Week 26
Day 1
‘New Pangaea, this EDS Titan. Permission to send down shuttles.’
‘EDS Titan, this BASE. You are cleared for landings.’
The supplies came in as needed with more equipments and machinery. More to it, we got weapons and two more Bubbles. I joked with the Captain of EDS Titan if Earth is disposing of it military hardware to us now there is a truce between the two powers. He did not answer me but he did offered me an additional five M-Bots with some spares.
But the most important is we have a new comms set which we can improve communications with Earth and also served as backup.
But they left early for their other stops.
I went to the Infirmary and checked on Mathew Burns. He is still in coma but his vital signs are stabilizing. I went over to SWAMP and checked on progress. Actually I have not really seen Vickie since the day she walked out of my bunk. I did see her when I went to check on Mathew’s but it was very brief and very official with the others. So that afternoon I took the excuse to go over in the MSV.
Vic’s Castle is not ready as yet but the wall are. Its high at forty feet and thick with stones in it with a rampart for the guards to patrol. They are building some towers to allowed them higher views above the tree tops; The clearing zone from the wall to the trees has increased to two hundred feet. They also dug a moat of ten feet across and twenty feet deep outside and put in the sharpened stakes. Someone suggested we leave some raptors inside. The inner yard is now filled with housing units and supplies units for the hundred odd people. They are now building a large tower of fifty feet across and height of a hundred to be the command center. It will split into four levels and the roof. This will be their final bastion in case the outer wall is breached.
The lone HELI-PODs sits in the yard next to its supplies unit. Its ready for deployment at anytime. Micheal has given them ten cannons to be stationed on top of the castle wall, with their stocks of cannister loads. The Colonists are starting to grow their produce outside and they have also build a high wall corral for the captured creatures.
‘General.’ She was standing in the temporary unit looking over the building plans. Her goons as we called them saw me walked in. They took the opportunity to withdraw discreetly outside leaving me alone with her. I walked towards her and she held out her hand to stopped me.
‘That can wait, Scott. I need time to think. Please allow me the space.’ I could only nod my head and went over to the other side of the table. ‘We shall discuss your defense plans now.’
She agreed. But all the time I was looking at her and her beautiful hair, now tousle and hanging free. She is beautiful.
Two hours later I landed on my side of the river, I told the Lieutenant to move the treeline by another fifty feet near Outpost Six. I also want the walls to be higher on Six. I saw the engineer architect on the banks again.
‘Philip, built a stone hold in the middle and had the bridge joined there when we need to cross.’ He looked at me and nodded. ‘And Philip make sure its big enough for a HELI POD’s to land on it.’ I emphasized my point with the length of my arms.
‘But how?’ he asked and I told him to figure it out like a professional. Then it dawned to me , I am not being one myself. I am so focused on Vickie that I forget my command again. My Outposts are scattered and none are really fortified for war. More so is BASE, although it has its cannons but where are the walls and barriers. The traps and safety distance are not there.
I sped over to BASE to do my homework.
Day 2
Both BASE and SWAMP has a force field around it with Cavern having a wall on the ramp, the others are purely wooden or stone walls. I need to reinforced those walls against the new enemies; the chimps. I am suggesting we we build two walls; one before the others. And maybe some stone towers like the one in Vic’s Castle. And I need to cut down on the outpost. I looked at my roster again.
This is my revised list.
Outpost One / Tip’s Nest; Corporal Micheal and one specialist. Travel time half an hour.
Outpost Two / East Ends; Corporal Saidin and one specialists. Travel time ten minutes
Outpost Three / Wide Plains; Corporal Duffy and nine specialist including recruits. Travel time thirty minutes. The other four are from Outpost One and Two.
Outpost Four / Cavern; Sargeant Keefe and nine specialist including recruits, with four at the ramp. Travel time ten minutes to the vertical cave.
Outpost Five / Southern Belles; Sargeant Kabe and six specialist including recruits. Travel time is forty five minutes.
Outpost Six; Sargeant Sharon,with three specialists.
Outpost Seven; Sargeant Mick O’Brian with seven specialist there.
Outpost Eight; Corporal Simone, Corporal TY Yen and five Specialists including the two recruits. Travel time is one hour.
Village: Thirty Village Guards
Village Two; Seventeen guards and twenty Village Guards.
Patrol; Corporal Pedro and three specialists; New Furies.
BASE; Major Feeley, Major Chavdar and twelve specialist and recruits.
SWAMP; Lieutenant Carlos Manuela and Sargeant Ali Hamid plus fourteen others, of Major Chavdar’s men..
Wing Arms; Major Shaw
A hundred Village Guards in training.
And two hundred and fifty armed colonist. I gave the women some weapons.
