by Alan Black
Stone nodded his head. Not that he agreed with her leap of logic. He’d have to think about it.
Triplett continued. “We have scanned the male. It has a womb and female genitalia. They’re shriveled and atrophied, but they’re there. The male was once a female. However, its brain hasn’t grown larger to match its new body size and its new male genitalia is designed to pump an extraordinary amount of hormones into its system. It basically has two goals in life: eat and breed.”
Stone nodded. That was old news. “So? Sounds like some humans I know.” He heard Tuttle chortle behind him.
“You have two drascos. One is injured. Should she die, the remaining one will change to male. You saw what the last male did rampaging through us. The marines barely got it stopped before it killed us all. They must be put down before they can change.”
“No.”
Triplett grew red in the face and said, “There is more. Both of your pet drascos are pregnant.”
“Um, what?”
“You heard me, young man. That rampaging male took time out from trying to kill us all to impregnate those—those—creatures. They are dangerous now, they’ll become more so when their bodies start changing and they start getting hormonal imbalances.”
“The male raped my girls?” Stone was flabbergasted.
Triplett shook her head. “Not in any sense we are familiar with. When he attacked them, he held them upside down and sprayed something from his oral cavity across their faces and into their mouths. They breathed it in and the chemical change triggered the fertilization of three eggs from previously unfertilized eggs causing them to begin gestation. Three eggs in each of the two drascos.”
Stone said, “I guess that’s why he didn’t kill them like he tried to do with all the other creatures in the meadow.”
Triplett drew herself up to her tallest, squared her shoulders and said, “We are in consensus that for our own safety, those creatures you call pets must be put down although we would like to do it one at a time so we can record the growth trigger and the male conversion.” Many of her fellow scientists, although not all, moved closer to her, standing shoulder to shoulder in a show of academic solidarity.
“Not going to happen.”
Triplett snorted in derision and looked at the men and women around her. A couple of men nodded, encouraging her to continue. “We don’t need the permission of a snot-nosed rich kid playing at being in the military to ensure our own safety. You only think you are in charge. The Emperor put you in as a figurehead to curry favor with your family and to curb the excesses usually perpetrated by the military on unsuspecting worlds. This planet’s pacification is a civilian operation, so since Doctor Mohamed is dead, that puts me in charge and I—”
Stone shook his head. “No.”
“Listen, you young fool. You aren’t old enough to even have your brain fully developed. The teenage hormones pumping through your body won’t allow you to develop a rational thought if you tried. We aren’t going to let you lead us around until we die off one by one on this savage planet. I have a way off this world and we are going to take it.”
A handgun at the end of an arm poked around Stone’s side. Its sights centered clearly in the middle of Triplett’s chest. The doctor’s hands flew up to protect herself. Stone wondered why people did that. The reflex was silly, any bullet from any gun would just go through both of her hands and into her chest anyway. Human hands were not designed to stop bullets.
He peeked over his shoulder. EMIS Agent Tammie Ryte was standing there. Her stare bore holes into Triplett, looking as dangerous as the gun she held in her hand.
Ryte said, “Doctor Triplett, I’m old enough to be this boy’s mother, well maybe his older sister or a slightly older cousin, but my brain is fully developed. So, believe me when I tell you to stop talking.”
Triplett sputtered. “You can’t point a gun at me. You don’t have the right to point a gun at me.” She jabbed a finger at Ryte, gathering courage from her fellow scientists. “The military has no jurisdiction over civilians. Having some lowly communications clerk point a weapon at a civilian is a clear violation of my civil rights and I order Ensign Stone to have you arrested.”
Stone said, “Oh, Doctor Triplett, you must not have heard the news. Our Petty Officer Ryte is really an EMIS agent.”
“A what?”
Ryte shook her head, “I’ll answer that, Ensign Stone. I get this all of the time since most civilians have never heard of us. I am an agent of the Empire Military Investigative Service.”
Triplett screeched, “Stupid frakking squid! How many times to I have to tell you? I am a civilian.”
