“How do you know which direction to go?”
“I checked the proximity detector right before we landed.” She pointed upward through the shattered observation window. “See? The Keep is right there.”
He followed her gesture. Sure enough, Assan Keep pointed over the treetops, close enough to touch. No matter where they went in this forest, they could head straight for that mountain and never get lost.
Sheena popped the hatch door and swung it open. Jasmine took a look outside before leading the way. The others followed one at a time, but when they saw no danger, they relaxed and started looking around.
Jasmine came to Sheena's side and murmured under her breath so the others couldn't hear her. “It looks like you're stuck here for a while, but at least the Allies will send someone looking for us when you don't report back later today.”
"They'll have no way to find us. They'll have to search, and they promised the Krataks no other Allies vessels would enter the atmosphere as long as the two teams remained on the planet. I wouldn't be surprised if the Allied Command decides not to send out a search party at all.”
Jasmine's eyes widened, but before she could answer, Rex sauntered over. For a man, he threw his weight around more than he should. He took his position as Allies representative too seriously. He may have fought his way up through the ranks of women to get this position, but that didn't entitle him to order his superiors around.
To make matters worse, rumor around the Command Center said Rex had a romance going with Jasmine. That's the last thing this team needed, especially now when they could be facing who knew what in the middle of nowhere on an alien planet crawling with wild men—and dragons.
He gave Sheena his supercilious grin. “I suppose you're going to show us how to build a fire by rubbing two sticks together.”
“Why would I want to do that? We're on our way to the Keep.”
“We should stay here.”
“It's too dangerous with dragons running around and whatever other unknown animals they have on this planet. We have to make for the Keep on the double.”
Rex glanced at Jasmine. “Are you sure you can't salvage something from the shuttle to send a distress call?”
“The shuttle is dead. The computer is shot, and with the starboard engine gone, we don't have enough power to send a signal beyond the atmosphere. Besides, we don't have the equipment or food to stay near the shuttle as long as it would take for the Allies to send someone to find us. As I was just telling Jasmine, the Allies will know something's wrong when I don't report back today, but they might still decide not to send a search out for us. We could be stuck here.”
“Why wouldn't they send out a search? Isn't that what they always do when a shuttle goes down?”
“There are larger political considerations. You should understand that, Rex. The Krataks don't want another Allies vessel running around all over the planet. We could get to the Keep before they got here, and then we'd be safe.”
Jasmine spoke up. “You're not supposed to stay on the planet, Sheena.”
Sheena shrugged and turned away. “I'll do what I have to do. Now come on. Let's get walking before it gets dark. The mountain's not that far away.”
Rex turned to Jasmine. “You're in command here. What do you say?”
Jasmine looked back and forth between Rex and Sheena. “She's right. We can't stay here.”
“So, you're going to side with her against me? That's just great. That's a wonderful way to start a year-long mission together.”
Jasmine took a step toward him. “Come on, Rex. You know she's right. Don't turn this into something between you and me when it isn't.”
Sheena didn't wait to hear anymore. She hated working with couples more than anything, especially when one of them was in command. It messed up everything the team tried to do.
She found Ron and Abigail with their heads together, as usual. They discussed every detail of their gear in hushed voices no one else could hear. Sheena walked past them to Dana and Sophia around the other side of the shuttle.
Sophia took notes in her notebook with a pen. “This forest is priceless. I'll bet no one has set foot in it for centuries. Look at the canopy up there. I haven't seen forest like this in years.”
Dana looked up from her backpack. “I know you don't really want to be on this planet, Sheena, but I'm glad you're with us. We need every level-headed officer we can get at a time like this.”
“Don't say that. I'm afraid my presence here will only cause trouble.”
“Trouble? How could it?”
Sheena cast a glance over her shoulder at Jasmine and Rex. They stood with their noses inches apart and discussed something in heated undertones. One look at their hand motions and facial expressions told Sheena her comments about going to the Keep sparked a conflict between the two lovers.
Dana groaned. “That? Don't tell me.”
“This could be the ruination of our mission,” Sophia remarked. “I only hope Jasmine reins him in soon.”
“General Duncan never should have sent him as representative,” Dana replied. “Enlisted personnel having relationships with their superior officers violates military policy.”
“General Duncan had no firm confirmation they had a relationship,” Sheena chimed in. “When we left, it was only a rumor.”
“The rumor is now confirmed.”
“What about those two?” Dana nodded toward the Simons.
“At least they really are married, and neither is the other's superior officer, much less in command of this team.”
“I'm Rollo's superior officer,” Sheena pointed out, “and we never acted like that on any mission. He would never question my authority in front of another officer like that or jeopardize our team in the line of duty.”
“Yeah, but Rollo's different,” Dana countered. “He's more sensible than most.”
“He may be sensible, but he's still a man. It just goes to show why women should always be in command. It's one thing to assign a man like Rex to represent the Allies to an ignorant race like the Krataks, but men can never take responsibility where a woman could do the job. I wouldn't even want Rollo in command if we had a woman available instead.”
