Shimazu grabbed Kai by the sleeve, and then nodded at their host.
"I'm going to head back to the chopper and wait there, just to keep an eye on things. If everyone else is going with you, you should be fine." Kai nodded, then looked again at his host – he hadn't picked up any signs of hostility or treachery from home, and he wondered what had set Shimazu slightly on edge. Wandering along the beach wasn't the best time to work it out though, so he clapped Shimazu on the shoulder as he turned and led the rest of the team up towards the large log cabin several metres above the high water line on the beach.
The cabin was rustic – or was very cleverly designed to look that way. Built from local trees, it appeared to be constructed using traditional methods, and the team could imagine a swarm of workers chopping down trees, trimming logs and then carefully overlapping them as they built the sturdy cabin. It was picturesque, and looked like something from a postcard – at least until they reached the threshold. Inside was a shocking revelation, though.
Empty bottles and beer cans, overflowing ashtrays, the remains of meals and snacks – all were scattered throughout the ground floor of the house in a great morass. Dirty laundry was thrown over the back of chairs, stains were evident on the floor and the place had a sweaty stench that permeated the atmosphere. Hunter quickly shut down his cyber-sensors built into his nasal passages, not wanting to smell any more than he had to, and the team struggled not to wrinkle their noses.
They were used to a certain amount of smell – being cooped up in the chopper or the truck for long journeys with limited chance to wash and keep clean meant that after a while a certain 'ripeness' was unavoidable. But they did their best to limit the impact, and when they had finished with whatever combat operation they had been engaged on, were quick to try and find any opportunity to get clean. Clearly that was not the case here, and the filth had been building up for months…
"Perhaps we can grab a drink and sit on the veranda to the side, take in the view?" Aswon suggested, looking around the rest of the team for support. When several of them nodded, the small Philippino just nodded at them and then pointed to the crate of beers located on the bar, snagging one for himself and then wandering over to the door, pushing it open with the tip of his barang.
"Actually, Kai – I'm going to head back to the chopper as well. I've been watching the sky and I think we're due that change in weather sooner rather than later. So I'd rather check on the systems and get some maintenance done now rather than when the weather breaks."
"No worries, Marius. We'll give you a shout if anything comes up." Kai watched him turn and retrace his steps, then turned back to his host. "So, hello. Thank you for the drink, by the way." He fumbled with the top for a moment, then had a sip of the warm and frothy beer, trying hard to look appreciative as the non-descript ale sloshed down his gullet.
"So. Mr. Wu sent you to come and see me, did he? But I don't see any goods or samples. What have you bought me?"
"Err, sorry – that wasn't explained to us. If we were supposed to bring you a gift, I'm sure we can get something sorted out for you, but Mr. Wu didn't mention that."
"No, not a gift- though I'd not turn one down. But trade goods – that's what makes things work out here." He took a deep pull on his beer, then leant back in his chair and gazed out to sea, while he slowly scratched at his shoulder with the back side of his blade. "Money is nice and all, but supplies and goods will make you friends."
"Ahh, I see. Well, we do have some goods… they're quite small, but quite expensive and rare over here, I would have thought. A nice delicacy, suitable for impressing an important contact, perhaps." Two seats down, Tads sighed a little, knowing that Kai was probably talking about truffles or prime steak, and that her services were more than likely going to be required soon.
"So – what is it that you need here? What can Kui Hai provide for you?"
"Well, mostly we're after a top up of fuel, and somewhere safe to spend the night – then we're planning to be on our way and heading for Papa New Guinea to meet up with some people. Other than that – I don't think we're really after anything – just a nice simple fuel stop and no trouble – that'd be great."
"Hah. Ok, that we can probably do. I like no trouble." Kui Hai took another swig of his beer and then looked around the team. Kai watched him, studying his mannerisms carefully, and trying to get a better read on the guy. He seemed very laid back and chilled, non-confrontational really, as if he'd rather just sit and drink beer and stare at the ocean all day. Yet despite that, the barang was held ready to swing at a moment's notice, and seemed to be an extension of his body. The two images didn't quite gel, and that made Kai feel a touch unsettled. Maybe it was time to do a little digging…
"Though, it must be said – we are international couriers. So though we have a job at the moment that we're currently working on, if we're heading the right direction, I'm sure we can try to help you out with any deliveries you might have or need." Unsurprisingly both Aswon and Hunter glared at him, though by now they'd both pretty much given up on trying to stop Kai offering their services to seemingly everyone they ever met. Short of physical violence there seemed to be no way to dissuade him, and taking out their boss during negotiations with the butt of a rifle hardly enhanced their appearance as professionals…
"Interesting. That depends how trustworthy you are, of course, and at the moment, that's not a lot." He smiled at them, and raised his beer in salute, and his tone remained friendly. "Nothing personal of course, but you just got here, and I have no idea of who and what you do."
