Echo-1 The Whale

48: The Woad and the Stowaway

Jonas sent me to thank the Warriors of Woad and Mox wanted to go with me again. I took the Rust-a-gogo and Mox drove X's diamond bike. Nidi came along in the sidecar.

We arrived at the scene of the last battle aboard the Banga. Robot crews were moving off bodies and loading them onto a flatbed transport. The entire roadway up to the reinforced central computer room was littered with busted robots and the dead. I saw Punchy's body on the flatbed when we drove past.

They removed the bodies first as the smell was awful. The second phase of the cleanup would be the more dangerous removal of Vedma technology. There were downed Vedma fighters scattered throughout the ship and thousands of battle robots as well as several tanks to contend with. There was a worry that they could infect the ship if any were still active.

The Woad had been methodical when it came to destroying the robot army near the computer center and made a point of smashing them all into crumpled parts with not the slightest remaining hint of functionality. This was evident by the path of total destruction in the area.

When we pulled up to the rust door the Woad were sitting in a large circle in front of the entrance. We parked our bikes next to them and addressed the leader of the group. They survived the battle with minor injuries, to which they wanted no medical attention.

"Great Chieftain of Woad." They did respond better to formal communications. "I want to convey the thanks of Jonas, the crew, and all the passengers of the Banga. Without your help, we'd have failed to defend the ship. You turned the battle in our favor and saved us from oblivion."

The great stone-faced chief simply nodded.

Nidi stepped forward. "My people are not your enemy. The Mega Therion that have come aboard wish to be part of the society you form on the new worlds."

The chief considered this idea. He turned his head sideways, indicating he was thinking. Nidi did the same in a mimicking dog kind of way.

The great chief spoke in his deep thunderous voice, "In their second year of life, we will teach your young the history of the Woad. We will set them on the path of the warrior."

Nidi thanked them profusely and assured them each and every Mega Therion pup would come to them for lessons.

The Woad stood up at once. They had this scary way of going from complete motionlessness to fast action that always startled me.

"Call, if you need us again."

They all turned in unison and walked single file back in the direction of their storage unit near the ship's core. This time Mox didn't bother to say anything. He just watched silently until they were gone. We stood in front of that big rusty door and watched the quartz covered giants walk out of our line of sight.

"You handled them well. You're a compassionate diplomat." Mox slapped Nidi on the arm. She smiled her toothy grin at him. She was much bigger than the thin lizard man.

A tiny door, before unseen, opened at the base of the rust door a few centimeters off the floor. Charlie walked out and the little door closed behind him.

"So here is what I suggest...."

He told us Jonas updated him on all events and proceeded to lay out a plan that involved leaving the Ursa Minor gnome colony in place, secured behind the rust walls until the last of the Vedma material was removed.

Mox agreed with this plan.

Charlie asked us to take him to his shop. He would design and construct new vehicles for the Mega Therion on board. He wanted to know what was going to happen with the diamond suit he built for Sergeant Death. If no one was going to inherit it, he wondered if the colony could alter it and use it. Mox had no issue with the idea. Jonas didn't either. We made arrangements for it to be delivered.