Jeremy 092; The Thing In Kealuroondea
Jeremy greets some familiar faces.
His lemur driver had left the glass partition down the entire trip. As an added bonus she had even chatted with him for almost the entire half hour drive to the airport. She had even reacted favorably when he'd shifted seats and sat right behind the passenger seat. She had talked and occasionally glanced over at him not put off by a dominant weasel sitting just a few feet from her. It was a huge change in just a few days.
They pulled into the airport parking and took a place right next to the the arrivals area. The second SUV pulled in behind them. Jeremy got out before his driver could round the vehicle and open the door for him. He smiled down at her almost apologetically at her disappointed reaction. It truly was getting easier for him to read their tail language the more he interacted with them.
They were joined by the other driver and together they made their way inside. There was only a single display board active that announced the arriving flights. The plane they were there to meet was on time and would land in ten minutes. Jeremy let his driver lead the way toward the designated gate. Walking behind the short lemur Jeremy once again felt a little self conscious.
Everywhere he looked lemurs were looking or glancing at him and his small entourage. The gateway was shorter than most other airports Jeremy had been through. Madagascar didn't have much traffic and as such handled a fraction of the planes as other international airports. As small as it was it had clearly been built to be capable of handling the size and volume of the average transportation hub. The planes in evidence through the glass windows gave Jeremy the hint that most of the traffic Madagascar International saw were cargo planes.
There was one plane that stood out. Jeremy recognized it as a typical small short corporate jet. It was currently taxiing toward the gate they'd just stopped at. Together Jeremy and his two lemur escort watched as the ground staff of the airport guided the aircraft in and made the familiar arrangements. In the midst of the preparations a pair of uniformed lemurs arrived and took a place right inside the doorway leading from the ramp. Soon enough the first of the passengers was walking into the airport lounge.
Mitchell Boagard was the first one to pass through he door. He was stopped by the two lemurs and had his passport examined. Jeremy was familiar with the process. Madagascar made it easy. In seconds Mitchell was allowed to step forward to make way for the fox behind him. He was in turn followed by an otter and another fox Jeremy didn't recognize. Gakota and Makannish were behind them followed by a few others. Jeremy met Mitchell at the far side of the gate area and shared a gesture of equals. As everyone gathered around the otter began introductions.
The vixen was Humbolt's Chief Operating Officer, Clara Gribburn. The otter that had been almost at Mitchell's side was his chief of international operations, Jerry Huow. The rest was a pack of lawyers made up of a mix of raccoon, a rabbit an ocelot and a mongoose. Once the introductions were done Mitchell paused and looked around with an expression that seemed to imply he was not sure he was actually in Madagascar.
Jeremy filled the silence. "Its about a half hour drive to the hotel. Depending on whether you're up to it, we could catch a bite to eat here and make the three hour drive to the mine afterward."
"We got some sleep on the flight over so we're good to go." Mitchell said looking to everyone for confirmation.
Jeremy saw he got nods and verbal affirmations from almost everyone. Only one of the lawyers seemed put out at the suggestion of more travel.
"Ah," The lemur that had been Jeremy's driver spoke up looking at everyone uncertainly "The Cafe Airprekssio here has a reputation for good food."
Jeremy smiled at the suggestion. "I'm sure you'll enjoy the food here."
Another round of nods and affirmative responses followed. The female lemur lead the way to the cafe. There were several lemurs already inside eating. Jeremy barely contained a grin at the attention to the collection of species that had likely never been seen in any of their lifetimes. Jeremy thought that they'd likely never seen a dominant other than lemurs either. He settled in ready to bear up with being the center of attention. He was to be pleasantly surprised.
Once they were seated the attention abruptly shifted back to whatever each individual had been involved with prior to their entry. Jeremy had rarely seen such respect for other's privacy while eating in a public place. The staff also proved to be as efficient as at the hotel. Their orders were taken within minutes and then served pleasingly quickly after that.
Even though Jeremy just ordered an appetizer with the trip ahead in mind it was as good as promised. The talk as predicted drifted to what had been going on with the mine. To date the only thing that had been disclosed to anyone that had not seen it was that something 'unusual' had been discovered underground. Jeremy saw some impatience developing as he also deflected the inquiries.
"Sorry to seem as if I'm evading. It's just that, well, when they took me to see it no one said anything to me as to what to expect. The point of that was to avoid tainting anyone's expectation. Looking back, I have to agree with that approach. You should see it for yourselves with as few pre-drawn conclusions as possible."
Mitchell gained a curious look but smiled. "Okay. I must say that only makes it more interesting."
Jeremy smiled back. "The payoff will be worth the suspense."
The conversation drifted to the operation of the mine and the planned resumption of production. Jeremy half listened and studied the reaction of the lemur drivers that had joined them. He suspected they already knew something unusual had been found in the mine by the set of their tails and lack of true curiosity. The meal went quickly and soon enough everyone was ready for more travel. In anticipation of the three hour ride Jeremy suggested a quick pit stop before leaving the airport terminal.
Once everyone had finished final preparations they made their way to the waiting vehicles where the lawyers caused a delay in sorting out the seating arrangements. Mitchell called a halt to their tactics and assigned them all to the second vehicle. The rest of the first vehicle was filled. Jeremy and Mitchell took up the back seat while Gakota Jerry and Clara sat facing them. Makannish took the seat next to the driver to avoid having to ride with the lawyers. The fox had turned to watch with a grin as everyone had made themselves comfortable.
"Mak, what are you up to?" Jeremy asked seeing the male's too pleased expression.
Grinning wider he explained "I'm just glad to have dodged the bullet of having to ride with the lawyers."
