The Adventures Of Tim Bodge Ch 48

Deniece awoke when someone knocked at the front door. She moved and felt the hand that held her left breast. She moved Miss C's hand and slid out from under the covers.

She wondered who was at the door, got up, put on her robe, and stumbled to the door. She checked the monitor to see who was there and saw that it was a boy. She fastened her robe tightly, opened the door about halfway, and stuck her head out.

"The note said to let this address know if a package was delivered and no one was there." The boy said as he pointed to Miss C's unit.

Deniece smiled at him and said, "Thank you. I'll tell her when I see her." She closed the door and checked the time. She had another hour before the kids would be up. She headed back to bed. She slid back under the cover, grabbed Miss C's hand, and placed it back where it was.

******

Howie walked to the animal, leaned over, and studied it with care. Unwilling to touch it, he returned to the shuttle and got a long fork device. This device made it possible for him to take the animal's half and turn it over.

He remembered seeing an animal that looked something like this one. The animal measured approximately one and a half feet with four legs, the back two longer, and was made to run. The computer said, "It was a jackrabbit.'

Howie pitched both halves back over the fence. He turned to Edie-Bit and motioned for her to return to the shuttle.

In the shuttle, Howie called Tim and reported that the fencing and security were set up.

I am about to send two probes. One will hover over your site and show what is happening below. This will appear on your and our screens. The other will cover the pathway to Sarha's site for the new camp.``

Tim sat on the deck and said, "I need Tabitha and Tammy, the security bots, for the new site. Sufficient bots to cover two hundred meters by two hundred meters, using the same configuration as the shuttle. Once security is established, construction crews will follow."

Tim proceeded towards the MTS room, where he met Tabatha and Tammy. All three walked through onto the shuttle below. Howie and Edie-Bit greeted them and walked outside with them.

Tammy uses a meter and another item to gauge the position of the sun. She told Tim that it would be about noon now and that the temperature was about 80 degrees.

Tim turned to Howie and said, "I need you two to remain here. The three of us will accompany the probe to the location. Tim and the two felines turned and walked away. The probe rose to a height of twenty-five feet, enabling it to scan the area around Tim and the girls in a 50-foot circle. Tim heard the beep and started searching. In front of him, in the tall grass, stood a small animal. He gave him a chance to move on.

At that time, the grass measured about eighteen inches. It was hard to know where they were walking; they walked attentively and looked around, ensuring that nothing unexpected did not come up.

They made their way to Sarha's chosen location. They stood in the center and looked around. To the left of them, about half a mile away, was the river. Everything else around was flat grassland. There was a wooded area on the right, not too far away.

Tim loved it, and he could see that it would make a great town. Everything that was required was within an acceptable range. If they work hard, people will be capable of surviving. Tim stood in this place and called Sarha, "Mark this place as the center of the site. Instruct bots to use this location and install a fence. Let me know when this is done."

Tim and the girls looked around and returned to the shuttle. A line of bots passed them halfway through. Four of the bots resembled grass-cutting machinery. Once Tim and the girls returned to the shuttle, the probe went back to the site and was lifted in the air to cover the entire area of the site.

The bots were working on the installation of the fence and security for the next two hours, the same as the installation of the shuttle. Tim and Howie sat down to see how the work unfolded.

It looked like a playing field with the cut grass and the bots around the area for security. Tim pointed to a spot on the screen and told Sarha, "This is to be the first building. I want it to be two hundred feet by two hundred and fifty feet. Have the bots worked through until they're done?"

"Howie, you and Edie-bit can stay here overnight, or you can MTS return to the main ship; that's up to you."

"Tim, if you don't mind, we want to stay here tonight. Do you believe it would be acceptable to sleep outside?" Asked Edie-Bit.

"I see no reason not to stay. There's the fence and the guard bots, so it should be OK."

"I never slept outdoors before. To sleep under the stars, this will be an unforgettable night." She asked, her voice soft and smooth.

Tim turned to get into the shuttle, took a step, and said, "Tabitha, are you and Tammy staying or returning with me?"

"We are returning with you. It is just so beautiful out here. Edie-bit is right; they will be the first ones to sleep in our new world."

