Read Online Floxham Island ~ Sinclair V-Log AZ267/M by Merita King - Free Book Online

safe okay?
Don’t worry. Take your time.”
    We worked out a
system so that everyone who left the main group had a competent gun
with them and within another hour, we were washed and changed and
back in the canteen. We were exhausted but our spirits were
surprisingly high considering what we’d all been through and as the
sun came up we worked out a watch rota so that everyone could get
some sleep safe in the knowledge that at least two guns were
keeping an eye on things. My whole body ached but I settled down as
comfortably as I could and decided that as soon as I woke up, I had
to find Nembier again.
    Six hours later
I was awake and standing at the nutri vend with Dex, wondering what
to choose. These machines offer various hot and cold foods and
drinks but although the taste may be acceptable, the appearance is
anything but. Whatever you choose, you get a coloured gelatinous
goo that looks and feels disgusting, but if you close your eyes and
ignore the feel of the stuff, the taste isn’t all that bad,
depending on your meal choice of course. There’s one on my ship and
I live off the stuff for months at a time.
    “So what’s it
to be Dex?” I asked. “Most of it will taste pretty okay, although I
wouldn’t recommend the Yamelian Pie to anyone but my most hated
enemy.” He laughed and nodded and I knew that as a soldier, he’d
know all about the nutri vend and this infamous substance. Yamelian
Pie is famous galaxy wide as being the most disgusting substance
known and no one I’d ever met liked it, but still those damn nutri
vends insist on offering it. “Y’know I’d like to end my life having
met just one person who actually likes that muck. Do you think I’ll
get my wish Dex?”
    “Not a chance
in hell Sam,” he laughed and I was forced to agree; the chances of
that happening were slim to none. As we ate, we discussed our
situation and traded ideas as to how we might improve our chances
and better our living standards. Suddenly Flark entered with the
blue eyed plank, panting as though they’d been running.
    “Well we now
know how the creatures were able to get across the trench,” Flark
announced and everyone looked up. “It was Chip here who saw it
first,” he indicated the blue eyed plank pilot. “Chip?”
    “Yeah well umm,
it seems as though a landslide filled in part of the trench over at
the north end and formed a sort of bridge, enabling the creatures
to cross. I was on the top floor scoping out the area through one
of the windows and saw it. I could even see a couple of those
hunchback things strolling across it.”
    “What about the
flying ones?” Ronjo cut in. “How the hell did they keep those
out?”
    “We can answer
that too,” Flark said as he spread out the plans of the complex and
pointed to a small square on the perimeter of the island. “It seems
that this hut is actually an entrance to an underground room that
contains the power grid for the whole Island. It has a mag field
antenna on the top of it, which collects power from the planet’s
magnetic field and uses it to power the complex. It’s an old
fashioned system but reliable and gives an unending supply of power
directly from the planet itself. A lot of these types of
communities still use the system. Anyway, the antenna has probably
broken, cutting off the power grid but more importantly, cutting
off the laser shielding net.”
    “Umm, can you
say that again in layman’s terms,” Marta asked apologetically.
    “Sorry, yeah of
course,” Chip said as he flashed her a smile. “There is a net of
laser beams in a dome that covers the whole island, to keep out the
flying creatures I guess. When the antenna broke, the power to this
net shut down, allowing the creatures through.” He gave her another
smile and she nodded.
    “But we’re not
without power,” Ronjo said. “We have some lights working and the
nutri vend and auto snack are still operative.”
    “There’s bound
to be a system of back up generators