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There might as well have been confetti in the air. Aliki and his team were doing what could only be described as a "happy dance". Whooping with hands in the air and jumping up and down and hugging in congratulations.
"We found the motherlode!" Bob exclaimed as he saw Lova and Jenny walk through the door, followed rapidly by Jenny's guards and the rest of their comrades. "That Lizzie is a pip! I don't know how she acquired all of this, but I doubt she ever threw anything away that was of any use. The fourth MDP was a goldmine of tech and equipment. Also, enough rations to field a small army as well as more of those cubes that make barracks buildings. But, on top of that, it turns out that Fidget has cousins!
We have about 50 little robots along with manuals. And let me tell you, these little guys can do some pretty amazing things. For one thing, they can fly. They are armed, and they can lift as much as a forklift, but they are so small they look inoffensive. They can color shift to blend into their environment, and they can communicate through the Alliance broadband network. In addition, they can be tracked, even through a gateway. Whoever designed them evidently put a version of Burt's bugs in them. These would work as a nice little advance force.
I don't know if this was what Engoza was looking for, but, if not, we haven't finished exploring these MDPs. One of them even has the equipment for a field hospital.
But when I said we hit the motherlode; I was being literal. There's gold in them thar MDPs." This last was said with a drawl, his fingers in imaginary suspenders. "She has a stash of gold coins like I've never seen before as well as a goodly hoard of gemstones. What was she preparing for? Did she have some kind of premonition? Or was she under orders we don't know about?"
Jenny wondered herself. How had her aunt obtained such a wealth of resources, even over 60 years as a Guardian? She itched to get out her tablet and talk to LizzieAI, but she decided it would be best to do that in private until she knew more.
"Congratulations, MDP team," she said effusively. "This should give us an edge. Aliki, please take this list to the tactical team, so they can decide how best to use this in their plans. Some of this will want to be distributed among various MDPs for our unit and this may alter their tactics and will hopefully save some lives."
As she said this, it suddenly loomed in her mind that this wasn't just an adventure, with happily-ever-afters at the end. There would inevitably be injuries and deaths. So far they had managed with few casualties, but that would not continue. The force they were up against was formidable and they had no compunction about harming others, in fact, they seemed to glory in it. She steeled herself, realizing just how unprepared she was, on a personal level, for what was to come.
She wasn’t sure how Lizzie had acquired such wealth, but the interesting thing was that the gold had to be the least important of their finds. With the resources of the Alliance to draw on, money didn't seem to mean much.
They went back to work, knowing that every moment had to count. Once again, Arvid set up a buffet table that people could dip into and take their plates back to where they were working. They took breaks only to work out and they did that in shifts.
Lova had been teaching Jenny how to discern the strength of another person's mind control and Jenny was struggling with it. Lova had told her that this was important, because if you didn't know this, you could mistakenly attack someone who could easily break you. It was difficult to shield yourself when attacking. But for purposes of shielding, knowing what you were up against was a helpful skill.
At first Jenny had been appalled that these mental techniques could be used in this way. Lova had explained that, first of all, not every mind was able to do more than a weak shield, much less use their minds to attack another mind. Secondly, those who did have this ability, at least within the Alliance, would not consider using mental control to harm another person, unless they were under attack themselves.
Liliath, for example had a very high level of mental control including the ability to coerce someone to do something against their will (It was one of the inherent traits of her species.), although this kind of control could only be maintained for a short period of time, as it was very draining and could even damage the person doing the controlling. Another thing Liliath could do was something called "the shout". This was a very mentally loud sending that could momentarily disarm another person. The problem with "the shout" was that it could not be made specific. It affected everyone in a certain radius from the person performing it. Secondly it also sapped the person doing it, so it had to be used sparingly and with some kind of immediate plan in mind.
But Jenny wasn't close to that kind of power, yet. She was getting very good at shielding but lacked the mental strength and will to use her mind to attack someone. Lova continued to help her hone her shielding and explained that when Jenny was away from Lova that Tarafau would continue her training.
By this time, Jenny found that the bonds of friendship continued to grow for each of her team members in a way she had never quite experienced before. The people on her team, each with unique qualities, were more than even family to her. She felt she could entrust each one, not only with her life, but with her heart.
