did not have the energy to even object. A loud crash and a plume of energy showed Jim that the plan was working. They ran to the entrance and rough Samutz voices from the surrounding area let them know the energy surge had not gone unnoticed.

Jim ran up the hill with guidance from those above. At the ridge line it was discovered that they had to run further to a smooth rock that held their transport. The night had not fully fallen yet. The valley was in the shadow of the mountain and was considerably darker.

Jim dropped his shield as he came up to the ship. Men and Tandra drew their weapons as the godough came up behind him. The cub was placed on the flat rock and appeared listless. "Somebody hand me a med unit."

The mother was continually growling and would attack at any further provocation. Jim traced the unit over the animal to get it centred on the godough metabolism and readings came back that didn't look good. With a mind as closed as possible he said to Tom, "Stun the mother. The baby needs more help than we can give here."

Tom was very quick and in fact already had his gun on the animal, ever since his foolish partner lowered his shield. A second later the mother just fell asleep and was carried into the transport. The native Tandra cringed in the back as the vehicle took off into the growing twilight.