Chapter Seven: Ship By Far….
AN: No little quotes to say this time… Enjoy Chapter Seven!
"Dr. Challenger! Dr. Challenger!" A female voice called up from the ground below. Challenger stuck his head out one of the windows of the treehouse, and saw a strikingly beautiful girl. "One of the Zanga women." He though to himself, "Is there a problem?" He called back,
The rest of the group looked down at the commotion below. Veronica smiled, "I know her!" The girl smiled, back, "Veronica! Its good to see you again!"
Roxton nodded at Veronica, "Mind telling us her name?"
Veronica laughed, "Nagi, she's a daughter of an high elder in the Zanga village. Her Father has a lot of pull in the village."
Marguerite looked down at the black hair, and deep brown eyes, "I wonder what she is doing here?"
Challenger nodded, "That's what I attend to find out!" He looked back down at the young woman; "I'll lower the elevator down for you!"
* * *
They all sat around the table, listening to Nagi's story. The girl was quite shaken, but she told all she knew in a strong, clear voice. "It was just a few days ago… Outside our village, right before the boarder of the Great Mountains, there is a flat field. It's mostly used by the few cattle that we have, but our cattle and sheep have been found dead lately."
Challenger nodded, "Raptors, probably."
Nagi agreed, "that was the elders first thought. Then later, we saw firsthand, our cattle split in two… Not by raptors or the great lizard, but by large light that comes up from the ground."
Roxton's head shook, "large light?"
Nagi nodded, "Large flashes of light that burns the ground. Even the three horned ones, are cut apart by the light. They walk across the ground and BLAM!" she motioned with her arms, "There gone… So is the light. Our elders are very nervous, for they fear it's a demon or a god who is angry at our land."
Malone nodded, "Strange… Sounds like something that Zanga demon did, only with the mosaic patters."
Veronica shook her head, 'That was you, Ned. But, the demon that we fought was destroyed!"
Roxton shook his head, "You can't kill the dead, Veronica."
Challenger disagreed, "I'm not to sure about that… This sounds too unlike the supernatural." He looked at Nagi, "Is there any damage done to the field?"
Nagi nodded, "Yes! The field is almost gone, huge craters are burned into the soil. Everytime the bright light comes, more of the land is gone. The field is too eroded, that nothing is growing…"
Roxton shook his head, "This is getting us nowhere… We need to explore this for ourselves!"
Challenger nodded, "I agree… Moreover, we should depart as soon as possible. Perhaps we can catch this phenomena in action."
* * *
Within fifteen minutes, the expedition was underway. Each member held a fully loaded rife, except for Veronica. Who was fully contented with her bootknife. Challenger looked around the jungle, his feet crunching down on the dirt and gravel. "Strange… This part of the jungle is unaffected by the light that Nagi spoke of."
Veronica came up next to him, looking around the strangely vacant path, "What's even more upsetting…" She looked at him, "This place is packed with raptors at this time of year."
Roxton nodded from the back, "But not a single one of the little green bastards anywhere."
Marguerite and Malone both double-checked their chambers, keeping an ample supply of bullets near.
* * *
Challenger set down his rifle, looking out at the grassy expanse… The group did the same, Nagi looked over her left shoulder, watching the chief come up from the jungle fauna. "The outsiders are here." She said.
The chief nodded, his face painted with streaks of white and crimson red, "Yes…" he pointed out at the decimated landscape, 'The god comes from within there."
Challenger nodded, "We have herd of your problem." His blue eyes scanned the landscape, "But I never expected it to be this terrible…"
Veronica was about to speak up, but a small tremor in the earth swayed against her. She looked around, "Did anyone else feel that?"
Roxton nodded, "Felt like a small earthquake…"
Challenger agreed, "It might be a small shock…" He shook hard, as a tremendous vibration shook the group hard. The chief and his warriors dropped their weapons, as a second aftershock threw the party to the grassy floor. Trees swayed against the tremors, Challenger looked around, holding his head. His eyes focused on the stretching grass plane, it seemed to vibrate and shimmer. He held his eyes, as a bright blast came from beneath the green soil. Large chunks of dirt were sent cast into the air, sending down a brown shower of dirt and mud. Another burst, and more of the landscape was vaporized in a flash of light. The sound alone was enough to make the blood within veins freeze. The icy sound of the blast, the immense explosion, and dirt and roots being ripped from their hold upon the earth.
