With Lionheart to guide them, they found the endangered clan far more quickly than they would have otherwise. Treecats and their dwellings blended very well into their surroundings.
Stephanie had visited Lionheart at “home” and knew what to look for. Treecats didn’t impact their environment as much as humans did, but they did create sleeping platforms and places where they could store food.
Examining the section of picketwood to which Lionheart had brought them, Stephanie thought that at any other time this would be a very nice place for treecats to live. A stream originating from some inland source- probably a freshwater spring-created the eastern border, while in the near distance the southern fork of the Makara River ran to the south. To the north, she could glimpse a large meadow thick with waist-high grass. The picketwood grove itself looked strong and healthy. Now, however, with smoke wreathing through the tree limbs, cutting off the daylight so that the lurid glow of the approaching fire seemed like dull, angry sunlight peering out sideways, the area was ugly and unsettling.
It was also a scene of chaos-chaos, Stephanie realized, that had been triggered by their own arrival.
Lionheart bleeked authoritatively and tapped the door with one hand. This time Stephanie opened the door for him without hesitation. If he didn’t calm the ’cats, their arrival would do more harm than good.
“We’ll wait here,” Stephanie said. “Go on.”
Whatever Lionheart said to the gathered treecats, it was not accepted with universal approval. Several of the males hissed and spat. They didn’t quite arch their backs as Terran cats might do-their long, six-limbed torsos were shaped differently-but the attitude was much the same.
Whatever Lionheart “said” in return did not immediately defuse the situation. From the backseat, Jessica muttered in a mock “hick” accent, obviously speaking for the resident treecats.
“Go away. We don’t need your type here, stranger. We’re doing fine, just fine, on our own.”
Despite the tension of the situation, Stephanie giggled. Karl quirked one corner of his mouth in a half-smile, but when he spoke his voice was tight.
“The fire crossed to this island along the picketwood to the east. As of yet, the wind hasn’t carried it to the crown, but when it does, it’s going to be too late for these guys, even if they run all out.”
Stephanie nodded. “So let’s do what we can to slow the fire’s approach and keep it from climbing into the crown. That little stream’s too narrow to do more than slow the fire, but it does give us a source of water. It’s also a logical place to start a fire line.”
“Agreed,” Karl said. “Let’s leave the car back west of the stream. It’s just a passenger vehicle-and a light one at that. We can’t use it to take down trees. I’m going to set my uni-link to send automatic updates to the SFS.”
“Won’t they notice we’ve stopped?”
Karl grinned. “Well, I’m not being precisely dishonest, but I’m programming to send messages that will show us checking out the extent of this particular tongue. I’m guessing that unless we flag something ‘urgent,’ our data is going into a computerized mapping program. They don’t have enough humans to process data by hand.”
“It’s not precisely dishonest,” Stephanie agreed. “Let’s get going.”
As she and Karl laid their plans, Stephanie had been peripherally aware of Jessica speaking in the backseat. Now the other girl interjected herself into the conversation.
“I called Chet and updated him on our location. A bit of good news. Since he knew he might get assigned to shuttle service, he’s piloting one of his family’s older ’trucks. It won’t be strong enough to take out trees either, but if we can convince the treecats to trust us, we’re going to be able to move a bunch all at once.”
“Diplomacy,” Stephanie said, getting out of the car and casting a worried glance over where Lionheart was now exchanging hisses and snarls with a couple of husky ’cats, “is going to be Lionheart’s job.”
And let’s hope, she thought as she unloaded her gear from the back to the air car, he can manage it without resorting to violence.
Unlike most humans, Stephanie Harrington knew all too well how dangerous treecats could be. She’d been in pretty bad shape when the furry mass of Lionheart’s clan had swarmed down from the treetops to take on the hexapuma that had attacked them both-drawn, she now suspected, by the scent of her blood from when she’d crashed her hang glider. However, she’d seen the aftermath, heard Frank and Ainsley talk about how badly shredded the corpse had been.
If this group decided to go after Lionheart, he wouldn’t have a chance-not one against many, not crippled as he was. She had her handgun with her, but could she shoot at a bunch of treecats, even to save Lionheart? She didn’t know and she really hoped she wouldn’t need to find out.
Leaving that train of thought behind, Stephanie slung the bladder bag over her shoulders, wearing it like a backpack over her fire-suit.
Such devices had been in use since the earliest days of mechanized firefighting, but this model had a great advantage over its predecessors. When those were empty, that was it, but this one contained a powerful miniature pump and a supply of tablets to recharge the chemical supply. All one needed to do was drop a feeder hose into a source of water and the pack would refill, feeding in the necessary chemicals. Once her own pack was on, Stephanie turned to help Jessica adjust hers.
“Remember what we told you about the fire triangle?” Stephanie asked Jessica.
Jessica nodded, moving next to Stephanie as she hurried toward the stream.
“Yes. Fires need heat, oxygen, and fuel or they can’t keep going.”
“Right,” Stephanie hefted her Pulaski. “That’s where this comes in.
“You help your mom with her garden, so use the skills you already have.” They were down by the stream now, and Stephanie demonstrated. “Trim away all these little shrubs and suckers. That’s what the fire will use first as fuel. If you come across something too thick, activate the vibroblade. Then use the hoe to pull the slash back a few meters. Clear away leaf matter, too. When you’re done with an area-say a couple of meters wide, activate the bladder bag and soak the ground. Soak the tree trunks for a couple of meters up their length.”
Jessica immediately fell to work. Her technique wasn’t SFS-approved, but it was good enough-and fast.
“I get what we’re doing,” she said, the radio in her suit carrying her voice in short bursts. “First we eliminate the fuel, then we soak the area so it’s cooler.”
“Right,” Stephanie said, from where she was working a few meters upstream. “The chemicals we’re mixing in also help keep the fire from processing fuel. If we get a chance, we’ll clear both sides of the stream, but one is enough for now.”
“But what about the tree trunks?” Jessica asked. “Aren’t they fuel?”
Karl’s voice joined the conversation. “This stuff we’re cutting away is what’s called ‘light fuel.’ It burns fast. Tree trunks are ‘heavy fuel.’ It takes the fire more time to get a hold of them. Sure, when they do, it’s a real pain, but if we can stop them from catching…”
“Like when you’re trying to get a fire started when you’re primitive camping or something,” Jessica said. “You can’t just put a match to a log and expect it to catch. You need tinder, then twigs…”
They worked together in easy cooperation. If it hadn’t been for the fire they could see burning closer with every minute, Stephanie thought they might even have enjoyed themselves. She’d connected her uni-link to the suit’s com system. Just as she was finishing trimming down a stand of saplings, Chet’s voice came into her ears.
“We’re close,” he said. “We’ve got a visual on Karl’s car. Should we land next to it?”
“Do it,” Stephanie said. “Are you suited up?”
“All of us,” Chet reassured her.
“I’ll meet you and show you where to go. Listen, the treecats are really edgy. I don’t know if Lionheart’s convinced them we’re on their side or not, but it’s best if you don’t go near them.”
“Got ya,” Chet said. “We’re coming in.”
Stephanie knew Karl and Jessica had heard Chet’s call, so, bending to grab a bunch of the saplings and haul them back out of the cleared zone, she hurried off to meet the new arrivals.
Looking ahead of her, she saw Lionheart and the treecats, apparently unchanged from before. Or were they?
The thrum of the approaching truck made everyone look up. Stephanie, fearing that what looked like a delicate situation was about to become unbalanced, hastened to meet it.
Lionheart, she thought, I wish I could ask you what’s going on…
