Date: 2018-10-02 07:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction
Description: The mission Jonah White Eagle and his Fierce Eagle Company had taken was nearly impossible. Land on the middle of a 7.5-mile-high plateau, walk six miles to the edge of the cliff, and scale down the 39,000-foot-high cliffs to the foothills of the canyon below. Nothing to it, right? But then there was the swamp they had to cross, full of large indigenous life forms that thought Humans made good snacks. And the rivers, full of other killers, they would have to negotiate. And then there were the Xlatan, a race of six-legged killers guarding the target. A relatively new mercenary race, although on
Publisher: Seventh Seal Press

When Eagles Dare

Book Five of the Four Horsemen Tales

By

Doug Dandridge

PUBLISHED BY: Seventh Seal Press

Copyright © 2018 Doug Dandridge

All Rights Reserved

* * * * *

Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Shattered Crucible”

and discover other Seventh Seal Press titles at:

http://chriskennedypublishing.com/

* * * * *

Cover Design by Brenda Mihalko

Original Art by Ricky Ryan

* * * * *

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

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Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

About the Author

Excerpt from Book One of the Omega Wars:

Excerpt from Book One of In Revolution Born:

Excerpt from Book One of the Salvage Title Trilogy:

* * * * *

Chapter One

“I really don’t like this,” groaned Sandra Clemenceau, holding her sniper rifle tightly as the shuttle bucked from the turbulence of the drop. The pert blond stared with wide blue eyes at the padded interior as the ship shook again.

“What’s not to like?” Ivan Zhukov asked, turning a sharp heavy blade over in his scarred hands. “We’re coming down like a rock and hoping we aren’t spotted by the people we’ve come to kill. What could be better?”

Jonah White Eagle snorted, glad that the pair, two of his oldest employees, could banter. It helped to relieve the tension of a drop. Of course, Ivan was correct. If their prey saw them coming, there could be trouble. Which was why they were taking this top-of-the-world route.

“Fifteen minutes to touchdown, sir,” the pilot called back from the cockpit. “Sure you don’t want to be up here?”

Jonah took a look around the compartment they were riding in. It was the utilitarian green of military vehicles of Earth make. Web chairs were all they had to sit in, though at least they came with straps to hold them in if things got rough. Not the newest thing in orbit-to-ground transport, but it was tried-and-true technology, and the best they could afford.

“I’m fine, Ed. I’d rather have the pair of you up there handling this part.”

He looked over at the Tri-V map. They were coming down over a thousand miles from the cliff edge, toward the middle of the seven-and-a-half-mile high plateau that made up most of the only large continent on the planet Kalagart. It was hoped that they wouldn’t be picked up coming in like this, since the enemy had no known satellites in orbit. Touchdown would be six miles from the cliff, and they would walk to it. Nothing to it, thought the Apache-descended leader. He’d taken much longer hikes with a lot more equipment.

He looked over at his partner, the second-in-command and Vice President of the Fierce Eagle Company. Charley Thapa was a Gurkha, a born mountaineer, but even he had evidenced some trepidation at scaling the thirty-nine-thousand-foot-high cliffs down to the foothills of the canyon.

Nothing to it, Jonah told himself again, trying to calm the pre-mission butterflies fluttering through his stomach. Once they were down in the canyon, they’d be fine. It was the kind of territory they were used to operating in, forest and jungle.

He took another look at the Tri-V as the shuttle straightened out to fly low over the terrain. Kalagart was one unusual bitch of a planet. The eighteen and a half million square miles of the primary continent was divided into two completely different environments. In the canyonlands, a series of deep depressions carved millions of years before by the rivers flowing through them, the environment was much like many found on Earth and other planets. The canyonlands covered almost four million square miles, a little larger than the old United States.

The life forms in the canyonlands used the same amino acids and proteins as Earth life, meaning it was edible to Humans. Unfortunately, that also meant that Humans made good snacks for some of the larger beasts. They used different nucleotides, but still transmitted them between two sexes for reproduction.

The plateau biosphere had some similarities with the land below, and many more differences. The biologists thought that life in the thin, cold atmosphere came from the same biogenesis event that produced the lowland and ocean life, but it had evolved over billions of years since the uplift of the plateau to become very different. The animals had much lower metabolisms, with what amounted to anti-freeze in their blood, and enormous lungs. They were warmer than their environment, but not what most scientists would call warm-blooded. Humans could still eat the life there, but too much would cause alcohol poisoning.

It didn’t really matter if the life on the plateau was compatible or not, since they weren’t equipped for a long stay. Their high-tech outwear would help them blend in with the surroundings, and keep them warm enough in the short term, but they would have to carry their air with them or haul along a machine to concentrate oxygen and refill the tanks they had.

We’ll be there in three hours, he thought of the cliff face they would walk to, looking up the cabin at the rest of his team.

“I wish we could have brought our CASPers along,” Erik Menendez said, shaking his head.

The man was cross-trained in the combat armor. The company only had a trio of the suits, since they weren’t their standard mission equipment. For some reason, the contract hadn’t called for them to bring them, as there was no stated need for them. Ramos’ Ravagers were the heavy unit on this mission. Jonah had worked with them before, but that had been years earlier, and he wasn’t familiar with their current membership. Working with people he didn’t know well tended to make him nervous.

The twenty-five operatives he’d brought along were all good people. All had military training, and all had graded out at the top of their profession. Some still didn’t have enough experience to suit him, but with a little help, they’d be fine. He hoped.

Some were married; most weren’t, but they’d all left someone behind. Sandra had left a husband and some eggs, just in case she didn’t make it back. Most had girlfriends. Hell, even he had someone, though he was sure the couple he’d left his cat with would take care of her if something happened to him.

“Think we’ll take any scalps on this mission, Colonel?” one of his newer people asked.

“That’s not politically correct, Joey,” Charley said, putting his kukri back in its sheath.

“Then why’re you carrying that big bastard, Major?” Joseph Many Bears said, unable to keep the grin off his face. “And I’m Sioux, so I can say stuff like that.”

Joseph Many Bears was a full-blooded Sioux and a veteran of Earth’s defense force. Jonah thought he’d work out. Despite being raised on the Great Plains, he could move through brush as quietly as anyone the leader had ever seen.

“Just get us down,” Sandra said, gripping her rifle tightly. “And puppy,” she continued, looking at Many Bears, “I don’t think the people we’re going after have scalps. Not as we understand the term.”

“The Besquith do,” the smiling young man said. “I’d sure like to prove myself against one of them.”

“Then you’re crazy,” Ivan said, looking up from his own knife. “The only way to take down one of those monsters is with a large-caliber weapon like Sandra has.”

“The colonel took one down,” the young man said, looking over at Jonah.

“I was lucky. And we’re unlikely to run into any of them here.”

Jonah had studied the intelligent life forms they were likely to encounter. The native aborigines, the Kalagarta, were bipedal, with slime-covered skin and secondary gills. They could move fast enough on land, but they could really tear it up in the rivers. The species they thought of as the bosses was one Humans didn’t encounter too often. Large lumps of muscle called Groff, they still rated high on the intelligence scale, which was why they were running the operation. And then there were the Xlatan, a relative newcomer species to the mercenary game. They were supposed to be tough. Maybe not in the same class as the Besquith, but close enough.

“Not from what I heard. I heard…”

“We have company, Colonel,” called the pilot over the intercom.

“Who are they?” he asked, alarm bells going off in his mind. No one was supposed to know they were coming, and it seemed improbable that someone would be cruising along there at the same time by chance.

“I don’t know, sir. But the missiles hanging from the hull make me doubt they’re a short-hop shuttle.”

“Can you lose them?”

“I’m good, Colonel, but not that good. There’s no place to hide up here. Maybe if I can make it to the edge and down into the canyon.”

“Then push it.”

The engines sounded through the hull. The shuttle could go hypersonic, but they needed to think about dropping over the edge, not flying as an easy target over the lowlands where their enemies were located. He also didn’t think they’d be able to outrun whatever was on their tail. Definitely not their missiles.

“We have missile launch. Four birds in the air.”

Jonah changed the view of the Tri-V, pulling up a tactical plot that showed the four weapons streaking in. The following craft was just under a hundred miles back, and the missiles, accelerating quickly, would impact in seconds. The shuttle bucked a bit as the heat-producing and radar-spoofing countermeasures were launched.

One of the missiles disappeared, hit by the defensive tail lasers of the shuttle. Another went a moment later, then the third. Jonah was allowing himself to hope they’d get them all. If the enemy craft had more, it might not mean anything in the long run, but the longer they were alive the better their chances.

Everyone now had their helmets on and chin straps set. A few had pulled out the oxygen masks they’d planned to use in hiking to the edge and climbing down. Not everybody had thought that far ahead.

“Masks on,” Jonah ordered, pulling out his own.

“Hold on!” the pilot yelled as the craft yawed to the side, then pitched downward.

Something boomed in the air outside, then objects clanged into the hull. A couple of holes appeared, and one of the new people gasped as red fluid burst from his chest. Jonah looked on in horror. If he could get to the man, he might be able to save his life. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get to him with the ship pitching and bucking, and the trooper bled out without ever getting to use his skills on the mission.

There was another boom, and this time the shuttle bucked as if it had hit a wall. Jonah shook his head, feeling the strange fuzziness of a concussion. The upper part of the compartment became the floor, then they hit the ground. Luckily their angle was good, and they went into a slide.

What if we go over the edge? he thought as the craft rolled again. The straps kept him in place, but like everyone else, he was tossed around within the grip of the belts.

Something hit the colonel in the helmet, hard enough to make his vision blur at first, then blacken. His last thought as consciousness fled was that this was it. The mission was over, and his life with it.

* * *

“Should we go down and make sure?” the pilot asked in the high-pitched growling voice of the Xlatan.

“No,” said the leader, Mmrash, looking down at the wrecked shuttle.

The elongated hull of the craft lay where it had slashed into the ground, raising berms of frozen earth around its path through several hundred yards of land. Wisps of smoke rose into the thin air through slashes in the hull. Some of those spots still glowed red.

Twitching his ears in the manner of his kind, Mmrash spoke. “They’re done, and it looks cold as the hells down there. We’d be wasting our time, and I look forward to some food. I hear they’re preparing some of the slower-working aborigines.” He smiled, showing his sharp carnivore’s teeth. “Fresh meat tonight.”

Xlatan weren’t obligate carnivores and could get by on grains and some select vegetables. Still, meat was preferred, and they weren’t picky where the meat came from.

“Perhaps I should put a couple of missiles into them,” the anxious pilot replied. “Make sure.”

“We already used six missiles as it is,” the leader growled, staring into the eyes of the pilot from the co-pilot’s seat. “We won’t be getting any more for the foreseeable future, and I’m ready to be clear of this depressing landscape.”

The pilot gave a brisk ear twitch, and the tufts stood up. With two upper hands gripping the wheel and the two lower ones on the levers on the sides of the chair, he started the craft on its way, rising up and turning to head for the cliff. The frozen landscape passed by below until they reached a spot where the cliff could be seen. In moments they were over the canyonlands, the pilot angling them down on a course for the camp.

* * *

While they flew low over the tops of the trees, the pilot worried about what the boss might say. He glanced over at the commander sitting his chair, lower arms crossed over his stomach while the upper pair held a reader.

The pilot wasn’t so sure they shouldn’t have checked on the shuttle and made sure all were dead. But he wasn’t in command, and it was up to the officer to make the decisions. Just as it would be the officer who would pay the price if the boss wasn’t satisfied with that decision. He still worried some of the backlash might trickle down and affect the rest of the company.

With a huff of breath, the pilot put all worries behind him and paid attention to his job, getting them back in one piece. It was an easy job, after all, since there was nothing below capable of knocking them out of the sky.

* * *

“Sir,” a faint voice said as something touched Jonah’s face lightly.

A strong, astringent, chemical smell came to his nostrils, and he coughed as consciousness returned. There was a faint ache in his head, and some blurring of his eyes.

“What happened?” he asked, looking up into the face he recognized as Ivan’s. “Are we okay?”

“We’re alive,” Ivan said with a frown. “That’s as okay as it’s going to get right now. The shuttle is down, and we’re quite a way from the cliff.”

“Can we get her up again?”

“Not a chance,” Charley said, pulling off his oxygen mask as he made his way through the cabin. “The only way this bird is going to fly again is if we get her to a repair depot.”

Jonah focused his eyes and took in his surroundings, while his other senses probed the environment. Air was whistling from the holes in the hull, while the odors of vomit and the loose bowels of the dead permeated the cabin. Air hissed in the distance as the life support system tried to make up for the loss of air.

“Sandra and a couple of the lads are outside, patching up the hull,” Charley said. “I figured we’d want to keep what air we had while we made ready to leave.”

“And our friends?”

“Just flew off toward the lowlands,” the Gurkha said, shaking his head. “They must have thought we were all dead.”

“Damned sloppy of them,” Jonah said, unstrapping himself from the webbing so he could get to his feet. He wobbled for a moment before he trusted himself to step away from his chair. “How many did we lose?”

“The flight crew and two of the troopers,” Charley said, closing his eyes and grimacing as he finished speaking.

“Trooper Patrick,” Jonah said, recalling the death of the man he’d witnessed before he’d lost consciousness. He thought of the young recruit, his smiling, freckled face and Irish accent. He’d been so proud to be hired by the specialist merc company. He’d died before his boots had ever touched the surface of a planet other than Earth.

“Yeah. Him and Kowalski,” Charley said, naming the dead, making them real for Jonah. “And the pilots, Rodriguez and Xu. Their compartment took a direct hit. There’s not enough left for identification.”

The colonel closed his eyes again, picturing the other dead men. Two of the men had been veterans. Paulo Kowalski had been with the company since the start, while Raul Rodriguez, the pilot, had joined over a year ago. Lydia Xu, the copilot, had signed on just three months prior.

“We should be okay in here,” Charley said, gesturing around the cabin. “We have the backup fuel cells going, so we have heat, and the air recycler should keep us going for as long as it takes for someone to come find us.”

“That’s the problem,” Jonah said, shaking his head, then stopping as the headache struck. “The ‘someone coming to find us’ might not be who we want it to be. So we’re going to unass this thing as soon as possible and hit the road.”

“Where to?” Charley asked, the slight smile on his lips telling Jonah that he knew where they were going.

“We still have a mission, and I’ll be damned if the Fierce Eagle Company doesn’t fulfill a contract. So we’ll gear up, grab whatever we can take, and head for the cliffs.”

* * * * *

Chapter Two

The fans whirled to life as the ground support shuttle slowed to under a hundred knots and swung around above the compound. A dozen prefab buildings sat on one side of the landing pad, including a large hangar with an open door. It would be night in about six hours, and at that time, light would be spilling out of the buildings. The lights around the perimeter would turn night into day across the miles of clear-cut jungle outside the compound. The berm around the facility protected them from the raids the natives insisted on conducting despite the cost, and eight high towers with laser-armed guards watched the surrounding territory.

A separate compound with a high double fence sat five hundred yards to the north, housing most of the aborigines who were being used as forced labor for the project. Some were kept in the main compound, where they could be at hand for service. The administration building and several buildings of quarters sat near the center. They were much more sturdily constructed. A few bunkers were scattered about.

The project itself was going strong; the machines shredding and pulping vegetation whirring away. All the plants on this lower world contained a biochemical that worked as a combination rejuvenation drug and aphrodisiac for a large number of alien species, although it did nothing for the native animal life. Unfortunately, the concentration was low in most of the plants, so they had to process an enormous amount to get enough of the chemical to make the project worthwhile.

The soil of this part of the canyonlands was the best growing area for vegetation with the highest concentrations of the chemical, what they were calling Invigorate in a number of alien tongues. Someone higher up in the Syndicate had suggested growing the plants in greenhouses on another world. Finance, though, had pointed out it would cost four times what they spent on local harvesting to build the infrastructure needed for farming, with no guarantee the plants would do as well. Also, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t spread across other worlds, which could cause an ecological disaster. The only ecological disaster they would allow was the one that destroyed the environment of the central canyonlands.

Damn abos, Mmrash thought as he looked down on a couple of bodies laid out by the hangar prior to disposal. One was a Xlatan, while the other two were members of one of the species being used as technicians on the project. All had the long shafts of native spears sticking out of their bodies. The leader wasn’t surprised the soft-skinned sophonts had been killed, but one of his people? They wore body armor and had a tough wiry fur that made penetration by abo weapons difficult. It didn’t happen often, but it did happen. Soon they’d have to go out and strike the abos again, burn down the closest villages, and capture more workers. Teach them the lesson they didn’t seem able to learn.

“We’re down,” the pilot said as the craft’s landing jacks bumped on the pad.

“Hand the ship off to the maintenance crews, then take some time off,” the leader said, getting up from his seat and reaching for the controls to the warrior compartment. The males inside looked expectantly at the commander, their rough speech ceasing. “Get some food in you. I don’t think we’ll be going out again until morning.”

“Back to the plateau?” asked an underofficer, or sergeant, who was the male in charge of the section of ten warriors.

“I think not. We’ve taken care of those people, but I think there’ll be another expedition against the natives, and soon.”

There was much good-natured growling at his pronouncement. Xlatan could eat just about anything that didn’t clog up or poison their tough digestive system, but the natives, what they called the Kalagarta, were especially delicious to their palates. After an expedition against them, there was always fresh meat.

The commander continued back to the exit hatch, enjoying the sound of happy males discussing what would be coming the next day. He cracked the hatch, let it swing out and down, then stalked to the ground. The odor of decaying bodies hit his sensitive nostrils; the bodies of the dead Xlatan and the technicians had been rotting throughout the day.

“Can’t you do something about the carrion?” he asked one of the males on evening sentry duty.

“When we get the order, Commander,” the warrior replied.

A pair of the abos ran by, hopping forward on their short legs with surprising speed. One was well ahead of the other, and they were both aiming for a portion of the fence that had been slated for increased height. The work hadn’t been done, and, with a running start, the abos could jump over it.

Two Xlatan were chasing them, probably the guards from the slave compound who’d somehow let them get by. They were both on all six limbs, low to the ground. They couldn’t shoot from this stance, and their rifles were slung over their backs. It looked like the foremost one was going to catch his prey as his limbs propelled him over the ground. A couple more leaping strides, and he was on the abo, his four hundred pounds of bone and muscle landing on the being’s back and bearing him to the ground. Jaws closed while retractable claws slashed, and the native died with a spurting of blackish-red blood.

The other guard staggered to a stop, at the end of his endurance; Xlatan couldn’t run far. They had evolved as sprinting ambush hunters, and no amount of training could make them distance runners. The male crouched on all six limbs, staring at the back of the escaping native.

“Shoot him, you idiot!” Mmrash yelled.

The male looked back at him for a moment, his tail working in a corkscrew while his ear tufts twitched, signs of the anxiety he must have felt at recognizing his commander. He stood up quickly, brought the rifle to an upper shoulder, aimed, and fired. The laser hit the native dead center in his back, and the body that hit the ground a moment later was so obviously dead it didn’t need confirmation. Nothing survived having its entire chest cavity incinerated like that.

Most of these males couldn’t take a crap without orders, the leader thought. That was a fault with his people. That he was one of the few with initiative had resulted in his promotion out of the ranks, though some days he wished he hadn’t accepted the elevation. Seeing the male walking toward him, he thought this might be another of those days.

“The Boss wants to see you, Commander. And just a warning. He isn’t happy.”

When is he ever? Mmrash thought, nodding his thanks and changing his path, heading toward the administration building, the largest in the compound after the hangar.

The admin building had planters on either side of the entrance with flowering plants. That was an affectation the Xlatan couldn’t understand. The Xlatan didn’t run this operation, however. They were merely security, the muscle the people running this operation needed to force at least grudging cooperation from the natives.

The two guards gave the Xlatan commander a rifle salute as he approached. He glared at the aliens, some small, soft species who wore a powered armor that made them fierce warriors. The commander snorted at that thought. As if any species that needed that kind of augmentation could be warriors. Like the puny Humans they had just shot down.

The secretary, a stout, furred species with wrinkled gray skin showing through the tufts, like that of the boss, waved him through the office door after she’d chimed the intercom. The commander wondered if the boss was getting some on the side from his secretary. Not that he could see anything attractive in her, but to their species, she might be a great beauty.

“Tell me about the mission,” said the boss, sitting behind a large desk that screamed I am in charge, a smoking stick of some foul-smelling vegetation hanging from his lips.

“What’s to tell? We shot them down. They’re on the plateau, where their bones will remain when the scavengers get through with them.”

“You confirmed that they were dead?” the boss asked, pulling the smoking cylinder from his mouth and pointing it at the Xlatan. “You saw the bodies?”

“No need. There’s no way they could have survived going down like that. And even if they did, what of it? They’ll soon freeze to death in that hell up there.”

“Idiot,” shrieked the boss, standing up and tossing his smoking weed down on the desk.

The being stood to his full height of two and a half yards. The Xlatan was almost of a height, but the alien out-massed him by fifty percent, and the large claws on the hands showed that this being was also a predator, or at the very least a fierce omnivore. The commander wasn’t sure he could take the boss in a fight, and he wasn’t about to test it.

“Idiot,” the boss shrieked again, glaring at the senior officer of his security. “You didn’t make sure. You were already up there, and you didn’t make sure.”

“What’s the big deal? They’re just a bunch of soft Humans. No real threat.”

“No real threat? You idiot, those were the Humans who ruined our hostage scheme. The leader of that group of ‘soft Humans’ killed a Besquith in hand-to-hand combat. Without one of their armored suits.”

“No,” Mmrash growled, taking a step back. “A Human, killing one of them without a suit? I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it. And they’re here to scout this installation so a larger force with their suits can take us out.”

“Why?”

“Who cares why,” the boss growled in a dangerous tone, one that sent a shiver down the commander’s spine. “It only matters that they’re here to shut us down. This operation is making our cartel a fortune, which is making the directors happy. And when they’re happy, credits flow into my accounts, which makes me happy. And when I’m happy, so are you. When I’m not…”

The boss shook his head. “I knew we should have gotten Besquith for this job, but there weren’t any available. So we had to settle on you. Well, after this we might not be using you again.”

Mmrash felt a shiver of fear run up his spine. His people were poor, barely as advanced as the Humans. The credits they were earning would grant them purchasing power with the rest of the galaxy, and the technology they were stealing would eventually make them a power. If they were blackballed, they’d lose all of that, and he’d be blamed and punished by his people.

“What do you want me to do?” the commander asked, with the sinking feeling he wasn’t going to be sitting down to a good meal anytime soon.

“I want you to get your ass back up there and make sure. Make really sure. Land and look over the shuttle. And if you don’t find enough bodies, I want you to search for the rest. Understood?”

“But…”

“I said, understood? And the only answer I want to hear is yes. Understood?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Fail me again and I’ll have your body staked out on an insect bed. Then the damned things can eat your flesh.”

The Xlatan shook slightly. That was not a warrior’s death. With his people, it was a criminal’s death, the supreme insult to honor. He’d revolt with his people against this boss before he allowed that to happen. And then the Syndicate would track them all down and make sure they were dead. His own species wasn’t above hiring out to track down their own kind, for enough credits.

“I’ll get them,” he blurted out, turning and walking from the office before he could say anything else that might get him into more trouble.

On the way back to the hangar, he wondered how the boss had found out about what he’d done up on the plateau. The only answer he could come up with was the pilot.

He will regret betraying me, he thought as he quickened his step toward the hangar. There was nothing he could do to the pilot now. He only had the bare minimum of pilots to fly the ships he had. But the day would come when the male would learn that betraying a superior came with dire consequences.

His eyes involuntarily sought the large rounded building near the hangar. He shuddered as he thought about the being quartered there. The boss’ trump card, and something he never wanted to face. Alone and unarmed, he wouldn’t stand a chance. Even with the rest of his people it would be a hard fight. Fortunately it couldn’t stand the cold, so at least where he was going, he was safe. For the time being.

* * *

“Are we ready?” Jonah asked, looking over his people.

Everyone had on their standard camo uniforms with two layers of heavy winter clothing over the top. They were covered from head to foot, nothing exposed, breathing masks covering their lower faces. All were burdened with every bit of equipment they could carry. Weapons, rations, oxygen tanks, climbing gear, even a compressor unit that would give them a resupply of air, enough to make it if they didn’t push it too hard.

“What if we said no?” Sandra asked, holding the strap of her rifle over her shoulder. “Would it make any difference?”

“Not a bit,” Jonah said after a short laugh. “We need to get going before they come back.”

“You think they will?” Charley asked, making a last-second check on his breathing mask valve. He fiddled with it a second, then gave a grunt of satisfaction.

“I don’t know why they didn’t land next to us to make sure in the first place,” Jonah replied, checking the seal on his breathing mask. “Maybe that craft couldn’t. I want to be out of here before someone with enough brain cells to think gets them back up here.”

Charley nodded, taking a step toward the hatch and hitting the panel. The hatch started down, and the air rushed out in a flurry of ice crystals. The Gurkha ran down the hatch-turned-ramp and looked around. The rest of the team followed him down until everyone but Jonah was on the frozen surface. Twenty-one people bundled up against the killing cold, heads turning every which way.

Jonah walked out, first hitting the button on a small device near the hatch, then raising it by remote. He checked the temperature and air pressure on his helmet HUD. A nice, balmy minus ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit, with an atmospheric pressure of point two one Earth sea level. Fortunately, since the atmosphere at sea level on this world was slightly denser than Earth’s, and contained a higher percentage of oxygen, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. This was the tropics for this unlikely plateau, even if it was more inhospitable than Everest. Further north or south, away from the tropical regions of the world, it would have been much colder.

They had a little less than six hours of daylight to work with. Then the sun was down, and so was the temperature, and they could expect it to get up to forty degrees colder. Jonah wasn’t sure their gear would be enough.

Next time we’ll bring full environmental suits with us, he thought. If there is a next time.

He took another look at his people, making sure he could identify them from their clothing. He had no trouble picking out Charley, Ivan, and Sandra, and even Joseph Many Bears was easily recognizable, wearing his bear claw necklace outside his clothing. Manny Fernandez was also easy, since the man wore a large machete on his belt. Sarah Cohen had a large sniper rifle that looked too big for her to carry. She was an expert with the anti-material weapon, though, and she complemented Sandra to a tee. Basil Paudel was another of Gurkha origin, though born and raised in England, and was also carrying the trademark kukri.

Ujjal Singh Grewal was a giant of a man, a full six foot seven inches, with muscle to match. The Sikh heavy weapons specialist was easy to pick out even with his turban covered by his helmet. Asuka Yamashuri was as small as Ujjal was large. The Japanese was an expert in the ancient Japanese art of Ninjutsu, and actually carried an ancient blade strapped across his back. His wife Hotaru was also a Ninja and was just as deadly as her spouse. She carried a shorter blade, a wakizashi, on her belt.

Ahmed Mohammed and Yusef bin Sherif were easily distinguished by the tube and base plate of the small mortar they carried. The same was true of Amobi Kabir, the Nigerian grenadier who carried his large automatic weapon hung over his neck. Kevin Graham, an American-born former UN Marine, always wore a scarf around his neck, this time outside his heavy garb. The only laser the team had hung from a strap around his neck. He was not as tall as Ujjal but was probably more muscular. But even he paled in strength next to Avgust Babich, the Ukrainian-born explosives expert. His explosives bags distinguished him from the others.

He still had trouble telling Brynjar Thorwaldsson, Eric Menendez, and Achilles Antonopolis apart when they were wrapped up. Thorwaldsson was a fair-skinned Icelander, while Antonopolis was an olive-skinned Greek, and Menendez was a light-skinned Latino of Spanish origin. Since all were dressed in the same camouflage uniforms and carried the same weapons, they looked exactly the same to Jonah. He wouldn’t have that problem once they were down in the lowlands. Cheung Xou, a moderate-sized Chinese, was carrying the insulated bags of electronics equipment that was his specialty, and Dotty Farrah, the Tanzanian-born medic, of course had her own recognizable bags.

Satisfied he could recognize all of them while moving—when they reached the lowlands, anyway—Jonah gave his team one last thought. They were a good crew, one that had been handpicked for this mission. Paudel, bin Sherif, Graham, and Thorwaldsson were newcomers, but they’d served time in the military and had scored high on the operative qualification test the Fierce Eagles administered before hiring.

“Which way to the cliff?” he finally asked, looking over at Ivan. When the man answered through all the muffling face covering, he knew he’d been right.

“That way,” the Russian said, pointing. He could have, of course, consulted his own HUD for the direction, but the scout was always aware of direction.

Jonah looked around for a moment, taking in the terrain. It was more or less flat, with some low rolling hills to the south. Sparse vegetation sprouted here and there, enough for the grazing beasts to survive on. It wasn’t vegetation like down in the lowlands. The stalks were made up of tough ice crystals, while a slush of alcohol carried nutrients up from the roots.

A small animal hopped in the distance on a pair of legs held close to its body, its beady eyes looking their way. The animals were also strange, with bones made of an ice compound, and a similar alcohol-based blood system. The proteins in their bodies were edible, and they could eat the flesh of Humans, those that were carnivores. The temperature differential could be a killer though, for both forms of life.

“I think we’ll go in that direction,” he finally said, looking at a growth of larger plants the way he was pointing.

“That’s not the fastest way to the cliff,” Sandra said, intently studying the landscape in that direction.

“And it’s not the way they’ll start off looking,” Ivan said, nodding. “Good plan, Colonel.”

“Then let’s get going.” Jonah looked at the ground for a second, noting that there was mostly solid ice nearby, the equivalent of rock up here. “And everyone, watch where you’re placing your feet. I don’t want to leave a signpost pointing our way.”

Ivan started out walking at a slow but steady pace, the others falling in behind him. Jonah fell into the middle of the line, while Charley took the rear. A wind started howling, pushing at them from behind, as the cold air moved toward the cliff and the lower pressure below of hotter air over the canyon.

After they’d gone a couple of miles and were entering what looked to be a low-growth forest, Jonah looked back. He could see nothing that would betray their path. But then again, he wasn’t looking down from above.

* * *

“Put us down a couple of hundred yards to the north,” Mmrash said in a growl, looking with murderous intent at the pilot.

One day you will pay for acting like a spy, he thought, then shifted his attention back to the mission at hand. He wasn’t absolutely sure the pilot was the one that had betrayed him, but he couldn’t think of anyone else who would have had the chance. Being a member of a savage species, he felt no need to think deeply on the matter. His emotions had done the thinking for him, and he was satisfied with the answer they’d given him.

“Why so far away, Commander?”

“Because I don’t want to be lit up by anyone who might still be alive in there,” Mmrash said, his tone showing what he thought of the question. Idiot.

The gunship dropped toward the ground, its fans whirring at full power and blowing up a mist of snow and ice. In the thin air their VTOL fans had to work on overdrive to move what gas there was at a high enough speed to keep them up.

The ship bumped down to the ground harder than the commander would have wished. His teeth jarred together, and he bit his tongue. Tossing the pilot another angry glare, he unstrapped himself from the seat and made his way into the rear compartment.

His search team, ten tough males, were outfitted for the weather on the plateau. Even their hard-muscled and furred bodies wouldn’t stand up to that cold for more than a few minutes, and the lack of oxygen would incapacitate them even sooner, so all were in environmental suits made for the conditions, gripping their rifles, and in one case a rocket launcher, in gloved hands. The commander quickly sealed his own suit and donned his helmet, then nodded for his second to open the craft.

The air flushed out of the compartment as the pressure equalized, throwing up a small snowstorm of ice crystals. The commander grimaced as he thought about going out into the alien environment. His people were tough, but they preferred a hot, humid environment. Considering the lack of liquid water, the world outside was as dry a desert as existed on any Terrestrial planet.

The team spread out, making sure they had enough spacing so a single grenade or other explosive device wouldn’t take out more than two of them. They all moved in a crouch to present the smallest targets, middle limbs at times touching the ground, weapons at the ready in upper arms to quickly return fire. Mmrash was next to last on the left side of the formation, not giving his status away by position, but still taking the same risk as all his people. They wouldn’t respect a leader who did otherwise.

The commander held up a hand when they were a little less than a hundred yards from the craft. It looked dead, and most probably there was nothing alive in there. He needed to be sure. Knowing Humans, though, they might have set a trap. He wished he’d brought a few remotes with him to scout it out, but in his haste, he hadn’t thought of them, and there was no way he was going back down without reconning the craft.

“You and you,” he said, pointing to the closest pair inward on the line from him. “Go check it out. We’ll cover you.”

The pair he’d indicated hesitated for a moment, looking at each other. It was a breakdown in discipline he couldn’t tolerate, and he angled his weapon in their general direction.

“I gave you an order. Now get to it.”

The males hesitated for another moment, both looking at his weapon, then headed toward the shuttle. They didn’t hurry, but they started, and that was really all he could ask. Both moved to within twenty yards of the craft before they stopped and looked back.

“Go on. Look inside.”

The males looked at each other, and he could hear low growling speech. Of course they didn’t like it; they were afraid of what might be waiting in the shuttle for them. They finally decided whatever awaited them couldn’t be worse than what their leader would do to them if they balked, for, after another bit of growled speech, one moved forward, the other staying ten yards behind.

The forward soldier looked over the hatch for a moment, trying to find the outer switch. If it was locked inside, it wouldn’t open from the outside. There was only one way to find out. The male reached for something near the hatch and pushed. The other male took a knee, weapon pointed at the hatch.

They never got to see what was inside. As soon as the hatch started to move down, the shuttle exploded, all the fuel aboard going up in an instant. The male right outside the hatch was engulfed in flame in an instant. His body didn’t come out of the flame, only his helmet and weapon, both smoking. The other male was blown back, flying through the air for twenty yards and landing on his back.

The rest of the team hit the ground, dropping to their stomachs and covering their heads. If the shuttle had contained powerful explosives, they might have been killed even at that distance. What went up was fuel, though, which, while explosive, didn’t have the power of real weapons-grade material. The shuttle came apart, some small pieces flying away at low velocity. The hull split, the top half flying up and turning over to crash down twenty yards away from the rest of the burning hulk.

“Crap!” shouted the commander as he got back to his feet, walking toward the shuttle, which was putting out a lot of heat. The surviving scout had scrambled away on his hands and knees. A section of his suit was on fire, and another male ran up to push him over and help him to roll on the ground.

It could have been worse, Mmrash thought. He’d lost one of his soldiers, but the other would probably be good enough to fight. If not, he could go back into the gunship and wait to be taken back down. He shuddered for a moment as he thought about what might have happened if they’d all just walked up to the shuttle and opened it. Most of his people would be dead, himself included.

“Was it a spark from the hatch opening?” asked the sergeant who was his second.

“No, you idiot,” Mmrash growled. “It was a trap.”

“Now we’ll never know how many there were.”

“Yes, we will,” the commander said, sending his second a withering glare. “We’re here to find them, and we will.”

His subordinate was correct in one thing, though. They didn’t know how many enemies had been aboard that ship. He estimated about a dozen, maybe more, and he had no idea how many had been killed coming down. Their bodies would have been incinerated in that inferno, so he’d never find out.

Some medium-sized animals were sitting on a hill five hundred yards away, watching the fire. After a few moments they turned and hopped off. Even at that distance the heat must have been too much for them.

“Fan out,” he ordered his people. “I want you to find any tracks they might have left.”

A couple of his people started to remove their face coverings and masks, and he pointed at the nearest one.

“What the hell are you doing, fool?”

“Seeing if I can get a scent, commander.”

The leader shook his head, wondering once again about the general intelligence of his species. “Put that mask back on. There isn’t enough air up here to catch a scent trail; you’ll just freeze your nostrils.”

The soldier looked at him for a second then started wrapping his face again.

And you’ll probably pass out from lack of oxygen, he thought, growling and walking away. Not that it would do that pea brain any harm.

“Pilot. I want you to take to the air and do a sweep to the south. If they’re on foot, they have to be heading to the cliff edge.”

“How far do you want me to search, commander?” came the reply over the comm.

As far as it takes to find them, the commander thought, but didn’t say. “Fifteen minutes. If you don’t find anything, come back and get us. If we don’t find anything by then, I’m thinking we won’t.”

He also wondered if the Humans might have some shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. If his gunship was shot down, he’d be stranded up here until another craft could come up. He shivered at the thought. His suit would protect him from hypothermia. Still, just the thought of being stranded, even temporarily, was chilling.

* * *

“The trap has been sprung,” Charley said, a hint of triumph in his voice.

“So it has,” agreed Jonah, watching the scene over his HUD as it was sent via short burst transmission from the shuttle. He was disappointed they’d only gotten the one. This group of Xlatan was a little brighter than usual, or at least their leader was. “And our people received their cremation.”

The last thought saddened him. He knew it was a part of the job, but losing people was still hard. Sure, they knew the risks. They’d signed up for the job. The problem was, it was just a job. Most times their side didn’t deserve to win any more than the other side did. There was no cause, no moral imperative to put their lives on the line for. Sometimes it still worked out, and they ended up on the side of what he would term the good guys. Sometimes they couldn’t tell which side was which, all the way to the end.

This time it looked like they were on the right side. The other side was engaging in slavery and ecological terrorism, destroying a unique biosphere. Using mercenaries like the Xlatan as their muscle was always a good sign they were evil. But there was no guarantee the side they were on would be any better. The only thing he knew about them was that they opposed the operation of the group the company had been hired to scout. That they were any better was not a given.

Jonah shook his head. He didn’t have time for philosophical thoughts. He had a mission and people he was responsible for. He could think about the direction of his life after this was over. If he survived.

“We have a bird in the air,” Ivan said, pointing to the south.

“Everyone down,” Jonah hissed. “Comms off.”

Their comm sets were short-range, unlikely to be picked up by anything over a couple of miles away, no matter its sensitivity. There was, however, no sense in taking chances.

Everyone was wrapped in an efficient thermal blanket that would only allow the minimum of body heat out into the environment. In fact, they were too efficient, and within ten minutes they’d have to allow some heat to dissipate into the atmosphere or they’d succumb to hyperthermia. The short trees they were sheltering under would also help to mask their signature. If the enemy didn’t get a hint of them, some clue that made them hover, they’d probably be safe.

In case they were spotted, Ivan had one of their three missile launchers extended and at hand. The thin tube only massed a kilo or so, and the missile was less than half that. It shot out at extremely high velocity and hit like a hammer, and it would surely knock the craft out of the sky.

“Stay away, you bastard,” whispered Jonah, almost as a prayer. The gods he believed in didn’t answer such prayers, but it was all he could think to do at the moment.

The gunship circled, flying over the stand of trees and continuing on. After a few minutes it returned on an arc moving further to the north. One more pass and it headed south.

“They missed us,” Charley said in a low voice. “You want to keep moving.”

“In a minute,” Jonah said, working on instinct. His heart was still pounding, the blood booming in his ears. They couldn’t afford to get caught out here by Xlatan with air support, and they really couldn’t afford to get caught on the cliffs where they’d be helpless, hanging miles in the air.

A few minutes later the gunship was back, running on a fast sweep over the area they’d already covered. Jonah was starting to feel sick from the body-heat buildup, and sweat was running down his skin all over. When he unwrapped now, he’d be facing another problem—that moisture could freeze next to his skin.

First things first, he thought. First they had to wait out the gunship, which had come back to see if it could catch them coming out of cover. If not for his instincts, it would have caught them trying to cross the next open area.

The gunship turned back, heading south again.

“I need to release some of this heat,” complained Kevin, looking over at Jonah.

“Everyone go ahead and vent some of your heat. Make sure the opening is down toward the ground, though. I want to wait to move until I’m sure they’re not coming back.”

“They’re not,” Ivan said a few minutes later, pointing to the west. “There they go. Right to where we would be if we’d headed straight to the cliff. Good call, Colonel.”

“Lucky call,” Jonah replied, picking himself up from the ground and dusting the fine layer of ice crystals from his covering. “Now let’s get moving. Those hills should have some cover, so let’s get to them.”

His people were up and moving in an instant. His being correct in his assumption of what the enemy would do was paying dividends now, as the trust level of his new people had gone up considerably.

* * * * *

Chapter Three

“Keep a close look out,” ordered Mmrash as they flew slowly over the icy terrain. Even just looking down at the endless expanse of frozen terrain, despite being in a toasty warm cabin, made the Xlatan warrior shiver. “They’re going to be trying their best to stay hidden.”

“How could they hope to accomplish that in this?” the pilot asked, waving a hand at the terrain in front of them.

The commander grunted in reply. It looked fairly hopeless for anyone trying to move without being seen. Most of the land was barren, with a low ground cover of the strange ice-based plants that populated the plateau. There were some low trees scattered here and there, and a few larger clumps in the distance. He wouldn’t call those clumps forests, but according to the map he was looking at, there were areas that could be labeled such. A herd of grazing animals moved in the distance, cropping the ground cover as they stood on their two legs. One looked up, trumpeted, and the rest went hopping for the horizon.

“They’ve got to be down there,” complained Mmrash, putting a pair of field glasses to his eyes and scanning the horizon.

“Maybe only one survived,” his second said over the comm. “He could have set the trap and left.”

And I’m not willing to bet my hide on that, the commander thought as he huffed out a breath. If he did, and a whole party of them turned up later, the boss would not be happy. And the commander might be introduced to the inhabitant of the round hut.

“Just keep looking,” he ordered. The sergeant and the other males were looking at screens that showed the view of the cameras on the bottom of the gunship. Hopefully they’d spot something the computers didn’t. He knew it was a forlorn hope, but he had to use all the resources at his disposal, even the idiots he commanded.

Soon they were coming up on the cliff’s edge. It wasn’t as if it was really an edge at this point, since a small ridge rose up to separate the plain from the drop off. At other points it was a sharp edge, and legends had grown up in the lowlands about the upper regions based on the bodies that had fallen over. Most had splattered on impact, and what bone-like structures they had shattered. Some had hit updrafts on the way down for their body structures to survive impact. They were still dead, and those bodies had spawned legends of angelic beings in their heavens, or conversely of a hell above the clouds.

There were pathways up the ridgeline leading to mesas overlooking the lowlands. The ship cruised slowly over the ridge, fans whirring furiously to keep them aloft in the thin air. The view down into the canyonlands was blocked, for the most part, by a sea of clouds. Some days it was clear enough to see to the enormous river in the center of the canyon. Today was not one of those days.

“Well, I don’t see any sign of them,” the pilot said, swiveling his head around to look through every angle of the cockpit windshield.

“They haven’t had enough time to get here, you idiot,” the commander growled.

“Then why…”

“Drop sensors on every one of those paths,” Mmrash ordered, cutting the pilot off. “If they come this way, we’ll know it.”

They didn’t have enough sensors to cover the entire plateau and every possible path the Humans might take, but if they took the shortest route, they’d have to come up these paths. Once a sensor alerted them, they would have the Humans. Possibly even at the top, right here, but more likely as they were making their way down the cliffs.

“Now what?” the pilot asked after he’d dropped the last sensor package onto the rocks beside one of the paths.

Right or left? the commander thought, looking both ways. The ridgeline ran for a couple miles to the west, the left side, and more than a hundred to the east, the right side. He thought the right was the most promising, but as the pilot had said, they hadn’t had time to get here. They were most likely going to take several days to reach this region, and that was if they were pushing it.

“Right. But first, go back in sixty miles so we can do a proper sweep across the area.” That should do it, he thought, looking at the Tri-V map he had up on the dash before him. Most of that land was flat and featureless, but there were some possibilities for cover. Those he would check out most thoroughly.

* * *

“How the hell did this get here?” Sandra asked, stopping and looking up at the mesa towering hundreds of yards above her.

The rest of the line had stopped. They’d been walking through the valley for a half an hour, looking at the weird shapes carved by the wind from the sandstone. The red sandstone showed signs of ancient marine life, indicating that this had once been a sea bottom that had somehow, through the plate tectonics of this strange world, risen up almost eight miles above the sea in which it had formed.

“Maybe you should read some geology,” Ivan suggested, walking a few more yards, then stopping when he realized the rest weren’t following.

Jonah had studied geology for a short time, and this plateau was something he’d never imagined. Now this specific formation? They hadn’t seen it from a distance, since the area was in a bowl. The sandstone formations had probably once been at the level of the surrounding terrain. Somehow, these rocks had weathered the wind much better than those around it. Strange-looking spires rose to the height of the surrounding plateau, and in the center was a mesa rift with dozens of small canyons.

The geologist Jonah might have been couldn’t figure this place out. The mercenary leader could. That mesa meant shelter, and with night falling fast, it looked like just the place to hole up in the dark.

“Everyone, fan out in teams of two,” he ordered, pointing to Ivan, indicating the scout would accompany him. “Look for shelter, and look out for anything that might be using that shelter.”

Acknowledgements came back over the comm. Most everyone was breathing hard, their tanks low on oxygen. They would have to fill up, and soon, or people would start dropping.

The wind had been picking up as the sun descended. The heat of the lowlands was rising and blowing from the cliffs. The air might be thin, but it could move fast. Though not packing the same mass as the air at sea level, it could still move things, and now it was whistling through the holes and arches of the sandstone mesa, making an eerie sound.

The muted crack of a shot rang out, faint in the thin air, followed by two more.

“What the hell was that about?” Jonah asked over the comm.

“I think I’ve found us a place to stay, sir,” the voice of Basil Paudel came back in his cultured British accent. “There was an occupant who took exception to my being here. I made him vacate the cave, and this world.”

And I damn sure hope no one was near enough to hear the shots, Jonah thought. Unfortunately they had to find shelter, and things tended to occupy any shelter around; he couldn’t expect his people to kill a predator hand to hand. It might be possible, but unlikely.

“We’ll be right there,” Jonah said, waving for Ivan to come along.

Most of the team was already at the spot when Jonah arrived. A small hole in the cliff, at most five feet high by three wide, was ahead. One of the team was visible as he crawled through.

“Let me in there,” Jonah said, putting a hand on Grewal’s shoulder and pulling the man back. It was like trying to pull on a bronze statue, and only after the Sikh looked back to see who it was did he move.

The colonel ducked down to go through the entrance. It widened after a couple of yards, letting into a moderately-sized cavern. Someone had already activated a light, and the cavern walls were illuminated to either side. The cavern was about ten yards in width and faded into darkness in the rear.

“Are we sure there’s nothing back there?”

“I’m sure, sir,” Paudel said, coming out of the darkness like a ghost. “Only the one predator, and he was a big one.”

The Gurkha gestured to a body to the right side of the cave. It appeared to mass over a thousand pounds, and the one paw visible had large claws composed of the ice compound the denizens of the plateau used as bone. The fur was starting to steam in the heat the invaders’ bodies were putting off.

“Okay, I guess we’ll spend the night here. I want a watch on the entrance through the night.” There was no telling if this creature had been alone, and the last thing he wanted was for an enraged mate to come into the cavern and attack the sleeping occupants.

The air compressor was set up and started chugging away to fill an oxygen cylinder, while most of the team changed out what they’d been using. A thermal blanket went over the entrance, sealing in the heat and preventing their signature from leaking out into the night. It still might be possible to pick up a signature from close by, but it was the best they could do, and they needed the warmth.

The team took seats on the cold floor and wolfed down their rations. It was a process that took some practice, raising their breathing masks and pushing the food from the self-heating cans into their mouths. After a bit the masks went back on, until they’d swallowed and were ready to repeat the process. A few swigs from canteens were interspersed with the food, until everyone had taken in the calories they’d expended during the day.

