Caveat Lector: Chapter 7

Snake? Snake?! SNAAAAKE!!!

The Giant Ice Rhino (as it is commonly known) is quite the remarkable creature. Its colossal size aver-aging at fifty feet is notable. As is the ecological niche it fills. On Earth the position was filled by Killer Whales. But I think the most notable feature of this (and all members of the Ice Rhino family) is its special egg tooth. All oviparous animals have a horn or tooth which aids them when breaking though their shells. What is unique about this particular family of snakes is that rather than shedding the egg tooth, Ice Rhinos keep theirs. By the time the Giant Ice Rhino has grown to maturity they sport a colossal horn which could impress a Narwhale. There are no other naturally occurring substances harder than this egg tooth, which can pierce several layers of steel with only a small amount of force. They use this marvel of evolution to puncture the ice most bodies of water are covered with, doubling their hunting grounds.

-The History of Martian Snakes by Sir. Pen Teen

Everyone struggled to maintain their balance as the colossal ship ground to a halt. There was a metallic groan as the ship settled back to a level(er) position.

“What was that?!?” Amanda exclaimed.

“It seems that we hit something and the auto-shutoff was activated,” replied Bruce, who didn’t seem particularly bothered or surprised by the ships sudden change in elevation. “We better go talk with the man in charge.”

They quickly relocated themselves to the helm of the ship, which was a maelstrom of chaos and noise. A group containing every type of person you’d need to operate a ship of this size was babbling ever louder in an effort to make themselves heard. Their exclamations were directed at a man who looked rather like a large bowling ball in a suit. “ENOUGH!” the man bellowed, “Get everyone to get the repair drones and then have the crew carry everything heavy off the ship. At this rate we’ll be sunk within the next couple of hours.” He glanced about. “Well? What are you waiting for? Get moving!”

The room emptied leaving our four main characters alone with the man. “Captain Adder, care to explain what the situation is?” Bruce inquired.

“And who’s asking - ah, yes the royal passengers. There’s just a minor situation, we should have it straightened out shortly,” the captain replied in a manner of one giving untrue, placating answers.

“A minor situation that can cause the ship to sink in less than two hours? Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on so I can get this show on the road.”

“And what can you possibly do?”

“The name Bruce Sagley ring any bells?”

Captain Adder had a quick mental debate with himself before sighing. “Okay, I’ll explain the situation. About twenty seconds before we crashed we detected two objects on sonar. There was a small stationary one and a larger thing heading towards us at a rapid speed.”

“And what did any of your other sensors tell you?”

The captain paused. “Sonar’s all we got.”

“This overgrown bath toy has nothing but sonar?!?” Bruce exploded, “What sort of hyper-advanced future is this?”

“We’re usually just a shipping vessel,” Captain Adder replied defensively, “Sonar’s served us just fine.”

“Alright, fine. Continue.”

“We quickly attempted to turn out of the way and apply all breaks, but we may have made things worse. Whatever hit us tore a huge gash almost halfway down the ship. We’re taking on water fast.”

“So we’ve gotta get the ship out of the water to repair it, correct?”

“Well ideally yes. But the ice around us isn’t nearly thick enough for our machines to even attempt to lift it.”

“So if I could lift the ship would the repairs be quicker and easier?”

“Yes but how can you lift-”

“Just leave that to me. Get as much weight and all the crew off the ship and have your repair crew ready,” Bruce instructed.

The captain looked as though he wanted to argue but he was stopped by Bruce’s mythical reputation. “Very well,” he replied before issuing rapid commands into his communicator.

“C’mon. We better get out on the ice,” Bruce said as he shepherded the girls out of the room.

They soon reached the portal for the Baby Bubble. While temperatures on Mars had been known to reach almost eighty degrees, but that was on the equator in the dead of summer and even then was exceedingly rare. Normal temperatures were below twenty. Of course most people aren’t too fond of putting on four or five layers of clothing just to go outside in the winter so every city, town, village, and outside area people went, was enclosed in a Baby Bubble. The protective domes worked by using an energy field to entrap and compress the nearby air molecules into a solid barrier. Then by adjusting the concentration of gases making up the dome, light could be trapped and heated to whatever temperature was desired. Nothing bigger than a complex molecule could squeeze through the spaces in between the trapped gases; making it nigh-impenetrable. And with all technology for the past several millenniums, it was completely eco-friendly. Originally it wasn’t called a “Baby Bubble”. It had been a Bio-something-something-or-another Dome (Amanda always had trouble remembering acronyms) but someone had called one a Baby Bubble and it stuck. The only way to exit or enter a Baby Bubble was to destroy the generator powering its energy field, use enough explosives to shift the tectonic plates, or exit through the portal.

