Lying on his stomach, a good few yards back from the edge of the cliff and obeying the warning to keep his head down, Cisco stared at the fenced camp in the clearing below. Any trees between the base of the cliff and the fence had been cleared away. The fence itself was a good ten feet tall - which again made him wonder about the size of the native predators - and security fencing that curved outwards at the top, crowned with strands of barbed wire. Within the camp there were a scatter of buildings, most prefabricated, and apparently used as dwellings. A couple of larger buildings looked as if they were in use as workshops. The final structure was some kind of flying vessel, of a type he'd never seen before. And there were people - his gaze was firmly locked on a group of six - that's Savage, he thought, feeling a shock at seeing the evil immortal. Part of him had never really believed Sara Lance's story - until now. He didn't know who the rest of them were.
Mick Rory scanned the camp, basically looking for anything that would burn. When his partner had argued that they really needed to take a look at Savage's camp, he had a good idea of the kinds of things Snart had in mind. What he saw below wasn't too promising. The vegetation had been much cleared away and the structures were mostly metal - the contents of the buildings might be worth investigating. His gaze shifted to the perimeter fence, glancing along its length until he was looking directly at the gate. There was something odd about that and it took a moment to figure it out. When he did, a rather evil smile spread across his face. The occupants of the camp might as well have put out a sign saying, 'This is the route if you want to attack us'.
It was logical in its way, Snart thought. The defenses were intended to keep out predators. With no humans or similar species there had been no need to deter a planned incursion - so somebody thought. His lip curled for a moment at their carelessness - the camp was wide open. No guard posts, no floodlights, no electrified wiring and a simple sliding bolt on the single gate. Looking at the group of six people, he picked out Savage and - surprise - Cassandra Savage. He didn't know the dark-haired woman standing beside her. Two of the other men were dressed much like Eve Baxter and must be Caspar and Dronon. The last of the group was Tandy - another reason for mocking Savage's set-up.
Sara had already spotted the weakness in the camp's outer defenses. Her attention had moved on to look for blind spots and routes that could be used to penetrate the interior. Plainly this was a case of work in progress and would need more observation, but she thought she could make her way about unseen during the planet's night. Then her attention sharpened - something was happening down there. Work on a building had stopped and the workers were all looking at the flying vessel - which looked rather like a larger version of the Waverider's drop ship. The two men, whom she assumed were Caspar and Dronon, had gone on board. The Savages and their two companions had moved further away from the ship and were also watching.
X
''Time for our test.'' Savage had said and then watched the Time Masters board the vessel. He could hear the soft hum of the start-up sequence and then the ship lifted into the air. Clearing the height of the fence and then that of the surrounding trees, it seemed to hover in the air for a moment, then a breach opened directly in front of the ship, and it glided out of sight.
They waited, for what seemed like an eternity, although he knew was only a matter of a few minutes. Then the breach opened again, and the ship reappeared in the skies over the camp. Cheering broke out below.
X
On the ridge, the four observers looked at each h other, then in silent consent, began to move backwards. They had a lot to talk about.