Most of the team was asleep in minutes, curled up on the floor in their heavy clothing. All were on their third cylinders of oxygen, enough to get them through the night, while the compressor chugged away and filled the other bottles connected to a set of branching lines. The two chosen for guard sat looking at the entrance, weapons in their laps. In an hour they’d wake the next shift, and so it would go through the night, everyone getting nine hours if they wanted.

Jonah was one of the few who couldn’t force himself to sleep. He was as tired as the rest, and probably more so than most. Surviving a crash and walking for miles through this environment was enough to exhaust just about anyone, no matter what shape they were in. But he had too much on his mind to let his body rest.

Someone knew we were coming, he thought, visualizing the scene of the enemy ship coming in behind them. Not just that we were coming, but when and from what direction. So, who would have sold us out? Our employers?

That was always a possibility. But why? If they wanted this world for themselves, sabotaging the efforts of the people they’d sent in to take out the competition didn’t make sense. And what were they going to do about the Ravagers, who’d be rolling in here in about twelve days? Or would they? If some organization was looking to take his company out, they might just order the Ravagers not to come, voiding the contract.

Who has it out for us bad enough to try and kill us? There were probably plenty of people who wanted his company dead. Most wouldn’t have the means to pull this off. And of those who did, what connection did they have with the people who were extracting the chemical compound from the flora in the canyonlands? No connection he could think of, which didn’t mean there wasn’t one.

So now they had more than one mission to perform. First, to take out the compound, with or without the help of the Ravagers. A daunting task for a light platoon such as they were. Then, to gather the intelligence needed to pin the sneak attack on someone. Which meant they couldn’t just go in and destroy everything. They had to capture some databanks. Or, better yet, some of the people in charge. Just grabbing some people from the security detachment or the work group wouldn’t help.

This isn’t solving anything, he thought, turning over onto his side and shutting his eyes. First things first. First, they had to get to the cliff, then he could worry about getting down that drop. Those were the first two priorities, in order, and nothing else mattered at the moment. Having planned out their next steps to his own satisfaction, he let himself drift off to sleep. He’d have the last shift, so he could look forward to an uninterrupted night. Rank had its privileges, after all, and the next night he’d take one of the middle-of-the-night shifts to even it out. With that last thought, darkness enclosed him.

* * * * *

Chapter Four

Looking down from the edge, Jonah didn’t like what he was seeing. Or, more to the point, what he wasn’t seeing, as much as what was visible. Below, maybe a couple of miles, were the wisps of the high clouds. Below that was a veritable sea of thick clouds. They were dark and filled with rain ready to fall or already falling. Lightning flared across the cloud tops. It was a beautiful sight—or it would have been, if it wasn’t so frightening.

Further in, it was clear, the sun glinting off the huge river. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get there without going through the crap below.

“It’s bad enough having to climb down there,” Sandra complained, making sure her rifle was strapped tight to her back, “but through a storm?”

“Don’t worry, honey,” Charley said, clapping her on the shoulder, “it’s only a ten mile or so drop. And it won’t hurt any worse than falling a couple hundred yards.”

“Thanks,” the sniper replied, rolling her eyes at the officer as everyone laughed.

“Well, I guess it’s me first,” Charley said with a smile.

“Just don’t drop,” Jonah said, as always concerned about his friend. Charley was fearless on a climb, and sometimes that caused him problems. Nothing disastrous, yet, but it could happen at any time. And this bitch of a climb looked to be a good candidate for a fatal one.

“Just none of you novices come falling down on top of me,” the Gurkha said with a short laugh. “I can guarantee I won’t have time to grab your asses.”

None of them were really novices. Mountaineering was one of the specialties of the company, along with jungle, forest, and night operations. All had trained on Earth, in the Andes, the Alps, and even the Himalayas. Every single one had come in mountain-qualified before they were hired, then had been hit with training that made everything they’d been through seem like nursery school.

But nothing like this, Jonah thought as he watched his best friend grab onto the carbon nanotube weave rope and walk back over the edge.

The rope was the best Earth tech could come up with, and since most alien races tended to use higher tech to go up and down mountains, most wouldn’t bother with ropes, which made this Human invention the best on the market. It wouldn’t break, and the weave prevented the individual carbon nanotube strands from slicing through things like metal or flesh. It was also the lightest out there, two hundred yards weighing only a couple of pounds in Earth’s gravity field. Everyone had a roll in their equipment. It still wasn’t enough to lower them all the way to the bottom, and Jonah certainly didn’t want to leave a rope trail, so they were going to do this another way.

Like everyone else, Charley had gloves that had locking grippers between thumb and forefingers, and the mitts were locked to the sleeves of his undergarment. It was as foolproof as anything humanity had ever made, but foolproof didn’t mean something couldn’t go wrong.

Jonah was aware of the people crowding the cliff edge, looking down. He hadn’t lost anyone on the plateau since the crash, a feat to be proud of, considering what they’d faced. Still, to his mind, losing those in the crash—even though he couldn’t have done anything about it—was too many.

“Only the next two should be up here,” he said in his best command voice. “The rest of you spread out and keep us covered from the sides and behind. One grenade could take you all out.”

There was some laughter at the last statement. All of them had been through some kind of basic training or other, and that was something drill instructors had been shouting at trainees for centuries. Which didn’t make it any less true in this time and place.

Charley was rappelling down the cliff, expertly kicking out a couple of yards, allowing himself to drop ten yards or so, then clamping onto the rope. His feet hit the cliff for a couple of seconds, then pushed off again. Eighteen evolutions and he was at the bottom of the rope, with only ten yards still dangling below him.

The expert climber then set a small step into the rock, using a nanoglue that adhered to the rock face. He tested it with his weight, still holding on tight to the rope. Satisfied that it would hold, he attached his second rope to it and started down the next hundred and ninety yards.

“Next,” Jonah said, looking over at Sandra.

The sniper nodded, then gripped the rope and started rappelling down. The woman didn’t like climbing, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t good at it. She had a lot of guts, and if it meant staying on the team, she’d put her ass out in the air. Soon she was down, not as quickly as Charley, but fast enough. She stood on the step and attached the rope and step she’d carried down with her to a slide, then released it so it would fall down to Charley. The lead climber waved up and attached the rope to another step, then started down again.

“Next climber,” Jonah called out. And so it went, until everyone but himself was off the cliff. So far they’d been lucky, and their searchers hadn’t come by and spotted them. That could change at any moment. Jonah had no intention of being up here when they did, though being caught on the cliff face would be worse. They had to get down, though. If they stayed up on the plateau, they would die. That was a sure thing.

Finally, after watching his twenty-one mercs go down, it was his turn. He figured they’d been working at it for just over an hour, and Charley would be a little more than a mile down. People would be getting tired, but he wasn’t about to call a break until everyone was far enough down that the wispy clouds would give them some cover from above. So another hour, another mile, for everyone. They should have enough oxygen for the rest of the day, though everyone was working their bodies to the extreme.

Now it was his turn, and he had a bigger job than anyone except Charley. Some might have said it was more difficult. He rappelled down to the first step, made sure he was attached by a safety harness, ensured that the rope was now attached to the step, then activated the signal that told the first attachment point to let go. The nanoglue released, the microscopic robots releasing their grip from the rock. The rope fell until it was beyond Jonah, but still attached to the anchor.

“Got it,” called Joey Many Bears over the comm.

Jonah released the rope from his end and let it fall. Now it was up to the others to hurry it down to Charley so he could use it for the rest of the climb. This was the one bottleneck to the operation, but it was unavoidable. They had a lot of other equipment they needed on the climb and down at the bottom, and they couldn’t afford the weight of more climbing equipment.

“Ready,” Charley said over the comm. “I’m moving down to the first stop of the next stage.”

Jonah looked down and saw that Many Bears was on his way down to his next stop.

Here goes, Jonah thought, preparing for the next step, which would be much more difficult than the last, involving as it did a step. Jonah could feel the sweat running down his skin. Partially that was because of the exertion of the climb and the insulating quality of his clothing. And partially, he had to admit, it had something to do with anxiety. A fall from this high was a long way, and he might be screaming his lungs out for fifteen or twenty minutes on the way down. Not that it was any different from falling off any other cliff, no matter the height.

At least we have the emergency chutes, he thought, putting a hand on the small pack strapped to his front. It was a very light parachute of ultrathin plastic, capable of lowering him at a reasonable speed. At this altitude it wouldn’t slow him at all, and it might shred from the air pressure when he contacted denser air at a high terminal velocity.

Jonah went down the rope. He set his feet on the next step and again made sure his safety harness was attached to the platform. After connecting the rope above to the step, he disengaged its nanoglue, watching carefully as it fell. This time it was a bit more dangerous. The step weighed less than a pound, but falling two hundred yards would still pack quite a bit of kinetic energy. Not enough to knock him off of the step he was harnessed to, but maybe enough to knock him out cold if it hit his head.

“Look out below,” he warned Many Bears. He was also at risk of being hit.

The step fell, tumbling through the air. He pulled on the rope just enough to change the course of the step, and it fell clear of his body.

“Got it,” Many Bears said. “I’m sending it down.”

As soon as the young man had sent it on its way, he started down again. The person on the next step was also on their way down. There was a stop in the process of a couple of minutes when someone wasn’t with the choreography, but soon they were all moving again.

Jonah breathed a sigh of relief as he penetrated the thin mist of the upper cloud layer. It would provide some visual cover, though anyone scanning with infrared would still pick him up. Still, even the illusion of cover was enough to allow him to relax a bit.

At the fourth step, disaster almost struck. He pulled on the rope to change the trajectory of the step, which tumbled through the air, then changed back as a gust of wind hit it. Jonah barely got his arm up in time to deflect it away from his head. It still knocked him against his harness, and he sucked in a breath as he once again thought about the fall.

“Look out!” he yelled into his comm.

“Shit,” Many Bears said, and Jonah’s heart caught in his throat.

“I’m okay! But where in the hell did that wind come from?”

The wind had picked up and was probably blowing at forty miles an hour now. It made the climb much more dangerous, since they might come down and miss the steps.

“Connect your ropes to the steps you’re on,” ordered the colonel. “We’re going to have to go with a slide instead of a rappel.”

That would take more time, since now they’d have to hold onto the rope and allow it to slide through their gloves. It was still faster than climbing hand-over-hand, but it was a delay that might come back to bite them in the ass.

Oh shit, he thought, looking up, the infrared function on his HUD showing the heat outline of an aircraft above, one wing over the edge. If they look down here we’re done.

Hanging from their ropes, the gunship would have no problem picking them off. They could go ahead and drop, hoping that their chutes would get them safely to the ground, but the gunship would probably catch them all in the sky, and they’d die hanging defenseless in the air.

Go away, you assholes, he thought, staring up. If there was ever a time to use his one ace in the hole, this was it. Hitting a panel on his wrist controller, he looked at the menu coming up on his HUD and made the selection, praying to his gods it would work.

* * *

“Why in the hell are you hovering like this?” Mmrash growled, looking at the idiot of a pilot.

“Commander,” the male said, his ear tips twitching with fear. “I’m scanning the ground.”

“And if you moved over a couple of meters outward, we could both scan the ground and look down. You know, just in case they’re climbing down that cliff.”

“Why would they do that, commander?”

“Do you expect them to fly down?” He didn’t think they would have, even if they’d still had their shuttle. After all, as soon as it was over the canyon, it would be picked up on the base sensors. So that left two possibilities; using some kind of device to fly down, preferably without giving off too much of a power signature, or climbing. Since they could still be picked up by sensors in the air from the base, climbing was the way he would bet. Not that he would do it himself, but he thought the Humans might.

“Just move the damn craft over the drop-off,” he growled, showing the claws on his two left hands, pushing the upper one close to the face of his subordinate.

“At once, commander. I…”

Something flared out on the plateau on the commander’s side. He flinched, thinking it might be an incoming missile. Nothing hit, though, and he focused on the event. A fireball rolling into the air, a short sharp boom following on its heels. Some kind of pyrotechnic. But what?

“Check out that explosion,” he ordered the pilot, pointing in the direction he wanted the male to fly.

“Could it be a diversion?”

“We’ll never know if we don’t go check it out,” Mmrash said slowly, enunciating each word as if talking to an idiot. Which he felt like more and more when talking with his people.

The pilot swiveled the gunship in the air and pushed the throttles forward, moving them over the icy ground below. Mmrash estimated that the blast had occurred about ten miles away on the plains.

In moments they were over the event, which turned out to be some kind of pyrotechnic device that was already burning down, having used all its fuel.

“A diversion,” the pilot said with a self-satisfied look on his face.

“One more word and you die,” the commander growled.

The pilot shut his mouth with a snap, his eyes locked to the front.

“Get us back over the cliff. That way.” The commander pointed back the way they’d come, his digit aimed at a point a half mile further to the east than where they’d been. “Then cruise to the east. I have a feeling we’ll find them on the cliff at some point from there.”

The pilot looked like he wanted to ask a question but didn’t dare.

“The reason, idiot, is the placement of that pyrotechnic, which is to the east of the most direct line from their shuttle to where we just were. So logically, they must have gone over further east.”

The pilot looked like he didn’t quite buy that. Mmrash really didn’t care what the other Xlatan thought. He did the thinking in this company, and anyone who didn’t like it could go straight to the hells. He might even assist them through the gates.

* * *

“We need to get moving,” Jonah said over the comm, pointing his communications laser straight down. “I’ve set off the diversion and lured them away, but they won’t be gone long.”

“I’ve found an alternate route down here,” Charley said, pointing his laser up, then going silent. His transmission was a risk, and one he wasn’t about to repeat.

The team continued down, everyone hurrying a bit more, cutting corners on safety. In ten minutes they’d traversed another eight hundred yards. The wispy clouds had thickened, the wind had picked up, and the air was now filled with ice crystals. It wasn’t an ideal climbing environment, but it was an ideal cover situation. It would be hard to see them, and even infrared would be of limited use. And just in time, as the enemy gunship appeared overhead once again. Though at this point it was more a suggestion of a craft than a clear view of one.

“Shit!” yelled out a voice over the comm.

“Watch out!” called out another.

Jonah barely heard them, the ice crystals deflecting most of their transmissions. He hoped nothing would get up to the cliff edge above. That, and that whatever had happened wasn’t a complete disaster.

“I’ve got you,” said a third voice. “Just hold on to Ujjal.”

Jonah wanted to ask what had happened but didn’t want to put more comm traffic on the air. It sounded like a small disaster, and like he hadn’t lost anyone, so he kept doing what he needed to do and moved down to the next step, repeating the process of dropping the rope and step down.

The next one he came through, barely visible through the storm, already had an occupant. Many Bears gave him a thumbs up as he landed on the step, which really didn’t have enough room for both of them. Jonah grabbed onto the young man, who was attached to the step by his safety harness.

“What happened?”

“The step Ujjal landed on two stations down gave way, and he slid off his own rope. He hit Erik and they both went down to hit Asuka, who was able to grab onto Erik. They’re still sorting it out, but it looks like the two of us may have to find another way to get down to the next intact step.”

“Shit.” They had other means. Not anything they’d try over a long distance, but something that could probably get them down five or six hundred yards.

“Well, I guess we aren’t going up,” the leader said, deactivating the step above and letting it fall to hang below the step they were on.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Attach the rope from this step to your harness, then we’ll position ourselves on the cliff side by side and start down.”

Soon they were both hanging from the cliff wall, leaning their weight into the toes of their climbing boots, while holding onto a nanoglue handle called a holdme. Jonah was feeling a bit ill at ease hanging from the cliff that way, especially since one of the steps, using the same technology, had failed just moments before. It had been known to happen, about once in a thousand uses, and he was wondering if there was something in the cliff wall that had negated the effectiveness of the nanites.

Well, there’s really no choice, Jonah thought. If they slid down the rope, they’d be hanging in space at the end, and releasing the step above while hanging from the holdmes could cause all kinds of problems.

“You ready for this, Joey?”

“I was born ready for this, Colonel.”

Then you’re a better man than me, Jonah thought. He’d climbed using these devices many times, and with self-setting pitons even more often. But never this high in the sky. Get moving before you freeze up.

The colonel moved a foot down, making sure it was in contact with the cliff. Next he detached the left hand holdme and moved it down a couple of feet. Placing it tight against the cliff, he activated it, made sure it was holding, and moved the other foot. Then the right hand holdme.

It was hot and sweaty work, despite the cold outside their clothing. A line of sweat moved down Jonah’s forehead, dripping into his left eye, the salty fluid burning and blurring his vision. There was nothing he could do about it. Trying to raise his mask and wipe the sweat away was impossible. And even if it was, he’d just have to stop and repeat the process again.

It was four hundred yards down, twelve hundred evolutions of moving each point of contact while retaining the other three. Total concentration was a must, but Jonah couldn’t help but think about the enemy that was cruising up above. Any moment they might drop down and begin a sweep along the side of the cliff. They wouldn’t be hard to spot hanging from the rock face.

“I’m on the step, Colonel,” Many Bears said, his voice barely carrying through the thin air over the wind.

Jonah looked down to see the step, twenty yards below, with Joey standing on it.

“Get your ass down. I’ll be along.”

Joey nodded, then attached himself to the rope down and started his rappel. The colonel hurried, a bad decision. The second time he moved his left foot, it skidded from the rock and made him lose his contact with his right. He found himself hanging from the holdmes, his arms stretched above. He tried to pull himself up, but the fatigue in his arms prevented him from getting more than halfway into the proper orientation.

With a curse, he scrambled to get his feet back onto the rock in a posture that would allow him to set his weight into the cliff. He slipped again, and at the last second, activated the rope hold of his glove to keep his grip on the holdme. He finally got one foot in place, then the other, and breathed out in relief, not noticing until that moment that he’d been holding it.

Jonah took a few deep breaths from his oxygen tank, clearing his head, then looked down again. The step below was empty; Joey was gone. Jonah shivered as he thought about what might have happened if he’d lost his hold and tumbled away. There was no one there to catch him, and he most probably would have tumbled away from the cliff. If so, he could have opened his chute and descended, but with no guarantee he’d make it. Or he could have hit the cliff face a couple of times, been injured, even knocked out, and fallen to his death.

His head clear again, he started down, not noticing how far he was from the step until his foot actually hit the structure. Squatting on the step, still holding onto one of the holdmes, he attached his harness to the structure. Detaching both holdmes, he placed them in their carry bag, then arranged the rope for his next stage of the descent. Detaching the safety harness, he pushed off from the cliff and started down, worrying the whole time that the step above might come loose from the rock. It didn’t, and within seconds he was on the next step.

* * * * *

Chapter Five

“What a stroke of luck,” Jonah said as his feet came down on the ledge.

They were well over a mile below the cliff edge, and this ledge of hard rock, sticking out thirty yards from the cliff and running for hundreds of yards in each direction, was a perfect rest stop. Even better, there was a small cave opening in the cliff. Better still, the cleft in the cliff went down for what looked like miles. This would shield them from observation as they descended.

“I thought you might like it,” Charley said. “I know we have some more daylight, but I can’t guarantee we’ll find anything better below before it gets dark. Plus I really don’t fancy hanging from the rock in the dark with falling temperatures.”

“Good call. And we’re short one rope and step?”

“Yeah,” Charley with a frown said. “We’re going to have to double up at one stage.”

“Then we’ll double up at the top,” Jonah said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Charley nodded, though he clearly didn’t like the decision. They’d be a great danger up there, but the rest of the team would be able to get lower faster.

“What’s the cave like?”

“Very cave-like,” Charley said with a snort. “Small, dark, and fortunately uninhabited. Something may have lived there in the past, but not recently.”

“Let’s have a look.”

Most of the team had already retreated into the cave. It looked like the maw of a large beast as the pair walked toward it, Joey staying outside on watch for the time being. Jonah had to get down into a crouch to enter, and he brushed aside the blanket they’d erected as a light and heat barrier to see into the cave.

It was cramped. Not so much from side to side, and it stretched back for thirty yards, but the ceiling was about four feet above the floor, in places even less. People were moving around on hands and knees, some sitting and trying to wolf down rations and water. The oxygen compressor was chugging away on one side of the cave. Being more than a mile below the plateau, the air was slightly thicker here, but not by much.

“Not much headroom,” Sandra said, pulling open a self-heating ration pack, “but enough to stretch out.”

It was that. Actually, more stretch room than they needed, since everyone would be huddling together through the night.

“We’ve got enemy cruising down the cliff face,” Many Bears said, crawling into the cave. “I’m pretty sure they didn’t see me.”

“I hope not,” Charley said, pulling the thin missile launcher he’d been carrying on his back and extending it. “If it looks like they’re going to drop people on the ledge, I want permission to shoot them down.”

“Wait on that until we’re sure they’re coming,” Jonah said, looking as all his people readied their weapons. “But when we do know, light them up.”

There were a lot of nods to that. No matter how tired the people were, no matter how the situation looked, Jonah knew these people wouldn’t go into the night without a hard fight.

* * *

“Where in the hell are they?” Mmrash growled, staring at the cliff face. It wasn’t just smooth stone. Like most such rock formations, it had its rifts and crevices, its shadows and reflective spots. That made it hard to make out anything that might be hiding there, especially if they had good camouflage. Still, they should be showing up on infrared.

“Humans are warm-blooded, aren’t they?” Mmrash asked, looking over at the pilot.

“I’m sure they are,” the pilot said, turning fatigued eyes toward his commander. He hesitated for a moment before speaking next. “We’re getting low on fuel, sir. We have about ten more minutes before I have to head back, unless we want to land in the jungle outside the compound.”

“The hells,” cursed the commander, growling low in his throat. He glared at the pilot, who looked like he wanted to hide in his seat. That would be a mean trick, and totally impossible. Well, I can’t argue with engineering, Mmrash thought. Besides, everyone was tired, and he’d like to exchange his soldiers for some others who’d been pulling soft duty down in the canyon.

“Go ahead and get us there,” he ordered, wondering what he was going to tell the boss when he got down there. Hopefully, it would be convincing enough that he’d still be alive in the morning to take another crew up.

* * *

“Where in the hell are they?” hissed Amobi Kabir in accented English, squatting close to the entrance with his grenade launcher in hand.

Charley squatted to the other side, his rocket launcher extended and ready. The problem with using the rocket launcher was, of course, the backblast, not as big a deal as the warhead would be accelerated out by the magnetic accel tube. Still, there could be enough to come back into the cavern if fired from inside the entrance. The strategy would be to take out whatever came through the entrance with rifles, then push Kabir out with his launcher blazing, hopefully getting hits on the gunship. Then Charley could exit, get a lock, and release. If it all worked out right, the flaming hulk of the gunship would be dropping into the canyon. If not, they might have the bastard dropping a rocket through the entrance to get them all.

“Dammit. We can’t just wait,” Sandra said, holding onto one of their drones. The small robot, only four inches across, could float on its fans at any altitude. Its camouflaged skin was hard to detect as it blended in with whatever was around it, and its electronics package was as low-powered as possible.

“Go ahead and send it through,” ordered Jonah. “And everyone be ready if it hits it.”

He was thinking that maybe going into this cave hadn’t been such a brilliant idea after all. It had seemed like a good move. Maybe it still was. Unfortunately, no matter how well one planned, chance often entered into it. Wasn’t it chance that the enemy gunship just happened to drop down while they still had a sentry outside?

Next time we leave the drone outside and all of us take cover, he thought. If there is a next time.

“There’s nothing out there, Colonel,” Sandra said, looking at her HUD.

“Let me see.” The sniper sent her view over to his system by low-power laser. Sure enough, the sky was clear. The sound of wind blowing was the only noise. No engine fans, no talking.

“Move it out and let’s see if they’re still anywhere near.”

Sandra nodded, and the picture shifted as the drone moved forward.

The ledge area right outside the cave was empty, as was the air just off the edge. She moved the drone around, getting a good look, and there was no sign of the enemy. It was dusk outside, and soon it would be the total darkness of a moonless night.

“What are you thinking?” Charley asked, collapsing his rocket launcher. Everyone else relaxed, putting down their weapons, except the two chosen for the first guard shift.

“I’m thinking they must have headed back to base,” Jonah said, still staring at the scene on his HUD as the drone settled to the ground. “They’ve been up here all day, and they had to be low on fuel. But they’ll be back. Probably not tonight, but early. Sunup?”

“That would be my guess.”

“Then I want us up and on the way two hours prior to dawn. We can use that crevice you found to hide us.”

“I don’t like the idea of rappelling down in the dark,” Charley said, pursing his lips, “but I also don’t like the idea of getting caught out there while we’re still getting people into the queue. And we’re going to have to stagger at least one group.”

“That will be me and Joey,” announced Jonah, looking around the cave. “Right, Joey?”

“Yes, sir. Whatever you say.”

“He’d probably say that if you asked him to jump into a fire with you,” whispered Charley.

He probably would, Jonah thought, a smile stretching his face. Of course, no one could see it through the oxygen mask and all the insulated swaddling over his face. He’d be more than happy when they got to a point where they could see each other’s faces again. Humans communicated through expression as well as sound. They could get by, such as when they talked over a comm network, but it felt more real when you could see the face of the person you were talking to. It was still just too cold here, and without their breathing masks, they risked anoxia.

“Well, we worked well together on the way down here,” Jonah said, looking over at the young man, who was lying on his side now, and from his lack of movement apparently fast asleep.

“Oh, to be young again,” Jonah continued, shaking his head.

“You’ll be asleep just as fast,” Charley said, “if you don’t let yourself worry about things you can’t do anything about.”

As far as Jonah was concerned, that was the definition of a leader. They had to think of everything that could go wrong, then figure out how to deal with it. Even if there wasn’t anything they could do about it.

“Sleeping isn’t the worst part,” he said, looking for a place in the huddle on the floor that might allow him to soak in some warmth. “It’s waking up and discovering what you hurt the day before.”

Charley laughed at that. They were both getting old, and this was a young person’s game.

Maybe it’s time to start a CASPer unit after all, Jonah thought, considering how much more comfortable it would be riding one of those into combat.

* * *

Mmrash had an uneasy feeling as the gunship came in to land at the compound, its brightly lit landscape contrasting with the inky blackness of the surrounding jungle. The fans on the craft were whining at a high pitch as they sent air down to support the lowering craft. Otherwise, there was no sound in the cockpit. Even the normally talkative pilot kept his mouth shut, and the commander thought the male knew something bad was going to happen.

But he hasn’t sent anything ahead, the commander thought. Mmrash had been sitting in the cockpit all day, and the lesser male hadn’t had a chance to send any kind of message. Or had he?

The craft touched down with a bump, and the pilot quickly started flipping the switches to shut everything down, starting with the engines.

“Go get something to eat,” Mmrash told the pilot, rising from his chair and hunching down to get through the door to the troop compartment.

“Are we through for the night, sir?” the senior sergeant asked, hope in his eyes. Several of the males were asleep in their seats, not even the change of sound in the engines causing them to wake.

“I think so,” Mmrash said, his tail flicking in a motion of agreement. “Take your men to the eating hall, then get to bed. I’m sure we’re going to be going out again early tomorrow.”

Some of the males who had been sleeping opened their eyes at the words ‘eating hall,’ but then they groaned at the reminder they might be going out again the next day.

At least they will, the commander thought, moving through them and heading out the lowered walkway to the rear. The boss hadn’t told the soldiers to get the intruders or not come back.

“The boss…”

“I know,” Mmrash said, holding up a hand to silence the messenger. Might as well get it over with, he thought, putting a lower right hand on his sidearm. He wasn’t about to go easy. He pulled a small vial from a pants pocket and removed the brush, walking toward the administration building. Painting a couple of claws on his upper paws, he smiled as he thought of the surprise whoever tried to control him would have when those sharp weapons penetrated their skin.

The guards at the door nodded to him, and neither made a move to take his weapon. It was a good sign the boss hadn’t given orders about him.

The secretary wasn’t in. The door to the boss’s office was ajar, and the commander’s sensitive ears could detect movement within. Something thumped on the desk, followed by cursing in a tongue he couldn’t understand.

“Is that you, Mmrash?” the being in the office roared.

“Yes,” he replied, again feeling uncomfortable, worrying about the creature’s mood. He flexed his upper paws, looking at the extended claws that were showing the sheen of the substance he’d painted them with. He might still die if the people in charge of the operation wanted him dead, but their factor on this world wouldn’t see it happen.

“Get in here and tell me how it went.”

Mmrash set both of his shoulders, then walked into the room. The boss was sitting behind his desk. There were no weapons in evidence, which didn’t mean there wasn’t something aiming at him right this moment. If there was, there was nothing he could do about it but prepare himself to launch an attack.

“Didn’t get them, did you?”

“How did you know?”

“Because I’m not an idiot,” the boss said, his small red eyes looking out of a snarling face. “You’d be prancing in here like you’d won a major battle if you’d captured or killed them, instead of walking in like you’re going to your doom.”

Mmrash stared at the being. The boss wasn’t an intelligent-looking individual. In fact, he’d never seen one of his kind who was. But the Syndicate would never have put an idiot in charge of an operation like this.

“I’m not going to have you killed,” the boss said, waving a finger his way. “Not yet. I think your people might not agree with me having you executed.”

That was most probably correct. All of his soldiers were members of his clan, and all had sworn in clan ceremonies to be loyal to the commander no matter what. There was always the possibility the Xlatan soldiers would rise up and slaughter the boss and everyone who stood with him. They were the strongest military force on the planet. That they would all be killed by the Syndicate wouldn’t enter their minds.

“I want you back up there before the sun rises,” the boss said, waving the finger in the air. “I know you can’t do much in the dark.”

Actually, we probably could, the commander thought, but he wasn’t about to tell the boss that.

“But I want you up there, and I want you to find them. Either them, or their bodies.”

“We don’t even know how many of them there are,” Mmrash said, wondering how he’d decide he’d gotten them all.

“Well, there probably aren’t as many of them as they had on that shuttle to start with,” the boss said, snuffling his nose in the way of his people to emphasize his point. “I doubt they’re going to split up, no matter their circumstance.”

Mmrash stared at the boss, not sure he believed the being actually thought that. It was a militarily expedient tactic to split off a smaller force to lure a pursuer away. Still, he would use the boss’s belief to cover himself. As long as he brought back some Human bodies, who was to say there were or weren’t more of them out there? And if he hit them hard, the few survivors wouldn’t dare to show their faces here.

“I’ll see to it, boss,” he said, his tail swishing in agreement.

“See that you do. Now get some rest, because when you go out tomorrow, I don’t want you coming back without some evidence that you got them. Understood?”

Mmrash walked out of the administration building with a feeling of great weight taken from his shoulders. He wouldn’t be killed for his failure after all. At least not yet. He looked down at his upper paws and raised them. Now he’d have to scrub them clean before going to bed tonight. It wouldn’t do to accidentally scratch himself or someone else. The poison on them acted almost instantly. I wonder if the old bastard knew about the poison, he though. If he had, he wouldn’t make it into the boss’s office tomorrow.

“What’s the news?” asked Major Grolrror, his female second-in-command and the administrative officer of the force.

“I want every shuttle on the base ready to lift two hours before sunrise,” he told the major, pointing at the hangar, “and enough soldiers to fill up all their compartments.”

“That won’t leave us with many people here,” the junior officer replied.

“Then these other offal the Syndicate hired will have to take up the slack,” Mmrash said. “If anything happens while I’m away, you know what to do.”

The tail of the major swished with agreement. If the commander and all the soldiers with him were lost on this mission, the rest of them were to grab what they could of the Syndicate’s technology and get home with their loot. And if they had to kill everyone else on the base to cover their tracks? Well, sometimes that was the cost of doing business.

* * * * *

Chapter Six

“Have you checked out the bottom?” Jonah asked, looking down the shaft in the rock that seemed to drop into infinity.

“There’s a fairly smooth bottom,” Charley said, setting his rope to go down first. “A couple of openings onto a small ledge on the cliff wall. Two and a half miles total.”

Jonah nodded. The shaft was ten yards wide at this point, and eight at its narrowest. It looked like a volcanic pipe, but was probably of some other, unknown origin. The best part about it was the way it shielded them from observation from the air. The enemy could cruise back and forth out there all day and never see them.

Once they were at that next ledge, they could go down the wall to the ledge system that was called the midworld, which was a completely different ecosystem than the canyonlands or the plateau above. They’d be able to hide and rest on that system, which covered several hundred thousand square kilometers.

Jonah stepped back a moment and looked up into the clear night. Millions of stars shone in the sky, along with numerous nebulas. They were closer to the galactic core here, and the stars were much closer.

* * *

Such a beautiful universe, the colonel thought, shaking his head. And his job in it was to kill other intelligent inhabitants. Maybe it was time to retire. If they could pull this mission off, everyone would have a good payday coming. He and Charley would get the largest shares, and he already had enough in the bank to stretch out for an early retirement. If he became an explorer, though, working for one of the newly organized mining corporations, he could continue working, and in a much safer environment.

“Let’s do this,” he said, stepping forward and slapping Charley on the back. “See you at the bottom.”

Charley smiled, then stepped out into space, taking a short jump that took him ten yards down the shaft.

Jonah and Joseph would be going last, repeating their evolution of the day before. In a half hour, there wouldn’t be a Human left on the ledge. Shortly after, they’d be too far down for a casual look to spot them. He could only hope the enemy didn’t find a reason to land here and take a closer look. In that case, there’d be no place to hide, and his team would be destroyed as they tried to work their way down.

Charley waved his light, indicating that he was placing the first step and starting on his way down to the next stage.

“Get going,” Jonah ordered the next mercenary, Eric Menendez.

The rifleman nodded, attached his safety harness to the rope, secured it in the clasps of his gloves, and kicked off.

“Keep a close watch, ladies,” the colonel ordered his two snipers.

“I’m keeping a close watch, Boss,” Sandra said, holding her long-barreled rifle close.

Sarah Cohen nodded, holding her large anti-material weapon at the ready.

If the enemy came, he wanted the people most able to hit them from a distance up here, which meant the two snipers would be going down almost last, just before Joseph and himself. He and the young Sioux had two of their supply of multipurpose rocket launchers. If the enemy showed up before they were all in the pipe and on the way down, he was willing to give up his own life as well as those of the other three if that’s what it took. If they landed after everyone was on the way down and happened to look down and see them, there was really nothing he could do. Maybe send up a rocket, but that might not work well, either.

“Next,” ordered Jonah, clapping Ujjal Singh Grewal on the back. The big man was carrying a heavy laser that was normally a crew-served weapon, though he had little trouble handling it himself. The Sikh secured himself and went down while Jonah watched, wondering if he should have detailed him for last.

I can’t have it both ways, he thought. The big man with the weight of his equipment didn’t make the best climber, and the sooner he was down, the better.

It went on for a half an hour, with people going down, and ropes being passed to Charley at the bottom, until it was time for the snipers. Sarah went first with her heavier weapon, and Sandra followed.

“You ready, Joey?”

“Born ready, Colonel,” Many Bears said, securing himself to the rope.

I hope the damned nanites do a better job holding today, he thought. They couldn’t afford to lose any more of the steps. Without them, the trip downward would become much more difficult. But landing two of them on one increased the chances of an adherence failure.

Can’t be worse than Ujjal or Avgust, he thought as he watched Joey wave his light. Either of those two probably weighed as much as Joey and himself together, another good reason for sending them down early.

Jonah kicked off from the side just as the faint whine of an aircraft came to his ears. The sun was starting to rise, and soon the ledge would be fully lit. Not that it would help them any in the pipe, which would remain totally dark past the small lit area at the top.

Jonah landed on the step, Joey still on the rope and keeping station with one foot on the support.

“You secure?” the colonel asked as he attached his own safety harness to the rope below.

“Colonel, I may be new to this company, but I know my business.”

“Doesn’t hurt to make sure,” Jonah said, sending the signal up to detach the rope from above. It fell past him, dangling from the end in his hand.

A light flashed from below, letting him know they had that end, and he let go. It would be passed all the way down to Charley so he could continue his descent. It took about five minutes to send it down through every hand, and then Charley started off, followed by everyone else. It didn’t take long for every team member to advance another step, he and Joey a little longer than the rest.

Next time we’ll bring more climbing gear, the colonel thought as he landed beside Joey once again. The step came down as they huddled close to the wall, the colonel pulling it so it would miss them by a yard. The problem with bringing more gear was the weight. They were already limited to what they could carry, and the heavy clothing they needed for protection up here reduced that limit even more.

And so it went for another hour.

“I’m down,” Charley said. “Keep them coming.”

“Quiet,” Jonah hissed into the comm. “There’s light at the top of the pipe. Everyone hug the rock and stay still.”

Jonah was cursing to himself as he watched the light beam sweeping the walls above. It was a powerful beam, and he wasn’t sure they wouldn’t be picked out on the wall if it advanced far enough. It swept closer and closer. Whoever was up there seemed to know their business. It felt like only a matter of time before they were found, and Jonah prepared himself to hang back and fire at whoever was up there.

“If I fire, everyone start moving down.”

“Not me, Colonel!” Joey exclaimed, getting his own weapon ready to fire.

“You, too, son. If I can’t keep them busy myself, I don’t think you’re going to add much to the mix.”

“But…”

“No buts. If I start shooting, I want you rappelling down to the next step. And keep going until you hit the bottom. Understand?”

The young man nodded. Jonah couldn’t see his face through the coverings, but he knew the other mercenary had to be frowning.

All they could do now was wait and hope whoever was up there would give it up as a bad job.

“I’ve found an opening down here,” Charley called out.

Jonah looked over at Joey, then looked down. “Let’s go.”

* * *

It was still dark as pitch when the squadron of shuttles left the landing field. There were five of the craft, the gunship and four lightly-armed transports. They weren’t the only aircraft on the base, but they were the only ones capable of reaching the altitude at which they were going to resume their search.

Mmrash sat in the copilot’s seat, as he had the day before. A team of ten warriors sat in the troop compartment. The four remaining shuttles carried nose lasers and firing ports for the soldiers inside, if needed. They also carried a team of ten warriors, giving him a total of fifty dismounts. He could also pull the copilots from the other craft, but he preferred to leave them in place so they could back up the pilots and use the defensive weapons of the craft.

“Ship One. You’re to go up to the plateau and move along the edge. Ship Two will position itself to cover you.”

The acknowledgements came back immediately as the disciplined flight crews answered.

“Ships Three and Four, you’ll work your way along the wall, looking for anything unusual.”

“And us?” asked the gunship pilot, a male the commander preferred to keep an eye on.

“We’ll do a scan back a couple of miles from the wall,” he told the male, waving a finger in his face. “I want all scanning equipment to focus on that wall. If anything gives off heat, if anything moves, I want to know. Don’t fire unless I order it, but when I do, I want you to target and fire immediately.”

The male’s ears twitched in agreement, and the commander huffed and turned away. There was nothing he could say to an obedient trooper, but he was still sure that the pilot had been telling the boss about his failures. One day he’d find out for sure, and on that day, the trooper would suffer.

“What if they get to the base while we’re gone?” the pilot asked in a low voice.

“Fool. There’s no way they can get there without some kind of flying craft in that time. And where would they get a flying craft after we shot down the one they came in?”

The pilot looked confused, thinking about an answer to that question. Mmrash turned away with another huff. Let the male waste mental energy trying to come up with an answer to a question that had already been answered.

He wasn’t worried about the base. Not from these Humans, and not yet. There were still forty-five Xlatan there, as well as almost fifty soldiers of a lesser species. Add to that all the technicians who could fight if their hides depended on it, and they had nothing to fear from the abos.

“What’s that?” a voice asked over the comm. “This is Ship Three. We’ve spotted a wide ledge about two miles down the cliff.”

“Go and investigate,” ordered Mmrash, looking out the portal and spotting the ledge they were talking about. “We’ll cover you. Ship Four, continue your sweep.”

Ship Three moved over the ledge, very close to the cliff, its fans stirring up the light dusting of ice crystals that covered the surface of the ledge. Mmrash cursed under his breath. If there had been any tracks on that surface, they’d been wiped clean by the fans of the shuttle.

“We’re down,” came the call over the comm. A moment later the rear hatch came down and the ten troopers ran out, fanning into a covering formation. “Nothing to report so far.”

“Make sure you give that area a thorough look,” ordered Mmrash.

“You think they’re there?” the pilot asked, craning his neck to look to the side where the ledges stretched for several miles.

“It would correspond with the time they had,” the commander said, ears twitching in agreement, “given how far they were from the ledge and the time it would take to climb down.” The commander thought for a moment, his ear tips folded forward in an indication of thought.

Unless they’re still up there on the plateau. Which they might be, if there weren’t many of them left and they were trying to escape detection. That might be the smart way to bet. But his gut feeling was that enough of them had survived that they’d be trying to continue their mission. He might be wrong. In fact, most beings would have given up after being splashed on that high plateau. But from the records he’d read on the Fierce Eagles, whatever those were, they wouldn’t give up easily.

The troopers down on the ledge were moving out, two walking down the ledge to the east and two to the west, while two more went to the cliff face and started looking for anything out of the ordinary. Four remained near the shuttle as a reaction force, a standard Xlatan tactic.

“We’ve found a cave opening,” came a call back. The commander looked down, the HUD on his helmet showing who was talking with a colored pip. Lrator, one of his best sergeants.

“Look inside, but be careful. There might be something living in it.”

He didn’t think that likely; however, he didn’t want to lose troopers because of assumptions.

“It’s a tight fit,” said the trooper who was entering the cave. “Low ceiling.”

“Show me.”

A viewer on the control board of the gunship came to life, showing the commander what his soldier was seeing. It was wide enough inside, with solid rock walls picked out in the soldier’s light. There was a thin sheen of moisture on the rear wall, reflecting the light.

The Xlatan were equally at home in the trees or on the ground, but they’d preferred caves while they were on the climb toward civilization. Their low to the ground method of locomotion made caves and tunnels perfect refuges. This was of a size to fit a clan of his people.

Perfect for us, except for the temperature, the lack of air, and no prey, he thought with a soft snort.

“There’s nothing here,” the soldier said after walking through the cave on his six paws, looking carefully at everything there was to see.

“Head back outside. I still want that ledge searched thoroughly.”

“It’s cold as the hells out here, sir,” said the sergeant in charge of the group.

“And it was even colder higher up,” Mmrash said. The troops had enough warm clothing with built in heating elements. A little bit of cold might seep through, but not enough to be a threat.

“We found something over here, sir,” came another call, this one from the team that was furthest west.

“Show me.”

Again the viewer showed the image of what that soldier was seeing. A large cleft in the cliff, with a space wide enough for a dozen Xlatan to crouch in walking gait. On the far side was a dark hole, reaching down into the earth who knew how far.

“Get a look down the hole. But be careful.”

If the Humans had gone down there, they might be lying in wait to shoot the first being to look over the lip. The soldier moved forward at a slow but steady crawl. He looked over the lip for a moment before drawing back, then looked over again, this time in an attitude of watchfulness. The soldier pulled out a powerful hand light and shone it down the shaft.

Mmrash made a hiss of surprise as he caught the image on the viewer. There was no bottom in sight, even though the light was illuminating the tube down to at least a mile. The soldier started sweeping the light along the walls. He did a thorough job, sweeping the light along the walls, illuminating a ten-foot section at a time. The wall wasn’t smooth, and there were a lot of shadows that couldn’t be seen into. Some overhangs, places where people could hide, but not more than a couple.

The soldier was at it for quite some time. Mmrash checked his timer and was surprised to see that fifteen minutes had passed since they’d found the opening to the tube, and the light was now disappearing into the inky blackness more than a mile in.

“Check it with infrared, then send a radar pulse down.”

It looked like a perfect place for the Humans to descend. Out of the wind, out of sight. But only if there was someplace it was heading to that would lead to their escape.

“Nothing on infrared, sir. Pulsing radar now.”

Again there was no result. The tube was a little over two miles deep according to the return, but that was all they could tell. The trooper picked up a rock and tossed it into the tube, then pulsed radar to follow it down.

“Do you want us to go down there, sir?” the soldier asked, a tone of trepidation in his voice.

“No, but I think sending a drone down might be a good idea.”

The other trooper came into view. With his head and face coverings, there was no way to read his ears. That was the primary means of nonverbal communication among his people, and he missed being able to read those signs.

“Deploying drone,” the second trooper said, pulling out a small disc, no more than six inches across, and tossing it into the air over the tube.

The small recon craft took a few seconds to orient, then started down, its central fan slowing its descent.

If you’re down there, we’ll find you, the commander thought, the tip of his tail twitching in excitement, sliding along the back of his head.

“We’re down a mile, sir. So far, nothing.”

Mmrash didn’t say anything. If the drone found something, it did. If not, they’d have to keep scouring the cliffside.

It took about ten minutes for the drone to reach the bottom, two and a half miles down. It had looked along the circumference of the tube all the way down, checking in multiple frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum. The tube wasn’t smooth, though there were some very smooth sections; mostly it was rough, with the many small crevices and overhangs they’d noted from the examination by the soldier’s light. Still, nothing that could conceal a number of people. If there were a number of people, something the commander still wasn’t sure of.

“We’ve reached bottom, sir,” the soldier said. “A couple of small openings, just large enough for a Xlatan, and a small ledge on the cliff. Other than that, nothing. Do you want us to do anything else to check it out?”

“No. It doesn’t look like they came this way. And it appears from your scan there’s nothing at the bottom. Head back to your craft. We have a lot more territory to cover.”

The relieved troopers both started back, leaning their heads close to each other so they could talk without having to use the comm. The commander couldn’t hear them, as they’d turned their comms down. They can talk all they want, as long as it’s not in front of me, he thought.

“Take us further along the cliff wall to the east,” Mmrash said, pointing to the far side of the ledge. “It looks like a narrow walkway continues on from there. Then we’ll drop down to have a look at that lower ledge.”

The pilot’s ears twitched in acknowledgement and he banked the ship in that direction. Behind them the shuttle took to the air.

“That would have been the perfect place for them to have spent the night,” the pilot said.

Mmrash thought so as well. In fact, he’d been sure he’d gotten them this time. But no, they hadn’t been there, and he could cross this place off his list.

Something was stirring in the back of his mind, something that didn’t fit in with what they thought they’d found. At the moment he couldn’t put a claw on it. No matter how hard he thought, it wouldn’t come to him.

Maybe in a little while, he thought, staring at the cliff as it went by.

* * * * *

Chapter Seven

“A bit of luck, eh,” Basil Paudel said in his English accent.

“A bit of luck, I’ll say,” Joey said, walking right behind the Gurkha Englishman.

They might have missed the opening in the tube wall if not for the sharp eyes of Asuka Yamashuri. The Japanese stealth specialist had eyes like a cat, and he’d spotted the patch of greater darkness in the wall the rest of them had missed. The ninja was fortunately near the front of the line, so there were only four below him who had to climb up, while the rest of them could still climb down.

“It was still a near thing,” Charley said from near the front.

And so it was. Everyone had needed to perform a close rappel. Not really a rappel at all, but a slide down the wall while hugging it. A difficult maneuver, especially when they were trying to remain hidden. If not for the stealth coverings over their winter clothes, absorbing radar while blending in optically with the darkness, they’d have been spotted. Everyone on the team had closed up all the vents on their clothing so that they wouldn’t radiate any heat.

And almost died of heat stroke in a seventy degree below zero environment, the colonel thought, shaking his head. They’d worked fast and had barely gotten themselves and all their equipment into the tunnel. Yamashuri had hung a blanket of active stealth material over the opening, swiftly rippling it to make the textures look like natural rock. They’d heard the drone wiz by on its fans, crouching with bated breath, waiting for it to slow down and scan the blanket more carefully. Fortunately it had continued on, and they’d been able to head down the tunnel.

