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.Hell, if the shields are anything like those in the movies, the Rover won'teven be able to get through to the ship."They passed the receptionist and went out into the afternoon heat."Pack memories are so weird." Ukiah struggled to explain."It's like thatold story about five blind men and an elephant, each describing the animal by thepiece he's standing next to and failing to see the rest.I can wonder 'why can't thehumans see the ship?' and the answer 'because of the shields' comes back.I cantell you where the shield control panel is, how to fix the shields, how to sabotagethem, the standard protocol in emergency situations dealing with shields.Butwhat can the Ontongard do with the Rover with the shields up I don't have thefaintest."She rubbed her face."I have to get some sleep.This has gotten too weirdfor even me.We have three days to stop the Rover.You talk to the Pack tonight,and tomorrow we'll figure something out."He pulled her close and kissed her."Want me to drive you home?"aaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr rShe nuzzled into him."No.It would just strand me in the South Hills.Drop me downtown and I'll pick up a company car.""Why not your motorcycle?"She laughed."They asked me to ride in something a little more sturdy untilthis blows over.This time, when you get done with the Pack, give me a call.""I could be real late," he warned."Then I'll be slightly incoherent.Wake me and talk to me, okay?"***Finding the Pack was easy this time.They scattered and reformed like aflock of birds, but not without coordination.Long ago Rennie had marked outsites to gather, and they cycled through them with the phases of the moon.It wasfull moon, the sixth month of the year, and thus they were at Rochester Inn.Ukiah parked his motorcycle in the vast gravel parking lot and pushed hisway into the crowded bar.A big-screen TV was playing a baseball game, and as heentered, there was a roar as a fly ball was caught and the score remaineddeadlocked at the top of the ninth.The air stank of beer, sweat, cigars, whiskey,and an underlying scent of Pack.He brushed through people, learning odd bits ofinformation from them as he worked his way to the Pack.He found the Pack taking up the back corner of the bar, several tablespushed together and scattered with dirty dishes and beer bottles.The Pack hadsensed him coming and had a chair ready for him beside Rennie."The memory work?" Rennie asked as Ukiah straddled the chair.Ukiah nodded."Worked great.Worked well enough for me to figure outwhat the Ontongard are up to.We're screwed."Rennie frowned and the table stilled."What do you mean?""Prime didn't blow the ship.It's on Mars.The damn Rover that Janet Hazehelped build is on Mars.They're going to wake the sleepers.""That can't be," Hellena whispered."They've already taken control of the Rover.They might have alreadyawakened them."The Pack stood as one and pushed their way through to the big-screen TV.A fly ball had just been hit deep into center field and the outfielder wasscrambling.Bear got to the TV first, reached out, and changed the channel as theoutfielder missed the ball.There was a howl from the fans, drowned quickly by asnarl from the Pack.Bear hit the local early news first, doing the headline news.They playedupdates on the FBI killings Warner's body had apparently turned up whileIndigo was with him.The dead FBI agent's picture vanished to be replaced withaaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr rthe Mars Mission logo."Late this afternoon, NASA reported that they lost controlof the Mars Rover.Attempts are being made to reestablish control." They went toa press conference where a thin, nervous man explained to the local affiliate theexact time and place that they lost control."Hex must have known since the beginning that the ship wasn'tdestroyed," Rennie raged."That bastard! No wonder he's always been so smug.All his little plots and deals they never made sense without knowing this.This iswhat he's been working toward.""I don't get it," Bear murmured."If the snip's been up there all this time,and the Ontongard have always had the remote key, why do they need theRover?""Listen to the background," Hellena suddenly hissed.There was a strange warbling noise, repeated over and over again.It was,Ukiah realized, Sam Robb's "wake up and come here" signal.Ukiah frowned, thePack memory recognizing it as familiar but slow in revealing the information tohim.Rennie growled beside him, recognizing it first."The shutdown code forthe ECM shield.The shield must have gone up when the ship crashed, and theremote key had been rendered useless.Normal security protocol.Origination ofthe shutdown code has to be within the short-range weapon perimeter.That'swhat they need the Rover for.Once the shield is down, they can wake the sleeperswith the remote."His words triggered memories and Ukiah groaned aloud."What is it, cub?""Janet Haze had the remote key.That's why the Ontongard are kidnappingthe FBI agents.When the key didn't turn up in police evidence, they assumed itwas turned over to the FBI.But FBI doesn't have it.""They don't?""I found it and didn't know what it was until now.They can't wake thesleepers.They can't control the ship.""You have the remote key?" Rennie repeated with amazement."And youdidn't realize it?""I didn't have Pack memory earlier," Ukiah reminded him."I put it in asafe place until I had time to figure out what it was.""Then there's lots of hope here." Rennie laughed."This is the first time thePack's got their hands on that damn remote, and we'll make the most of it.Gosmash the bloody thing, cub, and scatter the pieces in the river.The rest of you, ifHex's here in Pittsburgh making Gets, then they're controlling the Rover fromsomewhere in Pittsburgh, maybe from that ugly yellow building in Oakland.If weaaTTnnssFFffooDDrrPPmmYYeeYYrrBB22.BBAAClick here to buyClick here to buywwmmwwoowwcc.AAYYBBYYBBr rstop the Rover, then the shields stay up.Screw the bastards every way we can.""At least until the colonization of Mars starts.""We'll fight that war when it comes.Tonight we fight this war."Ukiah glanced up at the TV screen, and his knees almost buckled underhim."What?" Rennie looked too at the screen where the story had changedfrom the lost Rover to the newest of the kidnapped FBI agents."Indigo," Ukiah could only manage a whisper, staring up at her photo."They've taken Indigo.They're going to try to make her a Get." He turned toRennie."You've got to help me find her.""Cub, the FBI and the police are going to turn the city upside-down to findher.No one else but the Pack will be looking for the Rover control system.If shedies, she dies.If we don't stop that Rover, all of mankind will die."He wanted to beg, to plead, to point out that they had three days to stopthe Rover, but he couldn't.Pack memories supplied too many details on Prime'shome world, an entire race supplanted by the Ontongard.Much as he loved her,Indigo's life couldn't weigh against all the lives on the planet.He slowly nodded."You're right."Rennie gripped his shoulder and gave him a slight shake."Look for her.Ifyou find her in time, we'll come and help you free her."***Max answered the phone with "Bennett," which meant he was driving."Max [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]