[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
was the raw material from which they would build the new world when they
emerged from beneath the ground.
Also in the wags was as much of the tech as could be dismantled and packed
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2059%20-%20Amazo
n%20Gate.html (302 of 319)16-2-2006 16:51:34
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_59_-_Amazon_Gate away quickly. This included
weaponry and everyday objects and electronics.
The quorum had always felt it important to keep as much of their tech as
possible out of outside hands. Whoever gained it might not be able to
understand it, but even the slightest glimmering of understanding could be
dangerous to the great plan. That which couldn't be dismantled was to be
smashed.
It was a race against time for Jorgensen, and one that he was aware he was
losing. Even more so when Simon Rack joined him on the mat-trans level.
"Al, I hate to tell you this, but they're only two levels away."
"Shit!" Jorgensen's jaw was set in a grim line. "We may just about do it.
Fuck. I
hope we get the chance to cross them again, when we've learned what we can
from this. I feel like our whole lives have been fucked over by them."
"Maybe, Al, but we can worry about that later. Unless we can defend this area,
we won't even have lives to be fucked over."
Al nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, Simon. I shouldn't be so
self-pitying.
Let's nail these fuckers to a tree while we get ourselves straightened out."
Chapter Eighteen
The combined forces of the Gate made progress more rapidly than either Ryan or
Gloria would have thought possible, and that wasn't just because the
Illuminated
Ones had, for all their supposedly superior tech, been found grievously
wanting in terms of battle experience. It was also because Jorgensen had taken
the step of
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2059%20-%20Amazo
n%20Gate.html (303 of 319)16-2-2006 16:51:34
Page 147
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_59_-_Amazon_Gate withdrawing all but a few of his
people to the central chamber located at the very bottom level of the redoubt.
Only a skeletal force remained active, to delay rather than stop the progress
of the attackers.
Down in the central chamber, the sec men of the redoubt were racing against
time to try to get the evac completed before the intruders reached the bottom
level. People raced around the cavernous room, loading and restocking supplies
and tech into wags that were then driven into the mat-trans chambers to be
transported to their new location.
Jorgensen oversaw it from a point a hundred yards from the first of the
chambers, where the control comps for the mat-trans units stood in banks,
attended by people who didn't dare look up for one second, such was their
intense concentration.
"Think we'll do it?" Jorgensen asked one of them. Strangely all the fear and
sweat of his earlier defeats had gone from him. He was calm in accepting
defeat and retreat, and his mind had clicked into a more relaxed state,
concentrating only on those matters that seemed to be the most pressing.
The technician answered without looking up. "If your people can just hold them
long enough, we're onto the last relay of transfers. We just need time to
boost power levels and get the coordinates set."
Jorgensen nodded. He wasn't too sure what that actually meant in practical
terms, but it seemed to imply that he might just have got away with it.
"ALL ROADS LEAD to Rome, as they once said. I believe it to be a universal
truism, in one sense or another," Doc said calmly, letting the barrels of the
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2059%20-%20Amazo
n%20Gate.html (304 of 319)16-2-2006 16:51:34
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_59_-_Amazon_Gate
LeMat droop slightly, and the weariness of battle for one brief moment wash
over him before he summoned the next wave of energy.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, honey," Margia said to him
with a puzzled expression, "but something tells me you've got it just about
right."
Their war party had experienced no resistance on its descent to this level.
Despite that, they had maintained a triple-red alert, and so were ready when
they ran into another war party descending from another route, then another.
The last party to join was that led by Ryan and Gloria. Now, while the Gate
warriors rested for what appeared to be the last push, the leaders of the
parties met for a last tactical consultation.
"We've pushed them right back that much is obvious," Ryan mused. "The question
is, what do they get from it? They've given so much ground that they can't
beat us now. Unless& "
"Unless this is the gateway, and the guardians will take that gateway to
another place," Gloria added, her piercing blue eyes fixed on Ryan Cawdor.
The one-eyed warrior nodded his agreement. "They intend to make a run for it,
and are hoping we don't overrun them before they get a chance to make good a
complete escape."
"I don't get it," Tammy said, puzzled. "Where are they going, and how?"
"It'd take too long to explain, my dear, and I doubt that any of us knows for
sure, but my supposition is that they will leave the gateway, as you call it,
and travel
file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Deathlands%2059%20-%20Amazo
n%20Gate.html (305 of 319)16-2-2006 16:51:34
Axler,_James_-_Deathlands_59_-_Amazon_Gate to that place they are guarding,
using old tech. And if we don't get to them before they go, the chances of
finding out where exactly this place is and being able to either follow or
Page 148
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
even journey with them in some way will be greatly reduced,"
Doc replied.
"Yeah, right," Tammy said uncertainly. "Anyone care to make that clearer?"
Mildred laughed and shook her head. "As usual, Doc's dressed it up in big
words. They travel to their destination using old tech. They might put it out
of commission before they go. So we need to get to them before they get that
opportunity."
"In which case, why are we standing here?" Margia asked angrily. "Let's chill
some fuckers."
"Will you shut the fuck up, Marg?" Gloria snapped at her sister. "Shit, it's
easy to see why I was the daughter to be queen, and not you. Keep that hot
head of yours under wraps, sweetie, or it'll get us all chilled. We need to
think about this. Like what it means to all be in the same place."
"Exactly." J.B. spoke for the first time. He had been standing silently,
weighing odds and strategies in his mind. "Doesn't it seem strange that we all
end up here, and that there's no other route into the last level?"
"It's not a question of us being channeled here. It's just that they seem to
narrow it down to the one entry level," Krysty said.
"Must be some service ducts that lead down, though, or an emergency shaft of
some kind. Hell, there must be an elevator."
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]