Almost immediately, the second echelon, led by Chocolate Harry on his “hawg,” began to roll down the shuttle’s ramp. Where the first wave had been equipped to deal with possible enemy action, this group’s mission was to get secure shelter set up in the shortest possible time. For the first time since Phule bad taken command, the company wouldn’t be quartered in a first-class hotel; the Zenobians’ buildings were scaled for their own race, far too small for comfortable use by humans.
Chocolate Harry’s team steered a large trailer carefully down the ramp and across the landing area until it was well clear of the shuttle-nobody wanted to spend time setting it up if it was going to be knocked off its moorings by the departing lander. Harry scowled at the site the remote sensors had selected for setting up the structure, pacing its length and width, looking at the ground for any sign that the electronics had been wrong. At last, satisfied that everything was up to spec, he nodded. “OK, let’s get this muvva set up,” he said. “You ready, Double-X?”
“Yeah, Sarge,” said the legionnaire from a perch high atop the MBC. “All systems nominal, ready to assemble on your signal.”
“All right, you heard him,” shouted Harry to his team. “Take your positions, and be ready to assemble.”
The legionnaires scurried to their assigned positions while Double-X went down a last-minute checklist, reading his instruments to be sure the MBC was level, the mechanicals powered up, the structure solid after being loaded on a shuttle, flown several dozen light-years, and unloaded on an unfamiliar planet.