Chapter 10

Buck quickly rifled through his bag and pulled out a pair of pants and a sweater. He then gave the bag to Lach'et. While Lach'et donned an extra set of clothes from Buck's duffel bag, Buck went over to Twiki.

"Hands up."

Buck pulled the sweater onto the ambuquad and then folded up the sleeves. He then set Twiki onto the pilot's seat and pulled the pair of pants onto his bare, metal legs. He then rolled up the pant legs as far as he could.

When he finished dressing Twiki, he started to once again pace the cockpit. He stopped behind the pilot's seat and looked up. He cocked his head to one side for only a moment before he quickly raised his pistol and shot a hole in the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" Lach'et nearly screamed. She then pointed behind Twiki. "The hatch is over there!"

Buck ignored her and jumped onto the seat. He reached his hand through the newly formed hole and grasped a handful of electrical wiring. With a quick yank, twenty feet of wiring fell onto the cockpit floor. He found one of the ends and went behind Twiki.

"Hands up, Little Buddy."

Twiki lifted his small arms and Buck looped the cord around his chest and then tied it into a knot in the back.

"What's that for?" asked Lach'et.

"Somebody's gonna have to lift him out of here when we open the hatch."

She nodded. "Oh, right."

Buck then returned to the pilot's chair and ripped off the cushioned seat cover. He then went to the copilot's seat and did the same thing. Slowly Buck turned around the cockpit.

"Are we ready to go?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: ready as I'll ever be."

Lach'et nodded. "I'm ready for a nice, hot bath."

Buck grinned slightly. "Maybe later," he muttered inaudibly.

"Huh?"

He merely shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't say anything."

Buck went to the side of the cockpit and opened the hatch. Immediately snow began to rapidly fall into the cockpit. Buck held onto a handle at the side of the hatch until the influx of snow lessened enough to stand against. Fortunately the cockpit wasn't buried as deep as he had originally feared. Sunlight suddenly appeared amid a brilliant blue sky. Buck threw the rest of the electrical cord and the seat cushions as far as he could through the opening. Then he slowly waded through the snow to get to the surface. He lifted both hands to shield his eyes from the bright glare.

"Whoa, talk about your snow blind," he commented. He looked down the six feet into the cockpit. "Twiki, just hang on for a couple minutes. Lach'et, come on up."

He reached his hand down as far as he could and helped the woman to the surface of the snow. Her gaze turned to the beautiful snow-capped mountains framing the landscape for as far as the eye could see. "It'd be beautiful if it weren't so cold," she complained. But Buck had already started up the mountain. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Stay there, I'll be right back. I'm going to look for a sled."

Buck struggled through the hip deep snow for nearly an hour until he reached the peak of the mountain. When he disappeared over the top, Lach'et began to get nervous until he reappeared moments later. He waved his hands and then held up a shiny, almost perfectly round piece of debris. He placed it on top of the snow and then hopped onto it. It raced toward the shuttle remains. When he neared the cockpit, he grabbed the side of the 'sled' and rolled off into the snow. He got up and giggled like a boy.

"Man, that was fun! This is gonna be great!" He then looked down into the cockpit. "Okay, Twiki. Time to go."

Buck found the electrical cord and began to pull the ambuquad to the surface. Lach'et grasped a part of the wire and helped pull. When at last Twiki broke the surface of the snow, Buck let out a low whistle.

"I think it's time you go on a diet, Little Buddy."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: Sorry, Buck."

Buck grabbed the sled and maneuvered Twiki onto its surface. He then turned and looked back up the mountain. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. "Where's the ski lift?"

"Ski what?"

Buck shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go. We're burning daylight."

The second trip up the mountain proved to be slower than the first since Buck had to stop every ten to fifteen feet to pull Twiki up the slope. Lach'et made it to the top of the slope and waited for about forty-five minutes until Buck and Twiki finally made it to the top.

"So where is this 'fun' I'm supposed to be having?" she asked sarcastically.

Buck was breathing heavily as he attempted to put his hands on his knees. He handed Twiki's reigns to Lach'et. "Just wait," he grinned slightly. "Here, hold this for a minute. I gotta find a sled for us, now."

