Widderkin V. O. E. - 13. Chapter 13

WIDDERKIN VOE.

***

The convoy of three rugged four-wheel-drive vehicles took longer than expected to reach the Valley of Eagles, and the brothers with their bore equipment watched the eager get-together of the friends.

Kieran and Rhys had travelled with the boss brother in the second vehicle, a kind of backup with camping provisions and bore accessories, Mr B with the younger brother in the main vehicle, and Woorawa and Tan leading the way with the ranger guide.

"There’s too much to do, everyone. We’ll save this talk till later."

Mr B was right because with the coming heatwave, the brothers had a limited amount of time for preparation and setting up before sheltering till the temperature dropped in the evening. Woorawa took the brothers to the planting spot, chosen by Ranevargar really, and after some technical discussion, the place became a hive of activity till the Ranger vehicle set off a bit after seven o'clock for the return journey.

***

The ranger swore and skidded the four-wheel-drive to a halt.

"What do you want to do, young elder? That is a serious intrusion to our Country, with clear intent for a major project, if they leave the road."

With very mixed emotions the group studied the equipment arrayed in the distance.

"Why are they parked there, doing nothing?"

"Look carefully, Rhys. They’re sitting in groups having a drink and a break before they unload those bulldozers."

"Mongrels! Where did they come from? They weren't in the mining yards yesterday afternoon."

No one answered because all their attention was on Woorawa, waiting for his response to the ranger’s question.

"They’re here and it doesn't matter where they came from, Rhys. They’re sneaking in before our people in town know what's happening. We're going to confront them and send them back where they came from."

The ranger was shocked.

"Confront? Woorawa, there are four big transporters, as well as seven other vehicles which must have crews and support people. That could be big trouble for us in an isolated place like this."

"Country will protect us, Winky. Drive slowly while we check them out, then stop about a hundred meters before we reach them."

"How are we going to stop them, Kieran?"

"Let's see what we can find out first, then we’ll try and follow Ranevargar’s guide about keeping subtle."

"Why a hundred meters?"

"I’ve got an idea about setting up a barrier and making them come to see what we’re doing, Mr B."

"That big equipment will roll straight over anything we build without even noticing it’s there."

"It will be a symbolic barrier, Winky, twigs or leaves or whatever materials we can find."

"Use rocks and stones. They’re everywhere and it's a stronger symbol."

"Yes, that’s good thinking, Tan. A line of stones will be quick and easy and stand out clearly."

Clearly supportive but wondering at the apparent confidence of his offbeat passengers, Winky set his vehicle moving.

They were a puzzle. This whole venture was a puzzle, special business according to Burrimul, but the council of elders arranging for machinery to intrude on such a special place was unusual in itself. From conversation with the brothers it was all to provide water for a tree.

Dancing boy was definitely in charge, you couldn't call him blind boy anymore, but that was another part of the puzzle as he had deferred at times to the college lecturer, to the quiet lad who was always by his side, and especially to the friend with the penetrating eyes.

Against the background of the steady engine grind, his attention kept switching from following the tracks they’d left on the way in to the almost eerie lack of conversation.

Were they psyching themselves? Glimpses in the rear view mirror showed them swapping looks in rapid succession, almost as if they were making some kind of silent communication. Well, they were very tight as a group.

"We are very tight as a group, Winky, and we are kind of psyching ourselves to get ready."

Winky's hair stood on end.

"Don't worry about what might happen. You’re with us and we’ll protect each other."

The eyes looked from the rear view mirror with a message of assurance and calm. Yes, these friends would cope.

"Okay, everyone. We’re getting close so if you’ve got any ideas let’s hear them."

The one called Tan produced a pocket knife and started cutting the bottom of his T-shirt.

"Woorawa, you should look the part so I’m making a headband for you. We should have brought Burrimul’s feather cloak. Take your shirt off too. I wish we had some ochre or body paint. Is there anything like that stored in the vehicle, Winky?"

Winky, carried by the air of group approval, started to shake his head then realised there might be something.

"Look in the glove box. Our lady ranger has trouble with the sun and she keeps a protective kit in most of the vehicles. I know there’s white stuff she puts on her nose."

Mr B found the kit and started examining the contents.

"There’s a big tube labelled zinc cream and that's what cricketers use so it will be perfect. We’ll draw big eyes with it."

Mr B started grinning.

"What's the joke, Mr B?"

"You’re going to love this, Rhys. The lady Ranger must like to keep herself looking nice. There’s a tube of lipstick."