His answer earned chuckles from everyone. Once they pulled out of the parking garage Jeremy looked back at the second vehicle. He couldn't see inside but he felt for the driver. Turning back he saw Mitchell had turned to look as well. They made eye contact and the otter asked "Curious to know what the topic of conversation is going to be?"
"Not that curious." Jeremy answered.
The light banter set the tone for the rest of the ride. Neither the discovery or the mine operations were discussed. Instead topics ranged from favored vacation spots to the latest celebrity gossip. Things turned a bit more serious when the conversation turned to the rash of rat demonstrations that were still propagating outward from York. It had been agreed by everyone in the worldwide media that it had started in York. Jeremy admitted he'd not heard of the latest from the Madagascar media. He listened with interest as he was filled in.
He'd known before leaving that rats had taken up the cause in several other nations. Demonstrations had now spread to four continents. It was being speculated that there was some shadow organization coordinating the efforts. In some nations the first demonstrations had been put down with unequivocal force. The worst example had been the East African nation of Tanzania. Clara voiced the consensus.
"They used it as an excuse to rid themselves of what they considered an undesirable segment of the population." The vixen shook her head while making the observation.
"Aye," Makannish added from the front where he'd been sitting sideways to contribute the entire trip "Unfortunately their definition of undesirable quickly expanded to several other species."
"They're just expelling a large part of their population over a pretense?"
No one said a word for a long moment. Gakota looked at Jeremy from a lowered headed answered "They're not expelling anyone."
Jeremy sat back shocked. The ocelot's meaning was clear. Atrocities like that hadn't happened since the continental wars. He'd never thought it would ever happen again. He looked at the driver. He couldn't see her tail but by the set of her head he knew she was paying a great deal of attention. Geographically Madagascar was within striking distance of Tanzania.
It was more than a minute before the conversation picked back up. The talk was more subdued than before but still sped the ride along. As they drove up to the trailer that served as an office Jeremy noticed another pair of Madagascar SUVs already sitting in front. There were also ten of the carriers parked to the side all pointed in the direction of the mine entrance.
As everyone started stepping out of the SUVs the trailer door opened. It took Jeremy a second to recognize the dominant that stepped out first. Hervoss was followed by Kass and a few other lemurs Jeremy had yet to meet. Harris was the last to exit. As a group they met the newcomers at the carriers. Jeremy started the introductions and Kass finished. It took a while with such a large group.
After a brief pause in which no one spoke Jeremy continued. "I suggest we take a few moments to use the facilities in the trailer and stretch our legs before continuing into the mine."
Harris added "We also have a buffet set up for a late lunch inside."
Jeremy managed to stifle a guffaw at the otter's priorities. He stood and watched as the group broke apart. Mitchell remained standing in the small circle that included Kass, Gakota and Hervoss. Each of them waited until most had drifted away before the otter dominant spoke.
"From what I understand of the agreement we can start operations again within a day or two." He stated, his tone almost a question. "The only delay I expect is the pack of lawyers I brought with me, for that I apologize." Mitchell finished with a grin.
The lemurs laughed as much as the rest of the group. Hervoss answered "I'm certain we can come to an agreement despite all of our lawyers." with a smirk on his face and a humorous tilt to his tail.
A few minutes later after most of those that had recently arrived cycling through the trailer everyone took a place in the carriers. Jeremy found it amusing to be sitting in the seat behind Kass again. He smiled at the lemur as she turned to look back at him Jeremy asked "Not interested in taunting one of the others this time?"
Grinning wider she answered "No, the real show is watching the reaction on seeing it."
As their carrier started moving Jeremy replied "True. I admit I'm looking forward to being the watcher instead of the one watched this time."
Kass looked up to glance at the carriers following behind before saying "Did you notice Harris slink away as everyone was jostling for seats?"
Surprised Jeremy asked "Really?" and looked for himself. It seemed most of the pack of lawyers had taken seats but the otter was not among them. Turning back to the lemur he observed "His absence will be noticed."
Soon enough they were inside the mountain heading into the earth. Jeremy had tucked himself down and was enduring the tedious ride. It seemed a lot different this time. Not quite routine but he noticed the feelings he'd experienced the first time were not as powerful when they were expected. He was actually eager to get out of the carrier when they reached the seemingly wide open cavern.
Climbing out of the carrier Jeremy stayed in the back of the group as Kass started the same introduction he had been given. He could see the curiosity in Gakota and Makannish. Mitchell was carefully watching everyone but mostly the lemurs. As for the lemurs that hadn't yet seen the discovery, Jeremy guessed he could safely catalog the set of their tails was one of curiosity.
Stepping into the inner chamber Jeremy watched the group. As when Jeremy was introduced to the sight the escort kept silent for a few moments letting everyone take in the spectacle. Everyone was all but immobile staring at the rounded metal wall embedded in the rock. He could see the reactions were mixed. He didn't know what to make of the lemur's reaction. Their tails stuck out straight behind them with the fur bushed out. Were they any other species Jeremy would have expected them to bolt and scramble for the exits at any second. As for the rest of the group, their body language held only awe and an intense curiosity.
As Mitchell stepped closer to the thing Kass began her explanation. From then it was much as it had been for Jeremy. Questions asked and few answers other than what had been discovered to date. He couldn't follow everybody but he was certain each had gone to touch the strange metal wall. Many had climbed the scaffolding to look at the higher levels. Both Gakota and Makannish had sought to examine every square foot of the exposed metal. After a little more than an hour most were ready to head back to the surface.
As they all gathered at the carriers Mitchell looked around at everyone. "Where's Locke?"
Kass was in the process of climbing into the carrier next to him and looked over to answer. "Due to his claustrophobia he never comes into the mine." and turned to settle herself.
The otter muttered an incredulous "What?"