Chapter 10: Practice Run

The next day, the seas were calm and the weather clear. I accomplished my morning mission in the mini-sub and got Otto back aboard Nautilus. Ohmu redeployed Jonathan to the air while I was gone. Around midmorning, I got suited in my full scuba gear with a larger tank and joined Ohmu in the mini-sub. We undocked from Nautilus and once free of the larger sub, rendezvoused with four aquatic drones. These units attached themselves to the side rails of the mini-sub to save energy as we headed into the reef. The drones were all armed with long-range spear guns and shark shockers and they were to act as my diving escorts.

Naomi guided the mini-sub a half kilometer towards the reef and found a level spot on the bottom about five meters below the surface. The drones dispersed and took up watching positions around as I flooded the mini-sub and slipped out the top hatch. As I swam around the reef exploring and observing sea life Ohmu deployed a small buoy above. Jonathan would later be able to land near the buoy and Ohmu would rendezvous with the bird and download more survey data.

I was swimming through a gap in the reef when a blur to my left caught my eye. One of the aquatic units raced ahead and intercepted a large tiger shark that had been heading my way. The unit rammed the large shark with its extended stun probe which caused the shark to swirl around and rapidly swim away. With my heart thumping in my chest I looked around in all directions but could not see any larger sharks. Thank God for my diligent escorts.

The ocean life was incredible. Even with the devastation nine hundred years ago, the lack of any fishing pressure had caused the underwater wildlife populations to explode back to levels never seen by modern humans. The sheer numbers of fish and other sea life were astounding. Some schools of fish were almost like moving cloud banks as they swam around the reefs. Towards the end of my dive, I focused on gathering supper and managed to hunt down a pair of decent-sized lobsters. When I had them safely stowed in the cage attached to the mini-sub I subvocalized to Naomi to prepare the ingredients for a boiled lobster supper.

We made it back to Nautilus just as the sun set around 17:30. Ohmu docked us and I opened the connecting hatch to the airlock. The small unit passed me the sack with my supper and also the cylinder with Jake in it which we had picked up before heading back to the sub. I put away the diving gear while Ohmu got the returned bio-drones serviced and set up with nutrient fluid for the night.

I could smell the fresh smell of baking garlic bread even before I left the starboard sponson. When I arrived at the galley in the salon, I found the makings for a boiled lobster feast. Naomi had a traditional work unit serving as chef tonight and it had a large pot of filtered seawater on the stove getting up to boiling temperature. The bread had been removed from the oven and sliced and buttered with a garlic mixture. The unit put it back into the oven to stay warm until the lobster was done cooking.

Chilling on the galley island in a bucket of ice was a bottle of yellowish wine which Naomi claimed was Chardonnay. I’d never been much of an oenophile so I was sure it would be fine with her creation. If not, a later glass of single malt would wash the taste from my memories. Soon both lobsters were taking their final hot bath now under the attendance of Ohmu who had returned from the sponson. I went and took a quick shower while the meal finished cooking.

I finished and dressed in a loose top and long silky sweat pants and headed to the galley where I could smell the feast was ready. Ohmu had poured me a glass of wine and had plated one of the lobsters. Besides the seafood, there was a pair of napkins, the usual fork, shears, nutcrackers and picks, and a set of spreading knives along with a bowl of melted butter for dipping. I got to work on the claws. It had been a while since I had eaten fresh lobster, and this included most of my life ‘back when’ but I soon remembered how to break it apart to get at the sweet meat.

The lobster had a lot of fat which I mostly ignored as there was plenty of meat to eat instead. I worked my way down to the tail and found the tomalley which I spread on a piece of toast. It was OK but I would be skipping that on the second lobster. The same went for the ‘coral’ or roe ... I’d focus on just the delicious meat. The wine went well with the lobster, so I gave my compliments to the chef. I was only able to finish eating the first lobster and just get started on the second, so I instructed Ohmu to harvest the rest of the meat and make a lobster salad to take with us when we went ashore well before dawn in the morning.