This did much to soothe her disappointment and hurt about Sam. Even as angry as she still was with Sam's treachery, after years of believing she was her friend, the sense of loss was keen. Only the support and friendship of the people on her team made a difference in that. She couldn't very well talk to her parents or anyone in her family about it or any of her other friends from before.
Jenny finally decided it was time to confront the LizzieAI with the mystery of the MDPs. She needed to know more about how they had been acquired and get counsel on how best to use them. In all of the hullaballoo of the past couple of weeks, she hadn't consulted her since that day in the gate office.
She settled into one of the cushioned chairs in the lobby. She didn't feel that she needed to keep it completely private. After all, she would have to share everything she learned with her team at any rate.
LizzieAI's cheerful face greeted her with the usual, "How can I help you?"
"I need to know where the equipment and supplies in the MDPs came from and whether you have any advice on the best way to deploy the resources in them. I know you must have an inventory of what's in there. I intended to ask you earlier and there has been too much going on."
"You know that I was a Guardian for over 60 years, but what you may not know is that I also was sent on agent missions with Tarafau during my training. Had your training been of the usual sort, you would have done the same thing. I was given permission to hold onto any resources we used in those missions for the use of the Guardians on Earth, if we ever had the need for them. The Council of that time felt that it was important that it not be held in the main headquarters, Sanglarka, so that our enemies wouldn't have access to them, if Sanglarka was ever attacked.
The Los Angeles gate was one of the lowest profiled gates on Earth. As a result, it was unlikely anyone would expect that we would store them in my little backyard shed.
I am up to date with your situation, as my algorithm is connected to the communications network of the Earth Guardian. You can use anything in the inventory to implement your strategies in combating the Groga. There is, however, a compartment in MDP number 5 that you should leave alone. It is a last resort and I won't even tell you about it at this time. You can't even access it without a key that I will give you, if it ever is necessary.
The gold will be of little use in this project, but it is good to have resources when you need to travel outside the gates. I used to cash in a little every month into my bank account to give the appearance of a regular income and avoid suspicion. I never minded paying the taxes on it, as it gave me a nice addition to my cover. It is the reason the property taxes and other bills are able to be paid automatically. Consider it wages for your duties, as that is exactly what it is.
Funny enough, it comes from a dimension where gold is as common as sand is here. They thought I was crazy when I loaded up with those 'yellow rocks' every time I went there. I acquired the rights to an old played out mine in Alaska and bought a derelict smelting facility. As far as they know, the coins they were smelting came out of the mine. I paid them well enough, in gold, that they were happy to keep my little secret.
By the way, you own the mine and the smelting facility as well as the house and some other properties we haven't yet discussed. Ask me about it after things settle down.
My advice is to trust your team. Each of them has been chosen, including yourself, for certain qualities that, when combined, make the Earth Guardian team a force to be reckoned with.
We must gather the necessary data, if we are to succeed at any cost. You, in particular, have skills you haven't discovered yet, that may be the key to this conflict. Trust your instincts. They are very good."
"So, we pretty much know all we can know at this time, then?" Jenny queried.
"Until you get the intelligence we need, we can do nothing more," agreed LizzieAI. "Focus on that."
Jenny signed out of her tablet and sat pondering the fact that she really didn't know much more than she did when she logged in. She sighed and went to check on the tactical team.
They were all pouring over a large map, projected on what Jenny had decided to call an "air screen".
"The native population of this area have had little to no contact with the modern world. There are a little over a dozen small tribes in this huge area and their approximate locations are marked on the map. I can only guess at this part, because the camp will have been shielded from thermal scanning, but it looks like the most likely area is this part here," Burt said and he stabbed a finger at a space between the icons that represented the various tribes. "It's still thousands of square miles, but it would allow them to operate without impacting the little tribes, which are monitored very carefully by the Brazilian government, due to laws protecting the indigenous people, much like our endangered species laws.
This means, getting in and out of there without attracting attention is going to be our first hurdle. It is doable, but it will require a great deal of coordination and considerable subterfuge on our part.
Bob, can you have the robot force programmed and ready by tomorrow? And did you test to see if they will come up on normal tracking, such as radar if we fly them in?"
"Yes, and we also found a replicating device that creates those little flying nanobots. We can have a huge supply within the next day or so. I already started producing them and storing them in my MDP."
"Awesome. And, Gariel, do you have any suggestions about how to get your troops in under the radar as well? It's the solid humanoids we will have the most trouble with."