Buck surveyed the debris scattered throughout the snow for a few minutes before something caught his eye. He leaped through the snow and down the hill about thirty yards to get to one particular piece of metal. He held it up to the sky in victory.

"Yes!" he screamed.

He quickly moved back toward Lach'et and Twiki. He set the piece of metal down in the snow and smiled. "This looks just like my old toboggan when I was a kid."

"I think you're having way too much fun," Lach'et shook her head.

Buck smiled broadly at her. "You still have the seat cushions?" he asked.

She held up the two cushions. He indicated her to place them onto the sled. "I don't know about this," she mumbled. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Would you rather walk ten miles in this stuff to get to town?"

She sighed heavily. "No, not really."

"Then trust me. Here, you get in first."

Lach'et eased her way onto the piece of metal and placed her feet inside the natural curve. Buck smiled again broadly as he sat down behind her and straddled her on the sled.

"Are you ready Twiki?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: What if I fall off?"

Buck turned around slightly. "Then I'll have to wait until the spring thaw to find you."

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: I was afraid of that."

Buck took one more deep breath of clear, mountain air. "Are you ready to go?"

"No, not really. Are you sure that this is—"

Buck lurched forward to get the sled moving. Instantly they began to slide down the steep slope. Buck tugged on Twiki's reigns to get him moving as well. Rapidly they picked up speed as they flew down the treeless terrain. The only sounds heard were those of the sleds on the snow… and the screams of Lach'et the whole way down the mountain.

"How do we steer?" she yelled against the wind.

"Just lean!"

"We have to ride this for ten miles?" she asked.

Buck nodded once. "Yeah! Unless we hit a tree… or fall off a cliff!"

"Thanks!" she said sarcastically. "You're not helping my confidence any!"

By the time the sleds finally stopped sliding down the hill, the sky was already beginning to darken. Buck rolled off the sled and laughed loudly.

"That was Great!" he hollered. "It's been years since I've done that!" He turned to Lach'et who was busy wiping snow out of her face. "So what'd ya think?"

"Next time I'll wait for the transport shuttle."

Buck smiled at her. He then turned to Twiki. "How about you, Little Buddy?"

"Beep-be-de-de-beep: my circuits are freezing."

Buck nodded. "Yeah, I know. Let's go to the lodge and thaw out with some hot chocolate."

Lach'et simply shook her head in frustration. She'd almost given up trying to understand the garbled translations. Slowly they started marching toward the city lights which were still about half a mile away. Buck continued to pull the cord holding Twiki on the piece of debris. The snow at the bottom of the mountain was much easier to walk through, being only calf high as opposed to hip high. The landscape appeared to be barren and treeless, similar to the mountainside.

The trek to the city remained quiet and quickly became increasingly darker. By the time they reached the town gates, the sun had completely vanished. The only lights now were those from the city.

"It doesn't stay light around here for long," Buck commented.

"Bertram has a highly elongated orbit," Lach'et replied.

"I've got a question. Does anyone know what these Bertram people look like? I know they're supposed to be fierce and inhospitable, but I don't think I've ever seen a picture of what they look like."

Lach'et shook her head. "Sorry. I have no idea," she answered through nearly frozen lips.

Buck shrugged. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. Twiki, can you walk?"

"B…e…e…p…-…b…e…-…d…e…-…d…e…-…b…e…e…p…:"

Buck shook his head. "You don't sound so good, Buddy. Here, let me get this cord off you."

He tried to untie the knot, but it was too frozen and Buck's hands were too cold to do any good. "Twiki, can you cut the cord?"

Twiki moved his hand slightly, but his fingers would not move. Buck nodded. "Okay, never mind."

Instead, Buck took what was left of the cord and wrapped it around Twiki's body several times until it didn't drag on the ground. He then tucked the end of the cord inside a few of the wraps to secure it. He took off his overcoat and placed it around Twiki's body, and then he bent down. He draped Twiki's arms over his shoulders and picked him up with his back.

"B…e…e…p…-…b…e…-…d…e…-…d…e…-…b…e…e…p…:"

"Don't argue with me, Twiki. You're my partner. I'm not gonna lose you to the cold. Now, let's go find that lodge."