Green Canyon Magic - Ch.12 - Soldiers & Science (Patreon)

*** content warning: death ***

"I don't expect the three of you to act as fighters," Gaia stated. "So if you prefer, I can go and remove the soldiers myself right now."

Stef and I exchanged a glance, then I asked our new boss "You're not going to kill them are you?"

That seemed to surprise the teenage planetary avatar. She asked, "Do you have a problem with that? As I said I'm not asking you to do it yourselves, but we've already established that this is a war. I've tried turning the other cheek for the last few centuries but all that achieved was the loss of even more species and the destruction of more habitat."

"It's not that," I shook my head. "The Bundesheer really isn't a threat. And even if they are, it's not their fault. They're mostly a bunch of underpaid and under-trained boys, aged eighteen to twenty. I can practically guarantee that group coming this way isn't here by choice."

Gaia frowned, "If the pay and the training isn't to their liking, why would they enlist?"

"Unless they signed up hoping for the opportunity to use force or weapons against other people," she added as her expression became much darker.

I shook my head, "It's not like that at all. Almost every boy in Austria gets two choices. Either serve half a year in the military, or nine months in 'civil service'. Which is basically slave labour, considering what they're paid."

"Oh," our guest made a face. "Conscription."

"Yeah," Stef sighed.

I grimaced as I admitted, "I know what it's like because I had to do my service as well. That was before I figured out I was trans."

"I'm sorry my little star," my enbyfriend said as they pulled me into a hug. 

Theo had been silent for the last couple minutes but he finally asked, "So what should we do about the soldiers then?"

As Stef and I released each other from our hug I suggested, "Why don't we go have a closer look and see what they're up to? I'm guessing they're either here on a rescue mission, to help any lost hikers get out of the park, or they've been sent to try and get a closer look at that impossible glowing mountain." 

The cat-kin agreed, then added "It's not like there's anything they can really do here, right? Their electronics and technology won't work this close to the new mountain. And you said they can't hurt us now that we're working for you, right Gaia?"

"That's correct," the planet's avatar responded. "You should all be quite safe from them, while they will be entirely defenceless against you."

Then I asked, "In that case why don't we just go talk to them? We can ask them what they're doing here, and maybe even suggest they'll be safer if they leave."

Our new boss replied, "I suppose you could speak with them if you wanted, but I'd rather you didn't tell them about your affiliation with me. As I said, I don't want that becoming common knowledge until the others like you have had time to consider my offer."

"Then maybe it's best if we just observe from a distance," Stef said with a little frown. "Even if we don't tell them we're working for you, they'll probably make that assumption? Having a foxgirl and a cat-kin and a talking wildcat show up in the shadow of that new mountain to ask the local military a bunch of questions is kind of a give-away."

I grimaced, "Good point cutie."

"It sounds as though the three of you have things under control here," Gaia stated. "In which case I'll leave you to it. I have to run, but if you need me Theo can contact me any time. Good luck with the soldiers, and do keep practicing your magic. Bye for now!"

We barely had time to say goodbye before she vanished. Then Stef said, "We may as well get started then? Let's go and see what the Bundesheer is up to."

Theo and I both agreed, and we all set out together. Rather than heading south-east to where the soldiers currently were, we made our way towards to the new mountain. That put us in their path, and made it easier for us to pick a spot where we could hide and watch them.

Part of the reason we decided to do it that way was neither Stef or myself were especially stealthy. We were getting better since receiving Gaia's gifts and magic, but we were still a couple city girls after all. Really the only reason we had any hope of tracking and observing the approaching group was thanks to our magic and supernatural senses. Even from a few kilometers away we could monitor their approach and know what direction they were heading.

We ended up finding a spot with good cover that gave us a clear view of the magic mountain, the lake, and the natural dam. It also allowed us to monitor the approach to the south, and an obvious area where we figured the soldiers would be passing through since the woods weren't as thick there.

Meanwhile we continued monitoring them with our other senses, and I noticed rather than following a straight line from Retz to the mountain they'd detoured a couple hundred meters to the west when they got about two and a half kilometers away. Then they turned north-east again, resuming their march towards the impossible mountain.

"What do you suppose they're doing?" I asked quietly. "It's like they're going around something?"