"Yes, Burt, we have determined to launch from the Puerto Rico gate. No uniforms. Just camouflage gear, which is very common clothing in the rain forest. We'll be landing our transport plane on a private airstrip not far from the jungle. From there we will be using the transport hover cars found in the MDPs to get into the jungle in small groups. The hover cars have a chameleon circuit that will shield them from casual observation, and they make no noise. They will also leave no trails for others to follow.
Communication will be handled through the Alliance network, which is not trackable by any Earth technology that we are aware of. We will provide the same transport for all of the participating Guardians and any of their teams who need to come along."
"Great. That takes care of the first priority. I am sending a report to Lova about our needs, so we can get all of our MDPs loaded tonight. She will be in charge of issuing equipment based on everyone's assignments.
We will coordinate each stage via the Alliance network. For now, it's all about getting all of our teams in place as quickly as possible and gathering as much intel as we can get our hands on. As soon as we have answered as many of our questions as we can, we will hone the strategy." He turned to Jenny. "I will brief you a little later this evening, as soon as we have gone through our checklist. I understand you will be coming along. You, your Guards and Tarafau will be with the tactical team.
Lova Arvid and Adelle will be coordinating communications between our forces in the field and the Alliance. We will be immediately updated if they receive any new intelligence. Their research departments are standing by to process anything we discover as we go. We only have about a week and a half to find the Groga forces, infiltrate their operation and get the portal coordinates, as well as do what we can to protect the dimension where they plan their next raid."
"I just talked with the LizzieAI about the resources in the MDPs,” Jenny put in. “ All of it is authorized for our use. There is a compartment in MDP number 5 that you need to leave alone. You can't get into it and it isn't authorized for this operation. That's all I can tell you about it. What time do we want to leave in the morning?"
"Sweden is five hours ahead of Puerto Rico, so we can start our troops through the gate at about 8 a.m. here. That will mean that by the time we have everyone through the gate, it will be about 5 a.m. there. Juan has arranged for a private charter plane to take us to an obscure private air strip, once used by smugglers, and since purchased by the Alliance, to offload. From there we have a very long overland trip in the hovercars to a certain place in the jungle from which we will have to proceed on foot, so be sure to bring your hiking shoes," he added with a grin.
"If there are no additional questions, everybody can scatter to prepare."
No one spoke, so he clapped his hands with a "Crack!". "See you in the morning. Get your stuff together and get some rest."
Bob sidled up to Jenny. "I want to show you something," he said, beckoning for her to follow.
She followed him to the library where they had been inventorying the MDPs. In one corner of the now deserted room, there was what looked like a statue covered with a sheet.
He pulled the sheet off with a flourish. "TADA!" said the AI voice of Fidget, a happy grin and a wink on his digital face. "Hello, Jenny. So good to see you again. Do you like my new look?"
Fidget's gleaming white body had been painted with camouflage. "You look like you're ready for combat." Jenny said.
"I have been promoted." Fidget said enthusiastically. "I'm now the robot force battle commander."
"I see Bob has been working on your emotion circuits again. You appear to be excited."
"It is a grave responsibility," Fidget said, his face changing to a serious demeanor.
Bob couldn't conceal his grin of delight when Jenny responded by nodding back soberly.
"I think I've taken him as far as I can, but he definitely has come a long way, even since you first saw him. I've backed up all of his programming and his data, as well as all of my notes on his construction. Burt knows someone here on earth who might be able to help me put him into limited production."
"I'm going to have siblings?" Fidget asked, his digital eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
"You are," Bob agreed. "You will be the big brother to many siblings."
"Awesome!" replied Fidget and Jenny giggled.
"You've added some real personality to him. When will you make one for me?"
"Oh! Now you've gone and spoiled my surprise. I actually was going to give her to you tomorrow before we left, but now..." He turned to a cabinet behind them and opened the door. There, an exact duplicate of Fidget appeared and opened what were obviously female eyes in a female face.
"Meet Lizziebot," he said with a flourish. "I got permission to download LizzieAI into her. Now you have her experience and a very useful companion for the coming days."
"Hello, Jenny," Lizzie said, her eyes crinkling. "It is good to see you."
Jenny couldn't stop the tears of joy and overwhelm that streamed down her face. "Oh, Bob!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him with all her might. "You are amazing!"
