Koban (42 page)

The entire flock was now waiting for any careless mistake, for
any unprotected animals to walk too far from the other prey that guarded them. The
herd’s protectors were obvious to the Flock. With their excellent vision, they could
clearly see the small black objects the protectors had used. They were different
from those of the big red ones, but had proven able kill or disable a flyer or biter
that came too close. Three of the herd protectors were to be completely avoided.
They had strange objects on their backs, and one of
those
protectors had
made the deadly ball of fire.

The hard flyers that brought new herds here in the past were
dead now. They were killed by the big red ones after they were empty. Two living
flyers of the red herders were close, but one had been asleep for days by the nest,
and the other one had gathered red herders from the giant flyer today. Nevertheless,
no herd animals came out, as the first on the scene and now dead squadron leader
of eight must have expected. That prey would have had a very long trek to the big
nest, and would be open to easy attack.

The giant flyer might be dying, or perhaps it would be killed
when it was empty of herd animals. That was what happened before. However, a strange
new leg was seen to grow from it a short time ago.

Flock Leader watched as the first protectors gave most of their
deadly black objects to new protectors. Then suddenly three herd animals came out
of a hole above the new leg of the flyer and climbed down the leg in a strange smooth
motion.

Flock Leader almost gave a call to dive on those three, but held
his squadrons because the old protectors were not far away and went to meet them.
Three of the old protectors still held black objects. He gave a scream of frustrated
rage, which the deaf animals ignored as always.

The three black objects were given to the new animals, now making
them protectors, and all seven old guardians somehow climbed the peculiar leg, again
without moving their limbs. The new protectors waited for the defenseless prey to
almost reach the nest hole in the flyer, and then they rushed to protect the herd
still coming out of the lower hard flyer nest entrance. He recognized now that another
black opening on the other side of the hard flyer was also a hole into the nest
area, but without a leg sticking down.

Gnashing his fangs in anger at another lost opportunity, Flock
Leader considered the fact that the prey animals that went back into the flyer had
given away all of their black objects. He once had led members of the Flock into
dead hard flyers when he was a squadron leader. There was little food found in them,
but there were empty small nests inside were prey had lived. The thought formed
that this giant flyer must have many nests, and it still held prey.

Then an event happened that completed his half-formed idea. A
lower flying risk-taking young squadron leader called an alert, just as more of
the insides of the hard flyer fell to the ground. It was definitely dying!

With a thrill of excitement, Flock Leader saw that none of the
prey or their protectors was watching the Flock! He screamed a cry to follow, and
the two squadrons he called instantly folded wings and dove in the direction he
led. He took them to the opening above the leg and called for the larger squadron
to enter the nest. Eight flyers opened their wings for braking, and flashed through
the opening.

Flock Leader flapped hard around the backside of the giant to
the second opening, and without hesitation led the squadron of six following him
inside.

Jason Sieko was relishing the cool ship air as he pulled off
his sweaty Steward’s jacket and slung it over his shoulder. Trailing the others,
he was eager to get to crew country and take a refreshing shower. They all had stayed
in full uniform, with the light white jackets, just to be a visually reassuring
presence for their passengers that their crew was still looking after them.

“Hey, Alfon,” he called to his friend, a few steps ahead. “After
a shower and change, let’s have some ice cream in the day room. We may never get
another chance after today.”

“You’re on,” his buddy answered, also craving a core cooling
treat. “How about in fifteen minutes, because…,” His glance back over his shoulder
froze in place, and his eyes widened. “Look out! Bats!” he shouted.

The flyers had just overshot their own side corridor as they
flew down the wider main companionway the passengers used. Jason spun around,
and saw nothing. “Not funny, Al. It’s been...,” and his voice trailed off as he
heard the fluttering and scuffling as the flyers reached a set of closed double
doors, and reversed course towards the voices they now heard behind them.

The others had heard the warning, and now heard the flapping
sounds as well. Noreen, at the head of the group shouted, “Run for the next fire
door!”

