The Grindlift rig had landed several dozen feet away, landing squarely on all six tires and on fairly level terrain as well. JD considered it lucky that the big machine hadn't landed on one of the collapsed buildings that lay scattered around.
They had managed to touch down along the outskirts of the city, and the mission would have them trekking in towards the old city centre. JD hoped their rig could handle the drive through the destroyed city, but it was a big sturdy machine with oversized knobbly tires meant for rough terrain. And if Paduk and his nomads were already on site then perhaps they had cleared a decent path.
One of the side hatches opened as they approached and Dave zipped out, buzzing along the body of the rig and detaching the parachutes. Fahz and Cole gathered up the fabric and the lines, while JD, Marcus and Kait reviewed their data.
JD tried to pull up their location on his navigational gear, but the indicator flailed about on the screen, refusing to settle and show him any solid coordinates. Kait tried her own nav gear, but saw the same results.
Even the tiny button-sized compass—a small attachment on his belt that JD often forgot about—spun wildly, the needle swinging around and around endlessly.
"Ca— read m—" Static blasted in his ear piece and JD and the rest of them paused to listen. "Sho—sta—enix…"
"That sounded like Paduk." Kait observed, fingers pressed to her ear as she concentrated on the transmission.
"Probably saw us drop." Marcus said.
Then there was a blast of static with a high whine of feedback, making them all wince. The feedback faded after a few seconds, then a shrill beeping took over. It was a series of short, staccato sounds mixed with longer beeps. It seemed random and uncoordinated, and after a minute it stopped and the line went dead.
"Paduk, do you read?" JD asked once the radio went quiet. Low static garbled in his ear, then he heard a couple quick clips of the Gorasni's accent come through. It wasn't enough to make out any sort of information or words, and JD scowled and turned his face towards the centre of the old city.
He tried changing radio channels and calling to Paduk, and the beeping sputtered in his ear again. The next channel did the same thing, and the next.
JD sighed in frustration and dropped his fingers from his ear. "Great."
"That radio interference is getting worse." Marcus rumbled, his eyes scanning the terrain around them as he clutched his Lancer a little tighter.
"What was all that beeping?" Fahz asked, shoving an armful of parachute into a storage hatch on the side of the rig.
"The mystery signal?" Kait shrugged.
"Let's get on board and go find them." JD said with a nod towards the rig.
The group piled aboard the rig with Fahz quickly shouting that he was driving. No one objected, and he settled in the cab and keyed the engine. The machine growled to life, a plume of black smoke rising from an exhaust pipe along the rear roof.
The rig was smaller than its older ancestors. JD had seen the military rigs repurposed and used for transporting people and supplies to and from settlements. They were always mammoth vehicles, capable of carrying dozens of people on multiple levels. The old COG models had been equipped with turrets and heavy armour, but their current rig was a more streamlined design, meant more for speed than combat.
Dizzy, if the crazy cowboy was still out there somewhere, would probably scoff at their comparatively tiny machine. Even if it wasn't half the size of old Betty, the rig was still a force to be reckoned with.
JD and the others stood on its roof and swayed with the rocking of the vehicle. The Grindlifts themselves were strapped down on the aft section, laying on their sides and nestled tightly together. Even they were smaller than the Grindlifts of old. Baird had clearly adjusted their design since their last use in the Hollow assault.
JD didn't know how he felt about climbing into one of those cylinders and burrowing through the soil. He'd heard how terrible the originals had been, and despite being redesigned by Baird, he didn't doubt the ride would still be awful. JD would have rather climbed down into an open shaft or blasted or drilled their way down. Hopping in a Grindlift would leave him blind and at the whim of the machine, frantically hoping it knew how to get them to their destination safely.
They didn't know exactly where Paduk and his nomad's were stationed, but they knew it was near the city centre, so that was where they were headed. With their nav gear out of commission, they had to rely on old orienteering skills to try and navigate their way. And with the magnetic interference rendering their compasses useless, they had to use the sun's position as their guide.