Bob hugged her back and then, pulling back looked into her eyes. "I always wanted a daughter. My son was an only child. May I adopt you? I mean, I know your parents are still alive and all, but could you use a bonus dad?" His kind eyes were serious, but full of warmth.
"Oh, Bob! You have been such a good friend. Yes, by all means. Someone like me can use all of the love and support she can get. I could never tell my real dad about any of this, if for no other reason than that I wouldn't want to put him in danger. It will be good to have a guiding hand in addition to all of the support I have from our team. Is Lizziebot completely operational?"
"I am," Lizziebot replied. "May I suggest I ride in your MDP until you're ready to use my many talents?"
"Great idea," agreed Jenny. "In you go." She installed Lizziebot into her MDP.
"You too," said Bob to Fidget and suiting action to words installed Fidget into his own MDP. "These things are amazing," he said, tapping his wristband with true awe on his face. "I have half of my laboratory in here now. Burt and I made a second trip through the gate the other day to pick up a few things."
"This is an amazing gift," she told Bob. "I know you and my aunt were very close. Perhaps this is also a comfort to you? I had no chance to get to know my aunt, but now I can carry her everywhere I go and have the benefit of her experience as well as the innumerable skills I am sure you have programmed into her."
"I have added a few surprises for you," he held up both hands, "Nothing alarming, I promise you. But I think you will find Lizziebot entertaining as well as useful."
They headed out into the lobby. A line of troopers waited outside the library. Lova strode up. "Time to load the MDPs of our Troopers," she said to Jenny. "Aliki, Burt and Gariel will be aiding me. As soon as that is complete, I will help the rest of the team get loaded up. I'll let you know when it's your turn." She smiled at Jenny and beckoned to the first Trooper in line.
She and Bob passed Aliki and Burt hustling past the Troopers into the library.
The Lobby was filled with the Trooper's on line, so they went to the dining room where the buffet had been laid out.
"We're going to miss all of this excellent food for the next little bit," Bob said to Jenny, "so, dig in and enjoy it while you can. An old soldier's advice."
As they seated themselves, Jenny mused. "I really don't know a lot about you. My dad was in the military. When did you serve?"
"It was just before Desert Storm," he said. "I only served a 4 year term, but it gave me the money to go to college and get my degrees. I was part of the team that manned the Patriot surface-to-air missiles during Desert Storm. Hotter than the devil's underpants and nerve-jarring to boot. I was glad to take off the uniform and use my skills for more peaceful endeavors."
"And now I've dragged you into another war." Jenny said sadly.
"It's what needs doing and I'm very glad you 'dragged' me into this. Other than Fidget, I haven't had a project that caught my imagination like this in a long time. At middle age, I'm just hitting my stride. Besides, what's a few grey hairs between friends?"
Jenny laughed despite herself. "My dad started going grey in his thirties, to his great dismay. Mom kept telling him it looked 'distinguished'. I told him it made him look 'extinguished'. Now that's what he tells everyone if anyone notices how grey he is."
Bob laughed. They finished their supper just about the time Tarafau and her Guards approached. "I hope you didn't fill yourself up too full. We're going to have a skirmish in the workout room to get everyone good and tired before we go to bed. Lova says she'll be ready for our loading when we're done...after we've showered, of course," he added with one of his catlike grins.
Bob and Jenny took care of their dishes, changed into their Gis and arrived to find most of the team, with the exception of Lova and Adelle who were finishing up the last of the Trooper's load-up. They started with the basic breathing exercise, went through the forms in unison, led by Arvid and then Arvid split them up into 2 groups.
"Tap strength only. We need you all fit to leave in the morning. If you're tapped, you're out. Other than that, any move you wish to practice is acceptable. Remember, our enemies have no scruples or conscience. They won't hesitate to 'cheat' or harm you in any way they can think of." He rubbed his hands together. "This should be fun!" he exclaimed with his wickedest grin. "Begin!"
Jenny's Guards had ended up in her group, with Tarafau, Aliki and Bob. The other group comprised Arvid, Burt, Gariel and Brendan. Jenny figured even though the numbers were uneven, counting strength and experience, the mix was about right.
The air was soon filled with the noise of quarterstaffs colliding and the grunts of the participants. Lyra, Mynn, and Nona took on Brendan. Tarafau, and Aliki faced Gariel. Bob engaged Arvid and Jenny found herself up against Burt.
