#/Q/#|#/F/#|#/E/#|#/1/#
PART FIVE(5)
~~~~~~~~~~
OCley Two was standing at the mouth of the down passage, nerved up and eager
for more news from down below.
"Are you very sure?" he asked slowly of Rendal, containing his
agitation only half successfully. "OLie said they were moving up
more than eight minutes ago!"
[Nonetheless, they have,] Rendal affirmed perplexedly. He shivered
miserably in the cold pouring rain, and amended, [Some minutes ago.] He hoped
OCley wouldn't jump on him for not psy-tracking those down below more closely,
but he had thought it wise to conserve his dwindling mental energy, in case he
needed to attempt any more 'beam outs'. And, at this point, they would be just
that ~ attempts.
"OLie should have informed me!"
OCley snapped angrily.
[Will they not report only what they feel you need to know?] the
tocus ventured cautiously, as his master reached for his comm. unit, beneath
his rain-cover. [Their oxygen is precious to them, after all.]
Immediately, OCley withdrew his hand from under his weather gear ~
without the comm. unit. "You're right, Rendal; I'm just getting really
uptight, not knowing what's going on down there," he confessed to the
poke`mon willingly. His expression changed from frustrated anger to one of calm
acceptance. "And I have no clue what the Goddess Hellion they went back
down for," he said in a monotone, "because, in his last word, OLie said
'mission complete'."
There seemed no reason to move back down the passage to the chamber; the
carbon dioxide content of the air would be the heaviest there. 'No reason,'
he repeated to himself silently.
He turned to the sound of someone playing hopscotch behind him. At least,
that's what it sounded like.
He had sent Three Dash One(Penny) to deliver the now useless grubbles to
the hovercraft, and now she was returning. OCley chuckled inwardly, to see that
she was hopping ~ in his general direction ~ from one tilted stone to another,
using her Lowi-light on its 'whisper' setting to light her way.
He did a mental check as she drew closer. One Dash One was rigging the
hovercraft for their return run in this nasty weather; Two Dash Two was at his
favorite look-out, watching the enemy's camp for the sake of caution; and One
Dash Two(Everett) was hopefully on his way back up from checking the water
level on this end of the passage.
If there wasn't too much water down there, he would have OLie clear the
remainder of his team out of the tunnel, and risk using the seznak he had with
him to blast through the rest of the blockage. Flooding the chamber completely
would render their 'gifts' a pointless waste of time, effort and equipment, but
there was really little choice at this point of desperate measures.
Stepping onto a stone to his left, Three Dash One reported quietly,
"The grubbles are stowed, Sir, and One Dash One should have the hovercraft
completely weatherized by now." She expected some acknowledgement from the
Operations Chief, but there was none.
She raised her 'whispered' light to get a better look at his face, and
noted his expression was one of frowning concentration.
"Can I help you, Sir?" she asked
him helpfully.
"I don't think so," he replied with a frustrated sigh. "I
was just thinking of where all my teamers are at the moment, and a sort of
mental warning flag raised in response to one of you."
"I assume it didn't have anything to do with the five we have
trapped down below, Sir; we know that's a major problem facing us there,"
Three Dash One ventured hesitantly.
"It did have some direct connection to OLie and his team, but I
don't think this meant danger to them, but to one of you four, up here."
The Operations Chief looked sharply at Penny.
The young woman shifted defensively and spurred by his piercing gaze, she
objected, "Well, I'm just as safe as you are, Sir. And the other two in
the ruins above the surface aren't made of sugar, so you must be worrying about
Ev-- I mean, One Dash Two," she concluded logically. "We did decide
it was a risky thing for any of us to do," she pointed out, "what
with the dirt and mud covering every surface of the passage."
"Yes, it was him," OCley
confirmed unhappily, tearing his questioning gaze from Three Dash Two. He settled
it on the sunken hollow of the passage entrance, and said vexedly, "But it
was more than just worry, I could swear!"
"Do you mind if I ask if you have gotten
any word from down below?" she pressed him gently.
"Not from OLie, but I had Rendal here do a psy-track on them a
minute ago," he swept his hand expansively at the silently unobtrusive
poke`mon. " ...and he reports they have moved back down to the chamber ~
or at least very near to its level."
He saw her concerned expression turn to one of confusion, and he nodded
vigorously, and finished, " I can't understand it either. There seems to
me to be no reason!" He shook his head as if to clear it, and repeated
softly to himself, "No reason". And then his head came up and he said
in a hoarse whisper, "Unless..."
The volume on the comm. unit was set on three-quarters full ~ still safe,
because of the noise made by the heavy rainfall, and certainly loud enough that
he should not miss OLie's voice whenever it came next.
It came just then, as he was realizing what that little mental warning flag
had been all about. To Penny's ears, it brought only good news, at first, but
it brought immediately to OCley Two's mind only the confirmation of his
newfound fear.
*\"I've sent the seznak to clear that last section of the
passage,"/* OLie Three's voice stated flatly. *\"Stand back or keep
away from the entrance of it, up there ~ We expect it to take a big
breath."/*
OCley frantically dug under his rain cover for the comm. unit, and didn't
waste precious time telling his subordinate that he ~ Operations Chief
~ should have been consulted BEFORE that escape plan was set into motion.
"CALL IT OFF! CALL THE SEZNAK OFF!" he shouted fiercely into
the unit. "HOLD commencement until we're all clear, up here!" He
hoped for an affirmative, 'can do' answer, but got a two word response of a
different sort entirely.
*\" Oh, Sheowti,"/* OLie Three was heard to say despairingly,
by the three figures standing perilously near the passage's entrance.
Disregarding the very real danger of causing a collapse in the passage
somewhere below, in favor of warning One Dash Two about this much more definite
hazard to his life, and praying that the rain would cover over the volume of
his voice, OCley Two stepped down into the passage's mouth and screamed with
tones of tortured desperation, " Get out of there ODT, flaming fast! Run
for your life!"
He turned and leapt from the passage's top step, motioning to Rendal and
Three Dash One for them to move away from the hazard area. The tocus was
already moving, but Penny wasn't inclined to budge until she could see
Recognizing that she would probably not respond to a direct order, OCley
opted for heart-felt reasoning. He paused beside Three Dash One and placed a
firm hand on her left shoulder. "I always commend my teamers for their
willingness to die for or with their fellows," he told her softly, slowly,
and in all honesty. "But," he added in a meaningful tone, "never
when the offer or action is a needless one. Someone with a death wish does not
need a reason to die, so it is no real sacrifice."
She bit her lip, nodded, and turned to flee
with him.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_