“Stop!” Cain growled, fighting his way forward despite his legs feeling like tree trunks. He scanned the area before slinging his pack to the ground and digging through the food that he’d brought. One of the meals had a tomato sauce in it. He opened this and carefully squeezed it onto the hub.
They worked the cart back and forth. He squeegeed the remainder onto a second hub. Ogden pulled his pack and opened the ration to lubricate the other side. Cain and Ogden ate what was left and curled the bag to put back into the rations pouch.
The Marines never left trash behind because it could be recycled once they were back on the ship. Cain personally couldn’t abide soiling the environment in which they operated, especially when they were the visitors.
He took one last look around, appreciating the planet’s beauty, before slashing the air with his knife hand pointing the way ahead.
Ellie was on one knee, and it tore at Cain’s heart to see her head hanging low. He was pulled in too many different directions, but he had to let it all go. His short-term objective was to get the bot back to the shuttle. Settle his people in to wait and recover.
The error of his operational planning was clear. He needed to remain near the shuttles until his people got used to the heavy gravity and then conduct the operation. The anger built within as he looked at the sagging faces of those around him.
They moved out and the cart protested, but nowhere near as loudly. The humans pushed with their heads down, powering through the effort by sheer force of will. Just like everyone else.
Even Ellie.
He helped her to her feet and they staggered forward. Cain looked around him, blaster at the ready, unsure of what he’d do if the bots showed up. He would give the alarm and run for cover. He’d already given the order for his people to dial their blasters to the narrowest beam. The Marines were spread out, not giving the bots an easy target.
There was nothing else he could do, except put one foot in front of the other and keep doing that until they were back at the shuttle.
***
Black Leaper told Night Stalker to sleep, that he’d take first watch. She didn’t argue. He had the rank and she didn’t trust herself to stay awake. She curled up at the base of the tree and was out instantly.
Stinky watched her sleep, chest barely moving as exhaustion seized her. He tried to remain standing, but couldn’t. His legs started to shake. He laid down to remove the stress, putting his head between his paws.
And that was the last thing he remembered.
***
Spence had a hard time lifting his head. He opened his eyes to find that it was daylight. He wondered if he’d slept through the night.
When he shifted, he found that Zisk’s leg was partially over his head. Spence pushed it off, groaning. Tobiah was sleeping on the other side. The ‘cat’s eyelids fluttered as he tried to open them.
Corporal Spence had to roll to his stomach to push himself upright. “What happened?” he mumbled.
‘You and the others collapsed,’ Tobiah replied over the mindlink.
‘How long?’ he asked.
‘How long have you known me?’ the ‘cat asked mysteriously.
‘Cycles, I mean more than a year, right?’ Spence was confused; his head felt like it was filled with cotton.
‘And in all that time, you haven’t learned that ‘cats don’t measure time like humans? My answer is one sleep. That’s how long you were asleep.’ Tobiah shook his head and blinked. He stretched his large body, back legs extended to his paws, then he leaned back and did the same thing with his front legs.
Spence opened his neural implant. A timer was one of the features that was always available along with his own vital signs. He could pull up the vitals of everyone in his squad too, which was what he did while he tried to work his muscles enough to stand up without needing help.
‘The vital signs are as expected for people who have moved into a heavier gravity environment. It is not the gravities that are important, but the percent of change. You and your squad are healthy,’ Jolly informed him.
‘Can you tell me where everyone is, starting with my squad, and how long was I asleep?’ Spence asked.
‘You were asleep for four hours, Corporal Spence. Would you like me to overlay people’s positions on the map?’ Jolly did that while asking the question. Spence expanded the image, oriented himself, and found his squad on both sides of the street, under cover, and all asleep.
He found the lieutenant, the platoon sergeant, and Ascenti a half-mile away, toward the city center. The major and his people were less than a mile from the first shuttle and moving incredibly slowly. Spence had to double-check to make sure that they weren’t stopped.
Commander Daksha appeared to be by himself moving methodically in the direction of the lieutenant.
‘Jolly, what’s the commander doing?’ Spence wondered as he struggled to his feet. Once there, he didn’t feel as bad as he had yesterday. He didn’t feel so heavy. He ached all over, but he hadn’t injured himself, for which he was grateful. He had three miles to go to get his squad to the second shuttle.
‘The commander is joining Leaper and Stalker to rescue Ascenti, who is injured and trapped in a tree. I fear his life signs are waning,’ Jolly said sadly.
‘What happened to Ascenti and why didn’t they go get him?’ Spence demanded.
‘There is a bot firing lasers from the building that you are closest to, and Wolfoids can’t climb trees, not like this one, Corporal Spence,’ Jolly replied.
‘Damn. I didn’t even think of that. I can be there in ten minutes. Tobiah and I are on our way,’ Spence said and minimized his window. It immediately started flashing with a new message. He ignored it.
Spence kicked Zisk in the leg until the Lizard Man opened his eyes. He didn’t move any other part of his body. He blinked until his eyes focused on his squad leader.
