Jet Black and the Impossible Forest #4

by John Stevenson

you go after him?"

  "I have just said he is an important customer with many connections so we have to have a kind of acceptance. As I say he's only getting over and above what we wanted in the first place."

  "And this has to do what with us in our prison cells; make us feel better?"

  "Prison is not the only option."

  Jet was suspicious. "But after what you have sad?"

  "What I said was to make sure you knew your alternative."

  "Alternative: then we have an alternative?"

  "Yes you do: in a short while from now you could fly the spaceship away from here."

  "We can leave in the Flyer: free?" gasped Jet.

  "No, we will not give up our claim to your apprehension; or the spacecraft, what we won't do is pursue it as a priority; at least as long as we have an agreement."

  Jet looked at the others; their relief on their faces told him they felt the same. "Okay; so where from here?"

  "What I need to know is everything you know: every last detail; all signed and certified so that in the event you renege on our proposition the documents can be handed over to the galactic militia's corruption investigation branch and you will be pursued under the full force of the law."

  "You want us to sign and document our guilt?"

  "Is there any doubt?"

  "There's always a clever lawyer."

  "Yes I know; we have them all."

  "And in return?" said Chub disdainfully.

  Rackham smiled, "Yes there is a condition."

  Jet looked straight at him, "And one we probably won't like?"

  "Well on occasion; maybe not."

  "On occasion," now Rosie spoke. "That sounds like were on a string?"

  "You cost the Alliance a lot of money."

  "That you just said it can afford to lose." Jet smiled.

  "All things have their price, and you have already had a great credit, and there may be times when; well time will tell."

  "So what do you want doing that you don’t want to be seen doing?"

  "Tell me if any of you have ever heard of the KallagahnIII?"

  "Well there it is." Rosie said indifferently.

  "I'll take your word for that," muttered Chub.

  "You should," she said without looking back at him. "At least it's somewhere down there."

  Below them the planet was hidden in darkness, the dim light from the closest ex-sun incapable of making anything discernible.

  Rosie glanced at the readout. "The coordinates put us about fifteen thousand klicks away, but we can't trust them anymore; the planets orbital speed and positioning change too erratically. The magnetometer is probably better so I'm switching to sensor search."

  They stared at the screen as they closed in.

  "Absolute dark," said Jet. "Not a glimmer; not a reflection, not a single solitary light. What have we got on this place?"

  "Pretty average world Chemically." said Chub. "Part of a binary system as half the planets are. No significant tectonic or volcanic activity; too old and too large. Still warmed from beneath by high pressure steam; scalding so we shouldn’t get caught in any down pours. Poor meteorological system and the frequent rain is mainly returning steam. Towards the top end size of habitable planets; any much higher gravity and you'd need an exosuit just to walk about. No oceans but plenty of surface water in the form of streams and bogs. It probably tells enough about the place to say that almost all we know about it was discovered in the process of the KallagahnIII rescue."

  "It sounds just the place for a holiday," grumbled Rosie.

  Chub ignored her as he carried on. "The air is breathable without respirators as long as we take oxygen capsules."

  Now Rosie just grunted.

  Jet ignored her. "Hopefully we won't be outside much."

  "Hope your right Jet, but the planets covered in thick vegetation. It's been a while since the clearings were cut for the rescue so it's likely they have re-vegetated. Could be we won't be able to set down right alongside."

  Jet sighed. "Hard going; bogs; poor air: not the best conditions for a hike."

  "I wish it was that easy Jet." Chub smiled, in a kind of sarcastic way. "Trek more like: it's jungle."

  "You didn’t mention the wild animals," Rosie said acidly.

  "I though you already knew?"

  Her voice rose slightly in disbelief, "You mean there are wild animals?"

  "It's just one big food chain."

  "And we're at the bottom?" added Jet.

  "Not actually Jet: close. It's all carnivore; bacteria and maggots at the bottom: people are still arguing which came first; the chicken and the egg you know."

  Jet smiled, "Then maybe we can solve a scientific conundrum while were here?"

  Chub shrugged, "Maybe; anyway small reptiles eat the.."

  "Reptiles?" said Rosie questioningly. "No Mammalia?"

  "None that anyone knows of, but research on this place has hardly scratched the surface."