Tammy moved over to Tabitha and whispered, "If

they sleep

.'

Tabitha placed an elbow into Tammy's side and said in a whisper back, "You

mind your manners, young lady

.'

Tabatha and Tammy followed Tim on the shuttle and onto the main ship. They were leaving Howie and Edie-Bit to make the most of their first night in a new world together.

They sat down in each other's arms and looked at the evening sky. They felt a gentle breeze. The feeling of solitude was in the air. Now the night is deep, and they are alone, enjoying this charming night as if everything belonged to them.

They devoted the entire night to being in each other's arms. In the morning, they woke, and Howie went into the shuttle to get something for them to eat. Edie-bit wanted to have a short morning walk.

She told Howie she was coming right back. She approached the fence and disengaged one section. She stopped, turned, and put the fencing on again. She walked out into the grassy area.

Howie returned with their breakfast. He seated himself at the table and waited. He started getting nervous after an hour. He stood and called her name, not hearing a reply.

"Tim, I need your help. Edie-Bit left camp over an hour ago, and I haven't heard a word from her."

"Did you two fight?"

"No, we enjoyed the night under the stars. Everything seemed alright when I went inside to fix breakfast. She said something about going for a walk."

"When I came back out, the fencing was on. I have called for her. I've also checked the inside of the shuttle."

"Howie, give me a minute; I'll be right back to you."

"Sarha, I need a scan of the area around the shuttle. Make it a one-mile area; Edie-Bit is missing."

"I'll pull both probes into the scan. It will start immediately."

"Tell Tabitha and Tammy to meet me at the MTS.... Howie, I will be right down. Sarha has started a scan of the area."

Tim left the bridge, met Tabitha and Tammy at the MTS, and entered. Howie met them as they exited. Tim began to look around the fence and saw where Edie-Bit had left the area.

"Sarha, I need the commanders here, as well as all their soldiers. Complete combat equipment and shields.

Sarha, do you have ground combat weapons on board? I will need two more probes. One will always cover the area above me. The other to cover the shuttle area."

"Tim, I'll send you some pieces that the previous crew members used for this. The two probes are on their way, along with one to cover the building site."

Tim turned to Tabitha and Tammy; we will follow Edie-Bit's trail as soon as the soldiers get here.

As Tim said that, both commanders walked from the shuttle. They saw Tim and started towards him.

Tim and the commander stood and talked about what Tim wanted to be done. One group was to maintain the area around the shuttle. The other would follow Tim and his group, staying back twenty-five feet.

Sarha had dispatched four laser platform guns. The first group of soldiers was to maintain the shuttle area. Their commander placed two soldiers with the platform gun, while two other soldiers were placed on each side.

Sarha brought the bots back to the ship. They would only be in the way if there were a fight. She stopped the bots at the construction site as well.

When all the preparations were complete, Tim's party was ready. Tim had the same section of fence turned off.

Tim instructed Tabitha and Tammy to keep watch on their side of the trail, and he would follow Edie-Bit's path. Tim knew it would not be hard to follow her course in the tall grass.

Tim stopped the group. About fifty feet from the shuttlecraft area, Tim noticed a path about ten feet to the left of Edie-Bit's path. He called the commander forward and showed her the new path.

The commander divided her soldiers into two groups, each moving approximately ten feet parallel to the pathway on opposite sides. The last two in each group walked backward to guard their rear.

Again, Tim advised that they move forward. It was about fifty yards, and Tim noted that there was an open space in front. He stopped the groups and proceeded by himself. He paid close attention to the site.

After looking at the site and the surrounding area, Tim moved into the open space. He examined the soil and found a footprint. He called the commander and Tabitha up to have a look.

There were two sets of footprints. One was that of Edie-Bit; the other was a species of animal.

Tim pointed to the animal and said, "This is a large animal," as he pointed to a large depression in the ground. "This is its heel with one claw, and these three are the toe-claws. The foot is about eleven inches long.

By the tracks, Edie-bit does not know she is being followed. Tell your soldiers to keep their eyes open, but do not shoot until they see the target. And make sure it is not our Edie-Bit.

Again, Tim and his group moved forward. It was another hundred yards, and he came to the site where the animal caught up to Edie-bit. There was no sign that Edie-Bit was hurt; there was no blood.