Thankfully they had an old paper map that Baird had scrounged up prior to the mission, and they used it for direction as best they could. Kait would call directions down to Fahz in the cab, who would steer the rig through the ruined streets. His driving was a little rough for JD's taste, but Fahz was making good time.
They drove on for a long time, the rig thundering over rubble and threading its way through demolished streets. The houses grew more numerous as they went, and large buildings began appearing along the roadside. Another kilometre or so, and there were no houses anymore, just all buildings, warehouses, and factories.
They all kept their eyes trained on their surroundings, wary of any enemies that might be hiding behind broken windows or half-crumbled walls. Every time they turned a corner the group tensed, ready for an ambush.
But aside from a few rodents and the odd lizard, there was no life in the ruined city.
"Fenix," Paduk's voice was in his ear again, stronger than before. There was still static, but it was faded enough JD could make out the nomad's frustrated voice. "Can you hear me?!"
"I read you, Paduk. There's a lot of interference." He said, his tone all business. Paduk hadn't specified which Fenix he had been trying to reach, but as the ranking officer it was JD's responsibility to respond.
"Yes," the Gorasni grumbled. The shrill beeping was still going on, but it was fainter and settled into the background noise on the channel. "Radio communication is spotty at best. We're sending coordinates now for our rendezvous."
A moment later Dave buzzed and waggled his body in the air, confirming he had received the coordinates Paduk had promised. Kait handed the paper map off to one of Dave's manipulators, and the robot maneuvered down the small walkway along the side of the rig to the cab door and slid inside to convey the directions to Fahz.
"Anything we should worry about on the way?" JD asked, his eyes darting around the dilapidated buildings. He didn't like the quiet, having grown too used to Swarm ambushes and raids. Quiet usually meant things were watching them, waiting for a chance to strike. The quiet prickled at the back of his neck and made his muscles tighten and his trigger finger twitch.
"Things have been very peaceful," Paduk explained, the suspicion plain in his voice. He clearly didn't enjoy the quiet any more than JD did. "But be ready for surprises. Paduk out."
His radio crackled again and Fahz's voice came through. "Does anyone else feel like we're heading straight into some sort of trap?"
Marcus grunted and scowled up at the buildings while Kait sighted up the scope on her Longshot and peered ahead of them.
"If the Swarm want to throw the Cole Train a party, then I promise to act surprised!" Cole laughed and grinned wide in his typical manner.
The drive continued on and so did the quiet. The rocking of the rig made JD's stomach sway and his nausea crept back in, slowly but steadily. He tried his best to compensate for the motions by shifting on his feet with every bump and tilt, but it did little to help.
JD focused on the road ahead and forced himself to think of anything other than his turbulent stomach and the way he felt cold in the overbearing heat of the sun. Kait appeared at his side and he felt her tug the canteen from his belt and force it into his hand.
"Give the word and we'll stop." She said quietly. The rumble of the engine and the crunch of the rubbled beneath the tires prevented her voice from travelling to Marcus and Cole, but JD knew his father could see his discomfort and just chose to remain silent.
"I'll be alright." He chugged back two big mouthfuls of water and felt a bit of relief.
"Keep drinking." Kait ordered, her tone firm but concerned as she coaxed the canteen back up to his face. "You're sweating a lot." For the briefest moment JD saw a hint of Reyna's fire in her eyes.
"Yes, ma'am." He responded in cheeky obedience, smirking and taking another drink.
"Don't be an ass about it." Kait chuckled, giving his shoulder a light punch.
"I wouldn't dare."
Another twenty minutes rolled by, and JD's stomach kept churning but the discomfort had receded enough that it was easily pushed to the back of his mind. The rig was nearing the heart of the old city; the buildings growing larger and more impressive with every kilometre.