They soon arrived at said portal, which just looked like an archway in between a break in the railing. Already, there were people unloading various pieces of equipment off the Ice Plow. Bruce, trying to be helpful, grabbed a heavy looking crate and hefted it without much apparent effort.

As they exited the portal there was an immediate and extremely noticeable drop in temperature. It was almost as though a bucket of slush had been poured over their heads as they passed through the arch. Fortunately, the microscopic machines that made up their clothing sensed the sudden change in temperature and rearranged themselves into more appropriate clothing. The default setting was to merely generate heat (much like an electric blanket) but they could be set to actually become cold-weather clothes. It seemed that everyone had their clothes set to the former, with the exception being Bruce. His clothes had swelled up to become a fluffy coat and snow pants.

Bruce set the crate down and yelled at the crew that was unloading some of the heavier equipment. “Spread out all the stuff. This layer of ice isn’t super thick. It should support most of what we’ve got but if we pile it all into one place we’re just asking for trouble.” Amanda wasn’t sure if the crew was following his orders because they knew who he was or because they could recognize the sense in what he said.

Satisfied that no one was in danger of breaking the shell of ice, Bruce gestured for the twin royalty and their guard to follow him. “C’mon, let’s go see this hole. It may not be as bad as we’ve been lead to believe. Either way, it’s good that we’ve got the story moving again.”

“What?” Amanda asked before she could remember that any answer he gave would prob-ably make no sense.

“The last eight or so pages have been nothing but exposition. Very poorly done from a literary standpoint. But I guess some people like that sort of stuff.” After a statement like that there wasn’t much sound but the crunching of their shoes through the thin layer of snow that covered the ice.

This seems like a good place for a description, for those that can’t figure out the scenery. The Ice Plow had stopped in the middle of the frozen ocean. The glaring white of the surface ice gleamed blindingly in the few patches with no snow. The colossal ship had cut a path through the ice that didn’t stretch as far as one might think. If you stopped and stared at the exposed water you could already see the ice crystals sluggishly moving in, trying to restore the perfect shell the planet’s water was encased in. In the distance were some vague shapes that could possibly be trees, signposts of a distant shore. Without a landmark you could wander aimlessly across this featureless landscape forever or (far more likely) until you died of starvation, thirst, or exposure.

When they reached the front of the ship Bruce let out an impressed whistle. The hole was easily taller than a man. It formed a jagged sneer, with the metal mangled and jammed together at the end. The illusion of it being a mouth was helped by the huge amounts of water it was letting in. Now that Amanda could see it, she noticed that the colossal ship was slowly tilting forward; so slowly that she was sure her eyes were playing tricks on her at first.

“That is an impressive one,” Bruce nodded. “I’m going to help them unload. Wait here.” And with that he jogged back towards the portal which now had a larger amount of people than it had just a few minutes prior.

Rose examined the gash in the ship’s hull. “What do you think did it? It must’ve been pretty hard since the front has to easily smash through all that ice.”

“It couldn’t have been something stationary,” Luna agreed. “It would’ve torn the entire half of the ship. At this angle, it looks like something hit it and curved off…”

She trailed off, falling into silent contemplation. Amanda knew that Luna had always had a hunger for knowledge. She was probably searching through all the random facts she had acquired over the years, struggling to find an explanation.

Amanda glanced over her shoulder to see the majority of the crew heading towards the hole. Bruce was conversing with several that were carrying strange devices. Amanda could only assume they were to aid with the repairs. The soldiers all had weapons but didn’t appear to be worried about anything.

When there was a nice clump of people, Bruce stood in front of the crowd and announced, “So I’m going to lift up the ship. Then I’m going to tilt it as much as I can to let all the water drain out. Now repair crew, you need to work as fast as you can. Luna’s gonna help speed up the cooldown so don’t worry about that.”