Now, we need some more luck. If this was a dead end, they were really screwed. Their only chance of survival was to get to the jungle in the canyonlands, where they’d have room to hide, and even more importantly, to maneuver.

“How far do you think we’ve come, sir?” asked Yusef bin Sherif, right behind with his partner, Ahmed Mohammed, carrying the small, lightweight mortar that was their charge.

“No more than a mile, Yusef,” Jonah replied, looking at the tunnel stretching ahead. It had been widening along the way, going from a passage they could barely crouch in to something the tallest member of their party could walk along with plenty of headroom.

It was a couple of yards from wall to wall, and so far they’d continued in a generally downward direction. He estimated that it was still about seven miles down to the foothills of the canyonlands, and at the grade of this tunnel, they only had thirty miles to walk. If they were lucky enough to find a straight way out of here. If there was a way out from this point.

“Sir. You need to see this,” came the voice of Manny Fernandez, their current point man, over the comm.

“What do you have, Manny?”

“It looks like a whole world, sir. A whole damn world stretching out ahead of me.”

“Well, let’s get a look at this place,” Charley said with a chuckle.

* * *

“Nothing,” Mmrash growled, glaring at the cliff as if he was about to attack it for not giving up his enemy. “Not a damned thing on these gods-cursed cliffs.”

“That cave looked like our best bet,” the pilot said, “but I bet there are a thousand caves scattered along this cliff.”

Mmrash could see the cave in his mind’s eye. There was something about it. He punched in some commands on the copilot’s board and pulled up the vid from the soldier who’d gone into the cave. There was nothing there but the sheen of some liquid on one of the walls.

Liquid? It was seventy degrees below zero on that ledge. It couldn’t have been much warmer in that cavern. Unless?

“Shuttle Three. I want you to head back to that ledge and go down that tube. I want a thorough search of all the walls.”

“Sir, we checked it out,” came back the reply from the squad leader.

“Then check it out again. That’s where they went. I want you to find them. So get your men into that hole and find them.”

Mmrash cut off the comm before he started cursing. His voice had already risen well above what he wanted his men to hear out of him.

“What was it, sir?” the pilot asked, looking over at him with questioning eyes.

“Moisture in a high-altitude cave, at below freezing, when there shouldn’t have been any. They spent the night in that cave, and they closed it off and heated it during the night, enough for the moisture to condense on the rock walls.”

“And it hadn’t frozen again? Is that possible?”

“Not if it was water,” the commander growled, his ears twitching. “But if it was some other liquid. Something exuded from the rock wall when the temperature rises. Something that takes longer to freeze than water. I don’t know what it was, but I do know it shouldn’t have been there.”

Mmrash pointed back toward the ledge, now out of sight. “Get us to there as fast as you can. I need to look at that cave.”

* * *

“We’ve withdrawn the contract from the Ravagers,” said the being on the Tri-V, “but I have a feeling their commander is suspicious about our actions.”

They can be suspicious, Jillor, the being known as the boss, thought scowling. The being doing the talking was his immediate superior in the Syndicate. Handling the other Human mercenary company wasn’t his responsibility. Handling the one here was, and he wanted to report they’d been killed. It would be even better if he captured some.

Sometimes the boss thought the hunger for revenge that seemed to infect his species was irrational as all the hells. If they’d just left the Eagles alone, he wouldn’t be worrying about them being here, on his world. It had seemed so easy—just lure them here, get the signal from the ship whose captain had been well paid to let him know when they arrived, then shoot their shuttle down. If not for that idiot Xlatan commander, they’d have been finished.

Why worry, he thought, closing his eyes. Only a couple of them could have survived, and what can a couple of Humans—not even in their armored suits—do?

But he did worry. This operation, this lucrative commercial activity, was his. He took in the largest cut of the profits, outside of what went up the chain to the council of bosses. There were many organizations that would love to shut them down, and even more who’d like to have this operation in their own pockets.

“Are you doing okay, boss?” his secretary asked over the comm.

“Fine. Fine. But I think I need to get some air.”

Hefting his heavy body out of his chair, he plodded around his desk, then out the door, ignoring the female who stared at him as he passed. Later he might be thinking of her, when he got the heavy things that were bothering him off his mind. He ignored the guards at the entrance as well, waving off the offer to provide an escort. If he, as prime a specimen of his fierce species as there was, couldn’t walk his own operation without protection, something needed to be done to increase their overall security.

The compound was humming with activity. Trucks rolled through the gates, running almost silently on their engines, to line up at the dumping stations. Cranes lifted tree trunks from the beds and dropped them onto the conveyors that ran into the closed building of the processing machines. Dozens of the aborigines worked the line, picking up the vegetable matter, leaves, and branches that fell from the cranes. They went sullenly about their task, until an overseer started plying a whip of agony. Sparks jumped from the long strands onto the slick skin of the natives, eliciting screams. The abos went about their tasks with more alacrity.

There was a scent to the air, the sickly-sweet scent of the vegetation being crushed. The boss couldn’t detect the odor of the substance for which they were mining the forest, but he knew it was there, and it was moving off planet in ever-increasing amounts.

A shiver of pleasure ran up his spine as he thought of the riches they were harvesting. When they established the next compound, eight hundred miles to the west and closer to the sea, they would double the take. If he was named overall supervisor of the entire planet, his take would set him up for life. The experts thought they could harvest this planet for two or three centuries before it played out. After that? What would the people do who wanted that bounty? Who were addicted to it? He shook his head at the thought. He’d be dead long before then, and like most in the Syndicate, he cared little for the future that stretched beyond his death. The Universe could die a heat death the day he died, and it wasn’t his concern.

“Get up!” yelled the voice of one of the overseers, swinging his whip of agony onto the back of an abo who was lying curled up on the ground.

The Kalagarta screamed, hugging himself and squirming as the whip hit. No matter how many times the overseer struck, the native stayed on the ground. And even worse, more of them were standing and staring at their fellow.

Can’t have this, Jillor thought, pulling his pistol from its holster and storming over to the native. Stopping a couple yards from the native, he took careful aim and put a beam into its head, burning through and into the ground in an instant. Tinted steam came rushing from the hole, the vaporized remnants of the creature’s brain.

“Back to work!” the boss roared, glaring at the other natives, then turning his gaze on the overseers. “Keep them working. Any slack in production will come out of your pay.”

Every one of the overseers went into frenzies of activity, plying their whips, keeping the shocked aborigines moving. No more fell to the ground. A quick glance at the body of their fellow, lying where it had been killed, reminded them that the tactic wasn’t one that would help them.

A pair of guards walked up to remove the body of the being Jillor had just murdered.

“Leave him!” he yelled, waving the guards away. “Let him remain as an example to the rest of them.”

“He’ll start to stink up the place,” said one of the overseers, keeping his eyes averted from his leader.

“You can deal with the stink for the day. Tonight you can dispose of him.”

“And if the Xlatan want the meat?” another overseer asked.

“Then they can damn well wait!” the boss roared, rounding on the frightened employee. “I’m sure their stomachs can handle a little bit of gamey food.”

The thought of the Xlatan increased the anger that had risen over having to kill one of the workforce. Not that one abo was that important, but one dead native meant they had to break another one in. The Xlatan could be another problem. They were a very loyal species. That was the problem. Their loyalty was to their own kind, and if he had to do something to their commander, he faced a possible revolt from the rest. Unless he killed them before they could react, there was a great chance they would overwhelm the rest of his guard force. Even if he killed them all, others of their people might seek revenge.

The boss looked over at the large round hut. The occupant never came out, and food was brought to it. Otherwise, everyone in the compound stayed clear of its quarters. It was his ace in the hole, the ultimate weapon. With a shudder, he walked toward the hut. As much as the occupant disgusted him, maybe it was time to try and bond a bit more. If that was possible with a creature such as it.

* * *

“My God!” Sandra Clemenceau exclaimed, stepping up beside her commander on the ledge overlooking the massive cavern.

My God indeed, Jonah thought, shaking his head. He was sure the god he believed in had nothing to do with the one she invoked. His god wasn’t the creator of the universe. No, his deity was satisfied to do his work on Earth. If it even really existed, which he doubted, just as he doubted the God many people of Earth worshipped existed, either.

But the sentiment was well placed. He was looking into a cavern that would have stood up well amongst the greatest underground passages of Earth. Carlsbad Caverns, Mammoth Cave. It seemed to stretch off into the distance like a world of its own. Huge pillars of rock rose from the floor or fell from the ceiling to join together. Some were tens to hundreds of yards wide, while one in the distance looked to be just under a mile. It was narrow to either side, but widened quickly. A slight glow illuminated the cavern, while the thin air made the view almost as clear as it would be in vacuum.

“This one cavern must cover at least twenty square miles,” Charley said, staring out into the distance, “and that’s just what we can see. Look at those openings over there. And there. There could be a dozen of these caverns connected down here. More.”

“And we’re almost at the level of the mid-section ecosystem,” said Ivan Zhukov, who, as a born and raised hunter, was the closest thing the team had to a biologist. “We were coming down pretty steady along the last couple of miles.”

“Beats having to climb down a cliff,” Joey said, interrupting.

“The point is,” Zhukov said, giving the young Sioux a sideways look, “if we’re on the same level as the mid-section ecosystem, these caverns might open up on it.”

“Could it continue down into the canyonlands?” Sandra asked, her eyes narrowing in thought.

“It might,” Charley said. He was their greatest expert on geology, having taken some classes in the last couple of years. “But don’t get your hopes up. I’d be satisfied enough if we’re able to get onto the midlands.”

The midlands were what they were calling the twenty- to thirty-mile-wide plateau/ledge that ran around the walls of the canyon, unbroken for thousands of miles. There was one on the other side of the canyon as well, though slightly lower. It was Terra Incognita to the team, and they had very little information on it. Much lower than the high plateau, it still had an air pressure slightly less than the top of Everest on Earth, with a temperature to match.

Forty thousand square miles of ecosystem, about the size of the island of Cuba. The only things they knew about it were that the animal life was more closely akin to that of the canyonlands, while the vegetation was a hybrid of high plateau and low river system.

“We should be able to make our way through that terrain with enough cover to stay hidden,” Achilles Antonopolis said, nodding, “and have our pick of spots to descend into the lowlands.”

“First we need to get through this cavern,” Jonah said, glancing over at the Greek. “What do we know that might call this underground world home?”

“Not a damn thing,” Kabir said, his left hand stroking the barrel of his grenade launcher.

“Exactly,” the leader agreed, “which means we need to stay close and alert.”

“And we’ve got another problem, Colonel,” called out Asuka Yamashuri, running beside Hotaru as they came up from their position in the rear, where they’d been listening to the small transmitters the team had left in the tube. “We’ve got company coming our way, and I don’t think they’re going to miss us this time.”

* * *

“Well,” said Lrator, the sergeant who was their medic and the closest thing they had to a scientist among the Xlatan, “it’s not water. In fact, I’m not really sure what it is. Only that it takes much longer to freeze than water.” The male was looking at a sample through a portable molecular scanner that was giving him a good look at the now refrozen substance on the wall. “Its molecular structure would absorb heat like nothing I’ve ever heard of. We might be able to make some serious credits if this stuff could be processed as a coolant.”

“Never mind that,” Mmrash growled, glaring at the trooper. “So you think this stuff might have melted from the heat the Humans generated in this cave, then refroze hours after they left.”

“Probably,” Lrator said.

Again Mmrash was frustrated that they were all wearing head coverings that obscured their ears. Without that signal, he really couldn’t tell how much conviction the other male had in what he was saying.

“It looks like something producing heat was sitting over here, sir,” called out another soldier.

Mmrash hurried over, his six-footed walking stance giving him more than enough headroom to move quickly.

“Right here. It looks like something heat-producing was sitting here for some time.”

Whatever machine they’re using to concentrate breathing gas, the commander thought. Looking at the spot where the liquid had melted, then frozen again, he could get a general idea of the size of the machine. Not that large, but obviously big enough to give all the Humans in the party enough gas to last them through the day. Of course they’d have to have such a machine, or carry an inordinate amount of gas cylinders with them.

“How many people do you think that thing could supply?” he asked Lrator, who had moved over to have a look.

“With Galactic tech, a hundred.”

“But they wouldn’t have had Galactic tech,” Mmrash said, staring at the area where the supposed machine had sat. “So maybe twenty?”

“Sounds reasonable,” Lrator said. “That might be the upper limit, which would match the size of their shuttle. But we can’t assume the upper limit.”

No, we can’t. But I’m thinking we’re going to be facing at least ten of the creatures. Maybe twenty. That was a number his group should be able to handle. Unfortunately, from what he’d read about these Humans, they were elite special ops, experts in stealth and the silent dealing of death. He couldn’t assume anything if he didn’t want to get a bunch of his people killed.

The commander ground his teeth as he thought. He needed to send enough people down the pipe to the side cavern they’d located by drone, but he also needed to keep enough with him up here to continue the search, in case that wasn’t the path they’d taken.

“I want you to deploy two squads, Lrator. Climb down there and go into that cavern. Follow them all the way, but be cautious. These people have already shown themselves to be very good at what they do.”

“They were shot down easy enough,” the other soldier said.

“What they do well doesn’t include aerial maneuvering,” Mmrash shot back. “Don’t take them lightly. From what I understand, their leader, this Colonel Jonah, killed a Besquith in hand-to-hand.”

Both of the males showed startled reactions at that. Xlatan thought they were the best warriors in the Galaxy, but none of them wanted to tackle a Besquith in one-on-one, hand-to-hand combat. Any being that could do that deserved respect.

“Well, get to it. Bring plenty of climbing gear, and enough rations for several days. And plenty of comms relays. I want to know what’s going on down there.”

“Yes, commander,” Lrator said, dipping his head in respect, then turning to hurry from the cavern.

If I’d paid attention the first time I came in here, Mmrash thought, still staring at the spot the machine had sat through the night, we might already have caught them, and we could be safe and warm back at the compound.

As he left the cave, the thought struck him that there could have been another outcome to an earlier meeting. Such as he and half his team dead in an ambush.

* * * * *

Chapter Eight

Jonah felt the sweat rolling down his back as he followed the path through the cavern. It was still cold as hell outside his protective coverings, but walking and carrying the loads they were forced to deal with was heat-producing work.

“How far?” he asked Ivan, who was keeping track of their progress, mapping their course on a hand comp.

“Well, taking into account the mile and a half we had to double back after coming to that wall,” the scout said, looking intently at the comp, “I’d say five miles.”

“So we’re what?” Charley asked, walking beside his friend and leader. “Six miles ahead of the pursuit?”

“About that,” Ivan replied.

“Then maybe it’s time to set up some surprises for them,” Charley suggested, a smile in his voice. “Just to let them know we care.”

“Good idea. And this would be a good time to call a halt for ten.”

The team stopped where they were in the line, most taking a seat on the rock, some continuing to stand and watch, while a few more started setting mines at strategic places. A flock of creatures that looked like pale bats fluttered in and flew around their heads. Mercs swatted at them, and after a few minutes the creatures flew off, probably deciding the new things were not a threat, and definitely not food.

They’d seen some other animals along the way. Nothing larger than a small dog, and most were rodent-sized, all with thick fur. Something that resembled mushrooms grew here and there. One of the coolest finds was a spindly plant that grew pods containing almost pure oxygen at pressure. They discovered those when one of the pseudo-rodents was seen biting off a pod and swallowing it whole.

As long as those things are around, we won’t run out of air, Jonah thought, sitting with his back against the cold wall. They hadn’t checked the animals yet. None, with the exception of the bat creatures, had wandered close enough to catch, and he hadn’t wanted to fire a weapon lest the pursuers home in on it. However, he had no reason to believe they weren’t edible, since they seemed to be similar to the wildlife in the lowlands. Those were known to be compatible with Earth digestive systems, so why not these?

“Okay,” Charley said, sliding to the ground to sit beside his friend. “We’ve got some gifts hidden for them. Now, if only they’ll cooperate.”

“That’s the rub,” said Ivan from the other side of Jonah after he had taken a seat. “The bad guys never do what you want, do they?”

“Well, often enough that it’s still worthwhile trying,” Charley said, nodding. “And if they set one off, it’ll take out a few, and make the others watch their step.”

“We ready to go?” Jonah asked, forcing himself to his feet.

There were groans all around, but everyone got up, some faster than others.

“Just think of the Yamashuris while you’re moaning and groaning,” Charley said in a voice loud enough to carry to the entire party in the thin air. “While you were copping a squat, they were running on ahead to check out our path.”

That had been Charley’s idea after the last dead end. Send a couple of scouts ahead to make sure the path was clear. As long as they could see the larger cavern, there was always a way up and over any obstacle. If they walked any distance down a tunnel and faced a dead end, there was nothing for it but to backtrack.

“Those fuckers are superhuman,” called out one of the mercenaries, eliciting laughs from the others.

Not really, Jonah thought, stifling his own chuckle. But the pair were the best conditioned soldiers he had ever served with, which was saying something, considering the general level of conditioning of the Fierce Eagles. He hadn’t been surprised when they’d volunteered to scout, though they’d just played rear guard for some hours and deserved a break. He felt better with the sharp-eyed pair running on ahead, though, so he’d accepted their offer.

“Move out,” he ordered, waving his hand to motion his people ahead. There was no telling how far they’d have to walk before they were back out in the open, or even if this route led to open sky.

Only one way to find out, he thought as he started trudging after the person in front of him. The only problem was, it would be his decision that put them into a position they might not be able to get out of. That responsibility weighed heavily on his mind as he slogged ahead.

* * *

Lrator didn’t like this place. Hells, he really didn’t like the entire planet, which smelled wrong, tasted wrong, and just plain felt wrong. But this enormous enclosed space, so unnatural, made his fur stand on end.

“How do we know we’re still on their trail?” asked Krassh, the other squad leader on the mission. “I haven’t seen sign of them in over a mile.”

Lrator thought about that for a moment before answering. He was considered one of the more intelligent of his species, soon to be raised to officer status. Because he was intelligent, he took his time with decisions that didn’t need to be made instantly.

“Do you have a better path for us to take, Krassh?” he finally asked, not having the answer himself and willing to admit it.

“No. But perhaps if we spread out.”

“Commander Mmrash ordered us to stick together, and for good reason. With two squads, we can put down a base of fire and maneuver an element into the enemy. With fewer? Well, we might find ourselves shoved away by a stronger enemy.”

“What enemy could be stronger than we are?” asked the other sergeant, his tail swishing back and forth in his environmental suit, an indication of outrage. “We are Xlatan. Nothing is stronger than we are.”

You don’t really believe that, do you? Lrator thought, glad for the moment that his ears weren’t visible. His people weren’t very proficient at lying, since their ears and tails gave away their emotions. Wrapped as they were, that was not true at this time. Lrator didn’t want to lower the morale of the troops, but as a medic, and trained as he was in biology, he knew better. There were many species stronger than Xlatan. There were also many species smarter than they were. Fortunately, there were very few who were both stronger and smarter. He didn’t know which category the Humans fell into, and he wasn’t about to take any chances.

“We’ll keep moving the way the commander ordered. Just make sure your warriors keep a close eye out for any sign of the enemy.”

“A damned waste of time, if you ask me,” the other sergeant said. “I…”

“No one asked you.”

“What about initiative?”

“I’m in command of this formation,” hissed Lrator, moving into the other male’s personal space and leaning his snout in close to the face of the lesser sergeant. “While I am in command, only my initiative counts. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” Krassh said in a surly tone. “I understand.”

And now I have an enemy, thought the senior of the two sergeants. There had been other males present when he’d dressed down the other, and the warrior had lost face. Face he would be anxious to regain by doing something back to his detractor.

“We found something, Sergeant Lrator,” came a call over the comm. “Looks like the footprint of something on the cavern floor.”

“Human?”

“I, uh, don’t know, Sergeant Lrator,” came the reply, causing Lrator to curse under his breath. Of course the stupid lower-ranked soldiers wouldn’t know. In fact, he wouldn’t have been surprised if no one in the Xlatan company knew what a Human foot looked like, much less an entire Human. The ignorance of his comrades was embarrassing to the medic/biologist.

“I’ll be right there. Touch nothing until I…”

“What’s this,” said another voice over the comm. “It looks like…”

The Xlatan warrior never got to finish telling everyone what it looked like, whatever it was. The shock wave of a small blast flew through the air while the rock underneath shook slightly.

Lrator dropped to all sixes and broke into a run, pushing other Xlatan to the side as he barreled through. From the sound of the explosion, his services as a medic would be needed.

One trooper lay on the ground, obviously dead, with the front of his environmental suit ripped out and shredded flesh revealing his internal thoracic organs. He lay slack on the ground. There was nothing to be done for that one.

The other two might be saved. One was missing a forward right arm, while another lay back against a wall with his hands over his abdomen.

“What was it?” Lrator asked, squatting on his four rearmost members while he dug into his medic’s bag and pulled out a nanopatch.

The trooper let out a groan, then started to talk in a low voice while the sergeant gently placed the patch over the ragged edge of the stump. The patch immediately adhered and worked its way up the stump, sealing off the blood vessels.

“Shramm there picked up a small object that looked like some discarded ration can,” the wounded soldier said.

Lrator moved over to the other soldier, running a small scanner over his body with a hollow feeling in his stomach. The soldier had suffered considerable internal damage. If he could be gotten to a hospital, soon, he might survive. Unfortunately, they were more than an hour from the surface, and the soldier would be dead in less than fifteen minutes. He’d be in agony the entire time.

“And what happened then?” the sergeant asked, pulling out an injector and setting the dose carefully. He patted the soldier on the shoulder, then pushed the injector through the suit and into the flesh underneath.

“The ration can flew into the air on a jet, then exploded outward,” continued the soldier who would survive.

The hand of the other fell from his abdomen and he slumped down. Lrator ran the scanner over him again, then closed his eyes and said a quick prayer for the soul of the fallen. The overdose of pain medication had stopped his hearts in an instant, and the soldier had gone peacefully into the dark instead of suffering.

Xlatan believed in being able to handle pain—in being tough—but the medic had his own beliefs, and suffering for the sake of suffering wasn’t one of them.

“Can you walk?” Lrator asked the injured male after giving him an injection of pain medication, in his case a survivable dose.

“I think so,” the soldier said, pushing himself into a bipedal stance. “I won’t be able to run.”

“Just do the best you can. And everyone else listen up. If you see something you don’t recognize, keep your hands off of it. Call me or Krassh up to look at it.” Preferably me, he thought, though he couldn’t say it.

There were many replies coming over the comm, some with a tone of fright, others with surly resignation.

“Then let’s move out.”

“What about our two comrades? Shouldn’t they receive a burial?”

Lrator closed his eyes and cursed again under his breath. “Do you see any soil we can bury them in?” he asked, looking at the gathered troopers. “Do any of you want to carry them?”

He didn’t get an answer to either question, which told him what he needed to know.

“If we catch the Humans and end up coming back this way, we can carry them back with us.” And we’re fortunate the Humans didn’t follow up their trap with an attack, he thought, looking around and noting that there were no soldiers on guard; everyone was standing around staring at their dead and wounded.

“Tactical formation at all times!” he shouted into the comm, grabbing the arm of the nearest soldier and pushing the Xlatan in the direction they were going. “Stand around like idiots and you’ll be killed. I really don’t care so much about that, but you might take me with you.”

The troopers moved with alacrity, and due to that reaction, Lrator thought he would indeed make an effective officer.

* * *

Jonah stopped and held up a hand when he felt the slight shudder through the ground. Several seconds later, the faint boom of the explosion propagated through the thin air.

“Well, our trap has gone off,” Charley said, a tone of triumph in his voice.

“But what set it off?” Jonah asked, looking back the way they’d come. The bomb was three miles back, which meant the Xlatan chasing them were that far back as well. Which meant they’d been closing the distance.

“We can hope our furry friends did it,” Joey said, shrugging his shoulders.

“But how many did it take out?” Ivan asked, busy setting up another trap, this one quite a bit different than the first, or the other two he had set behind them.

“How many do you think?” Jonah asked, looking through his helmet HUD zoom function and seeing nothing due to the intervening terrain.

“Not more than a couple,” Ivan said, shrugging his wide shoulders. “Even if they were gathered in a clump. I still think we should’ve put more into that first booby trap.”

“If we had,” Charley said, walking up to stand chest to chest with the scout, “we might have used all of our explosives for nothing.”

“Now they’ll have to take more care in advancing,” Jonah said, stepping between his two friends before it became a shoving match.

Everyone is on edge, the colonel thought. He couldn’t blame them. They were trained to move and fight in a terrestrial environment, not in this unbreathably-thin atmosphere in freezing temps, locked in their environment suits. And with an enemy on their tail. They’d only carried on so well because of their training and esprit de corps, but tempers were frayed, and it wouldn’t take much to get them fighting among themselves.

“I’m tired of running,” Manny Fernandez growled, pulling his machete from its sheath. “Why don’t we make a stand and fight?”

“We don’t know how many there are,” Basil complained.

Jonah was looking around as the rest argued. The terrain looked good. The path sloped upward and gained thirty yards over the next couple of hundred. The area at the top had a lot of cover from rocks. And up there…

“Sandra, could you and Sarah get a good field of fire from that platform up there?” he asked, pointing to a ledge along a fifty-yard-wide rock support.

“I think we could get a perfect field of fire up there,” the sniper replied, nodding, “if you promise you’ll give us cover to get down when it’s time.”

“I think we can promise that,” the colonel said, his eyes still roaming the area looking at where to place the rest of his team. “Then that’s what we’ll do. It’s time to kick those furry bastards in the teeth and chase them screaming back the way they came.”

Everyone started talking at once. A few were against the idea, but most sounded excited to finally have a chance to strike back at their pursuers. And what better place, in an environment where the enemy couldn’t use their air superiority.

“This is how we’ll do it. But I want to make it clear that we’re going to conserve as much of our firepower as possible during this engagement. Only shoot if you have a good target. Otherwise, lay and wait. Clear?”

The acknowledgements came back, and now there were no dissenting voices.

“Good. Then let’s get to it.”

* * * * *

Chapter Nine

Mmrash sat in the copilot’s chair of the gunship, studying the Tri-V above the control board. Two of the shuttles, those whose troops had gone below, sat on the ledge to either side of the gunship. What use was flying around when they knew where the enemy was, and there was no way the aircraft could do anything to them? The two remaining shuttles had gone down to the midlands below, one to sit, while the other flew around watching for the Humans to reappear.

I hope we can kill them out in the open, the commander thought, reading about the species with a feeling of dread, almost horror, running through him. He’d been going over the records they had on the Humans. He’d assumed they were fairly weak, thin-skinned creatures. Smarter than most species, but nowhere near the brightest in the Galaxy. From what he’d read so far, that assumption could come back to bite him.

It’s like they don’t know how to give up, he thought, reading about their second global war during a period they called their twentieth century. One coalition had reached a point halfway through when there was no way they could win. No possible way. Their reaction was to fight even harder. One power had to be invaded and all of their lands taken, while the other one, the truly mad nation, had been struck with the first atomic weapons on their world before they’d surrendered, but only after the ruler had dismissed the opinions of his subordinates who wanted to fight on. Insanity. If this one instance wasn’t enough, there were references to time after time when the Humans refused to surrender.

The Xlatan were a fierce species, as brave as any, yet they would still give up, or at least flee to another region, if the only other alternative was to see their entire clan destroyed. They’d warred on each other for millennia, but those were all clan affairs—maybe a couple of thousand warriors, a hundred times that, at most. When one side had lost about half their warriors, surrender was the only option. The Humans rallied armies in the millions and fought campaigns of slaughter. Every time the technology got to the point where it seemed wars would be unimaginable, they found another way to fight them. How in all the hells did they survive their atomic era?

His people had survived because no clan would destroy the environment they all depended on. Somehow the Humans had survived without that imperative. No matter the technology, no matter the disparity of forces, the creatures showed surprising initiative and creativity in devising the means to fight and win. Now they were a world at peace, one that hadn’t seen a real war in centuries. The Galactic Union had seen to that. They were still primitive compared to the most powerful of the species. The only thing they had to sell, just like the Xlatan, were their warriors. The best warriors among their billions of people, given the best equipment they could get.

Initiative, intelligence, stealth. They were formidable in their way, but surely a species descended from arboreal fruit eaters couldn’t possibly be a match for beings sprung from predators. That brought up the next unsettling fact. Those arboreal fruit eaters had come down from the trees, learned to walk in a bipedal stance, and became the preeminent predators in a predator-rich environment, without the natural tools of the other killers. His own people had become tool users, but on the hunt they still depended on what nature had given them.

Mmrash pulled up a Tri-V of the Humans, male and female. They did look weak, and slow, but they possessed a brain case as large as any Xlatan. Probably larger. They didn’t even have protective fur on their bodies, which made them susceptible to the weather, unlike his people. Now the glandular system that allowed them to cool their bodies efficiently, that was a wonderful adaptation. Still, they didn’t have a lot of natural weapons. They had no claws, and their teeth were pathetic. He doubted that a Human at his throat could even cut through his fur, much less the skin and muscle underneath.

But the weapons they developed. His people had weapons. Swords, spears, blunt crushing instruments. The Humans had developed a hundred martial traditions. They had tamed animals for use in warfare, some of which, like the elephant, were formidable beasts. Not all traditions were equal. The Europeans had rolled over the peoples who didn’t have gunpowder weapons, but those people had still fought back with ferocity.

A short video started playing, showing Humans engaging in athletic events, and he quickly revised his opinion of their physical prowess. Some manifested strength to the extreme, lifting almost twice what the strongest of his people could. Some could cover distances with great speed, and their distance runners could outpace most species over a long course. Because of their cooling system? He had no doubt the average Xlatan could display greater strength and much greater speed than the average Human, but they weren’t talking about averages here. These people would be the best of the best, and he’d sent two squads down to face them in a region where his clan’s aircraft were useless.

Finally, he pulled up a video of the creature this company was named after. It was a large bird, with talons as long and sharp as any on his world, and a beak that looked like a pair of cutting blades. The creature looked at him out of the Tri-V, and that gaze showed a fierceness he had not often seen. Fierce Eagles indeed, he thought, a shiver running down his spine.

All of a sudden, the commander didn’t feel so good about his chances of stopping these people. He dismissed the thought. He was Xlatan, and he was an officer of his people. It was cowardly to think of defeat before it happened. He would hunt them down, and he would kill them; of that he was sure.

“Sir,” came a call over the comm, and he recognized the voice of Lrator. “We have made contact with the Humans.”

There was the sound of something cracking through the air, then the crump of an explosion.

“Gather them up, Sergeant. And try to take at least one alive if you can.”

“That might be harder than we thought, commander,” the sergeant said, an edge of panic to his voice. “There are at least a dozen of them.”

Mmrash felt a hollow weight in his stomach. He’d hoped there would at most be a half dozen of the Humans. Now it seemed that most of the people on the shuttle had survived, and he wondered if he’d sent two squads of his people to their deaths.

* * *

“I’ve got you, you bastard,” whispered Sandra Clemenceau under her breath, steadying her rifle as she placed the crosshairs of the scope over the face of one of the Xlatan. The only part of the face she could see were the eyes peering out of the helmet visor, since the rest was swaddled in cold-weather clothing. She didn’t want to attempt a shot through that visor. The rifle would probably punch through, but she wanted a sure kill.

Her finger squeezed the trigger in a smooth, practiced motion. The rifle pushed into her shoulder from the recoil as the ten-millimeter round flew silently out of the barrel, propelled up to two thousand meters a second by the magnetic accelerator of the weapon. It was the perfect sniper rifle, in her opinion. Silent, with no betraying flash, fast enough that the round travelled a basically flat trajectory over several thousand yards, and capable of blasting through just about any light armor. It wouldn’t go through the armor of a CASPer, not at its current setting, but she could ramp up the acceleration quite a bit more.

The round struck in the lower face of the creature, blasting through the cloth and the light armor of the environmental suit below. It didn’t pack enough punch to go all the way through, but then it didn’t need to. The head of the Xlatan warrior rocked back, then the body fell forward, its weapon falling out of its hands.

Sarah Cohen fired a half second after Sandra. Her weapon was much more powerful, throwing a twelve-millimeter round out at three thousand meters per second. Sandra still wasn’t sure how the other woman handled it, even with the bipod deployed to take up most of the recoil. Handle it she did, though, and well, and the round made to blast through heavy armor took the head off her target. Bright orange blood fountained into the air from the arteries that had been feeding the now-dead brain, and the Xlatan actually fell backward from the force of the strike.

The remaining Xlatan hit the ground, crawling for cover as soon as they were down. The rest of the company opened fire, and a couple of the enemy were hit before they got behind something. The rest started to return fire with their lasers, their beams invisible until they actually hit something. At that point the puff of vapor and the glow of heat indicated the hit.

The laser was the better weapon in most circumstances, since it was a totally flat trajectory and its time of flight was basically instantaneous. The Eagles had a reason for not using them, and as a dozen twenty-five-millimeter grenades exploded in the air over the enemy, that reason became apparent.

* * *

“Good shooting,” Jonah said into the comm as Amobi Kabir fired off a burst from his grenade launcher.

The weapon was as silent as any they had, but the grenade detonated in the air less than a second after firing, going off in a sequence at the specified range. Shrapnel was thrown downward, as programed, and though the colonel hoped they’d caused some damage to the enemy, that really hadn’t been the purpose. The smoke the grenades released dropped down and hung in the air, and suddenly every laser beam was highlighted. It was like the enemy had pointers leading the eye right back to the shooter.

“Get that cluster over there, Amobi,” the colonel ordered.

A moment later a string of grenades descended on the three Xlatan whose lasers pointed them out. The grenades reached the programed range and curved down on their miniature rockets, exploding right on top of the enemy soldiers. One continued to fire, but the other two lasers winked out and never returned to action.

“I’m hit,” Achilles Antonopolis called out in a voice filled with shock.

“I’m on it,” replied Dotty Farrah, their medic.

“Keep your head down, Dotty,” Charley said.

Most of the company was now in action, popping up, acquiring a target, then firing a burst before going back under cover. A couple of Xlatan were hit and went back to cover, though it was impossible to tell how badly they were damaged, if at all. One’s head exploded, while another fell forward to land on top of the rock and lay twitching in death. The two snipers were still at work, and had good fields of fire from their height, while not yet attracting any return fire.

“Fire discipline, people,” Charley called out.

They only had so much ammo. That ammunition being metal pellets for the most part, they carried much more than they would have if their weapons had been chemically powered. Still, the weapons needed power cells, so they only had so much. That was one reason he’d ordered Graham to set up his weapon and hold his fire until ordered. So far they hadn’t needed him. It looked like the enemy had taken a half dozen casualties so far, while the Eagles only had the one wounded. With luck that would be all they had.

* * *

Within a second of each other one Xlatan soldier fell forward, while the head of another exploded. Most species would have been frozen in shock. Not the Xlatan, all of whom immediately hit the dirt, their eyes sweeping to catch a glimpse of the enemy, or more importantly, to locate cover. They were crawling within a second, and all made it under cover before any more were hit. Lrator looked over at his two fallen warriors.

They didn’t have a chance, he thought, cursing himself before all the gods for leading his people into an ambush.

“Where are they?” yelled out one of the warriors, looking up over a rock.

“Keep your stupid head down!” Krassh yelled.

“Fire at will,” Lrator called out. “I don’t care if you don’t have a target. Just put something out there.”

The warriors moved up to look over their cover, triggering their weapons and sending powerful beams out into the cavern. Some were leaving their beams on a single spot, while others swept them back and forth.

“That should keep the enemy under cover,” Krassh said.

Only an idiot would believe that, Lrator thought, shooting and ducking back down. “Don’t expose yourselves so long!” he yelled to the others.

A series of small explosions blasted overhead, throwing shrapnel downward. One warrior cried out that he was hit, but the rest of it either missed or failed to penetrate the light armor of their suits. Lrator breathed a sigh of relief, then noticed the smoke that was drifting down from above. Now their beams were illuminated in the smoke, no longer invisible to the Humans, while the Humans’ fire was coming in without a trace, save the swirling of vapor as their rounds passed through.

More of the tiny explosive shells came in, this time coming right into a group of three of his soldiers and putting two of them down. Just when he was thinking it couldn’t get any worse, two more of his people went down, one with an exploding head, the other just as dead if not as massively damaged.

They have some people up high, he thought, craning his neck but not spotting the Humans. We need to get out of here, was his next thought. But if they got up and ran, they’d only be shot in the back, an unenviable end for any Xlatan warrior.

“Give me some smoke grenades to the front,” Krassh bellowed. The other sergeant was the first to throw one out, followed by a half dozen more. In an instant the air was filled with the white vapor. It hid them completely from the enemy, the chemical compound even masking their heat signatures. Unfortunately, it also degraded their laser beams. The enemy rounds slicing through the cloud proved it didn’t stop solid objects.

“We need to back out of here,” Lrator said, waving back the way they’d come.

“We need to attack them!” Krassh yelled. “Xlatan warriors don’t run from a fight!”

“I…”

Before Lrator could finish, the other sergeant was on his feet and charging through the mist. As if that wasn’t bad enough, four warriors followed. Lrator motioned for the remaining warriors, all four of them, to follow him to the rear.

The idiot just cost us the firepower we needed to actually defeat the enemy, the sergeant thought as he ran to the rear with the others following him. As he ran, he decided he’d been fooling himself. They never had enough firepower to defeat an enemy as skilled at ambuscade as these Humans.

* * *

“Watch out!” Jonah yelled over the comm as the grenades came arching out, spraying a white vapor that soon filled the air with an obscuring mist.

The colonel didn’t think it was a gas attack, some poison or corrosive. It was most likely an obscurant. But obscuring for what purpose? Attack or retreat?

Five Xlatan came running through the mist, lasers blazing, highlighted by the smoke in the air. The company fired back, this time Graham opening up as well and sending the beam of his heavy laser into the enemy. The Xlatan didn’t get far, only a couple of steps, before they were all cut down.

Was that all of them? Jonah wondered; he was sure there’d been more. It made no sense that some would attack in a headlong charge while the rest tried another maneuver. No military sense.

“Oh no!” Joey cried out. “They got Eric!”

Jonah felt a chill go through him. He thought they’d gotten through this fight without a loss, but apparently not. The colonel half-stood in a crouch and moved down the line to Joey’s position. He found the young Sioux mercenary holding the Spaniard, cradling the older man’s head in his lap. A laser burn smoked on the coverings over Menendez’s chest, and the sound of his respirator was missing.

“Everyone stay ready,” Jonah said into his comm, still aware of his responsibility to the company, even if an old hand had just been killed. “That wasn’t all of them.”

Dotty came running over, also in a crouch, then knelt beside Eric, running a medical scanner over the chest of the man.

“He’s gone. The beam must have burned through the top of his heart and the aorta.”

Jonah closed his eyes and said a quick prayer for the Spaniard. He looked back at Joey, who seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“How’s Achilles?” he asked his medical specialist.

“He didn’t get hit in the heel,” the medic said with a slight chuckle, earning an angry glare from Joey.

“Gallows humor, son,” Jonah said, putting a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “We all have to deal with the stress in our own way. And it beats the hell out of crying.”

“Achilles will be fine,” continued the medic, a low serious tone in her voice. “Superficial burns to his right shoulder. A little lower and he’d have lost the arm.”

“Then we need to get moving.” Jonah looked over his people, all still in position with weapons ready. “I don’t want to be here if the survivors come back with reinforcements.”

“It’s all clear up here,” Asuka Yamashuri reported over the comm. They hadn’t come back for the firefight, their singular abilities better suited to scouting ahead than engaging in a stand-up fight.

“I think we won this one,” Charley said, moving over to Jonah’s position. “Too bad about Eric.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Joey yelled, standing up and looking down on the major. “Too bad?”

“It happens, kid,” Charley said, staying down and looking up at the younger man. “It happens all the time. Someday it’ll happen to me, if I don’t retire first. And it may happen to you even sooner if you take liberties with your safety by standing up in a combat zone.”

Joey looked around for a moment like he wasn’t sure where he was, then went down on a knee so only his head looked over the rocks they’d been covering behind.

“That’s better,” Charley said, turning his attention toward his boss. “Now, what say we start on our way? Or do you want to wait until that mist dissipates?”

“It looks like that might take quite some time,” Jonah said, looking at the cloud, which looked like it was going nowhere fast. “Ivan, take Basil with you and see if there’s still anything to worry about. Take a roundabout route.”

“I know my business, boss,” said an aggrieved Zhukov. “You ready, Basil?”

“I’m going to complain to the mercenary’s union when we get home,” Paudel said with a chuckle.

“Just your turn,” Jonah said, watching as the two men took off to the west side of the cave so they could come around the enemy position on the flank.

“Come on down, Sandra, Sarah. And good job.”

* * *

“Lrator. Report.”

Mmrash was almost beside himself with conflicting emotions—anger that the squad leader wasn’t giving him the rundown on what was going on, and anxiety that he wasn’t.

“I’m here, sir.”

“What happened? What’s the status of your squads?”

“We’re down to five effectives, including myself, and one injured.”

Mmrash stared ahead in shock that the force he’d sent underground had been beaten so badly. But they had to have hurt the Humans as well. Badly. “How many of the enemy did you kill?”

“I’m not sure we killed any of them,” the sergeant replied. “We might have been able to do something, but that idiot Krassh led a charge that got himself and four of his warriors killed.”

“And why didn’t you go with him?”

“If I had, sir, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We’d all be dead. The Humans were too well emplaced, and they had weapons we couldn’t track or obscure.”

“I want you back here as fast as you can travel, then we’ll go over what you think they have.”

“You don’t want us to keep tracking them?” the sergeant asked, relief in his voice.

“It sounds like you don’t have enough of a force to take them out,” Mmrash said, closing his eyes. “I should have sent the entire platoon down there. I should have come with you.”

Of course the thought ran through his mind that if the Humans did indeed have over a dozen fit soldiers and the firepower it appeared they had, he could just as easily have led the larger force into an ambush, and he might be dead as well.

He needed to get them in the sights of his aircraft. Eventually they’d have to come to the surface, even if they didn’t continue to pursue their mission. They couldn’t survive indefinitely down there, could they?

* * * * *

Chapter Ten

“Well, this is different,” Ivan Zhukov said as they walked through the narrow passage into yet another cavern.

“It looks pretty much the same to me,” Joey said, shaking his head as he stood at the opening.

“That was sarcasm, son,” the Russian said with a laugh.

Jonah listened to the interplay with a smile. As long as his people could laugh, he thought, their spirits would continue to carry them through. He looked around the cavern. Of course it was different from all the other caverns—all four of them—that they’d already passed through. Different projections and crevices on the walls, different supporting formations. And about a mile lower than the one they’d entered this realm through. It was still quite similar, with the same colors, same minerals, and same sparse fungus-like plants. The same small animals zipped away from them as they approached.

“I wonder how big this system is?” Charley said, stepping up on a slight elevation to get a better look. “It’s like an underground world.”

“I really don’t want to find out,” Jonah said with a sigh. “I would rather just get out of it.”

“Then we have to face the Xlatan again,” complained Sandra, stepping up beside Charley. “And they have the only air force on this planet.”

“Once we’re down in the canyonlands we’ll have millions of square miles of jungle and forest to hide in,” Ivan said, raising a fist in the air and pumping it. “I like our chances.”

“Yeah,” Sandra said, shaking her head, “but we have to get down there to take advantage of all that lush vegetation. That’s the problem.”

“We’ve got something here you might be interested in, Colonel,” came the faint voice of Hotaru Yamashuri over the comm. “Asuka has run ahead a couple of miles, and it doubles back toward the canyon cliffs in a generally downward slope.”

“Can you guide us to your location?” Jonah asked, still worried the enemy might be able to listen in on their transmissions if they used the comm too much.

“Flash a light, please.”

Jonah held up his flashlight, capable of putting out millions of candlepower for hours on its charge, and triggered it, waving it in an arc. A moment later another intense beam shone from the distance.

“We’ve got you. Be there in a bit.”

The seventeen members of the team started through the cavern in tactical formation, spaced out in a line, those in the front paying attention to where they were going. The ones further back looked intently to the sides, making sure nothing out there was moving toward them. The few in the rear kept looking back, well aware that they might be followed, either by the Xlatan or by something native to the cavern. Weapons were held slung around their necks, ready to be elevated and used at a moment’s notice.

“Hold up a second,” Ivan said, holding a hand in the air. “Something’s moving up ahead. Something big.”

“Hold up!” Jonah shouted with a hand raised in the air, walking past the two soldiers ahead of him in the line, then the fifty meters to where Ivan stood.

“It looks like a big cow!” Jonah exclaimed as he took in the creature.

It really was about the size of a cow, one of the shaggy varieties that populated the Scottish Highlands. It even had the long horns curving to the sides. Differences included extremely short legs, a long bushy waving tail, and barely visible juts of bony armor. The creature took a large bite out of a mushroom head, then stood there, chewing.

A couple of smaller versions of the adult stood close by, looking over at the intruders that mamma was so far ignoring. They looked to be half-grown juveniles, and Jonah was wondering if they were going to nurse. He wasn’t sure they were mammals, or even had any mammalian characteristic outside of their fur. If it even was fur as Humans understood it.

The mother turned her head, lowered it, and regurgitated a mass of fungus material. In an instant the juveniles were on it, licking it up, each trying to get the lion’s share. Now they were ignoring the intruders. Mom took up the slack by turning her eyes to the three Humans. They were small and fierce looking, giving the Humans a murderous look.

“I really don’t like the looks of that thing,” Ivan said, shaking his head.

“Yeah,” Charley agreed, walking up to join them. “I bet it’s a hell of a fighter when it comes down to it. But I don’t think that armor will stop a magrail round.”

“We’re not in the business of killing animals for no reason,” Jonah said, looking over at his partner, “and most certainly not one with young.”

“Her apparent armament isn’t what concerns me,” Ivan said, giving a nervous glance at the cavern around him. “What really concerns me is, what in the hell did she evolve that equipment for?”

Jonah stared at Ivan for a moment, shocked at the observation. They’d only seen rodent-like animals down here until now. Nothing to be concerned about, since their predators were probably nearly as small. This changed everything.

“You think it might have wandered up from the surface?” Charley asked, his hand on the pistol grip of his rifle as he looked around.

“Be on watch for larger predators,” Jonah said into the comm. Hopefully, the behavior of this creature in front of them was an indication there were no predators currently around. The pair of ninjas wouldn’t have this weather gage, and not knowing what was around could kill them.

“What kind?” the voice of Hotaru came over the comm.

“We’re not really sure,” Jonah replied, still looking around, his eyes coming back to stare at the herbivore that was starting to act in what he thought of as an anxious manner. “Something that can take down a large, well-armed grazer. Something big and well-armed itself.”

“Or a pack of smaller horrors?” Hotaru asked, an edge of fear in her voice.

“That too. Why?”

“Because I think I’ve spotted a half dozen of them, and they’re stalking me and Asuka.”

* * *

“We’ve already found five openings into the cavern system, Commander. And that’s just within four miles to either side of the center point.”

The center point was what they were calling the straight line from the entrance the Humans had used to go into the cavern system down to the midlands. There was definitely no guarantee they would be coming out anywhere near the center point, but they’d needed to start the search somewhere.

“There could be hundreds of openings, sir. In fact, it’s beginning to look like the cavern system is just another part of the midland surface ecosystem.”

