Title: Lifelines
Chapter: 1
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG, adventure
Archive: let me know where, please
Spoilers: Not a lot
Feedback: the bread of life, and I'm starving.
Disclaimer: just playing in the sand box, promise to put them back before bedtime.

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The weather patterns on the planet of the Giants were proving to be a paradox.

No sooner had the passengers and crew of the newly acquired Windsifter space craft settled into a daily pattern of life, accommodated by the almost ceaseless blue sky and sunshine days, than the weather decided to go completely mad, producing hail and a drop of ten degrees in the space of twelve hours. After previously surviving months of rain, which now was attributed to the planets spring equinox, they had thought they were experiencing the equivalent of the planets late spring into summer, with the promise of long hot days and clear nights. Only a day before landing at their current location they had weathered a severe, although short-lived, cyclonic storm that battered the tiny craft and tested the ingenuity of its occupants. Now they had hoped for a period of settled weather to enable them to set up a more permanent campsite. After two weeks of wonderful, dry weather and a monumental effort to get everything ready, by everyone, they had been prepared to rest on their laurels and take stock. Now they were being pelted by boulder sized chunks of ice that pinged and bonged off the hull of the ship. The racket making everyone cover their ears. Outside the hail stones were inflicting major damage to the sleeping lean-to and provisions shelter. Steve and Dan, together with Mark could only watch with dismay as their hard work was reduced to rubble.

" Dammit, we only completed that lean-to yesterday." Mark pounded his fist against the hull in frustration.

" Take it easy, it can be built again." soothed Steve.

" Sure we can, but how long before we have to do it again, and again." Mark raged. An extra loud crash against the hull punctuated the conversation.

" Much more of this pounding and we could be looking at some serious damage to the ship, Steve." Dan gave his Captain a worried glance.

" We'll just have to take it into consideration when we build the next lean-to. I'm not sending anyone out there now, they'd be killed if they got hit by one of those hailstones." Steve continued to watch the hail stones bounce off the ground, creating an uneven carpet of white rocks.

Betty entered the cockpit, holding her hands over her ears as another chunk of ice bounced off the hull with a loud crack.

" Anyone want anything to eat or drink." she asked.

" Old habits die hard, don't they Betty." Steve remarked, making Betty smile in return.

" Gotta keep my hand in, dontcha know. So any takers ?"

" Not right now, thanks. How is everyone coping back there ?"

" Well the noise is unsettling a few of them, Marna isn't at all happy, Fitzhugh yelps each time a hail stone hits the hull. Otherwise Val and Barry are as stoic as usual. "

" Let's hope this stops before too long, the noise is starting to get to me as well." Mark commented before turning and going back into the cabin.

" Well if there's nothing I can do for you gents, I'll get back and try to calm Fitzhugh down." with that parting shot Betty whisked out of the cockpit and shut the door behind her.

Steve turned back to Dan, the friends exchanging a rueful look.

" Thank god Betty has the touch, I wouldn't like to be the one to calm Fitzhugh down when he has one of his moments."

"You and me both. Hey have you heard anything for the past couple of minutes ?"

Both men listened, hearing only the sound of dripping water. Steve leaned over the console and peered out of the viewport.

" I think it's finished for now. Lets get out there and assess the damage."

Dan followed Steve out of the room, pausing only to thumb the cabin door and poke a head in to alert the others.

" Steve and I are going to see what's happening outside, it looks like a break in the hailstorm."

Mark came over to join them, with Valerie standing up and following him. Fitzhugh continued to moan in his seat, while Marna sat huddled with her hands over her ears, oblivious to her surroundings.

" Can I come too ?" Barry asked, Chipper straining on his lead to go out.

" Sure, just don't stray too far from the ship in case it's only a temporary lull." admonished Steve. Barry nodded and followed the men into the hallway, squeezing against Valerie as they waited for Dan to open the hatch.

Once the door was open they crowded around the doorway, surveying the white pebbled ground where the hailstones sat, slowly melting now the sun had decided to finally come out.

Dan picked his way over to the lean-to. It had taken quite a battering, but the new props, using the new style of construction, had borne up quite well. Only the material covering the framework had been ripped and damaged.

" Look's like your new design worked well, Mark." said Steve.

Mark had also carefully walked over to the construction, running his hands over the spliced joints where wood met metal.

" I guess this was as good a test as any. If we can find a stronger roofing material we won't have to worry about hail storms again." Mark picked up one of the hail stones, as big as a basketball, and hefted it in his hands.

