by Pam Uphoff
Irgo nodded. "Some of them have really impressive teeth. And the bony crests to protect their necks."
Everyone joined them, most with binocs.
"Their heads are much smaller than the ceratopsians, no big beaks and whatnot. Shorter tails. Eating ferns, so we'll need to, umm, study them from a safe distance." Professor Ecco lowered his binocs, and looked around at Ajha. "We're going to need to dissect one of them."
The Team Leader grinned, and his usual team moaned. "Oh come now. You all need to practice your survival skills. Hunting and eating exotic game is good for you. I was nice about the millipede, wasn't I?" He sauntered off toward the lead crawler.
The rest of them shifted uncertainly.
"He's kidding, right?" Paer looked at Fean.
She shook her head slowly. "Really, you would not believe what we've eaten. I only hope those things taste more like mammals than reptiles."
"Yeah, that snake was gross." Dan put in.
"When he started in on what he was going to do with the leftovers, I accidentally tripped and dumped it all on the ground. A great tragedy." Hob did a good job of sad puppy eyes.
"It was a very large snake." Fean turned and looked out at the brown humps grazing their way through the ferns. "We're in trouble."
Most of them managed disbelieving expressions. Ebsa didn't even try. The team's auras, tinged with resignation and horror, were totally convincing.
Ajha trotted back. "All right, we're just fifty kilometers off. Load up and let's get going. We'll stop where those critters are now to see what the browsing damage looks like, then on to the site."
Irgo leaned closer to Fean. "Is he always this cheerful?"
"Umm, in the field, yeah, except when it gets hairy. At home, he just sighs and buckles down to do the reports and argue with the director. And he's always right, so the director just purely hates him. Well, Agni especially, but the new one wasn't any better, it just wasn't personal. And now the acting director is pretty cool to him. One only knows what we'll get next."
"Maybe he'll actually get along with the next one." Hob didn't sound optimistic.
"Only if they choose Ajki." Fean sighed. "And even they argue."
"Ajki's the current sub-director of Intel." Dan put in. "Used to be sub-director of Action and Exploration, that was great, with the first layer of the bureaucracy friendly."
Alamo nodded. "Good man. Second cousin of mine."
The old hands rolled their eyes.
"Not that Ajki wouldn't send us out to do interesting stuff, but he wasn't actually trying to get us killed." Hob snickered. "Oh the expressions! Really, though. Sometimes you had to wonder."
Ebsa cleared his throat. "And this trip?"
Hob glanced at Paer. "I've got to say I'm surprised you lot have been sent on this one."
Fean snorted. "They've been pretty damn handy. I think they're throwing their best at the hardest test they could find."
Paer looked glum. Shrugged.
Ra'd thumped her arm. "All I've done is shoot trees. We'll have to lock Ebsa in the lav so you and I have half a chance to shine."
Even Ebsa had to laugh at that. But I'd better check out the lock, and find the key! Ra'd might have meant that, what with his . . . sense of humor.
"Interns up, with heavy weapons. Large herbivores can be dangerous."
Ebsa headed for the arms locker. Grabbed his shotgun, and the 12mm dacca. Up in the crow's nest he racked the shotgun and loaded the 12mm. Smaller than the caliber of Ra'd's favorite. At least it isn't ridiculously large. And probably won't blow me out of the crow's nest if I fire it. Recoil. I know the recoil spell, I just need to remember to keep holding it while aiming.
The first crawler moved out. Dan let them get a good lead then followed.
"No point in following so close we get into the same trouble." Dan grinned. "Not, mind you, that Hob hasn't hauled me out of trouble as often I've pulled him out. It's when Fean gets into trouble she can't get herself out of that we rack up the big macho points. She really hates getting stuck. Your Paer took it much better."
Whti nodded. "She's not at all what I'd expected. Snotty, aggressive, ambitious, and privileged."
Ebsa looked down from the crow's nest, called down through the open hatch. "Put her on a horse, and you'll see aggressive and ambitious. I don't think she knows how to do snotty, though, which is really surprising." He looked back at the last crawler. It would be easier to quash my libido if she didn't treat me like an equal.