"None taken – trust must be earnt, like respect." Kai raised his own beer in a return salute, then had a swig, trying not to let more than a sip of the warm frothy mixture into his mouth.
"I'm glad you said that. There is something you can do to help me, that may lead to a little trust between us. There's a team on the island that have reached the end of their agreement, and haven't paid for their new dig licence. If you can go get them to pay up and make sure they understand the situation, that'd be helpful."
"Not paying for their licence? How rude. Yes, I think we can help with that… do you have the co-ordinates handy, and we'll fire up the chopper and go pay them a visit."
"Yes, I do – but no, you can't. It's under the canopy, and there's no way you'd get a landing past the trees. You could deploy by ropes maybe, but not anything that big, that's for sure. But it's only a couple of kilometres inland, and there's a trail….you do have knives, yes?"
We do have knives, but they're utility knives – not really suitable for work in the jungle. Do you have any to loan?" Aswon asked. As Kui Hai shook his head, he tried a different tack. "Or to sell?" Now he got a nod, and sat back on his chair to study the slender Filipino. It appeared that he was of the school of thought that everything in life had a value, and must be charged for, and that he was constitutionally bound to do so.
"Well, I'm sure we can manage a little walk inland and a chat with some people. Sure, we can do this for you." Kai slid in smoothly. "Now, let's see about getting Aswon here a knife, and we'll go pay these people a visit."
Kui Hai rummaged around in the back of the house for a minute before returning with a slightly tarnished but still serviceable Barang. It lacked a keen edge, but this was very much a weapon for hacking and slashing, rather than something that relied upon a razor like cutting surface.
"How much then?" Aswon winced, wondering just what outrageous fee he was going to charge.
"Twenty five. And I trust you enough to add it to the cost of your fuel bill." Aswon blinked, then nodded. It wasn't nothing, but it was actually a pretty reasonable price for a new blade – though of course this one was old and battered – but it was also a seller's market. He re-evaluated things slightly…maybe he was just a guy that had to have a value on everything?
Kai headed down the veranda and stood facing the ocean, and then fired up his comms.
"Marius, we've got a very quick little job to do – just need to get a payment from someone inland that owes money to our host. Just doing it to show him we're happy to work with him and get stuff done. Shouldn't be an issue, but I just wanted to find out if we can get some air cover or support. Apparently we can't take the chopper up there as the tree cover is too thick."
"If it's inland, then I would expect so… but I could probably get the Dalmation up there. If nothing else, the jets should be able to clear a path through if the cover isn't too dense. Are you expecting a fight, then?"
"No, not really. But I'm hoping that a drone providing support that clearly outmatches them will make that even less likely. A nice show of force to persuade them to take the easy option."
"That should be ok then. When do you want it, and how far is the location?"
"It's about two kilometres inland, and in about as long as it takes us to hike two kilometres…"
"Oh, that close? In that case call me when you're about a hundred metres from the location – I could be there at about the same time as you, then."
"Ok fine. Hang on, Tads wants something." Kai turned to face Tads, who'd waved in front of him to attract his attention. He listened for a moment, then relayed the request. "Tads says can you send Vadim up here and ask him to bring her staff with him?"
A few moments later Vadim appeared out of the side door, bringing Tads' staff along with a couple of water bottles and a small first aid kit, having heard where they were going. He'd only made it halfway up the beach towards them when they could see Marius and Shimazu carry out the Dalmation and set it on the sands well clear of the chopper, where Marius started to set it up ready for flight.
"Right, we'll set off in a few minutes. But, let's be sensible and cautious about this, shall we, and do some recon first?" Kai cocked an eyebrow at Tads, and she nodded at him in return.
"Shouldn't be a problem. Ok, first of all Vadim, find somewhere comfy to settle. As soon as you leave your body, it's going to just flop, so you need to get prepared whenever you can and find the best place for it. The rest of the team will watch over us while we're gone so we should be fine here – but the last you want is to come back and find that something external has affected you while you were out. Don't sit behind a door or near moving machinery for instance…" Vadim nodded, and the two of them squirmed down into the sand, making themselves comfortable and then relaxing. Tads talked him through the process of divorcing his body and soul, guiding him up and out of his physical form, and then following her up the path.
The jungle was a riot of life, glowing on the astral plane like a beacon of almost blinding light. With next to no pollution or man-made items, the space was refreshingly pure, and the abundance of natural life was calming and soothing. Tads pointed out various plants and animals as they flitted through the jungle, spying a number of dual-natured critters or growths that might prove to be interesting – if they got the time to study them.
