Chapter 46 - The Kraken Gate
I came-to for the second time in one day. These Charg are really starting to piss me off. My mouth felt dry and I was having trouble focusing. Sharp stones dug into my back. We were still on Ganessa. James was unconscious beside me. We’d been dragged back into the stockade. A high pitched screaming rent the air. Three Charg stood, furious, just outside our ring of protective spines, their protuberant eyes goggled at us in what I imagined was outrage. They tried to reach us through the poles, but the vicious points kept them far enough away that we were safe. First one, and then a second, began to pull at the stakes, but Mahkran, Overstand and Benjamin jabbed at them with spears until they recoiled. Polonius Evershed was sitting with his back against the sack of unused quicklime, mopping his brow. He looked ill. Inigo appeared at my side.
‘You’re back, Connie!’ He offered me his canteen.
‘How long have I been out?’
‘Not long, three turns, maybe four.’
‘Sorry you had to rescue me again.’
‘It was Lieutenant Scott who carried you back here. Overstrand and I were too busy trying to lug that monster.’ Inigo pointed at James. ‘Anyway, you’ve got nothing to apologise for. You two nearly wiped them all out.’
‘Are they still trying to gas us?’
‘No.’
I frowned. ‘Why would that be?’
Inigo shrugged, but Evershed had been listening.
‘It’s a guess, but I believe they only have a limited supply,’ he said. ‘The gas comes from sacs, one on each side of their body. When the sacs are empty, they have to refill them…you know, manufacture more, until they have enough to use it again.’
‘Makes sense,’ said Inigo. ‘How long will they need to refill?’
‘I…I’m not sure.’ Evershed stammered. ‘Anywhere between fifteen turns and two bells.’
‘That’s a wide margin, doctor, but I understand. These creatures are new to us.’
Evershed opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Overstrand and Mahkran shouted a warning. The situation had changed. One of the creatures had approached right up to the outer stakes of the stockade and was trying to squeeze itself through. Its tentacles flowed and coiled like writhing snakes. It bumped against the blackened point of the nearest stake and recoiled, giving out a squeak. Emboldened now, the other two rolled forwards on fluid limbs and began to quest the limitations of our stockade.
I hauled myself upright and reached for the crossbow that lay beside me. Inigo shook his head.
‘Sorry, chief. We’re out of dynamite and quarrels.’
Frustrated, I glanced back at Mahkran and the others who were holding the Charg at bay. They looked tired. Benjamin’s hair was a mess. His tunic was hanging open and one of his trouser legs was torn open from knee to ankle. Overstrand was sweating like a dockside stevedore on double duty. The two of them were reaching through the stockade walls and trying to jab at the Charg whenever they approached. Mahkran was taking a breather.
I cast about for an idea, anything to keep the remaining three Charg at bay. Surely the portal would open any tick. We were so close. My mind was still fogged. I squeezed my forehead and thought furiously, certain that I’d forgotten something. I looked across our little compound at where one of the creatures had wrapped tentacles over the top of the stakes and was testing to see if it could haul itself up and over without getting impaled. Then in the foreground, propped against the stone platform that Banks and Overstrand I saw a sack. Of course! I gave Inigo a wry grin.
‘It’s time to try the quicklime!’
‘Are you sure? We don’t know if it will have any effect on them.’
‘We’ve got nothing to lose, though, have we? Come on, this was your breakthrough idea. Get the bag down.’ I looked for Mahkran.
‘Rah Malek, please bring my backpack here and tip it out.’
Mahkran brought my pack over and turned it upside down. Several items tumbled out, amongst them a bundle of loose-weave muslin. I started pulling the bundle apart, separating it into the separate little pockets of which it was comprised. Each was the size of a ladies kerchief with an opening at one end and a drawstring. This was what Na-Su had been working on since Inigo had mentioned his idea. She’d insisted on sewing them all herself, shooing me away when I’d protested about her injured shoulder, but she’d proved that she could work with one hand in a sling, holding the fabric while she sewed with the other.