" I wouldn't want to be out in that storm, these could be lethal to anything our size." He observed. He passed the ice chunk to Barry who had followed him. Chipper darted about the clearing, sniffing all the strange while lumps that littered the ground. Barry licked the ball sized ice, the water dripping down his chin.

" Hey, this isn't half bad, funny shape for an icecream though."

Mark gave him a considering look.

" Steve, we ought to gather as many of these together as we can, they're basically distilled water, a good top up for our water supply. I would imagine it's alot less polluted than that stream we're using."

" Good idea Mark, everyone go back to the ship and gather a bucket or whatever you can find to hold water. Then everyone get out gathering these ice chunks." Ordered Steve.

The shipmates hurried back to the Windsifter, Dan finding and handing out the buckets to collect the hail stones. Marna and Fitzhugh came out to join in the collection as well, Marna delicately stepping between the stones, trying to keep her thin shoes dry.

A half hour later the clearing was empty of hailstones. The buckets standing in the sunshine, heaped high with melting ice.

" I can use some of that distilled water in the stand-by batteries as well, they've been getting low." Said Mark.

" Take whatever you need, the rest we can decant into bottles and jerry cans for use later." replied Steve.

The sun had come out in force and the day was heating up fast. Jackets were shed and makeshift hats put on by those working outside. Valerie had discovered a talent for weaving. With some grasses that Steve had found at their first beach stop weeks ago, she had fashioned sun hats. They hadn't been able to find anything to use for sunblock so the hats were as broad-brimmed as Valerie could make them, like rice paddy coolie hats. They weren't exactly elegant, but they stopped the sun nicely and prevented any severe cases of sunburn. Only Marna refused to wear one, preferring to stay in the ship, out of the sun altogether.

The others just shrugged and carried on, not realising that Marna had an ulterior motive for wanting to stay in the ship. She had hidden the homing bug in the lining of one of her shoes. Marna assumed it was still sending, but she wanted the signal to remain in a constant place, hopefully allowing her Giant friends to pinpoint the ship easily. No one suspected her, Marna was sure, but she didn't want it discovered so the shoe provided the perfect place. She was never left alone long enough to enable her to find a better hiding place on the ship itself, so keeping herself inside the ship was the obvious solution.

Her refusal to wear the hats gave her the perfect excuse, keeping her fair skin out of the sun as much as possible.

Mark and Dan were taking the damaged cover off the leanto, dragging it over to the rocks to spread it over them to dry. Valerie was taking an inventory of the items that needed repairs, then with Betty's help they piled the broken pieces to one side.

" Oh damn, nearly all our new furniture needs repairs. Lets shift this table out and get started on those stools." Valerie picked up one side of the wooden table, Betty picking up the other side then between them they carried it away from the shelter.

" I'll go and get some more wire to redo those stool joints. We should have them finished before supper tonight." Valerie turned and made her way over to Mark.

" We need to rewire some of the stools, is there enough left over from the lean-to ?"

" Plenty, take some from that coil, I'll bring the rest over when we're finished with redoing these uprights." Valerie picked up the coil Mark had indicated, returning to where Betty had the first stool waiting.

They worked steadily in companionable silence until the last item was repaired. The sun was starting to sink below the forest behind them when Dan came out of the ship, calling for Steve to come quickly.

" You need to see what's on the radar." Dan explained as Steve entered the cockpit.

The two men looked at the radar image, trying to decipher the information contained in each sweep.

" I know what I think it is, but what do you see Dan ?" Steve asked.

" It showed up about five minutes ago, heading towards us at a steady pace, at first I thought it was an animal, but its too precise, too regular." Dan pointed to a particular area.

" I have to say it looks like a mechanical object, like a small car, but our size, not Giant. That's why you had to see it." Dan explained, exchanging a perplexed glance with Steve, the two men trying to rationalise what they were seeing on the screen.

" Okay, well I see it, but I don't believe it....I'll get on the top of the bluff and see if I can get a visual." Steve snagged the binoculars from their hook. Racing out of the ship, jumping the stairs and taking off at a run for the rock formation. Mark was just returning to the ship when Steve passed him at a run. Valerie and Betty had looked up, startled by his precipitous exit, coming over to join Mark as he looked after the rapidly departing figure of Steve.

" What gives ?" Mark asked.

" I heard Dan call Steve into the ship to look at something." Betty offered.

" Let's ask Dan then." Mark and Valerie turned to do just that when Dan appeared in the doorway.

" What's happening Dan, whys Steve in such a hurry ?" Mark asked.

