The Track of the Pocket Miner
Page 12
For a few minutes everything is blanked out before the great flare dies slowly away. The Xrit, impressed by the degree with which the flare surpassed even his best hopes, wonders what kind of hell hole "Tellus" might be, and whether sunlight ever gets down to its surface.
"Obbisly, dis iss one big mutha flare! I sees on da internals dat da STF is not hittin any ub us, an I am not hearin any cone bullets. Maybe we is broken its IR sensor, ya? Wassa Disco see, Fabe; do its IR's woik?" Wimdit fires his jet pack and jumps back to K-12 landing beside the miner's tent. He watches as Zuevbee emerges from the black cloud and jets toward the pit head.
"Sensors fully operational," The Fabian replied, "Setting search pattern for life forms and mechanicals." Vald glances out of the left hand cabin window. All than can be seen of the evil track thing is a huge black, low lying patch of thick, black smoke.
"SEES youse ah roun Fabio! Taykes cares owf youse seff anna da DISCO!"
Then to the Sooper Hitshaid standing in the middle of the passenger compartment thoughtfully rubbing his armored balls, and letting the slaver dis gun dangle by its carrying strap as he looks around like he has never seen this place before. "Youse cummin wiff mees Hitshaid orse youse gonna stans dere gawping aye-yat effer fingks anna rubbin youse arm-moored danglies and pegker wiff ah seelies gra-yen onna youse fayces?" and then to all of the raiders on the tac-comm net, "Ayes wunner whyse dat fuh-lares fing dinna haff ah Smiley Fayces laks dems far - woiks onna Lee's Woild? Fugger shure wass a brite enuff to haff wun owf dem cute fayces! Anna wot issa awl owf dis schmokes cummin frums?"
Hitshead follows Turel Bevlick out the port side hatch of the Disco and the two of them make a short jump into the pit head at J-12
The Disco lifts off and moves slowly over the pit head at J-12. Then turns West and moves swiftly to K-4. "Hi Kiddies! Are we having a good time?" Says the ship's computer, "Lets sing a song. How about "She'll be comin' round the mountain?"
"HOLD yew waddah, Wutbipe! Ole Turel anna SooperHitshaid issa ride bees hinds ya! Doan go wannerin'off wiff owf usses tew covah youse baksides!!" Turel turns off his jetpack, to avoid any ACCIDENTAL autofires like ole Hitshaid had in the other tunnel with HIS JETPACK (Gots ta safe dis heeyar Dok Fugkyews Testy-tossed-der-Stone Stoff for serious xhit!")!!!
Then after adjusting his multi-visor, audio pickups, and tacc-comms volume, he lowers his breathing mask, the better to be able to sniff the tunnel air ("Doan wanna bees awokkin opp da acehole owf sum yew-monk-uss critter tinkin etts a damn tunnel, until wees bomps inna tew da foist giant critter toid!"), Turel Bevlik does the middle aged Eli Raider version of Wutbipe's snakey pate strut , managing to look more like an armored, humpback, guntoting, pregnant bear than a deadly Eli Raider sneaking down the tunnel.
"Cum owns, Sooper Hitshaid!!! Wees gots sum Eli Raider woik tew do! Youse keeps anna ices anna ayres bofe oppen and cobbers ourse rares, buddy! Effen youse gits slobby, wees issa gonna suk deff down heeyars ! And toin dat yomp-pagk awf rat nao, Sooper Hitshaid! Wees doan nee-adds yew bowncin owf da oberhaid anna da wahls anna da fahloors, ngkin ye seff owt, anna tailin da hole una-varse wees issa hee-yars!"
Tuibb Nrdle fires his jet pack and makes a double move beginning his decent into the shaft head at J-12. As he begins his decent he sees Zuvebee just above him.
The tunnel is well lighted by
luminous tubes spaced along the walls and is about eight feet
wide by eight feet high with a flattened floor. It is easy
walking despite the light yellow dust scattered over the floor.
Many foot prints are visible coming and going. Clearly visible
ahead, are Hitshead and Turel. They are peering carefuly around
the corner at J-15,16.
Suddenly the Eli are shocked as Drich Binble's com link suddenly goes dead.
Wimdit peers carefully around the south side of the tent. He is shocked to see a bucket head standing over the body of Drich.
The bucket head fires his submachine gun full auto at the tent. The large caliber rounds zip through the tent like angry wasps as the three Eli fall prone.
Aboard the Disco Nightmare, Vald notes the scanner report of a possible tunnel entrance at I-8,9. Suddenly from the center of the black cloud at G-2 comes a burst of heavy cone machine gun fire. The tracers flash past the Disco. Now the evil track's grenade launcher fires six rounds. The first three whiz harmlessly past, but the fourth shell hits the Disco's screen. There is a bright flash that runs instantaneously over the Disco's hull as the screen dissipates the energy of the explosion.
The Disco is hit again, the screen
flares off and the explosion rips a hole in the hull. The sixth
round from the Grenade Launcher hits the side of the ship and
tears an even larger hole into the passenger compartment. The
Disco rocks and shudders, but no vital systems have been 
damaged.
The Fabian has been protected from the flying fragments by the closed door of the pilot's compartment. He wrestles with the controls making evasive maneuvers but a cyan flash from H-4 indicates a power gun firing. The first shot misses, but the second impacts the hull just in front of his view port. Vlad can see a nasty black smear where the paint has been burnt off the hull.
(Find out more about the Disco Nightmare) (Read the stats for the Eli warriors) (See the map for the game.)
For questions concerning this webgame contact John McEwan at john@tin-soldier.com
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