Fascinating, the commander thought sarcastically. I really don’t care about the biology of the midlands.

“Set up drones on every entrance,” ordered Mmrash.

“And when we run out?”

“Then I’ll try to get more.”

“I’m thinking they just might stay underground, commander,” Sergeant Nlorn said. “After all, if they have a machine to compress gas, and they can eat the native life, why can’t they stay in there?”

“I don’t think they came all this way on a mission just to cut and run, Sergeant. I’m sure they’ll be coming out of there and will attempt to get to the canyonlands and our base.”

“But I thought their strike force had been called off.”

“It has,” the commander agreed, “but they don’t know that.”

* * *

“I don’t understand why we’re still going to that planet, sir. The clients voided the contract, we’ve been paid the cancellation fee, and we’re just spending money on a trip for no purpose.”

Colonel Alexander Ramos, the commander of Ramos’ Ravagers, shook his head as he looked up at his second-in-command, Major Amanda Silvers.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Amanda,” he replied in his basso voice, “and we haven’t received word from Jonah White Eagle confirming he’s been called off the mission.”

“They’re probably on their way back to the station, sir. As soon as they’re back, we’ll know they got the recall order as well.”

The older mercenary thought his second had a good point. She was probably right. However, the gut feeling wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t scientific, but he’d listened to his instincts his entire life, from the time he’d been a private in a local defense unit, through his rise to platoon and company command, and through all his years running his own mercenary company. It would cost his company a lot of credits to continue what could turn out to be a wild goose chase, credits he really couldn’t afford. If he was wrong, he might be driving his company into the ground.

However, he knew he wasn’t wrong. Alexander Ramos was a good tactician, though not the best in the business. He was a good soldier, a good officer, and he made it a point to never leave someone counting on him hanging on a limb over a long drop.

“We’re going to continue to the planet and insert as per the plan,” the colonel said, looking up into the eyes of the younger officer who was like a daughter to him. “If I’m wrong, we’ll pay whatever penalty is levied for landing uninvited on a planet occupied by another species. But I’m not wrong.”

Silvers nodded, and Ramos could see the agreement in her eyes. She had to play devil’s advocate. That was part of her job.

“I’ll make sure the suits are all prepped, sir. What do you want me to tell the boys and girls?”

“I’ll think of something before too long, Amanda. Let me worry about it.”

“Probably something good, like how we don’t leave fellow Humans in the lurch?”

“Something like that. Just take care of the logistical side, and I’ll handle the briefing.”

The younger officer saluted and walked out of the chamber, leaving Ramos to study the terrain of the planet that was the target. According to intel, there were almost a hundred Xlatan warriors in light body armor, with maybe a hundred more security personnel from other species. That wouldn’t be anything for his seventy heavily-armored troopers. Their CASPers might not be the latest model, but they should be plenty good enough to take out that compound. If they could land without being shot out of the air. His only problem was inserting his force with only enough lift to take a little more than a third down at a time.

Against the twenty to thirty unarmored troops White Eagle was bringing in? It would be a slaughter. If he arrived in time, he could prevent that. If not, he’d have to settle for revenge.

* * *

“Asuka,” Hotaru Yamashuri yelled, standing on a rock overlooking the lower passage, “up here!”

Her husband ran toward her, the pack of predators on his heels. If they’d been in a proper climate he’d have had no trouble outrunning the creatures. In this frigid, atmosphere-deprived world, he was unable to use his athletic abilities to the fullest.

The beasts coming after him looked like small, shaggy wolves. Or, when she thought about it later, more like corgis with their short legs. No visible ears, which made sense in this environment, where the surfaces would shed too much heat. Less than a yard in length and weighing maybe forty pounds, they would appear ridiculous, if not for the savage-looking teeth in too-wide mouths. They had the appearance of the teeth of a shark, serrated like steak knives in multiple rows. The type of dentition that would saw through flesh with ease while locking the prey in a grip that couldn’t be broken.

“Stay where you are!” her husband yelled through labored breath. “Don’t come down!”

The breathing masks could give them enough oxygen to move at a steady pace, but running was a strain. The pair had still been able to run at a jog, but Asuka needed more than that now.

The man turned at just the right time to bring his sword around and into the neck of the leading pack member. He tried to dodge the next, something he could do with ease under normal circumstances. Wearing heavy winter clothing, carrying everything he needed to survive in two different environments, he wasn’t able to move as fast as he’d expected. The second predator jumped and hit his left forearm, the jaws clamping shut and grinding down.

Asuka cried out, more in surprise than pain. The heavy outer covering wasn’t hard enough to completely stop the teeth of the beast, but it was thick enough that it would take some time. The impact armor of his combat suit would do a better job, but it wouldn’t harden without the kinetic impact of a fast-moving round. Then another pack member hit his right leg and knocked him to the ground, where the other two predators moved in and looked for the best opening.

The hell I’m going to cower up here and watch the love of my life ripped apart by creatures that ridiculous, the female ninja thought. In her tradition, revived in Japan during the last couple of centuries, women were just as effective as men. The fear she felt at preparing to jump into a fray in which she also might become food for the creatures was fleeting. She needed to be there beside her husband, no matter the outcome.

With that last thought, she was in the air, landing lightly on her feet, wakizashi in hand. A couple of steps, and she thrust the carbon nanotube blade into the side of the nearest creature, pulling it back out in a draw cut that sliced through its spine.

The beast let out a squeal much like a pig and tried to turn to attack her. Without control of its hind legs, it fell on its side, struggling to get back up as it bled out.

Another beast jumped at her, and she suppressed the urge to dodge, realizing she’d do just as poorly as her husband had. Instead she thrust her short blade ahead, pushing it into the chest of the beast. Again came the squeal, this time followed by immediate limpness as one of its major internal organs was pierced. She flung it away, grunting and straining until it reached the point, where it slid from the blade.

The remaining beasts continued to rip and tear at her mate. Asuka let out a yell as one of them got to his flesh, and he dropped his blade, then picked it up with his free hand and pushed the katana through the predator worrying his leg. The animal squealed but refused to let go while the ninja sawed away at its neck. The katana was also carbon nanotube, and it didn’t take long to slice the head from the beast. The body fell away, but the head remained locked in place, like it was still determined to hurt its killer.

Hotaru sliced the head from the last creature, the body dropping away while the head continued to grip her lover’s arm, like a tick that didn’t need the life support of a body.

“Get them off me,” Asuka said through clenched teeth.

Hotaru dropped to her knees and started to work on the head attached to her husband’s left arm, sawing away with her ultra-sharp blade at the muscles of the jaw, being careful not to slice too far and injure her husband.

It took a few moments, but Hotaru kept at it, cutting through bone that seemed to be of a carbon crystalline structure. She worried that another of the creatures might come along and jump on her while her attention was on her delicate task. A glance at Asuka showed he was keeping watch, at least as well as he could.

“That’s one,” she said, pulling the jaws free and tossing the head away. “How bad did it injure you?”

She wanted to pull the heavy clothing away to get a look at the wound, if any. The problem was the cold. She could get a quick look, but if the damage was too great, she risked exposing him to frostbite. That could be healed, but on a mission it could be an injury that led to so much degradation of ability it could be fatal.

“Take a look at that arm while I get rid of the one on your leg,” she told him, moving down and starting the job of slicing away the head.

“That’s it,” she said, loosening the buckles on his leggings and pulling it up to get a momentary look. “Not too bad. Your armored suit held up, and it didn’t penetrate.”

“I’m afraid the one on my forearm did much more damage,” Asuka said through gritted teeth.

“Oh my,” Hotaru hissed, looking at the area of the forearm just above the wrist, on which the skin had been shredded. The creature had gotten a grip in the open area between glove and sleeve, not more than an inch, but enough for one row of teeth to access. The woman pulled out a sprayer and set it to release what she wanted.

“I’ll do what I can, but I’m afraid Dotty will have to take care of it when we get to a place where it can be exposed for some time.”

“Is he okay?” Jonah White Eagle asked as he jogged up to the pair. The rest of the team fanned out, covering all approaches.

“I’ll live,” Asuka said with a short chuckle. “Not that I deserve my good fortune.”

“Let me look at that,” Dotty ordered, kneeling by the man’s side and pulling the sleeve away. She pulled off a glove so she’d have a bare hand for the examination. She touched the wound, examining the synthiskin.

“How does it feel?” she asked, palpating the arm while staring at the wound.

“It hurts, but not so bad as to require pain medication.”

“Skin and muscle damage, but the bone is intact,” Dotty said, running a scanner over the arm. “No apparent nerve damage.”

“I was lucky,” the ninja said, looking up at his wife. “Lucky to have a partner who wouldn’t listen to me.”

“I couldn’t stand there and let you die,” Hotaru said, shaking her head. “We’re partners in all respects, and partners don’t let each other down.”

Dotty covered the arm with the winter clothing again and wrapped some extra cloth she carried in her bag around the area where the clothes had been ripped, insulating it.

“Damn, it’s cold,” the medic said as she pulled her glove back on.

“Let’s get moving,” Jonah said, looking ahead. “And everyone keep a sharp lookout.”

“I’ll be glad to get out of this place,” Joey said, kicking one of the canine-like beasts.

“I hate to tell you this, youngster, but the open midlands won’t be much better,” Ivan said.

No, Jonah thought. We need to get over the midlands as fast as possible. Until they reached an environment they could function in at full capacity, they were at a deadly disadvantage.

* * * * *

Chapter Eleven

“So, where’s the tube we descended?” Jonah asked, looking over at Ivan, who had been keeping track of their progress.

“About twenty-one miles to the east,” Ivan said, “and two and a half miles up.”

Just about perfect, the colonel thought as he looked out over the landscape, standing in the mouth of the small tunnel that led into the massive cavern system.

The ledge plateau seemed to stretch to the north forever, though it was only about sixty miles at this point. It ran for over a thousand miles in either direction, though, and gave them thousands of square miles of area to hide in. Real plants grew here, shrub-like trees that had adapted from the lowlands to the heights. Undergrowth choked the ground of some of the dwarf forests. This vegetation was green, taking advantage of the abundant sunlight falling on the ledge. The ground cover was lush, providing abundant food for the grazing animals.

“They must use the same antifreeze as the plant things up above,” Charley said, motioning upward.

“So, the animals are all drunk on alcohol?” Graham asked, looking at those animals in a way that indicated he was using the zoom function of his visor.

“I’m sure they have a way to filter it out,” Ivan said, squatting down and studying the closest animals. “That, or they find a way to use it themselves.”

There were actual herds on the plain. Hundreds of the large herbivores they were now calling buffalo, mostly cows with some bulls, larger beasts with longer horns. There were several hundred juveniles hanging near the herd, and many small babies staying close to their mothers. Other species intermingled with the buffalo, some with the look of shaggy antelopes, fur hanging almost to the ground as insulation. None of the creatures had noticeable ears. It must have been an evolutionary struggle back and forth between hearing and retaining heat. Hearing was important for survival, and large ears could channel the sound in this thin air. But heat retention had won out.

“Looks peaceful,” Sandra said, standing beside her boss just within the entrance.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Ivan reminded her, pointing toward a group of animals lying at the edge of a small woods, looking for all the world like a pride of lions. They were larger than the predators they’d faced in the cavern. One yawned and displayed similar shark-type teeth in much larger jaws.

“Reminds me of Africa,” Amobi Kabir said.

“Your homeland?” Jonah asked, looking over at the grenadier.

“No. My homeland was mostly jungle near the coast, with wooded hills further in. This reminds me of Tanzania. I went there once on vacation.”

“It reminds me of what Africa would be like if it were in the Arctic,” Ivan said with a chuckle.

“Like Mother Russia?” Joey asked.

“More trees, fewer herds,” Ivan replied, shrugging his shoulders. “And this is the summer in this place.”

Jonah looked at his HUD. It was a balmy forty degrees below zero. Much warmer than the plateau above, but still no vacation spot.

“Ivan,” Jonah asked his scout, “how do you want to proceed?”

The Russian was carefully studying the terrain, looking for gullies and small valleys for cover, and also checking for woods where the party could shelter if anything flew over.

“Back,” Charley ordered.

Everyone in the team moved back into the cavern without a word. Discipline was good, and they did what they were supposed to.

“I saw one of their aircraft,” explained the second-in-command, “cruising by about a mile up, two or three to the east.”

“Okay. How in the hell do we deal with them?” the colonel asked. In the original plan, they’d have been crossing the midlands without the enemy knowing they were on planet. An aerial patrol would make things much more difficult.

“Maybe one of the tricks of my people,” Joey said, looking over at his leader.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Some mobile natural camo,” the young man replied, “if we can get the skins of about twenty of those buffalo.”

“We’re not here to destroy an entire ecosystem, Joey,” Amobi said, waving a finger in the air.

“Probably work better if we had three people under each skin,” Cheung Xou said.

“I think this is a crazy idea,” Asuka said, shaking his head. “I suggest we use a technique of my people.”

* * *

“It’s getting late, sir,” the pilot said, holding the gunship in a hover, “and we’re running low on fuel.”

Mmrash scowled as he looked out at the cliff and the midlands below it. They’d been searching all day and hadn’t spotted a thing. Of course, if the Humans were still in those caverns, the Xlatan would never find them.

Maybe if we set off some city killers in the caverns we could flush them out, the commander thought. The problem with that was getting the weapons. The Syndicate probably had some, but not on this world. It might take weeks to get them here, if they were even in accord with their use. Gas was a nonstarter, since the Humans were using breathing masks and tanked air. And he wasn’t about to send more of his people into those caverns. That was just asking to lose them, especially since by now the Humans would have charted enough of the structure to treat it as their own backyard.

The commander set the sensors to run an infrared scan over the midlands. He could only cover a square of a couple of hundred yards on a side with a deep scan. There was a lot of territory down there, and it would take a lot of time to cover it all, even with all five of the shuttles.

Numerous red dots appeared on the Tri-V, most still, some moving slowly. There were scores of them in the two-hundred-yard box, which had to translate into hundreds of thousands across the entire search area. The well-insulated creatures were still giving off considerable heat, a function of their high metabolisms.

How to pick out the Humans among them? That was also going to be a problem, since there were so many different heat signatures down there, and he didn’t have firm data on what Human infrared profiles looked like, much less what they looked like wearing their cold weather gear.

“Here are my orders,” Mmrash said, looking over at the pilot. “Send them to all craft. Shuttles Three and Four are to return to base to refuel and to rest the soldiers. All squads are to top off with fresh soldiers.”

“And us?” the disappointed pilot asked.

“We’ll stay here. We have enough fuel to continue cruising through the night. When it gets too low, we’ll perch on the upper ledge and continue our scans. The same order goes for shuttles One and Two.”

“And when do we head back to base?”

“When I tell you,” screamed the commander, leaning over to put his growling face close to that of the pilot. “Until then, concentrate on your job if you want to live.”

The pilot’s ears twitched with fear, and he turned away without a word.

Maybe now I’ll have some peace from his inane questions, the commander thought, sitting back in his chair and watching as the scan kept sweeping over the midlands. It would take luck to find them on that ledge/plateau, and luck had been in short supply as of late.

* * *

“I saw something like this in a really old movie,” Charley said in a soft voice, walking a couple of yards behind his boss.

“What kind of movie?”

“It was set during the war between Asuka’s country and the North American States in the middle of the twentieth century. The Japanese were using a tactic like this to sneak up on the North Americans.”

“And how did it go for the Japanese?” Jonah asked, feeling kind of silly moving with all this vegetation covering him.

“They were slaughtered when the North Americans got suspicious of moving bushes,” Charley said, his tone flat.

And that just might be what happens to us, Jonah thought. They were angling away from the search, moving to the west while they closed on the cliff edge. It would take twice as long, almost three days if they pushed it. It would probably be worth it. They’d hit the edge about thirty miles horizontally from the tube they’d come down.

“Over here,” Ivan said in a hushed voice.

The Russian moved into the sloping beginning of a gully that placed them ten yards below the rolling terrain. It would take direct and close overhead observation to spot them here.

“We can move in this one for the next seven miles,” Ivan said. “We’ll take a break at the end, then figure out where we need to go next.”

That was the part of the plan that had sold it to the colonel. He couldn’t see them moving across the plains dressed as clumps of high grass for much of their journey. Fortunately, there were places of cover. Gullies like this, woods, meteor pits here and there. They’d only be out in the open for about ten percent of the walk, and that made it a risk worth taking.

“Enemy shuttle moving to the northwest at three miles altitude,” said Sandra, who was their air observer.

“Will it get a good angle?”

“It might.”

“Everyone, stop in place and close up your heat vents.”

Once those were closed, the body heat they’d been generating while moving under their thick clothing would no longer be vented into the air. They’d be almost undetectable, once the heat had completely dissipated.

“And no movement.”

If the shuttle got a good look down at them and wondered why there were twenty heat sources in a line, there could be trouble. There could be reasons for the wildlife to line up like that, but damned few of them.

Everyone was still, not moving a muscle. If they were spotted before the heat dissipated, it was hoped the observers would think they were sleeping animals and move on.

Jonah could feel the sweat begin to roll down his skin. Despite the nighttime temperature, they’d been building up considerable body heat while walking. Now that heat could only be released by diffusion through the insulating clothing, a process that trapped considerable heat within their clothing and produced a lot of sweat.

Come on, damn you, he thought. Move on.

“They’ve moved out of range,” Sandra reported.

“Open venting and prepare to move,” Jonah ordered, pulling open the flaps at armpits and thighs. Now the heat would be released, but they needed to get moving before the sweat on their bodies started to freeze.

At the end of the gully, before walking back up to the plain, they took a break. The mercenaries plopped down on the ground with groans and sighs. Charley pulled his breathing mask off and raised his canteen to his mouth, taking a couple of quick gulps. Jonah pulled his out of the heated insulated cover under his heavy weather clothing and took a couple of sips himself.

Several of the mercenaries wolfed down nutrition bars, while others simply caught their breath. The atmospheric pressure was slightly higher than Everest on Earth, so they could spend some time without the masks, though not for extended periods without oxygen supplements.

“Okay,” Ivan said, moving over to sit down next to Jonah, “next stop is a patch of woods about two miles to the northwest. That gets us about a mile and a half closer to the edge.”

“We’re in your hands, Sergeant. I think we’re good to go on your command.”

Ivan nodded and pulled out a nutrient bar of his own, taking some quick bites and finishing it off in moments. The scout pulled the vent of his outwear closed, motioning for the others to do the same.

This is going to be a bitch, Jonah thought, following the scout as he left the gulley, with the rest of the team following after. As soon as they were out in the open, they spread their formation. If anyone picked them up, they might think they were a wandering herd of beasts. The only problem with that was the natural animals were all still and sleeping for the night. Hopefully, the enemy wouldn’t realize that.

After about a mile, the buildup of body heat was almost unbearable. The colonel’s mouth felt dry as the desert, and his heart was pounding as it tried to move his blood around so it could radiate the heat out. Unfortunately, the heat buildup under the clothing prevented cooling. A couple of mercenaries cursed as they stumbled. Jonah himself was beginning to feel lightheaded.

“Keep moving,” Ivan croaked. “We need to get into the center of this stand before we vent.”

Jonah agreed, though he wished he could just fall down and open up the vents where he was. He took another dozen steps, then felt himself fall to the ground as someone pushed him.

“We’re in about as good a place are we’re going to be,” Ivan said, plopping down beside the officer and opening his heat vents.

Jonah followed suit and was soon feeling the cold air outside his clothing flowing in, while the heat moved out.

“I think we need a longer break this time,” the colonel said to Charley as the major crawled up to sit beside him.

“I agree.”

“How far to the next cover, Charley?”

“Only a couple of hundred yards this time. And it’s another gulley, running some miles to our destination.”

“In ten,” the colonel said, pulling in as much air as his lungs could handle.

* * * * *

Chapter Twelve

“We still don’t know that they’re out of the cavern system, boss,” Mmrash said, staring into the small, red eyes of the Syndicate leader of the operation.

“They can’t stay in there forever, can they?”

“They need breathing gas,” the commander said in agreement, “and they can’t have unlimited power for their extractor.”

He wasn’t really sure if he was telling the truth. The midlands that led into that cave wasn’t the same environment as the high plateau. It was still cold with a sparse atmosphere, just not to the level of the deadly uplands. His people would have trouble breathing in the midlands, but as long as they took in some supplemental oxygen every couple of minutes, they would survive. Wouldn’t the same hold true for the Humans? Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough data on the Humans to make a good guess as to how they would handle the thin air long term.

“By the Hells, I can’t have you cruising around up there forever. We need you down here.”

“You also want us to get them before they get to the lowlands, boss. Which is it?”

“Dammit. If you’d just made sure of finishing them the first time, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Tell me something I don’t know, the Xlatan thought. He’d been regretting that decision ever since it happened. If he hadn’t been lazy and so sure of himself, he’d have made sure they were finished before coming back down from the uplands.

“Send your people back down here,” the boss said, stabbing a finger at him from the Tri-V picture.

The commander felt a rush of relief. He was getting tired of this incessant searching, of sitting in this damned uncomfortable seat for days on end. The luxury of his own sleeping pad, hot food, the mindlessness of an entertainment sensorium…

“But I want you and your shuttle to stay up there until they’re found. It was your mistake, and you’ll correct it if it’s the last thing you do. Understand?”

“But…”

“Your life is already forfeit to the Syndicate. You failed in your task, and that’s something we will not tolerate. So you’ll either make good on your failure, or you’ll die. Send the rest back, but you’re not to return to the compound until you have proof the Humans are dead, or they’re no longer in the midlands.”

“And my people?”

“They can rotate back and forth to get rest and refuel the vehicles. You, however, are not to return. Until further notice, your second-in-command is in charge of the security of the canyonlands.”

The Tri-V blanked before he could get in another word. The commander sat in his chair, trembling with rage at being ordered about like some low-level servant and trembling slightly with the underlying emotion of fear. It hadn’t been an idle threat that the Syndicate would have him killed if he failed again.

“And you will be staying up here with me,” Mmrash growled, looking over at the pilot and pointing an extended claw at his face.

“What about refueling?”

“We’ll have another shuttle come up with fuel and rations, but we’re stuck up here for the duration, you and I.”

The ears of the other Xlatan twitched uncontrollably. Emotions came and went; fear, depression, rage. The commander realized it wouldn’t be safe to sleep around this warrior for the foreseeable future.

* * *

“I’ll be damned glad when we can eat some fresh, cooked food,” Joey Many Bears said as he dug into another can of concentrated rations. “I still don’t see why we can’t take down one of those antelope things and cook us some fresh meat.”

“We can’t cook anything up here, son,” Charley said, shaking his head as he replaced his mask to replenish the oxygen in his blood. “That would be too big a heat source for the Xlatan to miss.”

“Then we flash cook the meat with a laser,” the young mercenary replied.

We could do that, Jonah thought, looking out through the edge of the woods they were sheltering in. The animals were on the move now that the sun was up. The grazers, big and small, were grazing, and the predators were engaging in the behaviors that made up their lives.

A couple of the larger predators they’d come to think of as lions were crouching in the high grass, while others fanned out to surround a part of the antelope herd. They hunted with patience, moving slowly, stopping whenever they thought they were being observed.

So many planets, so many environments, the colonel thought, and the same survival behaviors on all of them.

He was thinking of ways they might be able to use the ecosystem to ambush some of their pursuers. If they stayed in the air, there was really nothing they could do to them without using one of their manpack missiles, which would draw the others to them.

Two of the lions took off, heading toward a group of antelope, who also broke into a run. The predators closed the distance, their short legs moving in a blur. They’d almost caught up to one of the antelopes when a shadow descended from the sky and a large flying beast struck the prey.

“What in the hell was that?” exclaimed Ahmed Mohammed, pointing at the flying creature that had grabbed the antelope in its talons and taken to the air.

It looked more like a bat than a bird, with thick fur covering its body. Large breathing vents opened and closed under its wings, while those appendages flapped to gain altitude, then flattened out to go into a glide.

The scene must have occurred many times in this environment, as the lions swerved away from the prey that was snatched from them and vectored in on another. Those looked like they were going to outdistance the predators until a trio of their pride rose up from the grass and hit one of the antelopes in the side, knocking it down. Before it could rise again, the pride was on it, and in moments the herbivore was reduced to quivering meat that quickly disappeared down the maws of the predators.

“Great, so now we have to look up for things other than the Xlatan,” Avgust Babich hissed. “Death from above.”

“They don’t look large enough to carry off a Human,” Ivan replied, his eyes following the creature as it glided back toward the cliff.

“Doesn’t mean they can’t kill you,” Avgust said, looking at the Russian. Babich was a Ukrainian, and there was still bad blood between their peoples, even hundreds of years since their last confrontation. “I read one time that there were eagles on Earth that could kill people, even if they couldn’t carry them off.”

“We’ll make sure we have a couple of people checking the skies above while we’re moving,” Jonah said. They didn’t know if the things hunted at night, when they’d be moving, but it wasn’t worth taking the chance that they did.

“You really think we can still accomplish this mission?” Charley asked as he sat with the colonel a little distance from the others. “We’ve already wasted a week we hadn’t planned for.”

Jonah thought about it for a moment. They’d planned to leave from the edge of the high plateau, cross the midlands in a couple of days, and then down to the canyonlands. They’d built in a couple of extra days for unforeseen circumstances. They’d pretty much used up all that time, and more.

“We were going to scout out the region around the compound for a week,” Jonah said, looking at his partner. “If we can keep up our pace, we can still get there. We’ll just have to use what we have left and not worry about it.”

“And if the Ravagers don’t show?”

They’d already talked about how they might have been set up, and the Ravagers called off. They might not be coming.

“What else do we have to do?” he asked Charley, closing his eyes. “If we do nothing, we’ll still be stuck on this planet. There’s no way the Syndicate is going to haul our asses off this rock. So we either do something while we have the ammo and equipment to do so, or we fade into the jungle and survive. And never leave here.”

They weren’t the only members of the company in the Universe. There were two other teams, both out on contracts, and the support staff on Earth, including legal. Would any of them come looking for their missing boss and the people he had taken with him to oblivion? Maybe. They might send some inquiries out, but they damned sure wouldn’t invade this planet.

Charley shook his head. “Not what I want. I don’t want to die for no good reason, but I also don’t want to be stuck in what amounts to a jungle prison for the rest of my life. If I’m going to go out, I want to take some of those bastards with me. And I think the rest of the troops will agree with me.”

Jonah reached over and offered his hand to his friend. “Then let’s get down there and kick those bastards in the teeth. Live or die, they’ll remember the names of the Fierce Eagles.”

* * *

The company made good time the second night, having gotten into the rhythm of traveling in this manner. They had to backtrack a couple of times, which added miles to the trip. Jonah wasn’t willing to take any chances while everything was going so well. Just a superstition of his, but one he was unwilling to discount.

“Are you doing okay, Asuka?” he asked.

The slight man had been walking with a limp through the entire walk, grunting in pain at times. Like all of them, he was carrying almost his body weight in equipment and clothing. Some of the others were carrying quite a bit more, and everyone on the team was in fantastic physical shape, but the rest of them weren’t injured, and even though Asuka’s forearm was in worse shape than the superficial wound to his calf, it was still bad enough to slow him down.

“He’ll make it,” said Hotaru, who was carrying some of her husband’s load.

“Of course I’ll make it, wife,” the male ninja said, a grimace in his voice. “If I don’t make it, who will there be to make sure you do as you’re told.”

“Perhaps you would like to carry your own ration bag and water,” Hotaru said after a snorting laugh.

“Dotty said you should be as good as new in another couple of days,” Jonah said, patting the man’s shoulder.

“That might be true if I was resting,” the ninja growled, shrugging off the colonel’s hand. “Don’t try to humor me. When we get to the lowlands, and I can get rid of some of this stuff, I’ll be able to move like a man, and not a cripple.”

Jonah looked over at Hotaru, who shook her head and kept walking beside her husband. He’d trust her to keep him going. With a nod he moved past them to the front of the line, having taken care of his commander’s duties and raised morale. He hoped.

“How much further before we’re back out in the open?” he asked Ivan, who’d stopped in his tracks.

“Quiet,” the scout hissed, holding up a hand. “There’s something ahead.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure. But I don’t think it’s something we want to mess with.”

Something coughed ahead, a sound that reminded the colonel of lions on Earth. He thought they must be some of the lion-like things, and he turned up the light gathering function of his HUD. Sure enough, there were a half dozen of the creatures laying on the ground and sleeping. They could try to move past them, but he wasn’t sure they’d remain asleep when they heard creatures moving through the night.

“What do you want to do, Sergeant?” he asked his scout.

“We could shoot them,” the Russian said in a low voice, “but then we’d have to move the bodies under some kind of cover.”

Jonah nodded. Leaving the bodies of six or more of the four-hundred-pound predators lying in the open was sure to catch someone’s attention during the day. They wouldn’t know exactly where the Humans were, but they’d know they were out here and getting close to the edge.

“I think we should head west for half an hour, then circle around them. That would be the cautious way to do it. Of course, we’ll be out in the open for a longer time, with more heat buildup.”

And add more distance to our journey, thought the colonel, who’d been hoping to get to the edge tonight. We’ll have to deal with more heat, but no more than some of our past marches through the open. Not the easiest way to do this, but it’s the smart play.

“We’ll do it that way then,” he agreed. “Lead the way.”

They continued on, moving around the lions, everyone looking over at them with their night vision systems. Several times the beasts coughed, and once there was a hissing roar, like it had detected something it didn’t like, but none moved from their positions. The team was soon past them and moving back around, heading for another small patch of woods.

They were huffing and puffing by the time they stumbled into the woods, only to find they weren’t the only occupants.

* * *

“The aliens are here to destroy our planet,” said Chief Allasher of the Black Swamp Tribe, his mouth and eyes above the water of the council chamber. The water was relaxing to his kind, keeping their skin moist, while the chamber, like the rest of the village, was deep in the swamp, a place the aliens normally didn’t visit.

“Of course they are,” said Chief Allaman of the North River Tribe. “They have clear cut thousands of square miles of the forest around their devil’s lair. They destroy our best hunting grounds. We will not be able to pass our legacy on to our children. It will lead to war between the tribes when some are forced to move.”

“No,” said Chief Allasher. “They mean to destroy this world. Completely. When they are finished, there will not be a green growing thing on the ground.”

“That is madness!” exclaimed Allaman, the tribesmen who had accompanied him growling in agreement. “Surely no intelligent being could be so stupid or so cruel!”

“This is not their world,” called out another of the Black Swamp Tribe. “When they kill ours, they will just move on to another.”

“They are not a member of a government,” continued Allasher, using a term that most in the chamber were unfamiliar with. Allasher realized this from the looks that were turned his way. “They have many tribes on each world, just as we do, but they all pledge allegiance to a central authority that tells them what to do.”

“Why would any free being do that?” asked Allaman, his eyes blinking in disbelief. “Are they all insane?”

“Look at where they are compared to us,” continued Allasher. “They have conquered the stars, while we are still confined to this world.”

“A world given us by the Gods,” replied the other chief.

“We must depend on the Gods to save us,” called out another tribesman.

“And they have been doing a fine job,” said Allasher, eliciting growls and calls of blasphemy. He gave a head nod of negation. The gods of the other tribe were not his, and he was beginning to believe that none of them actually existed. Or if they existed, they didn’t seem to care for the people. Or for the rest of the world, either.

“The Gods will strike you down for those words,” said one of the North River Tribesmen.

“As they have struck down the aliens,” said Allasher, standing up and splashing through the water to the center of the chamber. “But I have not asked you here to talk theology. What we need to talk about is what we are going to do about the invaders.”

“What can we do?” asked the other chief. “The Forest Hill Tribe fell to them. All are now either dead or slaves of the aliens. They have weapons we cannot withstand. Armor that our spears and darts cannot pierce.”

“And if we do not do anything we will all die,” growled Allasher.

“What do you propose? That we throw ourselves on their weapons and watch as all of our young warriors go into the dark?”

Allasher gave another nod of negation. He didn’t expect the people to attack the aliens head on. He had seen their weapons. They had gone out of their way to demonstrate to all of the local tribes what they could do. They could ambush in the forests and jungles, but the opportunities were not often presented when the aliens drove around in their heavy machines.

“What if another group came from the stars to challenge the invaders?”

Allaman stared at the other chief for a moment, digesting the words before speaking. “Why would we think anyone would come to challenge those already here? And why would they be any different?”

“Send in our guest,” ordered Allasher, looking over at one of his wives, who was in the chamber to act as his messenger. She gave a blink of acceptance and dove into the water, going out through the submerged entrance with a splash.

Moments later another male entered the chamber, preceded by the bubbles he had generated to announce his coming.

“This is Larrast of the High Forest Tribe,” said Allasher by way of introduction.

“I thought they had all been captured,” said Allaman, staring at the other male in disbelief.

Larrast stood in the center of the chamber in a very un-Klanfolk-like way. His shoulders were stooped, while his eyes looked down.

“He has been broken,” said Allaman, turning his eyes away.

“Not quite broken, Chief,” said the male in a quiet voice. “They came close, but I saw a chance to escape and took it. I had to tell someone about what I had heard.”

“What could you have heard that was of any importance while you were a slave?” shouted out another tribesman in derision.

“It was because I was a slave that I heard what I did,” responded Larrast, the gill slits on his neck opening and closing in a sign of anxiety. “I listened to everything said around me, until I started making sense of one of their languages. Until I heard something that gave me the strength and courage to get away.”

“And what did you hear?” asked Allaman, leaning forward.

“They are expecting people from another species of starfolk. Enemies. People who might be able to smash their compound and destroy their operation.”

“What kind of people?”

“That I do not know. I saw no pictures of them, but from what I heard, they are different from any species here right now.”

“How many of them are coming? And when?”

“I cannot answer that, Great Chief. I was able to hear what they said in front of me, since I was only a slave, and they seemed to consider me as no more meaningful than their machines. But that didn’t mean they went out of their way to present their plans to me.”

Gurgling laughter greeted his speech. All had heard of the arrogance of the strangers, who would consider one of the Klanfolk an inferior. The Kalagarta Klanfolk didn’t believe they were. Take the machines away from the invaders and release them into the forest, and they would be just so much meat for the tribes to gather.

“The point is, Chief Allaman, there are strangers on the way here. Strangers who are the enemies of our enemies.”

“Which does not mean they are our friends,” replied the other chief, splashing a hand into the water to emphasize his point.

“We know that these already here are our enemies,” said Allasher, hitting the water as well. “These newcomers will be unknowns, but we can always hope they will come as friends. The way I see it, we have nothing to lose by aiding them, and possibly much to gain.”

“So you want us to keep a lookout for some aliens we have never seen before. Contact them? Possibly lend them aid?”

“Yes. But that is not all.”

“What else is there?” asked Allaman, his gill slits opening and closing in excitement.

“Sharpen our spears and knives,” said Allasher, slapping the water. “Gather the poisons, enough to coat many darts. Prepare to fight.”

“Why, when these newcomers will do everything for us?” asked Allaman, smiling.

“That is not something I am willing to do,” said Allasher, blowing air out of his gill slits. “I am a warrior, and it would churn my guts to let someone else fight my battles for me. Maybe we can’t beat the aliens by ourselves, but I would surely love to take some bits out of their hides.”

That speech was greeting by the wheezing howls of the warriors, and Allasher knew he had them.

“Send messengers to all the tribes. The more warriors we can gather, the better. We may only have one chance to save our world, and if the gods are still there, they will surely become angered if we let this one pass us by.”

* * * * *

Chapter Thirteen

“Get these damned things off me,” screamed out Brynjar Thorwaldsson as he went down under the mass of small predators.

Twenty-some of the small dog-sized predators, much like the ones they’d run into in the cavern system, were laired up in the woods. They might not have been the same species, but the mercenaries didn’t have time to engage in systematics. Being predators, they’d jumped on the nearest suspected prey and ignored the others, instincts telling them that the other prey would now simply run away. Their error.

“Watch it!” Jonah yelled out, aiming his rifle at one of the predators that was dancing around the periphery. “Don’t hit our man!”

The colonel quickly developed a sight picture and squeezed the trigger. The magrail phutted out a round almost silently, the only visual a slight sparking from the barrel. The round blasted through the head of the beast, killing it and dropping it to the ground without a sound.

“Help!” Brynjar yelled, struggling under the mass of beasts.

The other beasts not directly involved in trying to tear the rifleman apart were quickly dealt with, while Charley, Basil, and the two ninjas were the best with blades, and they attacked the beasts, thrusting and slicing while trying to avoid hitting the man underneath.

“Help…” the voice of the man ended in a gurgle, and Jonah felt a sense of panic as he realized the Icelander had just been mortally wounded, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Kill the damned things!” he shouted, aiming at the dog that seemed the most likely to be savaging the mercenary’s throat, moving a second to clear the line of fire, then shooting it through the torso.

The beast squealed, releasing its hold on the mercenary and rolling over, trying to bite at its own wound in a panic. Asuka’s sword ended its struggles, then took the head off of another of the dogs.

Then it was over. Over a score of the predators lay dead on the ground. Thorwaldsson lay slack on the ground, too, steam rising from the ripped clothing over his throat as the hot blood was exposed to the cold air.

“Shit,” Ujjal Singh Grewal said, looking down at the dead merc. “I was standing right next to him, and I didn’t have a chance to help him.”

And you’re in shock, Jonah thought, nodding. It could have been the Sikh as well as the Icelander, and the big man had to realize it.

“What’s that?” Sandra asked, looking off into the woods.

A faint whimpering sound came from deeper in the small forest. Hotaru, Charley, and Patel started that way, blades at the ready, while Jonah and Joey followed with rifles at the ready.

“They had cubs,” Charley said.

One of the pups squealed, and Sandra ran over to the others. “They’re just babies. They’re innocent.”

“And they’re going to grow into those things that killed Brynjar,” Patel said in a voice filled with hurt anger.

“What do you want to do, Sandra?” Jonah asked, putting a hand on the woman’s shoulder and pushing her back. “Take them with us? Leave them here to starve?”

Sandra shook her head, and Jonah was sure she was crying under her faceplate. The strange dichotomy of the sniper, who could kill an intelligent enemy without a flicker of emotion, but had a soft heart where animals were concerned.

Another cub squealed, a cry that was cut off in an instant.

“I know it’s the right thing to do,” she finally said, turning away.

Jonah didn’t like it either. The cubs had nothing to do with killing his mercenary teammate, and these particular specimens would never bother them. Without the adults, they’d starve to death, unless some other predator found them. It was the kinder option to kill them now, quickly.

“It’s done,” Charley said in a grim tone. Jonah knew his partner was not a cruel man. He’d found a job that needed doing, so he’d done so.

“We need to get moving,” Ivan said, coming up on the others. “What should we do with Brynjar?”

Jonah would have preferred to bring the man’s body with them, which was, of course, impossible. There was also no way they could bury him in this frozen ground without making a lot of noise and possibly some flashes of light to soften the hard surface.

“We leave him.”

There were many shouted protests to that, until Charley hissed out a warning in a carrying voice.

“The colonel doesn’t want to leave him here,” the major said, shaking his head. “We didn’t want to leave our comrades up on the plateau either. But we can’t carry them with us. And Brynjar wouldn’t want us to do anything that puts us at risk just to dispose of his husk. I know I wouldn’t. If I fall on this mission, and you can’t do anything else, leave me where I lie.”

“Let’s get moving,” Jonah said, still feeling the guilt of leaving the fallen, but glad his friend and subordinate had spoken. “If we can make it to the edge tonight, we can go ahead and jump tomorrow night.”

There was still some grumbling, but everyone got moving. They formed up in a tactical formation and took the next open space, reaching the next gully with no problem. As the sun was rising, they found a small area to shelter within an hour’s walk from the edge.

* * *

“What’s the problem?” Jillor asked, staring at the mass of collapsed slaves.

Overseers were spraying the slaves down with water hoses, wetting their dried-out skins. A slave gurgled and turned over, opening its mouth to catch the descending stream. The boss couldn’t tell if that particular slave was male or female, since the natives didn’t nurse their children and carried their genitalia inside internal pouches except when in use. Obviously the natives could tell, and since both sexes were of about equal strength, it wasn’t something that concerned the Syndicate.

“They all just collapsed,” said one of the overseers, a mammalian being about half the size of the slaves he was watching over.

“All at once?” asked the incredulous boss. That sounded like something planned, a strike or a sit-down. If that was the case, there’d be hell to pay.

“No, Boss. First one fell, then another, until over a ten-minute period they were all on the ground.”

It still sounded like a sit-down to the boss, simply better planned than everyone just falling to the ground simultaneously. The abos did need periodic moistening while working in the heat of day. They were semi-aquatic amphibious beings who breathed through both small lungs and gill slits. The Syndicate took this to mind and had set up four times during the day when they would wet the natives down.

One of the natives got to its feet, shaking off the excess water, then heading back to its task of unloading the detritus of vegetation from a truck. Others stirred, until over a couple of minutes all were on their feet and going about their work as if nothing had happened.

“Keep a close watch on them,” Jillor ordered. “If they unexpectedly sit down again, hose them off, then hit them with stun rods.”

“We might lose some workers doing that.”

“I’d rather lose some workers than let them play games with us. So go ahead and do what I say.”

The overseer nodded and turned away, keeping a hand on the stun rod set on his belt. Jillor was hoping it didn’t get down to shooting the slaves. As he’d said, he’d rather have a couple of them dead than the rest thinking they could get out of work. But if they were all shot? Or even a good percentage of them? Production would suffer, and he couldn’t have that.

* * *

“Is everyone ready?” Jonah asked, looking over his people. There were still nineteen of them, fewer than he’d expected to lead into the lowlands, but better than it could have been. There was some under-the-breath grumbling in reply. There were still a lot of them pissed at leaving Thorwaldsson’s body behind. They’d done what they could with the rocks and ice nearby, but it was doubtful it would keep all the scavengers away.

“Aren’t we always?” Joey said.

That elicited some chuckles, and much of the grumbling died down. Jonah could have hugged the young mercenary. Humor was something they’d had too little of lately.

“Charley will go first. I’ll follow.”

Normally he’d have placed himself further back in the queue, but this time he needed to lead. Doing a last-minute check on his harness, he looked back at the woods where they’d stashed the gear they wouldn’t be needing.

We’re not coming back up here, he thought. They’d either be flying out of the lowlands with the Ravagers, or they’d be staying there forever, alive or dead.

The small compressor unit and most of their oxygen tanks were stashed. Every member of the team had a single tank. Made of high-tensile-strength plastic, a full tank only weighed about a pound. Still, that was three pounds less every mercenary had to carry. They’d dropped some of their warm clothing as well, using what they’d wear down below and one layer of the heavier stuff. That lightened the load by eight to ten pounds. What they had on was warm enough in the short term, but if they had to duck down and cover for some reason in the very near future, they’d start to freeze.

“As far as I can tell, this cliff is almost straight vertical for four miles,” Charley said, looking over the edge with his faceplate set to maximum light gathering. One of the moons was in the sky, giving them a little more, without shedding enough light to let someone pick them out from the air at a distance. Or so they hoped.

“There’s a layer of scree from the cliff out to about a mile, maybe a little more, then the hills of the lowlands.”

Jonah nodded as he took that in. Scree was the remains of rock falls from the cliffs. He’d really expected more, but maybe this was an unusual location on the cliff face, and in other areas it stretched out further. Still, it meant they had to jump past it and hope that there were no violent winds to push them into it.

“Whenever you’re ready, partner.”

Charley nodded, squatted down, and jumped into space. This was going to be a high-altitude, low-opening jump, HALO, and the major fell quickly to disappear from sight.

The colonel hesitated for a couple of seconds, all he could afford if he wanted everyone to follow him, and ran out into space, tilting his head down to cut through the air. After a moment he turned around on his back, face up, watching as the rest of the team went off the cliff one by one. Satisfied that everyone had jumped, he turned back around and activated his helmet radar, sending a directional beam downward. Immediately the range figure showed up on his HUD. Including acceleration, it would take about a hundred and forty seconds to hit the rocks.

He picked up the figure of Charley falling below him, maybe a hundred and fifty yards. Charley would be the first to open his chute, and Jonah would take his cue from his partner. By the plan, it would then go up the line, so everyone didn’t need to pulse radar into the night. It might be tight focus in one direction, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be picked up. Anyone that got cold feet was authorized to use their radar, since it did no one any good if they smacked into the rocks.

Damn, but it’s cold, Jonah thought as he knifed through the night air. He knew he’d be warm soon enough and was happy to be leaving the terrors of the midlands behind, though that didn’t mean the lowlands wouldn’t have terrors of its own. That was a life-heavy zone, with choking vegetation and more than abundant wildlife, including predators more than a match for the ones they’d faced above.

The colonel felt another shiver going up his spine, one that that nothing to do with the cold air. He’d studied what information they had on the lowlands, or the canyonlands as they were better known. There were references to many predators, not all of them animals, and fierce natives. And the information they had wasn’t enough. The plan had been to spend a couple of days on the fringe of the forest learning everything they could. Now they’d have to forge ahead without as much information as he’d have preferred.

Charley popped his chute, deploying a wide rectangle that pulled him back into the air, almost up to where Jonah was. The colonel’s own radar warned him that it was time to deploy his own. Jonah grasped the handle on his harness and pulled hard. The chute rolled out of its small bag and opened, while the threadlike risers rose with it. In an instant it was if he had hit a wall, his forward motion reduced to almost nothing compared to the terminal velocity he’d been falling with. He looked up to check the chute, grunting in satisfaction as he noted its shape.

The chute was an amazing piece of technology, necessary since they couldn’t afford the extra weight of jetpacks. It was made of a tight mesh of stronger than steel fibers, as were the risers. The whole setup, including its carrying case, weighed less than a pound and a half. It also functioned as a flying wing.

Jonah pulled on the risers, changing his fall to head away from the cliff and the rocks, which were now only several hundred feet below. He spotted Charley and pulled on his risers again, setting his course to follow that of his partner. He attempted to turn his head to see how the others were doing but was unable to get it far enough around to do any good.

Leave it to Charley, he thought as his partner steered toward an open area in the forested hill lands. The major came down in a perfect landing, feet touching as he bent his legs slightly. He then pulled up his chute, rolling it into a bundle he could stuff back in the bag attached to his harness. The chutes were reusable with a little care, but they probably wouldn’t have a use for them for the rest of the mission.

Jonah tried to emulate his partner, coming down near the center of the clearing, trying to set his feet to stay upright. And failing, falling to his butt and being pulled along the ground for ten or so yards before he was able to get himself under control.

“You okay?” Charley asked, running up and grabbing Jonah’s chute. “Any injuries?”

“Only to my pride,” the colonel replied, scrambling to his feet.

“Watch out,” hissed Charley, pushing Jonah to the side as Sandra came barreling in, almost hitting them. The woman remained on her feet, though, and was soon rolling up her chute and pushing the small ball back into its bag.

Others started to land, most in the clearing, and a few with curses in the trees. A half dozen of those who’d landed in the clearing headed out into the woods to help the three or four who’d landed in the trees.

“I’m so glad to get out of this crap,” Joey said, tossing his gloves to the ground, pulling off his harness and then unzipping his winter coat. He tossed it to the ground, then pulled off the booties and pants. The other mercenaries still in the clearing did the same, until all were down to their normal warm weather clothing.

“We’re missing one of our people,” Charley said, walking back into the clearing.

“Not in the trees?”

“Not in these trees,” Charley said, shaking his head as he pulled his winter coat off.