The terrible heads were wary of the crawlers and departed. Even so Ebsa waited until Ra'd and Paer were on the ground before he ducked out of the crow's nest and joined them on the ground.
The poor students were collecting evidence of former meals, while the professor snapped pictures of chewed and ripped ferns.
Ra'd was looking as alert and guard-like as possible. Well, for him it came naturally. Ebsa tried for the same, and Paer snickered.
"I thought you liked biology."
"Umm . . . yes. But it's a very broad and complex subject, and some parts I like more than others." Ebsa swept a stare around the landscape. Nothing offered itself as a diversion. "Now real dinosaur . . . err, no wait. Fresh coprolites are still poop, no matter how fascinating the critter doing the pooping."
Paer giggled again and strolled off toward Fean.
Ebsa sighed. Hopefully getting pointers on how to gently discourage lovesick puppies. He stomped off the other direction. Doesn't matter. Stupid of me to . . . want what I can't have. Where the hell is something that needs killing?
They climbed back into their crawlers and made short work of the last thirty kilometers.
The survey area had changed a lot in a hundred million years. It was dead boring. The professor shifted it kilometer west so it included the lake shore . . . sea shore, rather, the water was salty.
"You're not supposed to taste it, Ebsa. You know what those fish do in there, don't you?" Ra'd eyed the water skeptically.
"Live. An occasional bout of gastro-enteritis is good for the immune system." Ebsa sniffed. "My mom always said so. Especially when I was underfoot."
Irgo snickered. "Mine always told me to go play in traffic. She didn't mean it, of course."
Ebsa eyed his finger. He'd just dipped it in and touched it to his tongue without thinking. "Mine meant it, although one suspects she was hoping it would keep me from testing rat poison some day."
Paer snickered. "The Directorate School kitchen serves some really weird things, getting us used to the idea of eating exotic things Across, no doubt. We've noticed that Ebsa will eat anything."
"Once." Ebsa added. "Unless I like it. Then it becomes a regular addition to my intake."
Ra'd snorted. "So don't be surprised if he's slurping it down by the end of the trip."
"Hey!" Ebsa eyed the water. "Shallow inland sea. But you guys are just studying land plants and animals?" A small vee cut the water. He dropped the muzzle of the shotgun to follow it.
Ra'd shook his head. "Too small to be dangerous."
Shadows in the water, a long body, swishing tail. It was half a meter long, more or less. . . . a head lifted out of the water on a long neck.
"Ohhhh . . . a baby Loch Ness Monster!" Paer edged forward. "Can we catch it?"
Ebsa looked over at the students. "Does the university have a large saltwater aquarium handy?"
Professor Ecco trotted up and stopped dead. "Claudiosaurus. There could be some early ichthyosaurs as well. I do have a permit for the importation of live specimens . . . "
Ajha was the last one to the shore. "If you want some marine specimens, I'd recommend waiting until the end of the week. Our tank space is quite limited."
Claudio, having looked them over, submerged and reversed course.
"He was sooo cute!" Paer colored suddenly. "Well . . . an excellent example of . . . something?"
Fean snickered. "Big tough Explorer Scout. Trainee."
Ajha cleared his throat. "So . . . shall we start survey
ing, and then set up camp?"
Ajha made them park in a triangle, with small enough gaps between them to keep out the dinocephalians. Watching the large moving humps as the sun set, Ebsa rather thought the Boss had a good idea. Or experience. This is a man that a whole lot of people have been misjudging. Probably all his life. But here he is, leading a team into the unknown, with casual confidence. And competence.
I should take notes.
"Aaannnddd, then of cooourrrse we'll culture the fecal bacteria foah identification purposes."
Ebsa kicked Ra'd's ankle. "Don't glare, he's doing it to annoy Ufly and Whit." He kept his voice down to a bare breath, as he stepped out of the lab, and back outside. "Enjoy their expressions instead."
Ra'd followed him, and glared. "Not if I have to listen to that . . . person too."
"I'd suggest taking notes but you're more the sneer type than the drawl type."
"We need some martial arts practices so I can try to beat you up. Again." Ra'd gave up and grinned. "Even if Isakson does still have you ahead of me on his little list."