Naomi had a bit of news from the various surveys, so I sat down in the recliner to watch her briefing. I learned that like the island off of Brazil, this one had an unhealthy over-population of wild pigs, goats, and even a form of small deer. Endemic plant and animal species included fruit bats and giant tortoises which I looked forward to seeing. The bio-drones had noted mongooses and rats as the only carnivorous animals on the island. There had been no active transmissions from any enemy units or A.I.s from the island although we would still proceed cautiously as some may still exist in standby mode.

The plan was to land an aerial drone on the island’s highest point which was the four-hundred-meter-high Mount Limon. There were even limestone caves in the plateau areas of the island with some of these extending down below the waterline. I wondered if I would be able to both explore the higher above-ground portions and go cave diving in the lower.

The bio-drones had spotted no enemy drop pods but we would proceed under the assumption that there had been follow-on extermination missions to the island at some time in the past, mainly because this island would also have been a perfect refuge for humans. All the items for my expedition were packed and ready to go.

When we left in the middle of the night, Habu would be carrying two underslung cargo shells full of gear. One would contain the normal camping gear and camouflage canopies. The second would contain additional power packs for my stealth suit and three of the bio-drones. Jack, Otto, and George would be riding in the shell to our campsite. Jonathan would remain here on standby, but Naomi could deploy it if needed by using a mechanical unit and an aquatic drone like before.

Ohmu and I went up to the hanger hull and readied the two cargo shells. It was a tight fit but we managed to get the second shell staged on the port side of Habu where the grapple on the port deployment arm could grab it after Habu was on the deck. I skinned my arm as I crawled over the cargo shell on the starboard side when I moved to leave the hangar hull. Ohmu inspected the scrape closely and recommended that I hit the medical crèche for a quick spray of skin sealant. Naomi piped up and said that it would also do a quick medical scan of my entire body while I was in the unit.

The medical crèche on board Nautilus looked similar to the ones in the field bases I had used for bio-suspension in the past but Naomi said this one had more advanced abilities for treating humans. As I laid there (thankfully clothed) the unit treated my scrape, took a blood sample, and scanned my entire body. I was pronounced ready and able and was told that the skin sealant would wash off the next time I got wet.

It then offered to put me under for a few hours until it was time for us to leave in Habu. When I asked why I could not just take a nap in my berth until 02:00 Naomi explained that the crèche would have me unconscious in seconds and in REM sleep in less than a minute. “Sounds good” was the last thing I remembered.

The lights in the crèche came on and I came awake.

“It is 02:00 and Habu is being deployed to the deck. I have injected a caffeine stimulant which you will feel almost immediately. Your night shore clothing is waiting for you in the head. When you have finished your morning hygiene needs and have dressed, please join Ohmu and Habu in the flight deck by using the starboard deck hatch.”

“Good morning to you too,” I said, slightly surprised at how fast I was waking up.

I did my duties and got dressed. My clothing was the standard utility gear I had become familiar with. I noted the fancy pistol, a full magazine and the holster were included. When I was done and dressed, I saw the lights were dim red outside the head so I donned the goggles and activated the night vision. Up the ladder and through the hatch in the top of the starboard sponson found me on the dark deck. It was a calm but cool and misty night and the stars were hidden by clouds. When I asked about the weather, Naomi had said that a rain shower had just passed.

The hatch to Habu opened as Ohmu closed the deck hatch I had just exited from. The little unit then trotted ahead to Habu and entered her bomb bay forward stowage compartment via the hatch in the cockpit. I climbed aboard after the chair had rotated back to the correct position and the hatch closed. The interior came alive with a night vision view of our surroundings, so I flipped the goggles up. Naomi was going to take us up and perform the maneuvers that would connect us with the two cargo shells.

Once we were ten meters in the air, I watched fascinated as the deployment arms returned to the hangar hull and reemerged with both cargo shells. The arms brought them up and over to directly below us. Naomi dropped Habu down and used a small grappler arm on the undercarriage to connect both cargo shell tethers to lugs under the aircraft. We were heavy as Habu lifted the loaded shells off the deck.

