He laughed. That was a break. He needed one.
He spied great tropical trees and wide swathes of beautiful green grasslands. Avalon IV wasn’t just a vast jungle, but possessed stretches of green plains like an Edenic prairie. Was there animal life down there? He would suppose so. He didn’t have long now. He slanted until he finally straightened his drop, holding the formal skydiving pose. He decided to enjoy the view. A vast herd of animals ran across the green carpet of grass. The size of the herd stunned him, but not for long, as the ground rushed up.
He pulled the main ripcord. The final chute rose and billowed, jerking him. He began to float toward the grassland.
The mighty herd was in the distance. He would not land on it.
Slowly, the soldier drifted for the ground. He twisted in his harness, looking around. He was shocked at what he saw—humanoid beings. One raised a rifle, pointing at him.
He expected a slug to tear through him.
The ground rushed up. He would land soon, but he tried to study the hunters. The humanoids wore heavy fur garments and had wolf-like head hats. Now, Cade could see that it wasn’t a rifle but a spear. The warrior—Cade supposed the humanoid was a warrior—lowered the spear. Had they ever seen such a thing like a parachute before? He doubted it. Even so, the four humanoids began to lope toward where he would land.
Cade lost sight of them as he concentrated on landing. He set himself, and with a rush, he jarred against ground, crumpling onto the grass, the parachute drifting down toward him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
For several seconds, the soldier lay stunned on the ground. He’d made it onto Avalon IV! That seemed miraculous. Now, would germs or airborne viruses kill him? Would the food prove inedible? Would the humanoids loping here decide to kill him?
The inborn instinct to rise to the challenge stirred in the soldier’s heart. His spent muscles and twisted, bruised skeleton resisted his desire. Through force of will, be began unbuckling the stinking drop-suit.
He crawled out, yanking clothes and weapons from the suit. He donned the garments in what seemed like slow motion, groaning as his weary muscles protested. Soon enough, he wore the gray spaceman’s outfit, including a jacket, socks and heavy boots.
Grunting, he climbed to his feet. The knife was in a boot top, a mesh of finely interlocking hardened plastic rings gave him some torso protection. He had the WAK .55 Magnum with one hundred bullets included in the kit. He slung the survival bag strap over his left shoulder.
What should he do? Wait for the humanoids? That seemed like a bad idea. Pulling out the compass, finding the direction of the targeted tech site, he decided to start walking.
He left the chute and drop-suit. If the humanoids found the items, their investigating them might give him more time as they pondered the implications.
The soldier examined his surroundings as he increased his stride. The green grasses waved in a slight breeze. The grasses reached his waist and were smooth and sweet smelling. Giant tropical trees towered in the distance, usually in clumps of eight or less. The ground was dry, lacking stones or rocks—
He began sweating. He was wearing too much, especially with the mesh shirt as protection. He took off the jacket, folding and shoving it into the survival bag. That felt better. He kept walking and debated taking off the plastic-ring mesh shirt. No, not yet.
There were aerial creatures soaring here and there. He didn’t know if they were birds or reptiles. There was a hint of wetness to the air, indicating a nearby body of water. He did not see any stream or pond, though. To his far left was a hump of low green hills.
Cade continued walking. The exercise restored the quality of his muscles and buoyed his confidence. He had successfully dropped from space. He was alive. The sense of his great purpose filled him. He had a reason for existence. Finding the woman would help him know it.
He walked, making good time—
A loud, low-pitched horn reverberated behind him. Instinctively, the soldier spun around as he dropped to a crouch. He found himself holding the revolver.
The horn sounded a second time.
Would herd animals make that noise? The soldier didn’t think so. That must’ve come from the humanoids he’d seen. What would the horn signify? That they found his chute and suit? That they knew of his presence? That they were hunting him? Perhaps they were calling for reinforcements.
The soldier tugged the hat on his head, bringing the brim lower so it shaded his eyes from the bright sun.
