by S. E. Smith
K-Nine moved his chin when the kitten stretched, pushing closer to him. The soft purr came again, warming him. This was a different feeling than he had ever had with Matrix. This felt – good.
“You guys are all the family that I’ve got,” Jana whispered, reaching over and carefully lowering the two kittens sprawled on his side so that they were next to Honeybun. “It’s nice.”
K-Nine released a soft rumble of satisfaction. Yes, it is nice, he thought as he lowered his head. He decided right then and there that Jana and the furballs were now his family – along with Matrix. There was room on their ship for them all. He would inform Matrix of his decision when he arrived. Until then, he would heal and watch over the newest members of his family.
Five
Matrix narrowed his gaze on the small building below. A scan showed the area was still clear of the Crawler, but it might have gone underground. He leaned forward and switched to the infrared scanner. On the screen, he picked up five heat signatures. Three of them were so small that he had almost overlooked them. They appeared to be clustered around a fourth signature. He tapped out a command to zoom in on the emergency beacon. The three small dots were positioned almost on top of K-Nine. He turned his attention to the last heat signature. It was in a separate room, which could work in his favor.
Turning the transport away from the building, his lips tightened into a grim line. Whatever had captured K-Nine must be very advanced, otherwise K-Nine would have taken them out. He lowered the transport to the ground a short distance from the structure. He would go in, eliminate the threat to his partner, and finish their original mission – destroy the Crawler before she had time to lay her eggs.
Matrix shut down the transport system and waited until the automatic seat harness retracted. Checking the charges he’d loaded, he twisted and stood up. He rolled his shoulders to release the tension that was fatiguing him. He would have plenty of time to rest and relax once they were headed back to base. Until then, he needed to stay alert.
He grabbed the harness containing the razor sharp blades. He thought back to the briefing and to the vidcom of the battle between the Crawlers and the Triterian forces. His superiors and the scientists involved had deduced that there were only two ways to kill a Crawler – blow them up with an energy charge or cut off their heads. The first was the easiest, but anything within a fifty klick radius would be destroyed as well. That didn’t bode well for the warrior and his partner if they didn’t move fast enough.
Not only that, the Crawlers were not known for sticking around in one spot for very long once they knew they were being hunted. Elaine Brim’s interrogators hadn’t been able to get much information out of her, but once the other scientists on her team had been detained, they had readily supplied information in exchange for leniency. They had even provided the notes and vidcoms kept off site from Brim’s destroyed lab. The scientists had warned them that fighting one of these creatures one-on-one wasn’t advised. They had also warned that if a Crawler suspected there was an injured or separated CPU pair, it was programmed to hunt them down immediately. His mother had been right, the Crawlers learned and quickly adapted to their environment.
Matrix shook his head in resignation. The second way was only slightly safer, as long as the two of them didn’t get too close to the creature, which was decidedly difficult when you needed to cut off its head. Either way, being around the genetically altered Crawler was going to be a nasty encounter. Matrix was glad the insane scientists, particularly Brim, were safely locked away. There was no telling what else the deranged female would have come up with if she had remained unchecked.
Matrix strode down the narrow aisle to the door of the transport. Leaning forward, he pressed his palm to the scanner. He quickly exited the vessel and programmed it to hover just above the trees. It could remain invisible on the ground, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t touch the transport.
“At least the structure is located in an isolated area,” he muttered.
It was several kilometers to the closest buildings. He wondered if that was why the inhabitant had chosen this location. Whatever the reason, it worked in Matrix’s favor. He frowned as he speculated about the type of restraints the captor might be using on K-Nine. There had to be some kind of disruptor involved, something that could take K-Nine’s systems offline and prevent him from communicating and escaping. There were also those three small heat signatures in close proximity that needed to be taken out.
“They have to be armed explosive packs,” Matrix concluded softly as he moved among the trees lining the long unpaved road. “Whoever is holding him must have set the explosive packs to detonate if K-Nine moves.”
A grim smile curved Matrix’s lips. It looked like this mission was about to become a little more exciting. He would break into the building, free K-Nine, and then the two of them would demonstrate what happened when one of the best tracking teams in the Zion star system was attacked.
He weaved his way through the trees, pausing every ten steps to look down at the scanner. There was still no trace of the Crawler. He had lost contact with it, but wasn’t worried. He knew it would head in their direction now and he knew why – she would have picked up the locator’s signal and recognized it as a distress communication.
“I should have activated the signal earlier,” Matrix muttered as he stepped over a decaying log. “It would have saved valuable time.”
The problem with using the emergency signal was the fact that a Crawler was a quick study. They would only get one shot at killing it once they made contact. Shortly after K-Nine and Matrix had first arrived, they had considered activating the signal to lure the Crawler to them, but a Crawler could smell a trap a planet away, and the Crawler would most likely only get enough to watch them, waiting, and only approaching when it was certain they were unprepared – which they would be if Matrix didn’t rescue his partner quickly.