We flew at a very low altitude towards the beach. Naomi reported that the hanger hull had been retracted and Nautilus was submerging. It would be moving during the night to a new location off to the southeast of the island as a precaution. I would be out of touch with the A.I’s higher capacity while on the island. This would leave Ohmu as the next highest capacity presence followed by Habu’s onboard presence. The watch and other tools also counted I guess but they were so limited that I thought of them as just devices.

We approached a small grassy clearing near a small stand of trees and left the cargo shells to land nearby. As before, Ohmu bombed herself out of Habu when we were a few meters above the ground. When the aircraft was on the ground it folded its wings and I got out. There were now a few stars peeking through the clouds and the area was well-lit in the goggles. After getting the three bio-drones out of the second cargo shell, Ohmu and I dragged them close to the aircraft so one large camouflage canopy would cover them all.

Otto and George settled down under the aircraft to wait until dawn while Jake took off at a trot to continue scouting. The bio-drone would be making ever wider circles around the campsite until it either found something or needed to return for nourishment. After Habu and the shells were concealed, Ohmu and I set up a tent in the stand of trees. Their canopy was thick enough that we would probably not need the thermal camouflage but we suspended a section regardless. At a minimum, it would help keep the bats I had already detected flying around the area from buzzing too close.

It was now 04:20 and astronomical twilight would begin in half an hour. I decided to skip the campfire as it was 18 degrees and humid. Ohmu handed me a small lunchbox and a thermos of coffee. The food was a pair of breakfast burritos in foil. The container had kept them warm. I poured a cup of coffee from the thermos into its included cap cup and took a sip. Perfect. Again, I wondered if the A.I.s were the greatest chefs ever or if they had just adjusted my taste buds during one of the bio-suspensions I had undergone. I ate the early breakfast while Ohmu continued to unpack the gear.

She brought me the stealth suit and reminded me to wear it after daylight. I looked forward to trying out the suit and being able to move more freely at all times without worrying about satellite detection. I found a small tarp and laid it on the ground and proceeded to get undressed down to my underwear. Ohmu held the suit while I stepped into it. Once I had the legs and chest seams sealed, I pulled over the headpiece and sealed that. Lastly, I put on the boots and was now fully sealed into the stealth and augment garment.

George ambled over and climbed me like a tree, hanging onto my neck and sitting on the backpack. I guess the little monkey was going to ride along. Ohmu sealed the holster to my hip and I practiced drawing the firearm while wearing the thin gloves of the suit. It felt fine and the grippy gloves seemed to lock onto the weapon’s grip holding it steady. I grabbed two extra magazines and placed them in the thigh pockets of the suit.

The trees and clearing looked as bright as day in the suit’s viewscreen. The images were in perfect focus with the information displays set to appear hovering in space at the periphery a few meters away. The few sounds of the predawn morning were amplified with each causing a directional queue to appear showing bearing and estimated distance.

I set off at a jog and immediately noticed that I felt lighter on my feet than normal. Since it was still dark the suit’s camouflage function was currently off, but the thermal masking was on. I headed towards the highland areas to the southwest. The hills were mostly grasses and scrub with the trees remaining in the valleys. I found a natural path on one of the plateaus and made my way to higher ground.

After about twenty minutes the map function indicated that I was now four kilometers from the campsite or about two kilometers from the center of the island. There were a series of deep ravines further to the southwest so this would have to be my stopping point for this run. The sky was now growing bright in the east and no stars remained visible when I pulled the head covering up to look with my bare eyes. The view was stupendous. I could see the ocean off to the north, east, and south. The horizon to the west was blocked by the slopes of Mont Lubin.

George took this opportunity to jump down and go scurrying off into the trees. The little monkey would meet me back at the campsite after taking a more northern and hillier route back to the northeast corner of the island. From my high vantage point, I could see nothing remaining that appeared man-made on the island except for the cuts and fills from old roadways as they meandered through the mountains.