“Who is it?” Jonah asked, looking around the clearing with his night vision, trying to pick out who wasn’t there.

“Avgust Babich,” Charley said, shaking his head again as he pulled off his booties. “You know he wasn’t the best at jumping. Figures the big bastard wouldn’t be able to control his descent.”

Jonah closed his eyes, wondering when the luck was going to turn their way. Babich was their explosives expert and had most of their demolitions equipment. I just hope he didn’t come down on the scree slope, the colonel thought. If that happened, he might be dead. Or he might be lying out there with a broken leg, which could be just as bad, since death would soon follow.

“Organize search groups,” Jonah ordered, finishing removing the clothing he would no longer need down here. “No less than three people in each. Then have them fan out and search for that Ukrainian.”

“I assume you’ll want me to stay here with you?” Charley asked with a smile.

Damn, but it’s good to see all their faces again, Jonah thought, looking at his partner. It wasn’t as good as looking at a face in the light, since the night vision made everyone look green. Still, after days of not seeing anyone’s smile, it was a relief to see them again.

“We need to make our plans, partner. I want us moving by sunrise. We’ve got a lot of distance to cover, and not much time to do it.”

“And if we don’t find Avgust?”

“I’ll worry about that when it happens,” Jonah said, a hollow feeling in his stomach. He didn’t want to abandon someone in his party who might be injured, but could they afford to spend an entire day looking for him? What if they didn’t find him in that time?

“Let’s get our people out searching,” ordered Jonah, waving for the mercenaries in sight to come over to him. “The sooner we get this search going, the better our odds.”

He had to wonder what the odds were in the first place, looking for one man in an unknown forest. He couldn’t have fallen too far, could he?

* * *

Avgust Babich cursed under his breath once again as he looked over the forest floor from the tree he was hanging in. It wasn’t his fault that a strong gust of wind had caught his chute and sent him spinning away from the landing zone. It also wasn’t his fault that he was over sixty feet off the ground, hanging from almost indestructible carbon fiber risers.

The easiest way to get down would be to pull the quick-release buckles on his harness. The first problem with that was it would leave his harness sixty feet in the air hanging from a tree. His harness was a required piece of equipment if he wanted to have his necessary items easily accessible while travelling, or more importantly, while in combat. The second problem was the sixty-foot drop. He might survive the fall. The odds were a hundred thousand to one that he’d land without injury. Broken legs or back were the most likely outcomes, which would leave him lying helpless on the ground, easy prey for anything that came along.

Twisting in his harness, the Ukrainian merc looked back at the trunk. The tree looked very much like those he’d seen on Earth, apart from lacy leaves and bark that seemed to pulsate as if it were pumping something underneath. From what he’d read about this world, it had motile plant growth, if not the norm, also not exceptional. He didn’t want this thing mad at him if it turned out it was able to move its limbs in some manner. But whatever the outcome, the trunk was simply too far away for him to swing to.

Don’t panic, he thought, taking some deep breaths. He wasn’t in any immediate danger. Eventually, though, that would no longer be true. Hanging up here without a way to get to water, he’d eventually die of thirst.

With that last thought, he realized how hot he was, how thirsty. Unzipping his winter coat, he pulled his canteen from its carrier and unscrewed the cap. He raised the canteen to his lips and took a sip, then another. Disaster struck when he tried to put the canteen back in its carrier. The vessel slid out of his hand as he tried to push it inside his coat. He tried to grab it before it fell out, and only succeeded in knocking it completely away. The canteen fell, tumbling to the ground to land on its side, and spilling its contents onto the dirt.

“Shit,” Avgust screamed, enraged at his clumsiness. The forest erupted with noise, the calls of animals startled by a sound they’d never heard. Avgust shut his mouth. Just because he was angry didn’t mean he had to follow one stupid act with another.

Something was attracted to the noise. A creature that must have been this planet’s version of an insect started buzzing around his ears, followed by many more, and he found himself spending the next few minutes swatting at the creatures. A couple of them landed and took a sample of his fluids. They must not have liked the taste, because they immediately buzzed off. The rest followed, probably as the result of some chemical signal put out by the ones who’d taken a sip of Avgust’s bodily fluids.

Damn, it’s hot. It wasn’t really that hot in the night air three thousand feet above the lowlands. However, bundled as he was, he was quickly overheating. It took some work to get his booties and gloves off, unwrapping the scarf that wrapped his neck and lower face. He couldn’t get his jacket off because of his harness, but unzipping it completely allowed some cool air to enter. The pants were easier, just open the buttons and let them slide down. The problem was he’d wanted to catch them, mostly for the objects in the series of leg pockets. Instead, like the canteen, they fell to the ground.

Great. Now I’ve got a pile below me. Anything intelligent coming along would know to look up. He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. It depended on their attitude toward aliens dropping out of the sky. Considering what the current alien invaders were doing to these people, he didn’t expect their disposition to be positive toward him.

“Will you look at that,” came a Human voice from below. “I told you that curse came from around here.”

Avgust looked down to see the three faces looking up at him. Achilles Antonopolis, Yusef bin Sherif, and Dotty Farrah made up the search party, and all had smiles plastered on their faces.

“Are you okay up there, you crazy Russian?” Yusef asked.

“I’m Ukrainian, you asshole!” he yelled back, laughing. “Now if you’re through insulting me, can you please get me the hell down from here?”

“What should we do?” Achilles said, looking at the tree for a moment, his gaze rising up the trunk, then along the branch. He shone a light on the trunk and walked closer. “I really don’t like the look of this thing, guys.”

“It’s just a damned tree, you f’ing Greek,” Yusef said, walking over the tree and reaching with his hand. “Shit. The bark is moving!” the Arab exclaimed, pulling his hand back before making contact.

“Just use your climbing handles and get up here!” Avgust yelled, glaring down at the others. “I’m tired of hanging here.”

“We…”

“Look out!” Dotty yelled out as she turned around, rifle at the ready. “Back to back,” she ordered.

The other two reacted immediately to the officer, forming a triangle that presented their fronts to whatever might be out there, even if they didn’t know what it was.

Ten or so aliens came silently out of the dark, their eyes glowing in the manner of creatures with enhanced night vision. They all moved forward in a crouch, most with spears, a couple with round tubes to their lips.

“Hold your fire,” Dotty ordered, keeping her rifle aimed at the creature closest to her, “but if they attack, you’re weapons free.”

Avgust pulled his own weapon up, pulling at the strap that held it to his harness. He wasn’t able to pull it to his shoulder to get a sight picture. Still, he had the barrel pointed in the general direction of the largest group of aliens. Set to full auto, it would hit them with a fusillade of rounds that was sure to drop at least three of them.

One of the aliens walked forward, spear held at the ready, and stopped five yards from Dotty. He straightened up to his full height, about five feet, slightly shorter than the lieutenant.

“I really don’t like this,” Achilles said, his voice shaking slightly.

“Me either,” intoned Yusef, “and I think there are more of them waiting out there.”

“They’re not doing anything yet, sir,” Dotty said, obviously on her comm. “Yes, sir. I’ll try to get them speaking for the translator.”

“Is he coming?” Yusef asked, moving his rifle to cover the aliens one after the other.

“They’ll be here as fast as they can,” she said, eliciting groans from the others.

Which means they’re some distance away, Avgust thought with a feeling of impending doom. At first glance, it looked like the Humans had all the advantages. Their battle suits were light armor as well as camouflage. It would harden when hit by kinetic pellets, stopping low-velocity rounds of light weight, and surely the primitive weapons the aliens were holding. That wasn’t a sure thing, and the Humans weren’t covered completely. Their lower faces and hands were exposed, and those tubes had the look of blowguns, which were probably armed with some kind of poison dart.

The alien standing in front of Dotty started to speak, a strange combination of low-pitched vocalizations and gurgling. He spoke for quite some time, then gestured out into the night. Dotty shook her head, then started replying.

“We don’t understand, but please keep talking, and maybe we will.”

The alien gurgled louder, then spoke again. It sounded like he’d said the same thing. Who could tell? The alien waved a hand, and another half dozen of the aliens came out of the dark, aligning themselves with their fellows.

Now more of the aliens started to speak, a discussion or argument among themselves. The voices rose and fell and reminded the merc hanging from the tree of nothing more than a pond full of bullfrogs croaking to their prospective mates.

The natives were starting to become agitated, and Babich was starting to think they’d be killing a bunch of them before the night was over. From what the colonel had said, that would be the worst thing that could happen. They needed the friendship of these people, and killing a bunch of them would be a step in the wrong direction. However, they wouldn’t just stand there and let the natives kill them.

* * *

“They do not understand us,” said Vegentioc, standing just to the side of Gurgincom, the leader.

“Of course they do not understand us,” replied Gurgincom, his gill slits opening and closing in a sign of anxiety. “They are not from here. What else could we expect?”

“The other aliens can understand us,” said Vegentioc, his voice lowering in anger. “Why not these?”

Gurgincom blinked his eyes in surprise at the stupidity of the other male. He looked back at the aliens, standing there back to back. It was obvious they were in a defensive formation, and they had weapons akin to those the invaders carried. Not exactly, but then these aliens looked nothing like the others, so that was to be expected. He had to assume they were just as deadly, which meant if they fired on his people, a lot of them would be dead, including himself. He could hope that they would be able to kill some of their slayers, if hope was the right word.

The smallest of the aliens, what he was thinking must be a female, kept talking. Some of her higher pitches were at the extreme range of his hearing, which was more adapted to the lower range of his people’s speech and underwater sounds.

“We are wasting our time here,” said Vegentioc, blinking his eyes as he looked over at the other warriors who gathered around them. “We should just leave.”

“We were told to be on the lookout for these aliens,” said the leader.

“And so we have. We cannot talk to them, so I say we go back to the village and report that we were not able to talk with them. Maybe the chiefs can send someone who can work out the language.”

Gurgincom closed his eyes tight and then opened them wide, a sign of disagreement. He had not thought they would find the aliens here in the first place. That they had would bring honor to himself and his party with the chief. Leaving here without procuring their aid would bring shame.

Gurgincom gestured to the aliens, hoping to get them to follow him. One of the aliens looked up, and Gurgincom followed his gaze with surprise to see that another of them was hanging from a Mazarash tree from some strange threads that didn’t look strong enough to hold him up. The alien looked back at him, obviously still alive. Which was another surprise, seeing what kind of plant he was attached to.

The alien female kept talking, waving at her fellow up above, then moved toward the tree, looking like she was about to slap the trunk.

“No!” yelled Gurgincom, hopping quickly toward her, ignoring the yells and weapons of the other aliens. He moved around her and got between her and the tree. The skin on his back crawled as he thought about how close he was to the deadly plant. One touch would kill him, like it would kill any animal that made skin contact with it. The tree fertilized itself that way, catching some of the less aware animals and dropping them dead to decay below it, feeding the roots. Some animals were immune for some unknown reason and used the tree as a home that protected them from everything else, and at times they would feed on the animals that had fallen beneath the tree.

Could these creatures be immune as well? he thought, holding his spear as a barrier to keep the female away. If she wasn’t and died while his people stood around doing nothing, wouldn’t that anger the rest of her people?

“Do not touch this tree,” he said, looking back at the trunk that was less than a foot from his back. “It is deadly. We poison our spears and darts with it.”

They couldn’t use those weapons for hunting, since the poison would still kill them if ingested, which was why they wouldn’t use it on hunting weapons, but only on those used for war.

The female started yelling at him and waving a hand, while one of the males turned and pointed a weapon at Gurgincom. That sent a shiver up his spine. He had never seen the weapons of the invaders used, since he lived so far from their compound. The tales were thought to be exaggerated, but if the stories only told half the truth, they were still deadly beyond belief.

Gurgincom kept speaking and gesturing, all he could think to do.

“We have more of the aliens coming,” said another of the males, one still out in the darkness as a scout.

“How many?” he called out.

“Ten of them. Maybe more.”

By the gods, thought the leader, closing his eyes for a moment. Now they outnumber us, and they have superior weapons. There is no way they will come with us now.

“We,” the alien female said. The sound wasn’t coming from the orifice under her nose, but seemed to originate from the covering on her head. “Kill.”

Gurgincom moved away from the tree, moving his spear down to point at the female. She had said we kill. Did that mean they were going to kill the Klanfolk? Were these really allies of the aliens who were ravaging the world, and not the ones they had come to find?

One of the aliens raised his weapon and pointed it at Gurgincom’s head. The female rounded on that warrior, reaching a hand up and pulling down the front of his weapon.

“We are not here to kill them,” said the voice from the helmet as she talked with her warrior. “We are here to talk.”

They are using something to learn how to speak with us, he thought. “We need to keep speaking with them,” he told the rest of his warriors, who were standing dumbfounded after hearing words in their language come from the aliens.

“Yes,” the female said. “We speak.”

So now she is beginning to understand me as well, thought the leader, lowering his spear. Then the other aliens were there, walking into the circle, their weapons up and pointed at the people.

* * *

“What’s going on here?” Jonah asked, his eyes roaming over the aliens standing around with weapons pointed at his people.

“We were having a conversation, sir,” Dotty said, nodding toward one of the aliens that looked like a leader from the necklace around his neck. “I’m just starting to get some words in common. Not many, but we’re starting to make progress.”

“Good job,” Jonah said, nodding. He looked over at the leader of the war party. “Everyone keep your calm. We’ve found the people we wanted to find, and I don’t want anyone getting us into a fight.”

Data started to flow across the colonel’s HUD, sent over from Dotty’s computer. He could see the vocabulary her computer had parsed so far. Not much, only a dozen words. A start, but they needed more.

“We come in peace,” he told the native, holding out an open hand. “We are the enemies of your enemies. We are your friends.”

“Friends,” came the voice of the alien through the earpieces of his helmet as it gurgled out a word.

“Colonel, could you go ahead and get me the fuck down from here?” Babich yelled out from above.

“Can we get someone up to him and get him down?” Jonah phrased the order as a request. A couple of people started for the tree, pulling the climbing handholds from their harnesses.

“No,” came the voice of the alien as he ran in a hopping fashion to get between the men and the tree. “Kill.”

“Is he threatening us, Colonel?” Kevin Graham asked, pointing his heavy weapon at the alien.

“I don’t think so,” Dotty said quickly. “We don’t have enough words yet, but he got between me and the tree as well. I think he’s trying to tell us the tree is deadly.”

“Then get me the hell out of it!” Avgust yelled down.

“Calm down, soldier!” Charley yelled up. “We’ll find a way to get you down!”

“Tree is poisonous,” the alien said through the translator. “To touch is to kill.”

“Why is the bark moving?” Kevin asked, looking closely at the surface of the tree and shining a light on it.

“We’ll find that out later,” Jonah said. He was curious about that himself. But then, this world would be filled with mysteries. They might solve some of them, but that wasn’t the purpose of their mission. As long as they learned what to avoid, so their people would survive, that was enough. The natives could teach them much, and now they were well on the way to understanding them.

“How about we use some of our climbing ropes and shoot them up there,” Manny Fernandez suggested, pulling out his own length of cord. He looked over at Amobi. “Think you can shoot one up there?”

“Of course,” Kabir said, nodding as he pulled his grenade launcher down and pulled the drum magazine from the weapon. “How do you want to do this?”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Avgust was climbing down the rope, his protective gloves locking onto it while he scampered down the thin strand. The majority of his gear was already on the ground, dropped from above.

“What do you want to do with the rope?” Ivan asked, looking at the colonel.

“We’ll leave it in place,” Jonah said, not really trusting the cord that had run over the bark of the branch to give Avgust a firm climbing structure. The gloves and his outer clothing would protect him from any touch of the poison, and they had some solvents to clean all the gear.

“You come with us?” asked the native Jonah thought of as the war party leader.

“Yes,” Jonah agreed, nodding, then realizing that his nonverbal expression probably meant nothing to this being. “Yes. We will come.”

* * * * *

Chapter Fourteen

“We’ve found something, commander,” a caller said over the comm.

“What,” Mmrash croaked, opening his heavy eyes. He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep, but from the way he was feeling, it hadn’t been long enough.

The viewer came up over the control board. The commander didn’t know what he was looking at, but it was obviously something of technological manufacture.

He’d sent teams of warriors to walk along the midlands’ edge in several areas, dropped off by their shuttle. He hadn’t been sure what it would lead to. Probably nothing, possibly the deaths of some of his warriors as they walked into an ambush, or maybe they would stumble across something, and it seemed one of them had.

One of the warriors held up a foot-and-a-half long cylinder, and Mmrash cringed as he waited for it to blow up and splatter the male all over the other three with him. That didn’t happen, and the commander breathed a hiss of relief, his ears flattening in relaxation.

The warrior turned what looked like a valve on the cylinder, and something hissed out.

“It looks like they tried to hide their equipment, but some animal got to it and dug it out.”

The camera view came in to focus on a small box with another cylinder set on top. Mmrash thought it looked like some kind of compressor unit, though unlike any he’d ever seen.

“That’s it!” he shouted out, pointing a finger at the image. “They left the equipment they wouldn’t need below!”

“What if it was intended to mislead us, Commander?”

Idiot, Mmrash thought, his ears twitching in frustration. The Humans wouldn’t have left behind equipment they needed to survive in the high altitudes just to mislead their pursuers.

“Get back in your shuttle as fast as possible, then get down to the lowlands. They’re down there now, and we need to see if we can pick up their trail.”

“That’s wild abo country, sir. You don’t really expect us to go thrashing through their forest in the dark?”

“You’ll go where I say and do what I order, coward!” Mmrash screamed at the warrior. “If I tell you to leap from that cliff, you will do it!”

The way the warrior looked back at him out of the Tri-V, the commander knew he’d pushed too far. Xlatan soldiers were disciplined, but they were also proud, and the male would fight his commander to the death before he committed an act of suicide on a leader’s orders.

“We’ll go down to the lowlands and rest through the night,” Mmrash said after a few calming breaths. “No one will jump from the cliff. We’ll start the search when there’s light, in large, fully-armored groups. Now, are you satisfied Sergeant?”

“Yes, sir. We’ll board the shuttle the instant it gets here.”

Mmrash leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He became aware that the pilot was looking at him with an amused expression on his face.

“You!” he roared, pointing the claws of his upper right hand at the other male, a threatening display. “I won’t order you to jump from the cliff, I’ll throw you from it myself!”

The eyes of the other male widened as he gulped.

Now I can’t even go back to sleep, the commander thought, turning away. He’d threatened the other male, and even though the pilot wasn’t the most courageous of warriors, he could easily strike the commander down in his sleep.

“Get us in the air. I want to be back at the compound within the hour.”

The pilot twitched his ears in agreement and started up the engines. A moment later he pulled back on his stick and the gunship jumped into the air, then dropped over the edge as the controller set course toward the compound.

Maybe the boss will be in bed when we get there, and I can get some rest, Mmrash thought. He growled low in his throat at that. There was no chance the boss would be asleep. Or, if he was, he’d be woken when the gunship landed. Then the night would be spent in more explanation of his failure at stopping the Humans from getting to the lowlands.

* * *

Logs weren’t the most comfortable of seats, but the warmth around them was enough to make it the best seat the colonel had occupied in a week. A large fire burned in the center of the village, while the villagers sat far enough away that the heat wouldn’t dry out their skins. In fact, many of them lay in puddles that seemed to be constructed for the purpose of letting them cool off and moisten their skins.

An animal the natives had killed on the way back to their village was turning on a spit over the fire. The smell was enticing, a slightly alien smell, but still an aroma that watered the mouths of people who’d been living on canned rations for a week.

Children were running through the village, many of them stopping in front of their alien visitors to stare at them until the adults shooed them away.

“Thank you so much, Chief Adometalo, for your hospitality,” the colonel said to the nearest of the natives, his helmet speaking the alien words for him. He wasn’t sure if the name he was saying was really the chief’s. His translation software was digesting the sounds and spitting out what it thought the name was. In return, it was taking what he said and translating it into gurgling croaks. It was working, so he really didn’t care.

“It is our honor, skyman,” said the elder, sitting with his back against the same log the colonel was using.

A couple of women stood near him, dipping ladles into wooden buckets and pouring water over his skin. The species appeared to be semi-amphibious, able to move around on land for extended periods, maybe on a permanent basis, but the skin that augmented their gills in pulling oxygen out of the water dried out quickly. They used lotions to keep the integument moist, but nothing beat the feel of real water.

“It’s good to be in a safe place,” Joey said, taking a drink of the intoxicant the natives had provided.

Jonah hadn’t been sure about letting his people imbibe unknown intoxicating beverages, but Dotty had pronounced it safe to drink, as well as having an alcohol level about half that of weak beer. It seemed to be having an effect on the natives, though, and many of them were already staggering about.

The village sounded like a convention of bullfrogs serenading their mates. All of the Kalagarta, as they thought the people were called, were talking—men, women and children. This was an exciting event for them, a celebration of what they hoped was their coming liberation.

I don’t want to burst their bubble, the colonel thought, watching as a female fed her baby small pieces of food while she sat in one of the communal puddles. Unfortunately, his team probably lacked the firepower to kick the Syndicate off the planet, and he still didn’t know if the heavily-armed Ravagers were going to show. The chief had already told him the Kalagarta were willing to throw themselves at the guns of the invaders if that was what it would take to regain their world. The image of these people being cut down by modern weapons was almost more than he could take. The guilt it would arouse could destroy him. No, they’d accept the aid of the Kalagarta to make their way to the Syndicate compound, learning the lay of the land from them along the way. After that, he didn’t want the aliens to get involved.

“We still have enemies looking for us,” Jonah told the chief, looking over at Joey with a frown. “They could attack your village if they know we’re here.”

“They will not come unannounced,” said Adometalo in pride. “Our camp is surrounded by warriors, and we have patrols in the forest out to ten miles.”

“Hell, it’ll give us time to set up an ambush,” Ivan said, wiping some of the beer from his chin. “Unless they send in their whole guard force, I don’t see how we can lose.”

“They can lose,” Jonah said after disconnecting his translator for a moment. “They can be killed by those bastards while they try to stop the enemy.”

“We are not afraid to fight, Human,” croaked one of the warriors in a loud tone.

The Kalagarta got to his feet and hit the butt of his spear on the ground. Unlike the weapons of most, this warrior had a sharpened metal spear point. Metal seemed to be extremely rare among these people, who basically hadn’t advanced past the stone age.

Since they seemed like a very intelligent people, it was a shame they’d have to progress through many generations before they advanced far enough to even enter the iron age. The law of the Galactic Union stated primitive cultures couldn’t be raised up to a level of high technology, so even though the technology was out there, the Kalagarta were doomed to hundreds of generations of suffering. Hunger, disease, maladies that could be handled easily by a technologically-advanced civilization. Even Earth had technology that kept her people healthy and without want, to a degree.

“I myself killed one of the six-limbed creatures,” continued the warrior, holding up his spear. “I myself brought back the hard material we have used to make weapons to use against them.”

Jonah looked at the warrior, noting that he was missing his off hand, and had a patch of some kind of leather over his left eye.

“And how many were in your party?”

“There were two hands and one of us. We attacked the beast from the front, as befitted warriors. I drove my spear into his throat, dropping him to the ground to bleed out his life.”

“And how many came back?”

“Myself and one other.”

So they attacked one of the Xlatan from the front, where the alien could see them, and the Xlatan killed nine of them.

“We learned from that incident not to attack them from the front,” said the chief, staring at the young warrior.

“The coward’s way.”

“The way of the wise,” replied the chief.

These people could wage a hell of a guerilla war if they had the right equipment. If he and his party weren’t killed on this mission, he had to find a way to get some of his equipment into their hands. Against the law, but if he was dead, who could they blame?

“Now we have these visitors among us,” continued the warrior, ignoring what his chief had said. “They will kill the invaders for us.”

“And we will help,” said the chief, not paying attention to the look the colonel was sending his way.

“No,” Jonah said. “I appreciate the gesture, but we’ll handle this on our own.”

“Be reasonable, Human. There are ten and nine of you, while your enemy has many tens of tens. And the six limbs are easily your physical match, while I have doubt that your weapons are any fiercer.”

“We’ll use strategy,” Charley said, joining in the conversation. “Fight from ambush.”

“Then you will kill more of them,” argued the chief, “and still you will die.”

The old bastard may be a primitive, thought Jonah, but he’s no dummy.

“We have friends coming. Friends who fight in armored suits with heavier weapons than anything we have.”

“And when will they be here?”

Jonah wasn’t even sure if the Ravagers would still come. He didn’t want to lie to these people, but he also didn’t want them giving up hope.

“Soon,” he said. “Within a week.”

“Then we need to start off in the morning,” said the chief. “Their base is two hundred miles from here. There are many rivers to cross, and you don’t look like swimmers to me.”

“We can swim,” Joey said, his voice rising in anger. “Why, I bet I can outswim any of you…”

“Joey. Shut up. These people live much of their lives in the water. I doubt the best swimmer on Earth could beat their weakest in a race.”

“You are not a swimming people,” said the chief, looking over at the young Sioux warrior. “Looking at you, you are a tree climbing people, and a running people. Two great skills for one species to have. You can learn to swim, after a fashion, but my people are born to the water. It is more of a home to us than the land.”

“Then why do you live in this forest?” Charley asked, leaning forward on his log. “It would make more sense to live near the water, yes? Maybe in it?”

“The forest is not inhabited by the enormous predators of the rivers. We can handle them if we are vigilant, but still they take many of our young. Our habit is to birth the babies in the water, then raise them on the land. However, there is an even better reason to live far from the rivers.”

“And that is?” asked Dotty, who’d been listening to the conversation with great interest.

“Our enemy searches for us to enslave us. All of the villages within fifty miles of the compound have been raided, destroyed, and their people carried off into slavery. So we abandoned our homes near the great rivers and faded into the forest. We still have enough creeks and ponds nearby for our needs, though someday we hope we can return to our ancestral hunting grounds.”

Jonah nodded and pushed his faceplate down, listening as looked at a map of the canyonlands on his HUD. The canyonlands were huge, as he’d been told, with more land area than North America. They were narrow in the center of the north-south axis, six hundred miles from top to bottom, widening to the east and west until well over a thousand miles from cliff wall to cliff wall. There was the massive river, which wasn’t really in the center, splitting the land with a quarter to the south and the rest to the north. Hundreds of rivers flowed into the central river, each with dozens or scores of creeks flowing into them. There were a couple dozen large lakes scattered about, with their feeder and fed tributaries.

The central river wasn’t the only one that led to the sea. Dozens of other large rivers flowed into the ocean, many forming large estuaries or bays. And between all the rivers was a jungle that made the thickest jungles on Earth, the Amazon, Congo, and Southeast Asia, look like babies. Fifty or so miles between the jungle and the scree slopes was higher ground, filled with what would be considered temperate forest on Earth. From the ocean to the end of the valley was over four thousand miles. Twenty-five hundred miles of it was the jungle, with almost five hundred miles of forest, then over a thousand of grasslands. The life on the grasslands was quite a bit different from that in the jungles, made up of large herd animals and predators just as big.

“How many of your people are on this world?” he asked the chief while he was memorizing the map. Unfortunately, while the map was great for an overall view of the world, or at least the part of the world that was of interest to off-worlders, for a close-up of this region it was useless, only showing the largest rivers. Otherwise, just a featureless green mass. That was one of the reasons they needed the help of the Kalagarta, as expert guides.

“That is something I do not know, Human,” said the chief, giving off a gurgling snort. “We do not possess the wonders you do. We are only aware of what is within a month’s walking distance. And even there, we are only on speaking terms with the tribes within a week’s travel.”

“That’s what I thought,” Jonah said, shaking his head. Not that it really made any difference. As long as they were connected to the people who could get them where they needed to go, the company really didn’t need to know about the similarities and differences between what were probably several thousand tribes.

Women of the tribe came from the fire, each with a platter of meat and vegetable matter. Dotty had passed everything they were being served. What she couldn’t do was tell the team members if it would be palatable.

Joey immediately dug into his meat, his silence an indication of how palatable he found it. Charley started off with something that looked like a reddish fruit, similar to a tomato. Jonah started with some greens, wanting to know if it was tasty or not.

“Damn,” Charley said after swallowing a bit of the fruit, “this is good. It tastes sort of like an apple, but not.”

Jonah chewed the mouthful of greens and hissed in surprise as the flavor of strawberries burst among his taste buds.

“I could eat like this every night,” Joey said around the meat he was chewing.

“We cannot guarantee you will eat this well every night,” said the chief, after swallowing a piece of meat himself, “but can tell you that you will not starve. None of our hunting parties go without. The world is good. The gods are good. And they provide.”

But they won’t rescue you from the people who have come to kill your world, Jonah thought. He might die on this mission, but now he knew what was at stake. And dying to prevent that did not seem like such a bad thing after all.

* * *

“Did we really have to get up so early?” complained Sergeant Nlorn, stopping outside the gunship and blinking his sleepy eyes.

Mmrash didn’t say a word as he glared at the trooper. He wasn’t in the mood for any backtalk this day. The night had gone as he’d expected, with the boss dressing him down for hours. There had only been four hours to eat and sleep in, if he wanted to follow orders and have his ships in the air at the ordered hour, and one hour had gone by with tossing and turning, as the emotions of anger and fear warred in his mind. On the one hand, he wanted to kill Jillor for the language that had been thrown his way. On the other, he was afraid the Syndicate would take his life if he failed again.

The sergeant’s ears lowered in distress, then the warrior went into the troop compartment. Low speech came to the commander’s ears before he entered, then died as he came into sight through the opening. Every warrior had some food in hand, and they were busying themselves with eating so they didn’t have to look at their leader. He felt no such qualms, and he looked them over as he passed through to the cockpit door. All had on their stout clothing, proof against the weapons of the natives. They wore heavier body armor over their torsos, including pads over the shoulders of their upper arms. Helmets sat on their heads, tufted ears thrust through the holes provided for them, while naked tails swished back in forth in a show of raw emotion.

All the soldiers were heavily armed. Everyone had a pistol or two on their belts, most had laser carbines, though one had a heavy laser and another a grenade launcher. The other squads were similarly armed. The gunship itself had a pair of heavy lasers in a nose turret, side-mounted door lasers that some of the troopers in this compartment could access, and rocket pods to the sides. It also carried an auto grenade launcher in a smaller turret next to the nose lasers.

The four standard shuttles weren’t armed as well, although they carried enough weaponry to make them effective ground attack craft. Each had a laser in the nose and two more set in the troop compartment for the soldiers to use as door guns. Altogether, he had fifty dismounts and ten shuttle crewmen, including himself. If they caught the Humans out in the open, the fight would be over before it began, and if they had to land and take them on in the jungle, he had the manpower to overwhelm them.

The pilot was wearing a helmet with a sighting pip that would aim the lasers and grenade launcher wherever he was looking.

I wish we had some armored vehicles we could drop, he thought as he strapped himself into the co-pilot chair and pulled on his helmet, making sure it was set comfortably so his ears could move. There were armored vehicles in the compound, but nothing light enough for these aircraft to carry, so this would be an airmobile operation from start to finish.

The commander thought about how good it would be to be able to read the people under him. The operation up in the cold had almost driven them all mad. Unable to see the reactions of the others of their people with them tended to make Xlatan feel isolated.

“Everyone stay close to the gunship,” he ordered over the comm. “Two and Three, I want you to my right. Four and Five to the left. Follow protocol if we have to surround a village. And everyone, keep your eyes, ears, and noses open. I want no one dying stupidly.”

Of course, there was always the chance that some would die, perhaps many. As long as they died advancing the mission and the people, that was fine. But to waste themselves looking for glory and finding shame? That was not acceptable. They were warriors, but they weren’t unthinking rage-filled berserkers, unlike some other species he could name.

“You know where to go,” the commander said. It wasn’t a question.

“To the point where we think the Humans came down into the lowlands.”

“Then let’s get this thing off the ground. I’d prefer to have a hot meal this evening. But be assured, we’re not coming back here without them.”

* * * * *

Chapter Fifteen

It was still dark out when they left the village. Jonah wanted to get off to an early start. Things might not go as expected, and they had little time to waste. Thirty of the Kalagarta warriors were with them, including the young war chief who’d proudly showed his injuries the night before.

I really wish the old chief was the one leading this party, he thought as he watched several of the young warriors stagger while they moved in their hopping gait. The young ones had drunk too much the night before. The species had a very low tolerance for alcohol, though they seemed to love it.

They’re proud and looking for a fight, was his next thought. That was dangerous. The mission was to get his company close to the invaders’ compound so they could scout, not to get into pitched battles along the way. If they had to fight, so be it, but if he could get there without one? That would be even better.

His people were in a standard combat patrol formation, two squads, each in a vee. Ten yards between each mercenary, twenty between the groups. The Kalagarta were arrayed around them. Normally the colonel would have had two people on point and another pair as rear guard, but he didn’t see the need while the natives handled that for him. This was their home—their hunting environment—and he was sure they’d be better at it than his people.

After an hour of walking, the forest started to lighten around them. The Humans all had the night vision of their helmets, and the natives seemed to have the dark sense of cats. Still, natural light was welcome by all.

The hand of the Kalagarta in front went up. It seemed to be the universal signal of biped warriors. It made sense, since a biped could hold up one hand, easily seen, while leaving the other to handle their weapon.

“What do you have?” Jonah asked as he moved forward in a crouch, stopping beside Xebraferd, the young war chief

“Just a slight delay,” said the young warrior, pointing his spear ahead.

A couple of very large animals stood ahead on pillar-like legs. Tentacles reached from under their mouths to curl around the branches of leafy trees, stripping the leaves off and pulling them into the small mouth beneath. They reminded the colonel of camouflaged elephants, their greenish skins blending into the forest.

“Are they dangerous?”

“Not particularly,” answered the Kalagarta. His face was set in what a Human would call a frown, but among his people was a smile. “They don’t have many enemies on land, but they are near-sighted and will attack things that come into their space and startle them.”

“How long will we have to wait?” the colonel asked, sure that the natives weren’t going to try and kill the animals.

“Not long.”

A loud hooting erupted from the forest, and the big beasts turned their heads quickly that way. Both raised the flailing tentacles into the air and let out their own versions of croaking hoots. In a moment they turned and shuffled off in a gait that didn’t look fast but would soon overtake most Humans.

“The way is clear,” said Xebraferd, waving his hand forward. “They will be back. That tree is one of their favorite foods. And they can have all of it they want, once we have moved on.”

Jonah agreed with that, and he kept his people moving after the Kalagarta. It wasn’t difficult to keep up with them. The normal walking gait of a Human was much quicker than their hopping gait. He thought his people had much more stamina as well.

“What do we need to look out for in this forest?” he asked, sidling up to the war chief. “Any dangerous plants?”

“You saw the only one we consider dangerous last night.”

“The tree?”

“The tree. And if you know what to look for, they are not a threat. That will change once we get into the lowland jungle.”

Jonah checked his HUD. They were still over two thousand feet above sea level, but they had been moving in a generally downward path.

The bubbling of a stream came through the forest, and moments later they found themselves at their first water crossing. It wasn’t much, only about twenty yards across and at most a couple of feet deep. The water was crystal clear and cold. The Kalagarta walked through without hesitation, so the Humans followed.

“Shit!” Graham yelled out, stepping through quickly. “Cold as shit.”

“At least it’s not deep, or full of things that are trying to eat us,” Ivan said. “Man up, Kevin.”

They walked on for another hour, when Xebraferd again raised a hand to stop the party. The Humans took a knee, and the flustered native turned and motioned for them to get back on their feet. Something ahead let out a huffing roar, and all of the Humans reacted by shouldering their weapons and aiming them in the general direction of the sound.

“Do not fire,” said Xebraferd, looking back at the colonel. “Do not do anything but stand there until I tell you to do otherwise.”

A large animal stepped into view on the path ahead. Jonah sucked in a breath as he recognized the creature. It wasn’t exactly the same, but the similarity to the large hunters in the midlands was unmistakable. It was larger, and without the heavy fur of the cold climate hunters. The legs were longer, as were the ears. It had a similar green camouflage fur as the elephant creatures, an adaptation to the lowlands vegetation.

It showed its teeth as it looked over the party. A moment later another equally large predator stepped up to stand beside it. Three more, slightly smaller, probably females, faded in from the foliage. All looked over the party, heads turning to take in the entire group.

It was almost as if they vanished, they disappeared so quickly. The colonel wondered if he had imagined them.

“Why did we stand up and let them look us over?” Joey asked, lowering his rifle.

“The Garala do not bother us if we do not molest them,” said Xebraferd, waving the party forward again. “When we meet them in large groups, we let them see what we have. They investigate, see that it is not worth the trouble, and move on.”

“Would that work for us?” Ivan asked.

“I do not know,” said the war chief. “You are alien to them, so you might elicit the same reaction, or they might attack you to see what kind of threat you are.”

“Why don’t you just kill them?” Yusef asked, walking slowly under the weight of his heavy equipment.

“Is that what you do on your world? Kill other life because they inconvenience you?”

“Maybe they are no better than the other aliens,” said one of the other warriors.

Maybe we are, and maybe we aren’t, Jonah thought, but we’re what you have.

* * *

Mmrash glared in frustration at the endless sea of trees that passed below. They’d been cruising along in a search pattern for the last four hours, and so far had seen nothing but the tops of trees. There had been some clearings, empty. A couple of times, shuttles had set down in them to find nothing.

“Isn’t there any way to see below this crap?” the commander growled, staring at the pilot.

“With the heat of the sun reflected from that foliage?” the pilot said, his ears twitching in amusement. “Maybe at night, when the ambient temperature has gone down. But during the day?”

“But, but, our infrared sensors work perfectly fine for our troops on the ground,” the commander said, ears twitching in anger.

“I’m sorry, commander, but on the ground you’re not looking through dozens of yards of leaves. Up here we’re trying to look through that vegetation, and the plants around here are metabolizing just like the animals, just at a lower rate.”

A long break appeared ahead in the forest, where a river flowed through it. Nothing compared to those in the jungles lower down, but still fifty yards in width.

“Maybe if we patrolled up and down the river we might pick them up,” suggested the pilot.

“And maybe we won’t,” the commander growled. If the enemy crossed while an aircraft was within sight, the Xlatan would have them. But if they waited until there were no aircraft in sight?

“Head for that village we sighted to the north,” the commander ordered, pointing to the map on the Tri-V over the dash. “Let’s see what they have to say.”

“I’m betting they’ll have nothing to say,” the pilot said under his breath.

“And I’m betting we can dig the information out of them,” the commander growled, pointing a finger at the pilot. “So just go where I told you to go.”

The pilot’s ears twitched in acknowledgement and he pulled the joystick over while the commander got on the comm.

“All ships. We’re heading to the village to the north that’s marked on your maps. Deploy as per SOP.”

Mmrash leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes, still not feeling rested enough to think clearly. If he had to bet, the Humans would have tried to make contact with the Kalagarta. And that village they’d spotted was the only known habitation in this local area.

* * *

“What’s that?” Joey asked, looking up at the foliage overhead.

Jonah heard it too, a high whistling noise, seeming to be coming up from the south. It grew in volume until he could make out the whirring of the fans, the kind used to keep slow-moving atmospheric craft aloft or allow them to hover. It sounded like more than one, though being underneath the trees, it was hard to determine just how many.

“Enemy aircraft,” Charley hissed, looking over at Ivan.

That merc already had his small, portable missile launcher out and extended, ready to bring it to his shoulder and fire.

“They are moving on,” said Xebraferd, looking up, “to the south.”

“To your village?” Sandra asked, her eyes wide as she looked back in the direction the sound was fading.

“Maybe,” said the war chief, his gill slits opening and closing rapidly, a sign the Humans had come to interpret as anxiety. “Nothing we can do about it now. Even if we move at our best speed, we are four hours away.”

“And you don’t care what happens?” Dotty asked.

The war chief hopped quickly over to the lieutenant/medic, gill slits working furiously. Jonah readied to raise his weapon if the being attacked his officer.

“Of course I care,” croaked the warrior, his face close to Dotty’s. “Those butchers are heading for my home, and I should be there to fight them, even if it means my death. But the chief tasked me with this mission. Even if I wanted to disobey, it would not matter. Whatever they are going to do will be done before I can return.”

The warrior turned on his heel and hopped off, not saying another word. The rest of the Kalagarta stared at the nearest Humans, then moved to follow their leader.

Jonah could tell that the Kalagarta were distressed but were going to follow the directives of their chief. If they’d been within an hour’s run of the village, that might not have been true, but the natives were realists, like most who lived hand to mouth.

“We will be at the first river barrier in half an hour,” said Xebraferd, looking back. “If they are busy elsewhere, this might be our best chance of getting across.”

The colonel had to wonder what kind of river barrier they’d be facing, and what method they’d use to get them across. He decided not to ask. Let the Kalagarta deal with their own thoughts. He’d deal with his own when they got to the barrier.

* * *

“They’re here,” said one of the young warriors,

Like most Kalagarta habitations, it was built under cover. That hadn’t always been the case, but since the invaders had come, and they had control of the air, everything was now built to be difficult to observe from the air. Difficult, but not impossible.

“I know,” said the chief, looking over at the clearing forty yards from the edge of the village. Some had argued that they should have built it further away, but at the time it had seemed to make more sense to keep their vegetable plots close.

The chief got to his feet. People were running back and forth through the village. It looked like the entire population was here and was panicking. That was really an illusion. A close look showed that there were very few young females, and no children. They had already headed to the creekside caves.

Warriors were grabbing weapons from their stands. Spears, bows, blowguns. Weapons that would probably do little against the invaders. Being a proud species, the Kalagarta could do no less than defend their territory. Some were going into holes scattered around the village, pulling coverings over to hide themselves. Those warriors would also fight, but from ambush, where they might have a chance to take an enemy with them before they went into the otherworld.

The enemy aircraft flew over once more, looking for the best avenue of approach. He wished the aliens were stupid, despite their technological advancement. No such luck. The six-limbed creatures were smart and canny warriors, to the detriment of his people.

“We are as ready as we can be,” he told the young warrior, getting to his feet and grabbing the spear he hadn’t used in recent memory. “Let us make the ancestors proud.”

* * *

“Can you get us down under the canopy?” the commander asked as they came in for an overfly of the village.

“I can try, commander, but the trees in there are mighty close.”

Mmrash grunted. The tough metal of the gunship could probably smash through the trunks of the trees, but they risked having heavy objects coming down on them and pushing them into the ground.

“Send a couple of rockets in at them,” he finally ordered, pointing ahead. “Let’s stir up the insect nest.”

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t question my orders. Just do it.”

The ears of the pilot twitched with acknowledgment. He concentrated and looked ahead, picking out his targets. With a flick of his finger he triggered one of the rockets. The weapon fell from its rack and sped ahead on a jet of flame. The pilot quickly looked over at the next target and did the same, triggering another weapon.

A flash of light came from the first target, a large hut, followed a moment later by a loud boom. The hut flew out in splinters, a ball of rising flame rising. A moment later the next hut exploded.

“Send your squads in and take that village,” the commander said over the comm to the other shuttles. “But don’t kill them all. We want some left alive to give us the information we want.”

“Yes, commander,” responded the sergeant, his ears twitching in anxiety.

Of course he doesn’t want to go out there, thought the commander, who wasn’t about to do so himself, at least until the threat had been neutralized. Too bad. That’s his job. If he survives, maybe someday he’ll be an officer and be able to beg off these kinds of missions.

“I’ll be observing, Sergeant.” With the push of a panel, Mmrash linked into the feed of the NCO’s helmet and he was able to see what the sergeant saw, and hear what the sergeant heard. What he couldn’t do though was smell through the nose of the other warrior, which was the sense that made things real to a Xlatan.

The rear door to the shuttle came down, showing the forest world through the helmet camera of the sergeant. The air was filled with the wispy smoke of the recent rocket explosions, and the screams and cries of the wounded Kalagarta came in over the crackling of fire. A pair of warriors ran past, going to ground ten yards further in. Another pair ran past them, then the viewpoint of the sergeant changed as he advanced.

The breathing of the NCO came over the speakers, while his heartbeat elevated over the somatic sensors. Mmrash pulled up the readouts on the other troopers. All were spiking, not unusual in warriors going into action, many of them for the first time.

A laser speared out, visible in the smoke, driving through a hopping native who was trying to get within range for a spear throw. The upper body of the warrior fell to the side, while the lower section staggered for a moment before falling over. More lasers appeared, linking instantaneously with their targets. The smoke was thickening near the center of the village, interfering with laser targeting and dispersing the beams. Against the unarmored natives, it didn’t make much difference, though against an armored opponent it might mean life or death.

“I’m hit!” one of the soldiers yelled out.

“Who was that, Sergeant?” Mmrash asked, looking at the readouts and picking out the soldier he thought it was. Several had already been hit by arrows, which had bounced from their armor of hardened clothing. They had very few vulnerable spots on their bodies, but they did exist.

“Trooper Klarsh is down,” the NCO called back. “It looks like they got a dart into one of his ears.”

“Crap.” The ears were one of their vulnerable points. They could cover them, but the species depended on that nonverbal signal to a greater extent than any other, so they left them out. And in most cases it wasn’t a problem, since a hit to the ear was superficial. Except when the enemy was using poison.

“Third and fourth squads are moving in on their vectors,” Mmrash told the NCO. “Just hold where you are until they move into position, then push to the center.”

The sergeant acknowledged. Mmrash sat back in his chair, running a middle hand through his mane. He’d lost a warrior against a primitive village that had already been hammered with rockets. That shouldn’t have happened, but it had. There was no use crying over it. His people were mercenaries, and that was part of the business.

* * *

The explosion reminded the chief of the power of the invaders. That reminder knocked him to the ground with the concussion of the blast, deafening him. In most respects he was one of the lucky ones. Warriors came apart before his eyes, torn into bleeding rags of meat by the thousands of splinters thrown by the blast. An instant later some of those were then burned to ash. Fortunately for them, they were beyond feeling the fire.

Other warriors, many like the chief further away from the blast, were knocked to the ground. Some went flying through the air to land hard on the ground, unmoving. A few were staggering back to their feet when the second blast knocked them back down.

Is it already over? thought the chief, shaking his head as he tried to clear his ringing ears. He had been hoping they would be able to meet the enemy in battle, as one-sided at it might have been, but a couple of their larger weapons had knocked the fight out of his people.

Maybe not, was his thought as more of his warriors pulled themselves to their feet. They staggered as they hopped. Some were barely moving forward, but they were moving, weapons at the ready.

The chief got to his feet just in time to see the six-legged infantry moving in. It looked like ten or so, and they moved in a crouch, weapons ready. These were warriors, and he respected them just as much as he hated them. A smattering of arrows flew at the creatures, all bouncing away from their armor. The arrows were poisoned, which meant nothing if they couldn’t get to their flesh.

The enemy fired back with their devil weapons, beams of light shining through the smoke. Where those beams touched, warriors died. A few had holes burned through them, others fell apart as if an infinite blade had cut into them.

A few of the braver warriors tried to close and get spear throws in. Those that were able to get off a cast before being sliced down didn’t do much good. A couple puffed from blowguns, again with no result.

One of the enemy warriors stood up from his crouch with a cry, stiffened, and fell. It was a sign of the quick-acting poison on the weapons, and, since there were no shafts protruding from his body, the chief thought it must have been a dart.

More beams came in, and there were very few Kalagarta warriors still on their feet. The village was swarming with six-legged warriors, the battle lost, when the last trap was sprung. A half dozen warriors came out of the ground, pushing aside woven coverings that blended in with the ground covering. Spears were thrust out, most to bounce from armor. One warrior got in a skillful strike, or was it luck? It didn’t matter, as it went into the lower face of the alien in a spurt of blood. It was a nasty wound, and one which the alien would recover from given time. The poison wouldn’t give him that time.

