~*~
On the way back to the ship, Brax nudged her. "Did you see their uniforms?"
Lisa nodded. "Yes. I assume that means they're soldiers."
"What I mean is—they're red. You know—redshirts. I hope that's not a bad sign."
It took her a minute but she eventually got the reference. Redshirts were expendable crew members from a classic science fiction TV show from the mid-twentieth century, and the motif was extended in games and stories ever since.
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence," she said, although in a fiction-based universe, who could know?
They boarded the ship and went straight to the bridge. Brax, grinning, flung himself into the pilot's seat, obviously enjoying himself. Life really was just a game to him, but he seemed to play it well enough.
Buckles clicked as they strapped themselves in their seats. Brax began flipping switches, and lights danced in response on the control panels.
"Take us up when you're ready, Brax," Lisa said.
"All systems green," he said, checking the readings. "We're good to go."
The background whine of the power systems increased in pitch, and the ship shuddered as the VTOL thrusters lifted them off the ground.
"We're getting a little too much vibration," Brax said. "Automatic adjustments should have it smoothed out in a bit. Nothing to worry about."
"Sims, screen on. Forward display," Lisa said.
The image on the view screen showed them turning gracefully away from the walled city until the ship's nose pointed at the rising sun.
"I'm going to need the main screen, Commander," Brax said.
"Do what you need to," she replied.
Brax lifted his head. "Sims, switch the main screen to a triple split tactical display with situational telltales."
The image changed to something a bit more complicated, but the center image still showed the forward view as before.
"Okay, we're off!" Brax said as the ship moved toward the hills in the near distance where smoke rose into the morning air from at least two dozen campfires. "I'm leaving the landing gear down. If all goes according to plan, we'll be putting down again soon."
"Let's hope it does," Sandra commented softly. "I can't help thinking this place is just some kind of messed up theme park, and I'm ready to leave Fantasyland and get back to Tomorrowland."
"You're a Disney World fan?" Doc asked.
"Yeah, kind of," Sandra said. "My family vacationed there every few years."
Lisa was from Orlando, so she knew what she meant. She also liked the Disney parks. Her favorite was EPCOT, which she had visited several times when she was a student at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. The regional attraction she liked most was the nearby Kennedy Space Center. It was more of a museum than a park, and certainly not as big or anywhere near as glitzy as the big theme parks in Orlando, but to her, this was where it had all began. If any single place could claim the symbolic title, this was where space had become not just something to look at and wonder about, but a destination.
Within a few minutes, they were at the orcs' camp, and the ship slowed to barely more than a horse's gallop. On the screen, startled orcs gazed up and many ran—most toward the caves, as she expected.
"Sims, open the cargo bay door and prepare for deployment of the spheres," she ordered.
"Acknowledged."
Brax piloted the ship in a wide circle around the camp. This, they hoped, would herd the orcs toward the caves where the gas bombs would be most effective. They also suspected that the orcs' fear of the mind flayer would remain even greater than their fear of the ship, which should cause them to avoid the cave Sandra had identified as the one it occupied. The orcs might see the ship as some kind of large unknown flying predator, a strange kind of dragon, perhaps, but the mind flayer was a known and feared entity to them. But whatever they were thinking, assuming they thought much at all, the orcs were reacting as she and the others suspected they would. The majority were now running toward the caves.
Brax brought the ship nearer to the curving line of hills. Orcs crowded, shoved, and fought, sometimes scrambling over one another to get inside the caves.
"Sims, begin deploying the spheres," Lisa ordered.
"Acknowledged."
The AI and the maintenance drone robots had assisted Doc with the assembly of the gas bombs the day before. Sims was aware of their effects and could adjust their deployment for wind speed, direction, and the number of targets. The screen did not have the proper angle to show the drones shoving the clay pots out the door, but she could see they were falling accurately. The right side of the split screen showed a view of the area just below the starboard side of the ship where bombs flew in rapid succession, breaking on the ground and occasionally on the heads of especially unfortunate orcs. The latter dropped instantly, and the others staggered for a moment before they too fell to the ground.
It took them less than fifteen minutes to saturate the areas in and around all the cave entrances with gas. Lisa had been concerned that some caves might be difficult to locate, but this proved not to be the case because the fleeing orcs showed them where they were by clustering at the openings in their efforts to escape the presumed threat posed by the flying ship.
"There are still a few stragglers at the camp," Brax said. "I'm bringing us around."
He turned the ship back toward the orcs' camp, slowing in spots where they saw orcs so the maintenance drones could target them. Bombs and orcs fell quickly. One small group tried to escape into the woods, but the ship overtook them and dropped more of the pots in their path.
"I think that's it," Brax said after a few more minutes.