He then took Luna aside, as she hadn’t been informed of her involvement in this task. “Now, Luna, they’re gonna fill up the hole with some liquid metal. That’d naturally take close to an hour to set but I can’t hold that up for that long. If we just set it back down in the water the seal could either break due to the pressure or instantly solidify and end up doing more harm than good. You need to siphon off the excess thermal energy. You can’t do it too fast or too slow. You up to it?” The indecision was apparent on her face but she nodded anyways. “Good. Let’s get this train wreck a-rollin’,” he exclaimed.

The repair crew quickly moved as close as they dared. Luna did likewise. Bruce had taught her how to suck away the heat, and while not complicated, she didn’t need extra distance adding to her workload.

Bruce positioned himself directly in front of the colossal ship. In theory, this should be a very simple operation. Lift the boat, tilt it to drain the water and then just hold it steady. Unfortunately, he knew how complicated it would actually be. There were many ways he could go about lifting the ship. He could form barriers extending from under the ship onto the ice, and then use the frozen surface as leverage. That would probably be the most energy efficient way to lift the Ice Plow, but he rejected that strategy. The ice was nowhere near thick enough to allow him to rely on it. Alternatively he could just wrap a single mental tendril around the ship and just psychically heave. Again rejected. The ship’s thousands of pounds of weight would easily tear itself in two. No, what he would have to do is create a network of psychic energy, to distribute the weight. It was a very draining process and would require intense concentration.

He shook himself as though preparing to run a marathon. He then extended his arms to the ship. Tendrils of energy were channeled through his arms and out into the world. They approached the ship, like predators around their wounded prey. The psychic tentacles wove them-selves under the ship and bock out the other side. They looped back over the ship. Some embedded themselves into the ice while others hovered expectantly. Of course, these were tendrils of thought. With the exception of Luna, all the onlookers took Bruce to be some type of lunatic, standing before the ship with his arms outstretched. Faint tinges of blue wormed their way into Bruce’s irises.

Then there was a colossal groaning. The groan of a huge mass of metal being moved. The ship was slowly rising from what would’ve been its icy tomb. It was a magnificent sight. Fifty thousand pounds of steel floating, seemingly of its own accord. It tilted forward, vomiting sea-water. There was a huge clatter as the objects still onboard were tossed forward by the change in angle.

Before the last drops had been spilled the repair crew was on the move. A blob of liquid metal was shot into the hole. Two people wearing protective clothing moved in to smooth out the molten steel, before another layer was applied. Luna (encouraged by Bruce) sucked away the heat, the metal rapidly solidifying.

Amanda was quite literally awestruck. She’d heard about Bruce’s power but never entirely believed it. But if this wasn’t moving a mountain, it was probably the next best thing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ice beneath her feet shaking a bit. She glanced around. There didn’t seem to be anything causing the vibrations. She was about to attribute it to her imagination when she felt another thud. This time she noticed something. About fifty feet away from the ship was a disturbance on the ice. She started at it and was rewarded by seeing cracks radiate outward with the next impact.

Amanda was about to turn and forget about it. Plenty of semi-aquatic creatures had ways of breaking through the ice. It could very well be a curious dolphin. Then she realized that if she could see the ice cracking from this far away, this creature had to be huge. She was about the grab the attention of those nearby when said huge creature broke through the ice.

There was a colossal crash as the ice gave way to the beast’s momentum; followed immediately by a wet flop as it landed on the ice. The ice buckled, forced up by the impact. Even the most coordinated struggled to stay upright. Amanda, unfortunately, didn’t fit into aforementioned category and fell to the ice, her breath shooting from her lungs.

She looked up and would’ve gasped if she had a spare ounce of oxygen. Before her was a colossal serpent slithering onto the ice. The force of its impact had propelled it mostly onto the surface already. Its black body glistened with the seawater that covered it. A jagged horn protruded from its snout.

Amanda jumped to her feet, as would most people staring down a snake ten times their size, and scrambled to get behind the soldiers who were collectively stuck in various stages of jaw dropping.

In their defense, the soldiers recovered very quickly. With a barked order from one who was probably the highest ranked, they snapped out of their daze. The air filled with the sounds of weapons being drawn and powered up. They went from dumbstruck to battle-ready in the space of a second and a half.

Amanda felt much safer now that there were twenty barrels leveled at the giant snake. She glanced back to the boat to see the repair crew frantically working on the hole. Luna had abandoned the repair effort and jumped into line with the soldiers. Bruce had his eyes closed, presumably having picked up Luna’s job and adding to his workload. Suddenly his eyes opened, the irises shining a vibrant blue, and he exclaimed, “Don’t shoot!” … at the exact moment that twenty fingers pulled their respective triggers.