"Tan’s putting that on. If Rhys gets it he’ll go berserk."

"Spoilsport!"

In strange concert the humour stopped and everyone looked ahead.

"See those rocks with the low shrubs all around, Winky. Veer towards them and that’s where we’ll set up."

"Ring your uncle, Woorawa. He should know what’s going on and he’ll be able to send support."

Burrimul had already been informed but, for Winky's benefit, Mr B was delegated the task, while Woorawa took his shirt off and experimented with his makeshift headband. The vehicle stopped and everyone scrambled out with a keen eye on the convoy.

"Some of them are already gathered, Kieran. Someone must have notice us as soon as we came into view. Can you tell how many?"

"Thirty-seven, Rhys. It’s a big team. Tan, help Woorawa get his image right. The rest of you make a collection of sticks and stones while I do some heavy thinking."

"We won't have much time, Kieran. Three men have started walking towards us."

"Ignore them and keep busy, Mr B. I’ll stand with Woorawa and back him while he speaks."

Rhys raced to the boulders, gave a yell that there were lots of loose stones, and was back with an armload in moments. By the time the three company men arrived there was a neat little cairn which grew as Tan and Mr B added more.

"Who are you people? Have you been out camping in the wilderness?"

"I am Woorawa. I speak for my People and the spirit of Country. I am here to remind you that your company is not Welcome in this place."

"You’ve got that wrong, young fellow. We’re authorised to access and clear a base for the big mining project. Our contract is all legal and when the heavy equipment comes through you’ll need to be out of the way."

"We will not move and there will be no way for you."

"Look! We don't want trouble. We’ll just bypass you."

Woorawa pointed with one arm, then in the opposite direction with the other, and keeping his arms wide spread spoke three words in his first Australian language.

"This is the boundary and I define it for you with these stones."

"A line of pebbles? You’ve got to be kidding."

He swivelled and, accompanied by the laughter of his companions, stalked off.

Woorawa looked worried.

"What happens now, Kieran?"

"We’ve got about five or ten minutes and then they’re going to front us with a big show of force to make us so nervous we’ll get out while we can. How do you want us to help with the stones, Woorawa?"

"Just try to keep them in a line and put them where they’re obvious.

Winky, could you follow along and make circles around each set of stones?"

"Make circles ... Yes, I can."

Woorawa smiled at him.

"They won't mean anything but they’ll look like they do."

"How far do we go?"

"It doesn't matter, Mr B. Just make sure you’re back here when their big gang arrives."

The helpers disbursed and Woorawa turned to Kieran.

"Have you had any ideas? You said you were going to do some heavy thinking."

"Walk with me, Woorawa, and meet some of our helpers. That was for Winky's benefit."

"We’ve got helpers?"

"Thousands and thousands. They’re tiny but that won't matter. There are a couple of scary ones too ... Yes, look there!"

"The ants nest?"

"Yes, it doesn't look much but under the ground it must be enormous. The little sparks of life are everywhere and they’re all heading for the surface."

"Were they hard to link to?"

"Different, but not hard. Ranevargar gave me so much practice."

"What are the scary helpers then?"

"The rocks and shrubs was a good place to stop because there’s more life than I would have expected associated with them."

Kieran pointed towards the said rocks.

"They’re coming towards us now. See the movement?"

Woorawa gasped when his sharp eyes registered the motion.

"Oh my God, Kieran! Make sure you’ve got the best link. That’s a mulga snake."

Kieran grinned.

"They’re our friends today ... Okay, back to the barrier. Nearly all of them are coming."

***

Winky couldn't help smiling as yet another group of cars with tooting horns and waving passengers headed to join elder Burrimul and the lady from the town Council. They would follow the demoralised mining people when the transporters were turned around, escorting them till they were parked in their company yard back in town. His smiles didn't stop either, as these crazy kids were in such high spirits, reacting to Rhys's outrageous comments and descriptions of the impossible confrontation.

Twenty-five people, according to Tan, had approached with so much aggression and purpose that the only sensible course of action would have been to get out of there as quickly as possible. Woorawa, the youngest of them all, had spoken so strongly that the leader, the same one as before, was momentarily silenced. That had ended when six big men stepped forward with mocking laughs. When one of them shoved Woorawa in the chest it should have been all over but, instead of backing down, Woorawa gestured as if daring them to pass the stones at his side. With more laughter the six surged forward to a small cleared space. One of them yelled something about lines in the sand and called for the bulldozers to be unloaded.