Then, he remembered. He rummaged in the kit and pulled out a heavy pair of sunglasses, putting them on. That helped immediately. The sunglasses had other properties too. He touched the right side and made an adjustment. They acted like binoculars, bringing up—
Cade sucked in his breath in surprise. The four humanoids had reached his chute and drop-suit. They stabbed the suit with spears, lifting wolf-like snouts and howling into the air. The distant sound drifted to Cade. It was not the same as the horn. The four did the same to the parachute, stabbing and slashing at it.
Using the drop-suit as a guide for size, Cade estimated that the humanoids stood something under seven feet, old-style measurement. In other words, they were big suckers with broad shoulders. Their spears—were flint-tipped with leather straps helping to tie the blades in place. Ah. One of them had a curled horn on his back. A leather thong kept it in place. They wore loincloths but nothing else. The fur was theirs, it was natural.
One of them turned and stiffened at the air. He raised his spear and pointed at grass. The others turned fast, eyeing the place the first one pointed. As one, the four raised their snouts to the sky and howled, shaking their spears. Once the act was completed, the four started loping, moving one after another.
They’re following me, Cade realized.
That brought up an immediate problem. Should he allow them to capture him? They had stabbed the drop-suit and shredded the parachute. It would seem they reacted aggressively against intruders.
The soldier exhaled with regret. He did not want to kill the first aliens he met. He had a choice. He could surrender, possibly die or fight to live. This was their world. Was it right for him to take their lives?
“What are you, Cade?” he asked aloud.
He stood, quite certain they would be able to trail him. Maybe it would be better to get this over with now. Would there be some way to dissuade them? Yes. He would have to kill at least one of them. If he let the others live…might they not return with reinforcements?
Cade touched the sunglasses, returning them to normal function.
The star beat down on him as he waited. The four humanoids advanced quickly. They stopped suddenly, undoubtedly seeing him.
The four howled, and they began running, closing in toward him. It seemed as if they raced each other, perhaps desiring to be the one to face the intruder first. Maybe it was worth points in their society to be the best hunter or killer.
Far too soon for the soldier’s taste, the four wolf-like, semi-giant humanoids neared his location. They’d crossed the distance much faster than he had.
“Here we go,” Cade said under this breath.
At two hundred meters separation, the four halted. They howled at him, shaking their spears in his direction.
The soldier just watched.
The four lowered their spears, glancing at each other. Did they speak to each other, encouraging themselves to attack? The one with the horn pulled it from his back. He put the tip to his lips, filled his wide chest and blew a loud, low sound. It was deep, the noise seeming to pass through the soldier’s body.
Cade nodded, impressed with the horn. It made the four humanoids seem stronger than he’d realized.
The one lowered the horn, the others watching Cade closely. They seemed shocked by his non-reaction. Again, the four conferred among themselves. Finally, each gripped his spear, holding it over a shoulder, readying to hurl it. They advanced, spreading out as they came.
Cade cupped his hands a
round his mouth, shouting, “I don’t want any trouble with you.”
The four halted. Two cocked their heads. One stood straighter and shouted at him.
Cade listened, but he didn’t understand the words. That was no surprise. The one shouted again, shaking his spear for emphasis. Cade nodded, and began backing away, keeping his face toward them.
The four howled, racing at him.
Reluctantly, Cade drew the .55 from his rig. He did not brandish it. He waited.
The four spread out even more, and they put on a burst of speed. When were they going to throw a spear? Even as Cade wondered, the center creature heaved. The spear arced, speeding for Cade.
He stepped to the side. The spear flashed past him, thudding against the ground, sticking point-first.
That creature halted, the others continuing to sprint at him.
“Go back!” Cade shouted.
The next creature heaved his spear. It hissed fast, but Cade jumped to the side. That spear also flashed past him. That wolf-like alien halted.