Another blast ripped through the center of the village as one of the invaders started firing strings of small explosives from his weapon. A couple landed near the chief, who was trying to figure how he was going to sell his life while hopefully taking down an enemy. That was his last thought as darkness claimed him.

* * *

“I think we should cross now,” said Xebraferd, dipping a foot into the river. “It is not as cold as the little stream behind us.”

“How are we going to get across?” the colonel asked, looking at the flowing water and estimating that it had a couple mile an hour current. That wasn’t what concerned him the most, though. The big crocodilians sunning on the opposite bank had earned that distinction.

“We will swim, of course. I thought you said all of your people could swim.”

“After a fashion. Some of our people have heavy weapons and equipment though, that will pull them under if they swim on the surface.”

“Then you must figure out how they are going to do that,” said the war chief, “but don’t take too much time.”

“And what about those things over there?” Charley asked, pointing to the crocodilians.

“We will guard you against those. We are better than them under water, and we are smarter.”

“If they fight those underwater, I’m not sure how smart they are,” Joey said, his translator muted.

“Everyone, inflate your floatation vests. We have a river to swim.”

“You sure, Colonel?” Basil Paudel asked in his cultured English accent. “I don’t fancy ending up in the stomach of one of those boys.”

“Our guide says they’ll take care of them,” Charley said, looking over the disbelieving faces. “So we have to trust them.”

“Besides,” Jonah interjected, setting his rifle, “our weapons will still function in the water. Set them all to maximum velocity.”

The colonel pulled the tabs that inflated the neck-mounted floatation device. He considered himself a good swimmer, but not with almost seventy pounds of extra weight pulling on him.

“Your clothing,” said the war chief. “Now it looks like the water.”

“It’s a new, special material that gives us active camo. It changes to match its background.” The colonel let himself slide into the water, which seeped into every opening in his clothing and boots. It might take some time to dry out on the other side, but some things couldn’t be helped.

When everyone was in the water, they started across, the Kalagarta diving under and swimming alongside them. About halfway across, Sandra yelled out.

“Those big bastards just slid into the water, sir. They’re under, and I don’t know where they went.”

Probably heading for the greatest feast they’ve ever seen, the colonel thought, his skin crawling at the thought of those predators coming through underneath the water. They wouldn’t know where they were until they clamped onto one of his people. Perhaps himself.

Water churned to the right, an indication that something was going on beneath the surface. A large tail broke the surface about forty feet from the team, slapping the water. The shaft of a spear came up near it, then disappeared. For several seconds nothing broke the surface, with the exception of roiling water.

“Keep moving, people!” Charley yelled out, pulling himself through the water in a strong breast stroke, “unless you want to provide a meal for the locals.”

A reptilian head broke the water twenty feet away from Yusef, the closest Human to that side. Yusef screamed out and started thrashing in the other direction, closer to the center of the group. An eye focused on him, and the head started to go back down. The water roiled again, but this time the entire body of the creature rolled to the surface, a pair of Kalagarta hanging on with spears thrust through the soft underbelly.

Jonah had to admit to himself that the clumsy-looking amphibians, on land at least, were anything but in the water. And there was no doubting their courage, as the heavily-armored creature they were attacking was at least as massive as twenty of the amphibians.

“Keep moving, people!” he yelled, pushing for the shore that was now less than fifty feet away. “I want everyone high and dry in less than two.”

Normally anyone in the team could swim fifty feet in much less than a half minute. Unfortunately, they were carrying equipment, and the streamlining of a Human body in swimming gear, or nothing at all, didn’t exist at this moment.

Joey pulled himself out of the water first, shaking his head, then pulling off his helmet and dripping out the water. Asuka Yamashuri was next, giving his wife a hand from the river, then turning with carbine in hand to aim into the river.

“Don’t hit our friends,” the colonel called out as he got his feet on the bottom and walked the rest of the way out. He turned to watch the last of his people climbing out, doing a head count and smiling as he got them all. Looking back at the water, he noted the many heads that had now broken the surface. They were looking around, orienting themselves and the creatures they were fighting.

One of those creatures was floating on the surface belly up, blood discoloring the water around it. A couple of Kalagarta swarmed over it, hooting out their war cries. The second of the beasts was running back onto the bank, fleeing into the trees.

“Damn,” Ivan said, stopping beside the colonel and looking out at their friends. “They don’t kid around, do they?”

No, they sure don’t, Jonah thought, watching Xebraferd come out of the river, his warriors following.

“We lost one,” said the war chief, bowing his head as if in prayer. “They are tough foes, and we normally do not hunt them.”

“I’m sorry for the loss of your warrior,” Jonah said, bowing his own head. “And thank you.”

“You and your people are not made to fight in water,” said the proud male, puffing out his chest and hitting his handless forearm against it. “This is our environment. Even those creatures cannot equal us in the water. If we were trying to avoid them, they wouldn’t catch us. If they tried to catch you, some of you would be digesting in their stomachs tonight.”

Five of the Kalagarta started to tow the body of the beast to the shore, but Xebraferd yelled out something that wasn’t translated and waved his spear in the air. The other warriors started to argue.

“We don’t have the time!” Jonah called out, waving his arm furiously.

“My people do not like to leave behind so much food,” said the war chief, looking over at the Human leader, “especially when they have paid such a price.”

“What will you do with it, then?” Charley asked, looking up at the sky as if he was expecting something to come flying over at any moment.

“We’ll just let the river carry it away,” said the Kalagarta, giving Charley a strange look. “In an hour it will be a couple of miles away. By nightfall it will be swarming with scavengers.”

“I’d like it better if we could hide the body,” Charley said with a grim expression. “Someone might come along and wonder what killed it.”

“There are land predators that can kill it in numbers,” said the Kalagarta, looking back into the forest. “It doesn’t happen often, but it does. And besides, it would take over an hour to get it to shore and bury it. Almost as long to weigh it down so it sinks to the bottom.”

“We need to get moving,” Jonah agreed, also looking at the sky. “The further we are from here if this is discovered, the better.”

“You think your enemies will assign significance to the body of a predator floating in the river?” asked Xebraferd, again staring at the crocodilian.

“As you said, it’s unusual for them to die in the river like that,” Charley said, “and they know we’ve got to cross. You figure it out.”

The Kalagarta stood there for a moment, obviously thinking of what the Humans had said. He looked at Jonah again before speaking. “I still think it better that we move on. It would be even worse if the six legs came upon us trying to get rid of the evidence. I say we move.”

“I agree,” Jonah said, smiling at Charley. The point hadn’t been to change the mind of the creatures, but to get them to think about the possibilities. The Kalagarta had already proven they were ready for their natural enemies, but the invaders were something else.

“Aren’t we going to take a little time to dry out our clothing?” Sandra complained.

“You can dry off on the march, Sandra,” Manny Fernandez said, clapping her on the shoulder with one hand while he pointed ahead with his machete. “Onward. No glory for those who wait.”

“I don’t really see much glory in walking along like a wet cat,” the woman said, settling her rifle on its strap before stepping off after the Spaniard.

“Your people talk a lot,” said Xebraferd, scratching the top of his head with his one hand. “They complain too much. No Kalagarta leader would put up with such.”

Jonah didn’t say a word for fear of causing offense. He wouldn’t have his people any other way. It was the way of Human warriors to bellyache. Once it was said that an army moved on its stomach, meaning the fuel of their rations. He actually believed that an army moved on its bellyaching. Troops who weren’t complaining about something didn’t really have their heads in the game. And his people had their heads in the game.

* * * * *

Chapter Sixteen

“What do you have for me, Sergeant?” Commander Mmrash asked as he walked into the remains of the village.

Only a few structures were still standing, if buildings leaning one way or the other could be called intact. Most were gone, blasted to splinters, or had burned down to small pieces of wood glowing with heat and surrounded by ashes. Bodies were all over, swarming with the eight-legged arthropods that were this planet’s version of insects. Some of the bodies didn’t have a mark on them, killed by concussion. Others had been torn apart by blast or cut into pieces by lasers.

Several of the ambush pits were visible along his path, the woven coverings that had made them impossible to spot lying beside them. Mmrash thought they’d need to develop a tactic in the future to take those out before they walked within range of the poisoned weapons. Nothing he could do anything about now, but maybe with some thought and planning they could solve that as well.

One thing the commander noted immediately was the absence of women or children. So they knew we might be coming, he thought. They’d moved their more helpless members away. He might be able to locate them, but to what purpose? If he couldn’t get the survivor to speak right now, he didn’t have time to find possible hostages.

“We think this one was the chief,” the sergeant said, pointing both right hand index fingers at the wizened male. “He tried to attack with the others, but he couldn’t keep up.”

Fortunate, Mmrash thought, studying the Kalagarta male. His skin was more wrinkled than that of the younger versions of his species, with more dry patches. The eyes weren’t as clear, and the teeth he showed in a grimace were worn.

The Kalagarta lived a hard life, that of hunting and gathering primitives. Most died young, many more along the way. Only a few reached the age of this male, and, as age was respected, they were either chiefs or medicine men.

“The Humans,” Mmrash said over his helmet translator. “They were here, yes?”

The Kalagarta elder simply glared at him with murderous rage, not a word leaving his mouth.

The old bastard would love to have me tied down to the ground, ready for torture, Mmrash thought, a shiver running up his spine. Fortunately, the state of affairs was different, and the elder was at his mercy.

“I think they were here. That you aided them, helped them on their way. And this,” continued the commander, waving a hand to take in the village, “was the price you paid.”

“You are mistaken, alien,” croaked the elder in a tired voice. “I don’t know what other aliens you are talking about.”

“We found this near a log by their night fire,” the sergeant said, holding out a small metallic object. “One of the Humans must have given this as a gift to one of these people.”

Mmrash took the object in his hand, turning it over. It was small, with a smooth surface. He pulled at part of the object that seemed to be a separate piece and a blade extended. It was a small blade, well-made, of advanced alloys. It looked like nothing made by his people, or by any of the others in the compound.

“When did you start making these knives? They must make you really popular with the other tribes. When will the swords be coming?”

“I have no idea where that came from,” said the elder, dropping his eyes.

The soldiers standing nearby laughed, the half-hacking, half-mewing sound of their kind. Even Mmrash laughed, looking at the elder as if sharing the joke. The chief was completely caught off guard when the commander slashed his face with extended claws, his hand moving in a blur.

“I guess we’re going to have to do this the slow and painful way,” the commander said, motioning for one of his people to come over. “It was up to you, and you chose.”

The soldier that had been called over unfurled a shock whip, standing ready.

“I want the pleasure of doing this myself,” Mmrash said, holding out a hand to accept the handle of the whip. He looked down at the implement for a moment, dialing up the intensity. With a grunt of satisfaction, he set his feet, then licked the tip of the whip out to barely touch the ear of the Kalagarta.

The tip hadn’t made contact yet when the spark of electricity arced from the whip to the ear. The elder cried out in pain as his hand rose to his ear.

“Now you know what this does,” Mmrash said, staring into the shocked eyes of the Kalagarta. “Now know what I will do to make you speak.”

The whip snaked out again, this time to the elder’s left shoulder. Again sparks flew; again the elder shouted in pain. The difference this time was the length of contact, as the commander left it in place for fifteen seconds. Smoke rose from the contact, along with the smell of burning flesh.

The chief opened his mouth in a high-pitched scream of agony and tried to bolt. The strong hands of Xlatan warriors clamped onto his arms, holding him down.

“I can do this the whole day,” Mmrash said, squatting down so he could look the chief in the eye. “I won’t go far enough to kill you. No, you will not get that release. Not until you tell me what I want to know.”

The chief tried to struggle out of the grasp of the soldiers, but he had too many things going against him. Xlatan were more massive, having more muscle and greater strength, and the Kalagarta was old.

“The croakers are weak,” said one of the soldiers holding the old man, showing his teeth in a grin.

They still killed some of us, the commander thought, looking over at the trooper, who was filled with the sense of superiority that victory brings. His men had attacked with superior tech, aircraft, heavy weapons, and armor. And still the weak and primitive Kalagarta had killed two of the ground force.

“Now is the time to tell me, old man. If you don’t speak now, you won’t be allowed to for an hour, while I push your pain receptors to their limit. So what will it be?”

“I will talk,” said the elder, drooping his head. “I will talk,” he said again in a soft voice. “I will talk.” The voice dropped even lower, almost too low for the sharp-eared predator to make out the words.

Mmrash leaned closer so he could hear, a mistake that almost cost him his life. The elder moved faster than seemed possible for one so old, his hands flying up from his waist, a sharp stick in each. He planted one in the hand of the warrior holding his left shoulder, while the second was aimed at the commander’s throat.

The soldier on the right pulled the old man back before he could strike at the officer. The ancient must have decided his chance had passed him by. He brought the stick in his right hand up and into his own throat. It didn’t go very deep, not deep enough to cause severe damage, just as the stick that broke the skin of the Xlatan soldier was not enough to do more than scratch the skin beneath the fur.

The Xlatan warrior coughed, not the sound of a laugh, but of labored breathing and pain. The panicked warrior looked up at his commander, his eyes pleading for help. There was no help forthcoming, though, and the warrior fell over to his side on the ground, twitching as if in a seizure.

Mmrash stared at his soldier in disbelief, then looked over at the elder, who’d also curled in on himself, no longer breathing, but with a slight smile on his face.

The commander felt himself tremble. He took a deep breath, not daring to show cowardice in front of his people. Xlatan had no respect for fearful leaders. They might still follow his orders, but they wouldn’t go beyond the minimum of effort for a leader they didn’t respect.

He couldn’t help himself. If not for the actions of the soldier who had acted quickly to pull the Kalagarta back down on the log, he would be as dead as the Xlatan who had been scratched on the hand.

“Filthy devils,” cursed the closest sergeant, spitting on the ground. “Only cowards use the weapons of assassins.”

Mmrash glanced at the soldier, seeing from his expression that the warrior actually believed what he was saying. The commander didn’t believe that. The natives were facing people who had all the advantages, so they used what they had. Poison was a filthy weapon, yes, but was it any more so than aerial attacks and weapons that could strike them down from far beyond their ability to respond?

“Everyone, back on the shuttles,” he ordered, deciding that he’d had enough of this place.

“What about our fallen?” the sergeant asked, looking down at the most recent of their dead.

“We bring them with us,” the commander said. “They’ll be buried with ceremony, as befits those who have fallen in battle.”

* * *

The day had gotten warmer as it progressed. That had brought on more grumbling, but even more kidding from those who were happy they were no longer walking through the frigid, low-pressure hell of the world above.

Jonah slapped once again at an insectoid who’d decided he might make a good drinking vessel. None of them actually took much of a drink, probably finding Human blood not to their taste, but that didn’t stop the stupid creatures from continuing to try Human circulating fluid.

“I notice the damned bugs don’t bite your people,” he said to Xebraferd, who was walking beside him. “What’s your secret?”

“We rub ourselves down with the sap of the Ngrata bush,” said the Kalagarta with a smile. “The bugs do not like the smell, and they leave us alone.”

“Could we use it?”

“Maybe. It depends on how you react to it.” The Kalagarta reached into a pouch and held out a small covered pot with a lid secured by woven vines.

“Dotty,” Jonah called out in a low but carrying voice. “Front and center, Lieutenant.”

The small woman came hurrying up, sweat rolling down her ebony skin, swatting at more of the bugs that were peeling off into attack runs from a pursuing cloud.

“I think you might like this,” Jonah said, swatting some of the bugs that had decided the new target who’d come into view might be a better food source. “Get that analyzed and see if there’s anything that might be a problem to us.”

The woman took the pot and looked at it with curiosity. She opened the top, sniffed and made a face.

“It’s not perfume, Lieutenant,” the colonel said with a laugh, “it’s bug repellent. When was the last time you heard of a fragrant bug repellent?”

Dotty pulled a sensor wand from her med pack and waved it over the substance. She looked with interest at what her HUD was showing her, saying, “hmm,” every couple of seconds.

“I don’t think it will harm us, sir. I’m picking up some alkaloids, some unusual proteins, but nothing that will harm us, unless some of us have allergies to it.”

“I’m game,” Jonah said, taking the container from her and dipping a couple of fingers in it. He rubbed the lotion on his face and neck, then handed the container back to his medic.

“I don’t want to take all of it from you,” he told Xebraferd, gesturing at the container.

“The plant it comes from is common, and it is easy to make. We will make much more of it when we camp tonight.”

Jonah smiled, then frowned as he noticed the insectoids were still buzzing around. He waited a couple of minutes and smiled again. They might still be buzzing around him, but they definitely weren’t landing and biting.

“Everyone. Down,” Charley hissed, motioning all to the ground.

The whispering sound of shuttles at a distance came to Jonah’s ears. The sound was changing in tone and volume, indicating the aircraft were approaching. They probably wouldn’t spot the party under the canopy, and infrared wouldn’t be effective during the heat of the day. However, there were breaks in the canopy here and there, and if one of the aircraft was able to get a fortunate angle of observation on them, it might get a fleeting glimpse that could have them turning around for a better look.

All crouched on the forest floor, running with sweat and worrying about the fight they might find themselves in during the next couple of minutes. The shuttle sound grew louder, then started to fade. The shuttles hadn’t gone directly over, but maybe a mile to the east.

“Break’s over,” Jonah said, straightening up and starting forward.

“We need to stop an hour before nightfall to make sure we have a safe place to camp,” said Xebraferd, looking up at the top of the trees.

Jonah looked around and noticed that the shadows were starting to grow. “How long from now?”

“Another couple of hours. We should be able to cover another five or six miles before making camp.”

“And of course it’ll be a cold camp,” Joey complained from the next line back.

“Unless you want to put up a sign telling the Xlatan exactly where we are,” Charley said.

“Not me. I can use a good night’s sleep,” the young man said, shaking his head.

“We’ll be pulling watch tonight, people,” Jonah said, raising a hand before Xebraferd could open his mouth to protest. “You’ve been doing enough. It’s about time we pulled our own weight. Adding my people to the mix means better security and more rest for all of us.”

The colonel also liked the idea of adding their more advanced technology to the nighttime scan. He was sure the senses of the Kalagarta were as good or better than those of his people, but they didn’t include augmented night vision, high-resolution audio pickups, and computer diagnostics.

The campsite was well chosen, considering the constraints in play. There were no nearby caves, but the rocks they’d found gave them some overhead cover. There was no hope of a fire, so they’d be eating the food they’d brought along that had previously been cooked. Even worse, they’d be missing the psychological comfort of the fire. Humans had evolved from primitive hunters, and the warmth and light of a fire had always had a calming effect on them. He wasn’t sure if it had the same effect on the Kalagarta, but wouldn’t have been surprised if it did. However, it also wouldn’t have come as a shock if fire didn’t have the same effect on the amphibious creatures.

“We did well,” he told Xebraferd, looking at him through his helmet’s night vision function. The alien looked like a brighter, lighter green than he did in daylight. His heat signature was fainter than that of a Human, since, their body temperature was lower.

“I am worried about my people,” said the war chief, looking down at the ground. “The six legs flew over on the way back from my village.”

“We don’t know that,” Jonah said, shaking his head, while at the same time feeling very sure the Kalagarta warrior was correct. The enemy had been looking for his people. They probably would have cruised around for some arbitrary period of time, then headed for the village to get what information the natives had. The village was hidden well from the sky, but there was no doubt the technology of the Xlatan would pinpoint it after a couple of passes. There was also no doubt the Kalagarta would resist, or that the Xlatan would overwhelm them.

“No, we do not know that,” continued Xebraferd, looking up and into the faceplate of the Human. “Not with my mind. But in my heart I know it. We will need to seek revenge, as low as the chances are that we will get it.”

“We’ll get it for you, Xebraferd. Let us handle the Xlatan and the others. You concentrate on getting us where we need to be.”

The Kalagarta looked away in silence, leaving Jonah with the impression that the warrior wouldn’t accept that. He needed to get his own revenge for the injuries the Xlatan had caused to him, to his people, and to his world. Nothing else would satisfy him.

* * *

Manny Fernandez wished the colonel hadn’t decided to let his team stand watch tonight alongside their hosts. He’d almost caught up on his rest the night before, when they’d slept in the village without a care. The day had been tiring, walking miles through the forest, then crossing the damned predator-haunted river.

He looked over at his partner for this watch, one of the Kalagarta warriors, who sat against a nearby rock looking out into the night. They were one of three teams on watch on this shift, staying still to keep from attracting attention to themselves. The night was cool, and fortunately the salve the Humans were now using was keeping the insectoids away. Though it was causing Manny’s skin to itch on its own, it was worth it to not have to deal with bites.

“What’s that?” he asked as the sound of something moving through the forest below their rocky hill came over the pickups of his helmet.

“I hear nothing, Human,” said the Kalagarta warrior, shifting from his seat into a squat.

You don’t have our audio pickups, Manny thought, unsurprised that he was picking up a sound the native couldn’t. It sounded to him like a large creature trying to move with stealth, and mostly succeeding.

“Stay here,” Manny ordered, getting to his feet and bringing his weapon to his shoulder. He enhanced his night vision and shifted so he can get a better view of the forest below.

“I do not follow your orders, Human,” said the Kalagarta in a low voice, standing and moving beside Manny. “I see nothing. I…”

“Can you hear it now?” Manny asked. The noise had grown louder, almost to the point where he wouldn’t have been surprised to have heard it without his audio pickups.

“Yes. What is it?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s awful big and heading this way.”

The native appeared to be straining his eyes to pierce the dark, and failing. “How are you seeing anything?”

“My helmet gives me that ability,” Manny said, carefully watching the creature while still trying to figure out what it was.

“Do the six legs have the same abilities?”

“Probably at least as good, maybe a little better.”

The Kalagarta said some words that didn’t come through the translation software. Manny chuckled. If he had to guess, the warrior had cursed, probably before all his gods.

“So you learned something,” Manny said, sighting in on what he’d decided had to be an animal, and getting ready for a kill shot if it crossed the imaginary line he’d established in his mind. “When you’re operating at night against the six legs, they have much better sight than you do.”

Manny didn’t know a lot about the Xlatan. He’d never heard of them before landing on this world. It wasn’t like they were Besquith. Every mercenary knew about them. What he knew about the Xlatan was that they were fast and strong and were said to have senses much more acute than Humans. Not surprising, since the only sense Humans had that other species might envy was visual discrimination. That was superior. Hearing, not bad. Smell, terrible.

“Do not shoot the animal,” ordered the Kalagarta, pointing his spear downhill. “They are herbivores.”

Manny could see there were now many more of the shapes on his night vision, coming out of the shadows to follow the leader. Or was that a scout?

“Are they dangerous?” he asked the Kalagarta, a feeling of misgiving coming over him. Now there were over fifty of the creatures moving through the forest, heading up the hill. Manny knew he’d have to fire soon if he didn’t want them overrunning the camp.

“They can be extremely dangerous, if you do the wrong thing. If you attack one, the rest of the herd will immediately attack. If you kill one of the young, the adults will go insane and will go to any length to destroy the predator.”

“Damn.”

“So you learned something,” said the Kalagarta after a short croak that was his version of a chuckle.

The animal was coming closer, and Manny could now make out some of its features in night vision. It reminded him of a bear, or one of the creatures they’d fought on the higher plateau. The Kalagarta had said it was an herbivore, and he had to trust what the native said.

“If you shoot one, the rest will go into a berserker rage,” continued the Kalagarta. “Their skins will toughen, and they will become stronger and faster.”

“Does anything hunt them?” the Spaniard asked, staring in horror at the herd. The animals had stopped, and the ones in the front had raised themselves up on their hind legs, appearing to sniff the air.

“We hunt them,” said the warrior proudly, “but only from ambush, and only when we have an escape route clear.”

The Kalagarta took in a deep breath, then let out a reptilian hiss that almost reached the status of a roar. The animals below all stopped dead in place, the leaders rising up as high as they could go. In moments they’d all turned around and waddled off.

“What is going on?” asked Xebraferd, coming from behind as a silent shadow.

“We had a herd of mugra coming up the hill,” said the Kalagarta warrior. “I thought it a good opportunity to teach the Human about our environment.”

Xebraferd chuckled. “Did you learn something, Human? About the lesser mugra?”

The lesser. “You mean there’s a greater version of this thing?”

“Down in the jungles, they are twice as large.”

Manny whistled. He couldn’t imagine a herd of beasts with the attributes of those he’d just seen, but with twice the mass.

“Do not worry, Human,” said Xebraferd, clapping him on the shoulder in a very Human-like manner. “We see them before they see us, and they are not aggressive if they are not bothered. However, the same cannot be said of their predators.”

Manny felt himself shake as he digested what the war chief had said. He had absolutely no desire to run into things that hunted the greater version of the mugra.

* * * * *

Chapter Seventeen

“We’re waiting to hear your report,” the being on the Tri-V image said. “The Humans must die. Do not fail in this, Jillor. You know the price of failure.”

The boss bowed his head in respect, though he knew the being on the Tri-V was just a recording brought here by the freighter in orbit. The council was obviously not happy he hadn’t been able to report the successful completion of the contract. They wanted the creatures who’d interfered in Syndicate business dead, and they wanted them dead now.

Why in all the hells didn’t they just hire some assassins on their home planet, Earth? Just send them in to kill the mercenaries and everyone they love. That would have sent the proper message.

But the council had decided against that course of action. They were afraid the assassins might be apprehended, or that the plot might be traced back to them. They were already in enough trouble with the Galactic Union, and especially with the Peacemaker’s Guild. The Syndicate wasn’t considered a member of any guild; they were classified as a criminal enterprise, which was essentially correct. Though they wanted to obtain a positive reputation in mainstream society, that was difficult to do when the business model included kidnapping and wholesale murder of indigenous people. The Union was willing to overlook such on a minor scale…but nothing the Syndicate did was minor.

The plan had been to take them out when they were on approach to the surface. To shoot them down, then make sure there were no survivors. Their transport ship had been boarded, the crew spaced along with their traitor captain, and another cargo vessel had been added to the Syndicate fleet.

And it would have worked perfectly, Jillor thought, growling deep in his throat. If not for that idiot Mmrash.

A craft rumbled outside, one of the transport shuttles from the ship that had brought the message. It would be loading up on as much Invigorate as the ship could handle—thousands of tons. A hundred billion credits of product, enough to swell the coffers of the Syndicate. Money was power, and in amounts like that, it was considerable power, indeed.

And all of my shuttles are involved in trying to find the targets who should already be dead, he thought, bringing a heavy hand down on his desk.

“Is everything okay, Boss?” his secretary asked over the intercom.

Just wonderful, he thought, choking back the invective he was about to lay on her undeservedly. He wanted to stay on the good side of the only member of his species on the planet, and the only female for hundreds of light years. He wanted what she had to offer, and it would be too great a great risk to force it from her, since her family was high in the Syndicate.

“I’m fine,” he finally said, switching off the Tri-V, whose figure had nothing else he wanted to hear. “Just frustrated. If those damned Xlatan had done what I ordered, everything would be going well.”

“Perhaps a drink would help,” she said, her voice taking on a husky tone, “in my quarters.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Jillor said, a feeling of arousal coming over him. There was nothing he could do personally right now, so why not take some pleasure while he could?

“Put the Xlatan second on the comm,” he said, “then you can go ahead and prepare for our evening together.”

A moment later the image of a Xlatan came up on the Tri-V. Jillor really couldn’t say which one it was, since they all looked the same to him. From the jacket the being was wearing, he assumed it was high ranking.

“When Mmrash reports in with more excuses, I don’t want to be disturbed. He can wait until morning. But,” the Boss growled, glaring at the Xlatan who was now the focus of all of his frustration with the species, “if he’s successful, I want to hear about it. Immediately. Understand?”

“Yes, but…”

Jillor closed the connection, not wanting to hear anything else the Xlatan had to say.

Things will look different in the morning, he thought, walking out of the office and through the outer door.

The sight of a shuttle settling down on its landing jets greeted him, while slaves pushed the carts full of Invigorate to the edge of the field. The guard force—mercenaries who weren’t Xlatan—kept them away from the vicinity of the shuttle. The Kalagarta probably wouldn’t be able to do anything to the ship, but there was no use taking chances.

The sky was starting to lighten in the east, a sign that day was almost on them. The night had passed without his awareness, and now the fatigue was starting to settle over him. The rest of the compound had been awake through most of the night preparing the shipment. Well, that wasn’t something he had to do, since he was the one in charge. He could go back to his quarters and sleep the day away.

He remembered that Hrallo was waiting for him with drinks, and, most importantly, her body. As the image of the beautiful female took precedence in his mind, the fatigue left him, and the only thought left was the pleasure that would soon be his.

* * *

“Wake up!” Mmrash yelled, opening the cockpit door and moving into the troop compartment. “Wake up! We need to get back to work.”

“Another wonderful day of adventure awaits,” one of the privates said, elbowing the warrior beside him. “More excitement beyond belief. I’m so happy I signed up for this.”

Most times Mmrash would have let the jibes go by him. This was not one of those times. His stress level was as high as it had ever been, and he took two steps toward the soldier and swung a booted foot into the leg of the Xlatan. He connected with a loud smack, and the soldier yelped in pain. The mercenary looked up at his commander with an expression of murderous rage. After seeing Mmrash’s face, the expression flew away, and the soldier looked down at the floor.

“Yesterday accomplished little,” the commander said, looking from face to face. “Today we’re going to try something different. Today I’ll be dropping off patrols to search through the forest.”

Expressions of shock appeared on every face. They knew the Humans and their allies would outnumber a single squad, and none were looking forward to confronting them in the forest, away from air support.

“If you spot them, you’re not to attack,” Mmrash said, wanting to assure them that he wasn’t sending them to their deaths, “you’re to set up a defensive perimeter and report in. Then I’ll airlift the rest of the platoon in to surround them. Once we’re all on the ground and in position to prevent their escape, we’ll move in and destroy them.”

There was some mumbling as he finished speaking, and Mmrash felt the blood rise to his face. “You are Xlatan warriors. Sworn to this company. This clan. Your lives are mine to do with as I please in pursuit of our mission. Our mission is to find and kill these Humans and all who stand with them. Now,” he continued, his voice rising, “you will act like Xlatan warriors.”

The ears of the men showed their feelings, something a Xlatan couldn’t hide. There was still much doubt, even a little outright fear. Most were showing determination, the courage of Xlatan warriors. Not all of them, but enough.

“Prepare yourselves,” he said, turning to go back into the cockpit. “We’ll be dropping each squad off within the hour.”

Mmrash took his seat, strapping himself in, while he pulled up a Tri-V map over the dash. He’d already picked out two places, the passes through the escarpment closest to a straight line from the village. There were four more within a day’s walking distance of that imaginary centerline. He only had three additional squads unless he wanted to send shuttles back to pick up more troops, although the boss might have an issue with taking more of his security force when Mmrash’s forces already outnumbered the Humans more than two to one.

That meant he had to select three more passes out of the four possibilities. Looking it over again, he made his decision. He’d place his people in what he hoped were the most likely avenues of approach. Once one made contact, his shuttles would pick up the other four squads and move them into position, surrounding the Humans. An attack on five axes would then destroy them, and the mission would be accomplished. And if it turned out the Humans and their allies were too difficult to take in ground combat, he had his gunship and four shuttles to provide all the air support they’d need. He pointed at the areas he’d selected and sent them off to the other shuttles.

“You all now have your orders. Drop your soldiers off at those points, then orbit at a distance. High enough that people in the forest won’t spot you, but close enough you can come in and provide fire support.”

The acknowledgments came back, and Mmrash cut the connection.

“Get us to our drop off point,” he ordered, turning to the pilot.

The male’s ears twitched with acceptance, and he pulled back on the stick and launched the gunship into the air from the clearing.

I hope this works, the commander thought, having doubts about splitting his force the way he was doing. He’d gotten the idea from something he remembered in officer training. A book of tactics from one of the campaigns in his world’s past. Two countries had been at war, and the invader had all the tech advantages. Still, the guerillas of the other power had been winning, until the side possessing greater air superiority had come up with the strategy that had won the war. They’d put enough of a force in the way of a retreating guerilla band to impede their progress, while they brought up reinforcements by air. The change in tactics had resulted in a win. In fact, the winning nation hadn’t lost another battle after adopting the air mobile tactics.

Everything seemed to be in place for him to do the same, which in and of itself was enough to cause him considerable worry.

* * *

The day was bright and cool, at least to start, though Jonah was sure the temperature would be rising in a couple of hours. They were only a thousand feet above sea level at this point, and the vegetation was beginning to transition from forest to jungle. There were more vines hanging down, which meant less sunlight reaching the ground, and more shadows. There were more birdlike creatures chattering away, and even groups of anthropoid creatures much like monkeys, staring with curiosity at the beings walking by below.

“How many more days, Colonel?” Sarah Cohen asked, angling her heavy rifle over her shoulder as she struggled to keep up.

Jonah looked down at the small woman. She really didn’t seem like the type who’d pick a weapon like the M71 12mm anti-material rifle as her primary weapon. However, she was a natural with the weapon, one of the best the colonel had ever seen. She’d stated in the past that she was in love with the weapon, but that didn’t mean she loved carrying it. Unfortunately, she was stuck with it, since everyone else was carrying a full load of equipment. Almost everyone else was carrying a couple of mortar rounds, or a rocket launcher with multiple refills. She was carrying what was estimated to be her fair share, based on her body weight.

“We’re making as good time as possible,” he said, wiping a rivulet of sweat from his cheek. They’d travelled about twenty-five miles a day for the last three days. Of course they could have covered more on a hard-packed road—up to forty. This wasn’t a hard-packed road, and walking for twelve hours at two miles an hour was very good progress. “I think we should get there in another four days.”

“I think I can make that,” Sarah said with a smile, pulling her helmet off and hanging it by its straps from her belt, “but I’ll be glad when I have a chance to lighten my load by a couple dozen rounds.”

“Me too, Sarah,” the colonel said after a short laugh. He knew the mercenary would never think of jettisoning equipment. None of his people would. But if they could expend ammo killing the people standing between them and the successful completion of their mission, they’d jump at the chance.

“I’m getting a good look at the valley ahead, sir,” Cheung Xou said, walking a couple of yards behind, at times stumbling over something on the ground.

The electronics expert obviously wasn’t paying attention to the world directly around him. Instead, his attention was on the small drone that was scouting ahead, just over the trees. It was sending data back by tight-beam microwave, not always in contact, but often enough to give them a good look ahead.

“What do you see?” Jonah asked, looking back at the Chinese merc.

“A lot of trees,” the large man said with a laugh, “a few clearings, and the escarpment on the other side of the valley. About five hundred miles of cliffs, with a half dozen passes going up to the small plateau on top.”

Jonah grunted. That jibed with the map he had. The entire canyonlands region was more or less flat, running from three thousand feet at one end to sea level at the other. That didn’t mean there weren’t areas of higher elevation, at most reaching to four thousand feet. In this area there weren’t any mountains, more like hills. Some fairly large, most not. Still, the face of one ridgeline had formed into a long cliff face, three or four hundred feet high, with the aforementioned passes running through.

“Any chance the enemy can spot your drone?” Sarah asked, her brow furrowing in worry.

Xou laughed again, reaching into a belt pouch and pulling out a small object. “This is one of its brothers.”

The object he held was less than a quarter inch in length. A close look revealed the tiny rotors folded up on its back. Very low powered, getting all of its energy from the sun. It could stay powered up for fourteen hours with no energy input, so it could stay up through the night.

“So it’s impossible for anyone to spot?”

“No, Sarah,” Jonah said, shaking his head, “but it’s extremely difficult to locate if you have no idea it’s there.”

Sarah still didn’t look satisfied. That was okay with Jonah. As long as she followed orders, she could think what she wanted. If he was wrong about using the drones, it was on his shoulders.

“We will stop in those hills tonight,” said Xebraferd, dropping back from his place just behind the front of the line.

“You’ve been this way before?” Charley asked, making his way from the rear of the column.

“A couple of times,” said the Kalagarta, looking back at the Human. “Once as a child, when I accompanied my father on a trip to the council of chiefs, and a couple of years ago when the invaders first came, to attend the meeting in the place of my father, who was not strong enough to journey.”

“Your father?” Jonah asked, the connection forming.

“The village chief, Honctorsh. I am his eldest. When he dies, I will assume the leadership of the village. If there is a village left,” he continued, looking down to the ground.

The warrior let out a breath, then looked ahead, his eyes narrowed in anger. After another huff he let it go and held himself straight as he trod on.

“Any more rivers to cross today?” Charley asked, bringing the subject back to one they could discuss without dealing with possible recent loss.

“Not today. We are on the high ground, and what streams there are flow down the hill parallel to us. Once we cross the hills, the great river will be ahead of us. We will pass you off to the tribe that controls that region, and they will see you across.”

Jonah thought about that as he kept walking. Of course the Kalagarta who’d been leading them would head back to their village when they were no longer needed, to find out what had happened, if anything. He personally didn’t want to know what had happened behind them. There was enough to worry about in the here and now. But then, it wasn’t his people who might have been attacked by invaders who had a history of atrocities toward the Kalagarta.

Something moved in the brush, and all the Humans immediately crouched down and leveled their weapons toward the noise. In an instant some of the mercenaries turned to cover the other avenues of approach.

The colonel noted that the Kalagarta hadn’t moved, and were standing there with open mouths, croaking out their laughs. A moment later an animal stumbled into sight, still at a distance, but very familiar.

Mugra, Jonah thought, recognizing the general shape of the bear-like creatures he’d only seen as shadows the night before. During the day, they didn’t look anything like bears. They had thick fur, but the plates of bony armor showed through, while a pair of curved horns rose from the side of the face to point forward.

“They are everywhere in this area,” said Xebraferd, gesturing with his spear at the animals. “Great herds of them. As long as we leave them alone, they will do nothing to us.”

Some smaller animals, looking much like tiny antelope, moved along at the feet of the larger herbivores. An animal that looked like a fat zebra moved in the far distance.

Jonah came to the realization that this was a wonderful biosphere, full of life. A wonderland, unlike any place remaining on Earth. Sure it was deadly, with danger hidden beneath the beauty. He could understand why the Kalagarta loved it so. He could also see that he could come to love it, too.

They ran into other herds on the way over the small range of hills that led into the small valley beyond, several prides of predators on the prowl and many more that were taking advantage of the weather to sleep in the open. The Kalagarta moved quietly enough that people looking for them at a distance wouldn’t find them, while sharp-sensed animals would get enough warning that they wouldn’t panic.

“We have found a good place to camp,” said another of the Kalagarta warriors, running up with a mate to report in to his chief. “Good cover and close to water. I believe we can actually build a fire tonight.”

“How far?”

“Another hour ahead,” said the Kalagarta.

“We should be there about an hour before sunset,” said Xebraferd, looking to the Human leader for approval, “and I will send hunting parties out to get us some fresh meat.”

“Sold,” Jonah said. One hour here or there wouldn’t make that much difference in the long run. If they kept to their schedule, they’d reach the vicinity of the invader compound with two days to spare, enough time to scout it out so they could give the Ravagers good intelligence. If the Ravagers were coming. If not? Well, he’d make that decision if it became necessary.

* * *

“Damn this planet to the hells,” one of the soldiers cursed, a shadow in the night to the sergeant in charge of the squad. “Every damned flying thing seems determined to leave me a bloodless husk.”

Sergeant Lrator had to agree. They knew most of the aliens on this world weren’t sought out by the bloodsucking insects, but something in Xlatan blood seemed to attract the damn things.

“Where are the damned Humans?” another of his squad growled from a hole twenty yards away. “Shouldn’t they have been here by now?”

“If they do come, they won’t have any trouble determining where you are,” Lrator said, hissing in anger.

The area where they were dug in had been chosen by Mmrash—one of the passes that was over a half mile in width. It had been up to Lrator to figure out the best placement once they were on the ground. He’d decided to place the ten in individual holes ten yards apart, allowing them to cover a hundred yards while keeping everyone within mutual support range. The Xlatan with the grenade launcher was nearest to him, in the center, where he could control the firepower of the warrior.

He’d spread sensors out a couple of hundred yards to each side, one every twenty yards. There were also small active sensors out a couple hundred yards to their front, giving them advance warning. Add to that a couple of small drones hanging at the tree tops, and he felt they had their assigned area well covered.

The sergeant looked down at the control he was holding in his two lower hands. It gave him a readout of the sensor net, and control of the dozen directional mines he’d deployed to cover the most likely angles of approach. A couple of them were placed to break up any attack that came right at them, while the others covered the regions to either side.

Of course, there was no guarantee the Humans would come into his area, which was why there were five squads deployed. Nor was there a guarantee they’d come tonight. By tomorrow? They’d have to get here by then, unless they were crawling on their bellies.

“Quiet, all of you,” he hissed, “unless you want the damned soft-skinned creatures to creep up on you tonight and cut your throats.”

“I’d like to see the weak creatures try,” one of the soldiers said further down the line.

I wouldn’t, Lrator thought. He’d faced them once, in the underworld that led to the midlands. He had no doubt some of the devious creatures would be able to sneak in and kill silently.

“Every other man, get some sleep, while the rest stay on watch,” he ordered. “And I don’t want to catch any of you sleeping on watch. This is a combat situation, and you know the punishment that brings.”

There was some grumbling, but he could tell everyone took him seriously. He wouldn’t sentence them to death, but Mmrash surely would, and they knew it.

The sun came too early, and Lrator felt like he’d been swatting at the bugs all night. The good thing was, everyone was still alive. The bad, that everyone was in a horrible mood from lack of sleep.

The damned creatures better hit our line today, the sergeant thought, glaring at the first soldier to catch his eye, or we’re going to have to go out and go on the attack.

* * * * *

Chapter Eighteen

He was freezing to death. Muscles cramping from the cold, the colonel continued to struggle forward through the storm. There was really nothing else he could do. He fought to draw a breath, but not enough air was entering his lungs. Jonah’s vision was darkening, whether because the sun was going down or because his brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen, he wasn’t sure. He looked down at the gauge on his oxygen tank and saw it was in the red. He was out here on the uplands, by himself, dying. Not knowing how he got here was the least of his concerns. That he would soon be dead was. Looking up from the frozen ground, he noted a dark line ahead. He tried to will himself to stop, to turn around, but his muscles could only move him in the one direction. Toward the cliff, where he would plunge to his death.

Jonah opened his eyes as the noise of people moving woke him. It was still dark, but his implant told him it was less than an hour till sunrise. He shook his head, groaning as he remembered the dream, the nightmare of being on the high plateau. Memory of where he was came flooding back. His people were safe, in the warm lands of this continent, and in the care of the people who knew it best.

The colonel stretched, then climbed out of the light bag they all carried for sleeping. A few of his people were already at the fire, stirring up the embers while throwing more wood on it to get it going.

“Something to eat, Colonel?” Babich offered, holding a pan of an extremely light alloy over the fire.

The odor of cooking meat rose into the air, and Jonah realized how hungry he was. The meal the night before had been filling, but they’d burned a lot of calories during the day.

The commander pulled his boots on, looking toward the opening of the campsite. The Kalagarta had found an area surrounded by rocks and had erected a cover of woven branches over it, allowing for a fire that didn’t give them away at night. There was a chill to the morning, and the heat of the glowing coals was welcome.

“We need to make good time today,” Jonah said to Xebraferd as the Kalagarta war chief came into view.

“The going should be easy,” said Xebraferd, looking into the eyes of the Human. “There are many game trails in the valley ahead that go in the general direction of our destination.”

“Any open areas we need to worry about?” he asked.

“Not that many. And we should be able to work our way around them.”

Jonah nodded with a slight smile on his face. That was good news. As long as they traveled during the day and stayed under the trees, they should be able to avoid the enemy air patrols. If they had patrols on the ground, it might be another matter. He couldn’t see the Xlatan being enough at ease in this jungle to mount that kind of patrol.

After everyone had eaten their morning meal, a couple of Kalagarta came into the campsite carrying some animal skins that sloshed with liquid. The two warriors carefully poured the water over the fire, smothering the coals with a hiss of steam. One stirred the soggy mess with the butt of his spear, making sure there were no live coals.

The colonel approved of their actions. If someone just happened upon the fire pit, they’d know someone had camped here, but there would be no wisps of smoke to give it away at a distance.

As on the previous day, they assumed an adjusted tactical formation while travelling. The path was wide enough for two mercenaries to travel shoulder to shoulder. Ten yards between each pair, twenty from the lead squad to the following group. If they made contact, they could quickly move into a pair of v-shaped formations. The Kalagarta moved as they always had, a trio a couple of hundred yards ahead, the rest arrayed before and behind the Humans, another trio several hundred back, and a pair on each side, further into the forest and off the path, providing flank security.

“I’m worried about going through the escarpment ahead,” Charley said, walking alongside his friend and partner for the moment. “That would be the most likely place for the cats to put a stopper in our path.”

The colonel had to agree with that, but they need to take one of the passes, preferably one that wouldn’t take them too far out of their way. Otherwise, they’d have to walk more than a day out of their way, possibly two, then the same to get back on course. They could angle back in the direction of the compound, but it would still cost them three days they didn’t have.

“If they’re there, I’m tempted to fight through them,” Jonah said, looking over at his friend to see the approving expression on his face.

“We’ll have to kill them sometime,” Charley said, nodding, then he dropped back into the line.

They walked through the day, stopping for breaks every hour and a longer break at midday. The colonel was beginning to get a good feel for the forest. It wasn’t the same as the forests of his homeland, or even the jungles of the Congo and Amazon where he’d trained, but he was growing accustomed to the sights, sounds, and smells. He could pick out the plants that might be trouble and the sounds of animals that might be a threat.

He looked at the people in front of him, Manny and Sandra, who were also walking with quiet ease, aware of everything around them. Basil and Ujjal walked behind, talking quietly to each other. Joey was beside the colonel, and the young man was seemingly lost in his own thoughts, looking at the path ahead. Every ten seconds or so, the young mercenary looked up and around, paying attention to his surroundings. Finally, he looked over at Jonah.

“What’s going to happen here, sir?” he asked, gesturing with a hand to let the colonel know what here he was talking about.

“Well, if we kill the bad guys or chase them from the planet, they won’t be clearcutting this planet. The Kalagarta will continue to have their world for their own use.”

“Won’t someone else come along after we get rid of this crew, sir? I mean, from what the Kalagarta tell us, that substance in their trees is valuable, like a drug. No law is going to stop people from coming here to get it. The people who come after stuff like this are only in it for greed.”

Jonah had tried not to think about what might happen here after they chased off the current exploiters, assuming they succeeded. And these people were exploiters. A legitimate operation would be gathering their product with the approval of the natives, the current owners of the planet, and they would do it in a limited manner. The Syndicate was obviously clearcutting without the permission of the natives, and they were enslaving them as a workforce, as well.

The colonel looked up the path where a couple of the Kalagarta were walking, talking quietly among themselves in their croaking voices. He wasn’t sure the natives would want any of their world harvested by off-worlders. They might not have a choice, since Invigorate was a high demand substance. Someone was going to come after it, and they’d do whatever they had to do to get it.

“I don’t know, Joey. All I’ve had time to think about is how we’re going to push the current bastards off the planet. Until we do that, everything else is a moot point.”