The tremors slowly came to a stop, he looked back at the land. A sixty-yard portion of the land, caved in on itself. Collapsing, as if the support beneath it was blown away. The land crumpled in, making a gigantic pit formed right out of the earth. Challenger rose to his feet, each one of his friends slowly making it to their feet. Roxton wiped his brow, "What in the bloody hell was that?" He growled, wiping the dirt from his blue shirt.
Challenger nodded, "What ever it was, it was clearly trying to destroy the field out there."
Marguerite nodded, "Could it have been a…Ghost?"
Malone shook his head, "I don't think a ghost could do that…"
Challenger nodded, "For now… We don't know, but it might be safer to move to a different location."
Marguerite nodded, "I'm am in fully agreement with you one this one Challenger."
* * *
Cirrus held his breath, as the last firing sequence ended. More than 65% of the needed crust had been removed. His hands flew over the controls, the amazing self-repair systems of the ship, had restored the avion system, giving the ship the specialties needed for an emergency takeoff. The shields were at 80%, giving him more than enough protection from the surfacing friction that would result.
He walked over to the helm control, he punched in a rapid set of orders, following them up with a final systems check. He knew the process by heart now. Destroy enough of the crust to punch a hole to the surface. If he activated the engines at full drive, and transferred enough backup power to the shields, and structure integrity fields, he could finally free this ship from its stone prison.
However, the exiting would not be easy. Even at full drive, the chance of him being able to get trough the last 45% of the solid granite shield would not be easy. This ship was more advanced than he could have hoped, but with limited power and the ships primary power source unoperational, the trip was bound to have some problems.
He took a moment to collect his thoughts…And hit the EXCUTE button….
* * *
Challenger looked around, back in the center of the bustling village, Veronica spoke with a few old friends, and Roxton and Marguerite window-shopped at some of the local marts. Ned kept recording all his finds in his notebook, carefully detailing all the sights, sounds and events of the Zanga village.
Challenger glanced up at the sun, "High noon," He thought to himself, Veronica came back to him, "What is it?" She asked.
Challenger shook his head, "I'm just wondering about Cirrus. The Zanga village was one of his favorite places to visit."
Veronica nodded, "I miss him too…" she stopped for a second, looking at Ned. "But… We cannot be sidetracked by that now. The Zanga need our help, they have been here to help us though much, and we can't turn our backs on them now."
Challenger nodded, "That's for sure…" He looked at one of the local's beadwork, "I'm just impressed by the fine craftsmanship and the…" He stopped, as a ground splitting earthquake rippled through the village. A small boy came running in from the field, waving his arms, and pointing back to were he came. His voice a high shrill, he shrieked at the other villagers, and they started running to the grassy plane.
Challenger looked at Veronica, "Someone bad?"
Veronica nodded, "Really bad…"
* * *
Cirrus was thrown back into the padded command chair. His head snapped back against the headrest as the first crash came echoing throughout the ship's hull. The massive golden nose of the ship, rammed into the rocklike ceiling, huge fragments of the roof came crashing down to the floor. Some of the pieces reechoed off the sides of the ship, hitting the intense energy field. Vaporizing from grew chunks into clouds of dust.
He could feel the vibrations as the ship slowly pushed its way though, layer by layer, the powerful engines, the intense energy fields protected the ultra dense hull from the knife like shards of the canyon walls. Slowly, the ship rose from its shallow grave. Cirrus smiled, pressing down on the energy field's outer diameter, increasing its radius. The cruser forced its way through the ceiling.
"Almost there…" He thought to the ship, "Just hold on a bit more…" the ships engines groaned against the strain, but the old battleship steadily made its way to the outside…
* * *
Challenger stood over the edge over looking the damaged green field. Each time that beam stuck, more of the surrounding landscape was blown away. "It's almost like… If calculated blows are being taken to weaken that spot of earth…" He thought. "If that may be the cause… Then what is trying to escape?"
He wiped his brow, breathing heavily, "Maybe it's for the best, that we not know of that.""
Veronica came up next to him, "The Zanga villagers are all on alert now. The chief is thoroughly worried about the earthquakes."
Roxton broke off from a small group of children following him, he pointed back to the row of neatly made huts. "Each family has been put into their homes, only the men have been left to defend the village."
Malone held his rife, checking his site, "I've done the best that I can over on my end." He looked at Marguerite, "How are you doing on your end?"
Marguerite looked up from a small wound on a young man's head that she was bandaging. "Almost finished here. That last tremor caused some basic injuries, but the village medicine man should be able to take care of the rest."
Challenger looked back out a the field, "Then all is ready…" He said to himself.
Veronica looked up at him, "As ready as well ever be." She looked out at the decimated landscape, and wondered what would happen in the few moments to come…
AN: No little quotes to say this time… Enjoy Chapter Seven!