Floating as ethereal spirits, they made good time up the path, not being affected by the terrain in any way and with very few of the creatures nearby being able to perceive them at all. The few dual-natured critters that did see them didn't appear to be threats, though Tads remained wary and kept her staff to hand. They closed in on the location described to them, and entered an area where the trees and foliage were much sparser – though it was by no means a clearing. Perhaps some giant tree had fallen in the past, or maybe there were rocks just under the ground that prevented growth – but the trees surrounding the area had more than compensated, growing together to cover the area and allowing only a patchy view of the sky.
Inside the area where a gaggle of people, split up into twos and threes, each concentrating on the ground between them, apart from one man who was stood in the centre of the area, studying something in his hands. A quick glance around showed that most of the people had only the very lightest amount of cyberware in them, and they were all generally healthy, though quite mundane. The man in the middle however was talented, though of little power. He also had a very small amount of cyberware, mostly in his head – enough to make Tads stop and examine him again. In her travels so far she'd come across nobody else with talent that had polluted their body with augmentations, accepting the loss of magical power and potential it caused them.
Maybe she moved too suddenly, or perhaps he just happened to glance up at the right time – but a moment later the man did look up, straight at Tadibya and Vadim, staring at them in surprise.
"Hello. Don't mind us, we're just passing through."
"What? Who are you people, and what are you doing here?" They could see the mundane groups around the area stop what they were doing, looking around in vain for whoever or whatever the man was talking to. Tads gave them a quick glance to see if there was anything interesting revealed about them, but when she discovered nothing, turned back towards the man studying them.
"Have a good afternoon!" She turned and left quickly, hoping that Vadim was right on her heels. She concentrated on breaking line of sight as quickly as possible, putting trees and bushes between them so their living auras would conceal them. "Oops. Well, may he'll just put it down as random chance. Or maybe they'll be aware that we're coming. But we know at least one of them is magically active, and has The Sight. So, they'd be able to spot Watcher Spirits or spells on the area quite easily, and that's worth knowing."
As they flitted back to the camp, she spent the time telling Vadim a little about what he could do to help conceal his astral form, how he could hide and what he could do if he was spotted. When they arrived back, Tads stretched and then turned to Kai.
"There's ten of them, I think. Split up around the glade in twos and threes. Didn't spot any guns, very light cyberware – things like datajacks and other very light touch items. One person was on his own in the middle rather than in the small groups – and he's magically active, though not very powerful. Has some cyber in him, mostly in the head, which is pretty unusual. He did spot us, but we left without causing any further alarm or giving him time to assense us or get any details."
"Well, it's going to take some time for us to get there overland, so it's likely they'll have either come off any alarm that might have been raised, or they'll be well dug in by then. We'll just have to see which it is. Ok, everyone grab a water bottle and your gear, and let's make a start."
They headed up past the house and into the jungle, following the narrow trail that Kui Hai had identified to them. It wasn't very wide, so they ended up travelling in single file, with Hunter leading the way and Aswon bringing up the rear, while Kai, Tadibya and Vadim were in the centre. The light level dropped as they walked under the canopy, but the jungle here wasn't that dense – being mostly single canopy and having a lot of low lying foliage, rather than the double or triple canopy growth of places like the Amazonia Basin. The proximity to the sea also provided a gentle breeze, which was enough to keep the heat from being stifling and oppressive.
In the physical world, it was just as much a riot of colour, life, sound and smell as it had appeared to be in the astral world. Colourful blooms dotted the lush green trees, small blossoms starting to appear as the season turned. It took a moment for the group to realise that this close to the equator the concept of seasons tended to fade away, and all year was a growing season. Overwhelmingly though their vision was full of green, as the plants grew in the warm wet and fertile soil, questing ever higher to reach the suns nourishing rays.
After perhaps half a kilometre Aswon started to see the odd glimpse of movement behind him, out of the corner of his eyes as he surveyed the jungle from his position at the rear. He started to turn randomly and quickly, eventually catching sight of a small and furry creature with large eyes that was jumping from tree to tree and following them. He whistled to the party, and when they'd all stopped, he extended his spear to provide a sight line for them to examine the creature.
"Look up there, to the left. Brown tree trunk with the broad branch heading towards us, about four metres up. Just underneath the branch, in the shadow, there's a small creature with a mottled brown coat. It's been following us for a little while. When it jumps from one tree to another, it spreads its legs and the skin sort of stretches out and it looks to glide over." Hunter raised his rifle and looked through his scope, studying the critter for a moment.
