The location Karl gave us on the map doesn’t seem to hold a rover, and he claims that he can’t remember the exact spot. Still he keeps trying to sneak off as if he’s trying to abandon us. It feels like he’s trying to run off on his family as well. It’s almost as if he’s going to move those short legs as fast as they’ll go once he spots the rover. We stay close, but spread out more, searching for the rover. It’s in the general area if we can take his word for it. If there’s no rover, we’ve risked our lives and wasted our time trying to get here. Marshall yells and threatens Karl, demanding to know the truth. Nobody stops him this time around or even cares. If the rover isn’t here he screwed us all over.

Spotting the rover is like finding water in the middle of a dessert. The big white tank like vehicle is just sitting in the shipping dock of a random store. All eight wheels seem to be in perfect condition. There’s no exterior damage, and it looks like it can plow through just about anything. I call the others and we celebrate the find.

Karl gets to work immediately while the rest of us take turns shooting at grubs that get close. There’s no hoard, but there seems to be an endless number of grubs coming towards us. We’re forced to create a patrol route and keep watch as Karl works on the rover. It’s not something Marshall, Thore or I want to do, only because none of us trust Karl. My biggest fear is that he’s going to get it working and just drive off leaving us behind.

I’ve been given the honored duty of protecting Karl as he works. Since I didn’t want to shoot him in the head or abandon him, I have to keep him alive, but more importantly, honest. He almost gets it started a few different times. I pick off a grub stuck behind a dumpster as he has another failed attempt at getting it started. Marilyn rocks Kyra back and forth in the rover, waiting for us to go, keeping the girl calm.

“I can’t do it,” Karl calls out to me from inside the rover.

“Why not,” I ask as I sit on the roof, not paying him any attention at the moment.

“I need Federation codes to start it. Computer needs to update and run a diagnostic. Can’t do that without the codes.”

“I’ve got codes,” I respond.

“Great, give them here,” he sounds eager, but too eager.

“Nope, you get out and watch my back. I can input the codes myself.”

“I don’t want you messing up my work,” he argues.

“And I don’t want you driving off with my rover. So, get out, and I’ll put the codes in.”

After a few more minutes of back and forth, Karl realizes that he’s not going to get me to give in. He climbs out of the rover and takes a lackadaisical spotting position. I slide in the rover and watch as Marilyn jumps in fright. Kyra seems to wake up and wipe her eyes. It isn’t unusual but bothers me because she doesn’t close her eyes as she runs her hands across them. It’s unsettling for some odd reason but I don’t stare or let it bother me.

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I slide into the driver’s seat. Another good thing about wrist comps is it’s a lot easier to connect to foreign terminals, computers and devices. I feel around beneath the steering wheel before finding a small compartment I pop open. I pull out a small wired jack and plug it into my wrist comp. Almost instantly I’m shown a diagram of the rover as it begins to run diagnostics and update various information. It’s not my first time driving a rover. Biologist love these things more than fighters. Despite the heavy plating, it’s great for going over rugged terrain as well terrain that isn’t stable. You can’t put thrusters over everything, sometimes it might blow a road or bridge apart. I’m actually surprised to see one in the city, but I’m glad. The cord ejects and snaps back to it’s housing as soon as it’s finished.

I press the button to start and the vehicle roars to life. It doesn’t take long for Karl to dive into the vehicle through the roof hatch and try to push me out. I knew he was going to try to pull something. Marilyn grabs at my eyes, trying to help her husband. Kyra keeps screaming in the back as we fight for control of the rover. There’s banging on the door and shouting, human shouting. I manage to unlock the door knowing whoever is outside will be on my side. Someone snatches Marilyn from the vehicle and Karl not long after. I’m free, but it seems to be in a worse situation.

Outside the team reunited, probably because of Kyra’s screaming but we’re surrounded. The rover can run over grubs but if it’s anything like the ship, eventually they’ll weigh it down or break through just from their combined weight. Karl suddenly has a team mentality as we fire at the grubs together. It wouldn’t be wrong for a stray bullet to pierce the back of his skull. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, I keep shooting at the grubs, keeping track of how many I shoot. Niko is a good shot, but a slow shot. Thore settles for bashing in the skulls of any of the grubs that get near, electing to passing his rifle to Niko on Marshall’s orders. Aaimina isn’t a good shot, but she’s a fast shot, keeping them at a distance. It lets Marshall and I pick them off and limit their numbers. Marilyn hides in the rover with Kyra as the grubs fall over the bodies of their dead allies.

Soon the grubs begin to realize how dangerous we are. They move towards their dead, prying at the bullet wounds in their skulls, cracking them open to get at the brains inside. We quickly get into the rover, and I restart the engine before pulling out of the dock at pace. I consider throwing Karl out the door but we can deal with him later. For now everyone grasps for safety harness as we bash through several remaining grubs and the rover rocks as we drive over them to safety.

We quickly put distance between us, but I’ve gone the wrong direction in our panic. It’s fine, we’ve got the rover now, we can make up time with no issue. As the hoard thins out Kyra finally shuts up, again sucking on Marilyn’s wounded hand. The rover is running hot, likely gunked up with some corpses or extending extra power as I tried to shake off the grubs hanging on, but we need just a little more space.

I input the lab that sent out the beacon as well as the rescue location dropped by the federation. The rescue drop now has an estimated pickup time which means they’ve made it to this system at least. Marshall plots a new route as I drive to avoid the last of the hoards and change our direction. There’s shouting inside the rover as people try to find seats in a rover that fits six but is carrying eight. A sign that we’re out of immediate danger.