He grinned at her, circling. Jenny didn't attack but watched his eyes. His blue penetrating eyes. He swung almost casually at her, his staff meeting her block with a gentle tap. He pivoted, countering with the other end of his staff and soon they were exchanging blows, calculated only to leave small bruises instead of serious injuries, as they had been instructed.
Jenny couldn't even watch the others out of the corner of her eye, but she heard Mynn exclaim, "I'm out!" indicating she had been touched. She kept her eyes locked on Burt's, intent on not being one of the first ones out. She held no illusions that she could defeat most of the more experienced fighters, but she wanted to reflect well on her mentors.
She and Burt continued to circle, their quarterstaffs falling into a rhythm of clacks and taps. Around them they could feel the pace increase, taps coming closer and closer together. Suddenly Jenny saw Burt's gaze shift just the smallest degree to his right. She prepared to block his blow in that direction, but instead, he reversed, ducking below her block and sweeping his staff along the floor from the other direction. Jenny over-balanced and slapped the floor, Burt's staff poised over her bottom. "Tap!" he said triumphantly, tapping her bottom lightly.
Jenny was relieved to see she wasn't the only one sent to sit on the bench at the side of the mat. Mynn, Nona and Brendan were all sitting there watching the melee intently. "You need to watch Lyra," Brendan said morosely. "She's so cute with that blonde curly hair and those dimples, but she gives no quarter, and she has some pretty slick moves."
Lyra had moved to help Bob against Arvid. Arvid was smiling wickedly, but between Bob and Lyra, they were keeping him on his toes. Gariel was lightning fast, but both Aliki and Tarafau were experienced with the staff and they worked well together, doing their best to keep him off balance.
Burt joined Gariel and on it went. By the time the contest was over they had recombined several times, but in the end, it came down to Tarafau and Arvid. Jenny knew the competition between Arvid and Tarafau was a long-standing one. She was rooting for Tarafau. Now the quarterstaffs whirled at blinding speed, nothing to indicate they were even there except when they made contact with rapid clacks back and forth. Both of them were focused entirely on one another, not even seeming to blink.
When Arvid finally tapped Tarafau, not all that lightly on his calf, with a similar sweeping motion to what Burt had made to topple Jenny, Tarafau just shook his head. "Someday," he said wryly. They shook hands and the group applauded.
"OK," Arvid said, clapping his hands together, "shower and get yourselves a snack. Lova will call each of you as she is ready for you."
When Lova called Jenny, she handed her a number of packages. "This first aid kit is specialized to deal with medical issues you may encounter in the Amazon jungle. It includes insect repellent, a couple of epi pens, in case you react to something that bites you, a snake venom removal and antivenom serum kit, sunscreen, pain medications, salt tablets to prevent dehydration, an antimalarial drug, an antibiotic, and the usual things you would expect in a first aid kit, including a CPR mask. The MDPs make it possible for us to carry a much more extensive kit than if you had to pack in.
There are several paracords, carabiners, a survival knife, a machete, rations for a week, fire-starters, flint and steel and a standard compass. I have included three changes of military grade camouflaged clothing with hats, extra pairs of socks and weather gear in your size. You can use your usual hiking boots, as I remember they are very sturdy, and you've already broken them in. I also included some non-reflective sunglasses and some night goggles.
Since you are first aid and survival certified, you are familiar with the uses of all of these. Instructions for any medications are included on their containers. Standard issue MDP contains many other survival supplies, such as a tent, wet weather poncho, rations, etc.
Can you think of anything else you may need that you don't have?"
"Do you have anything to make my gut stop churning? I'll be honest. I'm scared."
Lova smiled. "Jenny, you are one of the bravest souls I've met. In the past few months, you have already dealt with more than most people ever deal with in their lives. You have taken on responsibilities that would be overwhelming for any mortal. I can't see the future, nor do I claim any prophetic gift, but based on what I have learned in the short time we have spent together, I believe that you will not only conquer every obstacle that lays before you, but you will lead us to ultimate victory."
She stretched out both hands to Jenny and pulled her into a hug. "Just keep being you," she whispered into her ear. "That will be more than enough."
Jenny let out the breath she had been holding. "Thank you, Lova. I'll do my best."
