Prison Planet

by William C. Dietz

  Renn laughed. “I'll bet that's the first time anyone's talked about Swamp that way.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. These are the most complete ruins I've ever seen, and that's what counts. Honcho says we'll be famous.” As she said it, her eyes were bright and excited.

  “I'm glad you're happy,” Renn replied. “How ‘bout a walk?”

  Her expression changed as she looked out into the dark. “Out there? You've got to be kidding.”

  Renn smiled. “It's safe enough if you know what you're doing. Besides, we won't go far. What do you say?”

  Vanessa looked doubtful. “You're probably right, but I'm beat, and tomorrow's a big day. How ‘bout a rain check?"’

  Renn shrugged. “Sure. I'll see you in the morning.”

  As he walked back to his gear, Marla watched from a shadow, and smiled. Maybe something was going her way for once.

  Morning brought a bustle of activity. People woke up and wished they were somewhere else. Tired guards turned in too tired to care. Breakfast was opened, complained about and eaten. And then, when Jumo was satisfied that all was ship-shape, a planning session was held.

  Drawing on Renn's memories, and the little bit that Honcho had glimpsed from the air, Chin used his portable comp to sketch a plan of the ruins. Then hard copies were printed out and given to each member of the scientific team. Honcho and Vanessa divided Chin's map into quadrants, and then divided the quadrants between themselves. Each would use a holo cam to carry out a survey of their particular quadrants. Later the holos would be shown and discussed. All possible sites would be identified and prioritized. Then those with highest priority would be investigated first.

  Once the quadrants had been assigned, three teams were formed. Two were survey teams, headed by Honcho and Vanessa, and the third was a defense team headed by Jumo. Each survey team was assigned a guide, Renn for Honcho, Marla for Vanessa, as well as two marine guards. The rest of the marines fell into Jumo's team. One was still asleep, having stood the last four hour night watch, and the other three were split between Fred and the main camp. One on Fred, and two at the main camp. Everyone would be armed and in continual radio contact.

  As she set off with Vanessa, Marla wondered how the assignments had been made. Why had she been chosen to accompany Vanessa rather than Renn? Was it chance, or had Vanessa requested that arrangement? There was no way to tell, but one thing was for sure, Vanessa usually got her way.

  Meanwhile, Renn was a little hurt at being assigned to Honcho, and a bit amused as well. It appeared the ruins had taken his place in Vanessa's love life. He'd hoped for something more, but never really believed it would happen. Ah well, easy come easy go.

  As the day progressed Renn found the whole process quite interesting. In spite of the way he babbled constantly, and seemed to dash this way and that, the Finthian was actually quite systematic. Once Renn had checked the area for monsters, and the marines had taken up good defensive positions, Honcho would enter, holo cam in hand. First, he recorded every square inch of the surface area using long practiced swoops of his camera. Since the images could later be computer manipulated in thousands of ways, how he shot the footage was less important than the way he shot it. The key was to leave nothing unshot and to record as many different angles as possible. The resulting images could be digitized and manipulated in whatever way Chin chose. The final holos would not provide an academic record of how things looked before they were disturbed and a data base from which all sorts of computer extrapolations could be run.

  Meanwhile Renn was gathering his own impressions of the ruins. Although he'd wandered through them with Boater he hadn't really examined them. Basically they were shaped like a long narrow rectangle. What he thought of as the great hall was located at one end of the rectangle and underneath. Sitting on top of the rectangle were six circular structures, each an island festooned with thick jungle growth, and each having a personality of its own.

  Of the three which fell within Honcho's area of investigation, one was entirely featureless, while the other two had distinct personalities. Most of the things which made them different were constructed of the same smooth material as everything else, but at least one was made of metal, and it drove Honcho wild with excitement. “Look Jonathan, metal! Isn't that wonderful? And not a speck of rust or vegetable growth on it. Why's that Jonathan? And look at the shape. By all that flies, what a strange shape. Oh my, oh my, Vanessa will be so excited.”