The last two continued to sprint at him. They were getting too close. Cade raised his WAK Magnum and fired once with a terrific boom. The .55 caliber slug tore half a head away, spraying blood and bone, and that creature twisted and collapsed onto the ground.
Before the other realized what had happened, Cade killed him, too, with a single shot, dropping the fellow so he disappeared into the grasses.
The last two creatures’ eyes bugged outward. This was the moment. Would they attack as well? No, they whirled around, sprinting away as fast as they could go as they whimpered in fright.
The soldier debated killing them too. He had a feeling they would be back with reinforcements. But he didn’t want to kill any more than he had to. Thus, he let them go, watching for a time. They did not stop.
With a heavy sigh, Cade turned the other way, plucking a spear from the ground and heading into the distance, wondering if he had seen the last of them.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dr. Halifax hadn’t left the Avalon System, although he had moved farther away from the proscribed planet.
The Descartes was approximately two million kilometers from Cade. The scout ship drifted with nearly zero velocity. It was, in fact, in silent running mode, the engine off and life-support systems working off battery power. That meant minimal energy expenditures. The ex-Patrol vessel still had its dark anti-sensor coating. Scouting sometimes meant sneaking around while other enemy vessels went about their duties.
Halifax had hunched over the sensor scope, watching Cade make his drop. The powerful sensor had seen the orbital laser strike—and Halifax had muttered an ancient prayer for Cade. He had continued watching and seen the man separate from the damaged thruster-pack. With growing disbelief, Halifax had even witnessed the drogue chutes slowing Cade’s upper atmospheric entry.
The soldier had survived the orbital laser strike. That had sent Halifax to thinking. Through the scope, he’d followed Cade’s descent as far as he could, finally losing sight of him in the lower atmosphere.
It would appear the Ultra made it down. That meant Rohan Mars might have known what he was talking about when he made Brune the offer.
Halifax rose from the sensor seat and walked slowly toward the polarized window. Avalon IV hung in the middle of the stars. Why was he staying in an obviously dangerous location?
Halifax had several reasons that he enumerated to himself. He was curious about Cade’s fate. He wondered if the androids would appear. He was hesitant about switching on the Intersplit engine and risking traveling at FTL speeds again. If the androids appeared, might detailed knowledge about the proceedings be worth credits to Director Titus? What did Rohan—the tech company—want with the woman? Clearly, the proceedings had greatly stoked Halifax’s curiosity. Might this be a pivotal moment between androids, possibly cyborgs, and the ancient Ultras? Or had the Director played him for a fool, and really, this was about an Ultra resurgence?
Likely, he should have maneuvered the Descartes farther from Avalon IV, but that would have taken time and energy. Others might have shown up in the interim, spotting him. Besides, while the scout possessed a relatively powerful scope, the farther he went from the planet, the less he would see. He was trusting in the scout’s stealth capacity while running silently.
As Halifax waited, he regretted attempting to kill Cade. He had acted out of fear. Why had the man shown him mercy? It struck a chord in the doctor, that was for damn sure.
Halifax chuckled. “I’ll be,” he said. “I like him.” He nodded. He liked the soldier’s stoical ways and calm certainty. He sensed great loyalty in Cade.
A soft alarm alerted him. The doctor whirled around, racing to the sensor scope. He put his eyes against the rubber lining as he manipulated the controls. Ah. He saw it. A ship with a green Intersplit Field moved in-system. The field flickered, flickered again and winked out. That allowed Halifax to inspect the ship behind the field.
The new vessel was oblong like a giant teardrop. He didn’t have a sense of its size yet. He used passive sensors, as he had no wish for the crew to spot him. Naturally, what he saw had happened some time ago due to the distance and the speed that light traveled.
This was interesting. The Intersplit Field winked out while the vessel was in the middle of the outer star system. It would take…a week, he would guess, for the ship to reach the inner system. It did not accelerate or decelerate, but moved with its present velocity. According to this, it did not appear to be a Patrol vessel, nor did the doctor think it was an IPO ship. That meant it was likely a ship belonging to the secret tech company.
