Discovery

by Jan Domagala

  “Why would they lie to us?” Natasha asked.

  “Probably to keep the truth from us,” Kurt offered.

  “I don’t follow, the truth, what truth?” Natasha replied perplexed.

  “Don’t be naive girl, governments lie to the population all the time; it is a necessary fact of governing. The masses don’t need to know everything, if they did there would be panic in the streets,” Aswan said after overhearing the conversation.

  “He’s right, I hate to admit it, but he is,” added Kurt sadly.

  “Then what do we do when we find this truth? Presumably whoever has kept it from us won’t be too happy about us finding it and I would assume they would want to prevent us from telling anyone else,” she said.

  Kurt held up his Sig and said, “Exactly!”

  With a firmer grasp of the situation, the three of them continued searching the wreckage. When they had found everything they would need and that they could carry, they distributed the items among themselves and set off leaving the lifeboat behind.

  The forest around them was filled with a veritable rainbow of colours from the different plants that littered the ground. Ferns and trees of every description were all around reaching up far above their heads. What at first had seemed like a complete cover of foliage they now saw not to be the case as light streamed down through the trees to light their way.

  Sounds of the forest were more noticeable to them now as they walked in silence and they could pick them all out. Insects scurrying along the floor, birds in the trees, even the sounds of larger animals moving through the forest that were, as yet, unseen. These sounds urged them to travel in silence.

  Kurt led the way followed by Natasha who kept an eye on the prince, every now and then turning to check on him to ensure he was okay as he brought up the rear.

  “Just where are we going exactly?” she asked in a hushed voice.

  “I want to see if we can find any sign of anyone ever being here,” Kurt replied softly.

  “How do you think wandering aimlessly through the forest will accomplish that?” she asked with just a hint of sarcasm.

  “I’m actually following a set of tracks, quite fresh and made by something quite large.”

  “How large?” Natasha asked. She looked at the trail they were on and saw what he meant, large oval footprints that looked to be made by some four-toed big cat.

  “Hard to say, but I’d guess bigger than anything of this kind that we have on Earth or any of the colonised worlds we’ve seeded with life forms. It seems to be a feline of some sort but I can’t even tell how many legs it has,” Kurt said as he continued following the trail.

  “What do you mean, you don’t know how many legs it has?” she asked and Kurt pulled up to show her.

  “It’s been a while since I did any tracking. We all learned how to in basic training for Recon Delta but see here how the prints are close together, almost overlapping,” he said pointing to a series of tracks on the forest floor. “It’s hard to tell if they’re a normal feline configuration or something else.”

  “Something else?”

  “Yes, well they’re certainly not bi-pedal that’s for sure but I can’t tell if they have four, six or more legs. From the size and depth of these tracks though I can tell that they must be big. I’d say around twenty feet or more.”

  “Are you kidding me, a big cat that may have four or more legs and around twenty feet long, and you’re tracking it! What the hell for?”

  “Curiosity I guess, but we need to see what the indigenous life down here is like, if it is indigenous that is. If it isn’t, finding out what it’s like might give us an idea of what this secret they’ve kept from us is about.”

  “How so?”

  “Well this cat we’re following is like nothing we’ve seen on any known world. If it’s not indigenous someone put it here and I for one want to know who and why.”

  “There’s another option you’ve not considered.”

  “What, that its a product of the war, that the radiation left over from the war somehow genetically mutated any life forms down here? No, I don’t think so. It would take longer than the time lapsed since the war for any radiation to affect the indigenous population on a genetic level. No, I’m leaning more towards possible experimentation. I have some experience on that subject, trust me, and if it is that then we have to find out and stop them.”

  “Well if this creature is as big as you say, we’ll never catch up with it.”

  “You’re right, it could be a problem, but I don’t think so somehow.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because it’s in that clearing up ahead.”

  Natasha came to stand next to him and looked where his eyes were directed. About forty yards ahead of them the forest thinned somewhat and a clearing appeared. In it was the creature they had been tracking.

  Standing in the clearing was a huge, sleek creature with a mottled coat of fur that helped it to blend in with the forest. Two eyes were situated at the front of its enormous head as all predators had, but this one had two more sets of eyes. One set at each side and another towards the back gave the creature, they assumed, an almost three hundred and sixty degree angle of sight although they couldn’t figure out how the brain would process all the visual data.

  Built like almost all cats, it was long and sleek but this one had two sets of forelegs and another two sets of hind legs. Its tail was long and whipped constantly from side to side as the huge beast sniffed the air, its ears pricking up at every sound. It was as tall as a man at its shoulder and from this distance, it looked to be around twenty to thirty feet from nose to the tip of its tail.

  When it turned to look in their direction, it opened its huge maw of a mouth and roared showing its huge fang-like teeth.

  “Oh shit!” Natasha said as she realised it had seen them.

  “Run!” Kurt said as the great beast came at them.

  23

  The Wildfire Team soon had their gear squared away and were ready to begin the mission.