The tracks leading away were only those of the animals. But having looked at them, they were now more profound. This implies that the animal now carries Edie-Bit. This also meant that the animal had some intelligence.

Tim started forward again. He had Tabitha and Tammy move closer to him. The animal had to carry Edie-Bit, which would slow it down.

In a muffled voice, Tim reached out to Sarha and asked, "Sarha, can the probe see anything in front of us?"

"Tim, the tracks stop about another fifty yards ahead."

"Have the probe look at the area to see if it has an underground entrance."

"The only thing is an enormous rock."

Tim got close to the area Sarha mentioned. He now brought the commanding officer to his location. The two of them studied the area in front of them. Neither of them saw any tracks leaving the site.

Tim instructed the commanding officer to deploy her troops in a circle around the rock. They had to remain approximately twenty feet from the rock. Tim called Sarha, "I need those bot lawnmowers here. I want the grass to be cut within thirty feet of that rock."

Tim and Tabitha headed for the rock and began checking around. They saw that the footprints led up to the rock's edge and then disappeared. The rock had no opening at all.

Tim knelt to inspect the bottom edge of the rock all around. There was no sign of a switch to open any secret doorway. The only thing on the rock was a dirty footprint of some sort.

He looked closely at the heel and the three-toed claws. The impression must be from the same animal. Tim concluded.

Tim thought, "If

the animal that carried Edie-bit this far had to do something if he took her, he must know someone would come looking for her

.'

The bot's lawnmowers had arrived. "Sarha, before they get underway, I need to see something. I need you to verify and see if there are any prints beyond the 30-foot range."

"Tim, I scanned the area you have requested. Yes, at 35 feet, there is one, and again at another thirty-five feet, still another."

"Tim, what does that mean?" asked Tabitha.

"It means the animal has wings of some sort. I should have thought of that earlier. Remember, the animal's pathway did not come from any direction. It just showed up."

"So, what about this rock?"

"It used it to climb on and jump to its next stop. It thought that we might think this was a door and slow us down."

"Then how are we supposed to find it now?" asked Tabitha.

"With the animal carrying Edie-Bit, we now know that it can only travel through the air for around thirty-five feet. We are going to have to scan a larger area. Sarha, in which direction is the animal traveling now?" asked Tim.

"Tim, if the animal can fly, shouldn't we be watching the sky?" asked Tammy.

"Right, pass the word back to the commander."

"Look forward, and to the right, it seems to be heading toward the woods," Sarha replied.

The commander called her troops back into double columns. When everybody was in place, Tim started to move again. The hair on the back of his neck began to stand on end. He was thinking about other places where his unit tracked down enemy soldiers without knowing they were flying creatures.

He remembered once that he had a platoon of soldiers, and they proceeded into a swampy area. They had not been briefed on the enemy's flying capabilities. From the sky overhead came the enemy. They came down and grabbed a soldier, lifted the soldier up around one hundred feet, and let them fall. Tim was still able to hear the screams of terror from the fallen soldiers.

He turned to Tabitha and Tammy and told them to look after each other and the sky. He also informed the commander that nobody should fire on the creatures unless they were attacked first.

Tim did not like the whole thing. He thought, "This

is the best place for an ambush." Out in the open, in the middle of nowhere, there is no place to take cover

.'

He turned to the commander and said, "I want your soldiers spread out, no formation, with at least three yards between them, and stagger their lines." She looked at Tim but did not say a thing. She turned to the troops and repeated the instructions.

Once everyone was doing what Tim wanted, he moved ahead. They were about halfway to the wooded area.

Sarha informed Tim that about two hundred flying creatures were heading in his direction.

He stopped and said, "Commander, have your soldiers lay down on their backs. "Repeat, no one is to fire a shot until I give the word."

The commander looked at Tim this time and said, "Why on their backs?"

"Could you see the sky and the enemy if you were on your belly?"

"Sorry," she said. She turned around, told the troops what she wanted them to do, and reiterated the command not to shoot.

Tim watched the oncoming dark cloud, knowing it was the enemy.

Tabitha said, "Tim, look, there is one lone flyer coming in low." As she pointed to the spot in front of them.