"Dr. Challenger! Dr. Challenger!" A female voice called up from the ground below. Challenger stuck his head out one of the windows of the treehouse, and saw a strikingly beautiful girl. "One of the Zanga women." He though to himself, "Is there a problem?" He called back,
The rest of the group looked down at the commotion below. Veronica smiled, "I know her!" The girl smiled, back, "Veronica! Its good to see you again!"
Roxton nodded at Veronica, "Mind telling us her name?"
Veronica laughed, "Nagi, she's a daughter of an high elder in the Zanga village. Her Father has a lot of pull in the village."
Marguerite looked down at the black hair, and deep brown eyes, "I wonder what she is doing here?"
Challenger nodded, "That's what I attend to find out!" He looked back down at the young woman; "I'll lower the elevator down for you!"
* * *
They all sat around the table, listening to Nagi's story. The girl was quite shaken, but she told all she knew in a strong, clear voice. "It was just a few days ago… Outside our village, right before the boarder of the Great Mountains, there is a flat field. It's mostly used by the few cattle that we have, but our cattle and sheep have been found dead lately."
Challenger nodded, "Raptors, probably."
Nagi agreed, "that was the elders first thought. Then later, we saw firsthand, our cattle split in two… Not by raptors or the great lizard, but by large light that comes up from the ground."
Roxton's head shook, "large light?"
Nagi nodded, "Large flashes of light that burns the ground. Even the three horned ones, are cut apart by the light. They walk across the ground and BLAM!" she motioned with her arms, "There gone… So is the light. Our elders are very nervous, for they fear it's a demon or a god who is angry at our land."
Malone nodded, "Strange… Sounds like something that Zanga demon did, only with the mosaic patters."
Veronica shook her head, 'That was you, Ned. But, the demon that we fought was destroyed!"
Roxton shook his head, "You can't kill the dead, Veronica."
Challenger disagreed, "I'm not to sure about that… This sounds too unlike the supernatural." He looked at Nagi, "Is there any damage done to the field?"
Nagi nodded, "Yes! The field is almost gone, huge craters are burned into the soil. Everytime the bright light comes, more of the land is gone. The field is too eroded, that nothing is growing…"
Roxton shook his head, "This is getting us nowhere… We need to explore this for ourselves!"
Challenger nodded, "I agree… Moreover, we should depart as soon as possible. Perhaps we can catch this phenomena in action."
* * *
Within fifteen minutes, the expedition was underway. Each member held a fully loaded rife, except for Veronica. Who was fully contented with her bootknife. Challenger looked around the jungle, his feet crunching down on the dirt and gravel. "Strange… This part of the jungle is unaffected by the light that Nagi spoke of."
Veronica came up next to him, looking around the strangely vacant path, "What's even more upsetting…" She looked at him, "This place is packed with raptors at this time of year."
Roxton nodded from the back, "But not a single one of the little green bastards anywhere."
Marguerite and Malone both double-checked their chambers, keeping an ample supply of bullets near.
* * *
Challenger set down his rifle, looking out at the grassy expanse… The group did the same, Nagi looked over her left shoulder, watching the chief come up from the jungle fauna. "The outsiders are here." She said.
The chief nodded, his face painted with streaks of white and crimson red, "Yes…" he pointed out at the decimated landscape, 'The god comes from within there."
Challenger nodded, "We have herd of your problem." His blue eyes scanned the landscape, "But I never expected it to be this terrible…"
Veronica was about to speak up, but a small tremor in the earth swayed against her. She looked around, "Did anyone else feel that?"
Roxton nodded, "Felt like a small earthquake…"
Challenger agreed, "It might be a small shock…" He shook hard, as a tremendous vibration shook the group hard. The chief and his warriors dropped their weapons, as a second aftershock threw the party to the grassy floor. Trees swayed against the tremors, Challenger looked around, holding his head. His eyes focused on the stretching grass plane, it seemed to vibrate and shimmer. He held his eyes, as a bright blast came from beneath the green soil. Large chunks of dirt were sent cast into the air, sending down a brown shower of dirt and mud. Another burst, and more of the landscape was vaporized in a flash of light. The sound alone was enough to make the blood within veins freeze. The icy sound of the blast, the immense explosion, and dirt and roots being ripped from their hold upon the earth.