"Looks like a lemur, and based on our location I'd put money on it being the Philippine Flying Lemur to be exact. Not magical in nature as a species, but they do glide like you say – they're really good at it, in fact. But generally pretty harmless – not known to carry VITAS or any other plagues or infectious diseases beyond the normal lice and fleas." He lowered the rifle and then checked around the jungle, making sure he couldn't see anything else creeping up on them.
"What does it eat? Generally I mean?"
"Fruits and berries, insects, grubs, that kinda thing. Why?"
"Well, I'd rather not be stalked by it if we can help it – it might attract other predators or tip off our prey. But I also don't want to feed it and suddenly find a swarm of the little buggers appearing out of the jungle. So I was wondering if Tads can make some small bits of fruit at the bottom of the tree over there to distract it, while we head off. A moment later a small pile of apple chunks appeared at the base of the tree, answering that question, as Tads concentrated for a moment to create some food. She didn't try especially hard, making sure that most of her energy went into the backlash from the spell – after all, it was unlikely to complain about the quality.
The lemur wrinkled its nose and then looked around itself in confusion, eventually spotting the pile of pale yellow apple pieces. It leapt off the tree and glided down to the ground, grabbing a piece of apple and then swarming back up the tree trunk to a good height before slowly chomping away on the fruit. When the lump was consumed, it threw itself off the tree again, swooping down on the pile of fruit and snagging a second morsel, before retreating back to a higher perch to consume it. As the team turned to head up the track, the head flipped between them and the pile of fruit, before it once more descended to the tempting snack, grabbing a third piece of apple.
They saw and heard plenty of other animals and critters along the way, and Aswon spotted some kind of awakened creeper growing near the path, that might make a suitable target for talismongering if they had time on the way back. But, after thirty minutes of travel without further incident, they closed on the location of the camp, and started to make deliberate efforts to quieten their approach.
A noise attracted the attention of both Hunter and Aswon at almost the same moment, a high pitched and shrill whine that was right on the edge of hearing. Both signalled the team to stop, and they carefully looked around for the source. A minute later Hunter had crept forwards far enough to spot the ultrasonic emitter set up around the clearing, forming a ring in the edge of the jungle. The high frequency sound waves blasted out from the flat panels, forming a barrier of noise that would be unpleasant or even painful to cross for many natural creatures, providing a deterrent to them entering the camp. As he got close to the emitter and checked it out, watching the ultrasound waves blasting out using his cybernetic enhancements, he became aware of the chit-chat going on between the closest people in the camp – discussing which of their number was going to be cooking for the group that night, and the other person lamenting that it was 'Frank' and thus likely to be burnt and bland. He retreated back to the main group and filled in the rest of the team.
"Ok, here's what I want to do." Kai looked around, and made sure his radio was active, calling through to Marius as well as the team surrounding him. "Let's get the drone in the air and on the way, but keep it high above the trees please. When I mention the Gods, that's your cue Marius. Hunter, can you work around to the left a little, and stay hidden – until I mention how dangerous a place this could be. Aswon, likewise, but to the right. Tads, and Vadim actually, if you hang back with me while I negotiate. Let's see what they're made of."
He gave Aswon and Hunter a minute to work their way into position, and then strode up the trail, wandering into the edge of the glade and clearing his throat. The noise attracted the attention of everyone there, and they all stopped to turn and stare at him. Split around the glade were a bunch of people holding small trowels and spades, brushes and sample boxes, working to slowly uncover some kind of ruin or broken stones from underneath the leaf-strewn floor. Dressed in casual clothes, with a mish-mash of fashions, they all appeared to be in their early twenties, and were a mix between males and females, though all were human. In the centre of the glade, overseeing them all was a man wearing a patterned shirt with a bow tie that was entirely inappropriate for jungle travel, along with what looked like suit trousers held up by wide braces. He was of average height for a man, but had a protruding pot belly, and his face was flushed a deep crimson, with a fine trace of blood vessels around his nose.
"Good afternoon. My name is Mr. Kai, and I've come to talk to you about your overdue payment. Would you like to step over to one of your tents, perhaps, and have a private discussion?"
"Absolutely not! I have nothing to hide from my students. In fact, it's my duty to educate them and further their experiences – such as how to deal with some jumped-up little man coming begging for money!"
"I assure you, sir, that this would be better done in private. I'll not relay your description of our employer to him, as a courtesy to you." Kai deflected, probing to see what kind of response he'd get.
"This is an outrage! An absolute outrage! That layabout scoundrel down on the beach has already received a substantial payment from us. SUBSTANTIAL. And provided nothing in return. This island isn't his, and he has no right to charge us for a DIG PERMIT. Scandal I say!"