“These poor bastards are going to be exploited no matter what,” the young mercenary continued, “and the damned laws of the Galactic Union are working against them. If we could give them the means to defend themselves? Hell, they could harvest it themselves and use the credits to buy what they needed to keep others away.”

But that’s not the way the Galactic Union works, Jonah thought, shaking his head. The older and so-called wiser species didn’t allow primitive races to be raised up to technological civilizations. Even Earth was considered primitive by most of the more advanced species. Fortunately for Earth, their tech was good enough to be useful in war.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, Joey. Will the people who hired us just come in and do the same as the old boss? Maybe. But it’s not our problem. We were hired to do a job, and that’s all we need to worry about.”

“It’s a shitty job,” Joey growled, spitting on the ground.

“Yes, it is. But it’s our job, kid. If you don’t think you can stomach that, maybe you should consider another career.”

Joey didn’t respond to that, but simply kept on walking, leaving Jonah alone with his own thoughts. He wondered how many of his people were thinking like Joey. Yeah, it was a shitty deal the Kalagarta were getting. How did that make them any different than thousands of other peoples who had gotten screwed by more powerful people? It had happened to his people and to Joey’s. Most of his people were from cultures that had their day in the sun. Some were still powers on Earth. His wasn’t. The choices were to just keep pushing on and do the best you could, or to play the victim and complain the rest of your life. Most didn’t care about the victimhood of others, so that choice really didn’t get anyone anywhere.

“We’ve got something up ahead, Colonel,” Xou reported, running up from the rear. “Multiple electronic signatures. None very powerful. If not for the microdrones, I wouldn’t have picked them up before we were in their detection range.”

That was just before the entrance of the pass they were heading toward. If it had been him, he’d have dug in further up. The pass was wider at the bottom, and that would give his people more room to maneuver.

“Everyone,” Jonah said into the comm, “all electronics down, now. Including comm.” He went ahead and disconnected his own comm, then every other system he had. It was unlikely that something not right on top of them would detect the company, but one didn’t become an old, rich, and retired mercenary by taking chances.

“I only have a couple of drones activated, sir, and they’re on passive. You want me to deactivate them as well?”

“Leave them up, and let’s see what they give us.”

The electronics expert nodded and went to work on his control unit. It was as shielded as Earth engineering could make it. An alien detection system right on top of them could probably pick it up, but something at a distance of over a mile wouldn’t have a chance.

“I sure wish we had some bios,” Xou continued, frowning as he looked down on the tiny screen.

“Maybe if they’d survived the crash,” the colonel said, recalling that they’d brought along a couple of pounds of the insect-sized biological robots, the cutting edge in surveillance gear. The containers had been ruptured, and the killing temperatures of the plateau had made sure none had survived. “Can you make do with what you have?”

“Of course,” Xou said with a smile. “Just because the tech of the Galactic Union is thousands of years in advance of ours doesn’t mean there aren’t loads of backdoors. I think the more advanced a society becomes, the surer they are that their stuff is foolproof. Arrogant bastards.”

The arrogant bastards forbade much of their tech to be sold to Earth, which meant that much of it had come in through the black market. Two things Earth engineers definitely had going for them were inventiveness and ingeniousness when it came to reverse engineering.

“Okay. Set the battlefield, and we’ll move on your command,” Jonah said, clapping his electronics geek on the shoulder.

Xou opened a small container he pulled out of his equipment bag, releasing a multitude of midge-sized robots. They floated on piezoelectric wings, oriented themselves, and took off.

* * *

“We’re picking up some faint electronic signatures, Commander,” Sergeant Lrator reported over the comm.

“Any visuals on the Humans?” Mmrash asked, looking out of the Tri-V projected over the sergeant’s comm unit.

“Not yet, but I have a feeling they’re close.”

Of course they’re close, the commander thought, grimacing. There wouldn’t be electronic signatures out there if there weren’t intelligent beings generating them. Since the Kalagarta had no technology, and none of the Syndicate people were out and about in this region, it had to be the Humans.

The Xlatan commander sat in his chair, thinking, letting the sergeant wait for his orders. If this was the entire Human party, he needed to pick up and move his other squads so they could surround them, then move to contact. But what if it was just a small contingent sent to decoy the Xlatan? He ran the risk that they’d move through at some other point.

“We’re picking up a lot of static now,” Lrator said, ears twitching in nervous tension. “I’m sure something is about to happen.”

“No sign of the Humans on your own sensor net?”

“No, sir. Somehow they’re spoofing our systems.”

If they’re even there.

“I’m going to pick up one squad and move them to your location. ETA fifteen minutes.”

Mmrash killed the transmission before the sergeant could voice any more of his worries. That was as fast as he could get the closest squad there. The soldiers had to walk to the nearest clearing where they could be loaded, then landed in the clearing closest to Lrator’s squad.

“I better put this in motion,” he said under his breath, making the connection with Sergeant Kkrall’s squad. A moment later, while he was talking with the other sergeant, the priority signal came in from Lrator. Even before he made the connection, he knew the worst had happened.

* * *

“This is my best guess as to their deployment,” Xou said, pointing to the small map on the paper-thin HUD screen attached to his minicomp.

Jonah and his fire team leaders were gathered around, along with Xebraferd and several of the Kalagarta warriors. The colonel hadn’t wanted to involve the natives in this battle. There were going to be too many fast-moving and powerful things flying through the air, and the Kalagarta weren’t prepared for such a fight.

“So ten or twelve of them?” Charley asked, pointing at the line on the map. “And electronics scattered to both sides. An emplacement with an extension of sensors and mines?”

“That’s my best guess, sir,” Xou said, pointing at some other contacts on the map, “and some to their front as well.”

Jonah stared at the map for a moment, realizing he had to put a plan together quickly. The enemy had to know there were electronic surveillance assets in the area, and they could have additional soldiers here in minutes.

“Ahmed, this isn’t a proper area for mortars.”

“So you want us configured as an infantry gun?”

Jonah nodded, approving of the thinking of his mortarman. Mohammed nodded back and moved off, calling softly for Yusef bin Sherif to join him.

“Sarah. Sandra. I want you here and here. Kevin, you and Amobi will set up a base of fire here. Try to keep their attention focused on you, but keep your heads down. Asuka, Hotaru, I want you to work your way through their lines here and get ready to ambush their reinforcements.

“Charley,” he said, looking over at his partner, “you take half the remaining people in on this side, and I’ll take the rest in here. So, everyone know what you’re doing?”

He was sure his people had a thousand questions, and they all realized they didn’t have time for that. They needed to move, and fast.

“We move in one minute. I want the attack launched in five. Now move.”

Everyone was on their feet as the last word left his mouth, gathering into their groups, doing last-second checks on weapons and equipment, then walking without a word into the forest, moving toward the enemy.

“My people will be accompanying your center forces, Human,” said Xebraferd, glancing back at his warriors, who stamped their spear butts on the ground.

“I wish you wouldn’t, Xebraferd. This is no place for people without modern weapons.”

“You are here to fight for us, Jonah, and we will not let you fight without us.”

But we aren’t fighting for you, the colonel thought. He wasn’t sure who he was fighting for. The party that was paying him, of course, and he had no idea what their plans were for this world. The might not be to the benefit of the Kalagarta. He shook his head and stood up, walking over to his assault team.

“We ready?” he asked his people.

Achilles Antonopolis, Joseph Many Bears, and Manny Fernandez stood there fully arrayed for combat. Camo coverings flickered with light and shadow as they attempted to blend in with their surroundings, rendering them difficult to focus on blurs to those who didn’t know they were there. Weapons were held at the ready, and helmet visors were down. There was some anxious twitching of lips, but the bodies were held erect, and all of them were nodding their heads.

“Then let’s go.”

Jonah moved in a crouch, his vibration-absorbing boots moving without a sound on the ground. Ten Kalagarta followed, moving just as silently with their strange, half-hopping gait.

The team stopped and took to their knees two hundred yards from the enemy. The trees and jungle still hid both contingents from each other. The colonel looked over at Ahmed, who was crouching next to a short tube that was mounted on a tripod stand, Yusef next to him. The leader of the gun team nodded, and Jonah raised a hand in the air, then brought it down.

The gun tube gave out a phut, sending a round out to fly through the relatively open area between the weapon and the enemy. The fifty-millimeter round, weighing three and a half pounds, flew over the two hundred yards in less than a second. It carried two pounds of the most powerful chemical explosive Humankind had ever made, the equivalent of a ton of the old explosives of pre-space Earth.

If the aliens had set up a laser defense system, they might have intercepted the round. They only had their personal weapons and the mines they had set out, and they didn’t have a chance to aim and fire at a projectile moving at three thousand feet a second. The round flew through the brush that was in the way, its hard case proof against even an impact with a tree trunk. It flew the programmed distance and exploded in the air, sending out a tremendous blast wave that wiped out a pair of fighting positions and the Xlatan within them. It also filled the air with the anti-laser smoke that had proven so effective against the light-amp weapons in the caverns of the midlands.

Two seconds later the gun fired again, this time hitting another section of the line. Along with it, his two snipers opened up, their rifles firing silently into the enemy lines.

At the same time as the first round went out, Xou set his electronic warfare plan into action. Hundreds of microdrones flared with power; what they’d normally use in a day passed through their circuits in seconds. It burned them out in less than a minute, but that was more than enough.

“Go,” Jonah hissed, straightening and running forward, his men on his heels.

Someone yelled a war cry from the other team, the one Charley was leading. Jonah didn’t like that the mercenary was drawing attention to himself during the attack. Then again, it wasn’t as if the enemy didn’t know they were coming.

A few beams shone in the air, diffused by the smoke. One hit a tree, and the beam that would normally burn through the trunk in an instant took much longer to go only halfway through. Moreover, it pointed like an accusing finger back at the Xlatan who was firing it.

A series of grenades went off in the air about twenty yards from the gun. Ahmed and Yusef hugged the ground, then went back to servicing it as soon as the last grenade popped.

Jonah stopped beside a tree whose crown was leaning to the side, the victim of a laser. Bringing his rifle to his eye, he sighted in on one of the Xlatan, one who was sending a laser in the direction of his other team. The cat in the fighting position ten yards to the left jerked back as his head exploded inside his helmet, serviced by one of his snipers.

The colonel concentrated on his target, his finger starting to squeeze the trigger, and the world blew up in front of him.

* * *

Lrator stared at his controller screen as it turned into a kaleidoscope of flashing lights. The device wasn’t telling him what was going on, but it didn’t take a genius to realize they were under an electronic attack.

“Get ready!” he shouted into the comm, his anxiety getting the better of his leadership. “Something’s about to happen!”

It didn’t take long for that something to appear. An object exploded in the air to the far left of the line, about twenty yards from the nearest fighting position. It wasn’t very accurate, but from the concussive effect of the blast, it hadn’t needed to be. The two Xlatan nearest the blast were killed instantly, while the next one over was knocked unconscious. The explosion also released an aerosol into the air, and Lrator frantically clawed at his breathing mask, terrified the smoke might be a deadly gas.

Another blast went off on the other side of the line, killing three more of his people. If not for their body armor and the shock resistance of their helmets, the entire squad would most probably be dead already. The soldier closest to Lrator on the right fell into the back of his hole, his helmeted head turning toward the squad leader. Lrator sucked in a breath as he looked at the ruin of the soldier’s face.

His three remaining troopers opened fire, sending laser beams out into the forest, sweeping them like endless swords through the trees. That was when the horror of the smoke became real, as the invisible beams were very visible now, pointing back at the warriors who were firing. One of those troopers went down an instant later, something punching through his face. Yet another was hit in the helmet, the tough alloy resistant to the penetration. Still, the Xlatan warrior fell forward, knocked unconscious from the concussive effect transmitted by the round.

The squad leader looked down at his control system for a moment, realized it wasn’t going to do him any good, and triggered every defensive device implanted around the unit. Every mine, directional or otherwise, went off in an instant. Lrator didn’t think those explosions were going to save himself or his people, but that was all he could do.

Something hit his helmet, hard, and blackness filled his vision, while he found himself unable to think. He looked up a moment later, still trying to regain his faculties, to see a Kalagarta standing over him, spear in hand and moving toward his face.

* * *

Jonah felt like he’d been hit in the chest by a hammer. In that instant, his combat suit hardened into impact armor, preventing penetration. In seconds, the sensation of being struck in the front had been forgotten, for the moment, as he landed on his back ten yards from where he’d been crouching. He was stunned, his mind barely functioning, as he struggled to a sitting position, then tried to rise. The first attempt was a failure, and his mind kept yelling at him to stay down. His people were in the middle of a battle, so that wasn’t an option.

“Are you okay, sir?” Dotty Farrah asked, kneeling down beside him and running a scanner over his head, moving some seconds later to his chest. “It looks like you have several small hematomas forming on your chest.”

“Whatever those mines were, I was hit by some of the projectiles.” He noticed there was a crack in the visor of his helmet, a sign that something had hit there as well.

“Good thing you were wearing what you were,” the medic said, helping him to his feet.

Jonah was slightly surprised the woman wasn’t trying to keep him on the ground. Then again, she’d been with him long enough to know that wouldn’t fly. She stayed by his side as he moved forward, pulling his carbine back up to his shoulder.

“Stop!” he yelled out, his helmet amplifying his voice so it roared over the area.

One of the Kalagarta had a spear raised, ready to plunge it into the throat of the shocked Xlatan looking up at him.

“Stop, I said!” Jonah yelled again, trying to run and almost falling over as his head spun.

Xebraferd let out a loud croak, and the warrior reluctantly lowered his spear. Jonah could now pick out the bodies of two of the Kalagarta. Keeping them company was the fallen form of one of his people. His stomach turned as he tried to make out who it was. The helmet had been melted by laser fire, and there was no face visible through the opening. Instead, it was a nightmare of charred bone and the remains of bubbling brains.

“Get him out of that position,” the colonel ordered, pointing at the Xlatan. “Bind his arms and get him ready to travel. I want us at the top of the pass in two minutes.”

“Be careful with him,” Charley cautioned, pointing his rifle at the forehead of the cat.

Avgust and Manny locked the four arms of the Xlatan behind his back. Manny pulled the helmet off the alien, tossing it into the hole, then started pulling everything that looked like it might be electronic off of his suit. The cat let the mercenary do his work, a shocked expression on its face.

“Who did we lose?” Jonah asked, looking back over at the body of his man.

“Basil and Ujjal. Basil took a long laser hit to the helmet,” Charley said, shaking his head. “He kept moving, just like he was trained. But the alien bastard was able to keep contact long enough to get penetration.”

Basil was technically from the same people as Charley, though he’d been raised half a world away. The colonel had thought of the man as well mannered, quiet, and quite disciplined. And he hated what he was about to order.

“Make sure all his electronics are disabled. We’ll have to leave him here.”

There were no complaints, though Jonah knew the rest of his people had to feel as badly as he did. No matter their religious tradition, or lack of one, Humans wanted to believe that their empty husk would be interned with all the ceremony that would set them in the memories of their fellows, not left to rot or scavenged on a world thousands of light years from their own.

“We have an aircraft on approach!” Xou yelled out as the party ran up the pass, pushing the Xlatan ahead of them.

Jonah could hear it now, the faint whistling of high-speed engines in the distance, but coming closer.

“Any sign of others?”

“Not yet.”

“Can you take it down, Ivan?” the colonel asked, looking at his chief scout, who was running about ten yards to his right.

“I can try,” the Russian said, reaching over his shoulder to pull the short tube from its sheath. The mercenary pulled one section out of the other to extend the tube, then unfolded and engaged the pistol grip and the shoulder stop. “Maybe over there,” Ivan said, pointing with the tube toward a small clearing.

“Don’t get your ass shot, you dumb Russian,” Avgust said with a short laugh.

The company rushed up the incline of the pass at about eight miles an hour, a pace they could all keep up for seven or eight miles. The Xlatan was struggling, and Manny kept pushing the cat with his rifle.

“Keep moving, you bastard, unless you want me to leave you on the ground with a round through your head.”

The colonel wasn’t sure the alien understood the words, but he seemed to get the meaning. The Xlatan was trying to keep up, but it was obvious he wasn’t used to running as a biped, and his species didn’t have the stamina of Humans. That last wasn’t surprising. Humans had evolved as hunters that ran their prey down over distance. Most other predatory species were ambush hunters and had never had a need for the long-distance stamina of Humans. There were exceptions, but the cats didn’t seem to be one of them. Still, the fear of death drove the alien on beyond his limits.

“I’ve got it,” Ivan hissed through the short-range comm.

Jonah angled over that way, stopping just before he entered the clearing. The scout had the tube to his shoulder and was tracking something through the trees that was not yet visible. Then it was, just a flash as it passed into the air over the clearing, flying low. That flash was enough, and Ivan triggered his rocket.

The launcher was a multipurpose weapon, useful against both armored ground vehicles and aircraft. The launcher pulsed an electromagnetic wave that accelerated the missile out of the launcher in the general direction of the target. A moment after launch, the rocket engine ignited, and it moved too fast for the eye to track. The computer brain of the weapon knew where it was, and where the target was. With a burst of steering jets, it angled toward the target.

If the target had been a full up gunship with a globular protection system and laser firing arcs all around, it might still have hit the rocket and knocked it off course. It was a standard shuttle, though, without that kind of protection. A loud crack sounded in the air as the rocket struck home.

“Let’s get going, Ivan!” Jonah yelled, waving for the scout to follow.

Ivan nodded and collapsed the tube, then came running out of the clearing.

“I’m not sure I destroyed it,” the Russian said.

“Doesn’t matter,” the colonel replied. “You hit it. As long as it comes down behind us, I’m happy.”

They ran for another six minutes, almost a mile further on, to the top of the pass and into the forest of the plateau.

“I’m picking up three more on audio!” Xou shouted.

“Any coming in ahead of us?” Jonah called back, looking up at the canopy and straining his eyes to see if he could pick them up.

“Two heading down to the battle site, one on a possible course to cut us off.”

We can’t get everything we want, the colonel reflected, sucking in a breath.

* * *

“We’re under attack!” yelled the voice over the comm.

The voice was coming through a storm of static. There was no video, which frustrated Mmrash, who wanted to see what was going on for himself.

A loud boom sounded, something the microphones in the sergeant’s helmet could handle, and it dissolved into more static.

“What was that?”

“They just hit the side of my line with some kind of explosive shell. I lost the two warriors in those positions!”

Lrator was shouting even louder now, and the commander thought the sergeant’s hearing might have been compromised by the blast, despite the hearing protection conferred by the helmet.

“We’ll be there in four minutes!” Mmrash shouted back into the comm, wishing he had a high-altitude hypersonic transport. The gunship could get up to ten times the speed of sound, but this low, in these atmospheric pressures, and with the trees and other ground clutter below, that was just asking for trouble. Still, he looked over at the pilot and indicated with a hand motion that he wanted more speed. The pilot didn’t look happy with the decision, and Mmrash made a more emphatic hand signal.

“They took out the other side of my line,” Lrator said. “They have some kind of smoke in the air that’s showing our lasers. It seems to be diffusing them, as well!”

“Just hold on. We’re…”

“Setting off last defense line. I only have a couple of warriors still alive. I…”

Another explosion sounded, followed by a further burst of static, then nothing.

“Lrator!” Mmrash shouted, looking frantically at the signal graph hanging in the air over the control board. “Lrator.”

“First shuttle will be over them in three minutes,” the pilot said, his voice calm, almost distant.

“How long until we’re there?” the commander growled, his anger rising over his panic.

“Seven minutes.”

“Get us there faster!” he roared.

The pilot’s ears twitched in a combination of anxiety and acceptance. He pushed his throttle lever forward, and Mmrash was pushed back in his seat as the gunship accelerated up to three times the speed of sound.

“Three minutes.”

The commander growled deep in his throat. Though it galled him that they couldn’t get there faster, it would have to do.

Two minutes later, the comm came to life, the Tri-V projecting over the control board showing the sergeant in charge of another squad.

“We’re over Lrator’s deployment site,” came the voice of the sergeant as his face looked out of the Tri-V. The image changed, showing what the warrior was seeing. The tops of trees, more or less, with gouts of black smoke rising through them. “No contact with Lrator or his people.”

The sergeant’s face came back, then he looked off, an expression of surprise on his face. “What’s that?”

“We’re hit!” shouted another voice, as the view from the one sergeant switched to that of another. This one didn’t have surprise on his face, but shock, and his ears were twitching in a pattern of panic. “We’re going down!”

Mmrash dismissed the image of the squad leader in the crashing shuttle and switched to an image of a map showing the icons of all the shuttles. One was still almost a hundred miles away, in the process of landing to pick up its squad. Another was getting into the air, just under a hundred miles distant. The first shuttle that had contacted him was located right over Lrator’s position. Or was that the position of Lrator’s corpse, and those of his people? His gunship was almost to the site of the battle. The last shuttle—the one that had just transmitted—was indicated as losing altitude and coming down several miles south of the pass, out of the action.

“Can you pick up anything in the forest?” he asked the pilot.

“No, sir. The foliage is just too thick. I’m trying to run an odor sensor, but all the smoke is overwhelming the system.”

“Sergeant Kkrall,” ordered Mmrash, pulling up the Tri-V of the other shuttle closest to the battle site, “set your people down right here.” The commander indicated a point on a second Tri-V, one with the local map, transmitting the info to the sergeant. “Get ready for them to run into you. I’ll have the other squads come up behind them.”

The squad leader acknowledged and the Tri-V went blank.

“I want you to put a spread of rockets into the forest here, here, and here.” Mmrash pointed to three areas on the Tri-V.

“A pair to each point?”

“Sounds good,” Mmrash said, twitching his ears in approval. “After that, circle around and we’ll see what we can flush out.

“Sergeant Nlorn,” he ordered next on the intercom to the crew compartment, “get your people ready for deployment. When I give the order, I want you to be ready to move immediately.”

Mmrash disconnected before the sergeant could acknowledge. If the sergeant wasn’t ready when the order came, he’d tear a strip out of his hide.

“Firing,” the pilot said. Two rockets flew out of the pods and angled down into the forest, followed moments later by massive fireballs. The forest wasn’t dry, and was normally hard to set afire, but not with these incendiary rockets, which torched a score of trees each, starting a conflagration that spread, generating its own wind. A firestorm, the Humans called it, and though the Xlatan had never heard the term, they understood the concept.

“Next group!” the pilot yelled, and two more rockets flew out, repeating the performance.

“Last group.” Two more went out, and another acre of forest went up in flames. Now there were three spots of roaring forest fires, spreading quickly. In seconds, two of them had combined into one, and it didn’t look like it would be long until the third joined the party.

“Let’s see if they can escape that!” Mmrash said with a laugh. If he’d timed it right, the flames would force the Humans into his blocking force. If he got lucky, they’d be burned to death, and his search parties would recover their charred corpses.

“Weapons loadout?”

“We have eight more rockets, sir.”

“That should be enough,” the smiling leader said, looking over the map, trying to determine where the Humans might flee to, and where he might be able to set up another burning trap.

* * * * *

Chapter Nineteen

“What the hell?” Charley yelled as the flash of an explosion, followed by the concussion wave of a blast, washed over the company.

From the sound, they could tell it was a heavy warhead, or a couple, impacting some distance away. A wave of hot air followed on the heels of the blast, never a good sign.

“They don’t have a clue where we are,” Joey said after a short laugh.

“They don’t have to,” Jonah said, hoping he was wrong about what the enemy was up to. When the second set of blasts, these with enough time in between the reports for the Humans to tell there were a pair of them, came about two miles away, the colonel knew his first guess was right.

“How flammable are these woods?” Jonah asked, looking over at Xebraferd as he hopped forward with a quartet of his warriors.

The Kalagarta was out of breath, huffing in air while his gill slits opened to their full extent. The Kalagarta weren’t distance hunters, and they were already starting to wear down.

“They are not very flammable,” said the Kalagarta chieftain, stopping for a moment, his head drooping, “but I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Jonah groaned and continued to move forward. No matter what was going on, they needed to get out of here. The crackling of fire came from the distance, along with the smell of smoke on a quickening wind.

“I’m not sure we’re going to be able to continue this way, sir,” Ivan said after a cough as the smoke grew thicker. “I’ve sent the Yamashuris to scout out a path around the fire.”

The only problem with that was the open areas, the paths through, could be changing quickly. Maybe too quickly for them to make it through.

The wind was picking up, and the smoke was rolling in with it. People started coughing. No one was getting enough air as it was, running as they were. Now it was worse.

“Masks on,” Jonah ordered, pulling his own out of the pocket on his chest and fitting it over his mouth and nose. A breath started the air flowing, a mixture of tanked and filtered gas. The tanked air wouldn’t last long, but the colonel thought if he needed it very long, he’d never need it again.

The crackling of flames grew louder, and Jonah was able to make out the fire burning through the forest ahead. The Kalagarta were croaking loudly now, and the undertone reminded the colonel of coughing. Looking over at the nearest Kalagarta, he saw that they were going into respiratory distress, as was their Xlatan prisoner.

Sparks were blowing in the wind, while the high branches of the trees around them flashed into flame. It became obvious they couldn’t go forward, and going back, they were likely to run into the soldiers of the Xlatan, and with the possibility they’d be running into an ambush. Probably exactly what the enemy had planned.

“Everyone, move back!” the colonel yelled. He didn’t want to go back, not with what he was sure was waiting on them, but he also didn’t want to burn to death. That burning death was coming at them, and fast.

The company and their Kalagarta allies stumbled away. The Humans could move faster but weren’t about to leave their friends behind. They were running the risk of being overtaken by the flames, and the colonel had to wonder when the first of his people would break and run, or when he might do the same.

Jonah kept moving, pushing the coughing Kalagarta ahead of him. If the enemy fired more of those rockets into the forest, they could surround his party with impenetrable fire. Hell, they might be surrounded and cut off any second by the flames already working their way through the forest. His heart was beating quickly from the exertion of the past hour, along with the fear of burning to death.

“Colonel,” yelled a woman’s voice, coming through the smoke, “this way! I think we’ve found an out!”

Hotaru Yamashuri came running into view, her breathing mask in place. She pointed back the way she’d come and waved the other hand in the air to attract attention.

“Over this way. Asuka found what looks like a sheltered way out of here.”

Jonah wanted to ask questions, to know more about this path the couple were proposing they follow. He hadn’t the time. They either moved now, or continued back until they were caught by the flames or ran into a Xlatan ambush.

“Everyone,” he yelled out, making an instant decision to trust his two team members, “this way! Move!”

The company started to follow, those who couldn’t see or hear what was going on being led by others. The Humans were careful to make sure their Kalagarta allies followed, grabbing them by the hands and leading them.

The fire was threatening from the right as they moved. Jonah thought they’d be engulfed before they reached safety and was beginning to doubt his decision. The heat was terrible, even painful. Trees exploded as their sap reached the boiling point. A tree fell with a crack, coming down in the center of the company, forcing some to go around.

“In here!” Asuka yelled, coming into view through the smoke, waving his katana in the air to catch the attention of anyone who couldn’t hear him.

“This way!” Jonah shouted, engaging his comm at the same time and hoping the enemy wasn’t in the right place to triangulate.

The mercenaries stumbled by into the dark opening in the side of the hill. The Kalagarta and the Xlatan were blinded by the smoke, while the mercenaries were able to see through it with their enhanced vision visors.

“Not another damned cave,” Joey groaned when he saw where they were heading.

“If you want to try and outrun this thing in open country, be my guest,” Ivan said, slapping the younger mercenary on the back.

Jonah wanted to put his boot in Joseph Many Bears’ butt. This was life or death, and from the animals that were hooting in terror and running for their lives, it was going to be death for many in this forest. A couple of mugra ran by, heading into the flames in their panic. The last the colonel saw of them, both were on fire, screaming in pain and terror, and running blindly to their deaths.

Waiting until everyone was inside, Jonah followed the last of his people through the entrance. Smoke was filtering in, and it didn’t seem like that much of a refuge to the colonel. Compared to the hell that was outside, though, it was paradise.

“This way!” Asuka shouted, moving ahead and pushing on. “There’s a natural water lock ahead, and an extensive cave system beyond.”

“How extensive?” Jonah asked, catching up to the scout so he could see where the man was leading them.

“I didn’t get much of a look, sir,” the ninja said. “All I can tell you is it widens out, and it looked like it was going on for quite a distance. Here we are.”

The cavern ended in a pool of water, and Jonah doubted the utility of this hideout, thinking his man had led them into a cul-de-sac from which there’d be no escape. They wouldn’t be able to leave until the fire burned down, and then there’d be no cover out there to hide them.

“Follow me,” Asuka said. The ninja took a deep breath and dove into the water with little splash.

Should have asked him how far it was through the water, the colonel thought, shaking his head. He looked back at his people, some of whom appeared hesitant to go into the pool. The Kalagarta had no such qualms, and three of them were immediately into the pool and gone.

Lead, you idiot, Jonah thought, taking a breath and diving in himself. While he didn’t enter as smoothly as the athletic ninja, he was sure had hadn’t done too badly. It took a second to orient himself, then he was stroking through the water. It seemed to take a long time to swim to the other side, until he reached up and his hand broke the surface. As soon as his head had done the same, he activated his helmet light, and noted that he’d swum a good twenty yards further than necessary.

“Sorry about that, sir,” Asuka called out, treading water closer to the wall of the cavern. “I should have warned you.”

“Yeah, you should have. Just make sure everyone else knows when they can surface.”

Six more Kalagarta came swimming up, staying submerged until they got to the shallows. To them, underwater was just as good as land. Better, actually. Some stayed in the water, submerged, while others walked onto land.

“It is very dark,” said Xebraferd, looking around.

“No outside light getting in,” Jonah said, breast stroking toward the shore, bringing his helmet light nearer the natives, who had low-light vision, but not in total darkness. “Maybe we’ll find some phosphorescence further in.”

The first of the Humans after the colonel came up, followed by many more, until almost all of the Human and Kalagarta people were in. The last to surface was Manny Fernandez, pulling their sputtering Xlatan captive along with him.

“I get the impression the cats aren’t very good swimmers,” Manny said as he pulled the prisoner along with him, holding the cat’s head out of the water in a classic rescue carry.

“Bodies are too dense to float,” Dotty said, swimming alongside the pair.

“I’m guessing he’d rather be in the water than out in the fire,” Charley said, pulling himself out of the water. “And damn, was that cold.”

Now that it had been mentioned, Jonah started to feel the chill of the water and the cold of the cave as the pool absorbed all the heat.

Charley made it out of the water and fell to the ground, breathing heavily. As more people got out of the pool, most turning on their helmet lights, the details of the cave became much clearer. It reached back to the limit of the light, at least a hundred yards. Ivan started that way, waving for Joey to follow.

“We have something to do, Charley,” Jonah said, standing and walking over to where Manny was sitting next to their prisoner. “It’s about time we gather some intelligence on our enemy and his compound.”

Jonah activated a module in his helmet computer, hoping that the price he’d paid for it would be worth it.

“Now, Xlatan,” he said, looking down at the alien, his helmet spitting out words that sounded like a cat fight. “It’s about time you paid us back for sparing your life. Or not. Either way, I’ll learn what you know.”

* * *

“I don’t think anything can survive that,” the pilot said, maneuvering the gunship around and over the sea of flame.

Mmrash had to agree, but he wasn’t willing to take the chance. Not after having dropped the ball the first time he’d thought he’d killed the Humans.

“Any sign of the Humans?” he asked over the comm. He now had three full squads deployed at that end of the pass, while he retained the one in reserve on his own ship. The Xlatan from the crashed shuttle had joined the two that had been dropped off, walking the distance from their wrecked carrier.

“No, commander. Though I’m thinking the fire might be getting a little close.”

Mmrash looked out over the forest fire. It had to cover at least ten squares miles now and was burning its way out in a rough circle. Entering the pass, it was pushed into a narrowing cone, and the cliffs were going to cut it off from the forest beyond. A river to the north would form another firebreak. It would burn itself out, if a heavy rain didn’t come along to smother it first.

True to his mercenary roots, the only thing Mmrash saw as a result of what he’d done was the destruction of plants that could have been used to make product. Though it was only a tiny portion of the canyonlands, the Syndicate was determined to squeeze every credit from the planet they possibly could.

“We’ve found all the bodies of Lrator’s squad, sir,” the call came back over the comm. “All except the sergeant himself. He’s missing.”

So, the Humans took a prisoner, the commander thought. Normally that would be worrisome, and not because one of his people had been captured and was now in danger. No, it was more a matter of what information he might be persuaded to part with. Xlatan were brave and loyal, but given enough persuasion, any being could be broken. And Lrator had extensive knowledge of the compound.

“They must have burned to death in that inferno,” Mmrash said under his breath. He knew it was wishful thinking, but something had to fall his way eventually.

“Jillor will want bodies,” the pilot said.

“We have the one back at the battle site,” Mmrash said, glaring at the pilot.

“I don’t think one is going to be enough,” the pilot said, his ears twitching in amusement. The twitching stopped as he noted the expression on his commander’s face, along with the set of his ears, portraying pure rage.

“Of course one won’t be enough!” the commander roared, slashing a claw across the pilot’s face.

The warrior jerked as blood splashed, pulling the control over to the right and sending the gunship into a spin.

“Straighten it out, fool,” Mmrash growled in panic, grabbing the stick and pulling it back to its midline.

Mmrash cursed his temper, which had almost caused a disaster. He still needed this warrior, and it wouldn’t do to kill him, yet.

“I have the controls,” Mmrash said, his ears set in an attitude of apology. “Go and tend to your wound, and we will forget this ever happened.”

Mmrash almost laughed as he spoke the words. There was no way a proud Xlatan male would accept an apology for the kind of attack he’d launched at the unsuspecting victim. That was the kind of strike an adult would use to punish a child. Now more than ever, he needed to watch his back around the male.

The commander flew the gunship low over the fire, looking down on the inferno that was the forest below. The center area where the rockets had landed and the blazes had joined together had burned out, leaving an area of eight square miles of smoking trunks, covered in blackened bark. The flames were still sweeping out, and it was looking like a hundred square miles or more was going to be incinerated.

Thunder sounded in the distance, then closer. Fat drops of rain fell onto the windscreen of the shuttle, rolling off the frictionless surface. In seconds it turned to a cloudburst, sheets of rain falling. The fire continued to burn where it had fuel, though the burned-out area was soon steaming under the heavy fall of water. The fires on the front continued to burn, but it was lower, the flames not reaching so high.

I think this is going to put it out, Mmrash thought. That was fine with him. It had done its job, and now he could set the hounds in motion to track down enough bodies to satisfy Jillor.

“Sergeant Nlorn.”

“Here, sir. We’re getting soaked to the bone down here. Any chance the shuttles could pick us up?”

“Not a chance, Sergeant. You’re my ground force commander.” Now that Lrator is gone, the commander thought. “I want you to position your squads to do a complete sweep of the burned area. You’re to look for and recover as many bodies as you can find.”

“Yes, sir,” the sergeant said, his tone lacking enthusiasm.

Mmrash couldn’t blame the warrior. He wouldn’t have wanted to be down there, on the ground and soaking wet. But the commander needed the mission to be accomplished, and he wasn’t about to go down there and do it himself.

* * *

“I think we should wait a day, rest up, then go back through the pool,” Dotty Farrah said, twisting the cap of her canteen closed.

Well, we don’t have to worry about water, the colonel thought. The pool was clear and cold, and everyone had drunk their fill, then made sure all their containers were filled. They had enough cold rations to last them a couple of days, and the people could use the rest. Unfortunately, the clock was ticking. If they were to scout out the compound before the Ravagers arrived, they needed to move. The other company would need to know what defenses they faced, lest they be slaughtered during their attack.

The Xlatan, the one who called himself Lrator, was reluctant to give them any information, swearing that he’d die before he spoke. Dunking him in the water was enough. The cats, much like the Earth creatures they reminded Humans of, even if they weren’t in the least related, didn’t like water. Probably something to do with their inability to float due to their body density.

After ten minutes of repeated dunking to the edge of drowning, the sputtering alien had begged the Humans to let him speak. He’d given them detailed knowledge on the number of defenders and as many emplacements as he knew about.

But can we trust him? the colonel thought, looking over at the cat sitting by himself with his hands bound to his front. Two mercenaries stood with rifles held ready, in plain sight of the Xlatan.

Dotty had scanned the creature while he was answering questions. With Humans, she’d have been able to give an accurate report on whether they’d been telling the truth, based on physiological responses, with at least ninety-five percent accuracy, based on the variations of Human responses. With the cats, she hadn’t a clue. She thought the alien was telling the truth, but everything he said could be a lie.

“We’ll wait until the Yamashuris come back from their reconnaissance to make our decision,” Jonah said, looking over and meeting Charley’s eye and getting a nod of approval. He turned his attention back to his medic. “I’d prefer to keep moving. The damned cats might stumble on us here, and we need to make up some of the time.”

“I don’t think the cats are going to dive into that pool and swim in to find us,” Ivan said, shaking his head. “Not from the way that fool acted.” The Russian looked over at the Xlatan as he spoke, and the alien glared back under hooded eyes.

“But I think Dotty has a point about not going out there while the other cats might still be prowling,” Ivan continued, “especially since we’ll have miles to cover with little concealment.”

“Our active camo might let us blend in enough, but the Kalagarta won’t have that advantage.”

“We can leave them here in this cave,” Charley said, shrugging his shoulders as he caught Xebraferd’s eye. “You’ll be safe here, and you can come out in a couple of days and head on home.”

“We are sworn to follow you,” said the war chief, his voice flat in the translation, his croaking rising to a higher pitch. “We are here to escort you to the river tribes, and that is what we will do.”

“Colonel?” Charley asked, looking over at Jonah for help.

“What do you want to do, Charley? Shoot them? Or maybe tie them all up and hope they can get free?”

“We’ve found something, sir,” Hotaru called out, running up the path from the cavern, her body moving like a globe of light through the darkness. “Asuka is watching the exit.”

Hotaru was still the healthiest of the pair. Asuka was recovering, and an eighty percent Asuka was still a better athlete than ninety-nine percent of the general population. All that considered, his wife was at a hundred percent, and had a run of speed he couldn’t match at present.

“How far?”

“About eleven miles, more or less. Probably nine as the bird flies.”

“Then let’s hit it.”

“What about him?” Ivan asked, standing over the Xlatan with his long bayonet in hand.

“I don’t want to kill him in cold blood,” Charley said, frowning, “but if you order it, I guess it’s best that I do it.” The short man pulled his kukri blade from its sheath, touching the carbon nanotube edge with extreme care.

“Do you want to live?” Jonah asked, walking over to the prisoner. “If you can keep up with us, and keep silent, I’ll let you live until we can get to a point where we can let you go.”

“Colonel?” Joey exclaimed, an expression of disgust on his face. “He could be the one that killed Basil!”

“And he might not be. I was raised to believe helpless prisoners must be protected.”

“Once we’re in the jungle again, and many miles from here, I think it’ll be safe to let him go,” Charley said, sliding his signature knife back into its sheath.

“I’ll be no trouble,” the cat said, closing his eyes tight. “I’ll go with you.” The Xlatan opened his eyes and looked into Jonah’s eyes without hesitation. “But once I am free, I will seek out my people, and it will be my duty to try to kill as many of you as I can.”

Jonah leveled a cold stare at the cat until the creature looked away. “Fair enough. And once we release you, when we come upon you again, we will kill you and all who stand with you.”

Manny grabbed the Xlatan’s upper right arm and pulled him to his feet. The mercenary pushed the cat along, starting him on his way, while the rest of the party gathered their equipment.

“Lead on, Hotaru,” Jonah ordered, nodding toward the cave that ran away from the pool. “Everyone, make sure you leave nothing behind. I don’t want the cats coming through that pool and finding evidence we were here.”

The colonel thought he really didn’t have to give that order. His people were professionals and should know better than to leave a trace. They were also tired, enduring a level of fatigue that had started up on the high plateau, carried through to the midlands, then down here in what he was coming to think of as the hotlands.

In minutes, the pool was again deserted. Pitch black, silent. Moments after the lights faded into the distance, the small animals that called this place home came back out. Phosphorescent fish and lightly glowing insects all came out, happy in their simple minds that the intruders were gone.

* * *

“How in all the hells are we supposed to find any bodies in this crap?” one of the Xlatan soldiers complained as the squad moved through the horrible landscape.

The ten Xlatan were arrayed in a formation with eight troopers in a line, about ten yards apart. Nlorn and a senior private walked about twenty yards behind the line, keeping their eyes open for anything the front line might miss.

“We have our orders,” Nlorn said, sounding unhappy. The sergeant was already tired of walking through the ash slurry the continuing rain was making out of the ground. The fallen trees, most burned to the point where they were barely holding together, formed an obstacle course that forced the line to bend and turn along the way.

Nlorn thought the mission was hopeless. If the Humans had been caught in this, there’d be nothing left of them but charred bones. Those could blend into the ash and slurry, where only the greatest of luck would lead to discovery.

“Why in the hells can’t we go back to the compound and get something to eat?” asked another of the soldiers.

“Because we’ve been ordered to search this area for the bodies of the enemy,” Nlorn said, slowly, as if talking to a child. “If you don’t like it, you can go argue with Commander Mmrash. That’s not something I’m prepared to do.”

From the look on the soldier’s face, that wasn’t something he wanted to do, either. Mmrash wasn’t known for his even temper, and lately it had been worse.

There were no more calls to stop the search, though the Xlatan soldiers continued to grumble under their breath. Nlorn could live with that. As a sergeant, it was bad for discipline to engage in it himself, but as long as he kept the complaints to a low whisper, below the hearing of his sharp-eared compatriots…

“Nlorn!” yelled out a Xlatan from another squad, running toward the sergeant’s squad on all sixes, rifle over his back.

“That’s Sergeant Nlorn, Quarrl!” Nlorn shouted back.

“Don’t let that rank go to your head, Nlorn. Okay, Sergeant Nlorn. Now, do you want to hear the news I bring?” Quarrl stood up on his hind legs, placing both sets of hands on his sides.

“Well, what’s the news?”

“We found the entrance to a cave back that way,” the soldier said, turning his torso and pointing back the way he’d come. “Sergeant Kkrall is searching it, but thought you, as our designated leader, should be advised immediately.”

Nlorn didn’t like the tone in the soldier’s voice. Everyone had been satisfied when their only duties had been to protect the compound and round up poorly-armed slaves. Being deployed out in the bush, against enemies that could actually fight back, had changed that dynamic. Losing an entire squad hadn’t helped.

“Let’s go,” Nlorn said, slinging his rifle over his back and dropping to all sixes. He looked back over his shoulder a moment. “The rest of you, keep on the sweep.”

Nlorn was off on the run then, following closely behind Quarrl. They loped along for about a mile, stopping for a moment to catch their breath. They weren’t made for distance running. Xlatan were sprinters, and no amount of training would change that.

After a couple of stops, the out-of-breath pair arrived at the hillside where a half dozen soldiers stood around, a couple looking into the small opening that led into darkness.

“Where’s Kkrall?”

“I think he’s gone swimming,” one of the waiting soldiers said with a chuckle.

What in all the hells? Nlorn thought, staring at the other male in disbelief. Xlatan hated and feared water. They sank like rocks without the aid of diving equipment. In a pinch, they could use their gas protection equipment to breathe underwater for a limited time. Without floatation devices, they had a hard time getting their bodies off the bottom, so in deep water they were in trouble.

Nlorn pushed past one of the soldiers, went down to a six-limbed gait, and moved through the opening. He could see light ahead as soon as he entered the total darkness of the underground. When he reached the main cavern, if the ten-by-twelve-yard chamber could live up to that name, it was brightly lit by a number of suit lights.

A pair of Xlatan stood by the pool that took up a third of the cavern, holding onto a cord of carbon nanotube wire wound into a thin rope. Neither looked his way, both focusing all their concentration on the task at hand. The sergeant approved.

“Where’s Sergeant Kkrall?”

“He and one other are down there,” the soldier he’d asked said in a tone of disbelief.

“How long?”

“A couple of minutes. I couldn’t imagine being under that stuff for that long.”

Nlorn shuddered as he thought about doing so himself. His respect for the other sergeant went up a notch.

The males at the pool edge started pulling on the rope. Either something was very wrong, or a signal had come up the cord. Maybe both.

The first of the Xlatan came to the surface, pulling himself up the cord and grabbing onto the side of the pool, scrambling to get back up on dry land. The male’s fur was soaked, slicked down on his face and hands. He shook his head, sending water everywhere.

“What did you find down there?” Nlorn asked, moving over to the soldier once it was clear the shaking was over.

“Nothing but water,” answered the male between deep breaths. “Over fifty yards of water, with rock overhead, squeezing down on our heads. It just kept stretching ahead, endless.”

Another male broke the surface, this one taking his time getting out, a show of courage. Kkrall pulled himself out of the water while the first male started stripping out of his battle suit, releasing large splashes of water on the cavern floor.

“No way they could have gone that far,” Kkrall said, starting to pull off his own clothing.

“No way Humans could have done it?” Nlorn asked, staring at the disturbed surface of the water. “Or are you thinking that because our people couldn’t?”

The other sergeant looked confused for a moment, his ears twitching. Nlorn stopped his own ears from twitching in response to his own thoughts, something he’d worked on over the years. It had served him well in dealing with superiors, making him an oddity among a species that couldn’t hide their emotions.

“I think we should investigate further,” Nlorn said, looking dubiously at the pool. “We’ll need diving equipment.”

“While we’re at it, why don’t we just ask for someone from one of the other species? One that can actually swim in that?”

That actually struck Nlorn as a great idea, especially if the Humans hadn’t been burned to death, and they were waiting on the other side of the pool.

“I’ll get on the comm and alert Commander Mmrash,” Nlorn said, letting his ears twitch in agreement. Hopefully the commander would listen to reason and not just order them to go back into that nightmare realm. With Mmrash, that was never a given. He just had to hope the senior warrior was in a good mood.

* * *

“And again, you can’t guarantee the Humans were burned in the fire,” Jillor growled over the comm.

Of course I can’t, you idiot, the commander thought, glaring at the boss, his ears twitching out a signal that, fortunately, the alien couldn’t read. “They may have been burned to ash, Boss.”

“And they might be lurking in another area of the jungle, laughing at us!” Jillor yelled, the sound of his fist striking his desk with a smack. “You thought they were dead once; you came down to the canyonlands without making sure, and they got away from you.”

“They are fearsome warriors, sir.”

“And they would have been dead if you’d gone after them while they were still shocked and confused from the crash. Now I want you and your people to keep at it until you can bring back proof they’re dead.”

“And if we can’t find it?”

“Then plan on being out there until you do, or until we can reasonably assume they aren’t still coming here. Say, in a month or so.”

Mmrash ground his teeth together, not wanting to say something that might land him in more trouble.

“I’d like to be able to switch out my men so they don’t become too fatigued.”

“That’ll be fine. But you’ll stay out there until this is over.”

The comm terminated before the commander could say another word, leaving him reeling in anger and shock. That isn’t fair, he thought, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth. But one thing he’d learned was that life wasn’t fair. It also wouldn’t be fair when the boss threw the pieces of his body into the great river for the water animals to eat.

He looked over at the pilot, whose ears were in an attitude of mirth.

“If I’m out here, so are you,” Mmrash growled, pointing a pair of index fingers at the pilot.

“But…”

“That’s not fair? Whatever led you to believe life was fair?”

