Home » The Archives » Chapter 13 » Cold Front
| Re: Cold Front [message #896 is a reply to message #895] |
Wed, 25 July 2012 17:45   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
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Field Commander
Switzerland |
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The familiar rumble of engines sounded, directing Scott's attention toward the spot where Thunderbird Two was parked. He frowned when he saw the headlights of the Mole as it left the pod.
He glanced at Alan, who had come up beside him, the idling hulk of the Firefly brightly lit by the floodlights they had set up.
"Why the hell did the Commander tell you to bring the Mole?" he asked. "He should know that thing will have no traction in the snow. And there's no way to get it to ground level from the trolley."
Alan shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe he thought we'd have to go in under the building." He made a swooping gesture with his gloved hands.
Scott thought about this for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't think that's an option in this case." He sighed. "It's probably better if Van Gogh leaves it here and helps out with something else. I'll brief everyone as soon as..."
He was interrupted by the skiing form of Pala Tomasson, who came to a stop a few yards away. Scott went out to meet her.
"What's the situation on the slopes?" he asked.
"Not good. We have located three of the missing guests from their avalanche locators and are digging them out, but it will take too long to get them off the mountain..." She glanced over at Thunderbird Seven. "Unless perhaps..."
"Unless perhaps Thunderbird Seven here can go to them," Dianne said, finishing the other woman's thought. She glanced at Scott. "We're the best ones to go. Seven is both fast and quiet."
"I can give you the frequency the avalanche beepers use, and tell you which victims have already been dug out," Pala offered.
Scott returned to the Penelar tent where Mobile Control was set up, indicating that Pala should follow. "Give the coordinates to me and I'll relay them. I'm going to need a general idea of where things are at the lodge." He turned to Dianne. "Better get going, Doc."
"F-A-B." Dianne sketched a sloppy salute and headed into Seven's cab. The hovercraft lifted off the ground a moment later, scattering snow with a hiss.
Alan gave Scott a wave and headed back to the Firefly. Once inside the warmed tent, Scott called each of the pod vehicles outside. "Firefly, Excavator, Laser Truck, and Mole from Mobile Control." When he had acknowledgments from everyone, he brought up the aerial pictures that John took and displayed them on one of Mobile Control's screens. The other vehicles each received a transmission of the same picture, and he changed his mode of communication to an all-call. "Here's an overview of the resort." He used a stylus to indicate a rather largish lump down the hill from where they were. "I'm guessing this is the lodge?" The stylus marks showed up in the transmitted data.
Pala nodded. "Yes, that is the lodge."
"Where would the parking lot be?"
She took the stylus from him and circled an area directly next to the large lump. "Many of the skiers do not stay at the lodge itself, but come for a day. This is where they would park. There should be few cars here; most of the night skiers would stay at the lodge." She circled another spot, perpendicular to the first. "This looks like the front of the lodge and is where the lodge guests would park. They would be as close to the building as they could."
"That will make things difficult," Scott said.
"Especially if you want to use the Firefly as a snowplow," Alan said, his voice sounding out over Mobile Control's speakers
"The imager will give us a better idea of where the cars are," Brains said, adding his opinion to the impromptu conference call. "I should think we might be able to plow between the cars and the buildings."
"If we can't," Scott said, his face grim, "we plow the cars out of the way."
There was a moment of silence, then Pala spoke up. "There is one more lot, here." She circled a spot on the other side of her first, between where they were and the lump of the lodge. "Some of the staff, especially the lodge staff, park their vehicles here. So do those who ski cross-country. They then take the lift to this level."
Another voice cut into the transmission. "Mobile Control from Thunderbird Seven." It was Nikki's voice that called. "We need those coordinates."
Scott touched his earpiece. "F-A-B, Thunderbird Seven." He touched it again, and handed the main microphone to Pala. "Here's the ski patrol, with the coordinates."
As Pala spoke into the mike, Scott continued speaking to his people. "Einstein, we're going to need some images of the lodge here on the ground. Take the Laser Truck down and get them for us, and transmit them to the Firefly, Excavator, and Mobile Control. Indy, you take the Firefly and see what you can do to plow an area clear for the Excavator behind the lodge. When you're done with that, do what you can to get the Laser Truck in close at the front. Cousteau, take the Excavator and get to those doors. Indy, make sure Jade is on standby for whichever team gets through first; she can help triage any casualties."
"What do you want me to do, Maverick?" Virgil asked, his tone impatient.
"The Mole can't function in the snow, Van Gogh. So I want you and Frankie to grab a couple of hover jets and see what you can do to help the ski patrol on the slopes. I'll let you know if I have any other ideas."
Virgil huffed out a breath that sounded loud in Scott's ear. "If the Mole can't function in snow, then why did the Commander tell us to take it?"
"Maybe he thought we'd have to go under the building," Gordon said. Scott could almost see him making a swooping motion with this gloved hands.
"Maybe we should do that," Virgil countered.
Brains spoke up. "Not a good idea. We couldn't get it up close enough for the guests to access the Mole's chassis without taking the building apart, and we'd have to make more than one trip to get all the guests out. Going in at ground level is a better idea."
Scott stopped the discussion before it went any further. "You have your orders. Get moving."
Pala jumped a little at the sound of so many engines revving up. One by one, the pod vehicles headed downhill, following the tow lift lines toward the lodge. Only the Mole's engine moved back toward the pod, making deeper impressions in the snow as the caterpillar tracks reversed direction.
Scott gave Pala a grim smile. "Now things get interesting."
  
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