The Kaiju Preservation Society by Scalzi John

Author:Scalzi, John [Scalzi, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adventure, Fiction, Science Fiction, Humour, Humor, Adult, Fantasy, Contemporary
ISBN: 9780765389138
Goodreads: 57507332
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2022-03-15T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

16

When we arrived, we were greeted by a stretcher there to take Ardeleanu to medical. Tanaka Base had two doctors and two nurses, and one of the doctors, Irina Garin, was a surgeon. I suspected Ardeleanu might be visiting with her soon. He was efficiently removed from the helicopter and hustled off, decrying all the way that he was fine, actually, really.

“I’m glad he’s safe now, but when he’s better, I might punch him,” Niamh said, watching him go.

“Seems fair,” I said. “How are you?” I included Aparna in this. “How are both of you?”

“I need a drink,” Aparna said.

“A drink?” Niamh exclaimed. “I need several.”

Aparna smiled. “That’s what I meant, but I didn’t want to look like a drunk.”

“To hell with that. After today’s adventure, I’m going to get smashed and wear a fucking lampshade as a hat.”

“Let me get the first round,” I said. “After that, you’ll be responsible for your own lampshade procurement.” We said goodbye to Satie and promised to buy him a drink when he was done, then walked up the tunnel to the base, where it turned out almost everyone was waiting for us, cheering.

Kahurangi bounded out of the crowd and gave each of us a hug. “Thank you for not dying,” he said.

“What the hell?” I asked, looking around.

“Mate, everyone saw the video of you three saving Ardeleanu.”

“Everyone?”

“Well, it was a slow news day.”

I looked around. “Apparently.”

Kahurangi punched me affectionately on the shoulder. “Take the win, Jamie. Today, you three are heroes.” He pushed me lightly into the waiting crowd; Aparna and Niamh followed. Hugs and backslaps ensued.

As it turns out, Niamh was right. The cameras on the instrument packs were working and, thanks to their positions, caught the attack on Ardeleanu and our defense of him from several angles. So did the aerostat, which provided a top-down view. All of these points of view were beamed back from the aerostat to Tanaka Base in real time; additional video from Satie’s helicopter would add to it when it was transferred over. By the time we got back to base, we had become must-see TV. Everyone saw Aparna go to aid her fallen comrade, Niamh zap the creature in the face, and me shoot it in the mouth.

“I had to go to another planet to go viral,” Aparna noted as we watched the video of the attack, back at our own cottage. The three of us were told to take the afternoon off, and Kahurangi, presumably, was playing hooky.

“You’re very famous to one hundred fifty people,” Niamh said to her.

“That’s about the level of fame I would ever want.”

“What were you thinking when you started beating the shit out of that thing?” Kahurangi asked Niamh. We were at the point in the video where Niamh had gone ham on the creature, but not yet where they had zapped it.

“What does it look like I was thinking? I was pissed.”

“You have very deep wells of rage, my friend,” Kahurangi observed.

“You have no idea.”

“What about you?” Kahurangi asked me.

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