"Well, as I understand it all organisations and expeditions wishing to examine the ruins here, pay a fee. Large and small, they pay. As you have. But now your time is up, and you need to pay for more time."
"The man is an arrogant chancer, out for nothing but a quick profit. Well, you tell that piece of third world trash that we simply won't pay. Won't, I tell you!"
"Come now, let's be reasonable. Didn't you agree to pay him? Isn't your word worth anything?" Kai put an edge to his voice, as his opponent blustered and waffled. "A verbal contract is still something, isn't it? Breaking a deal…well, it's simply not cricket."
"Cricket? What would someone like you know about cricket?" Kai stopped for a moment and stared at the man, wondering if he realised just how pathetic his attempt at racial discrimination made him sound.
"Well, I may not be an expert. But I do know that the world is a dangerous place, and you never know what may lay around the corner." There were sudden gasps as first Hunter and then Aswon appeared out of the foliage, flanking the students. Gripping their trowels and brushes as if they were primitive weapons, they fell back towards the centre of the camp, into a clump behind their tutor. Hunter snarled at them, his asymmetrical lumpy face twisting into a visage that could give nightmares, while Aswon simply smiled, revealing the huge fangs implanted into his jaw. Both of their weapons were held ready, though not pointing at the group…they indicated that it was certainly an option.
"Are you threatening me? How dare you!"
"No, I'm not threatening you. I'm just pointing out that you're not in a great position."
"I am a respected Professor from one of the finest universities in England. Something YOU would know nothing about." A memory clicked in his mind, a conversation from long ago between Germaine and Aswon.
"Light blue or dark blue?"
"I am from Cambridge!"
"Oh, shame. I thought you might be from the good one…" Kai repaid the earlier cutting remarks with interest, and watched as the barb struck home. The professor flushed even further, and his lips trembled as he seemed to be working up to an apoplectic level of anger. "Well, regardless – you want to be careful. You never know who's watching, or what the gods have in store for you, regardless of what university you say you're from."
Marius plunged the Dalmation down in a swooping arc, aiming for a gap in the trees only centimetres broader than the drone. Flames licked out from the thrusters as he threw fuel to the engines to arrest its shocking descent, bringing it to a bobbing hover about five metres above the ground, sending a swirl of leaves and debris blasting out. The drone nosed up slightly, and the ominous barrel of the heavy machine gun tracked down and pointed at the forehead of the sweating professor.
"See, if I wanted to threaten you, I'd use a heavily armed drone controlled by an ace pilot to do it." Kai smiled, then decided to take a bit of a gamble. "A drone strong enough to withstand any of your magic – especially when it's protected by our own shaman, let alone the rest of the team." To his side, Aswon made a conscious decision to drop part of his masking, and activated his weapon foci – knowing that the bright glow of the ancient spear would be impossible to miss on the astral plane.
Vadim took a deep breath and then focussed, his brow furrowing as he concentrated hard on gathering mana. As the magical energies started to form in his hand, his Shamanic mask became evident, features extending into those of a Wolverine, while his eyes became hard and black, staring at the Professor with hunger.
The Professor licked his lips nervously, and then the team saw his shoulders sag as the fight evaporated out of him. It was possible he might be able to throw a fireball or lightning blast – though Tads didn't think it was likely his magic would get through the shield she had covering the team – but there was no way he could take out more than the three of them standing together in one hit. Either Hunter or Aswon could almost certainly take him down in return with a single attack, and the drone could pump fifty calibre fire down into the whole group and turn them into so much red mist if they even began to look twitchy. It was abundantly clear to all involved who held all of the cards.
"Give me a moment." The Professor slumped, then headed over towards one of the tents, disappearing inside. Kai turned towards the rest of the students, then cleared his throat.
"I think the excitement's over. Why don't you go about your business, get back to what you were doing?"
"You can't tell us what to do!" One of the taller youths seemed to have summoned some bravado from somewhere, and his backchat managed to sound almost calm – almost. Hunter snapped his gun up to a firing position and laid the laser sight over the guy's nose, making the end glow red as the beam intersected with the thin tissue. They saw the youth go slightly boss-eyed as his attention was drawn to the glow, and his throat moved as he swallowed reflexively in fear. Kai coughed, and then poured a little power into his voice.
"Back. To. Work." The students were moving before they realised what was going on, dispersing away from the middle of the camp, and then moving around uncertainly as they tried to work out where they needed to be. A few moments passed, and they saw the tent flap flip open, with the Professor then coming out holding a cred-stick in his pudgy sweaty hand.
"Here, take it. But tell that bandit he's not getting a Nuyen more out of us!"