Our last bastion is the plateau. I had the taller trees trimmed and more clearing was created on the plateau to avoid the chimps jumping up and down the place. I had some five stone bunkers build for the men to shelter in different locations on the plateau facing south and west. Pedro helped me to set up some traps which he has marked so that we do not step into it. I had five new catapults set up on the west side of the plateau near Tip’s Nest. That our artillery platoon during the fight. The elevation will provide us the extra distance and impact.
Cheng came up an innovative idea to use electrical current to ignite the gunpowder. He said it works like the e-match; a product used by some terror groups to burn buildings with flammable gases. An e-match is basically a small piece of thin resistance wire coated with a flammable substance; you put a current through it, the wire heats up and ignites the coating which, in turn, ignites your gunpowder. He can rigged up a string of such ‘bombs’ around the perimeter and used it when needed. I reminded myself to put on record that Cheng can be a homeland terrorist with all the inventions he comes up.
Then the Geologists’ walked up.
‘You remember the findings of yours in Week 12 of an extensive system of fractures and faults. And I said it could be ‘fractures from intersecting systems named as jointed craters’. Well, I could be wrong. I studied those images carefully and mapped them. I think they are man or creature made now that we seen the chimps. You could be right, Commander. We are not alone as level of intelligence.’ That was my kind geologist now collaborated with an Archaeozoologist.
‘We would like to examine the site to understand it more.’ I knew that was forthcoming but we needed as much intelligence on the intelligent chimps and this could be the clue. I approved the trip with Pedro and two more recruits in the ATV. Two days, max and they come back. I seen those looks before, in five years old having new toys. Even though they are re-cycled ones with proper fumigation done.
I was walking out when I saw Micheal Bent.
‘Scott, I thought I give you a progress report. The Steam Vent Power Station for Hot Springs is ready at the design level but we will delay the works. We are producing five casted Napoleons a day and we have in stock twenty five now. We will stop at a sixty, as we need the steel for other uses. We have stockpile some two hundred cannisters but we got about a ton of gunpowder now. We are running three shifts with the people.’
‘Can you build a rocket to housed seven hundred people?’ He shook his head and replied; ‘I will need the whole army of Hell’s minions to do that. The Devil never taught us Four Horsemen that yet.’ He was still laughing when he walked out of my unit. I wondered if he has horns on his head.
I was to mount my bike when Major Shaw called on the comms. I have a pilot for Bubble Two; one of Chavdar’s ladies; Corporal Lindsey Mullins. She flew them before and had some hours on combat training. I said go ahead and rode off for Village Two.
‘Margaret, I need you to organize the Medic Fields Stations.’ I looked at the lady who is a pain in my neck at most times. She told she has already organized it as she was a reserve in the old wars and she knows what is to be done. I rode off with a feeling that I been told my place. But the preparation is on for a war but when will it start, we do not know. I saw Rexy, my favourite T-Rex and we exchanged stares for a while. Then I rode off, as I think Rexy tells me he will be there when the going is rough.
Vickie joined me that night and we held each other through the night. We did not speak, we just held each other and knowing the comfort that today and tomorrow are just days in the calendar, and hopefully we will be doing the same again that night too.
But we are not sure.
Day 3
Mathew Burns came out of coma. He is still weak but he is able to talk.
Statement from Fugitive 10207 Mathew Burns
Day 3 Week 26
1132hr
We were in the camp when the monkeys attacked that day. Mongol and myself was on the wall defending it. The chimps are fast and were jumping over us most times. We evaluated the situation and decided to run for it while the going is still good. We went down the wall and sneak out the break in the wall. We ran into the jungle and tried to find our way to the river. Suddenly I felt my body lifted up and came to faced with a monkey hanging on the tree. He grinned at me and then hit me on the back with the other hand, I think. I must had blacked out as next I know I was bundled up and made to sit by the tree trunk. There was Mongol next to me and he has gash on his forehead. There was monkey all around us, and they were talking. They stand upright and talked for God’s sake like us. They are dressed in those red tunics and carries these spears. I also seen a few of them laying on ground injured from our shots and some looked dead. I don’t know if it was dark or day as we were in some cave. Later I counted the survivors; there are twenty eight of them with us.
We were made to march at early dawn towards north. The injured were helped by the healthy ones, and we made our way on foot. It was a long march and I did see the Bubble as you called it. But the monkeys paid no attention to it. When we slowed down, they prod us with the spears to move on. I once did challenged them to kill me but they did not. They just slapped me a few times and then made me walk again.
On the trail after some hours, we came across a Sanajeh, of about eight feet long but the monkeys went berserk and started hitting it with their spears. They were literally banging in it the blunt end of their spear. Even when the snake was dead, they stomped it until there was little left to step on. I heard of monkeys scared of snakes but this is my first experience upfront.
