Chapter 12: Invasion on the Seventh Rank

I arrived at the starboard bio-drone chamber in time to seal the hatch to the airlock chamber behind Ohmu. I was able to monitor the happenings inside the airlock on a small wall mounted viewscreen. The water rose filling the hatch. Ohmu opened the upper hatch and moved Jonathan’s deployment cylinder up the ladder. A minute later, the black mobile unit descended the ladder and shut the upper hatch. Soon the water level began to drop. I found a large towel and waited with it for the airlock hatch to open.

While I waited, I heard a noise coming from the port.

“Aquatic drone launched Joan. I am guiding it to Jonathan’s cylinder to take it to the surface.”

The airlock hatch opened, and I began to pat down the wet humanoid unit. We then paused to watch the viewscreen which showed Jonathan’s cylinder surfacing and opening. Once the bird had taken flight we got busy deploying the other bio-drones and larger aquatic drones. It took us most of an hour to get the three remaining animals into the water in their heavy cylinders along with the four aquatic drones needed to propel them. Jonathan’s support drone and cylinder were also going even though the cylinder would travel empty.

After all the animals were gone and their drones launched, Ohmu began to prep the mini-sub while I went to use the head and don my diving suit. I returned back to the starboard airlock chamber and crawled into the mini-sub.

“Hold the fort down, Naomi!” I yelled as I sealed the thick hatch behind me.

I was alone in the mini-sub for the moment as Ohmu was going to assist outside as we attached the cargo and energy modules to the exterior of the mini-sub. I undocked and moved the mini-sub clear of Nautilus. The water was cloudy, and I had to rely on the superimposed images of the larger sub which my short range sonar produced. I also noticed there was a bit of a current as I maneuvered the small submersible around Nautilus to a location under the port sponson’s moon pool.

There, I saw one of the two large cargo modules being lowered from the pool via a winch. Ohmu appeared after the module and helped position the module to one side of the mini-sub’s hull. I had to smile as the little unit was wearing what looked like a life vest. It was a flotation vest and would help the heavy unit remain neutrally buoyant instead of sinking to the bottom.

Once the module was latched in place, the little unit pulled itself back up into the moon pool to lower the second module. The procedure was repeated and the mini-sub was ready for its trip with the two exterior cargo and energy modules attached. From the camera views of the exterior relayed by Ohmu, the mini-sub looked like it was carrying two large torpedoes alongside its central cylindrical hull.

Ohmu moved to the front of the mini-sub and secured herself to the main grapple. The little unit would ride outside for the trip to the river’s mouth.

“All set Ohmu?” I asked.

—Ready to proceed, Joan. Full speed ahead.—

We headed towards the river’s mouth at around four knots and a few meters’ depth. I let the A.I. navigate us as it could react faster to the data provided by the short-range depth transducers. After half an hour the ride got bumpy as we fought the twisting currents and flows of the river where its waters mixed with the ocean. I could see the bottom occasionally as we crossed sandbars.

Another half hour of travel found us half a kilometer up the Kelani Ganga River. A sudden dark shape off to the port side revealed itself to be the remains of a large stone or concrete bridge support. We slowed and moved back downstream a few dozen meters and made our way towards the port bank of the river a bit downstream of the location of the bridge. Our target was the mouth of an old canal which had once been north of the river just inland from where it had entered the ocean.

I felt a thump and heard a mechanical whir as a small camera mast we had constructed for this excursion was extended up above the surface. An image of the surface appeared in my goggles’ display. The camera panned around, and I saw the jungle-covered riverbanks on each side of the two-hundred-meter-wide river.

Towards the closer north bank, I spotted the inlet to a smaller river or canal. That must be our target and I watched as we approached its entry slowly. The depth readings quickly grew shallower as we entered the narrow tributary but there was still enough depth to keep us submerged. The water was just murky enough that I could not see the bottom.

The readings also indicated all kinds of debris in the canal bottom. Soon, we slowed to a stop and I could just make out in the murky water ahead the four aquatic drones and their bio-drone delivery cylinders hovering motionless side by side. They had made it to this rendezvous. I jumped when Otto swam around the front clear bubble of the mini-sub. The little bio-drone was stretching its legs and tail and scouting the immediate canal area.