As one, they found strength they thought had been drained from
their bodies, and managed to start running for the automatic door just thirty feet
ahead of her. If they reached that, they could hit the emergency button on the other
side and seal the door behind them.

“Jake,” Noreen shouted, “wolfbats inside, make a broadcast.”

The flyers slowed just enough to make the right angle turn at
the junction, and hit the opposite wall feet first, one going high one low. Pairs
of them were shooting into the corridor in a move that looked choreographed, since
all eight executed the maneuver in near perfect-paired unison.

In a calm voice that seemed macabre under the circumstances,
the AI announced, “Attention, eight wolfbats have entered the ship and are in the
main promenade. Correction, they have turned into staff corridor B6.”

That was a detail the seven racing crewmembers didn’t need to
be told. They could hear them quite literally flying down that corridor behind them.
Noreen shot through the door opening and clawed at the door’s frame to stop her
as the first three men ran by her, bumping her along the way. She tore off the protective
cover, her fist poised to hammer the close button.

Looking back for the other three men, she was trying to remember
how fast the door closed. Jason and Alfon were last, and the Chief Steward, Nory
Walters, had paused to wait for his men. It was obvious the first bats were going
to catch Jason.

“Use your jacket Jason,” he screamed at his last man. He also
saw he couldn’t make it. “Throw it at them.” It was all he could think of, and it
almost worked.

Jason had pulled his jacket off his shoulder when he started
running, and he still had it in his right hand. Without looking back, since he knew
by the sounds of their wings they were about to catch him, he threw it straight
behind him as his arm pumped that way.

The move surprised both flyers, not knowing how the prey had
shed this skin. Worried it was another trap they dodged sharply aside. This allowed
the jacket to land on the face of the flyer behind them with no warning. It rose
up in fear, blinded, and hit the flyer above it, causing both to tumble and impeded
the rushing attackers behind them.

The lead flyers recovered and both struck their target high,
as usual for this prey type. However, there were no flyers to take the legs and
the prey kept running. Because their momentum wasn’t applied to a stationary animal,
it didn’t fall, despite their biting at its shoulders and upper limbs.

Then the target passed two other prey animals. Without the immediate
assistance of the rest of their squadron mates, these prey animals started striking
at them and ran along with their target. This was completely different than this
prey had behaved in the past.

It wasn’t a serious concern, because they heard the call of their
squadron mates as they resumed their pursuit. They would soon have help for this
kill and perhaps the two other two animals as well. They simply held on with their
claws and snapped viciously at the weaker prey hitting and trying to pull them off.

Then they passed more prey, and these weren’t running away as
usual either. The calls of their squadron was growing weaker, and almost cut off
as a flyer screamed in pain, a cry that cut off sharply.

The two of them realized they were alone with all seven of the
prey they sought. Using their superior speed, they bit and snapped at the limbs
that struck them. They rotated their feet to unhook their claws in an attempt to
escape by flight.

This was a final but inevitable mistake, because it permitted
the animals to throw them to the floor. There they could be kicked and trampled.
Where was the squadron?

The Squadron leader looked where he had last heard his flyers.
He saw the head of one of them, strangely sticking out of the side of this terrible
nest. From that direction, he faintly heard cries of his squadron, raging because
they could not help them. He died, thinking something was “wrong” with the world
when prey didn’t behave like prey.

“Noreen, can you hear me?” Mirikami repeated for the second time.
He had heard sounds of shouting and screams of pain through the Link. He feared
the worst when no one answered and all he heard was labored breathing.

“I hear you Tet. Sorry…,” he heard her trying to catch a breath.
“We got away…, with some bites..., but we’ll live.”

Then, as proof her last statement was true, he heard her laugh,
soon joined by six other voices. It was the sort of nervous release after a narrow
escape people sometimes shared.

“I’ll ask what’s so funny later, I guess.” The group laughter
finally subsided.