Until the men had fired, the serpent had passively observed the humans, as though judging the threat they posed. The laser blasts scorched neat circles wherever they touched its scales, making it decide that, yes, the humans were a threat.

With speed deceptive of its size it dropped to the ice with a hiss and launched itself at the soldiers. More circular burns appeared as the men kept firing but the snake continued on, undeterred. When it came into range, it tilted its head forward and its horn caught in the ice. Its head stopped, but the forward momentum was transferred to its tail, which struck the largest group of soldiers. Most were only brushed by the attack, and batted aside. A few were unlucky enough to truly be hit by the tail. They lay moaning on the frozen surface as their companions dove for cover.

The snake removed its horn from the ice and lifted its head like a cobra. The soldiers circled it, forming a perimeter. They were corralling it away from the repair site, which appeared to be close to completion.

The snake, tired of being shot at, decided on a more aggressive tactic. It struck out and snagged a soldier. Or, rather, it tried to. Shortly before impact its jaws caught on an invisible wall.

It drew back surprised and Luna allowed the psychic barrier to dissipate. Stopping the bite had taken almost all of her energy. She was barely managing to keep standing. The soldier she’d saved called a thanks to her and ran back out of range.

The serpent was getting covered with burns. It was really starting to hurt to move and it was continually gaining more wounds. It decided that remaining in the circle of soldiers would be a bad decision. It broke through the circle where the soldiers were the least concentrated, whacking two with its tail. Its instincts told it to flee from the threat. The simplest was to do so was to get back underwater. The nearest hole in the ice was the one created when the boat was lifted out of the water. Seeing an escape avenue, the snake quickly slithered to the hole.

Unfortunately for the serpent, the repairs had just completed. Bruce allowed the chains of consciousness to slacken, letting the boat fall to the water and create a small, icy wave. Bruce relaxed and allowed himself a stretch before turning to the advancing snake, his irises a brilliantly glowing blue.

The snake let out an annoyed hiss as the boat covered the hole. It pulled up short and decided to take out its frustration on the closest human, who was, to its misfortune, Bruce. It lashed out with a bite which probably would’ve left only Bruce’s lower legs on the ice had it gone uninterrupted. In fact, it would’ve been quite comedic but since the author thinks he can pull off a serious story, Bruce psychically stopped the snake in its tracks. He pinned it to the ice so it could calm down.

Be still, he told it mentally, No one will hurt you now.

It followed his instructions, as most animals do when spoken to mind-to-mind. The soldiers surrounded it, their weapons leveled at it until Bruce waved them away.

“You can put those away. She’s fine now,” he stated, releasing the serpent from her psychic bonds.

There was a general muttering of “She?” by the soldiers but they did as they were told. The snake slithered into a more comfortable position on the ice as Bruce checked the burns scattered across her body.

“They seem to only be superficial burns, nothing serious. They’ll heal up quickly,” Bruce diagnosed. Now that people were no longer shooting at it, the snake seemed quite calm among all the humans. Luna pointed this out.

“Of course,” Bruce said, “Giant Ice Rhinos are really quite docile creatures.” Several soldiers snorted, mostly the ones bearing new injuries. Bruce continued, undeterred. “Quite docile unless an idiotic owner of a ship doesn’t purchase any type of biological scanners that would’ve told him to change course so he wouldn’t come perilously close to hitting her nest full of babies,” he said pointedly to Captain Adder, who decided that he would be able to dodge responsibility for the situation by doing his job.

“Alright you layabouts, get moving! I want us packed up and ready to go in five minutes!” he shouted to his crew before wandering off to yell at someone else.

Bruce watched him go, and with a sigh, returned his attention to the serpent. He stroked her side as though she were a housecat, being careful to avoid the burns. Amanda and Luna did likewise, enjoying the cold smoothness of the scales on their hands. Rose kept her distance, never having been very fond of snakes.

Bruce opened a hole in the ice and stepped back. “Bye, Chekov’s,” he said.

“Chekov’s?” Amanda asked.

“That’s what I’m calling her.”

“Why?”

Bruce watched as the serpent slid into the hole. “You’ll find out later.”