James P Hogan. Inherit The Stars. Giant Series #1

There was nothing further to be done at Seltar. The inhabitable

parts of what had been the dome were packed with survivors and

wounded; already many were having to live in the assortment of

vehicles huddled around outside it. Supplies df food and oxygen,

never intended for more than a small company, would give only a

temporary respite. The only hope, slender as it was, lay in

reaching HO Base at Gorda overland-a journey estimated to require

twenty days.

On Day Eighteen, the departure from the dome was recorded as

follows: Formed up in two columns of vehicles. Ours moved out half

an hour ahead of the second as a small advanced scouting group. We

reached a ridge about three miles from the dome and could see the

main column finish loading and begin lining up. That was when the

missiles hit. The first salvo caught them all out in the open. They

didn’t have a chance. We trained our receivers on the area for a

while, but there was nothing. The only way we’ll ever get off this

death furnace is if there are ships left at Gorda. As far as I

know, there are 340 of us, including over a hundred girls. The

column comprises five scout cars, eight tracked trucks, and ten

heavy tanks. It will be a grim journey. Even Koriel isn’t taking

bets on how many get there.

Minerva is just a black, smoky ball, difficult to pick out against

the sky. Two of the red spots have joined up to form a line

stretching at an angle across the equator. Must be hundreds of

miles long. Another red line is growing to the north. Every now and

then, parts of them glow orange through the smoke clouds for a few

hours and then die down again. Must be a mess there.

The column moved slowly through the desert of scorched gray dust,

and its numbers shrank rapidly as wounds and radiation sickness

took their toll. On Day Twenty-six they encountered a Lambian

ground force and for three hours fought furiously among the crags

and boulders. The battle ended when the remaining Lambian tanks

broke cover and charged straight into the Cerian position, only to

be destroyed right on the perimeter line by Cerian women firing

laser artillery at point-blank range. After the battle there were

165 Cerians left, but not enough vehicles to carry them.

After conferring, the Cerian officers devised a plan to continue

the journey leapfrog fashion. Half the company would be moved half

a day’s distance forward and left there with one truck to use as

living accommodation, while the remaining vehicles returned to

collect the group left behind. So it would go on all the way to

Gorda. Charlie and Koriel were among the first group lifted on

ahead.

Day Twenty-eight. Uneventful drive. Set up camp in a shady gorge

and watched the convoy about-face again and begin its long haul

back for the others. They should be back this time tomorrow.

Nothing much to do until then. Two died on the drive, so there are

fifty-eight of us here. We take turns to rest and eat inside the

truck. When it’s not your turn, you make yourself as comfortable as

you can sitting among the rocks. Koriel is furious. He’s just spent

two hours sitting outside with four of the artillery girls. He says

whoever designed spacesuits should have thought of situations like

that.

The convoy never returned.

Using the single remaining truck, the group continued the same

tactic as before, ferrying one party on ahead, dumping them, and

returning for the rest. By Day Thirty-three, sickness, mishaps, and

one suicide had depleted the numbers such that all the survivors

could be carried in the truck at once, so the leapfrogging was

discontinued. Driving steadily, they estimated they would reach

Gorda on Day Thirty-eight. On Day Thirty-seven, the truck broke

down. The spare parts needed to repair it were not available.

Many were weak. It was clear that an attempt to reach Gorda on foot

would be so slow that nobody would make it.

Day Thirty-seven. Seven of us-four men (myself, Koriel, and two of

the combat troopers) and three girls-are going to make a dash for

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