Ryte stepped around Stone with a shrug. “So am I. That is the point, having civilian investigators watching the military. That way Ensign Stone couldn’t order me to do or not do something my investigations required. I’m an agent of the Emperor and as such I’m tasked with looking into any criminal activity involving the military or the security of the Empire.”
Triplett turned purple as she shouted, “Has everyone lost their minds? I—am—not—military!”
Ryte shrugged. “You’re a full-rights citizen of the Empire. Yes, I’ve studied your file. You know your rights.”
“Even looking at my file is a violation of my privacy rights, you goon.” Her fellow scientists nodded in concert with Triplett. Allowing the military access to civilian files was a hotly contested issue on most educational campuses, second only to their anti-war protests on campuses across human space. “You have no right to even ask for my file without a judicial order and without a notification, in writing, to me.”
Ryte didn’t lower the gun. She smiled. “I did have a judicial order. You were notified in writing when you signed up to come to Allie’s World.”
“I only signed those papers because the Emperor personally asked me to become a part of this team. He recognized my expertise—”
“No.” Ryte actually laughed. “He recognized you were the target of an investigation by EMIS and he wanted you here where I could watch you. Hell, you weren’t even in the top one hundred xeno-biologists in line for this assignment.”
Stone interrupted, “Excuse me. Did you say you had a way off this planet?”
Ryte shook her head, “Yes, she does. And I will shoot her if she even attempts it.”
Triplett shouted, “You’re all blood-thirsty savages and you’re going to get us all killed.”
Ryte looked at Stone, “Doctor Triplett has been passing information, possibly through an intermediary, to the Hyrocanians. She has been using her connections to the military during this deployment to pass military data and I have proof she sent Allie’s World coordinates to the Empire’s enemies.”
Wyznewski and Emmons looked at each other. In unison, they took two steps away from Triplett and her supporters. A few other scientists backed away from Triplett. Most scattered when Triplett suddenly rose three feet off the ground, hovering in mid-air, hands clawing at something.
Stone shouted, “Corporal Tuttle! Stop.”
Tuttle shut off her gilley setting, returning to visible range. She was holding Triplett in the air by a massive left hand around the woman’s neck. She wasn’t squeezing hard enough to do any serious damage or restrict Triplett’s airflow. Suits required a special command to kill an unarmed human. The command could be on the tip of Tuttle’s tongue. One quick word and the massive suit could squeeze hard enough to pop Triplett’s head from her body. Triplett grasped Tuttle’s arm as she hung there gasping for air.
Tuttle growled, “You helped them bastards kill my marines?”
“No. The Hyrocanians only want peace. It’s the military that stirs up these wars.”
Stone said, “So, bombing our compound was just their way of a polite hello?”
Triplett squeaked out, “They only want to be left alone. They are a peaceful people or were until they ran into humans and our military attacked them.
Ryte said, “I am arresting Doctor Anna Triplett an
d need her watched until we can confine her. I have located her communication gear and disabled it. We don’t want her finding some way to get word to her Hyrocanian friends about our location.”
Stone nodded. “Corporal Tuttle has a nice roll of tape for now.”
Triplett groaned, “You can’t do this. The Hyrocanians will give us shelter and food. They won’t hurt us.”
Stone asked, “Haven’t you seen any of the videos about how they treat their prisoners? I have.”
Tuttle dropped Triplett to the ground, tossed a tape roll to Ryte, and went gilley. Stone wondered how much longer her suit would continue to function. It must be damaged because he clearly saw the outline of her suit now.
Ryte wrapped Triplett up, taping her hands and feet.
Triplett said, “You can’t do this.”
Stone shook his head. “One more word Doctor Triplett and I will ask Agent Ryte to tape your mouth shut.”
Triplett said, “But—”
Without comment, Ryte covered the woman’s mouth with a strip of tape. One male scientist, larger than most of the others, reached out a restraining hand, attempting only to halt Ryte from taping the woman’s mouth shut. Ryte grabbed his hand, twisted, turned, ducked under his arm, and still holding his wrist, vaulted onto his shoulders, straddling his head from behind. With an armlock, she twisted his head and drove him face first into the trampled grass and dirt. In a flash, his hands were wrapped behind him and tied to his feet.