"And this is the full amount is it? The full…?" Kai left the question hanging, waiting to see if he'd fall for it.
"Yes, the full five thousand. But that's it – that's all we have left. So he can't have any more!"
"Excellent. I'm sure our employer will be satisfied. We'll be on our way now, and leave you to your business."
Kai turned and headed out, closely followed by Vadim and Tads. As soon as they left the glade, Hunter and Aswon started to work sideways, then disappeared back into the undergrowth. A few seconds later they heard the engines ramp up on the drone as Marius started to climb higher and higher, spiralling up out of the glade and back through the hole in the canopy. Kai strode at a good pace for a few hundred metres, slipping and sliding down the trail as he opened the distance between them and the students until he figured they were well out of range, then slowed down again on a wider section of the trail to make sure everyone was ok.
They headed back to camp in reverse order, Aswon leading the party this time while Hunter bought up the rear, heading back down the rough trail as it wound its way through the leafy jungle terrain back towards the beach. Aswon was glancing over to the right of the trail, keeping an eye out for creatures in that direction, when something moved near his left foot, emerging from underneath a broad leaf.
Bands of black and yellow writhed against each other as a body as thick as a man's arm coiled up, and unblinking black eyes stared at the juicy morsel just in front of it. As it raised to strike, both Hunter and Kai spotted the snake. Both raised their guns and fired instinctively, knowing that a shouted warning would be useless – Aswon had neither the time nor space to get out of the way.
It was hard to say who hit first, or which blow was the fatal one. Hunter's rifle round struck the snake's head, penetrating a short way inside before the fuse armed and the high-explosive charge went off, shattering the skull and sending flesh exploding outwards in all directions. Kai's shot hit near the tail, and the hydrostatic shock of the fatter round impacting on the body made the flesh undulate and ripple as if being shocked. In truth, either round would probably have been enough to kill the critter, but both made sure of its instant termination. Two very distinct booms echoed through the jungle – one from the gunshot of Kai's pistol, the second the explosive charge from Hunter's round, his rifle having a suppressor. Aswon was understandably somewhat surprised, throwing himself forwards and to the side as a small blast wave struck his leg without warning…
"What the hell!"
"Snake. Right where you were walking…" Aswon clambered to his feet and turned, seeing the remains of the snake as the corpse writhed and flexed as the body responded to mis-firing nerves.
"Oh… oh, thanks. Hadn't spotted him at all."
"Neither had the lemur by the looks of things." Tads added, then pointed. To the side of the leaf they saw a furry body, bent double and lying at an impossible angle, frozen in a rictus of pain. As they looked around, they realised they were back at the tree where Tads had created the slices of apple – and it looked like they'd provided lunch for more creatures than they'd originally intended.
"So, I'm guessing it was venomous?"
"It looks like a Krait to me – so yes. Very venomous, a really nasty neurotoxin. Probably only needs two or three milligrams of venom to take out the average person."
"Oh." Aswon looked around, checking there wasn't anything more lying in wait. "You said venomous, yes? Not poisonous?"
"No, not poisonous. Why?"
Aswon didn't answer at first, instead carefully pulling the snakes body out and checking it over. The snake was a good three metres long, even with bits blown off of it, and was easily fifteen centimetres in diameter. "Beach bar-b-q later anyone? Snake steak is pretty nice… Hey Vadim, help me get this up on my shoulders will you?" The two men lifted the snake up, draping it over Aswon like a scarf, and then slightly more cautiously Aswon set off down the trail.
In what felt like only moments, flies started to appear, drawn by the smell of blood, and were soon swarming in a cloud around the dripping ends of the snake – and Vadim, who appeared to have been splashed with blood. Soon he was slapping at the flies, and occasionally letting out a grunt of pain or frustration as something bit him.
The remainder of the journey was without further incident, the team emerging onto the beach as the sun started to dip towards the towering peak of the island to the west. As the light levels rose, they saw the state of Vadim's face, and concern flashed through them – the flies or mosquitoes – or whatever form of winged insects they were, had gone after him with a vengeance, and a number of angry looking red welts were starting to raise on his face.
"Come on, let's get you down to the shore and get those washed out. The water should be pure enough here and the salt levels should help clean them out." Vadim just nodded miserably at Aswon, following him mutely down to the edge of the water. He'd never left his homeland before, and the tropical flies had been a most unwelcome experience for someone raised on the edge of the tundra. As he sank to his knees and went to reach into the water, he felt Aswon's hand suddenly grab his shoulder.
