The Mountain Man leader stabilizes Ezekiel, then performs impromptu surgery on Jeremiah Jackson.
As this goes on, the dead dogs are taken out and gutted by the two of the other mountain men for their meat. Guess Jeremiah wasn't as attached to them as it seemed.
Exploring the rest of the bolt hole meanwhile, Nataliah finds that the two mastiff poodles were kenneled on the natural shelf of the Rise chamber – in two large cages along the north wall.
Also in the chamber is a supply of dog food and a narrow passage leading out to the east.
The passage leads one hundred and fifty feet east at a slight upward slope, where it ends at a rough-cut timber ladder with a shovel leaning nearby. The ladder climbs ten feet up to a trapdoor above that would normally open under some brush east of the sawmill. Currently however, the trapdoor is snow-covered and frozen shut. Jeremiah Jackson was recently using the shovel in an attempt to force open the trapdoor, but had to abandon his efforts when the team discovered his bolt hole.
Not wanting to face everyone in the cramped confines of the narrow passage, Jeremiah left the shovel and hurried back to the main tunnels, before the steel trapdoor was blown open.
---
Following the surgery – a net activated tracking beacon tucked safely under Jeremiah's skin - the team takes Jeremiah aboard the Swamp Rat 9 to ferry everyone back to the Dandy Desperado.
Olesko Jones sells Captain Montoya a ratty old skinsuit for Jeremiah to wear and the rickety deathtrap of a ship takes off.
Once again, the ship is challenged for the passcode by the Callisto Air Authority for safe passage off the moon, but Olesko Jones has it ready this time. Then, during the accent into space, Jeremiah's skinsuit springs a leak, but some of the patches that come with the Captain Montoya's Vacc suit are able to take care of it.
"Sorry, no refunds!" Olesko Jones laughs over the comms.
Once clamped onto the underbelly of the Dandy Desperado - everyone spacewalks back to their ship and Olesko Jones takes off.
"Pleasure doing business with ya!" he is heard over the comms before signing off.
Moonkit meanwhile, has miraculously managed to stay out of trouble this whole time, though she does complain a bit that she "would have won more, had the dog not cheated while playing chess."
Other than that, she is very happy to see everyone - except curls her nose when Jeremiah walks in.
"Eeeew he stinks!" she exclaims; her manners briefly yielding to the rancorous stench of the well-pickled mountain man.
Indeed, the man does pack a powerful olfactory punch.
---
Once the Dandy Desperado lands back on Europa, the crew has no problem turning Jeremiah Jackson into the CPWR (Callisto Planetary Wildlife Refuge) and collecting the 600,000 writ reward. Jackson is whisked away and not seen again, leaving team to wonder at his fate.
A few days later however, and a news story over the Net tells them all they need to know –
“The CEO, Montague Onasis the Fourth, of the Onasis Naturals Corporation of Europa, was killed recently in a hunting mishap during a trip to Callisto. On a quail hunt at the time, the CEO died of injuries sustained from a fall over a cliff when the trail gave way beneath him and his hunting party. There were no survivors.”
Somewhere out there, Captain Montoya can sense the Mountain Man leader grinning broadly, as he throws a salute to the dark Callisto sky.
THE END
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Topic: Mountain Man (Read 117247 times)