Welcome to Andamooka
There's a lot of beat-down used-up mining towns in West Virginia, or there used to be, before the Combine. Shephard's seen a good number of 'em. He's clear on the other side of the planet now, in another climate, in another kind of landscape altogether, but he can't help but look at the remains of Andamooka and see every mountain town that came out on the wrong end of its mineral rights deals. This was opal country once. The Combine don't have much use for gemstones, so it's not much of anything now, just a bunch of rusted buildings that could've come from some old military base and a bunch more houses dug into the side of the hill.
Oh, and the buggy at the town gates, straight out of Mad Max. He's been sitting with his back to the thing writing his letter to Eleanor for a good while now. The people who live here came out to see who'd heard their signal and went right back into their houses again. Turned out they'd seen Mrs. Wilson, according to the guy they sent up to pass messages. They're talking over what to think about the little beast now- well, okay, she's not so little any more, she's near as big as the houndeyes he saw at Black Mesa. Still gets all wriggly and happy when he scratches her along her first stripe, though.
"Sergeant Shephard," says one of the other Resistance folk suddenly. His name's Mari- okay, it's something longer, but Shephard needs prep time to pronounce it right; he's from one of the Amazon tribes. Learned English years ago, from refugees who stumbled into the forest trying to escape the Combine before Xen things could eat them. "They're coming back."
He scrambles to his feet, Mrs. Wilson pressing up against his leg. There's three Australians coming their way, and they've all got the same wary, close-faced look. Their leader, a small, dark woman with her hair pulled back in a bun, nods to Shephard as he salutes. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she says, not sounding sorry at all. "We've been talking. You and your people can come in."
"And Mrs. Wilson? I ain't leavin' her out here for the spiders."
The woman laughs dryly. "Bring her if you like. The first time she barks, she's getting shot."
"Ma'am, if she hurts your people, I will deal with her myself," Shephard says. That seems to be enough. A few minutes later, he and Ten Boom and Mari and Shapiro are being ushered into the dugouts, Mrs. Wilson at their heels. There's a good crowd gathered here, although Shephard would bet the farm they aren't everyone in Andamooka. You don't put everyone in one place if you're calling for help on a frequency the Combine might overhear.
Beatrice's been running things here for the past two years, it turns out. The Combine've been pumping the water out of Australia everywhere they can, shunting it off to the center of the country through a system of pipelines like some sick joke of a backward river. The water table's never been high around these parts, but it's been dropping like a brick since City 17, and it's only getting worse. This place used to have cisterns and a pipeline and water trucks. These days, it's whatever they can gather and steal, and that's... not much and getting less. That's what the signal was about.
They don't know what's in the center of the continent taking up the water, but Shephard's got a pretty good idea.
Anyway, there's been a schism lately. Some of Beatrice's folks've been talking about how they need to stop whatever the Combine're doing by blowing the nearest trunk pipe clear to kingdom come. Whatever it is needs water? Don't let it get any. Sounds simple enough, but it won't get the humans any water for their efforts. Might make things a hell of a lot worse. Beatrice's got a couple of scientific types here in Andamooka and one of 'em's got specs on the pipeline. Damn thing runs from the coast to the center of the continent and it's as big as the Alyeska used to be. Which means it's probably as dangerous. Shephard's heard stories of a man who managed to punch a couple holes in the Alyeska with a high powered rifle. The oil came shooting back under so much pressure it cut down trees for a hundred yards. Blow the water pipeline here, and that's God knows how many gallons of water spraying out at speeds that'd take off a man's head. Not to mention that it's water nobody's going to see again, in a land gone dry as hell.
Beatrice listens to what he's got to say about the gene worms in North and South America, and though her face goes pale and ill at the thought, she nods. And her people nod along with her. Kill the worm and there's nothing to pump the water to. That's fine with them; they're going to die out here one way or another, and they'd rather do it fighting. Hell, some of them might even survive.
On the other hand, if they're going to be fighting anyway...
That pipe that runs from the coast to the center? That's not just picking up the little pipelines from all the wells across the territory. It runs clear out to sea and into the heart of a desalination plant parked offshore. The Combine aren't just draining Australia's water from underground, they're taking every last drop they can wring out of the ocean for this thing. The Andamooka folks can only vouch for one plant's location out of several- but one might just be enough. If they can take that plant from the Combine... well, the ocean's kind of shot to shit already, and people are dying. They need that water. Any water. They'll take what they can get. Kill the worm, and people stop being fed to it. Take the plant for their own, and people have a chance at living again.
