for them.
“Battering rams at a minimum on their ship, Saul. Perhaps
more. Find some volunteers to go with me. We have the material and know how,
and I’m sure we have the guts. We can take my family’s three air cars to get
there faster, and skirt well clear of town. Which pit has the closest Big Dumps
to the explosives? We can drop people off to drive those over.”
“Why not let the AI’s drive them Sir?”
Sanji looked over his shoulder to see a man he vaguely
recognized, but couldn’t quite place. “What’s that, uh…?” he left the sentence hanging,
waiting for the man to fill in his name.
“Will Dawfem, Sir. I’m a ‘Turd,’ I drive the Big Dumps. I
made my way over when I heard someone say you were looking for volunteers.”
“OK, Will, the AI’s can handle simple driving, so I guess
that can get them safely to the explosives storage dump? But can it be done in
the dark, with no lights?”
“Sure Sir. They have built in local maps updated every day,
and laser, radar, and GPS aided navigation for steering. I can link as many as
you want to the front truck and they’ll follow me like sheep.”
“OK, Will, and I need two more, ah, Turd you called
your position?” He laughed, despite the situation. “I’m constantly learning
more about this operation, after spending most of life listening to my
Grandpa’s stories.”
“I can do it myself Sir, you don’t need other drivers.” Will
told him.
“Will, we are going to split our force into three air cars,
to increase the chance we make it there with every skill set we need. I’m not
underestimating these invaders.” That placed a somber tone atop the recently
upbeat mood.
Turning, Sanji looked at Saul. “You ain’t drilling yet?” he
smiled to remove any hint of sting, but he needed everyone moving now.
Thirty minutes later, Brad had established lookouts on the
bluffs looking back at the town with com sets in hand. Saul had drillers on
cherry pickers starting boreholes, and in the roadway below the cliff faces,
two rigger crews were stringing explosives for each side of the fifty-foot wide
roadway. There were sixty-foot high rock walls to bring down, and they’d need a
lot of explosives to blast the rubble all the way across, burying whatever was
out there.
The first air car had lifted with Sanji driving, keeping low
with the eight seats filled. Will was in front with him, prepared to drop out
at the glamorously named Pit Number 3’s “Latrine,” the truck park where Will
said he’d find the dump trucks needed.
The other two air cars were taking different routes, and
they were going to pick up one big front loader apiece, to load the three huge
dump trucks. They were not the normal means used to load the 400-ton behemoths,
but it was what they could move to the explosives dump on short notice.
Sanji dropped Will at the truck park, using his lights only
down at ground level and set on dim until the driver had climbed the twenty
feet to the cab. The lights inside came on as soon as it detected the man’s
implant. Not just anyone could operate the huge Big Dumps. He motioned for
Sanji to leave, as he signaled two other trucks to light up remotely, setting
them up to follow his own lead truck.
Sanji reached the explosives dump, keeping as low to the
ground as he could, using hills to shield his movement to the extent possible
from the spacepad. His selected crew bailed out and the supervisor of the dump
unlocked the first of three isolated and shielded bunkers they would use. As
that was happening the second air car arrived safely, having dropped their
front loader driver. The combined crews started loading pallets of explosives
on haulers, and bringing them out of the bunkers.
Once the pallets were outside, the riggers started setting
detonators in place, using hand-shielded flashlights for illumination. They
finally heard the rumble of engines in the distance. Sanji hadn’t considered
this detail. The noise the heavy equipment
“Battering rams at a minimum on their ship, Saul. Perhaps
more. Find some volunteers to go with me. We have the material and know how,
and I’m sure we have the guts. We can take my family’s three air cars to get
there faster, and skirt well clear of town. Which pit has the closest Big Dumps
to the explosives? We can drop people off to drive those over.”
“Why not let the AI’s drive them Sir?”
Sanji looked over his shoulder to see a man he vaguely
recognized, but couldn’t quite place. “What’s that, uh…?” he left the sentence hanging,
waiting for the man to fill in his name.
“Will Dawfem, Sir. I’m a ‘Turd,’ I drive the Big Dumps. I
made my way over when I heard someone say you were looking for volunteers.”
“OK, Will, the AI’s can handle simple driving, so I guess
that can get them safely to the explosives storage dump? But can it be done in
the dark, with no lights?”
“Sure Sir. They have built in local maps updated every day,
and laser, radar, and GPS aided navigation for steering. I can link as many as
you want to the front truck and they’ll follow me like sheep.”
“OK, Will, and I need two more, ah, Turd you called
your position?” He laughed, despite the situation. “I’m constantly learning
more about this operation, after spending most of life listening to my
Grandpa’s stories.”
“I can do it myself Sir, you don’t need other drivers.” Will
told him.
“Will, we are going to split our force into three air cars,
to increase the chance we make it there with every skill set we need. I’m not
underestimating these invaders.” That placed a somber tone atop the recently
upbeat mood.
Turning, Sanji looked at Saul. “You ain’t drilling yet?” he
smiled to remove any hint of sting, but he needed everyone moving now.
Thirty minutes later, Brad had established lookouts on the
bluffs looking back at the town with com sets in hand. Saul had drillers on
cherry pickers starting boreholes, and in the roadway below the cliff faces,
two rigger crews were stringing explosives for each side of the fifty-foot wide
roadway. There were sixty-foot high rock walls to bring down, and they’d need a
lot of explosives to blast the rubble all the way across, burying whatever was
out there.
The first air car had lifted with Sanji driving, keeping low
with the eight seats filled. Will was in front with him, prepared to drop out
at the glamorously named Pit Number 3’s “Latrine,” the truck park where Will
said he’d find the dump trucks needed.
The other two air cars were taking different routes, and
they were going to pick up one big front loader apiece, to load the three huge
dump trucks. They were not the normal means used to load the 400-ton behemoths,
but it was what they could move to the explosives dump on short notice.
Sanji dropped Will at the truck park, using his lights only
down at ground level and set on dim until the driver had climbed the twenty
feet to the cab. The lights inside came on as soon as it detected the man’s
implant. Not just anyone could operate the huge Big Dumps. He motioned for
Sanji to leave, as he signaled two other trucks to light up remotely, setting
them up to follow his own lead truck.
Sanji reached the explosives dump, keeping as low to the
ground as he could, using hills to shield his movement to the extent possible
from the spacepad. His selected crew bailed out and the supervisor of the dump
unlocked the first of three isolated and shielded bunkers they would use. As
that was happening the second air car arrived safely, having dropped their
front loader driver. The combined crews started loading pallets of explosives
on haulers, and bringing them out of the bunkers.
Once the pallets were outside, the riggers started setting
detonators in place, using hand-shielded flashlights for illumination. They
finally heard the rumble of engines in the distance. Sanji hadn’t considered
this detail. The noise the heavy equipment
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