  Grinning at the Finthian's antics, Renn began to circle the structure. It was about ten feet tall. It was hard to see through the thick growth around it. Nothing ... nothing ... wait a minute, what's that? There was a curious darkness behind one particular section of vegetation. Using his machete to hold some vines aside, Renn leaned forward to take a better look. There was darkness all right, the darkness of an unlighted stairway! “Honcho,” Renn said using his throat mic, “come around to the other side. There's something I'd like you to see.”

  “I'm too busy, Jonathan. I'll work my way around there in a few minutes.”

  “OK,” Renn replied. “In the meantime I guess Ford and I will just see where these stairs lead.”

  Renn heard an indignant squawk over the intercom and seconds later the Finthian stood by his side. “I don't see any stairs. If this is some sort of human joke, I don't think it's very funny.”

  Renn used his machete to push the vegetation aside, and this time Ford stepped in to help. A tall narrow doorway was revealed with steps beyond. Squawking his happiness, Honcho jumped up and down, waving his holo cam in every direction. “This is wonderful! A way in! I had feared we might have to force our way in, and that could do a lot of damage. Vanessa, Vanessa. Can you hear me?”

  “I think so,” Vanessa said from the far end of the ruins. “Did you say something about stairs?” There was excitement in her voice, and something else, resentment perhaps?

  “I certainly did,” Honcho replied happily, and went on to describe what they looked like. But the stairs went temporarily unexplored. Honcho insisted that the video survey be completed prior to entry. “We must proceed in an orderly fashion,” he said sternly. So the spot was marked, and the survey continued.

  Everyone was exhausted by the time evening came. Climbing up, over and around the ruins was hard work. Nonetheless a sense of excitement filled the hall as dinner was prepared and consumed. Everyone wondered the same things. Where did the stairs lead? What would they find inside the ruins?

  But where everyone else was filled with excitement Vanessa was strangely silent. Her quadrant was interesting, but devoid of anything like Honcho's stairs, and she seemed less than happy. And when Vanessa was unhappy she tended to take it out on those around her. Especially Marla. The two of them were no longer speaking.

  Meanwhile Honcho ate alone, talons clicking on the keyboard of his Finthian computer, his huge eyes locked on the tiny screen. He'd dumped the holo cam memories into his computer. Now he was sifting images, comparing them to others he'd recorded light years away, and mumbling to himself. Finally he uttered a chirrup of satisfaction and stood up. “That was an excellent dinner, whatever it was. How can I help?”

  “You feathered con artist, you know damn well it's too late to help,” Chin replied, gesturing towards the spotless eating area. “But since you offered we'll save the breakfast mess for you.”

  “You're too kind,” Honcho replied solemnly. “Shall we review what we've got so far?”

  His offer met with enthusiastic agreement all around. Those who weren't on guard formed a semicircle around Honcho. Many were still sipping their coffee, or munching on one of the rock-hard fruit bars masquerading as dessert.

  Meanwhile Honcho and Chin set up a holo projector and linked it to the Finthian's computer. Then Honcho cleared his throat and waited for the buzz of conversation to die down. “All right. Thanks to everyone's efforts we accomplished a great deal today. Our initial survey is complete, which means we can now turn our
attention to those sites which seem most promising.” Cheers and applause followed, to which Honcho held up a restraining hand.

  “Though it's true that I deserve all the credit, it would be more seemly to pretend that my associate Dr. Cooper-Smith, along with my company of loyal slaves played some small part in this accomplishment.” For a moment boos and a variety of friendly insults filled the air. Vanessa smiled weakly but didn't join in.

  As soon as the noise died down, the Finthian scientist turned serious. “As you know, Jonathan found a door and some stairs which seem to lead down into the interior of the ruins. This seems like the place to start. However, Jonathan, Marla, and Section Leader Jumo have all pointed out that there's a good deal of danger involved. Jonathan knows from personal experience that there are passageways under the ruins, and under the surrounding jungle as well, which harbor some very unpleasant lifeforms. Therefore, we will enter with great caution. As for the ruins themselves, well, they're everything we'd hoped for and more. And while I normally avoid any sort of hypothesis this early in a survey, this is no ordinary survey, and our time is severely limited. Therefore, I'm going out on a limb. By the way, while that expression is common to both our races, it seems far more appropriate to mine.”