"No one would expect more than that," Lova returned. "Now tell Bob to get in here. I'm almost done and it's time for everyone to settle down and get some sleep before tomorrow."
Jenny relayed the message. The dining room and the lobby had nearly cleared out and the lodge was quiet, compared to the bustle of the past few days. Jenny headed up to her suite. Tarafau was waiting there.
"All set?" he asked, handing her a cup of chamomile tea. "I thought you could use something to relax you. You've got a lot on your mind and that's normal the night before an operation like this. When you get into bed, do your breathing and combined with the chamomile, it should allow you to get a good night's sleep. An old soldier's wisdom says that you sleep every safe opportunity that presents itself. The next several days will be grueling and will tax you in ways you can't imagine, even with your experience in hiking outdoors."
"Thanks, Tarafau," Jenny said, taking the tea and sipping. "The tea was a great idea. I'm pretty well set. Lova made sure I had everything I need, and I've got the entire team to back me up. I know this won't be easy and I know what we're about to do is very dangerous. But, if this must be done, I think we have the best possible team to make it happen."
Tarafau nodded.
"Oh, and did you know about this?" Jenny called Lizziebot from her MDP.
"Hello, Tarafau," Lizziebot said, as she scanned the room.
"What is this?" Tarafau was obviously startled.
"Lizziebot, meet Tarafau...Tarafau, Lizziebot."
The expression on Tarafau's face was both confused and somewhat sad.
"I am not Lizzie, Tarafau. I am the AI that was in Jenny's tablet."
"Is this a Bob project?" he said, finally. "I had no idea he had gotten this far. Does this mean Fidget is also functional?"
"Bob got permission to download me into this latest robot form. I will be able to be a companion to Jenny and aid her more actively in her task. I hope this is not upsetting to you. I know you and Lizzie were very close. And yes, Fidget is also functional and ready to go."
Tarafau looked at Jenny. "I won't pretend this isn't a little disconcerting, but I can see how this could be very useful. I look forward to learning more about this. But, for now, we need to get to bed. See you in the morning."
"G'nite, old cat," Jenny said tenderly. "Rest well."
The next morning all were in their places at the breakfast table. Cheerful greetings met her as she seated herself. She had dressed in the camos Lova had provided for the whole expedition. Looking up and down the table as she ate, she was happy to see the interaction between all of her team. From the time they had begun this task, she had seen them coming closer and closer. Not to say there weren't occasional disagreements, but all-in-all, they not only got along well, but the range of skills and temperaments were so complimentary that the diversity worked in their favor.
After breakfast, they assembled at the gate. Gariel and the Troopers had already gone through. The field where their barracks had been was once again just a field. You wouldn't have known that just the night before it had contained 200 soldiers and their gear, except for the rectangular patches where the grasses had been compressed and yellowed slightly. In a day or so there would be no sign they had ever been there.
Lova and Adelle were on hand to bid farewell to the Guardians and Lyra, Nona and Mynn were waiting patiently for the go ahead. "Protocol," Lyra said, "says we go through, two in front of you and one behind. Mynn will be the behind." And her eyes crinkled at the double entendre.
Mynn rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. This kind of banter that went back and forth between her Guards was common. However, she had learned that when it was time to be serious, they had no problem being the professionals they had trained to be.
As she came through the gateway, Juan nodded to her and waved her forward, out of the gate office. Inside the hacienda Luz was waiting dressed in her usual white with a colorful shawl knotted around her waist. She offered Jenny a warm hug and a smile. "It is so good to see you again, Jenny. Your Troopers are assembled in front of the hacienda. We have worker trucks out front to transport them to the charter plane. You will go in the van with Juan. While you're waiting, may I offer you and your team some fruit punch?"
She looked at Tarafau. "Well this is a treat! We seldom get to see you in your natural form."
"Special dispensation, considering we are taking more than a few extra-dimensional beings in our entourage and there is almost no possibility that anyone besides the enemy will see me," Tarafau said, grinning. Luz gave him a big hug and turned back to her hostessing duties.
Jenny accepted the cold fruit punch gratefully. For some reason her mouth was decidedly dry. The rest of the team was through the gate just as Jenny finished her punch. "Let's move out," Juan said to the group. "We've still got a long way to go and the timing on this is very particular due to government patrols."