Matrix paused when the small wooden structure came into view through the trees. There wasn’t much to it. The structure was slightly longer than it was wide. It was constructed of wood, painted white, and had a small covered porch across the front.
He stared at it, puzzled. The front porch was full of color, with brightly painted pots filled with equally bright vegetation. He had yet to encounter a hostile that loved to grow things – well, at least not things that didn’t try to eat you or poison you.
There was a door with several panes of frosted glass in it and long, narrow windows on each side of the door frame. From what he could tell, neither provided very much protection from attack. He surveyed the area for a few seconds longer, noting the place needed some extensive repairs in certain areas, if the sagging porch and mismatched colored tiles on the roof were any indication.
Matrix moved silently around the structure, noting additional windows. There were only two ways into the structure from what he could tell, if he eliminated going through a window. There was another small enclosed porch that ran along the back, with a door that led inside. Out back, an old green transport sat on the gravel drive.
Matrix glanced down at the scanner. The three small dots had moved. They were now appearing on different parts of K-Nine. He cursed softly. The larger life form walked through K-Nine’s section once again before disappearing into yet another smaller section of the structure. Deciding that now was the time to strike, Matrix pulled an electromagnetic disruptor from his belt and tossed it toward the house. He slowly counted to ten, waiting for the flash.
Satisfied that any surveillance equipment would be disabled by the short, powerful burst, he ran toward the building. Twisting, he braced his back against the wall. Drawing in a deep breath, he checked the clip on his weapon. Matrix grimaced, remembering he had originally loaded the gun with the intention of killing the Crawler.
He suspected those charges would be overkill against whatever he would find here. He quickly exchanged the two energy charges with a nine round low impact energy magazine. It would still kill the cre
atures inside, it just wouldn’t blow up everything around them.
He peered through the window, but was unable to see anything due to the cloth and furniture. Bypassing the stairs, he grabbed the banister and jumped up onto the edge of the porch. His eyes widened when the sudden force of his weight caused the end of the long plank where he’d landed to sink down under his foot with a crunch, while the other end of the plank suddenly rose. Off balance, he reached out to grab the banister with his free hand while trying to retain a grip on his gun.
The sound of the wooden banister cracking under his hand and the wobble of one of the colorful pots had him rethinking his plan too late. In the brief second it took him to realize his mistake, Matrix was already bracing himself for his impending impact with the ground. His hands rose instinctively to catch the brightly painted pot that was coming straight for his head. A low grunt escaped Matrix when he awkwardly caught it. The grunt turned to a silent groan when the pot struck the gun in his hand and a long crack appeared before it burst open, dumping a large amount of moist, black soil all over his face.
Matrix grimaced, tightly clamping his eyes and lips closed to prevent the nasty soil from getting into them. Rolling to the side, he spit out the small amount that had found its way between his lips. Sitting up, he pulled a large clump of the dark soil off his face and tossed it to the side. A shudder ran through him when he felt something cold wiggling against his neck. Reaching up, he carefully removed a long, thin creature as long as his finger. With a flick of his fingers, he tossed it aside.
His gaze narrowed on the porch. Obviously the place was designed to look innocuous when in reality it was booby-trapped. Matrix and K-Nine had visited places like this before. They usually harbored the worst criminals in the star systems.
It would appear they were dealing with more than just the Crawler on this mission. There must also be a hidden base of criminals on this planet. They were probably using the planet’s primitive status as a cover. It would explain why the Crawler had picked this region of the galaxy for its destination. It had probably been drawn here by some signal they were transmitting. He would need to proceed with extreme caution.
Matrix wiped the scanner screen on his wrist against his pants. He only had another twenty seconds to get into the building before the effects of the electromagnetic pulse wore off.
Rising off the ground, Matrix decided he would have to try going in through the back section of the house. The door had been left ajar with only a thin screen to impede him. Turning, he ran toward the back of the structure.
Taking all the back steps in one stride, he quickly scanned the enclosed area. A feeling of unease rose in him when he saw a machine that looked like it was made for torture. There was a padded seat, places for the victim's feet, and also hand grips that hung from overhead. Behind it, several long metal plates were wired into it. He stored the alien words attached to it – Bowflex PR3000 – for further research once the mission was over.
Returning his focus to the door, Matrix reached out and tapped the door handle with a finger before carefully pulling on the screen door. He was surprised when it opened easily. Stepping inside, he glanced around the room. It was a kitchen. A grin curved his lips. This might turn out to be easier than he’d thought at first. He quickly exchanged the gun in his hand for a small stunner. It might be better to keep his target alive. Any information about what was going on would be invaluable, after all.
Matrix quietly stepped into the short, narrow hallway. One glance told him that the alien was still in the small room. From the sound of water flowing, the room must be a cleansing unit. His first priority was to free K-Nine. The second would be to deal with his friend’s captor.
Crossing the worn wooden floor, Matrix stepped into the room and froze. K-Nine was on the floor, eyes closed and lips twitching. A quick glance told Matrix that the three small heat signatures had changed their positions once again.