He can't promise anything, much as he wants to. Shephard's clear on that. All he can do is put forward the idea to Ms. Vance and Dr. Freeman when they get back to the boat. That's okay, though. That's enough for them. It's more than anyone had before.
Even if it did come from a man who's freak enough to walk around with an eyeball dog at his heels.
Oh, and the buggy at the town gates, straight out of Mad Max. He's been sitting with his back to the thing writing his letter to Eleanor for a good while now. The people who live here came out to see who'd heard their signal and went right back into their houses again. Turned out they'd seen Mrs. Wilson, according to the guy they sent up to pass messages. They're talking over what to think about the little beast now- well, okay, she's not so little any more, she's near as big as the houndeyes he saw at Black Mesa. Still gets all wriggly and happy when he scratches her along her first stripe, though.
"Sergeant Shephard," says one of the other Resistance folk suddenly. His name's Mari- okay, it's something longer, but Shephard needs prep time to pronounce it right; he's from one of the Amazon tribes. Learned English years ago, from refugees who stumbled into the forest trying to escape the Combine before Xen things could eat them. "They're coming back."
He scrambles to his feet, Mrs. Wilson pressing up against his leg. There's three Australians coming their way, and they've all got the same wary, close-faced look. Their leader, a small, dark woman with her hair pulled back in a bun, nods to Shephard as he salutes. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she says, not sounding sorry at all. "We've been talking. You and your people can come in."
"And Mrs. Wilson? I ain't leavin' her out here for the spiders."
The woman laughs dryly. "Bring her if you like. The first time she barks, she's getting shot."
"Ma'am, if she hurts your people, I will deal with her myself," Shephard says. That seems to be enough. A few minutes later, he and Ten Boom and Mari and Shapiro are being ushered into the dugouts, Mrs. Wilson at their heels. There's a good crowd gathered here, although Shephard would bet the farm they aren't everyone in Andamooka. You don't put everyone in one place if you're calling for help on a frequency the Combine might overhear.
Beatrice's been running things here for the past two years, it turns out. The Combine've been pumping the water out of Australia everywhere they can, shunting it off to the center of the country through a system of pipelines like some sick joke of a backward river. The water table's never been high around these parts, but it's been dropping like a brick since City 17, and it's only getting worse. This place used to have cisterns and a pipeline and water trucks. These days, it's whatever they can gather and steal, and that's... not much and getting less. That's what the signal was about.
They don't know what's in the center of the continent taking up the water, but Shephard's got a pretty good idea.
Anyway, there's been a schism lately. Some of Beatrice's folks've been talking about how they need to stop whatever the Combine're doing by blowing the nearest trunk pipe clear to kingdom come. Whatever it is needs water? Don't let it get any. Sounds simple enough, but it won't get the humans any water for their efforts. Might make things a hell of a lot worse. Beatrice's got a couple of scientific types here in Andamooka and one of 'em's got specs on the pipeline. Damn thing runs from the coast to the center of the continent and it's as big as the Alyeska used to be. Which means it's probably as dangerous. Shephard's heard stories of a man who managed to punch a couple holes in the Alyeska with a high powered rifle. The oil came shooting back under so much pressure it cut down trees for a hundred yards. Blow the water pipeline here, and that's God knows how many gallons of water spraying out at speeds that'd take off a man's head. Not to mention that it's water nobody's going to see again, in a land gone dry as hell.
Beatrice listens to what he's got to say about the gene worms in North and South America, and though her face goes pale and ill at the thought, she nods. And her people nod along with her. Kill the worm and there's nothing to pump the water to. That's fine with them; they're going to die out here one way or another, and they'd rather do it fighting. Hell, some of them might even survive.
On the other hand, if they're going to be fighting anyway...
That pipe that runs from the coast to the center? That's not just picking up the little pipelines from all the wells across the territory. It runs clear out to sea and into the heart of a desalination plant parked offshore. The Combine aren't just draining Australia's water from underground, they're taking every last drop they can wring out of the ocean for this thing. The Andamooka folks can only vouch for one plant's location out of several- but one might just be enough. If they can take that plant from the Combine... well, the ocean's kind of shot to shit already, and people are dying. They need that water. Any water. They'll take what they can get. Kill the worm, and people stop being fed to it. Take the plant for their own, and people have a chance at living again.
He can't promise anything, much as he wants to. Shephard's clear on that. All he can do is put forward the idea to Ms. Vance and Dr. Freeman when they get back to the boat. That's okay, though. That's enough for them. It's more than anyone had before.
Even if it did come from a man who's freak enough to walk around with an eyeball dog at his heels.