Luz walked Jenny to the van and before she climbed in, Luz grabbed her for a quick hug. "When this is all done," she said, her dark eyes looking deep into her blue ones, "You must come and just relax here with Juan and me for awhile. I have a feeling you and I will be good friends."
Jenny enjoyed the ride down the mountain, listening to the birds calling here and there and taking in the colorful blooms that abounded along the narrow road from the hacienda to the main road. As usual, Juan sped around the curves in a way that made Jenny glad for her seat belt. They soon turned off of the road that wound around the coastline onto a road heading to the sea.
A large, old passenger airplane with no logo or markings sat on the tarmac of the tiny private airstrip surrounded with jungle foliage. Evidently the Troopers had already loaded.
"The Alliance has purchased a number of properties over the years. This airstrip actually belongs to us as does the strip where we will be landing," said Juan. "Get on board. Brendan will be our pilot today and I will be his co-pilot. Aliki has consented to be our flight attendant, which should be interesting. It's about a five hour flight and the weather is favorable."
On board the aircraft, Jenny took her seat toward the front of the cabin in what would have been first class. Behind her, she could see the Troopers row on row, faces bland, all dressed in camo. They didn't appear to be nervous, their faces indicating that there were a number of silent mindspeech conversations going on, sometimes resulting in soft chuckles.
The interior of the plane was not as shabby as she had expected, and she noticed that it was cleaner than most commercial planes might have been. This plane was reserved for Alliance business and was not frequently used, but evidently Juan had taken as good care of it as he did his magnificent hacienda and grounds.
Takeoff was routine. Bob was seated next to her and Tarafau across the aisle. She had expected conversations to be about the upcoming mission, but Bob chatted with her about the neighborhood. Evidently, he had been putting in regular appearances, chatting with neighbors, so it would appear that all was going normally.
Tarafau asked about Cinder. It amused Jenny that his time as a cat was so entertaining for him. According to Bob, Cinder had been in the doggy hospital, having run in front of a car, but was recuperating and would be terrorizing the neighborhood again in no time. Miss Longtree was on the east coast, lecturing at several major universities on ethics. All in all, everything was quiet. There had been no sign of Sam or her minions. Ted was back working the garden, since the shields had been programmed to allow him into the backyard and all traces of the damage to the house and altercations in the back yard had been removed.
Tarafau said he was glad they would have this respite, so Cinder could heal in time for his next attack. Jenny laughed at that.
Bob went into much more detail about the additions he had made to Fidget and Lizzie.
"They can both defend themselves, if necessary and they are constantly backed up in the Alliance cloud. Obviously, if I make a commercial version, those features will be left out. Their emotional response circuits are much improved. They can sense from body posture and facial expression the mood of those with whom they interact and respond accordingly. They have communications circuits that allow them to act like a cellphone. They can also document actions around them, similar to that surveillance equipment on your property.
By the way, I didn't steal that from the Alliance. I have a similar system on my own property that has been in place for years."
They went on like that throughout the flight. At one point, Aliki came around with lunch, serving them with a huge smile, acting like the maître d in a fancy restaurant, a towel draped over one arm. It was nothing special, however, sandwiches, fresh veggies, an apple and water, but it was filling and broke up the time.
Brendan's voice came on the loudspeaker. "This is your captain speaking. We have just sighted the Brazilian coastline. We should arrive at our destination in about 20 minutes. There is no control tower and no air traffic, so we will be able to land quickly. Troopers will exit the aircraft first. Please go immediately to the tree line at the end of the runway and set up your transport craft and load in. Gariel has his orders and the units of the hovercraft caravan will begin into the jungle within 15 minutes of landing. Please fasten your seatbelts and put your tray tables and seatbacks in their original condition. Thank you for flying Alliance Air. Hope your flight was out of this world. G'day."
Jenny grinned. Obviously, Brendan was enjoying his role as pilot for this venture.
Aliki cleared up all the leftover trash from lunch and belted himself in for landing. Jenny could feel her heart speed up. This was it. Up until now it could have been any of a number of flights she had experienced, but now they were headed into the unknown. Few human beings beside the native population had ever penetrated as far into this jungle as they would be. And, if it had been a sight-seeing journey, that would have been concerning enough, but their destination and what they must do when they arrived loomed in her thoughts.
Every single person in this venture was in serious danger from here on out and they looked to Jenny for leadership. Not really, she amended quickly. Gariel, Tarafau and Burt were in charge of the main force and the Troopers would follow their lead.
