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A few steps inside the entrance was a chamber, where they refreshed themselves. At least they had left a few items of use. I pulled out a heat plate and fusion card. TO the side of the shelf unit, were some drinking utensils. hrown down in the dust. Rinsing one of them I was happy to boil liquid in it and make myself a drink. My suit had some satchets of an instant herbal infusion that I liked.
Brewing this today was no different to other times I had done the same. At times like this in extreme cold, even if I was warm in my suit, there was no substitute for a hot drink! The heat plate had a small insert into which you placed a small disc followed by another. The two discs were not identical.
One caused a chemical reaction with the other creating heat.
There was a lull with nothing happening, then it fizzed and I knew the reactor had been initialised, causing momentary fusion with heat release into the plate. A slow build up then extremely hot !
You made sure NOT, to touch the plate when you removed the container, to pour the hot liquid into your drinking vessel.
Finding somewhere to sit and sip my drink, I was reflecting on earlier times. The conversations I had enjoyed with the miners females. The language could be, at times, to use an old Earth term, ‘Colorful’!
I glanced towards the entrance. The figures of those I had waved to, long in the distance, barely visible from where I was stood. Out the front I turned to my left and walked up a few steps carved in the rock face to the top of Hieste point.
Across the snow covered terrain, much clearer now, the outline of the Fendits, still trekking back to their almost deserted camp near the Citadel. Some minutes later I was stood the other side of the point, no view of the Citadel.It overlooked a wide area, also covered thick with snow.
Above me, there was a noise.Looking towards the object in the heavens, I saw the distinct outline of a Urowq trading craft, as it dropped height; that distinct hiss of them ejecting excess fuel into the atmosphere for it to burn up. Making its inbound flight, to the Citadel complex. Pilots were not allowed to land if their craft contained liquid fuel in excess of a given amount.
The risk of a major explosion on a crash landing had caused the administrators to rigorously enforce the law and those caught ignoring it were fined heavily or sometimes arrested and their craft seized. Solid fuel converter driven Mobillian cruzers were exempt from this.
Fusion Craxan type 2 series craft, were also exempt, providing they had Dioxide shielding, in good order around the fusion reaction units. The shields contained substances that lost their effectiveness and degaussing of their main coils, was required on a regular basis to keep them working properly.
Those who didn’t want to spend out on regular maintenance, subjected their personnel to a sickness caused by the failure or failing of the shields, resulting in gamma irradiation emitted from the fusion reaction sub assemblies.
Jettisoning the fuel, their entry into the atmosphere leaves behind a peculiar red to pink flicker, tailed with a white afterglow, which breaks up leaving a wispy trail, looking like soft white clouds. I had only met the Urowq once. At age 13, when two of them attacked some of the Elite forces, what you on Earth would call police; maintaining law and order.
They were ugly, heavy and menacing beings, with a distinct line running across their foreheads. What surprised me and something I never forgot apart from their general appearance, was how fast they were on using disintegrators! The weapons were in their hands and raised to fire before most could blink !
They’re not to be carried within the Citadel. Any weapons have to be surrendered or NOT brought in! They were asked to hand them over ! Not something they were going to do ! The ensuring fight left one of the Elite dead and the Urowq fled pursued by the remaining Elite.
I was still sipping my drink, enjoying the view, when something caught my attention, out of the corner of my eye ? Another craft? Similar afterglow, but different shape. My curiosity by now was aroused,. I had not seen this type before. A much smaller than the Urowq craft, craft. Watching as it fell out of the atmosphere, dropped and dropped, until it suddenly flared with four bright lights. Afterburners !
Followed by a further two lights, around it that spun before a click and they faded to nothing. The movment of it slowing and I would guess stabilising, prior to landing? It had I gauged, landed less than a mile from where I was stood.
The way it had descended, the lighting and the noise it had made, was in my opinion indicating problems for the pilot of the craft ? I decided I HAD to get closer and find out more ! Especially where it had come from !
Moving towards the spot, was hard work. The snow had got deeper and I was not so familiar with the direction I was now headed in, I did not usually venture beyond where I was.
Curiosity is a dangerous precursor to getting yourself into a lot of trouble ! I checked I had the locator and also my weapon.
The craft was not big enough to hold what I deemed to be, a worrying number of possible hostiles, however I had no inkling of its weapons capabilities, to err on the side of caution would be, I assured myself, a wise thing to do. That was about as much thought, as I gave that !
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