The High Slab and the Holy Groove
an excerpt

Eagle Rider and The Scout would be riding in the “The Kill Zone” that night. Cherry Bomb was doing the last check on the big, fully internal combustion engines when their radios crackled it was time to go. Scout roared out of the garage, leaving behind the sensual perfume of unburned hydrocarbons and rubber, Eagle lingered for a moment faking a problem with his HES. A stolen kiss from Cherry Bomb and he also roared off into the night.
Writer had changed the lights from yellow to red as the two lead riders made their way down the steep ledge to staging area. Under the watchful eye of Rider and Poet from the tower the caravan formed up. Kill Zone Riders forming a point, secondary riders a protective triangle around the lead SUV with a secondary triangle of bikes bringing up the rear protecting the second hummer, and finally two bikes riding sweep in the rear. Once in formation they bounced their way down the rough and steep access road onto the sacred slab.
The kill zone riders carried a large back lit LCD of the latest road conditions as well as an adapted type of Forward Looking Radar (FLIR) at technology they had acquired from their allies at Edwards AFB. Even given the danger this is Eagle Rider had a special relationship with the minute aspects of the desert. As scout took in the macro view eagle kept his eyes closely on the road. The fact that they were responsible for innocent lives weighed heavy on both of their minds.
Sometimes it was easier on the children than it was on the adults. Instead of being fearful the youngsters interpreted "the crossing" as a great adventure. Something to be savored rather than feared.
Such was the case with little Wendy. In spite of her parent’s admonishments to stay put she just couldn’t help running around the staging area touching this and asking questions about that, she was a little afraid of the Navigators because of their big muscles, tattoos and beards. But she Looooved the Wrench Wenchs, finding in them a more kindred spirit than in any other females she had ever known
Boom Boom, her driver, had to find her and physically strap her into the seat in the rear of her hummer.
Once they were under way on the slab the mood lightened a bit, at least temporarily. The Navigators were well known for having this section of the slab well under control.
The young couple from the valley Mark and Julie held hands nervously and exchanged glances back and orth. Sitting as they were in the middle row the hummer.
The lead Hummer was configured mush the same way, with six desperate paying passengers.
The drone of the powerful hybrids and lack of hostile activity had lulled everyone into a kind of peaceful trance. The trance was broken up a bit at the bottom of the Tehachapi pass when they passed through what was left of Bakersfield. Always a place that had existed solely because of artificial irrigation, it had become in a very short time a ghost town.
Another 30 miles passed uneventfully crossing the once fertile, but now desolate
San Joaquin Valley Plain.
Then they were into the canyons.
Eagle saw the movement of particles in the low air just in time.

“Unfriendly in the road"
There was nothing he could do except put his bike in a controlled slide.
The warning came just in time for Scout to make an emergency swerve around the crash plate met for him. To his right he saw a chance to ride a small ridge and get the high ground. His antilock brakes jerked to a halt. With both feet on the ground he reached behind himself and drew his weapon.
Eagle was still sliding to a halt when he saw the muzzle flashes going in both directions.
He dug in his fingers to slow down his slide separating himself from the bike and twisting his body to roll in the other direction. It was a good move too, because out of the corner of his eye he saw wmuzzle flashes much closer and heard the ping of Lud bullets impacting his ride.
Because he had stopped his slide and crawled in the other direction no bullets were coming in Eagles direction; He could hear them continue to pummel his bike which pissed him off.
He used the rest of the energy of the roll get behind a large boulder simultaneously drawing his weapon and returning fire,
The old Eagle Rider mojo held true and he heard the unmistakable sound of a large caliber round entering flesh.
The attack riders were now filling the air with combat chatter as they spread out in search of targets and to protect the hum vees.
Eagle and Scout both wore radios that automatically switched to the most urgent channel.
Cherry Bomb was driving the lead 4 wheeler and was is command of that section.
"Lud radar hot directly west and high of our position,” she relayed in her calmest voice...
Switching on their radar locaters scout and eagle made their way up the will to the west, picking their way up the mountain to the west,
The warble of a primitive radar lock hit everybody’s ears.
Boom boom was driving the second hummer began losing her characteristic cool, “Radar lock, Radar lock on me."
"Emergency arm your rail gun,” Eagle commanded
But it was too late, fortunately Lud technology was less then the best and the missile found the right rear tire, not the center of the target.
The explosion destroyed the left rear corner of the van killing Wendy’s parents instantly and rolling the vehicle to its side.
Boom Boom had to climb vertially to get out of the passenger door. She quickly put out the ruined rear end of the rear hummer.
Max had seen the launch from his position in the rear of the caravan and roared off in that direction. He had been cut off from the other Navigators and was making and was making a systematic search through the unfamiliar and dangerously graveled ground. Fatigue, stress had reduced his vision to a narrow tunnel and even that was blurred by the sweat pouring over his eyes. The black, old-styled ‘vette appeared out of nowhere
from across the hill where it should hot have been turning directly in his path in a clear effort to kill him.
At the same time a tall hybrid battle vehicle looking very much like a school bus full of mercenary fighters pulled up alongside to cut off his escape. With brakes failing he managed to escape instant death only by veering uphill toward a large boulder, the incline making up for what was lacking in his brakes. Stopping just short of front wheel contact Rider closed his eyes and relaxed into his inner sanctuary awaiting death by whatever means the mercenaries had chosen for him. Minutes passed and the desert fell silent. Even then he could not open his eyes no matter how hard he tried. Finally able to open one eye just a crack he uses all his skill back the heavy bike out of the narrow ravine that had saved his life. Fueled now by anger and curiosity he began searching for the mysterious black car.
Meanwhile another Lud Radar went hot this time further south. Bullet who was driving the lead SUV had anticipated this tactic and her top mounted rail gun was already pointed in the right direction and only had to move a few degrees to lock up on the relatively slow moving incoming target. The two projectiles met in mid-air briefly lighting up the sky with a white hot light.
Just what The Toxic Kid needed too, “Got their position on gun 1,” he said enthusiastically over the radio. Ever since the first blast he had been threading his way through the high, narrow trails towards where the first weapon was seen. He saw two figures furtively moving off to the southeast with the tell-tale black bandanas on their heads. “I’ve got em, I’ve got em” the radio crackly
Weaving and dodging the hills two more navigators homed on Max position and took the launcher out in a hail of withering gunfire.
And that was that, losing one of their big weapons seemed to take the fight out of the Luds. As quickly as they had appeared they scurried back into their hidden burrows and dens leaving no trace of themselves, except the destruction and killing they had wrought.
The navigators all eventually rode back and surrounded the two passenger carriers. Little Wendy held on tightly to Boom Boom and the rebel protectors had their first orphan.