MV 6 Snippet 2

 Sitrep: So, Goodlifeguide got back to me. They will hopefully get the manuscript back to me in 7-10 days. So expect it to drop sometime the week of the 21-26. 

Guardianship:

Preface: Guardianship is an odd what if story. No it doesn't have anything to do with the Boostrap universe.

PolarBear Encounters took a full bus out to the best place to find the most bears inthe shortest amount of time.

Thebest place turned out to be the town dump just outside of town and downwind ofit. It was dangerous for people to bring trash there. The bears roamed the areamore and more since the ice had melted. They were in search of an easy meal.

Thetourists traveled in a tall bus with giant monster tires. The monster truckallowed them to pick through the spring mud and keep the majestic predators ata safe viewing distance.

Theypulled up near midmorning and watched the bears tear into the dump. The guidethrew out rancid meat for the animals to eat in order to attract them forbetter viewing.

Camerasflashed as people took pictures. Some gasped as the bears stood on their hindlegs and leaned against the side of the bus to try to get at the humans.

Therewere nervous chuckles as the guide and driver assured them that they wereperfectly safe. “Just don’t do anything stupid, people. Keep calm, treat itlike a memorable moment. Take your photos while you can but don’t reach out ofthe vehicle.”

“Keepyour hands inside the vehicle or you’ll lose them?” one tourist quipped.

“Somethingvery much like that, yes. Though they might hang on and haul you out in onepiece,” the driver said dryly.

Suddenlythe animals were just gone.

“Wheredid they go?” one woman asked.

“Iknow they can blend into the snow but  …,”her husband said as he looked around. It was late spring and most of the snowwas gone. “What happened? Did we scare them off?”

Thedriver looked to the guide. Both looked confused. The guide took his ballcapoff and scratched his scalp. “You know, that’s a damn good question.”

===#===

TanyaBaker, a junior zookeeper in the primate care facility, was nursing baby Nashain a rocker. The orangutan baby had been abandoned by her first-time motherTisha.

Thesmall eyes and tufts of red fur were endearing. It had taken a lot of time toget the baby on a schedule. She was finally putting on weight. They had anorangutan doll for her to cling to when she was sleeping. But first she had toget the little tyke down. Nasha was fighting that impulse though and so Tanyawas resigned to being stuck with her for a longer period than before.

Atleast she was nursing and not hyper and wanting to play. That would come intime when the baby was older and less clingy.

Shewanted to rig a sling to carry the infant around with her but she had to cleanthe cages next. That would mean a lot of moving and bending, something thatwasn’t good to do with a four-kilogram baby hanging from her front.

Shewanted to close her eyes but held off. She’d been teased by some of the otherstaff about it already once. Pretending to sleep on the job sometimes got theinfants to sleep but not always. Usually the full belly and the motion of therocker would lull them into a nap.

Justas if on cue Nasha yawned and released the nipple. She wiped her mouth onTanya’s shirt and then her eyelids drooped.

Tanyagave her a smile behind her mask. They were wearing masks to prevent anycontamination to the apes. She saw the baby’s eyelids droop further and felther cross her mental fingers that this time it would take.

Justthen there was a gasp down the hall. She looked up and then heard a cry ofalarm. Then Nasha was gone.

Shelooked down in shock as the weight was just gone from her arms.

“Whatjust happened?” she demanded, voice rising in alarm.

“What?What happened?” Doctor Khalid Shaen asked as he came into the room. “Where isNasha?”

Tanya’seyes were wide. “She was in my arms and then she wasn’t!” she said bewilderedas other staff came and reported that the other primates had disappeared.

Radiocalls went out to the head of the department and to security.

===#===

DoctorSean Jamba hugged his coat to his body as he watched the inevitable. It waschilly, the whales had led the Japanese vessel on a chase. The environmentalistsin the nearby boats had been forced off the chase to refuel. That would betough in the rough seas.

Obviously,the hunters were taking advantage of the lack of defenders to strike. Hewatched a deckhand uncover a harpoon on the catwalk attached to the bow of theship. He loaded it and began to aim.

Hesaw the harpoon go out and then just drop into the ocean. He thought it odd,but then he saw the whale breach. He imagined screams. He knew those monitoringthe hydrophones were probably cringing.

Butthen there were no more spouts of breath. He frowned and then thought theanimals had dived. He leaned over and checked the fish finder.

Thedeck hand on the nearby ship looked confused as well. A winch reeled in theharpoon line. It was slack so it came up fast. Everyone was surprised to see itcome up empty.

“Wheredid they go?” the captain asked. “I mean, they didn’t dive, they justdisappeared! We saw cavitation on the sensors and then nothing.”

“Really?”the doctor asked in confusion.

Thecaptain nodded.

Thedoctor came into the ship’s bridge to see the recording for himself.

===#===

Dolphinsthat had been rounded up in a cove off the coast of Taji Japan suddenlydisappeared as if in a wave just as the sun crested the horizon in a brilliantdawn spectacle. The hunters who had been waiting for the police to chase offthe film crew of environmentalists were angry. Initially they thought sabotagebut a check of the nets found no holes in it.

Boatteams went out again to round up another pod but no dolphins were found in thearea.

===#===