Corporal Spence leaned close and whispered, “As soon as everyone is up, take them back to our shuttle. Set up a perimeter and wait. I’ll be along shortly.”
The Lizard Man nodded, then strained as he sat up. Spence slapped him on the shoulder, then dove into the underbrush with Tobiah close on his heels.
Together, the small man and his ‘cat worked their way around the building where the bot had been seen. At the opposite corner, Spence expanded the window to access the map, but he received an eyeful of Jolly informing him that the major expected the corporal to take his squad to the shuttle at best possible speed.
‘Noted,’ Spence replied sourly and opened the map. The Wolfoids weren’t far, but they were on the other side of a large open area. The Marine sighed and activated his communication device.
“Major Cain, Spence here. I’m almost to Ascenti’s position. I’ll be there in less than five, and I can get him down. Jolly says he’s dying, and I just can’t have that.”
“Good to have you back in action, Corporal Spence. I’ll chew your ass later for something or other, but for now, you’re doing the right thing. Go save our Marine.” Cain sounded tired, bone tired.
Spence acknowledged the order and signed off. He reviewed the map one last time, then closed the window.
He had everything he needed. He flexed his legs, trying to work out the woodiness that gripped him. Spence looked at Tobiah. ‘As fast as you can run, my friend,’ he told him.
They broke from cover together and the human looked like he was wading through water at first, but started to pick up speed as he went. Tobiah flashed across the opening then hesitated.
The sound of breaking glass shocked them both. Spence took a hard left and started to zigzag. The laser beam gouged the pavement where he’d just been. A second beam lashed out and missed.
In a tan flash, Tobiah bolted for the trees and disappeared into the foliage. Spence gritted his teeth, finding new energy to dodge and weave. He took some comfort in the fact that the bot was only shooting at him.
With the last zig in the open, he dove for the trees, feeling the
heat of a beam as it passed through his backpack. Spence assumed that his ballistic vest would have helped, except that they didn’t bring them because of the weight. In the effort to balance mobility and armor, mobility won out in the heavy gravity of Heimdall.
Spence crawled forward on his hands and knees until he was behind a tree. He stood up and breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Here it comes,’ Tobiah warned. The bot had launched itself out the window and dropped until it stopped less than a meter above the pavement. It moved forward, not with great speed, but unerringly toward the tree behind which Spence hid.
He pulled his blaster and wondered who had dialed it to a narrow beam, but he accepted that it had been done for a reason while he was out. He breathed quickly, psyching himself up for imminent combat. He leaned around the tree and saw the bot approaching.
Spence fired into the bot, hitting it in the center of its squarish metal body.
It immediately returned fire, sending beam after beam into the tree. They cut through the trunk and the tree cracked, as it could no longer support itself. It fell into its neighbor, perched precariously for a moment then leaned and fell back toward the roadway where the bot hovered.
Spence ran the other way, found another tree to hide behind, and leaned around it to take aim. The bot was nowhere to be seen. Tobiah appeared at his side, then scrambled up the side of the tree to find a better place from which to see and give warning to his human.
The branches settled as the fallen tree lay on its side, killed far before its time. The bot worked its way among the branches and rose until it was clear. Spence fired twice more, hitting it cleanly both times before it returned fire.
Lightning arced through the air from the far side of the road and enveloped the bot. The arc danced across the metal surface until it crackled out, then another arc took its place. Spence fired into the Wolfoid lightning adding his firepower to theirs. Another arc lanced into the bot from behind, then a fourth arc appeared.
The bot exploded in a spectacular kaleidoscope of color. Spence wiped the sweat from his forehead using the back of his arm. ‘Any more of those things out there?’ he asked.
‘I don’t see anything. Your squad approaches,’ Tobiah replied.
“Does no one follow orders?” Spence asked Zisk as he approached.
“Duty first,” the Lizard Man answered through his vocalization device. “Shall we?”
Stalker and Leaper appeared from the other direction. Spence gave them the thumbs up and nodded his thanks.
“I’m here to climb your tree,” Spence offered as he put his blaster back in its holster.
Stinky and Stalker waved for him to follow, and he gave the same signal to his squad. The group set off as a squad of Marines would, spread out, weapons aimed away from their fellows, crouching and moving tactically from cover to cover.
The lieutenant stopped below a large tree and pointed upward. Spence jogged to them, feeling as if he’d sprinted. He worked to catch his breath while Tobiah ran up the tree.
Spence shrugged out of his pack, realizing that he wasn’t sweating as badly as he thought. The bot’s laser had cut through two water bags and four of his meals. The corporal had a mix of water and tomato sauce trailing down his back and into his trousers.
At least it wasn’t blood.
‘I need your help,’ Tobiah told Spence.
“On my way, big man,” he replied aloud, unhitching his weapons belt to be as light and lean as possible.
He looked at the tree, picked a spot, spit on his hands, and rubbed them together. He grabbed a protruding vein of wood tightly and started walking bent over, pulling himself up as he went. When he reached the lowest branch, he climbed onto it, then reached up and pulled himself to the next branch.