"Get in your vehicle and ..."

Yells and curses erupted as the six interlopers started some kind of wild dance. No, not a dance. All six ran, slapping and brushing at their legs in a frantic effort to wipe something away. The stunned audience watched the line in the sand guy kick off his boots then yank off his trousers.

No, not everyone was stunned. Woorawa spread his arms as if restoring his boundary line and began to sway rhythmically. His voice hummed eerily and became a chant, the chant that Winky had heard on his home TV. The other four joined in. Winky quivered with elation and added his own voice.

Go away! You are not welcome here.

Carried by the strength of the chant, Winky faced the twenty-five onlookers and willed them to go away.

A number did. Backing slowly and staring in fascination, then turning and heading for the vehicles. The chant finished. The leader guy shook his head as if pulling himself back to reality then took in the changed attitude of his men.

"Don't do that! It might be an important ceremony but no matter how unnerving it is we won't let it stop us."

Woorawa's head lifted suddenly and he pointed to the machinery.

"Move back! Quickly!"

The leader held resolute, despite the strange mix of authority and warning, till a fearful yell and the panicked retreat of the men on his right obliterated everything with the need to escape to safety. Every man ran, and Winky, wondering why he wasn't joining them, watched a great king brown lower its head from full aggression mode to join its partner and slide, after a pause at Kieran's feet, towards the low boulders.

Wondering how to make sense of all this, Winky watched Tan rush to give Woorawa a great hug, watched another of those moments where all five stared as if sharing some sort of silent communication, and watched as, unaccountably, Woorawa expressed a very big thank you to Kieran.

***

"Are you ready for the firing squad?"

Harris, fraught with tension, stared uncomprehendingly.

"You disrupt my schedule, Harris, with stress radiating as I've never seen. You think I'm going to shoot the messenger? Give me your bad news and then we’ll decide whether it’s you I want in the firing line."

Understanding brought only minor relief.

"It’s not only bad, it’s so bizarre it makes me uncomfortable to have to relate. The bulldozer ploy failed, thwarted by the young indigine again."

"Bizarre? How so?"

"According to three separate eyewitness reports, a National Park vehicle appeared near the staging point where the equipment was to be unloaded and the managers were warned that the country would not welcome them. They laughed it off of course, but when the six troubleshooters crossed an arbitrary boundary, they were attacked by ants and had to flee."

"A few ants?"

"Thousands! All crawling up their legs till they panicked."

"That’s understandable, and definitely bizarre, but six men temporarily incapacitated is hardly even a hiccup."

"Twelve more succumbed to that protest chant, and the rest ran for their lives when two king brown snakes approached with heads raised in strike mode. It’s coincidence of course, but the group was so unnerved it took almost half an hour before they gathered the resolve to proceed again."

"And why didn't they?"

"They were stopped on legal grounds."

"Nonsense! They were covered every which way."

"Except for the minor technicality of notifying the local council. It was bypassed to prevent any knowledge of the expedition leaking ... elements of that council support the resistance."

"Harris, this is more than bizarre, but the level of intelligence is unnerving. Why didn't the bulldozers proceed anyway? Those were their instructions."

"Clearly there’d been phone communication, because carloads of resistance arrived to make a blockade and the council secretary proclaimed loudly that, without formal notification, any further incursion was illegal."

"Summoned by your young indigine, I presume. We need access to their communication devices. What’s the status of the international security team?"

"They are on a chartered flight and will arrive this afternoon."

"Hmm! Summon the leader of the failed local team and have him meet them at the airport."

"That’s already been arranged and I included your IT expert who is adamant that none of his electronic protections were bypassed."

"Adamant? Does he think someone inside the company is passing information then?"

"No, but his expertise is at too high a level to be ignored."

For a long moment Harris bore the steely gaze of judgement.

"Good decision, Harris. Organise a random conference room for the security debriefing and watch it all."

"I’m hardly qualified."

"Ignore the techno-babble. Watch every nuance of communication between the parties and bring me your personal conclusions ... What is the nature of the three eye-witness reports? Verbal?"

"Yes, but we have five video captures as well, taken with company phones."

"They are processed and available for my screen?"

"Of course."

Morrison paused then gave a nod.

"Reacquaint yourself over the weekend with all the project financials and benefits. In a few days we will meet with our government ministers. I’m taking this project to a new level."

***

"How does he do that? I flopped after only four laps."

Kieran laughed.

"His body flopped about three laps ago, Tan, but he’s too stubborn to give in."

