Starfall

Chapter 35 - Vanquish

The gravel crunched beneath Mabel's feet. She shivered as the cool night air gave her goosebumps. She placed her hands in her pockets to warm them. At first, Mabel had thought Dipper would lead them to the center of the compound, but then she remembered the entrance to the valley was the only way in out out of the compound. She could now see a light up ahead. A guard tower had been erected yesterday and Military Mabel stood sentry. Grunkle Ford, Grunkle Stan, and Zaharah had joined her up in the tower.

In the still silence of calm night, Mabel could make out their voices. Stanley was laughing while Ford was speaking over him frustratedly. "It wasn't like that! I was merely 'borrowing' the vehicle to escape." Stanley chuckled, "Well it was nice of you to level the whole city block on your way out." Ford sounded exasperated now, "I didn't know they had laser-tripped the exit terminal. Besides no one was hurt...just..just a lot of collateral damage," he said sheepishly, "I was just borrowing it!" Zaharah and Stanley were leaning over and laughing.

Stanley now pipped in again sounding even more amused, "Is that what you told the admiral after stealing his daughter, I heard she was very beautiful. How long did you say you kept her?" Ford now was losing his cool, "I needed her for the access codes to get past the blockade Stanley! And I'll have you know I never touched her!..." He calmed down and spoke after a pause and some more chuckles from Stanley and Zaharah. Ford breathed in, "Besides she had a feisty temper, though I dare say not as bad as your mother," he said no doubt inferring Zaharah's mother. Ford straightened his glasses, "The point being she was not a lady to be trifled with and I was busy trying to escape."

Dipper stepped over some brush as he headed towards the tower. A twig snapped loudly. In the tower, Military Mabel turned the spotlight and her gun on them. Dipper threw his hands up. "It's Dipper, Mabel, and Pacifica!" Military Mabel sighed and lowered her gun. "Don't sneak up on us like that. Let us know you're coming out here next time." Dipper said, "We will." He lowered his hands. Pacifica frowned darkly as if pondering whether there would be a next time. The spotlight turned back to the entrance. They were close enough now to hear the hum of the small generator in the tower.

Mabel now could make out a fourth voice. It was Brainbel! "These readings are not very clear. I'm not sure what to make of them." Stan grumbled, "So we're out here freezing our backsides for fun?" He put his face in one hand and mumbled, "I can't believe I climbed all those stairs for nothing." Brainbel spoke up, "The readings are always definitive. They pick up any electronic transmission, and now with the tower acting as a gain booster, I see everything in a hundred-mile radius. I can still see her ship over in the mountain ranges. There is always the possibility she could have walked of course and if she didn't bring any electronics she would not show up. But that still leaves the problem of giving her no choice but to enter through the valley entrance here!" she emphasized by pointing to the valley entrance the guard tower overlooked. She sighed, "If they went around it would take many days, and she's only been here less than one day."

Ford said, "Describe this 'radar blip'." Dipper, Mabel, and Pacifica had scaled the tower to stand beside the Grunkles. Brainbel continued, "The radar looked like it picked something up for a moment and then it was gone. It was somewhere out there," she said pointing to the back of the base. It doesn't make any sense. There's no way in but here at the front!" Ford asked, "Can you climb the walls?" Brainbel laughed, "It's not impossible...if you can make the eight-mile hike around back, which again takes time. Even if she was closer to the front it's very unlikely she had repelling gear for scaling the wall in that science vessel when she came here."

Ford frowned, "Can we calibrate the system again?" Brainbel nodded wearily, "Already on it...It was the first thing I did. Now I'll scan again in real-time." Brainbel pressed a few buttons and tapped her touchscreen monitor. She frowned, "Still nothing..." Stanford sighed, "Maybe it was interference...a solar flare or cosmic radiation...these things can happen." Brainbell nodded absentmindedly as she looked at the readouts on the radar ping. "We'll just keep watching." Stanley said, "I'm going back to bed." Ford said, "I'm up now. I'll stay with the team to try and make heads and tails of all this if we can." Stanley nodded and headed for the stairs.