Stef thought for a moment before replying, "The Czech border. They're being careful to stay on the Austrian side."

"Ah of course," I nodded. Although that led to another question, "I wonder how they could tell where it is, when it goes through woods and wilderness? They can't be using GPS, it won't work here."

My enbyfriend shrugged, "Paper maps? Maybe we'll figure it out when they get closer."

For the next little while there wasn't much to do but wait. Stef and I were sitting together on the ground next to a big tree, while Theo alternated between sitting with us and quietly prowling around. Meanwhile I could monitor the soldiers through the ground, I could feel their boots on the earth even from this distance. 

When they were about a kilometer away Stef cocked their head slightly as their ears twitched and focused. Then they smiled, "I can hear them talking, they're not even trying to be quiet."

"Ah," they added a few seconds later. "Like I figured, one of them has a paper map and a compass. He's taking bearings and plotting their position. He sounds like he knows what he's doing, too."

After another brief pause they commented, "I don't think he's one of the soldiers, he sounds older. He might be a guide? He seems to know the terrain, and definitely knows how to use a map and compass."

I nodded as I focused on them through the earth, "I think only about half of them are soldiers? A dozen or so feel like typical conscripts to me. The rest feel different, they move differently."

Stef continued to listen in on the group. After another minute or two they said, "There's at least two older soldiers, officers I suppose? They seem to be in charge, I can hear them giving orders."

After another couple minutes Theo snuck away to go and get a closer look at the group, while Stef and I stayed in hiding to wait for them. It was only about ten minutes after that when they finally emerged from the woods. And when they did, they all stopped to stare at the impossible mountain as they got their first good look at the whole thing.

Its faint glow wasn't as visible during the daylight, but there were still those occasional bursts of lightning. They seemed to rise up out of the depths of the new lake as an eerie glow, then the lightning crawled up the side of the mountain along one of its edges until reaching the peak. From there it would strike out into the sky, as if charging the air itself with electricity.

It was funny how I'd grown so accustomed to it over the past week. It was just background noise for me now, while the new arrivals seemed almost mesmerized for a minute or two by the whole impossible spectacle.

Which was convenient as it gave us an opportunity to get a good look at them. I counted fourteen boys in their military fatigues, wearing heavy backpacks and carrying fancy-looking rifles. That was a worrying surprise, in my experience the conscripts were given a handgun and a couple bullets and that was that. Although after Gaia's message to the world last night, it was possible the government was taking the situation much more seriously.

Like my enbyfriend said, there were also two older soldiers with officer insignia on their uniforms. One looked to be in his late twenties, the other in his late thirties or early forties. The two men also had heavy packs on their backs, and like they boys they were armed with the modern rifles.

Finally there were eight more men who did not appear to be soldiers, ranging in age from early twenties to possibly mid-fifties. Like the military they were also wearing backpacks, but their clothing was much more casual and their packs were an assortment of typical civilian camping gear.

While we watched the men stare at the mountain, one of them did something that caught me by surprise. He had a fancy-looking camera hanging from a strap around his neck, and he raised it up and looked through it as he focused on the mountain. Then after he snapped a picture he cranked a lever thing on the side of the camera, before taking another shot.

"Oh wow," Stef commented quietly as the group of men finally started moving again. "That must be an old film camera! Something that doesn't need batteries to make it go."

I responded just as softly, "Paper maps and compasses, antique film cameras, it feels like they're actually pretty well-prepared."

"The big heavy packs worry me though," I added. "It seems like overkill, for a simple hike..."

My voice trailed off as one of the officers called the group to a halt and ordered the soldiers to start setting up camp. They were about two dozen meters from the edge of the new lake and about a hundred meters east of the natural dam, and thanks to the earthquake when the new mountain appeared there were enough trees down to provide plenty of firewood. It also meant they had a good clear view of the mountain, dam, lake, and the woods where we were hiding. And we had a good clear view of them.

Stef sighed quietly, "Looks like they're planning to stay a while."

"Yeah," I frowned. "I guess we just keep watching and listening for now?"

"We could try and scare them away with our magic?" Theo suggested, as he quietly returned from his scouting.

My enbyfriend shook their head, "Not yet, but that's a good idea for later. We still haven't figured out what they're up to."