  “Artie take us to the edge of the Battlefield but keep us cloaked,” Riley said as he sat down at the table in the ready room.

  “Will do Captain Riley,” replied Artie.

  Riley watched the viewscreen as the hyperspace window opened up in the Pulsar’s path. The large starship passed through the window into hyperspace and emerged through another window back into normal space close to the system where the Tartaran Battlefield was situated.

  “I want full sensor scans of that entire area Artie. I want to know exactly what we’re facing here,” Riley said as the rest of the team joined him taking their seats around the table.

  “Right away, sir,” Artie said.

  “What have we got Cap?” asked Vance.

  “Just waiting on sensor scans to see what we’re facing,” Riley replied.

  “How do you want to play this Jake?” Torres asked.

  “We need to locate Stryder. If his tracker is still active we may be able to use that to find him. I just hope the Prince and Nat are with him.”

  “Artie, do you have access to Recon Delta tracking codes?” asked Cooper.

  “Yes, sir,” replied the AI.

  “See if you can locate Kurt Stryder, Artie,” Riley said.

  “Running scans now, sir,” Artie said as the AI got to work.

  “Okay Artie, what have we got?” Riley asked.

  “Sir, we have a complex of reconstructed starship husks. I have the Colonial Queen stationary, three hundred yards from said complex. On board the complex are twenty-seven life forms. On board the Colonial Queen is a small squad of just ten life forms.

  “There are a number of small attack craft armed with pulse cannons and missile launchers. The main complex is well armed with pulse cannons and a variety of missiles. One of the attack craft is heading for the planet’s surface, there are seven life forms on board,” the AI replied.

  “And Kurt Stryder, have you located him yet?” Riley
asked.

  “Where the hell did these Outlaws get all this firepower from?” Torres muttered.

  “What?” Riley said not quite catching her comment.

  “Nothing Jake, just thinking out loud,” she replied, putting the unanswered question to the back of her mind for later.

  “Sir, I have a location for Captain Stryder and he is not alone, he has Natasha Garvey and one other with him, Prince Aswan. They are down on the planet’s surface and moving fast, they are being followed by a large feline type of creature.”

  “Sounds more like they’re being chased rather than followed,” Riley said.

  “Cap, we’d better move fast on this one. They’re being chased by a large cat and they have seven Outlaws also heading their way,” Vance said urgently.

  “Artie, we need to get down there, we’ll take the forward section. Monitor our life signs and stay in touch through an encrypted channel,” Riley said.

  “Wait, how can you identify those other two with Stryder, Artie? I understand you would recognise him from his tracking chip but how do you know the others?” Torres asked.

  “I have intensive records of Confederation personnel stored in my data banks along with the latest generation of facial recognition software. I can pick out a face on the surface of a planet from a high orbit using just a partial, even retina scans or fingerprints or DNA from evidence left at a scene such as saliva or blood,” replied Artie.

  “Wow! That’s amazing,” observed Cooper.

  “You shouldn’t lose track of us when we go down there then, no excuses Artie,” Riley said.

  “You have no need to worry, sir,” Artie said.

  “He was joking Artie,” Torres told him.

  “Okay guys, we’ll need enough firepower to take with us, you can guarantee that those seven Outlaws will be armed to the teeth,” Riley said.

  A wall at the side slid open to reveal several racks filled with Sig P999s, Rokk 50s, Remm assault rifles, an assortment of battery clips, grenades and knives.

  “Will these be enough for your needs, sirs?” Artie asked.

  “Wow our very own toy store,” commented Torres with a broad smile that was mirrored by Vance and Cooper.

  “Seems the General has thought of everything,” Riley said.

  He joined the others at the racks as they strapped on knives, holstered a Sig P999 each and picked out other items they might need. As he busied himself he said, “Artie open a battle com. channel with Stryder.

  THE FOREST WHIPPED past them as they fled for their lives. Branches of trees plucked at their clothes as they ran headlong through the forest, their only thought, survival.

  The enormous feline gracefully ran after them closing the gap with almost every step of its eight powerful legs.

  “Tell me again why we were tracking that thing?” Natasha said breathlessly as she ran alongside Kurt.

  Just as he was about to answer, a familiar tingle in his NI alerted him to a call coming in.

  “Kurt Stryder, this is Captain Jake Riley, we are monitoring your progress and we’re here to bring you home, sir. Can you give me an update on your sit-rep, please?” said a calm, reassuring voice.

  “If you’re monitoring us, you know we’re a bit busy right now. Just get the hell down here and help us,” Kurt replied.

  “Excuse me?” Natasha said.

  “Someone’s here to help us,” he replied. The three of them were not looking which way they were running, just ran and ran.

  Suddenly, the forest opened up before them, disappearing from around them as a chasm slashed across their path.

  “Holy shit!” exclaimed Natasha as the three of them pulled up short right on the edge.

  “We’re screwed!” screamed Aswan.

  “Where do we go now?” Natasha asked as she fought to keep her panic from taking control.