The landing was smooth, the sea rushing by on one side and the jungle on the other of the long runway. Deplaning from the air conditioned aircraft, the heat and humidity hit her in the face like a blow. She noticed her face felt moist. Squinting against the sun, she saw the others moving quickly to just inside the edge of the jungle.
The crystal blue sky and the deep greens of the jungle vegetation were a stark contrast to the bright white clouds scudding across the sky. All of this beauty, she thought and yet it hides one of the largest threats humankind had yet to face. And even as that occurred to her, another thought raced across her mind like one of the big white clouds. What if it wasn't? How many times in the past might her planet have been on the verge of annihilation without anyone on earth any the wiser?
As she entered the jungle canopy the heat dropped only a few degrees. The insistent moisture that surrounded her was much like entering the steam room in Sanglarka. Not quite dense enough to blur her vision, but enough that she suddenly felt damp from head to foot. She was glad she had taken Brendan's advice and brought plenty of clean cotton socks as well as using the foot powder each of them had been provided. Foot rot was a common issue with rain forest expeditions. Fortunately, they wouldn't be trekking by foot for hours, yet.
The hover transports had already been extracted from their MDPs and the Troopers were mostly all loaded into them. Gariel was in the leading craft with Burt in the next to last, along with Jenny, her Guards, Aliki, Tarafau, Brendan and Bob. A rear guard transport full of armed Troopers followed directly behind them.
"The cars are programmed to follow the lead car, which Gariel is guiding via GPS," Burt explained to their group. "We'll mostly be able to sit back and enjoy the ride. I recommend you get some rest. When we leave the vehicles, we have a good 4 hours to trek in the half light of the jungle canopy. We'll have to set up a camp when we get to our first camp site. We will be pushing very hard for the two days following on foot, at which time we will send out robot scouts to see what they can find. If we're lucky the final leg of the hiking part of the trip will take only another day, if we really push and there are no incidents to slow us down. At some point we may also find ourselves on the water. Your seats do recline a bit, if that will help."
Despite her nervous energy and the heady experience of being in a real jungle for the first time in her life, Jenny obediently went into her breathing exercises and relaxed. If everyone survived and they succeeded, there would be time for sight-seeing later.
She felt the slowing of the hover car through the haze of the nap she had not expected to be able to take. The snake of hover cars was coming to a stop.
The Troopers immediately exited their cars and assembled themselves in a formation in the small clearing they had paused in. As soon as all had left the cars, they disappeared into the MDPs of those who were responsible for them. Jenny remembered that each of them had a small hover car in their MDP, if it became necessary for them to flee, but she doubted, considering the density of the trees ahead of them that they would be much use in the deeper parts of the jungle.
Gariel had plotted their trek to avoid contact with any of the native inhabitants, so it wouldn't be "as the crow flies". This jungle extended for thousands of miles in every direction and Jenny knew she would not be straying from the group, if she could help it. If it wasn't for the compass included in her emergency kit, she would have had not the slightest idea how to point in any particular direction due to the heavy jungle canopy which would block any attempt to find direction by the sky or landmarks. Each of them was equipped with a map, of course, but how much good that would do if one of them got truly lost and were on their own, she had no idea.
She had gone through the required survival training course when she started with the hiking group a few years ago, but she'd never had to use more than the most basic parts of the training. She was hopeful she would be able to recall it, if the need arose.
Fortunately, Burt, Brendan, Gariel and Tarafau all had significant experience and she guessed that it was also part of the training and experience of the Troopers. She breathed a mental sigh of relief that this wouldn't all be on her and moved over to the huddle of her team by the assembled Troops.
Gariel turned from the huddle to the Troopers, his beard twitching animatedly as he spoke. "I want the platoons to split into an advance and a rearward formation. The rest of the party will advance between the two platoons. Your first priority is to protect the Guardians. Be aware that we may find ourselves threatened by more than enemy forces. This jungle is crawling with creatures that are dangerous in many ways. Most predators will stay away from such a large force, but some of the deadliest creatures in this jungle are small enough and silent enough to be easily missed.
Vigilance is easily worn down over long marches, especially in this heat and humidity. Stay alert and, if you feel yourself wearing down, remember what awaits us at the end of this long march. We go from the frying pan," and he wiped the sweat from his brow, "into the fire."