"Hang on a minute – look, down there, on the edge of that rock…"
They peered into the water, the clear blue ocean flowing back and forth while the gentle waves formed an ever changing lens that they tried to observe through. The beach sloped gently down for perhaps a metre, then abruptly descended, turning into a series of rocky outcroppings and reef-like structures – and nestled in tight to one of the rocks was a bulbous shape.
"Akula?" Vadim whispered as he studied the shape. It barely moved, just slowly undulating in time with the action of the waves.
"Yeah, that looks like a shark to me. It's not that big – I reckon a metre and a half. But I have no desire to find out how big its teeth are." Aswon pointed his spear down towards the water, then gently extended his arm, the spear tip sliding into the water and down towards the beast. It rippled and bent bizarrely as it passed through the plane of the water, and Aswon adjusted his aim slightly to adjust for the refraction. As he got within thirty centimetres, the shark twitched and then suddenly thrashed into life. The body inflated, growing to five times its previous size inside a second, becoming a huge round ball with oddly protruding fins.
Aswon and Vadim surged back from the edge of the water in surprise at the transformation, and a moment later the water frothed as a mass of bubbles were released from the shark, and it deflated and quickly swam out to sea, disappearing into the depths.
"Let's try a few metres further down the beach – just in case…" Needless to say, they both examined the water and rocks carefully before Vadim knelt down at the edge of the surf, splashing water up onto his face and cleaning off the dried blood and sweat, along with the pus and ooze that were leaking from several of the welts.
Back on the veranda, Kai handed over the credstick to Kui Hai with a smile.
"They didn't give you any trouble, then?"
"Well, they didn't want to pay, and he had some firm opinions on people. But we managed to persuade him in the end, and without it coming to blows."
"Very good. So no problems then? It's just I thought I heard a few gunshots…"
"Ahh, well, we ran into a snake on the way back, lurking next to the trail. It got quite close to one of the team and we had to make a quick decision. Turns out though that we've got enough snake for a nice meal tonight though, so it's not all bad!"
"A snake? Hmm. Your people were lucky then. Many of the snakes here have a fearsome poison. What did it look like?"
"Bands of black over a sort of yellow or pale orange, in segments all down the body." Kai held out his arm and used his free hand to circle around his bicep. "About this big around, and probably about three metres long."
"Ahh, a banded Krait. Very strong poison. But may be tasty?"
"I hope so – Aswon is a talented man – his cookies are very good, and though he's not cooked snake before as far as I know, I'm sure he'll do us proud. And of course, you're welcome to join us and share in our food."
Shortly afterwards, Aswon and Vadim returned to the rest of the team, telling them about the shark they had seen. Hunter thought for a moment, trying to match the description to creatures he knew about – until they got to the surprising growth.
"Oh, that's a bubble shark then. They're a bit like the fish that suddenly inflate themselves to scare off predators. Just so you know, they're… well, they're like the vegan sharks of the world. Feed on plants and lichens and stuff like that, rather than other critters. Actually pretty timid from what I recall. So if you spot one, it probably thinks it's a safe and quiet area." Aswon nodded, filing the information away – you never knew when something like that would come in handy.
Vadim sat on the edge of the veranda, rubbing at his wounds and wincing, and gave a little start as Kui Hai squatted down next to him, and stared intently at his face.
"You got bitten in the jungle? Lots of little flies?" Vadim nodded miserably. "Ahh, not good. Not good at all." He looked up at the team. "You have a doctor?" Kai nodded, and dug out the first aid kit from his pouch, then moved over to sit on the other side of Vadim. "These wounds – they are not infected. They are where the eggs are waiting… They need to be removed."
Vadim went slightly paler and his eyes widened at the idea of some creature using his body as an incubator, and his breathing quickened. Kai squeezed his shoulder gently though.
"Well we can't be having that. Not to worry though – a couple of shots of Novacaine to numb things up, and we'll do a little careful cutting to get them out, then get you all patched up. Have you right as rain." He turned to face Kui Hai, while still holding on to Vadim's shoulder. "Is there a problem if we use magic here?" Their host shook his head and took another swig of beer, then shuffled away so he could lean against an upright and watched with interest.
They laid Vadim out on the veranda with a jacket under his head as a pillow, then injected a dose of local anaesthetic around each of the angry red wounds. After a few minutes for the pain relief to kick in, Kai used a scalpel to carefully inscribe an X shape over each wound, peeling back the skin slightly and exposing the underlying flesh. Flushing out the wounds and using swabs and scrapers, they removed the tiny clusters found in each area, flicking them away and then irrigating again until nothing remained.