It was a very different trip than their last journey to Vasgar. Aside from his upset stomach, the ride was much smoother and more enjoyable. The skiff they'd used to sail the desert last time had certainly been a thrill, but navigating through fiery lightning flurries had ruined the experience for JD. The massive derrick was slow and lumbering, but at least he didn't have to worry about falling off with each turn or getting struck by lightning or crashing into a razor sharp glass tree.
"Everyone down!" Marcus barked suddenly, squatting low behind the rig's upper railing.
JD, Kait and Cole didn't question the order and immediately hunkered down. Fahz slowed the rig slightly, and JD fought to listen for any sound other than the engine.
His father peered up quickly, eyes staring hard at a building ahead of them on their right side. Then the old man relaxed and stood up.
"False alarm," he said, pointing ahead of them. "Look."
There was a man atop the building, standing tall and waving at them. He was dressed in the sand and green garments and armour of Paduk's nomads. Dangling at his waist was a shiny unpainted Embar rifle.
JD waved back and heard the man shout in rapid, unrecognizable speech. While he couldn't tell what he was saying, the nomad's body language was open and welcoming and he waved them forward.
"Looks like he's our guide. Fahz," he called through his radio. "We've got someone showing us the way."
"Roger that." The rig rumbled up to full speed again and they followed the nomad after he had descended from atop the building.
It was only a few minutes after that before they rolled through a gated checkpoint, dusty-faced nomads peering at them suspiciously. They muttered amongst themselves, gesturing at their Grindlift rig and following behind them to study the big machine.
"And there's the old man himself." Fahz piped up through the radio.
Up ahead Paduk stood waiting for them, his arms crossed over his chest plate with that perpetually unimpressed look on his face.
"Surprise surprise," JD muttered. "He's not happy to see us."
"Can you blame him? We only show up when we need something from him. And we're COG."
Paduk looked about the same as the last time they had seen him. His hair was trimmed shorter—clearly a haircut done himself with a knife—and maybe there were a few extra scars, but he was still the same old Gorasnayan.
"Welcome children." Paduk sounded as annoyed and petulant as he had the last time they had seen him. He stepped forward as the group disembarked their rig.
JD managed to keep the surprise from his face when Paduk offered him his hand to shake. Paduk might have been old, but his grip was as strong as any man's half his age and JD tried not to wince as his hand was crushed in a vice grip.
Kait got a handshake along with a friendly pat on the arm, which was a level of affection that bordered on the obscene when coming from the old UIR Major. Marcus and Paduk shared a respectful soldier's handshake, and Cole—being Cole—scooped the other man up into a bear hug, earning him an earful of grunted obscenities.
"Paduk, baby! How you been, man?" Cole exclaimed with his big grin. Paduk muttered something in Gorasni that did not sound as cranky as JD would have expected, and the old man managed to free a hand to give Cole a tolerant pat on the back.
After Cole had dropped the disgruntled nomad back onto the ground, Paduk waved the rest of them forward. "Come. I will show you what Baird has planned."
The rest of the nomads had gathered and were inspecting the Grindlift rig, some even climbing up onto its roof to examine it.
"Uh, they're not going to touch anything, right?" Fahz asked. "We're not going to come back and find it propped up cinderblocks with no wheels?"
Paduk shot him a glare, then barked out something in a language none of them recognized. The one of the nomads yelled something back and waved them off as they poked around the rig, exploring the cab and opening the storage compartments to peer inside. One of them prodded Dave with the muzzle of his rifle, and the bot buzzed and chirped indignantly.
"They will leave it intact. They're just satisfying their curiosity." Paduk said.
"Yeah? Well our gear better still be there when we get back, otherwise I'm gonna get real curious with the business end of my Lancer." Fahz hissed, motioning to his eyes with two fingers then pointing them warningly at a nearby nomad.
"Don't worry, they have their orders. Baird sent some payment two days ago to ensure our help." Paduk led the group passed a big stockpile of crates and boxes, each one sporting the COG seal in bright yellow paint.
