Frozen Sky- Battlefront by Jeff Carlson

Author:Jeff Carlson [Carlson, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780996082389
Published: 2019-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

12.

The GPs’ maglocks clamped onto the Lewis’ hull, ringing like dull bells. The sunfish screamed. Vibrations rippled through the sub. The floor swayed as the GPs hoisted it from its cradle. They waddled forward. There were crunching sounds as the GPs marched onto the ice.

--Quakes! Quakes! Tom cried, pulling at Brigit and Angelica as if to move them to safe ground. He strained toward the hatch from hab one into decon one.

The only illumination in the room came from the walls, where their displays had been dimmed.

Vonnie held four bulbs of orange juice. Ash held a mesh bag full of dead eels. Ash threw it at the sunfish. She retreated. The patter of her feet drew Hans. Heeding his own instincts, Hans whipped an arm at her, catching her bare ankle.

She kicked Hans. Then she darted away. Hans and Brigit shrieked, but they did not attack. They feasted upon the eels. Their arms shredded the half-frozen meat. Their beaks darted in like knives.

Vonnie knelt among them in the darkness with her bulbs of orange juice. She opened all four bulbs and set them on the floor as she joined the sunfish, pressing her hands on the quivering muscles of Tom and Brigit's topsides.

As a concession to her, the matriarchs had instructed their males to scrape up most of the feces in the room. Now they drizzled blood onto Vonnie's bare feet and legs. Hans spattered juice on her when he seized a bulb and passed it to Angelica, squeezing too hard.

Vonnie ignored the blood and the juice. As she spoke, an AI softly translated her words into sonar from the collar assembly she'd slung around her neck. "We're safe. I told you. Our mecha are carrying the sub."

--Not safe! Tom cried. --Not safe! We'll dig our way out!

"Calmly. Let's eat. Calmly," she said. "Ash, you too. Kneel with me. Kneel with Hans."

Ash stayed back.

Brigit reached for Tom, communicating with him and Vonnie and Angelica, rasping her pedicellaria on their bodies. This journey is inside a metal warrior, Brigit signed. There is no danger. Young Matriarch protects us.

"Yes. Yes. We control the sub and our mecha," Vonnie said. "Everything is fine. Your only job is to eat and sleep, save your energy."

That's good advice. I should follow it myself, she thought, struggling to feel optimistic.

Beneath her, like a ticking clock, was the steady crunch of the GPs marching on the ice. Above her, unseen, was the enemy. By now, she was accustomed this pressure. It made her crazy but not too crazy.

Admiral Cornet, Colonel Ribeiro and Captain Leber had advised the PSSC of their impending maneuvers. The PSSC major said under no circumstances would the Dongfangzhixing stand idle as the Jyväskylä launched devices of any kind. In response, Leber had transmitted schematics of his ice busters. "These aren't weapons, they're specialized tools," he'd said.

Next, Ribeiro publicly announced the sub's crew and emphasized the names of their engineering and science teams. Vonnie, Ben, Harmeet, Dawson and even Wester were among the most renowned experts in the solar system.

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