Part 23
[We ought to investigate this 'base' whatever it is.] John decides after a few moments. [Any people there will have had no warning and we cant spare Elizabeth, Andrew and Hsui Tai from the work they're doing in warning the villages. Jay?]
You nod agreement.
TIM jaunts you and John into the general area of the compound that he detected from space. Almost as soon as you emerge from hyperspace, John pulls you down behind the shelter of a scrawny bush. For a moment you are too startled to react but then you follow his gaze. A little downslope to your right is a fenced and guarded compound. A sentry sits in a small hut, probably not seeing more than one visitor a month to the six large huts within the compound. From the bustle of people in the compound at least one of those huts must be some kind of barracks. Men in military uniform bustle busily around the tanks, vats and piping that TIM saw from space. They appear to be erecting temporary shelters and spreading tarpaulins to try to prevent the ash from building up on the pipework. Already the roof of one of the huts is looking deformed under the weight of ash upon it even though this site is further from the volcano than any but the southernmost village. The men are working quickly and there is a nervous air as if the fracture of one of these pipes would be a serious accident.
Many of the men appear to be carrying rifles or other firearms slung across their backs and the implications of that worry you. Anything that well guarded, even here in the middle of nowhere, must be of some military importance. They're going to be reluctant to leave it. Even besides that TIM's guess that this is some kind of chemical weapons establishment seems increasingly likely. As he pointed out, the dangers of its destruction by fire could be worse than those of the volcano.
"There must be a hundred people, at least." You whisper to John, your concealed position making you reluctant to speak aloud. "How can we possibly get that many away from here?"
"One of those buildings is a garage of some kind." John points it out, his sharp eyes having picked out exactly what they needed to. "It looks big enough for a couple of trucks. I think they have their own transport. Persuading them to use it could be more difficult."
"Shall we go down up front or sneak in?" You ask.
"I'm not sure, what do you think?"
"Sneak." You decide. "If the sentry stops us we might never get to see the man who actually runs the place."
"True." John points out the relative concealment of a gap between two of the buildings. "Think you can hit the spot?" He asks with a smile to show he's teasing. "Set your AE suit to imitate those uniforms, Jay. We don't want to be stopped as soon as we move."
You nod and do as he says, concentrating on giving the suit's circuits the image of the uniforms the men below are wearing. Your suit shimmers into it's new exterior configuration just a moment after John's. Then you both put your hands to your belts and jaunt.
"Halt! Raise your hands!"
It's sheer bad luck that one of the Russian soldiers is looking along the gap at the moment you teleport into it. The man is young and unnerved by the volcano he had been promised was safe as well as by your arrival. He is also pointing a very large gun at you with his finger on the trigger. John raises his hands immediately.
"We need to talk to your commander." He calls, changing mental track immediately. "We have important news!"
The soldier hesitates and you see his finger tremble on the trigger. This is a small base. He would recognise any of his fellow soldiers he knows you are intruders and intruders are to be shot on sight. You feel the uncertainty run through his mind.
Do you:
a) try to bluff your way through?
b) run?
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