The climb was a challenge in heavy gee, but not impossible. Spence had always prided himself on his agility. He was small and wiry. This day, that was what they needed.
He reached the branch where Ascenti was wedged. Spence straddled it and crawled out. When he reached the Hawkoid, he wasn’t sure what to do. Tobiah crouched low on the other side.
Spence wrapped one arm around the branch to support the injured Marine from below. He started untangling one wing, which elicited a squawk of protest. Spence apologized, but kept going. The second wing was half-gone. The wound was mostly cauterized and had congealed in the areas where it had torn free after the laser had done its damage.
The corporal pushed up from below and freed the Hawkoid. Ascenti’s eyes shot wide as he thought he’d fall, but Spence cradled the Marine to his chest, smoothing his feathers and looking at how to get down.
He prepared to climb using only one hand when Commander Daksha appeared. A small, orange ‘cat jumped to the branch beside Spence, freeing space within the pillowed saddle that the Tortoid carried.
Spence carefully placed the Hawkoid within and BJ jumped back aboard, helping to hold the Marine steady. Daksha started descending immediately and Spence leaned too far in his rush to help. Tobiah hooked a claw into the human’s harness and pulled him back.
The corporal’s heart pounded in his chest.
‘Be careful,’ his ‘cat cautioned unhelpfully.
Together they climbed down to find Ascenti getting numbweed, water, and a bandage.
They rigged a small stretcher using Spence’s ruined backpack. He could think of no better use for it.
Stinky activated the communication device on his harness. “We have Private Asenti and we are on our way to shuttle number one.”
The lieutenant pointed with his lightning spear and the team moved out. The Hawkoid rode on the Tortoid’s shell. Stinky held out a short length of rope. Daksha seized it in his beak-like mouth. The Wolfoid dropped to all fours and started running.
The humans stayed on the flanks and struggled, but they kept up. The group maintained their spacing in case any unwanted visitors showed up. All had their weapons at the ready, just in case.
And they had the ultimate anti-bot weapon with them. The Tortoid’s focused thunderclap was an instant kill.
Truth
Cain couldn’t express how happy he was that they’d reached the shuttle without a bot encounter. The ship was sealed, just as they’d left it, and the generators hummed as they pulled in oxygen and hydrogen from the air.
Second squad had Ascenti and was on their way to Cain’s position. Cain thought things were looking up.
‘Jolly, any news from the ship? Are they seeing anything down here, energy signatures, movements of bots, I don’t know, something?’ Cain wondered.
‘Rand here. How are things going, Cain?’ the captain asked via the connection that Jolly had established.
‘You know me pretty well, Skipper, so how do you think they’re going?’ Cain replied, sounding more sarcastic than he intended.
‘Shot up and running for your lives?’ Rand suggested.
‘You forgot the part where we scattered to the four winds and we are trying to find our way back to each other, but yes, pretty much what you said. No losses, but Ascenti is in bad shape. With the commander’s help, we were able to recover him from the top of a tree. Otherwise, we’re hunkered down and waiting for the shuttles to recharge so we can get the hell out of here. These bots are unreal and nothing bigger than a fox is left as the indigenous population.’
There was a hesitation while Rand thought about what the major had said. ‘You think the bots killed the people?’
‘There’s no doubt about that, but what we’re not sure of is why,’ Cain replied, kneeling as he pointed to where he wanted his people to settle in. ‘We’re going to establish a perimeter and prepare to wait. I hope we are back home in a few days.’
Cain signed off. Ellie was asleep again. He couldn’t blame her. He was done. “Can anyone keep their eyes open?” he asked over the comm channel.
Not a single affirmative came back.
Then it’s me, Cain thought.
“One hundred percent rack time. Get some sleep
, people, but keep your weapons close by,” Cain ordered.
‘Jolly, can you watch over us using the shuttle’s systems? Maybe you can give us some warning. I’m not going to be able to stay awake, but you give the alarm in case anything comes,’ Cain told the AI.
‘Sleep well, Cain. I have the watch,’ Jolly replied firmly.
***
Stinky wasn’t able to maintain the pace for long. He called a halt, but after a brief argument, Commander Daksha continued alone. They didn’t know why the bot had fired at Ascenti, but it hadn’t fired at the Wolfoids or the Hillcats.
Daksha thought the large group was more of a skyline than a single Tortoid slowly moving through the area.
Slow and steady wins the race, Daksha thought to himself. Stinky gave BJ a few strips of beef jerky. The ‘cat dug into it as one starved. Stalker gave her supply to him, but told the small ‘cat that it was for the Hawkoid.
Spence and Silas combined their jerky to feed their ‘cats, who hadn’t complained. Hillcats were known to be vocal when they were hungry.
“When’s the last time you ate?” Spence asked quietly.
‘Since you mentioned it…’ Tobiah started. ‘And for the record, this planet sucks.’
Cygnus Arrives: Humanity Returns Home (Cygnus Space Opera Book 3) Page 10