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Earthers

Page 31

by S. H. Jucha


  More males stuck spears into the insectoids’ bodies.

  One of the stockiest hunters pulled a stone axe from a sheath on his back. With a huge swing of the heavy weapon, he cleaved the red’s head from the body. Then he did the same to the two grays.

  At the end of the fight, three insectoids lay dead but so was a hunter. A gray’s sharply pointed leg stabbed the male in the neck, and he rapidly bled out.

  The grays’ heads were tossed away. The red’s head went into a skin sack, and it was slung over the large male’s back to rest beside his stone axe.

  The hunters cut down saplings to make poles, and they strapped the carcasses and the body of their companion to the poles. Then they set off for their camp.

  The holo-vid went dark, and Jess reflected on what he’d seen.

  “Dangerous adversaries,” Homsaff commented.

  “Ambushing from close quarters and with heavy spears,” Simlan added.

  “Any observations on the juveniles?” Jess asked.

  “Unfortunately, Captain, the ships didn’t provide any information on that subject,” Z said.

  “That doesn’t fit with our thoughts about the timeline. From these observations, it appears that these are recent arrivals with few to no young,” Jess mused. “Why aren’t we seeing juveniles?”

  “There’s something else that doesn’t fit,” Lucia said. “We’ve spotted herbivores. They’d be much easier to hunt for food than the insectoids. Why are the local sentients focused on killing and eating the insectoids?”

  “From ancient text of early Earth cultures, I learned primitive tribes believed that eating the flesh of their enemies enabled them to absorb their strengths,” Julien replied.

  “If the inhabitants are hunting the adults for their power,” Menous said, “then they might be neglecting the juveniles.”

  “A deadly mistake,” Hessan remarked, “and to the captain’s point, we’ve still no idea how long ago the adults landed here.”

  “So, how do we hunt the insectoids, adults and young, without being ambushed by the locals?” Lucia asked.

  “The shadows can focus on scent,” Homsaff replied. “It’s even more acute than the Dischnya. Could they warn us of potential attacks by the natives?”

  “Undoubtedly,” Z replied, “providing we’ve an unspoiled sample.”

  “Good enough. Who’s dropping planetside with me?” Jess asked.

  It was the SADEs’ opinion that a female’s scent, although easier to collect, wouldn’t suffice. It was presumed that the males and females would possess different smells.

  Sharon dropped the traveler through the thin atmosphere and headed toward a pole before it rotated from its dark period to light. She stationed the ship overtop a camp and used infrared imaging to watch.

  The veterans slept, and Miranda stood, with her avatar locked, at the traveler’s rear. She was linked into the ship’s controller.

  Far below, a lone young male kept watch over the firepit. He huddled beneath an animal skin and crouched close to the pit for warmth. Occasionally, he tossed a piece of wood onto the glowing embers.

  While it was still dark before the bright cycle lit the region, males emerged from their huts. They scattered in several directions and returned a few moments later, rearranging their wraps.

  When the males left the camp, Sharon’s traveler silently tracked their shapes through the trees. In the dark, their body heat stood out against the cool of the forest.

  The males followed a trail. As before, at some point known only to them, they vanished into the heavy foliage, which hid their heat signatures.

  Much later, insectoids scurried down the trail. Two grays led four juveniles about a meter in length.

  The hunters leapt onto the insectoids and dispatched them with the same techniques witnessed by the veterans in the vid.

  The bodies of the juveniles were thrown into the bushes to feed the scavengers. The grays were beheaded, and the heads were also tossed away. Then their carcasses were strapped to poles.

  Sharon let the veterans sleep until the males finished cleaning up the ambush site. They went so far as to spread soil, dead leaves, and twigs on the places where the insectoids had bled out.

  As Sharon dropped the traveler, she sent in the open,

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