6.
The
thing about rough landing was that everyone was in the foul mood. I took the
helm with Norwegian Vikings while the Captain and Benz stayed behind. Tiffany
had not landed on the surface but maintained at the height of a hundred feet
above it and then took off to the other side of the moon. The Captain was
responding to the new alert.
“Disembarking now.” I had strapped into the
pilot seat held the joystick as if it was I was in the arcade bringing down the
nasty crafts on the screen. My screen on the shuttle was a reinforced
translucent glass with the three huge halogen light bulbs giving me a bright
view of the front lawn. I powered the shuttle to a low hum and pulled the
joystick to lift her rear and slowly inched her out from the rear of the ship.
Once I had cleared the ship hull, I increase the power to move forth while
leveling the helm to horizontal.
“Roach
is ready for the task.” We had the shuttle codenamed Roach for it did resemble
the pest insect that used to plague the homes. Well, it still did and what the
scientist said about it was true.
“The
cockroaches may even survive the nuclear holocaust if it ever happened.” It did
and the pest did survive. Roaches were aplenty and at one stage were the snack
meal roasted or ate raw. I hoped ours will do the good task of surviving us all
in the tasks.
As
I was cleared of the ship, I activated the shuttle lights on both sides and to
the rear. I was not keen on being banged by the rear then. I did a brief scan
on the surface to get a few of the terrain. It was mostly sands and boulders
with no signs of anything organic. I updated the coordinates into the Shuttle
system and let the navigation fly me there. It was a short trip of five minutes
but we had to dive down the canyon and into the bottom before we saw the
container. It had taken a rough landing from the looks of it.
“Container
Five located. It looked intact.” I called back. “I am checking for damages. And
hostiles.”
The
shuttle was no military grade craft but it had a set of automated twin cannons
on the helm aimed for pesky intruders. I had it armed and then ran the scan on
the container against my ship manifest records.
“Two
hundred and five pods accounted for.” Every pod held a transponder for
verification so when the relatives get to collect the correct deceased. And no
one bothers to open the pod to do a physical verification.
I
looked to the rear and told the boys there to get ready. We need to do a
physical check on the container. I know we did with thee scanners but the
double verification was part of the protocol.
“Vikings,
it’s your show now.” I called out.
Hagar
and Hagen had donned the environment suits and hand carried their antique
weapons. I knew their preference and hollered out to wear the shoulder holster
with the blaster.
“Fucking
out with it on now, boys. Or stay put.” I felt like their mother calling on the
children. They did with some reluctance leaving the ancient weapons.
“I
do not care if Valhalla will reject you if you used it but I will do if you
don’t.” I had my limits with them. They stepped off the shuttle and proceed on
the walk to the container. They had carried their tool box with them. It was a
two hundred feet distance but with the uneven terrain and heavier gravity, it
took them sometime. More to it, the winds there were blowing hard and they had
half crouched to move forward. I had then flown the shuttle up gto a height of
a hundred feel to allow me better coverage of the container.
I
had their vitals on the console vids and it all looked healthy with some minor
dents. I scanned the surrounding the area for any hostilities but I got was
static and buzzing so it was no go. The view was not clear but I maintained the
flight.
“We
have reached the container. We are checking it now.” The container was a
hundred twenty feet in length with a height of twenty feet and the width of
twenty feet. The safety protocol denotes in such routines of checking the
container in the harsh conditions, it was required that the personnel worked in
pairs. I had them on the console vids with the shuttle installed cameras on
their movement. When they moved out of sight while I hovered the shuttle above.
And in the master's chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast
“Fucked!” I got out of
my seat and walked to the rear. There it was the entertainment pod of Hagen. He
wore that at times when he was working. I was to smash it for playing that song
but then it hit me then the song was entertaining.
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis
It was then I got the
alert.
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