“Well, you know Rollo better than any of us.”
“No one is putting Rollo in charge, either.”
All three women laughed together at the thought, but Sheena got serious. “It looks like Jasmine is putting Rex in charge, though.”
“Maybe Kratak is starting to wear off on her.”
“We can't do anything about it, anyway. She's in command here. We just have to live with it.”
Just then, Jasmine spun away from Rex with a chop of her hand. “I said no, and that's all you need to know about it.” She called out to the rest of the team. “Come on. We're moving out.”
Sheena murmured to her friends. “Thank goodness for that.”
Dana shouldered her pack. “Let's go.”
The team fell in single file with Jasmine in the lead. They headed for the austere peak of Assan Keep looming large before their eyes. Sheena brought up the rear for a while, just to make sure everyone kept up.
They wound their way through the trees, but they could find no discernible path to follow. Only the mountain peak guided them through dense forest. The foliage blocked out most of the sunlight and cast the team into shadow.
For the first two hours, everyone stuck close to their strict line. No one ventured right or left, but the tedium worked on the girls after a while. First one and then another veered off to look at something—a flower or a fungus. Pretty soon, they wandered farther and farther away from the team on wide explorations of the surroundings.
The girls' chatter answered the animal noises rising all around. Unseen creatures scurried away from them, and their passage set the branches and bushes swaying. They brought back samples of their discoveries to show their parents.
Ron and Abigail walked right in front of Sheena, and she overheard Abiga
il comment to her husband, “You shouldn't let them wander off. It could be dangerous.”
“Oh, let them have their fun. As long as they don't get lost, they'll be fine. You can't smother them for the rest of their lives. I don't see how they can get lost in these woods, anyway. Even if we get separated, they can find their way to the Keep as well as we can.”
“Still, I don't like it. At least back home we understood the dangers. What if that dragon comes back? You know the stories about dragons carrying off young women.”
Ron laughed out loud. “Don't tell me you're worried about that. That was a wild animal. You don't really expect a wild animal to carry off a human being, do you?”
“It might not want to carry one of them off in that way, but it might want to eat them. That's all I'm saying. We should at least be prudent and keep them near us, at least until we know more about this planet.”
“It's not too much farther. Let them have some fun before they wind up cooped up inside the Keep for who knows how long? This could be the only breath of fresh air they get on this planet.”
“You don't think the Krataks would keep us locked up inside their mountain, do you? How can you think of bringing children to a place like this?”
“They're hardly children. They'll be grown in a few short years, and I already see them bucking against your control. Let them run. If you won't take it from me, just look at them. Look how much they need this.”
Abigail gazed at her daughters, but she didn't answer. The girls danced and frisked and gamboled through the woods on the happiest holiday of their lives. Sheena didn't like it any better than Abigail did, but she had to agree with the good doctor. The girls obviously enjoyed the freedom. Abigail must keep them on a pretty short leash at home.
Chapter 3
Sheena shouldered her way past the others to the front of the line and walked side by side with Jasmine. “Do you want me take the point for a while?”
Jasmine cast a quick smile her way. “That's all right. I'm in charge here. The others need to see me taking the lead.”
“They wouldn't mind seeing me take over for a while. You're not in command of me.”
“Thanks for the offer. I'm glad you're here. It's nice to share the responsibility with someone for a change.”
“It's my fault we're in this situation. I've got all your lives on my head.”
“What are you talking about? It's thanks to you that any of us is alive right now.”
“I crashed the shuttle.”
“You didn't crash it. That dragon crashed it. You're the one who made sure we landed in one piece. I only wish I could figure out what made it attack us like that.”
“I'm sure we'll never know. Maybe it didn't like the sound of the engines. Maybe they gave it a headache. Who knows? I only know I've never stranded nine people on an unknown planet before, not to mention myself. I feel responsible. I want to get everyone to the Keep before something else happens.”
“Don't worry. You've done enough. I'll take over from here.”
“Well, if you change your mind and want me to take over, just say the word.”
“I have a better idea. As long as you're on this planet with us, why don't you and I share command? By rights, we're both in charge, and we're equal rank.”
“That sounds good. Then neither of us will have to face command alone.”
“You've been in command of the transport team longer than I've been in command of this research team. You've got a lot more experience with situations like this than I do.”
“Are you kidding? I don't have any experience with situations like this.”
“You've been in combat and all that. You've been under fire. The way you told us all to sit down and be quiet while you fought that thing—hoots! I could never do anything like that. You shut all of us up in a hurry. I wish I had the guts to do something like that.”
Sheena turned away. “Don't wish for it. It's no fun.”
Jasmine touched her arm. “I know. I'm only saying I admire the way you handled that thing. I was very impressed. Everyone was.”
Sheena kept her face turned away so Jasmine wouldn't see her burning cheeks. No one ever complimented her before for telling them to shut up.
“Why don't you take the point for a while after all? It will do the team good to see you in charge instead of me for a while. That will get it into their minds that we're sharing command.”