His eyes widened when he detected movement in his peripheral vision. “K-Nine, to your right!” Matrix called out in warning, just as another movement caught his attention to the left. “What the…?!”
Matrix twisted when a small honey-colored creature jumped from the bottom of a narrow wooden table. It attached itself to his pant leg at the same time as two fur-coated creatures, one cream and one gray moved in on K-Nine. The wolf exploded to his feet in a blur of blue fur, sending the two creatures scurrying for cover.
The one attached to his pant leg looked up at him with wide, confused eyes. Matrix started to say something when he heard a shriek from behind him. He swiveled on his heel and raised the stunner. His mouth dropped open when he saw the figure of a female staring back at him in horror.
“What the…? Who the hell are you?” The female demanded, her eyes wide with shock before they turned to the small device in his hand.
Her eyes moved back and forth between the stunner he was holding and him. Matrix’s gaze moved appreciatively down over the rich, dark-wood color of her wet hair. The tiny droplets of water moved down her body like a meandering stream. His gaze locked on the fascinating trail of drops and he found himself hypnotized by their downward movement.
In a few brief seconds, his mind processed everything that was in front of him. The female came mid-chest to his own six-foot-two frame. His gaze lingered a fraction of a second longer than necessary on the swell of her breasts peeking out from the top of the towel that inadequately covered her wet figure. The fingers of her right hand tightened while his eyes roved over her. His gaze continued to move downward, following the long gap beneath the joined corners of the towel. Heat began to build inside him the lower his gaze went.
Matrix licked his lips when he saw the creamy flesh of her thigh exposed by the gaping towel. If it moved just a little to the…. His eyes widened for a moment when her hand suddenly struck out.
He blinked as the world grew hazy while his eyes slowly rolled back in his head. Matrix could feel his body starting to collapse to the floor. Three things flashed through his mind before everything went blank; first, he was thankful the creature on his leg had released him, second, the female was pretty, and, third, he should have checked both of her hands.
Six
Jana hummed under her breath as she washed her hair. After she cleaned the house, she’d decided to shower while she could. The chores had taken longer than she expected, so breakfast was going to become brunch today.
She sighed in pure enjoyment. There was nothing better in the world than a nice hot shower and she could easily live in it. She rinsed the last of the conditioner out of her hair and turned to shut off the water. Her hand froze on the handle when she heard a slight thump on the other side of the wall.
Pulling back, she bit her lip. The kitchen’s screen door always caught before closing all the way and when it did close, it made that slight thumping noise which could be heard throughout the house. She turned off the water and reached for the towel hanging on the towel rack.
Holding onto the wall for support, Jana carefully stepped out of the old bathtub. She quickly wrapped the towel around her, at least as far as it would go. An aggravated sigh escaped her. She should have just spent the extra dollar and bought the larger size towel, instead of thinking she would lose enough weight to fit into the cheaper, smaller one.
Her foot paused, feeling the loose board that ran down the hall move under it. This wasn’t caused by Linguine or the kittens. This was caused by something much larger. Her lips tightened in fury. If Mr. Marker thought he could just waltz into the house anytime he liked, Jana was about to set him straight.
She picked up the long wooden body brush that her best friend, Christel, had told her would be useful to improve her skin by stimulating the circulation in her arms and legs. The brush would be useful alright – when she used it to smack that dirty old man right upside his head!
Jana cursed as she tucked the towel between her breasts. When she took her clothes off earlier, she had left them and her clean clothes in
the bedroom down the hall. Gripping the handle of the brush, she carefully opened the door. Sure enough, she could see the shadow of someone in her living room.
She ignored the water dripping down her body. A shiver ran through her as she walked along the hallway close to the wall so that she wouldn’t make any noise. She was almost to the end when she heard a deep, husky voice shout something in a language she didn’t understand. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the huge man with thick black hair, broad shoulders, and… Honeybun attached to his pant leg.
“What the…? Who the hell are you?” Jana demanded, forgetting for a moment that she was vastly underdressed for company.
She flushed, fear rising inside her as the danger of the situation sank in. She was alone, with a strange man, in the middle of the woods, and he was holding....
Jana didn’t stop to think. The moment his gaze locked on her bare legs, her survival instinct kicked in. The hand holding the wooden scrub brush shot out and struck the man with surprising force. She winced when it connected with his temple. The impact reverberated down her arm and she vaguely registered the sound of the wooden handle breaking.
Jana stumbled backwards, afraid when his eyes widened for a moment before they rolled back and he collapsed on the floor. Only when he didn’t move did she release the breath she was holding. Her hand trembled as she pointed the broken scrub brush at him in triumph.
“Oh, yeah! Break into my house and see what happens! Who's your momma now, Punk? No one messes with Jana Dixon!” She exclaimed, bouncing on her feet like a prizefighter before having to grip the towel when it started to loosen. “Oh, shit! Okay, Jana, call the police and get dressed. Call first, dress second. Where’s my phone? Where’s my phone?” She muttered desperately, trying to remember where she had left it.