Halifax’s stomach gurgled and twisted. He was nervous because he finally realized his precarious position. He was alone out here, a mere two million kilometers from the planet. If that ship held androids or android handlers, they would want to know if Cade had succeeded or not.
“Wait a minute.” Halifax’s tall broad forehead furrowed. If the tech company had always planned to come to Avalon IV—wait, wait, wait. That didn’t necessarily hold. It had been two and a half years since Rohan made Brune the offer. Why hadn’t the androids sent someone else down during that time?
Halifax shrugged. Maybe they had and failed. He lacked data concerning it.
“That’s why I’m doing this.”
Halifax nodded. He wanted to gain valuable data so he could sell it to the Director. Suppose he got that data, he would still have to use this old Intersplit engine to leave the Avalon System.
The doctor returned to the scope, studying the distant spaceship. Was that thing a match for two Patrol monitors? If it was, they could simply blow the orbitals away and land directly on the planet. How long would it take the Patrol to find out about orbital destruction?
Halifax sat up, with a ring of red flesh showing where he’d pressed his face against the scope. An earlier thought resurfaced. If the Patrol had guardian orbitals installed, certainly they would have planned for someone eventually destroying them. There would be some kind of alarm then, right? That might indicate a silent recording device orbiting the planet much farther out. It would remain hidden, possibly even better than he hoped to do in the Descartes. It was also possible the tech company had dropped a silent recording device in the system. If that were true—
“They’ll learn I’m here or already know.”
Halifax began to feel even queasier than before. The unknown crew headed in-system. If he waited around, they could easily apprehend him. Maybe the best move was to race to the nearest Patrol outpost and report the entire thing. That would necessarily implicate him for what had happened in the Rigel System.
He shook his head.
Okay, okay, he needed to think carefully. He had time right now to make a decision. He could stay here to see what happened. He wanted to know all right, as he was curious, and maybe he owed Cade since the Ultra had shown him mercy. That was something else, and so rare in Halifax’s life…
“I’d like to help him.”
Sure, fine, that was all good. He would help the big lug if he could do it without dying or placing himself in too great of jeopardy. So…
“Talk to me, Doctor. Make a decision.”
Halifax rubbed his chin. The keenest problem to his survival was that approaching ship. If that ship had tech company personnel or its android reps—his greatest danger lay in the ship sensors spotting him or a sensor mine somewhere in far Avalon IV orbit having recorded everything he’d done.
He had to find the sensor mine—if it existed, and before it could broadcast its data. So… Halifax grinned, even if it was a mite sickly looking.
He would spend the next two days searching for the sensor mine. If he found it, he would race like mad to get away. If he didn’t find it, he could decide then. Or…if he found it and destroyed it, he might be in a dickering position with the approaching vessel. They would want to know about Cade’s attempt and success—if the Ultra had made it to the surface.
Whew! This was a high-stakes game indeed. He owed Cade. He had his ship and lacked further income. It was exciting—
“Don’t get carried away,” Halifax muttered to himself. “You have a spaceship. Keep it and sell it later, and you can be set for life.”
With his decision finally made, Halifax headed for the small pantry. He would eat and start searching for a sensor mine afterward. Cade had likely made it down, and the Ultra hadn’t lost his former partner…yet. Halifax would just have to make sure that his curiosity about all this didn’t get him killed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The soldier carried one of the primitive spears. It was well balanced and had good heft throwing. He’d taken it because he didn’t want to waste bullets bringing down game, but would use the spear at the proper time. The flint blade had been chiseled and polished with skill. That meant the primitives were using New Stone Age as opposed to Old Stone Age techniques. The wood was hard and smooth, showing signs that someone had rubbed it down. Yes. The spear indicated workmanship and possibly pride.
The Soldier: The X-Ship Page 15
