Page 25 of Galactic Search and Rescue
“Bad news. The building is cracked all over. Whoever manufactured the denscrete did a shit job, and it aged badly. Fucking settlement company.”
Upending the bin made dust rise to temporarily envelope him. “Not surprised.”
“Really bad news. Bhayrip and the entire unit are back.”
Rylando froze in surprise. “Why? What happened?”
“Bhayrip has been trying to reach Silver Team for the last hour, but he couldn’t get through until the town got your borrowed uplink hub working. You are ordered to get your asses off the planet immediately and report to the space station right now. Even if you have to leave equipment behind. He can’t order me to do anything, but he made a strong request. He ignored questions, so I asked my Jumper buddy T’lem. The CPS is recalling all GSAR units across the galaxy. Officially, it’s a reorganization. Bhayrip probably wants you up there because the unit has two days to be in transit to the big military base on Lan Dalishi Epsilon for reassignment.”
It took him two tries to pick up the bin’s handle. He’d been expecting something like that for a multitude of ten-days, but the reality was still a shock. “What about you?”
“Separate, sealed orders from Jumper Command. Not reading them until I’m sure you and Taz are safe. Speaking of which, I’m going to chat with the ERC, seeing as how his regular job is the regional law enforcement chief. Back online in five.”
“Daylight!” shouted Stramlo.
Rylando pulled the empty bin carefully back to the dig. Worrying about impending disasters would have to wait. First, he had to deal with the one in progress.
Time to cinch up his rescuer harness and get everyone out safely.
* * *
Taz’s nose was running like a faucet by the time the doors to the Recycling Overflow room opened. More blowback from overusing her talent. And fucking annoying while stuck in a mech suit.
The room’s emergency lights revealed what looked like a landfill moon’s worth of broken and discarded tech, all covered with thick layers of undisturbed dust. In any other circumstance, she’d be tagging the veritable gold mine of contents for emergency requisition and evacuation to her tech repair lab.
“Stay put while I check.” Taz carefully pushed aside a stack of overflowing bins as she ran scans and tried comms again.
Rylando’s tone sounded. “This is a prerecorded ping. Get a sitrep from Hatya. Use the band and access codes I’m about to give you. They’re for Shen’s controller. She can help you.”
Tears of relief threatened when she heard his voice, crushing all the dire images her vivid imagination had been plaguing her with. Then his words sank in as she listened to the long strings of numbers and symbols.
“Taz,” asked Jhidelle, “want me to find out what Tzima is hearing? She’s a lot closer now.”
“Yes, please.” Taz pinged Hatya.
“Taz, welcome back. You and the doggos safe?” Hatya’s obvious concern renewed the threat of tears. Damnit, she didn’t have time for wellsprings of emotion.
The scans came back with mixed results. “Yes and no.” She sent them to Hatya, then sent every other scan she’d taken that day for good measure. “We’re in a stable area, but the rest of the building is an accident waiting to happen.”
“Copy that. I’m sending you a map of the safest route out. But you need to know some things first.”
“Taz?” Jhidelle asked. “Tzima hears digging and muffled voices in front of the airsled.” The girl stepped into the room and promptly sneezed.
“Thank you, Jhidelle. I’m getting comms again. We’re getting out now. Cover your mouth and nose with the hem of your tunic and follow me.” Taz knew the words sounded abrupt, but she was juggling too many priorities at once.
Once she sent codes to open the far door, Taz pushed aside equipment to clear their path. “Okay, Hatya, what do I need to know?”
After listening to the bad news and orders from Bhayrip, she thanked Hatya, then described her plan to get Jhidelle to safety. She couldn’t involve Hatya in phase two of her plan, where she went back for Rylando instead of obeying the immediate recall order.
“I sent you a route to the lift lobby.” Hatya knew her too well. “See you there.”
Taz turned to Jhidelle. “How about I carry you and we see how fast my suit can run?”
* * *
Captain Hatya Wa’ara was not a happy Jumper. Life was an ever-unfolding adventure, but hers had taken a sharp vector change into the stinky offal pit of secrets and twisty politics.
Circling west of the ruined Citizen Activity Center, she looked for a good place to land the shuttle. Few buildings had survived the raw destructive power of tectonic-plate upheaval, but a cluster of tall trees stood huddled together like a herd of green sheep. That would do.