So the three of us kept quiet and continued to watch while the soldiers set up a half dozen tents along with a sheltered area for cooking. As they worked they all continued to steal glances at the new mountain, especially whenever another bolt of lightning was crackling as it climbed up the surface of the mountain.

Meanwhile the civilians were also very interested in the new mountain and the other changes to the surrounding landscape. They had their own equipment to unpack, and all of it appeared to be old-school stuff that didn't rely on technology or electricity. In addition to the old camera we saw some kind of surveyor's instrument with a tripod and a little telescope-like thing on top, plus they also had measuring tapes, binoculars, and plenty of notepads and pencils. One of them even had what appeared to be a chemistry kit, with bottles and flasks and things, so he could test the water and soil and stuff.

Of the eight civilians we gradually determined most were scientists who'd come to study the impossible new mountain and the lake. There were geologists and chemists, one guy was a botanist or something, another seemed to be some kind of engineer. The guy with the old camera was a photographer, apparently his job was to document the whole expedition. He had more old camera gear in his pack, and lots of film. One of the civilians turned out to be a guide after all, he was the one that knew his way around maps and compasses. And the last one we weren't too sure about, but he seemed fairly comfortable with hiking and camping so we figured he was either another guide or something.

There was a bit of excitement when two of the scientists went to get a closer look at the dam and discovered the stone staircase I made that first day when Stef and I fell into the water. The photographer made sure to get several pictures of that, while the engineer and a geologist took a bunch of measurements. And one of the chemistry guys used the steps to go down to the water so he could get some samples. 

Meanwhile the campsite was more or less complete. A couple of the conscripts were setting up a stove under the sheltered area like they were preparing to make lunch for everyone, while a few more had taken up positions on either side of the camp on obvious guard duty.

"Would it be wrong to use our magic to chase them away now, to make them abandon all their supplies and gear?" Stef asked with a grin. "Then we could help ourselves to everything they leave behind. Food for two dozen people will last us a while I think."

I couldn't help smiling back at them, "It might be a little mean? But I admit it's tempting."

There were a few separate groups of people all doing their own thing by that point, but so far the three of us were able to keep track of everything. One of the geologists and the engineer began to venture carefully out along the top of the natural dam while the photographer stayed on solid ground and recorded their progress with his camera. 

At the same time the other geologist and the civilian we thought was some kind of experienced hiker struck up a conversation about the dam itself. They were near enough I could hear them, thanks to my tall pointed ears. And what I heard sent a chill down my spine and made my tails twitch in alarm.

"So you figure you can get rid of this dam without any technology?" the geologist asked.

The guy we thought was a hiker replied, "Sure. We'll be gathering information on this trip, measurements and composition, what it's made of and what's holding it together. That and the pictures will let me and my people figure out the best places to put the charges, and how strong to make them."

"We'll prepare everything in advance," he continued, "Then when we come back out here next time it's just a matter of placing the charges and setting them off. It's not going to be a huge blast, we'll be looking to make a small breech for a controlled drain. Obviously we don't want to cause any flooding downstream, I think the people of Znojmo would take issue with that. Anyways once the lake's drained we can use stronger charges to break up the rest of the dam."

Stef and Theo heard all that too, and the three of us exchanged a look. Like it was one thing for these people to come and take pictures and study the site, but there was no way we were going to let them blow things up and take away our lake.

I opened my mouth to say as much, but something happened before I had a chance to speak.

The two guys who'd ventured out onto the dam got to within a dozen meters of the mountain when another glow rose up from under the water. After it reached the surface an arc of lightning started up the side of the mountain again like usual, but only made it ten or twenty meters before it leapt out sideways and struck the nearest man.

There was a flash of light and a nasty ripping or tearing sound, as the geologist vanished in a spray of red globs and shredded fabric. It was as if his body had literally just exploded, with enough force to knock the engineer off the top of the dam and into the lake. 

For the next couple seconds absolutely everyone was silent and motionless as we stared in shock at the spot where the two men had been standing. Now one was floating face-down and motionless in the lake, while all that remained of the other was some blood-soaked scraps of cloth.

I found myself almost stunned as it slowly sank in, that I'd just watched one or perhaps two men die, right before my eyes.

*** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of Lucy who commissioned it! ***