  "Okay," said Rosie, leaving a pause so long that Chub almost began speaking again. "So you're suggesting it's dinosaurs?"

  "I'm not suggesting anything, but for every food chain there's something big at the top."

  "Okay," said Jet sharply, "None of this is very helpful, other than an even better reason to find somewhere close by to set down: if only we can just see somewhere."

  "Could be hard Jet," began Chub again. "The vegetation is nutrient deficient: the leaves; at least what pass as leaves, are just part of the trunk material."

  "Then how does the photosynthesis process work?"

  "Rudimentary is the word used: the vegetation is black; it's all black; every blade of grass; every leaf; every frond: everything is black."

  "Hey Jet," Rosie added cheerily. "A planet designed with you in mind."

  "There's the signal," Rosie turned to them. "It's spread out over a larger area than I expected; are you sure we will be able to find the compartment?"

  Jet shrugged. "Rackham seemed confident."

  "Smug bastard," added Chub.

  "Land as close as you can Rosie."

  "Not easy Jet; other than landing right on to the vegetation. It's thick for some distance all around."

  "Close as its possible then."

  "Radar has picked up a sand bank in the lee of the river flow; that’s about it."

  "Then it will have to do."

 

  "Right," said Jet with a cheery attitude, hiding his reluctance to leave the safe confines of the Flyer. "We have everything?" In turn he looked at Rosie and Chub for their indication. They each looked at him; neither giving any indication they knew what they were in for; Jet was sure he did. He had been on route marches in the military, sometimes moving faster than he felt he could, and sometimes under fire. They were brutal; agonizing and seemed to never end. He pushed the doubts aside thinking; it's only two klick's. "Then let's do it."

  As he emerged into the gloom his wrist light activated, cutting a narrow cone into the vegetation, and immediately entered a monochrome world.

  The sensors had revealed the larger trunks; either jutting up in front of them, or tumbled across their path; but what it hadn't shown was the almost wall of vine and fern that filled every gap. It was vastly different from what he knew; a heavy canopy starves light to leave a lose area of ferns below; here the penetrating sunlight had no influence, and the ferns had gone mad.

  In the distance there was plenty of sound, and even though there was no noise close by he had no doubt they were being watched. "Whatever's out here has better eyesight than us, so careful where you step; what you rub up against, or what you touch."

  Jet turned on the laser on his other wrist and sharp beam leapt out slashing a line across a section of fern. The fronds shook and tumbled to the forest floor. Taking a deep breath he stepped forward his arm arcing in a slow sweep: vegetation began to shake and fall before them.

  They had been moving slowly forward for only a very short time before Chub asked what Jet was su
rprised nobody had asked before. "Could be rough coming back Jet; we're sure the gurney can levitate enough?"

  "If the packages weigh what their supposed to it should be; there's plenty enough hydrogen in the inflation bags."

  "And we can't use it to go over there?" Chub said hopefully.

  "You mean us?"

  "No the gear: tools, detectors; drinks?"

  "You’ve only got ten-K in the pack."

  "Yea, but ten-K is ten-K."

  Jet smiled but deep down he was concerned; it was too soon to get thoughts like that in their heads. They pushed on in silence.

  The noise of the engines probably scared whatever had been there on landing into silence; but almost as soon as they left the ship, and everything returned to whatever had been normal, the creature sounds had begun. Roars; squeals and shrieks bounced from tree to tree making it impossible to know from where they had come, or how far they had traveled.

  Beside the fern they cut through vines made up the highest percentage of vegetation; and while there was apparently zero sunlight everything still made some attempt to thrust or climb upward. The vines themselves sprouted barbs, hooks, spikes, and tendrils of every description. The roots seemed shallow and it wasn’t far before they saw what apparently made up a major source of nutrients: an unrecognizable furry creature had become entangled.

  "Don’t get hooked up," warned Jet

  "I don’t think it just got snared," said Rosie. "Look at the litter around it; it's flattened and spread out, not scattered and torn. However it died it was quick."

  "Poisonous plants; great," muttered Chub.

  "I'm not so sure Chub," she said hesitantly. "We don’t have any idea of the toxins here; the flora we're used to don’t act instantly so the creature would still have gone into spasm. I think it's more likely a type of venom."

  "Even better,"