It was during then, I managed to loosen my bindings but I kept on marching. We rested during the late afternoon and I saw my chance. Its a small river and the monkeys avoid the rivers if they can. They also seems to fear fast water or flowing swift water. I saw them cringe when we pass by a small waterfall. They went chattering and pointing at it. I took my chance and ran for the river. I dive in and swam under it. Its crazy but I did not see any predators, only some fishes and turtles. I must had swam some distance before I surfaced for air. There was no monkeys around me except the jungle. I climbed out and ran back the directions facing south.
I ran and was lucky not to meet any predators. When I am tired, I slept on the tree and traveled light. When I saw the camp, I just collapsed. I could run no more.
‘Mathew Burns is suffering from Encephalitis; an ailment which we did not know or diagnosed before he was sent here. He is in the advance stage and may not survived it.’ That was what Doctor Bashir told me. He had to be quarantined in Medic.
A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia. Atlanta (GA): A.D.A.M.; 2011.
Encephalitis causes irritation and swelling (inflammation) of the brain, most often due to infections. Encephalitis is a rare condition. The very young and the elderly are more likely to have a severe case. Encephalitis is most often caused by a viral infection. Many types of viruses may cause it. Exposure to viruses can occur through breathing in respiratory droplets from an infected person, contaminated food or drink, insects that bites and suck bloods, skin contact. Encephalitis is caused by the herpes simplex virus is the leading cause of more severe cases in all ages, including newborns. But in 2311, we are still battling it with medicine that can work if its early stages. But no in the case of Micheal Burns, he is on the list of ‘going over’.
Mathew hailed me to see him so I walked over.
‘I know all about it. I got the Penal Doctor to keep it secret. I hack the system to select Block 102 for here. It could had been Block 202 or 201 for all I cared. I want to die out of penal. Let me die when the monkeys come, throw my body out there. Let them feed on me and they may get infected. And then they can die too.’ I looked at the man who favors terrors act like these. He is asking me to sacrifice a nation of chimpanzees which may be our answer to human evolution.
‘Doctor, lock him up. I got to go.’ I walked away watching the patient laughed at me from his dying bed. The he shouted from his bed.
‘Watch your back. They are not your real allies.’
Who? The chimps or Fed’s.
Outpost Six has come up with its new wall with the help of Heavy Metal crunching the stones and leveling the surface. Its a different outpost now. It has a stone wall that as high as twenty feet in the front with a rampart for the patrols. It also has eight Napoleon cannons on it. They are learning how to operate the damn cannons. The second wall was the original wall now build higher at forty feet with also a rampart for the patrols. Its however made with wood; trunks of trees from the jungle. The wall surround the whole Outpost unlike before when it covered only one half of it; front and north side facing the swamp. The inner yard has been leveled up to twenty feet high with new units, of stone units made. There are now one long rectangle length unit with windows for the defenders to shoot. The four twin mounted cannons are mounted on top with a higher elevation so it can fire down on the outside wall perimeter. In addition to it, the fifteen men under Major Chavdar now assist in Outpost Six.
All the Outpost has been instructed to have stone walls except for Outpost One and Two, and Three. The W-Bots are going to be busy. I recalled all M-Bots to Village Two. There are only twenty two working ones. The rest are either damaged or shot up. I assigned ten to Village Two and the rest to BASE.
I went over across the river to see the progress of Vic’s castle. Its ready now, as the W-Bots can do wonders and she used the HELI-PODs to transfer the stones up the structure. She has build the moat and had sharpened stakes inside and its filled up with water now. It has some Sanajeh inside for company.
The hundred personnels there has sixty of them armed with weapons from their previous cache plus four flame throwers mounted on the wall next to the cannons.
I spent the night at the Castle under the stars.
‘Tell me about Mathew and Mongol. How did you know them?’
‘There is not much. Mongol came to our camp with his mates. He showed me his hidden transceiver which I verified as genuine. He is our spy so called, sent over two years ago. He was to get himself into penal colony and incite riot. He established his place in the penal and worked with Mathew. Mathew did not know but he is an activist under us. Funded and protected by us. Mongol told me of your plans and how you established the place.’
‘About Mathew?’
‘When he was arrested last year, we arrange for him to be sent to Penal Block 102. It was not easy but we did it with some coercion and brides. Mongol was to take care of him; protect and served him.’
‘How did you know?’
‘I was his Director in the field. I still am under the Federation Command.’ She said it without remorse or hesitation. I guess if I were her,. I would do the same.
‘Did you plan to kill me before ?’
‘Yes’. We let the issue rest for that night. There are some issues best not discussed or revealed.
Day 3
The tremors came and this time it was massive as there was reports of cracks in the land and earth movement. But its stopped after twenty minutes and then total silence. The creatures then starts to run and screeched or shrieked their concerns. I was on the bike going back to BASE and listening to the update on the Outposts and Villages. All was okay except minor structural damages.