"He has a list? Umm, where's Rael?"
"Number three, behind Qayg and Izzo, then four of the other Guards, you and me at eight and nine."
"Damn. Top ten hand-to-hand as judged by the oldest Warrior alive?"
Ra'd's head jerked around at that.
"What? You think I haven't figured out you're a trite, overused, movie cliché?" Ebsa grinned and dodged a half-hearted punch. "I still think 'Space Alien' has more class. C'mon. Let's anticipate the needs of the Boss and gather some firewood."
Conifers, with needles, but otherwise not very much like pines, and the ferns that grew to tree stature were the only possible victims of their slice practice. They gathered as much dead "wood" as possible, and then some green branches.
They burned better than the scale trees, even if the food they munched around it was ordinary.
Small insects came whining in, and Ajha hastily circled them up to first evict the nuisances and then form a spell to keep them away. Ra'd's usual stiffness was absent.
A boss he can accept. Excellent. I can stop Mother Henning an incredibly able person.
And damn, I wouldn't mind being on this team either.
They were out at first light to set up their coordinate system and start mapping the herbage. Fifty-eight kinds of moss and ferns. With occasional stands of tree ferns, cycads, and early conifers, becoming more common to the east. Thick enough to shade out some of the lower stuff in the northeast. Ground rising to the north, might be drier conditions. We should do a quick spot check. Not that I'm researching the flora.
His comm dinged. "Heads up, everyone." Paer's voice. "Dust to the north, might be a herd on the move."
Then Ajha's voice. "Hob, prepare to move out. Ra'd, you're closest, you and Irgo get back to the crawlers and take a look from the crow's nest."
Alamo snickered. "Bet he does it with his cannon."
"I never bet against a sure thing." Ebsa frowned and wondered if he was imagining a low pitched rumble. We're kind of far away from any stands of trees. "So, that's this corner, now we need to walk the line and mark every ten meters." He turned and started walking away from the rumble, eyeing the nearest trees.
"We ought to take a look over the hill." Alamo protested, and started walking the other direction.
"Alamo . . . walking toward a hazard is not really a good idea." Ebsa turned back and trotted to catch up with him. Definitely a rumble. "Alamo, dammit . . ."
Ra'd's voice over the comm. "Big herd, coming this way fast, everybody get behind a tree."
"Alamo!" Ebsa bolted up the hill.
The idiot was halfway up the gradual slope when the first Dinocephalian crested the hill. Closely followed by more. Lots more.
Ebsa grabbed the frozen Alamo and yanked him around. "Run for the trees!"
Alamo jolted into action and bolted. Ebsa stayed on his heels, casting frequent glances over his shoulder. Off to his right, the lumbering beasts were passing him, ignoring him. A shotgun is not going to impress these critters! Yeah, deer shot, but those things are closer to rhinos than deer!
Shields. In the books and movies, they anchor shields and live through having skyscrapers dropped on their heads. Of course, I had trouble with a damned oversized millipede!
One extra-large-sized Cef veered off the straightforward path, lowered its head and charged at them.
Ebsa turned and raised the shotgun. The beast stumbled, collapsed and rolled. A hard flat crack from the distant camp.
Ra'd and his cannon.
Ebsa turned and sprinted to catch up with Alamo. Another crack. He glanced over his shoulder. Nothing falling, nothing heading directly at them. It's a huge herd, everyone must be scrambling for the trees. Wish the trees were bigger! Which way did Paer go?
Stop wondering where Paer is, and watch for things that are trying to kill you, you idiot!
Two more shots. Nothing fell near them.
Then another sort of critter showed up. Rather a lot of them. Fast and toothy. Smaller than the cefs, weaving and snapping at the last of the herd, concentrating on a small one until they spotted the big dead one.
Ebsa watched them stop at the dead cef and dive in to start eating.
Thank the One. Alamo was breathing in desperate whooping gasps, barely trotting.
"Walk. Breathe. There are no more cefs coming, but some nasty little predators we don't want to mess with."
Alamo slowed, turned to look behind them. "Gorgon. Opsians." He gasped. "I should. Be thrilled."
