They Also Serve by Mike Moscoe Read Free Book Online Page A

was made easier; Mary had his command hut already set up. The shuttle was cleared for a return to the ship as soon as it was empty, and Ray called Matt to report. Matt had news, too. "One of those blimps doesn't make regularly scheduled runs like the rest. It's headed your way, or was until it settled down at sunset."
    Someone cleared his throat behind Ray. He turned to find Jeff standing just outside the hut, "Any idea what's up?"
    "Probably my sister, Victoria, headed here to take over."
    Ray considered that for a moment. "We'll see." He turned back to finish briefing Matt on the day.
    "Sounds like you've got things going fine dirtside."
    "Too early to tell. I've got company around still. I'll talk more later. Send down the rest of the ground team. I'll need at least one doc. A local boy here has migraines. He's the priest's grandkid, but the whole village has kind of adopted him."
    "Doc on the way. Anything else?"
    "Not at the moment." Ray clicked off and turned to Jeff. "So big sister is headed our way." The man nodded; Ray knew the type. He'd had plenty of experience with second and third sons shuffled off to the army. "So what can we do for each other?"
    The man entered slowly, fingering a map case. Clearly he wanted to say something. Just as clearly, he didn't know how.
    Ray waited, taking none of the pressure off him. Finally Jeff snapped open his case and pulled out several large photos. As if the pictures were coated with acid, he dropped them one by one on the table in front of Ray.
    "Recognize the scene?" he asked, retreating back to the door.
    In the shadows outside, Ray spotted Annie, the young woman who'd introduced Jeff. Waiting for her fellow? Ray turned to the pictures. Both showed the same mountain range. One shot was minus a peak.
    "Annie, Da wants help gathering up the mugs!" came as a distant shout.
    "In a minute, Nikki!" Annie shouted back.
    "Has she seen these pictures?" Ray asked. Jeff nodded.
    "Want to come in, young woman, and tell me what you think of them? Mary, see that the beermaster gets help finding his mugs. I don't want the shuttle finding one on takeoff."
    "Yes, sir." Mary whispered orders into her commlink, but showed no interest in going elsewhere at the moment.
    Annie glanced at the pictures. "One o' the mountains is gone missing."
    Ray fixed Jeff with a "tough colonel stare." "And you want to know why?"
    "If you can mine an entire mountain just like that..." the young man started and stopped.
    Ray called up the before-and-after topography maps Second Chance had made on its first two orbits. He rested a finger on the hole in the second one. "You'd pay a lot for that technology."
    Jeff stared wide-eyed at the two maps. "Yes."
    "But it would tear the hills apart," Annie broke in. "That's no way to treat the earth that feeds us."
    From the dark outside the hut came the rustle of a dress. Another pair of eyes watched them. Ray suspected the shouted-at Nikki had come to see what was keeping Annie. If he wasn't careful, he'd have the entire village back here.
    "That's not the way we extract minerals," Mary cut in. "I can pull all the good stuff out of a mountain without disturbing a blade of grass."
    "Then..." Jeff pointed at the gap in the mountain range.
    "We don't know either," Ray finished.
    "But if you didn't," Annie said slowly, "and we can't, who did?" From outside the hut came the sound of running feet. Ray caught a hint of a flying dress.
    Annie must have, too. "I'd better be helping Nikki and Da."
    Jeff collapsed into a camp chair beside Ray. "That is the question, isn't it."
    "Yes," Mary agreed. Ray nodded; his job had just gotten a whole lot harder.
    "Daga. Daga," Nikki half-whispered, half-shouted at her girlfriend's window. "Daga, you can't be asleep."
    "I'm not, and neither is the house with you shouting like a banshee," Daga said, massaging her temples. "What's wrong with you?"
    "They know about the mountain. They know it's gone."
    "Who knows?"
    "Everyone," Nikki squeaked.