Heavy Metal One at work at Village Two fell into a small crack in the ground but can be extracted out. The mines are reported okay as the tremors started before the works start.
But my visiting team for the ‘fractured earth’ site came back. They found new evidence of concerns.
Special Report from Doctor Indra Silvia Pereira, Geologist/ Chemist / Doctor Boris Ivanov, Forensic Achaeologist/ Palentologist
Day 3 Week 2
1112hr
We arrived at the site and went down to work. Our initial findings are as follows:
1. The square marks are not fractured earth. They are signs of something square on the soil and it was there for sometime. We found traces of several materials including one sample of processed limestone, shales, and clays which contain the following compounds: CaO (lime), Al2O3 (Alumina),SiO2 (silica) and iron oxides.Its named as concrete on Earth.
2. We also found traces of oxidized bauxite or we believed is part of the properties from the aluminum combination. We did a single piece of it in the soil. As it does not corrode or break in the normal condition, its still there.
In a unconcluded findings, we think some structure was there and it was removed years ago. It could be a machine or a container or part of a major structure.
Its unconclusive.
In other words, they want to go back there. But I said no, we had other things to do.
EDS Titan called in and said they dropping by tomorrow on their way home. They may want to clear their hold of any excess storage. Since we are at war, other colonies has contributed their excess loads.
I was glad to take anything even parts and components.
Bubble One and Two were in the air and doing the scouting. Still no activities. Maybe they are not coming back after all.
That evening I stopped the cannons casting as we have a hundred now and the gunpowder is over three tons. I told them to concentrate on steel hollow plates as we can do structures with them. The convicts has produced twenty catapults and twenty ballista, with assorted arrows. I also told them to stop and concentrate on farming. So were the colonists to go back to farming or mining.
Chemicals Agents has produce some stocks of phosphorus bombs but those are kept in the armory for future uses. We also released the raptors but Doctor Leong was very upset.
The Fed’s has decided to look for an alternative campsite to expand their colony. Vickie went on the search with a borrowed ATV and the HELI flying overheads.
So life was getting back to normal. But not for Philip as he planned his bridge. He was still surveying the depths of the river bed in the MSV. Its not a easy job when you have crocs relatives in the water.
Day 4
The distance mountain ranges still intrigue me. From where I stand there is a few but the most obvious one is within my sight. Its big or shall I describe it as massive; so intimidating and mysterious. I asked Victoria for permission to use the the HELI-PODs to fly me there. In my absence, I told Major Feeley to received the EDS Titan while I scout the mountain. We flew for over an hour plus before I could see the so called mountain.
Its not really a mountain but more likely a monolith in the middle of a jungle. Its about twenty five miles in length and ten miles across with a height of over fifteen thousand feet. Its rather flat on the top and is bared of trees but low shrubs and growths. I expected that it would be difficult to grow on the stone foundation and the high winds here. The sides of the monolith are cracks and crevasses that goes down could be due to erosion over the years. But there are hardly any vegetation or growth on the sides until almost to the bottom of the monolith. There does not seem to be any access to the top as all the sides are steep. The jungle at the bottom is very dense with the high canopied trees looking like a green carpet overlay. I observed something interesting; there are no big nasty creatures near here. Its like they shy away from it. Maybe they disliked natural wonder when its also beautiful.
I was told we had to fly back to recharge the power cells so it was farewell to the monolith. We saw another large sink hole like the one I mentioned about before at south east. This one is big and a lake has formed inside it. It must be a hundred feet across and a depth of fifty feet to the water line. Around it was lush vegetation and growth but not creatures near it as they feared the drop down. Its about midway between BASE and Monolith.
It was also my imagination then I was expecting a creature to come out from it and swallow us as we flew through. Something like a massive worm who will rise to gobble the HELI-PODs but nothing happened. From a distance, I saw the EDS Titan shuttle returning to their mother ship. Its like the old vids we see of the insect called a bee who extract the nectar and then fly for their nest. I wanted to cry as I wanted them to come here to see these beauties but they are only keen to do their work.
Just as I had to do mine.
Inventory List from Cheng was impressive.
Five new Bubbles with extra missiles including their pilots under Lieutenant Percy Darwin. We also got additional five twin Taser mounted cannons that came with ribbons on it.
Plus another three more ATV plus more supplies. Including medical aids and PH925’s rifles and ammo. They also left us a workable Shuttle with additional fuels which they will request back on the return trip. It will be piloted by Pilot Lieutenant Amy under Major Shaw. She will show them the new air space and their enemies if any.
Its funny how people perceived that we need these more in war. I wonder if they will send in the diplomats next. Or maybe Earth Council members.
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