The Legend of Earth (The Human Chronicles Saga -- Book 5) by T.R. Harris Page B

motioned for the officer to step forward. “What do you think, Andy? Anything stick out at first glance?”
    “How many defenders do you have in the complex?”
    “A little over three hundred,” Hydon answered without hesitation, “plus an additional sixty stationed in the tunnels.”
    “And how many access points into the bunker?”
    “Just one.”
    “And any escape routes from underground.”
    Hydon pointed at several locations on the map, exits from the labyrinth on either side of the Kacoran Plain. “The Klin have taken up positions at all the exits. There are several monitors keeping track of this at the entrances, as well as in the tunnels.” He looked at Adam. “This other race – the Kracori – appear to be the only military force the Klin are employing. We’ve not spotted any other beings.”
    Tobias ran his finger along one of the long corridors leading to their present location on the map. “Could a nuclear device be brought through here, once the defenders have been cleared?” Adam remembered the various barricades and defensive positions he’d passed on the way to the bunker. As formidable as they appeared, in the long run, they would be overrun.
    “Yes, but the tunnels can be sealed along their lengths with hidden explosives if we see an attempt to bring in such a device.”
    “Then how would we get out?” Riyad Tarazi asked the Elder. “I mean if we ever have reason to leave such luxurious accommodations.”
    “There is a way I can escape at any time.”
    “How’s that?”
    “There is a boring pod available. It is a mining device that can travel through bedrock. It will provide me and up to ten of my entourage a means of escaping, if I find it necessary.”
    “That’s comforting – for you anyway,” Riyad said.
    After another moment of studying the schematic, Andy straightened up. “I don’t see why they would want to blast us out of here. We are of no strategic value and the enemy has full run of the surface. They could simply wait us out and deal with us later once they’ve established a solid beach hold. And from the blocking of all the exits out of the mountain, they obviously know the complete layout of the complex, including the fact that you could collapse the tunnels if they make a move on the bunker.”
    “They may not feel they have the luxury of time,” Adam said. “They know our fleet is on its way, so I don’t think they’ll be setting up any permanent outposts on the surface – or let any of the people down here survive so they can be rescued.”
    “That’s true, but they have no reason to go through all the effort. In fact, they may force us to blow the tunnels just to trap us down here. Then whether the fleet arrives or not, eventually we’ll all starve to death. Problem solved. I say they’re going to sit on us. Besides, there must be hundreds of such shelters like this one around the planet. Trying to ferret out a few more Juireans from each one doesn’t seem like an efficient use of man – I mean – alien -power.”
    Adam turned to Hydon. “I concur with Lt. Tobias; I think they’ll choose to wait us out. Even if we are eventually rescued, we’ll only be a handful of survivors. Compared to the damage they’ve already caused, we’re hardly worth the effort.”
    “Unless they know you’re down here,” Riyad said, grinning at the Council Elder.
    “Even if they did, my status is no longer significant. Within the Juirean hierarchy, we are all easily replaceable.”
    Just then a loud, crackling sound screeched from the speakers embedded in the metal walls of the room. From the strong stereo effect filtering in from the nearby corridor, Adam could tell the sound was coming through all the nearby speakers, and probably throughout the entire complex.
    The screeching continued for a few more seconds as technicians buried their heads in the consoles, seeking a source of the sound or a way to turn it off.
    Finally, the screeching ended, but then a