  Honcho's joke was met with lots of laughter, during which Renn happened to notice Vanessa. She wasn't laughing. Instead she was looking at Honcho with something approaching anger. Renn had a feeling that whatever the Finthian was about to announce hadn't been shared with her.

  Honcho gestured towards the ruins around them. “To make a long story short, I've got a theory about these ruins. At first I thought they were a series of structures all located in close proximity to each other. But after looking them over, and running some computer comparisons I don't think so anymore. No, I think they're all part of a single structure, a structure which may have once been hundreds of feet tall.”

  Honcho was silent for a moment giving them time to absorb what he'd said. Chin was the first to break the silence. “But if this structure was hundreds of feet tall, then there should be all sorts of debris marking where the top portion fell.”

  A long, slow grin split Honcho's face, giving Renn a glimpse of the Finthian's predatory ancestors. “Not if we're standing on the roof.”

  There was another long silence while everyone took it in. Meanwhile Honcho walked over to his computer and tapped a couple of keys. A holo snapped into existence. It was a line drawing of a tall building with six circular structures on the roof.

  “I'm just guessing of course, but it may have looked something like this. Then thousands of years ago there was some sort of cataclysm. Eventually we'll have to get some geologists in here to figure it out, but something changed the planet's climate, and probably created the equatorial swamps as well. Based on the time lines we've established elsewhere, that probably happened long after the Builders disappeared.

  “In any case, this structure was so strong, it withstood the initial cataclysms, plus the thousands of years of erosion and flooding which followed. Perhaps a good portion of the polar ice caps melted down causing the water level to rise thereby creating lowland swamps. Perhaps it was something else. But whatever it was buried the first few hundred feet of this building in mud.”

  Renn noticed that Vanessa's expression had gone from anger to thin-lipped hatred. Apparently her fellow scientists revelations were as big a surprise to her as everyone else, and her dreams of academic glory were fading fast. The way things were going she'd be nothing more than a footnote in Honcho's final thesis.

  Honcho touched a series of computer keys and a line of darkness moved upwards to consume all but the top of the building. When the line stopped, it rippled slightly, dropping a little on one side. Honcho picked up a black wand and an arrow popped into existence about six feet out from his hand. Pointing it to the side of the building that was slightly more exposed, he said, “My guess is that we're sitting right here, in what was once a top floor office, or comparable space. We've been entering and leaving this space via a huge window. The reason we didn't realize that is the lack of a casement or other structure which would suggest a window. Perhaps they used some sort of transparent forcefield to keep the weather out.” As he talked, the arrow bounced from place to place.

  “In any case I think those six circular structures on top are housings which contained various kinds of building equipment. You know, air conditioning, communications gear, that sort of stuff. If so, the metal artifact I found today may be some sort of antenna, and Jonathan's stairs would provide roof access for repairs. Of course, it's all guess work for now. So, unless Vanessa has something to add, I suggest we wrap this up and get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll investigate Renn's stairs, and perhaps they will tell us more. Vanessa?”

  “I have nothing to add,” Vanessa replied bitterly. “I think you covered it all.”

  If Honcho understood her tone, he gave no sign of it, nodding solemnly, and urging everyone to get a good night's sleep.

  As the meeting broke up, Marla caught Renn's eye. He shrugged and replied with a grin. For some reason she found that to be quite reassuring.

  Everyone was up bright and early the next morning eager to get breakfast out of the way and investigate the stairs. Even the marines seemed caught up in the excitement, vying to accompany the scientists, and groaning when Jumo assigned them guard duty.

  Marla fell in beside Renn as the scientific party made its way towards the top of the ruins. “You plan to go first, don't you.” She made it a statement rather than a question.

