“Bio-trackers show only little critters about,” Derick announced as the screen homed in on and tracked various tiny heat signatures.
For a moment, Tom didn't respond. He was surveying the landscape and though it was all very beautiful, especially to eyes confined for months to a grey, steel box in space, the allure was wearing off. More in charge of his faculties than he had been in a long time, he was mindful of the alien world they were venturing into and presuming to tame. The slate might show all was safe, but Tom knew technology was fallible and they couldn't arm themselves against what they didn't know.
That's what the squints are for, Pod's voice reminded. Keep them safe as best you can but never assume there's not something ready to fuck you over around the corner. There usually was, Tom admitted grudgingly to himself and turned to Olivia. In the end, it was her expedition, he was just her minder.
“You good to go, Doc?”
“Yes,” Olivia nodded once, moving away from the hatch. Overhead, a flock of indigo coloured birds with crane necks soared overhead. She looked up, smiling when the birds chittered at one another. Checking her slate once more to confirm the readings, she grinned at the Major. “Bring out the troops.”
Tom threw a side glance at Derick. “You heard the lady, Gunny.”
“Yes Sir,” Derick stepped back up onto the hatch from the side. “Alpha, Beta squads, you have your orders. Move out!”
“Roger that, Gunny.”
Thank God, Jazz thought silently. He didn't think the rest of the expedition could remain patient any longer, not with all the rustling of boots and uniforms he could hear. The squints wanted just as much off the ship as Alpha and Beta squads. The anticipation in the air felt tangible, like something to be seen and touched. Hell, he almost wanted to rub his fingertips together to feel its texture. Severing the link to Gunny, he turned to his team.
“We're up, chicks and dicks!” he called out, momentarily forgetting about the squints and the Ruthie's Captain in their company. Checking his rifle one last time, Jazz delegated his people. “Twenty-five-yard perimeter, I want a body at each transponder. Ozzy, you're on point. Richards, you're in charge of the transponders. Everyone else, hold position until we give you the word to move out.”
This produced a groan among the scientists, but Jazz ignored it. This order was not to be disobeyed and they wouldn't be held up for long. The squints needed to give this world their okay, so the rest of the fleet could come down. The brass wanted it done as quickly as possible.
Eager to head out, Ren picked up the transponder units, stored in their protective cases, against the wall with all the other equipment. Once activated, the transponders would give the fleet a signal lock on their position.
“You coming, Mayday?” she asked as she headed towards the door, following the other Sharks making their way out.
“Yup.” Maya quickly fell into step behind her friend, shrugging her pack into a more comfortable position. Tightening the strap on her helmet, she strained to see around Ren, to get a glimpse of what the fresh air was teasing her with. “This is better than sex.”
Ren threw her friend a wink, aware Jag was in earshot before adding, “Then you haven't been doing it right, Mayday.” As a rule, they didn't behave like Catholic schoolgirls all the time, but it was fun seeing Jag blush. The co-ed situation was something the Israeli was still getting used to.
“Think I bloody have if I'm getting it,” Maya retorted, smirking at Ren.
Shaking his head, Jag grumbled. “It's all sex with you women.”
“Anyway, I can't smell Jag's socks anymore,” Maya continued.
“Thanks a lot,” the beleaguered Shark gave up and followed his comrades out of the hopper behind Jazz who was leading the way.
* * *
“Mac, you and Tonie head north west of the perimeter,” Jazz ordered once they were outside the Firefly. “Open links and make sure your camera is recording.”
“No problem,” Colin replied in his laconic voice and glimpsed Maya heading off with Ren to install the transponders. Their eyes made contact briefly and, though nothing was said, Maya flashed him a little smile, a promissory for some alone time later.
Smiling to himself as the warmth she engendered in his heart flared briefly, Colin returned his attention to Jazz who was still barking orders at the rest of Beta Squad.
“Harwood, Tehea, head east but do not cross the river!” Jazz remarked, studying his slate and the topographical map of the area. “Stay within perimeter and for fuck sake, check in at regular intervals, all of you! We've got no idea what's running loose around here.”
As if to emphasize his warning, another distant ca-cawwww reached them.
“Oh, don't worry Sarge,” Tehea, sometimes called Teacup, quipped. “What's the worst that could happen?”
“Don't say that!” Kenan groaned, slapping his forehead as she spoke. “Don't you know the most sure-fire way to get us all killed is to say that?”
“Grow up!” Linus smacked him on the back of the helmet. “Next thing you know, you'll be tossing salt everywhere like a demented chef.”
“I'm just saying,” he pointed out, heading out with Linus following, “better safe than sorry.”
* * *
“This sucks. We should be going with them.” Luke shot Tammy a look of disappointment as he watched the Sharks, including his brother, empty out of the Firefly into the new frontier beyond. The fresh air was wafting through the open hatch like a siren song and he was itching to get out there and see for himself.
“How do they know they're not going to run into a face-hugging alien or green-tentacled monster?”
Tammy rolled her eyes.
“If Dr. Hall sees anything like that, she'll know what to do.” Hanae smirked, glancing over at the opening that was oh so close and yet so, so far. “I hope we find krakens.”