JD paused and lifted the lid on one of the boxes and saw dozens of military ration packs. Another crate was filled with ammo, and unpainted Enforcers were spilling out of a third. They had clearly been taken directly from the factory assembly line, boxed up and shipped out before they could be painted and counted as part of official COG inventory.
"Guns, ammo and food. The true way to a soldier's heart." Kait mused.
The nomads had cordoned off an intact section of the the Vasgari city, with worn tall buildings surrounding them on all sides. It provided welcome shade from the harsh desert sun, and it left them with plenty of covered space to occupy. Scavenging of the buildings was well under way, with crates and boxes covering the sidewalks.
They entered the base of an opulent sandstone structure with glossy dark windows that had faded over the years. Based on the architecture and worn decorations, JD guessed it had been a high-end hotel.
Where the front desk had been located, the nomads had covered it with an assortment of crude computer consoles and radios. JD supposed it was their base of operations.
Paduk led the group to a corner of the large room where a low table sat surrounded by several faded plush chairs and sofas.
The nomad dropped into one of the chairs, sending up a cloud of dust and sand. Cole flopped onto one of the sofas, and it creaked ominously under his bulk while JD and Kait sat across from them.
The low table had an old map spread atop it and JD leaned forward to peer at it. A series of red lines had been scrawled on the paper, with one huge area circled.
"As you no doubt saw, half of this city has been sunk. We don't know when it happened, but we have reason to believe it was the Locust Riftworm that did it." Paduk traced his finger over the large area circled off. "The seismic activity Baird detected is located here," he jabbed his finger toward the east side of the circle, deep in the heart of the collapsed section of the city.
"Of course. Nothing's ever easy, is it?" Fahz sneered down at the map, leaning over the back of JD's sofa.
Paduk ignored him and continued. "Two days ago Baird sent some of his little round robots. Looked like balls. What are they called? Packers?"
"You mean Trackers?" Cole asked, an eyebrow arched.
"Yes, Trackers. Small robots to handle the broken terrain. Baird armed them with sonic resonators and two of them managed to find a way below the surface." Two small dots on the map indicated their insertion points. "Luckily for you, when the city collapsed many of the Locust tunnels beneath remained intact. The Trackers deployed their sonic resonators and we have a detailed map of what lies under there."
"I hate this plan more and more." Fahz grumbled.
"Based on the data, Baird wants you to use your machine to drill down here." Paduk pointed to a red X near the northern edge of the collapsed city, a series of coordinates scrawled nearby. "There are tunnels there that will lead you toward the source of this strange signal. I will have one of my men upload the map data into your Jack."
"Dave. This one's name is Dave." Kait corrected.
Paduk gave a dismissive shrug. "Whatever. From the insertion point you will find the source of Baird's signal, retrieve it if you can, then return for evac."
"That insertion point seems kind of far away," JD tilted his head to read the map key. "A few kilometres away at least. Do we know what things look like down there? If we're moving on foot, this could take hours if we're lucky. Days if we're not." At that, Fahz let out a choked sound and tried to cover it by clearing his throat.
"The sonic resonators show the way is open, but I would expect it to be a difficult journey. I would pack accordingly." Paduk rose to his feet. "It's too late in the day to go now, so take the time to prepare. You three can set up your tents near your machine." Then the old nomad turned to Marcus and Cole. "You two, come with me. We will drink and talk."
"Ooh you know how to woo the Cole Train, baby!" Cole grinned and followed happily, Marcus in tow.
"So they're off to be reminiscent old men," Kait said with a sigh. "And we get stuck with all the work."
"With age comes privilege?" JD offered. "Come on, I'll show you the best way to keep the scorpions out of the tents."
"You know I forgot why I hated it here, and you just reminded me." The sarcasm dripped from Fahz's tone.
"You had your chance to bow out and you still decided to come along." Kait teased. "You're not allowed to complain anymore."
"I don't call it complaining, I call it charming and witty commentary on our current situation." Fahz smirked, following the two of them out of the old hotel. "And if this mission goes tits up—and I guarantee it will—you're going to hear a lot of it."