Ebsa took his eyes off the gorgon things long enough to take a sweeping look around the area. The cef herd was veering gradually west, they looked like they'd miss the camp.
Five people were retreating from another cef body, which was also being swarmed by predators. Paer. And Ajha, Professor Ecco, Fean, and Whti. Good. One crawler moved out of formation and made speed across the ferns to a small grove of trees. Dan and Ufly jogged out and climbed in. The crawler took off for the quintet.
Ebsa looked back at the predators. Two of them were watching them, or perhaps smelling them. Reared up on two legs, they looked like a cross between a sabertooth and an oversized lizard. They dropped to a four footed stance, head out and teeth showing.
"Ebsa?" Alamo's panted, voice a bit high. "Should we run?"
"No. These are predators. We don't want to trigger any chase instincts." Shield. I can push my shield out far enough to cover both of us, and jam it into the ground . . .
"Right. You know, we were just looking at bloody damn plants and what ate them!"
Ebsa snickered. "Yeah. And next up, dinosaurs."
"Oh crap. I know those things are merely early therapsids, but you can sure tell they're on their way to becoming dinosaurs. They've got the attitude." Alamo was sounding a bit panicky.
"Yeah. How far away is the crawler?" Ebsa didn't want to take his eyes off the gorgons to check himself.
"It just stopped to pick up the others." Alamo's voice was a little high with stress.
"Good. It'll be here in just a few minutes. Veer west, so they have room between us and the trees to just pull right up beside us."
"We don't want the trees?"
"Umm, there are so many of these critters, I want a clear field of fire." I think. One only knows if this is a good idea. But at least out here I'll see them coming.
The two predators slunk forward, not quite crouching, but definitely stalking them. He raised the shotgun as they accelerated. He fired at long range. One turned and snapped at its side. Well, at least I hit it. He aimed at the center of the second and pulled the trigger. It went down in a thrashing heap, attracting the attention of the whole pack.
Ebsa backed away, half turned his head to check on Alamo.
The crawler was on the way, at speed.
Another predator trotted past the two injured pack mates, speeding up.
Ebsa squeezed the trigger and it dropped, twitching. He kept backing. The whole
pack was looking their way. Hopefully deciding to stay away from the noise, even if they didn't associate it with what had happened to their pack mates.
No, they were looking behind him. The crawler crunched through the ferns and stopped when the open hatch was beside them. Alamo grabbed Dan's extended hand and was hauled inside. Ebsa jumped for it and turned to secure the hatch.
"Whew. Well. That was fun, but I'm just as glad you lot turned up to end the game." He swapped grins with Paer and trotted up to look out the front. Endorphins. Whee!
Hob was driving, and looked around with a grin. "I was getting a bit worried, the way Paer and Ra'd were moaning 'Oh no! Ebsa can't hit anything!' and 'I hope he can find the trigger!' Really, their lack of confidence . . . "
Ebsa sniffed. "Ra'd has rather high standards. Paer almost meets them. I pay no attention to him."
A laugh as Ajha joined them. "Indeed. Now, I believe there's one cef those gorgonopsians aren't eating. So let's go get it. The professor wants to dissect it, and I think we need a cooking contest."
Moans from below.
Ebsa opened his mouth, then shut it. Somehow, I suspect that a snarky comment about 'what? Not eating a gorgon?' would be a very foolish thing to say.
His pit roasted cef with spiced bitter-sweet cherry sauce won the cooking contest. Despite everything except the cef being coaxed out of the kitchen fabber.
Ajha put up a heavy mental barrier around the camp, and they rotated watches through the night.
In the morning, Alamo groaned his way from bed to medicine cabinet and back to bed. "Every muscle in my body hurts. I thought I was in pretty good shape."
Ebsa grinned. "The Directorate school makes us run two kilometers every One damned morning. All of a sudden yesterday I discovered they knew what they were doing."
Ra'd snickered. "I'll remind you of that the next time you complain about getting up before five for the morning run."
Paer giggled. "And I apologize for maligning your marksmanship. You took out three of those things with three shots."
Ra'd snorted. "You barely grazed the first gorgon at thirty meters. At least you killed one outright."