Stone said into the shocked silence, “It may be my unformed brain or my teenage hormones talking, but the next person who interferes with EMIS Agent Ryte will be shot right alongside Doctor Triplett for treason and as a danger to our lives.” He glared at Triplett. “Don’t push me on this. Your conspiracy with the Hyrocanians has killed my friends, my family, and my girlfriend is laying over there in a tent, paralyzed because of you. I’ll kill you myself if you give me any reason. No matter what Agent Ryte wants, I want you dead.”
He looked up at the shocked faces of the scientists around him. He wasn’t sure why, but he caught a sour odor coming from one man. “You!” He glanced at Ryte. “Was Triplett working alone on Allie’s World?”
“As far as I can tell she was broadcasting her messages to an intermediary at Lazzaroni Base, but nothing in her communications systems shows she has been in contact with anyone since we arrived on planet. Why?”
“Him.” He pointed at the man, causing the man to blanche. “I don’t trust him.”
The man sputtered. “Wait. No. I’ve protested against the military’s inhumane war against the peaceful Hyrocanians. I’ve signed petitions calling for the complete disarmament of human space, but I would never commit treason.”
Stone nodded, “Agent Ryte. He’s yours to watch. If I catch him even dreaming about consorting with the enemy, I will have him taken into the jungle to be lunch for a nest of dung beetles.”
Spacer Dollish rushed up to him. “Ensign Stone, sir.” He handed him a hunk of fire-roasted meat on a stick. The stick was from a native plant stripped of spikes and thorns. “You should eat something. And Major Numos is looking for you at the hospital tent.”
Stone looked up at Tuttle. “Corporal, please find Agent Ryte an armed marine to help keep an eye on these two. Then you and Agent Ryte join me at the hospital tent.” He glared at the remaining scientists clustered under the tarp. “The rest of you find something to do. I don’t care what, just remember, I will kill the first one of you who hurts Jay or Peebee.”
TWENTY
Somehow it felt like a longer walk back to the hospital tent than a few moments ago. His head wasn’t throbbing like it was before and his eyes and nose finally seemed to sync up, clearing and plugging up at the same time, leaving his senses feeling normal for longer and longer stretches. Still, he wobbled a few times, stopping under camouflage tarps to rest at each opportunity.
He was surprised when he realized the cactus needles in his left hand where he’d grabbed the tent pole were gone. The last time on the planet, he’d touched the plant earning the same share of needles, but they had taken a long time to work out of his palms, only leaving when his hand was plastered with the drying glue-like ooze from the drasco’s candy. He wondered if the goo he’d mixed up for Peebee’s leg had pulled the spines out. His hands felt almost numb, not from any anesthetic-like substance, but like he was wearing thick canvas gloves. His arm didn’t tingle, his fingers had stopped itching, and his head felt muzzy, even though his senses were clearing up.
Somewhere along the way, he’d discarded the stick holding the fire-roasted drasco meat. He didn’t remember if he ate the meat or gave it away. Either way, he wasn’t hungry any longer.
He finally wobbled into the hospital tent, finding Numos huddled over maps with Allie. Completely disregarding protocol, Stone leaned over and kissed her on the top of her head. Even through the stench of the blood and sweat, she still smelled sweet, more like dark chocolate than the mint from earlier. He could still catch the faint hint of mint on the breeze, but this close to Allie, she was all wet, dark chocolate.
Dropping to the ground on the edge of Allie’s blanket, he fell all the way over. His plan had been to sit, yet something quit working. He tried to sit up and gave up trying when Allie’s fingers combed through his hair. He ended up rolling onto his back, staring up at the tarp over their heads. He felt a twinge of discomfort from the bullet in his butt. It didn’t hurt much anymore, just enough to be a reminder than he needed it to get taken care of soon.
Allie asked, “How’s my little hero? You all right?”