Tim checked and saw what Tabatha had seen. "Tabitha and Tammy, kneel and stay put." Tim stepped aside from both. He left them a lot of room to hear what was said.

The creature landed about twenty-five yards from Tim. It was holding Edie-Bit in its arms. Edie-Bit was lowered to the ground and started towards Tim. The creature grabbed her arm. He motioned for her to stay.

Tim began to observe this phenomenon. The bird was about six feet and two inches high, and each wing was about four feet wide. His body was bulging, and his abdominal muscles were well-defined. His hands were yellow up to the wrist, and at the ends of each of his five fingers were retractable claws.

He had a pointed beak sticking out of his face. It was orange in color and stuck out three inches with a curved hook on the end. His eyes were yellow with a black iris. Around the eyes, he had a black color that gave him the appearance of wearing a mask. The head was light brown. His ears protruded about two inches and pointed in opposite directions.

His coloring from the tips of his wings was almost black and went to a light brown. His body was mid-brown except for the off-white front.

Edie-Bit told Tim in a loud voice that she was OK. The birdman made some sounds and tried to talk.

Tim noticed that Edie-Bit had her translator. He asked, "Does your interpreter work?"

"Yes, Why?" Edie-Bit looked down at her translator and raised her hand towards it. The creature grabbed her hand.

She turned towards him, moved her lips, and pointed to the translator. She was hoping the creature understood. She moved her hand back towards the device and removed it from her chest.

She, in turn, placed it against his chest. Everyone stood there for a moment, just hoping that this would work.

After some time, Tim said, "Hello, my name is Tim Bodge. Are you able to understand me now?

With a perplexed look, the creature distanced himself from Edie-Bit and looked around him.

Tim said, "I am sorry; the device she placed on your chest is a translator. It will enable us to speak to each other."

The creature then looked at Tim and asked, "Are you who I speak to?" as he pointed toward Tim.

"Yes, I am Tim Bodge; what is your name?"

As he pointed to his chest, he said, "They call me. Thribird, I am in charge of this nest. Those are my youngsters." He now pointed into the sky. "We did not know others were here. One of my youngsters thought this was new food." As he pointed his finger toward Edie-Bit.

Edie-Bit stood there, trying to figure out what to do. Without her translator, it was only a one-way conversation, and Tim was not saying much.

Tim looked at Edie-Bit and smiled. He then looked back at Thribird and said, "I don't think she would be a filling meal for all your youngsters."

"Do you mean they were going to eat me?" Edie-Bit understood that and gave Tim a hateful look. She turned and gave Thribird a frozen smile, and her eyes appeared cold and dead.

"I am sorry for the way she acted after being brought to the nest. I knew it was not food, but it must be a nesting mate."

"Yes, she is the nesting mate of one of our males."

"What do you mean, a nesting mate? I am not a nesting mate."

"Did you want to spend the night with Howie? And are you going to spend an exceptionally long time with him?' Then you could call that a wife, bedmate, or nesting mate."

Edie-Bit frowned but understood what Tim meant.

"Will you be here long?" Thribird asked.

"We are building our nest over there." Tim pointed in the direction of the building.

Thribird, "Why? That's where we hunt."

"It's a good place; there's water, level ground, and woods out there."

"You shall drive away our food."

"There is an abundance of land. We would be able to share."

"If you build there, you will drive away our food. They use the water and the field as their homes."

"We might help each other out."

"How would you do that?"

"Can we get you anything?"

"Yes, in wintry weather, there is not much food. We have to go further to find it."

"How would you like us to help you with your food? What kind of food are you looking for?"

"Food is available in the water."

"Oh, you're talking about fish." Tim points to the lake and moves his hand like a fish's tail.

Thribird nodded his head, "Yes." Then he bent down and picked up a plant with a seed on the top.

"We refer to it as grain. We have it. What if we were to exchange fish and grain to build our nest there?"

"How would you do that?"

"We will build you a food machine over next to the woods. That way, it would not be near our nest, and you and your youngsters could get it anytime."

"If you build it there, others will get it."

"No. Only your species will be capable of obtaining it. You will be required to fly in and out." Tim wiggles his hands. Showing Thribird that they would fly down to get it.