"Something's showing up on the radar, Steve's gone to see if he can spot it from the top of the pile." Dan explained.

" Let's go then." Mark turned to follow the direction Steve had taken. Dan, Betty and Valerie close behind.

Steve had reached the outcrop and quickly climbed to the top, looping the binoculars around his neck and bringing them to his eyes, the view through the lenses jumping into sharp focus as he scanned in the direction shown on the radar screen.

Behind him he could here the others climbing up to join him. Dan and Mark helping Val and Betty to negotiate the sharp rocks.

He lowered the binoculars to try and catch any movement in the vegetation beyond their rock pile. He saw the tops of some bushes waving as if in a wind. Quickly putting the glasses to his eyes he saw what was making the bushes sway.

"Can you see it Steve ?" Dan panted as he reached where Steve was standing.

" Yeah....I can see it." Steve pointed to where he knew the impossible was heading towards them.

Mark and the girls shaded their eyes, trying to see what Steve was pointing to. Dan took the glasses from Steve, training them on the object approaching across the plain.

" It has an aerial, could it be remote controlled ?" Dan speculated.

" Most probably, which raises the issue of who is controlling it?" Steve put his hands on his hips, squinting into the distance as if trying to see beyond the line of tree's in the distance.

" Are we talking about a remote control car ?" Mark queried. They could see the aerial waving through the low growth as it got inexorably closer.

" Oh no, its not another war game is it ?" Betty exclaimed, remembering their previous encounter with mechanical toys.

" I don't know, Betty. It's heading straight for the camp, I suggest we get out there and meet it before it gets here." Steve turned and started back down the rocks, not waiting for anybody to object. Dan followed him with Mark not far behind. The girls stayed on the rocks, using the binoculars to see what they could in the failing light.

The men reached the bottom and raced for the ship. Barry and Fitzhugh were waiting outside, wanting to know what was happening. Mark and Steve went straight in, leaving Dan to explain what they were up to.

" Fitz the girls are coming off the rocks, go meet them and make sure they get back here safely. We're going to investigate something out on the plain. Barry keep Chipper close, let Marna know what's happening." Dan turned and went to the lean-to, gathering ropes and a torch from the work bench. Mark and Steve exited the ship, carrying radio's and weapons.

" We'll be in touch, stand by the radio." Steve told them as he tucked the radio inside his jacket.

Together the three men left the camp at a run. Fitzhugh shooed Barry into the ship, then left to meet the girls, taking a torch as the night was starting to draw in.

Valerie and Betty made their way cautiously down from the lookout, finding Fitzhugh waiting nervously for them at the bottom. They started to walk back to the ship, discussing what they knew so far.

" We're miles from any Giant habitation, where would it have come from?" Asked Betty. Valerie just shook her head.

"Your guess is as good as anybodies, maybe there's a house in the forest, we haven't had time to find out."

" Dan was sure there was nothing when we flew in here. I hope it turns out to be a simple explanation, I'm so tired of running." Betty sighed. Valerie put an arm around her friends' shoulder in sympathy. Betty gave her a grateful smile as they reached the camp, Marna and Barry waiting for them in the hatchway.

" Any news ?" Valerie asked. Barry shook his head.

" Okay then, there's nothing we can do until the guys return or radio, so lets get inside and get settled." Valerie herded the small group into the Windsifter, closing the hatchway behind her. It was full dark now and she sent up a silent prayer that the men would return safe and in one piece.

" Fitzhugh, you help Betty and me set out a meal. Barry you man the radio and let us know if you hear anything, okay ?" Barry nodded in answer to Valerie's request, turning and settling into Dan's chair to monitor the radio. Marna hovered in the cabin, wringing her hands.

" Marna, why don't you help tidy up the cabin, we may have to sleep in here tonight, so we need to clear the deck." Marna looked as if she might argue with Valerie but decided to acquiesce instead, starting to pick up shoes and pillows lying scattered on the floor.

" Leadership suits you Valerie." said Betty, speaking softly so Fitzhugh and Marna couldn't hear. Valerie grinned and lightly punched Betty on the arm.

"If you see anybody better, let me know...I'll happily relinquish command." retorted Val, Betty just grinned back a her and turned to enter the commissary.

Valerie went forward to the cockpit, seeing Barry's worried face glow in the light of the instrument panel. The viewport was black outside. The radar still showed the small but persistent approach of the unknown object. It also now showed three dots approaching rapidly from the east, each sweep of the radar bringing them closer. Valerie chewed a nail as the dots converged.

Waiting was a bitch.

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