Stone shook his head, “No, it’s nothing a nap wouldn’t help. It hasn’t been the most pleasant of mornings.”
Her fingertips rested against his forehead. “You’re burning up, Ensign.”
Stone nodded. “If I remember my basic first aid training, I must be dehydrated. I have a headache and I’ve stopped sweating. Do we have water?”
Numos nodded and handed him a filled self-purifying survival bottle. “The maps show we have a small stream about half a mile west. I have a few suited marines bouncing back and forth.”
Stone drained the water bottle and tossed it back to Numos. Stone said, “Security is your job, Major. Don’t pull too many marines off our defenses.”
Numos agreed, “Of course. We’re working to squeeze down into the center of this meadow as much as possible. People just dropped wherever they happened to be and were spread all over. If we all get in the middle, then we have a buffer zone between us and the trees, plus I can start taking marines off the defensive line for a rest as well as a few other duties. We can’t defend ourselves here from even a stampeding herd of wild rabbits, or whatever this planet has as an equivalent. We have to find somewhere else to hide until we find a way out of this mess.”
Allie caught Dr. Menendez’s eye and waved her over. “Hey, Doc. Can you take a quick look at the Governor?”
Stone tried to wave her away. “I’m fine. I just need a little rest and to get down some more water.”
Menendez shook her head. “That was lesson one at medical school. I make my own diagnoses.” She started running a scanner over Stone.
He looked across Allie at Numos. “Tell your marines getting the water to be careful. There are creatures in the water as dangerous as the things on the ground.” He looked up as Tuttle slid under the tarp. “Corporal Tuttle, would you be so kind as to find some water for Jay and Peebee?” Everyone looked at Stone in surprise as Tuttle shut off the gilley function on her suit. He looked back “What?”
Numos asked. “How did you know Tuttle was here?”
Stone shook his head in wonder, “Well, you’ve got admit her camouflage system isn’t operating in perfect condition, but she is pretty easy to recognize since she is missing her right hand.”
Menendez said, “Her right hand?”
Tuttle held up the stump of her right hand. “I’m good for now, Doc. When I do finally peel myself out of this suit, I’m going to need
some serious medical attention.”
Menendez nodded, familiar with a marine suit’s trauma injury repair capabilities. She shook her scanner and banged it on the ground. “Frakking thing is defective. That is two …” Her voice faded away as she thought back. She ran the scanner over Allie and then back over Stone.
While the doctor checked her equipment, Numos said, his voice low and concerned, “Ensign Stone, I know Tuttle is missing her hand. How did you see her standing there?”
Stone shrugged and tried to bat the doctor’s hand away. “There must be something wrong with her suit. I mean, come on. You can see her outline plain as goat turds in the salad bowl.”
Numos said, “No, I can’t.”
Allie nodded. “Yes, sir. I mean, no you can’t. What the major said!”
Stone said, “Corporal Tuttle, please reset your suit to camouflage.” Tuttle shimmered and disappeared. “See there? There must be something wrong with the suit.” He pointed at Tuttle and continued pointing as she moved around the tent. “See. I mean, I will admit she is mostly gone, but there is the faint outline making her easy to spot. In fact, you must have a few suits with glitches. See out there? There’s one, there’s one, and there’s one.” He pointed at marines who should have been completely invisible.
Tuttle popped back into view. “He’s right, Major. I could pick up marines where he pointed using the enhanced vision of my faceplate.
Menendez shouted, “Crap on a crutch!” She dropped to her knees, planting one knee in the middle of Stone’s chest. Pulling out a scalpel from a pocket she jabbed it under the bandage covering his arm.
Allie started, “What the hell?”
Stone wasn’t worried. He wasn’t sure why, but a fresh mint odor wafted from the doctor. She acted more concerned than angry and she had completely missed his skin, slicing through the bandage to cut it away. With deft hands, the doctor cut the tape away from the wound. Stone would have sworn it had only been on him for an hour or so, certainly not long enough for the gash to begin healing. A thick, gnarled, lumpy, and infected-looking scar ran down his arm, but the skin had knit around the cut.