  Kurt took in their situation and assessed all their options in a single glance. “We climb,” he said.

  “Climb the hell where?” she asked looking around.

  “Down, where else?” Kurt replied and he stepped over the edge grabbing onto a large, deep-rooted vine and said, “Well, come on.”

  “I’m not climbing down there,” Aswan said adamantly.

  “Fine, stroke the nice pussy for us, while he’s eating you it’ll give us the chance to escape,” Kurt said.

  “I’m climbing down, and I suggest you do too, sir,” Natasha said as she too grabbed the vine and followed Kurt over the edge.

  The jungle floor vibrated with the beat of the onrushing paws of the gigantic octo-feline, and Aswan saw its approach, which made his mind up for him.

  Quickly he followed Natasha over the edge down the vine and his head just disappeared below it as the feline’s fangs ripped the air above him. A mighty roar reverberated throughout the jungle as the huge cat voiced its anger and frustration at losing such a tasty meal. Clawing at empty space above their heads the feline tried vainly to grab at the fleeing figures as they descended the cliff face.

  “Riley, how soon can you come pick us up?” Kurt asked as he clung to the vine.

  “We’re en route to you right now Kurt, just hang on,” Riley replied.

  Kurt thought, “Is their technology that good, or is he trying to be funny?”

  Riley added, “Kurt, you have a vehicle with seven hostiles headed your way. I suggest you find shelter the second you get off that cliff face.”

  “You can see us?” Kurt asked incredulously.

  “You’d be amazed at what we can see Kurt. Now move your ass but keep your heads down and we’ll get to you as soon as we can,” Riley said.

  “Keep climbing, they’re coming for us but we need to get down from here and find some shelter. There are seven Outlaws coming after us too so we have to move,” Kurt said to his travelling companions.

  Quickly they moved down the cliff face conscious constantly of the danger inherent in any free climb.

  TARKOVIC AND SIX OF his best men were on board an attack craft flying over the treetops.

  “Scans have picked up three humanoid life forms, sir,” said Gorac, the Team’s second in command.

  “Give me their exact location,” ordered Tarkovic.

  “Approaching three hundred yards, sir, descending a cliff face.”

  “Can we get down to the base of that cliff face?” Tarkovic asked the pilot, Savic.

  “Taking her in, sir. I should be able to put her down in a clearing close to where they’ll come off the cliff face but when we land we’ll have to hurry,” Savic replied.

  “Okay, take her in. Now listen up, our target is the Prince. Marko wants him alive. Anyone else we find we treat like all the others we come across. No mistakes people, let’s get this done,” Tarkovic said.

  24

  Kurt was the first to reach the base of the cliff. Looking up he saw the other two descending, following him. Natasha was staying close to the prince keeping a watch over him and the prince, despite his obvious fear, was actually quite an accomplished climber so Kurt knew they would be okay which gave him time to check out their immediate surroundings.

  The cliff face was rooted to the bottom of a huge chasm that stretched out to either side for quite a few kilometres. Across from where he stood was the opposite cliff wall. Looking at the ground, he figured that at some point in this world’s history a river once ran through this area.

  “Where to now?” Natasha asked as she climbed down to stand next to him.

  Looking around Kurt saw something, “Let’s check that out,” he said pointing to something his keen eyesight had spotted in the cliff face close to the base of the wall across from them.

  “What the hell is that?” asked Aswan as he joined them.

  “It just might be our salvation,” Kurt replied.

  Up above their heads over the top of the cliff’s edge they saw an attack craft swoop down.

  “C’mon, we have to move, our time has just run out,” Kurt said, urging the two of them across the ravine fl
oor.

  As the trio ran towards what Kurt had indicated he looked up, saw the attack craft swoop around, and down into the ravine headed for their location.

  “Make it quick you two, they’re coming in to land,” Kurt urged.

  “How long do we have?” asked Natasha breathlessly as she ran.

  “They have to land and then debark so we have a few minutes I’d say, but not much more than ten at most. We have to make it to that cave. If we can’t lose ’em inside it we may be able to hold ’em off so hurry.”

  “I HAVE A VISUAL ON our targets, sir,” Gorac reported as the attack craft entered the ravine.

  “Take us in and land. Keep eyes on our targets, don’t lose them,” Tarkovic ordered.

  Gorac said, “Sir, we have another ship coming in on our heading.”

  Tarkovic looked at his second in command in total disbelief.

  “Another ship? Where the hell did that come from? I thought we were the only ones around here,” he said.

  “Do you think it’s someone looking for the Prince?” Gorac asked, concern creasing his brow.

  “Well, we’d better make sure we find him first then, Savic, take us down there fast.”

  “Shit, looks like the hostiles have beat us to it,” Vance observed as he read the scans as the forward section of the Pulsar approached the ravine.

  “Can we get a target lock on that craft Artie?” Riley asked.

  “I wouldn’t advise shooting that craft down, sir. It would crash and the resulting explosion and subsequent debris would hinder your own landing,” Artie replied.