* * *
It was time for her people to do their jobs, Olivia decided after the Sharks spread out over the area.
Ten minutes after their deployment, there was no indication of trouble although Olivia was painfully aware of how little time that was to gauge anything. It was beautiful — like Earth, but not like Earth. It didn't matter if it wasn't, Olivia decided. Humanity could not take another few months cooped up in the ships above. They'd tear each other apart and the question of finding a new home world would become moot.
“Major?” She met his gaze and said no more, the look in her eyes speaking volumes.
Tom nodded and tossed a sideways glance at Derick. “Cut them loose. I think we've all earned some time out in the open, even if it does turn out this is an alien hunting ground and we're all about to die horrible, horrible deaths.”
As Derick went back to the Firefly to usher out the scientific members of their party, Olivia chuckled. “Major, your idea of a pep talk leaves a lot to be desired.”
VII
Skewers and Storms
Once the squints were allowed out of the Firefly to begin the survey, Jules had little to do but monitor the sensors and keep a vigil for any changes in the environment. Even if the visual provided them with an idyllic view of their landing site, the planet was teeming with life and the probabilities of danger were high. Their sensors were sophisticated enough to register life, but they had little to no idea of how that life would manifest. For all they knew, everything here could be toxic to them or the indigenous fauna too hostile for a colony to be established.
It didn't matter, she told herself upon leaving the hopper in search of the Major. Humanity didn't have the luxury of being picky. This was the only planet capable of sustaining them and they simply did not have the resources to search for another. As she stepped out into the open and glanced at the sky, the odd green-tinged colours still struck her.
It was beautiful but so very alien.
Using her slate, she traced Tom's location using his personal data implant. In the past, such devices fell squarely within the crosshairs of civil liberties groups screaming
privacy violations. The idea of tracing the movement of billions was invasive, to say the least, but it was standard issue for all military personnel now they were a spacefaring species.
It made it easier to recover bodies.
Making sure she did not venture into the tree line, Jules skirted the great forest that awaited exploration once their preliminary surveys were complete.
The heat was delicious even if she felt beads of sweat beneath her flight suit. After breathing nothing but circulated air at a maddeningly constant temperature for the last six months, she was happy to put up with the unpredictability of a natural climate. The air bore the fragrance of pollen and sap, with small insects buzzing about, oblivious to the new arrivals in their ecosystem. Chirps and trills peppered the air and Jules swivelled her neck each time to catch a glimpse of the animal or bird it came from.
Along the way, she spied the squints hard at work. They were conducting a battery of tests on the environment, taking air, water, and mineral samples, collecting specimens of plant and insect life. Whatever their duty, she saw the delight at being in the open air on all their faces. The Sharks, despite being more jaded and cautious, were similarly enamoured and a strange sort of camaraderie had formed between the two very different camps.
She found the Major on the banks of the unnamed river, playing escort to another group of squints. Carrying a gun, more like a miniature cannon she thought, it appeared he wasn't above guard duty like the rest of his squad. She watched him admiring the scenery, taking in the beauty of it all. Beneath the clear water, there were bushes of aquatic plants of deep red, yellow, and amber. The result was a river painted in colours that took the breath away.
“Oh wow!”
At that, Tom glanced over his shoulder to see Jules's awed expression as she gaped at the river. Her expression made him smile inwardly. “Bloody amazing, isn't it?”
“It is,” she nodded in agreement, her eyes drinking in the visual feast of alien colours.
“The squints are taking water samples,” he gestured further up the bank where Hanae was ankle deep in water collecting samples in little test tubes with her assistant, Mahmud, a kid who was twenty-five but looked seventeen. Worse yet, to avoid being mistaken for a teenager, Mahmud wore a beard that covered half his face and a man bun that made Tom Merrick want to belt him on sheer principle.
“I've given up telling them to be careful. I'll JUST SHOOT THE THING THAT BITES OFF THEIR LEGS!” Tom hollered loud enough for them to hear.
Hanae's response was a tongue stuck out in his direction.
Jules stifled a smirk, admiring the balls on the Japanese scientist who knew perfectly well she could take such liberties with the Shark Major due to her civilian status. Still, judging by the faint smile on his face, it was clear he wasn't taking any offense either. Like the rest of the expedition, Tom Merrick's spirits were buoyant just by being out in the open.
“Think of it this way,” Jules shrugged. “There's no sight of Godzilla yet.”
He uttered a short laugh and Jules found herself studying him closely for a moment. He could never be considered beautiful, but he was ruggedly handsome and personified alpha male. Aside from the accent and the ripped physique, the man oozed bad boy in every conceivable way. As her Mami would say, 'That kind of boy is no good for anything but trouble.'
Realising she was staring at him thoughtfully, Jules averted her gaze and remembered why she'd sought him out in the first place. “There's a storm on its way. Judging by the sensors, it's about an hour out. It's a Category 1, so I suggest we get everyone inside before it hits.”
His gaze shifted up instinctively, trying to see its approach in the painted sky; but for the moment, the winds were pushing the greenish clouds through the air at a lethargic pace. It was approaching noon and Tom felt a pang of disappointment at having to leave this place so soon after arriving.