When Kai was all done, and the wounds had been pushed closed and secured in place with temporary stitches, Tads moved in and the familiar golden glow spread from her hands to encompass his face, her manipulation of mana bonding the skin together and closing the wounds quickly and efficiently. A few minutes later, Vadim was sat up, trying to drink and being gently mocked as water dribbled down his face from the numb lips and sagging mouth, still affected by the anaesthetic. Kui Hai watched impassively, just sipping at his beer as they worked together, but nodded in approval when the process was complete.
"Good, nice work with the knife. And the glow – it is a required part of the magic?"
"It is for me. Or at least, it always happens when I do it, and the person who taught me, and everyone else in my tribe that I've ever seen do it. Maybe there's other versions of the spell that don't need it, I don't know."
With the surgery out of the way, they set to collecting firewood and building a small pit on the beach, preparing to get an evening meal put together. Aswon raided his small selection of cooking supplies and after slicing the snake up into thin fillets, soon had them sizzling away on a small pan over the hot fire, seasoned with a few herbs and spices. Tads provided bowls of rice and some simple vegetables to go with them, while Kui Hai made sure that there was a crate of the warm frothy beer to hand – either not realising or not caring that most of the team politely turned down his offer.
As they were eating and chatting, Kai watched Kui Hai some more and realised what it was that had bothered him earlier. After taking a bite of snake steak, he balanced the remainder on his knee to free up his hand, then grabbed a swig of beer to wash it down – before wedging the beer between his legs and going back for the meat. But whatever he did, never, for one moment, did he leave go of his knife. It was as if the half metre long blade was welded to his hand, a part of his body. Kai watched him move for a minute more, and realised that whatever had happened to him to make him this way had been some considerable time in the past – he did everything by instinct now, with no conscious effort required.
Over the course of the evening, they made some enquiries as to what kind of trade goods Kui Hai was interested in, and were somewhat surprised by the sheer mundanity of some of the items. Things like medical supplies and high tech electronics were to be expected – but they weren't prepared for the price that a pallet full of bottled water could bring, until they'd logically examined the supply chain process and thought about the import duty that the Japanese occupation force were imposing on the natives – or anyone else for that matter.
They were even more surprised when he explained that Tads offering to make clean, potable water was nice and appreciated – but still not as valuable. Though she could fill up his tanks with a fair amount of water for very little apparent effort, what she couldn't do was put that water into a sealed and stable container that would let it last for considerable time. The team thought back to the brief foray into the desert and the sudden change in priorities that had required from them – and then considered that some of the areas they may be travelling too over the next month were quite possibly just as remote and forbidding, in their own way.
"Well, I asked you to do a job for me, and you did. So now I have an offer for you." Kui Hai spoke, pausing their thoughts on the coming job for the moment. "I have a delivery that needs to be made to a man, to the south east of here, just off the shore of Papa New Guinea. He's a customer with some particular needs and requirements."
Kui Hai sketched out a quick map in the sand using a stick, showing the Philippines, Papa New Guinea and the Schouten Islands just to the north of the western end of New Guinea.
"Colonel Sawoon lives in this bay, in between New Guinea and the Islands, a place called Arkan Port. He's mostly retired now, but still does some business now and then. Takes care of himself mostly, but has the odd need that must be met. Like now. If you will deliver a number of items for me, I will contact the Colonel and put in a good word for you, asking him to extend his hospitality to you. He has a helipad and fuel there, and you should be able to purchase the supplies you need to continue the journey."
Hunter pulled up his pad and was plugging data into the map, plotting map ranges and routes in.
"It's between thirteen hundred and fifteen hundred klicks from here to the bay, depending on where inside that area we're travelling to – so it's all inside our range. But if we can get fuel there, we can get all the way to the other end of Papa no problem, and easily to our next stop."
"That would be excellent. Ok, Kui Hai – you've got a deal!" Kai leant over and clinked his beer bottle to his host's, taking a tiny sip of the warm flat beverage to seal the contract.
"Ahh, but there is one thing I should tell you." Kui Hai turned to face Aswon. "You should stay out of sight. I do not think he will like you." He shrugged, as Aswon looked at him in confusion.
"Does he know someone called Aslik by any chance?" Aswon asked, getting a puzzled shake of the head from Kui Hai. "Never mind – just someone else who seems to take exception to people. Not to worry. If Hunter can manage it in Japan, I can manage it here, I'm sure."
"Good, good. I do not want the Colonel upset, and an easy life is better. So, it is agreed. I will get the shipment sorted for tomorrow, and then contact the Colonel to advise him. In the morning, I will call down to the docks and make arrangements for you to get some fuel purchased from the tanks."
Kai and the rest of the team nodded and smiled, sitting back on their chairs as they sat in an arc around the camp fire, feasting on bar-b-q snake and drank warm beer, while the gathering clouds of the monsoon raced towards them from the east.