  Renn looked down and smiled. “Good morning to you too, and yes, I plan to go first. I'm the only one who's been in the underground passageways before.”

  “I'm coming with you.”

  “The hell you are.”

  “Don't be stupid, Jonathan. My enhanced senses will give us an edge. Besides I'm smaller and that might come in handy. And there's one other thing, too.”

  “What's that?”

  “Otherwise, I'll bite you in the ass.”

  Renn laughed and slapped her on the back. “God forbid! You win! I guess it's you and me just like always.”

  “That's good enough for me,” Marla thought to herself as she padded along. “That's good enough for me.”

  Half an hour later they all watched as the marines cut away the vegetation which blocked the door. “Careful,” Honcho cautioned them. “Just the vegetation. Don't touch anything else. And that goes for you as well,” he said sternly, turning to Renn and Marla. “If you see any loose artifacts laying around don't touch them. It's important to record their exact position and condition before they're moved. Otherwise important information about their relationship to the things around them can be lost.”

  Having already heard this lecture twice in the last fifteen minutes, Renn and Marla nodded dutifully, and exchanged winks. Next it was Jumo's turn to lecture them. “Now remember we'll be in radio contact the whole time. If you lose radio contact then return immediately. Don't try to explore. That can wait till you get some help. Understood?”

  “Understood,” Renn replied.

  “Yes, daddy.” Marla added with a sly grin.

  Jumo laughed. “Well, get to work then.”

  Renn had a powerful flashlight taped to the barrel of his assault weapon. He turned it on. The assault weapon was a short ugly looking thing which wasn't too accurate but could throw out a curtain of lead. Remembering his earlier experiences Renn had chosen the auto slug thrower over his usual blast rifle. If they ran into trouble the noise created by the slug thrower might give them an edge. The noise would be muffled by the ruins.

  Marla paused in the doorway, and said, “Last one in's a roo's rear end,” and disappeared. Everyone laughed as Renn stepped through the door. His flashlight threw a large circle of light onto the wall, and then the steps, as he pointed the rifle downwards.

  “Marla?”

  “I'm on a landing one flight down. Nothing so far. Watch your step.”

&nbs
p; As Renn started down the stairs he understood her warning. The risers were unusually high, reinforcing his earlier impression of a tall skinny race. Marla's synthetic eyes glowed red as she looked up to greet him. We've got company.”

  “Details!” Jumo's voice snapped over the intercom.

  “Droppings, a faint odor, and distant scrabbling sounds,” Marla replied.

  “Watch your step,” Jumo cautioned in her ear, “and haul ass at the slightest sign of trouble.”

  “Will do,” Renn agreed. “OK Marla, let's go down one more flight.” She hugged the right hand wall as she descended the stairs. Her durasteel claws made a slight clicking sound as she took the steps in a series of small jumps.

  Renn followed, noticing that all traces of daylight had disappeared. The circle of light generated by his flashlight seemed to float down the stairs ahead of him like a ghost seeking its tomb. The air was colder now, seeping slowly upwards and bringing a foul odor with it, as if the ruins were somehow alive and breathing. Renn pictured himself descending down a monster's throat into its bowels, knowing at any moment it might awaken, sense his presence, and swallow him.

  Suddenly a gibbering noise came from up ahead and his blood turned ice cold. There was a burst of static followed by Marla's voice. “We've got company Jonathan. Run!”

  “What about you?”

  “I'm fine damn it. Run!”

  “Both of you, get the hell out of there!” The voice was Jumo's.

  Renn heard a snarling sound from below as Marla tore into the oncoming monsters. He flicked the safety off and ran down the stairs. The gibbering horde came up to meet him.

  Chapter Eleven

  Renn took the stairs two at a time, his light washing the walls white. Then he saw Marla, and beyond her a seething mass of bodies held in check by her slashing teeth. They had sleek dog-like heads, elongated bodies, and three sets of legs apiece. They were the same kind of underground creatures he'd run into before. Then there was no time for thought. He squeezed the trigger and the rifle made a stuttering roar.