“All right.” Sheena pressed forward in front of Jasmine, and Jasmine dropped back to the rear.
They hiked another hour without incident. The girls wandered farther and farther into the woods on every sojourn until the team lost sight of them, but they always came scampering back with fresh gales of conversation and treasures to show their parents.
Sheena cast her mind ahead to Assan Keep. What would they find there? She never would have signed up to visit this planet, with its male-dominated culture. What kind of apes were these people, anyway? What kind of women would live with a bunch of chest-thumping men trying to run the world?
The Allied Command had to do some pretty fancy diplomatic footwork just to convince the Krataks to let the research team land on the planet to study and document their culture. The Krataks didn't trust the female-dominated Allies for a second. They didn't believe the Allies' peaceful overtures. They continued to believe, against all assurances, that the Allies wanted to conquer this planet.
A sudden scream broke in on Sheena's reverie. She whirled around to see the girls come racing back through the trees. They dropped whatever item they were carrying and bolted straight for the team.
Jasmine came forward to meet them when a giant shape lumbered out of the trees. Sheena barely had time to get a glimpse of it before it broke through the underbrush and charged at the group.
It towered over their heads as tall as an elephant. Dark brown hair covered its whole body, and sharp tusks jutted out of its face. It roared and bellowed and shook the ground with stamping cloven hooves.
Sheena's hands flew to her pockets, but she didn't have a weapon of any kind. The rest of the group didn't have anything, either. Their agreement with the Krataks forbade them from bringing weapons of any kind, even knives. They were utterly defenseless.
Jasmine shed her pack and flew toward the fleeing girls. Sheena appeared at her side. Before she could think what she was doing, she stripped off her outer thermal shirt and waved it in the creature's face.
It reared back with a snort and raked the sky with its tusks. It came down hard on its front hooves and landed just inches away from her. Sheena didn't have time to be scared of the thing. She followed up her advantage and flicked the shirt sleeve into its eyes.
At the same time, Jasmine scooped up a stick from the ground and jabbed the thing in the side. It wheeled away from Sheena to face the mosquito pricking it. Jasmine backed away to lead the creature away from the rest of the team.
Sheena noticed what Jasmine was trying to do, but distracting it could only get Jasmine killed in the girls' place. Sheena had to think of something fast. She had to find some way to frighten the thing away.
She turned one way and then the other when she noticed a stream bed nearby. She ran down the bank and scooped up a handful of stones. She raced back to the team and selected a smooth round one that fit neatly in her palm.
She took careful aim and let the stone wing through the air. It whistled out of her hand at the creature and struck it in the ear. Sheena didn't have time to congratulate herself on her shot before the thing let out a squeal and rounded on her.
Jasmine poked it in the shoulder again, but it paid no attention. It advanced on Sheena with a wicked gleam in its beady black eyes. She picked another stone and locked eyes with it.
She let the second stone fly, and it nailed the creature in the corner of the eye. It drew back with a growl of pain and started toward her at a menacing trot. Sheena picked out another stone and pulled back her arm when Rex Masters burst out of the group with a gun in his hand.
He jumped between Sheena and the creature and aimed his weapon at the thing. He squeezed off a calculated blast of sizzling energy that hit the animal in the head and glanced off its rock-hard skull. The skin parted to reveal white connective tissue underneath, but the blast cauterized the blood vessels so the wound didn't bleed.
The creature bellowed in rage and Rex took aim for another shot, but the thing didn't attack him. It wheeled sideways and charged straight into the group standing behind Sheena.
Sheena, Jasmine, and Rex could only stand and stare at the monster thundering at their defenseless friends. The girls cowered behind their parents, but nothing could stop that behemoth on its course toward them. At the last second, Ron Simons launched himself out of his shocked trance into the creature's path.
As heroic as his move might have been, the results proved disastrous. Instead of sacrificing himself to save his family, the creature galloped right around him and jabbed its tusks into the group. One tusk impaled Sophia Tompkins in the thigh. With a toss of his head, it lifted her off the ground and sent her flying through the trees to bounce on the soft grass some twenty feet away.
As soon as it found itself free of its burden, the creature turned on the group for another jab. Sheena ran forward and sent a rock whizzing through the air to strike the creature in the nose, but it only roared in rage and swiped its tusks at the girls huddled screaming and sobbing behind their mother.
Jasmine came to Sheena's side with her stick all ready to poke the thing again, and Rex peppered its shaggy sides with one shot after another with his gun. Nothing made any difference. The thing bent its ferocious attention on the group. How did it know they, of all people, couldn't fight back?
Ron leapt back into the group and splayed his arms in front of his family to back them away out of danger, but the creature only followed. It angled its neck back to stab and rent and kill.
Sheena's arm dropped to her side, and the stone fell out of her hand. There was nothing more she could do if she didn't want to jump into the path of certain death herself. Even Jasmine stopped poking the creature with her stick. What more could they do to stop it?
Fawks (Dragons of Kratak Book 4) Page 2