Ohmu got busy and swam away, briefly interfacing with each aquatic drone and updating them with the latest data. I saw Otto return and enter its cylinder. Soon, the drones slowly turned and left the canal, proceeding on their slow journey up the river to the target coordinates. This location was now fixed in each aquatic drones’ inertial navigation systems as the home location to return to when their mission was completed.

—Joan, the surface is now free of satellite coverage for the next 78 minutes. — Ohmu said.

I brought the mini-sub closer to the western bank of the canal. The sub’s keel scraped along the bottom and I slowly brought it shallower until the surface of the water appeared right above the front hemispherical bubble.

—The upper hatch is ten centimeters above the surface, Joan.—

I moved just a bit closer to the edge of the waterway and let the sub settle down to the bottom. I saw in the relayed view from Ohmu that the upper hatch was now just above the surface while the main hull remained a dozen centimeters below. Perfect! I twisted around and stood, opening the upper hatch. I popped my head out and saw that I was still too far from the shore to jump so I would be utilizing my wetsuit and wading or swimming.

Ohmu approached and together we started retrieving waterproof bundles of gear from the still submerged cargo modules along each side of the mini-sub. I made a few trips back and forth to shore shuttling the gear. The canal bottom had a bit of muck, but it was firm enough to bear my weight without sinking or sticking. Once I had everything onshore, Ohmu joined me and started rummaging through the packs looking for something specific.

“What are you hunting for?” I asked.

“The underwater detectors. I intend to establish a perimeter of at least a hundred meters to provide warning if a large crocodile should approach.”

That made me perk up. I shivered a bit thinking of the trips I had already made in murky water. For some reason, crocodiles had not been mentioned in the recent wildlife hazard reports. I looked around the jungle-covered shore where we stood.

“I suppose I had better also get the thermal cameras and motion sensors out so that we can monitor the shore.”

“Yes, Joan. Please install them in a perimeter of at least fifty meters.” Ohmu replied as she and her armload of underwater sensors waded back into the canal.

I found the thermal cameras and motion sensors and set about installing them in a wide circle around our campsite. The jungle here was mostly palm trees and other water-tolerant species. The area had been fully urban nine centuries ago, so the ground was a mix of organic matter interspersed with rubble and gravel from old, paved areas or building remains.

There were mounds and hills under the undergrowth which must have been old buildings or other human construction although you had to look hard to find signs of humanity. Other visible remains mostly consisted of glass bottles and other worn objects or the occasional heavy plastic object which was weathered or eroded down to unrecognizable lumps.

I had returned to the campsite near the canal shore just as Jonathan glided in for a landing. Ohmu approached the avian bio-unit and slipped on the data link collar. I found a tablet and sat watching as Ohmu played video and still images of the nearby river and former city of Colombo.

The first thing of note was a large pair of circular lakes located a few kilometers inland from the ocean to the south of here. Each was over a kilometer across. They must have been the remains of two impactors which had hit this area during the initial attacks. The lack of a distinct crater rim around each lake must be a sign that the area had both deeper bedrock and frequent heavy rains.

Jonathan spent a bit of time overflying the old harbor area and industrial areas of the old town. A half dozen colored icons appeared as Ohmu designated active enemy A.I. controlled mobile units. There was a large structure which also had active units and was bristling with satellite dishes and tall pole antennae. At first, I was nervous at how close the bird flew to the active mobile units and enemy structures, but I relaxed when I spotted many other birds in the air and on the water nearby.

“Joan, I have scanned the data of the full river overflight to the target area at high speed. I will review the data further before passing it back to Nautilus but from my initial scan it does not appear that the river will hamper the passage of either the aquatic drones or of the mini-submersible.”

That was great news! I stowed the tablet back in its watertight bag and went back to work preparing our hidden campsite. I used my knife’s sawtooth blade to cut down a few saplings and then draped them out over the water so their leaves hid the top of the mini-sub. Up and down the old canal edges there were many other fallen trees so I figured these new ones would not be noticed.