‘Quick! Fill these with quicklime, pull the drawstring closed and throw it at the Charg. Make sure you aim for they eyes.’
‘And for Draxil’s sake, keep the quicklime out of your eyes!’ implored Inigo. ‘Whatever you do, do not rub your eyes.'
We worked with trembling hands on our quicklime bombs. The first two were not filled to capacity and leaked powder through the poorly sealed ends, but they were ready quickly. The bags were handed to Benjamin and Overstrand. I held two more of the little bags open to be filled while watching to see whether they would work.
The marines hurled the makeshift grenades at the Charg which was now pulling itself up and over the stakes. Benjamin’s shot sailed clean over its head, but Overstrand’s burst on the domed head of the creature, creating a cloud of lime dust that instantly clogged its eyes. It shrieked, retracted its eyes and fell backwards off the stockade, trapping one of its limbs in the structure in the process. As soon as it hit the ground, it tore itself free from its pinned tentacle and righted itself. Still shrieking, it rubbed furiously at its eyes for a moment and then sped off, its limbs writhing and thrashing at the ground. Blinded by the quicklime that was burning its eyes, and in its haste to get away, it crashed headlong into an outcrop of rock and crumpled to the ground.
‘Well done, Inigo. Who would have thought we’d have Krang addicts to thank? Here,’ I handed two more bundles to Benjamin. ‘Give them to Overstrand. You’re a lousy shot.’
‘Thanks,’ said Benjamin sarcastically, and handed one of the packets to Overstrand and one to Banks. This time, Overstrand’s throw hit an upturned stake and fell uselessly to the ground with only a little of the quicklime spilling out. Banks was more successful, finding his target immediately.
We only filled two more bombs, because that proved enough to send the last of our attackers rushing off. It was a while before the noise of their retreat faded. The discarded tentacle hung from the woodwork, coiling and uncoiling slowly. I lay back and breathed a sigh of relief while Inigo walked around with his canteen of water for us to wash our hands.
Dust and twigs tumbled past me, caught in a sudden gust. The sky was darker now. Grey clouds closed in above us like a thrown blanket. The storm front had finally arrived. Back home, clouds like this would have presaged a heavy downpour, but I had no idea what Ganessa had in store for us. Whatever it was, I didn’t think it would be good. I looked for Millicent, thinking that she would have the answer, but she didn’t. Her attention was focused on James who was just regaining consciousness.
‘How do you feel?’ she asked.
‘Gods! I feel like I’ve lost heavily in a bare-knuckle fight. Why are my ears ringing? Did the Charg do that?’
‘You and Ms. Derringer passed out, but we’re not sure how much that was due to Charg gas and how much was due to being too close to the dynamite when it went off.’
‘Did we finish them off?’ James asked.
‘All but three, and we’ve done for those with quicklime. Hopefully that’s the last of them.’
Huge drops of frigid rain began to fall. Half a dozen heartbeats later, it turned into a deluge. Everyone moved away from the sacks of quicklime because they’d begun to hiss and steam. I hailed Dr. Evershed through the din of the downpour.
‘Do you think these Charg nests are widespread?’
‘In the last four trips here, they’ve popped up three times, so I’d say yes.’
‘Maybe Professor Maddison should look for another planet,’ I said tiredly.
‘That could take many cycles. I heard…’ the naturalist began, but I didn’t find out what he had heard, because a thrumming sound interrupted him. It rose to an ear-splitting roar that made the storm sound like the whispering of several polite mice. The air vibrated as a tiny vortex opened in the air above the line of paint at the centre of the stockade, exactly where it was supposed to. The shimmering disk grew until it was twenty hands in diameter and then went dark, matching the conditions inside the portal chamber back on Illesin.
Mahkran, Inigo, Overstrand and Evershed actually cheered.
‘Can you stand?’ Millicent asked James, but he was already halfway to his feet.
I reminded everyone to check their wrist straps. When they they confirmed that all was well, I gave the order to James who led us back through the gate.
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