The tremors slowly came to a stop, he looked back at the land. A sixty-yard portion of the land, caved in on itself. Collapsing, as if the support beneath it was blown away. The land crumpled in, making a gigantic pit formed right out of the earth. Challenger rose to his feet, each one of his friends slowly making it to their feet. Roxton wiped his brow, "What in the bloody hell was that?" He growled, wiping the dirt from his blue shirt.
Challenger nodded, "What ever it was, it was clearly trying to destroy the field out there."
Marguerite nodded, "Could it have been a…Ghost?"
Malone shook his head, "I don't think a ghost could do that…"
Challenger nodded, "For now… We don't know, but it might be safer to move to a different location."
Marguerite nodded, "I'm am in fully agreement with you one this one Challenger."
* * *
Cirrus held his breath, as the last firing sequence ended. More than 65% of the needed crust had been removed. His hands flew over the controls, the amazing self-repair systems of the ship, had restored the avion system, giving the ship the specialties needed for an emergency takeoff. The shields were at 80%, giving him more than enough protection from the surfacing friction that would result.
He walked over to the helm control, he punched in a rapid set of orders, following them up with a final systems check. He knew the process by heart now. Destroy enough of the crust to punch a hole to the surface. If he activated the engines at full drive, and transferred enough backup power to the shields, and structure integrity fields, he could finally free this ship from its stone prison.
However, the exiting would not be easy. Even at full drive, the chance of him being able to get trough the last 45% of the solid granite shield would not be easy. This ship was more advanced than he could have hoped, but with limited power and the ships primary power source unoperational, the trip was bound to have some problems.
He took a moment to collect his thoughts…And hit the EXCUTE button….
* * *
Challenger looked around, back in the center of the bustling village, Veronica spoke with a few old friends, and Roxton and Marguerite window-shopped at some of the local marts. Ned kept recording all his finds in his notebook, carefully detailing all the sights, sounds and events of the Zanga village.
Challenger glanced up at the sun, "High noon," He thought to himself, Veronica came back to him, "What is it?" She asked.
Challenger shook his head, "I'm just wondering about Cirrus. The Zanga village was one of his favorite places to visit."
Veronica nodded, "I miss him too…" she stopped for a second, looking at Ned. "But… We cannot be sidetracked by that now. The Zanga need our help, they have been here to help us though much, and we can't turn our backs on them now."
Challenger nodded, "That's for sure…" He looked at one of the local's beadwork, "I'm just impressed by the fine craftsmanship and the…" He stopped, as a ground splitting earthquake rippled through the village. A small boy came running in from the field, waving his arms, and pointing back to were he came. His voice a high shrill, he shrieked at the other villagers, and they started running to the grassy plane.
Challenger looked at Veronica, "Someone bad?"
Veronica nodded, "Really bad…"
* * *
Cirrus was thrown back into the padded command chair. His head snapped back against the headrest as the first crash came echoing throughout the ship's hull. The massive golden nose of the ship, rammed into the rocklike ceiling, huge fragments of the roof came crashing down to the floor. Some of the pieces reechoed off the sides of the ship, hitting the intense energy field. Vaporizing from grew chunks into clouds of dust.
He could feel the vibrations as the ship slowly pushed its way though, layer by layer, the powerful engines, the intense energy fields protected the ultra dense hull from the knife like shards of the canyon walls. Slowly, the ship rose from its shallow grave. Cirrus smiled, pressing down on the energy field's outer diameter, increasing its radius. The cruser forced its way through the ceiling.
"Almost there…" He thought to the ship, "Just hold on a bit more…" the ships engines groaned against the strain, but the old battleship steadily made its way to the outside…
* * *
Challenger stood over the edge over looking the damaged green field. Each time that beam stuck, more of the surrounding landscape was blown away. "It's almost like… If calculated blows are being taken to weaken that spot of earth…" He thought. "If that may be the cause… Then what is trying to escape?"
He wiped his brow, breathing heavily, "Maybe it's for the best, that we not know of that.""
Veronica came up next to him, "The Zanga villagers are all on alert now. The chief is thoroughly worried about the earthquakes."
Roxton broke off from a small group of children following him, he pointed back to the row of neatly made huts. "Each family has been put into their homes, only the men have been left to defend the village."
Malone held his rife, checking his site, "I've done the best that I can over on my end." He looked at Marguerite, "How are you doing on your end?"
Marguerite looked up from a small wound on a young man's head that she was bandaging. "Almost finished here. That last tremor caused some basic injuries, but the village medicine man should be able to take care of the rest."
Challenger looked back out a the field, "Then all is ready…" He said to himself.
Veronica looked up at him, "As ready as well ever be." She looked out at the decimated landscape, and wondered what would happen in the few moments to come…