"Is he going to be much longer? I can hardly stay awake. He must be sneaking energy zaps."

Kieran did a quick check.

"Three more laps, Tan, then we’ll get back to the Cultural Centre for a siesta."

Mr B opened a lazy eye.

"I’m already siesta-ing, so he can swim as long as he likes."

"I don't think that’s a real word."

"Who cares, Tan ... I said it so it must be."

While Rhys ploughed his way up and down the single lane set aside for dedicated swimmers, the four of them were lolling in the shallow end of the crowded swimming pool, dodging the debilitating afternoon heat.

"Will we have enough time for a siesta, Kieran? You said it was important for all of us to have a big catch up practice session, and that always takes longer than we plan."

"We won't be able to concentrate properly if we don't take a break, Tan, so we’ll have to fit it in. I feel as sleepy as you."

Now it was Woorawa's turn to laugh.

"Rhys will call us all wusses and then complain the most when we wake him up. Is there anything special you want to concentrate on when you practice?"

"When ‘we’ practice, Woorawa. Ranevargar insists that everyone should be involved as much as possible."

"Insists? I agree, but that’s pretty strong. When did he say that?"

Kieran paused to recall.

"I don't think he said it directly. I kind of caught it during the mind merge."

"Well, it’s extra important for Mr B and Rhys, but not so much for Tan and me."

Kieran stared.

"You must be kidding. Your chant this morning made twelve tough guys break their orders and head back to the road. I haven't got a clue how that works. I’d have to go into their minds and manipulate their thoughts directly to have the same effect."

"I thought that was what you did."

"I was ready to, Woorawa, but the chant was enough. It’s extra strong for you."

"We were all singing it. That might be why."

Along with three big grins, Woorawa received three strong head shakes.

"It’s got an effect whoever uses it, but you and Auntie are like multipliers."

"So you think the chant should be part of our practices?"

"Of course it should, Woorawa, and since Tan’s involved he needs to be part of it too."

Woorawa bumped against Tan and disconcerted everyone with a complete change of subject.

"Rhonda, the council lady, spooked me this morning. What are we going to do if anyone who protests actively gets arrested, or if the army gets involved?"

Kieran shook his head.

"That won't happen, Woorawa. Nearly two hundred people blocked the bulldozers this morning. They wouldn't arrest that many."

Mr B sat up and all trace of sleepiness slipped away.

"I think you’re wrong, Kieran. Remember what the professor said about the clash of cultures? We know from the senator's mind that the national government is almost certainly going to back the mining company, and that means we’ll be challenging their authority and not the mining company’s."

Tan grabbed Kieran's arm.

"I reckon Mr B’s right, Kieran. Fighting the government would definitely be spooky.

Kieran studied the three troubled expressions.

"Spooky doesn't matter, Tan. Woorawa’s following the ‘dictates of his heart’, so it’s not just us backing him."

"What do you mean?"

"It’s not just us saying he’s right. Even Ranevargar agrees that the white power or oracle or whatever, is supporting him too. Tan will-"

There was a great splash as Rhys landed in the water.

"What a pack of sluggards. Aren't you ... What's wrong? You look like Tan’s been banned from cooking for a month."

"Only for you, Rhys. He’s still cooking for the rest of us."

Rhys gave that no credence at all and directed a serious look at Kieran.

"Rhonda was talking to Woorawa and she thinks the battle will be against the national government from now on, and that could mean the police or even the army."

"So? That's no big deal. The professor told us that when we went to Melbourne."

"It’s a big deal compared to a few mining company roughnecks, Rhys, and I don't want my people getting arrested or fined."

"That won't happen, Woorawa. The government will be clueless against you and Kieran."

Mr B shook his head and matched grins with the other three.

"I love your confidence, Rhys, but the government has huge resources they can call on."

"That won't matter against our secret weapon, Mr B."

"Kieran’s Opal and Woorawa's chant?"

"Those two, but I mean Ranevargar. He’s been manipulating Realm Lords and High Kings for centuries, so compared to that our government should be chicken feed."

Tan grabbed Kieran's arm once again.

"Rhys might be a bunch of overworked muscles, Kieran, but he talks sense sometimes. When will you be making your next serious contact with Ranevargar?"

The conversation stopped till the group of kids having a splash fight moved away.

"Not for a few days, Tan, because I reckon this is important enough for a full mind merge ... Time to go everyone. We've got a lot to do before our early night and Rhys’s overworked muscles are complaining that they need a siesta."

***