“It isn’t really funny Sir, but Mister Walters just held up a
bat’s head when I said that, and it struck us all as funny.”

“How did you cut its head off?”

“We didn’t, the fire door did when it closed on it as it tried
to get through the crack.” Her breath was coming back, and she used some of it for
another round of laughter with the others.

She then briefly explained what had happened, and said that all
of them needed some patching up.

“Are the bats still on the other side of the fire door?” Mirikami
intended the question for Noreen, but Jake answered.

“Those wolfbats have departed, Sir, and I have closed the Promenade
hatch. However the other seven bats are in the lower corridors above the Drive Room.”

“What?” Mirikami shouted. “Ship wide broadcast.” Not waiting
for the acknowledgement, he started talking.

“Seven more wolfbats are in the ship, in lower corridors near
the Drive Room. You teams working on engine removal be alert. Don’t open any doorways
or enter any corridors until we find exactly where they are. Crew should Link to
Jake for details. Mirikami Out.”

In several minutes, he had a Link call.

“Captain,” It was Chief Haveram’s voice. “I’m sorry, Sir, I let
those fucking things in. It’s my fault, and they came in the hole I had cut after
landing, to get the fumes out. I forgot about it, Sir.”

He sounded less apologetic than sorrowful, to Mirikami’s ear,
and tinged with anger. Haveram was normally a crusty individual, but rough language
with his Captain was way out of character.

“What’s wrong Chief?”

“Bolinda Carter is dead inside a crew cabin. They must have trapped
her there, or she tried to get away by hiding. Jake says all seven of the fucking
bats are in there feeding on her.” Now there was outrage in his voice. Carter was
a volunteer on his removal team, and she was one of the few Midwife survivors.

“Can you isolate them or lock them in?”

“Yes Sir, I suppose, but it’s risky to go into a corridor to
close hatches…. Just a moment Sir. Jake.” Mirikami heard him call the AI.

“Yes Chief?” Haveram had taught him long ago not to “Sir” him.

“You know where that cabin is, can you cut them off so they can’t
escape the ship, and also not be able to reach anyone else on the ship?”

“I believe you mean to trap the wolfbats within a small volume.
Yes, I can activate fire doors to do that Chief.”

“Do that Jake.” Haveram ordered.

“The three fire doors have been activated and are closing.”

Mirikami asked a question. “Are all of the bats still in the
cabin?”

Jake told them one bat had left the cabin when the fire doors
were activated, and was flying along the corridor from the direction they had arrived.

Then Jake said something that surprised Mirikami. “The wolfbat
found the fire door closed and has called to the others. They have all left the
cabin.”

“How do you know he called to the other bats? We haven’t heard
anything but snarls from them.”

“I heard him Sir, through my audio pickups in that area. They
amplify ultrasonic frequencies in the same range that I adjusted to listen to the
Krall. The wolfbats talk between one another quite often, and use even higher frequencies
that match descriptions of sound echo location of Earth bats.”

“What are they doing now Jake?”

“The other six wolfbats have separated and appear to be searching
for ways to escape Sir. They have been to all three fire doors and are entering
open cabins and compartments. They are talking or exchanging many calls. The pattern
of sounds they make does not match that of known languages, and is…,”

“Stop.” Mirikami ordered, to keep him from continuing.

“Captain, we have them trapped, but I don’t want to risk anyone’s
life trying to kill them. I have a suggestion, Sir.”

“Go Chief.”

“We can use the fire suppression system. On this high oxygen
world, a lot of CO2 should be fatal pretty quick, and we can clear it out safely
in minutes.”

“OK Chief. Your idea, you give the order. Let me know when it’s
done. Mirikami Out.” He thought Haveram should give the order, since he and his
team deserved to feel a sense of retribution.

****

In the small nest, Flock Leader was pleased with this kill, but
he needed more kills like it to replace jut the mass of the flyers lost today. There
was a strong scent of more prey nearby, but his flyers needed food right now. They
had spent a lot of energy today, and like him, needed food before making new kills.