Back into the heavy growth about ten meters from the canal edge, I used my machete to clear a bit of undergrowth. I found and spread a heavy ground tarp on this cleared area and deployed my small tent. Ohmu came and helped me cover the area with camouflage netting. The plan was for us to camp here and await Jonathan as the bird continued to scout the river.

Once the four aquatic drones reached the river’s closest point to the target, the avian would rendezvous with them and begin to relay scouting data back to us at our hidden base. If the area proved safe then Ohmu and I would break camp, depart in the mini-sub, and journey upstream ourselves. There, we would set up a new camp much closer to the target coordinates.

Our estimate was that the drones would arrive at the river bend near the target sometime tomorrow morning. Jake would then run over and take the first look around the target and then return to the river. There, he would link up and transfer data to Jonathan who would then fly the data back to us. George the monkey and Otto the otter would begin doing their own reconnaissance of the area in the meantime.

“Joan, a small aquatic drone from Nautilus just signaled its arrival near the mini-sub. I will go link up with it and transfer data. It will then return and update Naomi. Do you have any messages for that presence?” Ohmu asked, heading to the water’s edge.

“No. Nothing, I can think of. Oh! Tell her that we miss her.”

Ohmu actually paused a second to glance back at me before continuing on.

“I will relay those sentiments, Joan,” she said, loud enough for me to hear.

I sat in the camp area resting for a bit on a lightweight folding stool and watched the little black unit working near the water. It finished uploading the data to the aquatic drone and sent it on its way back to Nautilus. Ohmu then fed Jonathan its nutrient fluid. The seagull was going to get in one last survey flight of the immediate area before night fell. I began to think about my supper.

Since we were so close to the active enemy units we were going to skip the campfire. I did have a bundle of small fuel canisters for cooking that would provide enough smoke-free heat to boil water, so I set up a large container to heat. We had plenty of fresh water as there was a filtration unit aboard the mini-sub and Ohmu had strung a small hose to our camp. I looked through the ration packs and settled on macaroni and cheese. Heck, I still enjoyed it even though it had been one of the staples I had lived on while a recluse widower. I snorted ... hell, who was I kidding? I was still a recluse widower ... or was I a widow? I was a woman now after all. I chuckled at the thought.

After supper, I gave myself a sponge bath and went to bed early. Ohmu had recharged from a power conduit connected to the mini-sub and was now standing near the tent with the pistol weapon drawn. I had the short-barreled flechette gun near my pillow in the tent just in case. Jonathan was nesting immobile near my feet. I was awoken sometime around midnight by a flash of lightning followed by rolling thunder. It began to rain so I put on my goggles with the noise-canceling headband and filtered eyepieces and did my best to go back to sleep.

Morning came quickly like it always did when near the equator. I woke and checked what time it was on my data watch and also saw that it was Sunday, June 2. So much for sleeping in. Ohmu had heated water and made me coffee. While I sipped my morning cup of joe, the black humanoid unit made me scrambled eggs. For starting out dehydrated they tasted pretty good and I finished them quickly.

“Thank you for breakfast Ohmu,” I said trying to remain polite.

“I have constructed a makeshift latrine a dozen meters to the west if you need, Joan. Remember to take your weapon and remain vigilant for reptiles.”

Nice. That thought sure hurried my morning constitutional along. The latrine was simply a seat on folding legs and a waterproof bag of toilet paper hung from a ‘flushing’ shovel. While I took care of business, Ohmu got Jonathan airborne. It would spend an hour flying around locally before returning for a quick pit stop after which it would head off to the eastern target area. Hopefully, it would arrive there in the late morning just in time to link up with Jake who would be returning from his first trip to the target site. If so, we could expect Jonathan back here sometime in the early afternoon with Jake’s data.

I got dressed and went for walk along the edge of the old canal. I was wearing the stealth suit, so I was not concerned about aerial or satellite surveillance. I spotted a great deal of animal life including tree boas, various monkeys, and a few crocodiles in the water. There were also lots of birds flying around and I quickly got used to them and stopped flinching whenever one would fly overhead. Luckily, I did not have to use the flechette gun.