Lisa called for confirmation from the AI. "Sims, scan the area around us. Are there any orcs still standing?"
"None are readily visible."
"Okay, good enough. Brax, take us back to the caves and land as close as you can to the one Sandra said the mind flayer was probably in. Try not to squash or fry any of them when you put us down."
"That shouldn't be a big problem. Not too many were trying to get into that cave," Brax said.
"Which I'm thinking supports the idea that their boss is there."
"I know I always try to avoid mine," Brax said. After a brief pause, he qualified his statement. "Present company excluded, of course."
"Just put us down. I need to send the signal for General What's-his-name as soon as possible."
"Sevritas," Doc said.
"Whatever," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. She had only talked with him briefly, but he made a lousy first impression.
The gentle thud of the landing gear touching the ground told her they were down before she finished saying the word.
"Our kit is by the airlock," Lisa said, unbuckling herself from her seat. "The gas doesn't last long, so let's go." She ran to grab hers with the others behind her.
When she reached the door, she put on one of the breathing masks, making sure it fit properly. The masks were standard equipment. Every ship and station in space carried more than enough for everyone aboard, not unlike lifeboats on ocean-going ships, at least those after 1912 when the Titanic sank. The masks wouldn't keep you alive in open space, but they could save you in the event of a malfunction of the ship's environmental system, at least long enough to try to repair it. Doc assured them that they would be effective against the gas lingering in the caves.
She grabbed one of the smaller coils of rope. Brax would take the longer one. She tucked the rope into the belt holding the flare gun. They had found two of these in the emergency kits. Lisa carried one and the other went to Doc, as they had planned. He shouldn't need it, but it couldn't hurt to carry it. If nothing else, he could use it as a distraction or even as a weapon if things turned out poorly. Each of them would also wear one of the special shoulder belts Sims had made. Each of these held six gas bombs of a different variety based on a design for bug bombs Brax had found in the database. They were essentially sma
ll, heavy plastic canisters with aerosol valves—pull the ring and the concentrated gas inside would quickly disperse. The belts also carried high intensity, full spectrum flashlights. These would not only help them see inside the cave but might also be an effective weapon against the light sensitive orcs and the even more photophobic mind flayer.
The four crew members of the test ship looked almost militarily competent in their camouflage suits and gear. Lisa knew this was an illusion, but they were as ready as they could be.
She led the way down the ramp, sensitive to any sign of danger. She saw none. A score of orcs lay on the ground around them near broken clay shards from the gas bombs, but all appeared to be unconscious.
Lisa raised her flare gun and pulled the trigger. There was less recoil than she expected as the flare rocketed into the sky on a thin trail of smoke before exploding in a shower of red sparks. A moment later, shouts from the city's soldiers rose in the distance.
"It sounds like they saw it," Brax said, his voice barely muffled by his cleverly designed breathing mask.
"Good," she said. "Brax, I need you to tie the ones here and make sure none of them come in after us."
"If you see any rousing enough to pose a threat," Doc amended, "you can use your gas bombs, but only if you must. Too much of the gas can be lethal."
"Can do," Brax said, unslinging his rope and immediately getting to work.
Lisa, Doc, and Sandra had to step over several recumbent orcs to reach the cave entrance. Sandra stopped to raise her cloak's hood and fasten the clasp.
"Do you think that will help?" Lisa said.
Sandra shrugged. "It can't hurt. Besides, one should always dress appropriately when visiting someone you've never met in order to make a good impression."
"If that works on the mind flayer the way it seems to work on the other people here, you'll make no impression at all," Doc said.
Sandra smiled. "Even better, in this case."
Lisa took one of her gas bombs, pulled the pin, and tossed it as far back into the tunnel as she could. Doc gave her a look of disapproval.
"Yeah, I know. I won't use any more unless I have to, but I'd rather not run into anything that objects to our visit."
"Given what it did to those outside, that should work," Sandra said. "I know I feel better for the precaution."
"I'm going to turn my light on. You should leave yours off for now and stay behind me—directly behind me. Based on what we know, it uses some kind of magic attack, and I may have the most resistance to it."
"If your innate ability doesn't do it, the ring you have on might," Doc said.
Lisa glanced at the ring on her finger. She had forgotten about it.
"You know I don't believe that, Doc."
"I know, but the mind flayer might."
"I don't see how it could help. The thing can't possibly know I have it."
"That may not make a difference. A general belief in magic may be all that's needed. I can't explain why or how."
She shrugged. She really held no fear of magical attacks. They worked only in fiction, and no matter how fictional this place was, she knew she was not.
"We can think about the metaphysical stuff later. Now, we're going in. You know what to do."
~Chapter 15~