“They're not going to be happy,” Tom frowned studying Hanae and Mahmud who were now wading knee deep in the water, much to his chagrin.
“I don't think anyone is going to be after being cooped up on the ships, but we have no idea what storms on this planet are like. We need to be smart about it.”
“Agreed. Just pointing out the obvious. The hopper going to be steady enough for us to stay put, or are we going to have to take off to another spot on the planet?” Tom didn't want to suggest the idea of going back to the fleet because no one would be happy about that alternative, himself included.
“No, we're good to stay put,” Jules was confident about that. She'd flown a shuttle through a solar flare, riding a wave of heat that should have melted the hull right off its frame without too much trouble, she could handle this. “The storm doesn't appear to be very large and readings indicate it's moving fast. It should be over us and past in about twenty minutes.”
Twenty minutes, he could live with that. “Right then,” he nodded and tapped his headset. “Gunn…”
He never finished the word.
Tremors like an earthquake suddenly rumbled to life around them. The ground shook with enough ferocity to send shudders through their bones. Leaves shook on their branches and birds took flight hastily, the large flocks becoming dark clouds against the green. Jules's slate started squealing in response as she snatched it from her belt, raising its display to her face.
“OUT OF THE WATER!” Tom waved Hanae and Mahmud out of the river, not waiting for Jules to tell him what was going on. The two scientists were standing in place, their faces frozen in shock until his military bark got them moving. They waded out of the river, splashing noisily to reach land.
“What is it?”
“Major, what's going on?” Tom heard Derick's voice in his headset. “My slate just picked up a pretty big bio reading coming from your area!”
“It's coming from the woods,” Jules declared, her eyes studying the blips on the small screen too numerous to count. Thirty…maybe forty, she thought, emerging from the tree line on the other side of the river. As she spoke, a small cloud of dust appeared like a fog rolling in through the thick tree trunks.
“Look!” Hanae pointed.
“Oh, my God!”
Jules stared at the herd stomping through the wall of dust towards the river. The size of rhinos, they were just as sturdy, with impressive horns that extended almost three feet beyond their bovine faces. Covered in long grey fur, their eyes were almost hidden by an equally shaggy fringe. They looked like yaks except that the tip of each horn, separated by inches, was spiked with bluish energy. Led by an alpha, the herd paused within reach of the river, sniffing the air as it picked up the unfamiliar scent of the newcomers.
“Nobody move,” Tom warned. “I don't know how deep the river is, but I don't want to find out the hard way whether those buggers can swim. If they decide to stampede, we're going to be in a lot of bloody trouble. Derick, tell everyone to hold position.”
“But…”
“You heard me Gunny,” Tom repeated himself, his hand on his weapon. To him, they looked like cows, but Tom was no xenobiologist to say for certain.
All four of them froze on their side of the river, watching the alpha come to the edge of the water. The creature stared at them for a long moment, trying to decide if they were dangerous or not. Tom marvelled at the electrical charge running between the creature's horns. It cast a bluish aura around the animal, making it look even more unreal than ever.
After what felt like ages, it seemed to make up its mind they were harmless and reared up its large head. Opening its mouth, it released a loud trumpet-like bray that beckoned the others forward.
The herd rumbled towards to the water's edge before lowering their heads to drink. It appeared not all the creatures bore the impressive horns as others sported extended cheek flaps like those found on orangutans. Tom wouldn't be surprised if those were a different gender. The younger calves bore neither flaps nor horns and these did resemble the yaks of Earth.
“They're beautiful,” Jules found herself whisp
ering.
“Well, they're different,” Tom admitted, not willing to go so far as 'beautiful'. Next to them, Mahmud was recording the creatures' morning drink with a hand-held holo recorder while Hanae was scanning the herd from across the river.
“We should name them,” Hanae suggested.
The creatures raised their heads at the unfamiliar sound of human voices, stared for a second and then returned to their drink, indifferent.
“Skewers.”
“Skewers??” Jules turned to Tom.
“Would you want to get in front of those things?” He indicated the long, impressive and electrified horns.
“Good point,” Jules smiled in agreement, turning her attention back to the Skewers, watching the herd go about its business in wonder. Clearly, the creatures, who never encountered humans before, did not view their observers with concern and Jules wondered what other life forms would make themselves known before this mission was over.
* * *
Once he was assured there was no danger, Derick and a few of the Sharks wandered over to the river bank to look at the herd of animals Tom was calling 'Skewers' for now. He suspected the name was going to be temporary. No doubt, Dr. Hall and the other eggheads would want to give it some biology class name like Genus Whatsit or Bovidae Skewer Merrickus.
Captain Curran joined Hanae and Mahmud on the river bank. To Derick's horror, the two scientists were back wading in the water. If they knew what he did about rivers, Derick thought. In his experience with the Corps, bad shit always lurked in rivers. From glow in the dark leeches to carnivorous, ten-foot-long fish…Derick did not trust the water. He rolled his broad shoulders slightly, to loosen them up and readjust the assault rifle clipped to his battle harness as he approached his friend.
Savage World (Babel Series Book 1) Page 8
