hotmtlnovel Book 5: Chapter 44: Investigation
Book 5: Chapter 44: Investigation
Book 5: Chapter 44: Investigation
Howard
January 2344
Jabberwocky
Bridget wanted to explore more of the planet, but I was concerned enough about this Alexander business to want to investigate further. After some discussion, we compromised.
We started our day by finding a large updraft near the Hunter, which we would consider our home floater and base of operations for the moment. Riding the updraft, we were able to climb to an altitude of almost five klicks. A real dragon would be gasping at that height, but still able to operate. We could have gone higher, but it would have attracted attention.
From this height, the horizon was almost two hundred and fifty kilometers away, although, of course, things disappeared in the haze far short of that distance.
“Lots of haze,” Bridget commented. “Probably volcanic. I count”—she paused, turning her head—“forty-two individual hotspots. That’s a lot of activity.”
“Kind of surprised there’s as much complex life as we’re seeing,” I replied.
“The Siberian Traps caused the Permian extinction two hundred and fifty million years ago on Earth,” Bridget said, glancing at me. “That was way worse, and there was already complex life.” She paused. “That was a relatively sudden event. Something similar is happening here, it looks like, but much more gradually. It would explain why so many life-forms have taken to the air. It’s the only reason I can think of for a species to risk hydrogen flotation.”
I grinned. “I bet selection pressure was a real bitch for a while.”
Bridget laughed and circled again. “I see twelve floaters, randomly distributed, and it looks like a compact group over in that direction. A dozen or more floaters, I think.” She pointed to illustrate. “Want to bet that’s Alexander’s ‘nation’?”
I followed her pointing finger with my gaze and frowned. “That’s more or less where we came down on our first outing. Those could have been Alexander’s scouts who chased us.”
“Or scouts from a nearby floater thinking we were Alexander’s scouts. Either way, it’s an explanation.”
I paused and tried to keep a straight face. “So what do you call a collection of floaters?”
Bridget rolled her eyes. “I suppose you have a suggestion.”
“We should maybe nose around. Carefully!” I rubbed my snout speculatively. “Wouldn’t want to have it cut off for being a snoop.”
*****
Things were settling down. The dead had been taken care of—apparently, the corpses were thrown into pits on the floater’s topside and became part of its diet—and survivors had been bandaged up as much as possible. Well, poulticed. They didn’t really have bandages. Or antibiotics. I expected the body count to rise for another few days.
The Alexandrians had garrisoned the town, and presumably the other two, but other than that, they seemed to be mostly standing around playing tourist. However, I noted that the Hunter had changed course and was now running an ungainly tack across the prevailing wind, in the general direction of that knot of floaters we’d seen from above. Joining the flotilla, perhaps?
Things appeared very calm in the village. Once the proprietors had realized it would be business as usual, they’d gone back to, um, business as usual. Customers were eating at kiosks, buying food at the market, bartering with shop owners for goods, and so on. Even some of the occupying army were engaging in some personal commerce.
I accepted two cups of tuev from the proprietor of the kiosk, then paused and looked around. “This all seems very peaceful,” I said to him. “Is this normal?”
He shook his head. “Don’t think so. I’ve heard about the Alexandrians setting fire to entire floaters in retaliation for resistance and putting entire populations to death. This sure doesn’t fit.”
“Maybe the tales are exaggerated?”
He gave me a hard look. “How do you exaggerate burning down a floater? Doesn’t seem like something you could do partway. And the descriptions I’ve heard—well, they sounded more like eyewitness accounts than fanciful tales, you know?”
I nodded and grunted out a “huh.” After pausing for a sip of tuev, I added, “I guess we’ll find out one way or the other soon enough.”
“Why do you say that?”
“They’re steering the Hunter toward the Alexandrian fleet,” I replied. “Or what I assume is their fleet. We were up high in an updraft when the attack came, and we could see a large knot of floaters close together. That’s the direction the raid came from.”
“Bunch of floaters close together? They don’t normally stay together. Not like batlings, bunching up in a tight flock.”
“One more mystery,” I muttered, and took my tuev back to where Bridget was sitting.