He sought a chunk of rock about as wide and flat as his hand. He plunged his hand in and wrenched free one that seemed appropriate.
“Tie the rope around that,” he demanded. “Toss it and I’ll pull myself across.”
It sounded reasonable, and Ferret gave the rock two loops and two half hitches. At a nod and a point from Gorilla, he tossed it over the depths and between the large boulder and a projecting knob just upstream. He pulled and it caught. Gorilla seized the cord and was across in seconds.
Then came the task of tying his ruck near the far end of the line, tossing the free length and drawing it across. Everyone and all their gear was going to get soaked from this. They’d only thought themselves wet so far.
Ferret was ignominiously hauled over, then made it the rest of the way in a combination hop, skip and plunge. There was no real cover on the far bank, so he settled back into the water downstream of another bit of rock.
“Secure,” he reported. “Give me some company.”
At a nod from Shiva, Tirdal trudged down and over. His dense form was of some help here, and he kept his position despite the flow. At the rope where Gorilla still waited, he planted his ruck and let Gorilla tow it across. That accomplished, he grasped the rope and slid over. He disappeared beneath the shifting surface, leaving only his hand as an indicator. That hand was joined by his other, and he made his way in fitful, sliding jerks across. As he bumped the far boulder, he extended a hand and clenched it twice, until Gorilla reached down and heaved him up, or tried to. It took both of them, Tirdal shoving with his feet, Gorilla heaving on the rope and straining back with his feet, before the Darhel’s head surfaced. He could be audibly heard to gasp in a breath as his massive form rose up onto the rock.
“Holy Shit… Tirdal,” Gorilla asked between gasps. “What do… you weigh?”
“I’m considerably denser in bone and muscle mass than a human,” Tirdal said without answering him. He continued doggedly over and took Ferret’s position, as the short human squirmed onto the bank proper.
The procedure repeated. Only Ferret had been light enough to swim with his gear. Gun Doll slung her cannon over, then her gear and then herself. She massed less than her rangy size indicated and swung in the current like a flag in a stiff breeze until Gorilla caught her hand. Once across, she leaned against the mud, covering the rest of the squad while Tirdal guarded her and Ferret acted as a sensor wire against anything from the front. Ferret had adapted to his social calling of mine-tripper, and had become philosophical about it. He did hope for promotion within a few missions, though.
Dagger went through contortions to pass his sniper rifle across to Gorilla without getting it into the water. It wasn’t the wetness that worried him, but the risk of banging it out of alignment between the rocks. Truthfully, it was built much sturdier than that, and he was just obsessive, but Gorilla humored him and took it by the muzzle, even though the long extension of mass from his hand pulled muscles in his forearm. Dagger would spend a goodly time fussing over it and drying it later, he was sure.
Shiva, Bell Toll with the artifact and Thor followed, and they were all across. Soaked, slimed with mud and moss, bedecked with bits of weed, they blended in even better than they had before. It was bone-chillingly cold even with the warm air. The best way to slow the conduction of heat through the water was to dial down the permeability of the suits. That left them wrinkling like prunes inside squelching, water-tight shells. Once warmed, they’d turn the permeability up until they steamed dry.
“Gorilla, give us a good scan,” Bell Toll ordered.
“Will do, but only one bot made it across. The other one took a soaking — must have a hole in the shell somewhere — and won’t work until dry,” he replied. “Want me to send flyers, too?”
Bell Toll thought for a few moments. It was likely they’d lose some more to predators, but the team was exfiltrating and the drones were intended for use. The risk of discovery was negligible, and the data they’d provide could be considerable.
“Please,” he said. “As soon as they’re out, we’ll move. At least we’ve had our bath.”
“Yeah, and it’s only April,” Ferret joked. He felt free to comment now. After all, he’d blazed the path across this giant roach hotel, its marshes, cliffs, plains, to the Tslek, the Aldenata box and that godawful river. There’d been two other planets before that, too.
“We’re looking for somewhere to hole up for the day,” Shiva said. “We want hard cover and concealment, just in case. Be sharp.”
Once more they moved out, following Gorilla’s technobugs.
No matter their training and experience, this was an arduous mission. All of them were dinged and nicked from the trip so far, all fatigued and near exhaustion from the odd day cycle, higher gravity, strange air and odd environment. All were strained mentally from the risks and possible threats, as well as the incredible aloneness of being the only humans on the planet, the only ones within thirty-five light-years, for all intents the only ones in the universe, for nothing anyone else could do would help them in an emergency. Mundane annoyances like the boring rations and blisters were just teasing flirts to remind them of the rest.
Then there was Tirdal. The Darhel slogged along steadily, quietly, doing his part and doing it adequately well with no complaints at all. That just made empathizing with him that much harder. That, and he might peer into one’s soul. Tirdal was still very much the outcast. No one could get a handle on him, but they weren’t much trying, either. If he wound up staying with the team beyond this mission, perhaps that would change. It remained to be seen.
The introspective and tactical silence was broken by Ferret saying, “I think that might work… over there.” He lit the area referenced and everyone looked over. It was a large outcropping, still within the trees, with a series of smaller projections lower down the slope.
“Stay cool,” Shiva ordered. “What do you think, sir?”
Bell Toll waved Ferret forward and moved up to see for himself. “Ought to do fine, Sarge. Bed ’em down.”
“Got it. Ferret and Gorilla, do a perimeter sweep. Gun Doll, cover them from right there,” he indicated an outcropping. “Everyone else, dig in.”
Gun Doll sighed in relief as she set her cannon down on its spiky monopod. The gyroscopic stabilizers would keep it steady and level, ready to swing at a touch. That done, she ripped off her helmet and gave her matted hair and the scalp underneath it a good scratch. “Going numb under here,” she muttered, barely audibly, to no one. Days of the helmet’s mass across the webbing, even with the foam padding she’d added, was a growing distraction. The dandruff didn’t bother her, it was just part of the job, and would clean up once home. Besides, there was no one here but the guys.
Shortly, Gorilla had his sensors out, doubled to act as mines at his order. They were far more expendable now than they had been early on and the potential threats were greater. Equipment was expendable, people were not.
Shortly, they were in place, the flyer bot sensors atop the rocks, three small killer bots lurking downhill, and the sole surviving pill bug uphill and watching. Shiva directed the troops to individual spots where they’d be hidden but able to provide interlocking fire, and had them roll out their bags. The latrine was dead center for convenience and security. “Not going to be deep, Sarge,” Dagger said. “Rocks less than a half meter down, of course.”
“It’ll do,” he said by way of acknowledgment and dismissal.