Texas Nights - Book 13 of the Damned of the 2/19th

Canyon

Undisclosed Location SECRET (OMAHA)
New Mexico, United States of America
27 September, 1991
1100

The Geiger counter and the rest of my detection gear was set out, ready to scream the alarm if there was any spikes. The area was warm, no doubt, up to 6 mR/h according to the dosimeter, but it was a safety hazard I'd have to take with that big plume of steam rising into the clear blue sky.

"Get the shielding in there," I snapped, setting down the two heavy panels I'd taken off the pallet Egret-Eight had dropped off. "These are side panels, we'll get the roof panels in place as soon as I get them in here."

I was working them hard, setting up the medical area, but I didn't have a choice. Right now we could work in T-shirts, but if the wind shifted, or more rounds added their fuel to the fire, the rads could spike and we'd be in suits.

My empty armored MS-series J-Suit sat slumped forlornly in the back of the wrecked humvee.

I picked up two more panel, hefting them up, and carried them into the second GP-Medium tent that the animals had set up. They grabbed them, affixing them while I moved back out. The shielding was lighter than it had been the first time I'd built one of these, back in 86. Lighter by about 20 pounds, but according to the data-sheet it had three times the protective quality against immediate bursts and nearly twelve times the long term protection.

Graphite and carbon. Heh. Pretty much considered dirt for decades, now seemed to be in everything. The plates had graphite and carbon filaments woven through the material and somehow it made it even tougher than the laminate steel plates we used to use.

The plates were even bullet and shrapnel resistant.

I'd have to take a few out to the range and see how well they stood up to the SAW, M-240, and the Fifty. Give me an idea of just how good the protection was. Maybe even run a few mines at it, a bloop round or two, and see about some mortars.

Proper prep yadda yadda yadda.

The animals worked quickly, mostly silently, and I knew they were straining to hear if the Geiger Counter freaked out again.

I dropped the last of the panels then headed for the Fox. I climbed in, looking around.

Yup, it was the Atlas one. The refitting proved that. I could see where Foster had managed to get the newer SINCARDS radio into the system. I looked on the hull plate and right where I expected to find it, Nagle had scratched her initials and the date: 12 Jun 1986.

I sighed, dropping into one of the swivel chairs, staring at the board in front of me. It had been a while since I had been in one, but my hands practically moved on their own.

Radiation tracking, setting it so the pancake probes on the surface of the vehicle were sensitive enough to tell us if we were heading into the radiation zone or out of it. For a second I could almost see Stillwater bent over one of the consoles with a soldering iron, wiring in a new function and hand built shielded EPROM board he'd created.

Chief Henley had made him stay in the barracks and build a second one, as well as redraw the circuit diagram to turn over to DARPA when Stillwater showed it off.

I shook my head to banish the ghosts.

"I'm reading the TM's that were under the driver's seat, Charlie," Peel told me, holding it up. It was worn, had writing on it, and someone had drawn a big penis on the front of the vehicle.

That would have been Nagle. She seemed to have a habit of drawing penises on everything.

"Good, Three, good," I said, moving to the next seat.