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty

Jonah shook his head as he looked out over the edge of the wasteland. The fire had stopped only twenty yards from where he was standing. Some of the tree trunks were blackened from the flames that had eaten at them before the heavy rains put the fire out. The air smelled of burnt wood, and even more disturbing, the odor of burnt meat. Smoke drifted through the forest, hanging low to the ground. There were no animals in evidence, all having either run away or flown to nearby dens.

“We need to move, Colonel,” Charley said, walking up to stand beside him, the crunch of ash underfoot lending an emphatic statement to the tragedy. “We need to get into the forest before those bastards make their way over here.”

“Yep.” Jonah turned and started into the woods, motioning for all of his people to come along.

Their Xlatan prisoner walked with them, his arms locked behind him in two matched pairs. Manny trailed just slightly behind him, rifle at the ready. The alien hung his head as he moved, mumbling to himself as he put one foot in front of the other.

“Where do you think we should head?” the colonel asked Xebraferd, walking over to the war chief.

The Kalagarta didn’t answer for some moments, his eyes darting back the way they’d come, trying to get yet another glimpse.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said the Kalagarta, his wide eyes looking into those of the Human.

Jonah thought the heart had been punched out of the alien.

“Don’t you have forest fires?”

“Not like this. The forest is normally too wet for fire to start easily. Sometimes lightning will strike and set a tree on fire, and it might spread for a short distance in the underbrush. But this.” The Kalagarta gestured behind them. “Only the evil you star people bring could cause something like this.”

Jonah looked away and walked for some minutes, letting the alien have time to process his thoughts. After they’d covered a mile into the forest, the mood of the party changed for the better. They now had some cover behind and above them. The smell of burnt wood was still in the air, and there were wisps of smoke, faint and fleeting.

“We should move five or six miles to the west, then angle back to the north,” said Xebraferd after huffing out a breath. “We need to get to the great river and meet up with the tribe who controls that territory so they can get you across. That’s not something we can do without spending days to make watercraft.”

“I’m putting my trust in you.”

“What about your prisoner? Could you give him to us?”

Jonah didn’t like the question. If the Kalagarta had their way, the Xlatan would die, horribly and in great pain. That was something he couldn’t allow.

“Our people don’t treat prisoners like that. I’m sorry.”

“We are aiding you, at great cost to ourselves. If you cannot reciprocate, why are we doing it?”

And if I don’t give you the prisoner, you’ll abandon us? Jonah looked back at the prisoner. From what he’d learned, the male had been a squad leader. If the Xlatan military was anything like Human organizations, that meant he had limited authority. He wasn’t personally at fault for what his people were doing.

They called the aliens cats, but they weren’t any more closely related to Humans than a slime mold. In fact, a bacterium on Earth was a kissing cousin compared to the Xlatan. Though they had many of the same proteins in their physiology, they used a different set of nucleic acids for their DNA. On closer look, they didn’t even resemble Earth felines that much. The angles of their faces were different. Their eyes had horizontal slits, like goats, instead of the vertical variety of cats. Their ears were probably what resembled Earth cats the most, though seeing the way they moved, it was obvious they had a completely different muscle structure.

Should have studied xenobiology, the colonel thought. As a child, he’d always been fascinated by biology, especially with the variety of life in the universe. His family had been too poor to pay for higher education, and the only way out of the slums of the Eastern North American Metroplex had been the military.

“I can’t do it, Xebraferd. No matter what you do in return, I cannot do it.”

The alien let out a loud croak the colonel had come to associate with anger, then hopped off.

“That could have gone better,” Charley said from ten yards back, stepping forward so he could talk with his colonel. “I know you don’t want to turn over a prisoner, something to do with your absurd sense of chivalry.”

“You think I’m wrong?”

“I don’t know. I feel uneasy about turning someone from a civilized species over to a bunch of barbarians. I can just imagine what they’ll do to him. But what happens to him when we cut him loose a hundred miles from his people? You really think he’ll make it through that stretch of forest without being caught? The same thing will happen to him, and we gain no benefit.”

Jonah knew his partner was correct. The cat might be equipped as a hunter, but this wasn’t his native environment. Most likely the Kalagarta would be able to track him down without a problem. He’d still be dead. But I’ll know I had nothing to do with it. And that mattered to him.

“Anything on your sensor net, Xou?” Jonah asked his electronics expert fifteen minutes later.

“The one drone I left back there is still picking up their shuttles coming and going, with a couple on overwatch. So far nothing heading our way.”

They still aren’t sure whether we’ve left the area, and they’re continuing the search, the colonel thought, a slight smile on his face. As long as they kept sweeping that area, they wouldn’t be looking for them where they actually were.

By dusk they’d made fifteen miles from the cavern, and it was getting too dark to travel. If he’d been traveling on his own, he’d have kept them moving. Their night vision gave them an advantage over anything on this world during the hours of darkness. The Kalagarta insisted they camp for the night. Since they knew this world, he bowed to their expertise.

He looked at the stand of vegetation the natives led them to with curiosity. It looked something like a Banyan tree, with multiple trunks and roots creating a maze.

“We call it a sanctuary tree,” said Xebraferd when asked about it. “It provides us with everything. Food, water, concealment.”

The Kalagarta gestured at a branch that held green berries that looked like olives. A couple of his warriors were building a fire in one of the spaces under the canopy, keeping the blaze small, enough to cook on and not much else.

“Nobody will spot your campfire?” Charley asked, brow furrowing with concern.

“The canopy is too thick, and the leaves will reflect the light back inward.”

The party relaxed as much as possible as darkness descended, and meat sizzled over the spit. The Xlatan was probably the only being who wasn’t at ease, as the cat’s head was on a swivel, looking from the Humans to the Kalagarta and back. It was obvious the creature was afraid of the natives and hoping the Humans would continue to protect him. The Kalagarta speared the alien with cold stares that promised painful death.

“Why are your people here?” Jonah asked, taking a seat on the ground next to the Xlatan.

“Why are you here?” the Xlatan replied. “Probably for similar reasons. We want to trade with the Galactic Union but have nothing to offer them except ability and determination to fight.”

That about sums it up for us, Jonah thought, nodding, wondering what the alien was making of that gesture. The ears of the creature were flashing signals like a semaphore, and he had no way of knowing what was being signaled.

“And this place?”

“We were offered a contract that paid well, and my clan decided to send us. I was one of the ones chosen, so here I am.” The Xlatan looked down for a moment in thought before looking up again, his teeth showing in what would be a grimace on a Human. “I’d known those males you killed today my entire life. I grew up with them, trained with them.”

“I’m sorry we had to kill them.”

“It was us or you,” the Xlatan said. “No warrior can blame the other side for fighting their best. Our lives were not your concern. They were ours and ours alone. We failed, you succeeded. So do not apologize, Human.”

“I won’t. My people are my concern, as you said. It was you or us, and I will always pick us.”

The ears of the alien started flashing his emotions, but from the thoughtful expression on his face, the colonel thought the warrior agreed with him. They’re an honorable people, Jonah thought, closing his eyes. It was unfortunate that they worked for bastards like the people who’d come here to kill this planet for profit.

“What will become of me?” the Xlatan asked, watching as a Kalagarta approached the pair with some food sitting on a couple of large leaves.

“Sometime tomorrow evening we’ll let you go. It should take you days to reach your people, and by that time we’ll be well away from the release point, so you won’t be able to lead them to us.”

“You know I won’t make it out of this jungle. Maybe if you gave me a weapon,” the Xlatan said hopefully, then looked down again at the leaf of food sitting on the ground in front of him. “But I know you won’t do that. It’s not something I would do either, arming an enemy so he could protect himself from an ally.”

Jonah looked over at the alien, wishing he could do more, but the Xlatan was correct. He couldn’t arm him, and if he ran into the Kalagarta in the jungle, he was dead. It might be better to just kill him and be done with it. That was also something he couldn’t bring himself to do.

“I’ll help you,” Jonah said, seeing a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the alien. He reached for the food and saw the glimmer die as the Xlatan realized he’d meant helping him to eat. “At least you’ll have a chance when we let you go. Better than what your people gave those they captured for slaves. Or killed for resisting.”

It was a shitty thing to say to a prisoner who was sure he’d be dead in another day. Still, it made Jonah feel better to remind himself and the prisoner of the reality of their situation.

* * *

“They were definitely in that cavern, Commander Mmrash,” Nlorn said over the comm. “Sergeant Lrator was able to leak some urine out of his suit. Not enough to tip the Humans or the Kalagarta off, with their defective sense of smell, but it was like a flashing sign to us.”

Thank the gods Lrator is still with us, the commander thought. Lrator was probably his most intelligent and thoughtful subordinate. Very few of the lower-ranking Xlatan could be called bright. Most of those who were soon rose to the ranks of officers. Lrator would probably be commissioned after this mission, if he survived. That thought hit the commander in the gut. Just because he been alive when he was in that cavern didn’t mean he was still among the living at this point.

“What’s the plan, Sergeant?”

“Well, sir, we can’t send everyone through the pool, but the people on the other side can walk to the end of the tunnel and locate the exit.”

Mmrash really didn’t like the fact that those who walked the tunnel would have to wait for the rest, but he didn’t see any other way. They only had a couple of diving rigs, so the warriors who’d used them were the only ones who would be forced to go through the pool.

“Let me know when you get there,” the commander ordered, looking at a Tri-V map of the region. The map told him nothing. Of course it showed the jungle and all the changes in elevation, but what it didn’t show him was where the damned Humans were, or more importantly, where they were going.

That looks interesting, he thought, pointing to and zooming in on one of the few large clearings on this side of the river. It was eight miles from north to south, and twenty miles from east to west, with scattered trees over grasslands. He wasn’t sure how it had evolved in the otherwise surface covering jungle, but there it was. If the Humans moved through that, they just might be able to hit them in the open.

But why in the hells would they do that? The Humans knew their enemies had control of the air. If he positioned a shuttle high in the air, they’d be able to spot any movement across that open area. Of course, it was more likely that they’d avoid that area like the killing zone it was.

“See if you can pick up their trail in the forest,” he ordered his senior sergeant. “If you pick it up, follow it, but don’t make contact until I tell you.”

“And if we can’t pick up the trail?” Nlorn asked.

“Then you’ll make your way to a point where the shuttles can pick you up.” While he had air superiority, he’d use it to its full advantage.

* * *

“They hit us while we were out harvesting this section,” the small alien said on the comm. “They killed over half our people, Boss, and freed all the slaves.”

“You weren’t able to fight them off?” Jillor asked, closing his eyes and letting out a breath of tension.

“We killed a few, but they came out of nowhere, and those damned poison darts and spears killed everyone they even scratched.”

And we’ve gotten careless, Jillor thought, growling low in his throat. When they’d first come here, they’d treated the Kalagarta with the respect due any foe. Many easy victories later, and hundreds of slaves taken, they’d started to think of the natives as nothing but helpless, childlike savages, forgetting they were intelligent beings adapted to this environment. Now that attitude had come back to bite them in the ass.

“Come back to the compound with everyone you have left, and don’t forget to bring the equipment.” Maybe that last order wasn’t needed, but they’d found out the hard way that any equipment and vehicles left unattended in the wild tended to catch on fire. The aliens could do little to advanced high-tech equipment when it was manned and on the move. Sitting unattended gave them opportunity to put the lightly-armored civilian equipment to the torch.

With the push of a panel he sent a comm request to the Xlatan second-in-command. The female’s face appeared on the Tri-V that sprang up over the desk moments later.

“Boss?”

“Major Grolrror. You heard what happened?”

“Yes, sir. You want me to assign some of our people to the harvesting parties?”

Jillor stared into the strange, slitted eyes of the female. She was unusual for her people, who normally assigned the function of soldier to the larger males, which meant she was either really good at her job or had some influence with the clan. He thought if she had that kind of influence, she’d have stayed home.

“I want you to put together a strike force and wipe out the village those raiders came from.”

“Do we know which village that is?” she asked, eyes narrowing as her ears signaled her emotions.

Most non-Xlatan couldn’t make heads nor tails of those signals. He couldn’t read them with total comprehension, but he’d been around the creatures long enough to catch the overall gist. The female was disgusted that such a mission had landed in her hands. Well, too bad. If Mmrash hadn’t been such an incompetent, he’d be here to lead it.

“Just hit the nearest village. Capture as many of the young adults as you can. Kill everyone else and destroy the village. Totally.”

Again the major looked as if she was disgusted by the order, and for a moment the boss wondered if she would refuse it. If she did, he’d have no choice but to put her down.

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

The comm died, disconnected from the other end, sending a shiver of rage through the boss. He terminated the comm when he was talking to a subordinate, not the other way around. He had a notion to call her back and bring her to task.

No. As long as she does it. But I’ll be keeping my eye on her.

In fact, Jillor walked out of his office to watch the two shuttles take to the air. They rose with the whine of fans, leveled off at six hundred feet, and moved out, heading out to search for villages. Unfortunately, there were none within a hundred miles, the nearer ones having already been taken for slave labor.

After he watched the shuttles recede in the distance, Jillor decided to walk the compound. After all, if the natives had been brave enough to attack a harvest party, might they not muster the courage to hit the compound as well? Jillor thought they’d regret that decision, but it wouldn’t hurt to check out the security. Losing even one more of his people was one too many, after all.

* * *

“Are you okay, Major?” the pilot of the lead shuttle asked the officer occupying the seat next to him.

Grolrror looked over at the male, on the edge of making a snappy comment. Seeing the concerned angle of the pilot’s ears, she held in the comment. She could feel the muscles twitching on the side of her head, signaling her emotions for any Xlatan to read. It’s no wonder we have so many fights among our people, she thought.

At times she envied the other species who didn’t wear their emotions on their ears for all to see. It was a part of their culture, but it caused so many problems.

“I’m fine,” she said finally, knowing that the pilot wouldn’t believe her. Fortunately, she had enough rank to allow her to get away with a false statement and not be questioned.

“Are we loaded up?”

“Well, we have what we have. I wish we had the gunship, but Commander Mmrash considers it his own personal property.”

And he has that right, Grolrror thought, looking away, then activating the comm.

“All soldiers of the people. I want everyone fully armored when we hit the ground. Gloves, face masks.”

Some groans came back over the comm. Nobody liked to operate in that hell with everything covered, trapping the heat. Their ears would still be exposed, but it was unlikely anything poisonous would hit such a small target. If it happened, it could only happen once. That would be too many, but soldiering was a dangerous job, and the people preferred to be able to share their body language with each other.

“There’s a village ahead, Major!” the pilot of the second shuttle shouted out.

“I want both shuttles to do a fly by and hit them with lasers.” She looked ahead and saw a small clearing. “Then we’ll land in that clearing and deploy into two squads to sweep the village.”

She made sure her own helmet was settled, then pulled on her gloves and pulled her face mask from its belt pouch.

“You mean to go out there, Major?” the concerned pilot asked, his protective instincts coming to the fore as indicated by the twitch of his ears.

“I’m also a warrior and the leader on this mission. It’s only right for me to share the risks.”

The pilot let out a short laugh, and Grolrror glared at him, making him turn away. She knew what he was thinking. They were attacking a bunch of primitives, thousands of years behind the Xlatan in tech, not even out of the stone age. What was there to fear? That kind of attitude was what got warriors killed. Mmrash wouldn’t put up with it, and neither would she.

“Ugh,” grunted the pilot, looking at the screen that was showing what was underneath them as they flew over. “What in all the hells is that mess?”

Grolrror pulled up the feed to see what the pilot was talking about and recoiled from the sight as well. The creatures down there in the tops of the trees looked like an insectoid predator from the Xlatan home world. She knew the ten-legged things moving through the mass of webbing were nothing like the deadly creatures of her home. They were herbivores, in fact, and the Kalagarta actually raised them for some obscure reason. These appeared to have been in the vicinity for quite some time, since the tops of the trees looked like they’d been browsed on continuously. The mass of thread-like webs, what the creatures used to build their nests, was as strong as carbon fiber. It seemed like such a waste of a resource to be used by such primitives.

Grolrror looked away, concentrating on the overhead map of the village. It wasn’t all that large, only twenty huts or so. Maybe the home to two hundred natives. There was some movement down there, and she froze the screen and zoomed.

“No children,” she said, feeling some relief that there weren’t any in the target zone. And some trepidation as well, since their absence could mean something was going on with the natives.

“Let’s get this over with,” she said under her breath, then activated the comm. “Both shuttles are to sweep from north to south. Try to hit every hut on the way through.”

She knew that might not happen, but it was worth a try. Burning huts would flush their occupants, and she’d rather have them all out in the open before she landed the troops.

The shuttles swept in, huts in front of them bursting into flames and falling apart as if a large sword of fire was sweeping through them. Essentially, that was what was happening, as the powerful lasers swung back and forth in front of the shuttles. At first they were completely invisible in the light of day, but soon the smoke pouring into the air highlighted the beams.

“Do you want another sweep?” the pilot asked, looking at a screen that was showing the camera view from behind.

“No need. There’s no one here.”

That wasn’t quite true. About a dozen of the Kalagarta had vacated the huts, including those that hadn’t been hit, but that wasn’t enough for a village of natives that size.

“Go ahead and land. We’ll move in and take care of the few still on their feet.”

“And any that escape?”

I’ll wish them safe travels, and hope they get away from the bastards we work for.

The clearing, the only contiguous open space within the village, was set to the west, covering fifty yards by forty. There were several flimsy-looking animal pens and plots of plants. Nothing the shuttles couldn’t crush underneath.

The pilot spun the shuttle around so the rear hatch was pointing toward the village and set her down. The second shuttle was an instant behind, still up in the air about fifty feet, when the pilot of the other shuttle shouted out.

“There’s something at the edge of the woods. No, two of them!”

“What?”

“Some kind of wooden constructions. I don’t know. They remind me of something, but I can’t figure out what.”

The view from the camera on the other shuttle came through, and Grolrror found herself leaning forward and squinting her eyes to look at them. They were large wooden constructions, like wagons without wheels, with some kind of structure above them. They looked like the end of a trunk set into supports to the side, and a large rock hanging from the end.

“It looks like some kind of catapult,” the pilot said, at the same instant Grolrror thought the same thing.

“Take them out with the lasers!” she shouted, at the same time the arms started to move.

They slammed down, the large rock on the end of the arm pulling the hefty log up, the sling on the other end rising up and sending another rock into the air.

“They’re firing at us,” said the pilot of the other shuttle, a note of derision in his voice.

Grolrror could understand how he felt. They were primitive weapons, unlikely to hit anything. But if one of those rocks did hit? It wouldn’t destroy a shuttle, but it could damn sure damage it. As soon as that thought ran through her mind like a charging predator, she noticed the shiny net that was trailing the rocks.

“They don’t have to hit us!” she shouted, turning to look at the pilot. “Get us the hells out of here!”

“We’re hit!” the other pilot yelled out. “One of the engines flamed out!”

“Can you get away?” the major asked as the net came down over her shuttle.

“We’re not under the net,” the pilot replied. “We can stay in the air, but we’re not going to hit a high velocity until we get that engine pod replaced.”

“Stay in the air and cover us.” She looked over at the warrior seated beside her. “Can we get back into the air?”

“I can try.”

The pilot attempted to pull the ship up. The engines reached a high pitch, and they started to rise. That was when three huge wooden spears came flying out of the forest, obviously propelled by some other machines. Two missed, but one hit with a thud, followed by a grinding noise over the whine of the engines.

“One of our engines just spiked!” the pilot shouted, a look of panic in his eyes as his ears frantically signaled his distress. “I think one of those things went through the front intake of the engine.”

Grolrror stared at the pilot in disbelief. These were primitive weapons with no guidance systems!

“The other engine is overheating now. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get back into the air until we get this net off of us.”

“Set her down.” Grolrror looked into the face of the other pilot. “Try to burn this crap off of us.”

“I’m already trying, Major, but it’s not burning for hells.”

The fiber was from a natural source, but it was as strong as anything modern tech could manufacture. And now it seemed like its heat conduction properties were also off the scale.

“Cease fire. We’ll dismount and see what we can do.”

Grolrror unbuckled and rose from her seat, heading into the troop compartment. The soldiers were already out of their seats, readying themselves for combat.

“I don’t know what they have waiting for us out there,” she told the soldiers, pulling on her mask, “but we can be sure they have another surprise to throw at us. Everyone stay alert.”

The trooper closest to the hatch activated it, and the large door cracked opened at the top and started on its way down. The troops nearest the door stood ready, weapons to their upper shoulders and pointed outward.

“Move!” Grolrror shouted, pushing the Xlatan ahead of her toward the exit. She wanted to get a look outside before she started making her deployments, though forming a perimeter around the valuable shuttle was a priority.

The first pair moved out, setting themselves a couple of yards from the shuttle and covering the rear. The next pair went to the right, those after to the left. Grolrror pushed ahead, determined not to be the last. As soon as her boots hit the ground, it all went into the crapper.

“Look out!” one of the Xlatan soldiers yelled. A ball of fire went up, rising from a hole in the ground and washing over two of the Xlatan. One fell back, beating out the flames on his armor. The other was less fortunate, falling forward and into the fire pit that was blazing with white-hot flame.

“Get him out of there!” the sergeant yelled, moving toward the soldier, then shying back from the heat.

The attention of the Xlatan distracted, the next act of the ambush opened. In a hundred places in the field, some even directly under the shuttle, woven coverings were thrust back by Kalagarta warriors who immediately started pelting the Xlatan with their primitive weapons. Scores of spears and hundreds of the smaller darts of blowguns bounced from the armor of the more advanced species. Mostly. A couple of Xlatan had the misfortune of having poisoned darts hit openings in their suits not covered by armor. One in the join between glove and sleeve, another in the gap underneath the face mask. Both soldiers stiffened immediately, then fell to the ground with bodies twitching. The poison of the Kalagarta was deadly, and there was no time for any kind of medical intervention.

“Kill them!” Grolrror yelled, raising her rifle and touching the firing stud, putting a laser through the head of a Kalagarta.

Beams immediately flew through the air, and the Kalagarta died in droves. They showed no sign of fear, and continued the attack, though that might have been fatalism more than anything. The other shuttle hovered in the air, sending its nose laser down to sweep across the ground. The net interfered, but didn’t stop the beam, which set Kalagarta warriors on fire to croak out their lives in agony.

“Keep it up!” the major yelled out, taking another shot. Something stung one of her ears. She ignored such a small pain, until moments later she was unable to draw breath. Her vision started to fade as she fell to the ground, her muscles twitching uncontrollably.

* * *

“The Major is dead, sir. The damned primitives poisoned her with a dart. What kind of savages use poison?”

People who can’t fight back against us any other way, Mmrash thought, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

Major Grolrror had been a good officer. She’d also been a very attractive female, something he hadn’t allowed himself to think about since she was a subordinate. He didn’t know much about her past, family, education and such. She’d come to him from the clan with sterling recommendations. Now she was dead, leaving him as the only Xlatan officer on the planet.

“We killed all the savages, sir. You can believe that. And took great pleasure in it.”

“What about the shuttle?”

“We were unable to get her into the air,” the sergeant said, his ears twitching in distress. “Some ground crew are going out on the other shuttle to see if they can free her from that netting and get her home.”

“Be very careful, Sergeant,” Mmrash said, leaning forward and staring at the other male. “If they set off one ambush, they might have plans for another. The mechanics would make good targets.”

“I doubt they’ll be back, sir. We wiped out that nest of savages.”

You’re a fool, the commander thought, his ears twitching in a manner that seemed to alarm the sergeant, who leaned away from the Tri-V.

“Be careful. Take nothing for granted. If people die because you didn’t take heed of my advice, I’ll have your hide.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mmrash terminated the connection so he wouldn’t have to deal with any more stupidity. Unfortunately, stupidity came seeking him a few minutes later.

“We need that gunship back here, Mmrash,” Jillor growled over the comm. “We only have one damaged shuttle left, after your people lost two of them.”

We only lost them because we were following your orders, the commander thought, his fur rising in anger as he felt the muscles controlling his ears go into a staccato beat of anger.

“I need the gunship for the mission I’m on. You know, the one you ordered me to complete, searching for the Humans.” And if I hadn’t been out here, the gunship would have been covering the assault that cost Grolrror her life.

“Are you questioning me, boy? I gave you a direct command to send that gunship back here. You’ll comply, immediately, unless you want more trouble than you can handle.”

“It’ll be coming in,” Mmrash growled through gritted teeth. “Just give me a chance to switch out to another of the shuttles.”

“How long?”

It was more than he could take. “As long as it takes.” He dismissed the comm and sank back into his seat.

“And don’t think this is going to get you away from me,” the commander hissed, looking over at the pilot. “When we switch out the shuttles, you’ll switch with them.”

“When do you want to make the switch?” the pilot asked after a double shoulder shrug. “And where?”

“We’ll make the change when I say, and where I say. And you can run back and tell the boss I said that when we return. But until then, you’ll stay off that comm unless I tell you. Understand?”

“Yes, commander,” the pilot replied, his ears slumping in dejection.

“Now keep us circling on the search pattern I ordered.” Maybe we can get lucky and find them, then Jillor will have to give me a pass. Damned businessman.

That was really his only hope of surviving this mess. If the Humans got to the compound and started some mischief that disrupted the operation, he was sure his body, or at least the constituent parts of it, would be going into the river to feed the fish.

If that happened, he’d have to find a way to make sure Jillor preceded him in death. He still had the poison he’d contemplated before, if he could get within range before the boss shot him.

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-One

Jillor stamped with heavy footfalls back and forth in front of his desk, glaring at the Tri-V projector on his work station every few moments.

How dare he disconnect on me? he thought as he felt the blood rush to his face. Mmrash was his subordinate! Jillor wasn’t a military man—he never had been—but he’d been placed in this position by the Syndicate, which meant he had the power of life and death over every single being in this compound. He didn’t even need a reason to execute any of them, and no one in the Syndicate would question his decision.

But the damned Xlatan clan would, he thought, stopping for a moment and staring at the Tri-V projector. The Xlatan weren’t the most advanced species in the galaxy, but they had access to Galactic weapons and transport. If they decided they wanted him dead, and were willing to pay the price, he was gone.

“Are you okay, Boss?” Hrallo asked over the intercom.

She’d let him storm and rage but must have become concerned when he’d stopped. Jillor knew when he quieted down from a tantrum he was at his most dangerous, and that was when his people started looking for cover. All except his loyal secretary, who felt secure around him.

“I’m fine, but I want to know immediately when Mmrash brings in the gunship. I’ll be out talking with our big gun.”

He could hear from Hrallo’s intake of breath that she didn’t like to talk about the creature. That was good, as far as he was concerned. Any misgivings his people had about the thing would help keep them in line.

* * *

“We’re cutting you loose here, Lrator,” Jonah said, looking into the slitted eyes of the prisoner.

He had it set up so the Kalagarta were over a mile ahead, while he, Manny, and Charley had fallen behind with the prisoner. As far as he knew, all the natives were in that group, being watched by four of his people. He might not be able to protect the Xlatan from all the natives, but he was determined that none of those traveling with him would be the cause of the cat’s death.

“You know I’ll be dead before the night’s out,” said the Xlatan, who now had his helmet back on. He was fully suited and armored, but of course had no weapons or electronics.

“I’m giving you a chance, probably more than I should. If you head southeast, you’ll come back to the area of the fire. Perhaps one of your shuttles will spot you.”

“Then I guess this is it. I won’t wish you good luck, Colonel.”

“I will wish you luck in getting back to your people,” Jonah said, stepping back from the prisoner while Manny released his arms from the restraints. Charley stood with his rifle pointed at the Xlatan, ready to fire if the creature made any move to attack. “But once you’re back with them, and operating against me, we won’t hesitate to kill you.”

The Xlatan’s ears made some quick motions, and the colonel thought Lrator had accepted what he’d said. The being was a warrior, and though he might feel out of his element—in fact doomed—he’d take the chance given to him and try. Jonah was starting to doubt his decision as he thought of that. Even without weapons, this creature, with his natural armament, could kill some of their Kalagarta allies. But he didn’t know what else to do. He wouldn’t kill a prisoner in cold blood, and he wasn’t about to let the Kalagarta have him.

Manny finished with the second restraint and jumped back, his own rifle coming up. The Xlatan hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran into the jungle.

The poor creature is probably waiting for a shot in the back, Jonah thought as the cat ran at full speed into the jungle, soon disappearing even from the heat sensors of the Human helmets.

“You sure that was the right decision?” Charley asked, not letting his guard down.

“It may not have been, but it was the only one I could make and still live with myself.”

* * *

Lrator ran as fast as his six legs would take him, brushing through the thick foliage, making enough noise to raise the dead. He didn’t care about the noise. Right now he just wanted to put as much distance between himself and the Humans, and their Kalagarta allies, as possible. He ran flat out, much faster than either of the species that might be pursuing could go. That might not save him from an ambush ahead, but he didn’t know of such a setup, while he did know he had enemies behind.

After a few minutes he was forced to slow. Xlatan bodies overheated rapidly, and with their thick fur, they didn’t cool down quickly. Lrator stopped for a couple of minutes, breathing deeply to re-oxygenate his blood and get rid of heat. He slowly quieted his breathing, calming himself.

The sound of the jungle intruded on his awareness. Sounds familiar and not. The unfamiliar were without tags, and in his mind all were associated with danger. Most Xlatan had been brought up in rainforest regions of the home world, though not all. Lrator hadn’t been one of them. He’d grown up in a city on a grassland that supported great ranches. However, even though he’d trained in the jungles of home, this wasn’t his jungle. He’d patrolled it on numerous occasions, eating the rations he’d brought along, moving in a squad group. Because of that, he hadn’t learned the ins and outs. The Xlatan had no idea what was edible and what would kill him.

He took stock of his equipment. The Humans had ripped out every bit of electronic gear in his suit. They’d given him his helmet for some reason, but nothing worked. He had no weapons but had retained his medical kit and rations. The rations would give him calories for a couple of days. The med kit was something else. There were some small sensors within some of the injectables. Not made to send out long range signals, but with some work, there were possibilities.

Physically he retained all of his advantages. His night vision was better than that of anything on this world. His sense of smell was better than that of his intelligent opponents. He was stronger than either species, and his retractable claws gave him twenty-four inch-and-a-half razors. They couldn’t penetrate the light body armor the Humans wore, but they could shred any exposed Human flesh, and any place on the bodies of the Kalagarta.

I need to get moving, the sergeant thought, trying to get his bearings. When the Human had released him, he’d been pointed in the direction that would take him to the area his people had burned out in their failed attempt to kill the Humans. He was pretty sure he’d run in a straight line, so if he continued on, he’d probably reach the area his people were still searching.

The problem was, living creatures didn’t move in perfectly straight lines without some markers in the environment. They tended to lean one way or the other. He’d approached this problem in training and knew he tended to move a yard to the right for every hundred straight ahead. If he kept that in mind, he could mostly compensate. He’d have to count the steps of a certain foot, moving one complete movement of all his legs for each half yard.

Lrator started moving in the correct direction, starting his count. The decision made, he would move at night and rest during the day. He’d risk running into the night predators but was confident he’d see or smell them before they could strike. In the morning, he’d start looking for materials to make some weapons, then sleep. The priority was to get himself back to his people in one piece. But of greater priority was to get his clanmates the intelligence that might allow them to catch the Humans.

The night seemed to stretch on forever. The Xlatan was sure he was moving as quietly as possible, though jungle sounds let him know it wasn’t quite silent enough. Animals stopped making sounds when he got within a hundred yards of him, frightened by the moving unknown. The animals that didn’t stop making noise had to be those that didn’t care what was moving, either predators or large herbivores. Those he avoided, which brought up another problem. Moving out of his straight line threw his orientation off. No help for it, he thought, hoping he could use the sun the next day to get back on track.

After several hours of getting off course, the warrior stopped and thought it over, and came up with another plan. It might still get him killed, but he thought it also might help him and his people more than simply running away.

* * *

“I still think it was a bad idea to let an enemy go,” said Xebraferd as they walked through the jungle.

“I know you do, Xebraferd. You’ve made your opinion perfectly clear.”

“I have offered you my counsel, Human, and you ignored it.”

“Only that once, Xebraferd. I’m willing to listen to you on any matter that helps us get closer to our objective. There was no reason to kill a helpless prisoner.”

“He’ll probably die in the jungle anyway,” said the Kalagarta in a tone that sounded to Jonah much like a childish rant.

“Then it really shouldn’t matter that I let him go.”

The Kalagarta stopped for a moment, glaring at the Human with his bulbous amphibian eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by one of his people, hurrying down the path.

“The Grasslands are ahead, war chief. We will be at their edge in another half an hour.”

Jonah brought up the local map on his HUD. He’d seen that terrain feature while studying the region before the mission but had forgotten about it while they were moving through the jungle. Damn, he thought, looking at its extent. There was no way they could cross that area without being spotted. Perhaps if the Xlatan weren’t using drones and shuttles it might be possible, but there was no chance of that.

“The closest edge is a mile from here,” reported Xebraferd, looking to the right. “It would be easier going across, but I am sure they will spot us.”

“How the hell did something like that form here in this jungle?” Manny asked, whacking a vine with his carbon nanotube machete.

“The Murta feed on the plants for decades,” said one of the Kalagarta, “clearing an area where their herds can roam with relative safety from the jungle predators. They continue to feed along the edges, while making sure the trees don’t grow back along the grassland.”

“I thought you said they had nothing to fear from predators,” said Sandra, who’d wandered up to listen in, rifle across her shoulders.

“The adults, no,” agreed Xebraferd, looking up at the canopy where beams from the sun were streaming through, “but the young are vulnerable, and Murta are very protective of their young. One reason we must take extreme care in hunting them.”

“It’s like in my homeland,” Amobi Kabir said, also walking up. “In the national park, the elephants clear out areas by feeding. Nothing quite like what you’re talking about, though.”

Xebraferd gave the Nigerian a questioning look at the unknown word that didn’t come through the translation.

“A large herbivore, slightly smaller than the Murta,” Charley explained. “Also protective of their young, though not to the extent you say your beasts are.”

The Kalagarta leader gave an eye blink the Humans had come to interpret as acceptance, then looked over at Jonah. “I estimate we have another four hours of light, so I suggest we keep moving. We will be at the river by midday tomorrow, then you will be the River Tribe’s responsibility.”

He’s really pissed I didn’t let them have the Xlatan prisoner, Jonah thought, shaking his head. Well, once they reached the river, there would be other motivated Kalagarta to aid the company.

Two sweaty hours later, they were almost halfway along the edge of the Grasslands. Jonah walked to the edge, ordering the rest of the party to stay back, only keeping Charley by his side. The expanse of savannah was impressive—flat grasslands with single trees here and there—and close by, a large herd of Murta working on the trees on the edge, their multiple tentacle/trunks tearing branches down and pulling them toward their mouths.

“Do you see, over there?” Asuka Yamashuri asked, squatting next to his wife. The pair had been scouting along the edge. Even the jungle-wise Kalagarta had been impressed by the stealth abilities of the Japanese couple.

“Yep,” Jonah said, zooming in with the visual function of his faceplate. He could see a half dozen of the cats, sitting under the shade of one of the few trees in the area. “They’re waiting.”

“And there are a pair of them with a heavy weapon emplaced just four hundred yards up, at the edge of the jungle,” Hotaru said with smile. “I got within ten yards of them and they hadn’t a clue.”

“Their sense of smell is very good, Hotaru,” her husband said in a cautioning voice.

“I’m wearing the goop our friends gave us,” she said in return, her smile growing larger. “Besides, I was downwind. The strong odor of those smelly beasts was blowing in their faces. And there are more of them out on the prairie, another three with a heavy laser.”

“It looks like they were hoping we might try and cross the grasslands to save time,” Charley said with a soft snort. “They don’t know us very well, do they?”

Jonah was silent, thinking, planning. He took a good look at the placement of the herd of Murta. There were over four hundred of the beasts, almost the entire herd responsible for this grassland.

“What are you thinking?” Charley asked, giving his partner a quizzical look.

“I’m thinking this might be an opportunity to take out some of our enemy, since they put two full squads of them here for us to play with.”

He took one more look at the setup. “You two,” he said, looking over at the Yamashuris, “think you can take out those two in the emplacement?”

“We can, but it would be better if we had a distraction,” Asuka said, glancing over at his wife, who was nodding her head. “Can you provide one?”

The smile on the colonel’s face grew. “I guess I can do that. Be ready to attack as soon as it begins.”

* * *

“This is even worse than walking through that ash,” complained one of the Xlatan soldiers, gritting his teeth.

And I wish all of you would just shut up, Sergeant Nlorn thought, narrowing his eyes to glare at the soldier.

Not that the soldier didn’t have a point. It was even hotter out here on the grassland than in the jungle, something he wouldn’t have thought possible. Here, the sun poured its heat down on them without interference. Then there was the smell of the damned beasts, tearing into the trees a couple of hundred meters away.

At least the damned biting insects aren’t as bad out here, the sergeant thought. He was still wondering himself why the commander had placed them here. Surely the Humans wouldn’t be foolish enough to cross an open area like this one. Of course, it was about the only place short of the cleared zone of the operation where they’d have the range advantage in a fight. If there was any chance, they had to take it.

He was still ruminating about why they were here when the sound of a round flying through the air intruded on his concentration. He looked up quickly, but the anti-shell laser wasn’t engaging, so it wasn’t heading their way. Not directly. It hit and exploded almost six hundred yards away on a low trajectory.

“What in the hells were they shooting at?” asked the soldier who’d just been complaining. The Xlatan reached over to touch the laser mount that was set to protect them from any kind of projectile artillery.

A cacophony of trumpeting sounded, followed in moments by the heavy pounding of thousands of tons of Murta pads. Nlorn looked up and over as a sense of panic settled in quickly. Hundreds of the creatures were pounding their way toward the Xlatan position, tentacle trunks waving in the air as they trumpeted their calls.

“Shoot them!” the sergeant yelled, grabbing his weapon and pulling it up to a top shoulder, wondering if it was too late.

Some of the soldiers followed the orders, while others continued to stare in shock as the animals closed the distance. A quick thought went through the sergeant’s mind while he was triggering his weapon and sending beam of invisible energy into one huge leading bull, that maybe the heavy weapons were in the proper setup to cut off the stampede, if they fired in time.

* * *

Asuka waved a hand at his wife, across from him on another branch. They’d thought of coming out of the jungle, but that would have given the Xlatan a chance to possibly get a shot at them. But dropping on them from above… Fortunately, they’d been able to find an easy tree to climb that got them to this placement.

The Xlatan weren’t that cognizant of Human arboreal abilities. The Kalagarta were definitely not tree climbers, so the Xlatan laser crew weren’t paying attention to the overhead.

The muted crump of the mortar round exploding out on the plain came to the ninjas, followed by the trumpeting of the Murta. The two warriors started to turn their weapon, a heavy laser that could burn through the herd in seconds, and the two ninjas dropped the fifteen feet from their perches, carbon nanotube blades at the ready.

One of the Xlatan looked up, a snarl on his face. The other was paying attention to his weapon, which was set and ready to fire. He never got the chance, as Hotaru made a perfect strike through the exposed neck of the Xlatan, severing its spine and killing it instantly.

Asuka was not as accurate, and his blade hit the helmet of the Xlatan who was growling its hate up at him. He didn’t need to be, as the carbon nanotube blade, as sharp an implement as could be made by any technology, slid through the hard alloy of the helmet, past the much softer bone of the skull, and into the very soft brain matter below.

The pair landed on their feet within the position, absorbing the force of the fall with bent legs. With a flourish they withdrew their blades from their victims, the centrifugal force removing the bodily fluids from the frictionless surfaces.

“I wonder how the rest of the attack is going?” Asuka asked, waving toward the edge of the forest less than a yard away.

“Why not,” Hotaru replied, moving a couple of steps and taking a knee, watching as the rest of the show unfolded.

* * *

Sandra Clemenceau took careful aim, finger on the trigger guard as she sighted in on the target. That was all she allowed herself to think of the being she was about to kill. Target. The range was over twelve hundred yards, well within her capabilities.

“You ready?” she asked the woman lying beside her in prone position.

“Yeah,” Sarah Cohen replied, leaning into her much larger weapon. “I’ll bet you a beer I get the third one.”

Sandra snorted at that. She’d seen Sarah shoot, and had to admit the other woman was in her class. She wasn’t willing to admit that Sarah was better, but she had an advantage with her weapon.

The distant crump of the mortar going off was the signal. The Xlatan turned her way, his face showing shock as he pulled his rifle up. The heavy laser was behind him, the gunner not yet in her sights. She took what she could get, the rifle bucking hard into her shoulder as it sent the round down the magnetic accelerator tube that was the rifle’s barrel. The round covered the range in less than a second, and the face of the Xlatan turned into a blur of blood and gore. The Xlatan’s head jerked back and his body folded in on itself like a ragdoll.

Sarah got off her shot an instant after Sandra. She didn’t have a convenient face to put her round through, but her anti-material rifle didn’t need that kind of target. The rifle was set into the ground with a frontal bipod and a rear support, taking up the recoil that would otherwise have broken the woman’s shoulder. Her round blasted through the helmet and splattered the head within. This Xlatan was actually flung over the top of the laser to land a couple of yards beyond.

Come on, Sandra thought as she tried to target another Xlatan. This one had a helmet toward her, and she didn’t think her shot would penetrate. Sarah’s rifle would, but the woman was having to spend some moments repositioning it. That gave Sandra the opening she needed, and the Xlatan made the mistake of turning her way. A moment later she’d put a round through its face, and the threat of the heavy weapon emplacement had been neutralized.

That was the way Sandra had to think of it. Targets had been neutralized. They’d never been intelligent creatures to her, and that was the way she liked it. And she had a free beer coming.

* * *

Nlorn felt his heart speed up as he watched the thundering wall of flesh head toward him. The laser hummed in his hands, sending out a beam of coherent energy to slice through the legs of a bull. That creature went down with a trumpet of pain, cut off as the ones behind it went over.

“Shoot at the legs, you fools!” the sergeant shouted, glancing right and left for an instant and noting that his people were going for head or center body shots. They were getting kills, but not enough, and the animals behind the kills weren’t stumbling and falling on bodies. They were stumbling, but not falling. Instead, they were pushing through or over.

Where in the hells are those heavy weapons? the sergeant thought, sweeping through the legs of two of the behemoths. Both went down. The sergeant realized they weren’t going to stop the stampede with their personal weapons. The heavy lasers could cut all the way through the herd in seconds, and probably save them. A cold chill went up his spine as he realized whoever had initiated this attack had probably made sure those emplacements were no longer working.

Time seemed to slow, but not slow enough. In seconds, the herd changed from a distant charging mass to one that was trampling over the Xlatan. Soldiers screamed in pain and terror. The screams were cut short, as happened when multi-ton creatures stepped on chests and heads. Any who survived that first trample were subjected to more, and more. The herd thundered over and past to run into the jungle, pushing aside trees, knocking some of the smaller ones down.

Nlorn groaned in pain. He was shocked to find he was still among the living. From what he could gather, he was the only one of his command. None of his limbs worked, and from the pain, it was apparent that all six were damaged. Most probably broken. It hurt to breathe, and he assumed he had broken ribs as well.

Nlaton, his squad second, was in his field of view, unmoving. Several of the warrior’s limbs were bent at unnatural angles. The helmet was intact, though pushed down into the ground. That might have been what killed the male. Or it could have been the multiple pads that had stomped on his body. There was another Xlatan lying beyond Nlaton, also unmoving, his faceplate turned too far over his shoulder.

It was a miracle he’d survived. When he tried to engage his comm, to no result, he started thinking it might have been better if he had died with the rest. Instead, he was doomed to lie here helpless, hoping Mmrash noticed when his unit didn’t perform their comm check. If so, he might be lifted out to the medical facility. If something didn’t come along and kill him in the meantime.

* * *

“Good job, people,” Jonah said, patting the chief of his mortar team on the shoulder.

“Easy as pie,” said the chief of the crew, Ahmed Mohammed, pulling the light mag accelerator tube from the baseplate and biped assembly.

His countryman, Yusef bin Sherif, smiled as he grabbed the plate and tripod, quickly folding them for transport. In these days of laser defense systems and tracking, the high-arc weapons seemed to have passed into the annals of history. Jonah had thought they still had a use, especially when configured as they were now. The weapon could be used as both a high-angle and direct-fire weapon. Or, with the proper programing by the crew, as something in between.

Jonah hadn’t been able to see the fast-moving shell with his eyes, but it had appeared on his HUD. Minimal arc, taking only a third of a second to cover the distance, hiding in the shadow of the tree the Xlatan were using for shade. The impact was almost perfect as well. Too far from the herd to kill any of the large herbivores, but close enough to panic them. Of course, several dozen of them had been killed by the Xlatan, but that couldn’t be helped.

“It’s too bad,” said Xebraferd, standing beside him while looking out on the plain. “A waste of meat.”

“They killed a bunch of your enemies.”

“They did that, but still it sits hard with me.”

Jonah looked over at the area where the Xlatan had been set up. They’d done everything right. Protective berms, dug in, good fields of fire. If his people had tried to cross the prairie, they’d have been targeted at range, and he had no doubt many Humans and Kalagarta would have been burned down. And if he’d tried to attack their position, the heavy weapons would have hit the Humans from the flank.

“We could have just bypassed them,” Charley said, helping the mortar team get their weapon stowed in their backpacks.

“Yeah, and we’d have had to face them further on down the road.” Jonah figured they’d have to kill all the Xlatan to take the compound, and the fewer on the field at that point, the better.

“You still plan on trying to take the compound, don’t you?” his partner asked. “You know that’s madness.”

The colonel nodded. Of course it was crazy. The Ravagers were supposed to come in and fight the battle. The Eagles were supposed to stay on the periphery and provide intelligence and support. The Ravagers had more than five times the firepower per man than the Eagles, and they had almost infinitely greater protection. Add to that the numbers of heavier CASPers that were supposed to drop, and he really had nothing in his quiver.

“Well, we can try to do something while we still have something to do it with, or we can hang around out here in the jungle until our weapons and equipment degrade to the point of becoming unusable.”

“We could still survive.”

“Are you asking me to hide?” Jonah asked, looking his friend and subordinate right in the eyes.

“Hell no. But it’s my job to present the counter argument, isn’t it?”

“It is. And it’s time we got moving, before we have more company to entertain.”

A minute later the company and their allies were moving at a fast jog, or, in the case of the Kalagarta, hop. They ran off at an angle to their predetermined route of march, putting some distance between themselves and the target they’d painted on the terrain.

They heard the sound of shuttles in the air when they’d gotten four miles into the jungle. The Kalagarta were winded, while the Humans could have continued the pace for several hours. Xebraferd croaked out a command, and the colonel was gratified to see that the amphibians were prepared to push themselves beyond their limits.

After half an hour more Jonah decided to call a break. They were seven miles from the prairie. If the enemy could spot them out here, there was no way they could get away.

“Let’s start angling back to the river,” Jonah said after taking fifteen. As soon as they started out, the sound of shuttles passed again, this time to the west. By the sound, they’d turned to the north and were heading toward the big river along the path the Humans would have taken if they’d only moved a couple of miles back into the jungle before changing their march.

“We should get to the river a couple of hours after nightfall,” said Xebraferd, still breathing hard through mouth and gill slits.

“You think we should continue into the night?”

“I do. The River Tribe will know we are coming, and meeting us at night puts them, and us, at lower risk.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Jonah said, clapping the Kalagarta on the shoulder.

The alien looked startled for a moment, and Jonah wondered if he’d broken some taboo. An instant later the alien gave him the Kalagarta version of a smile, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

We’re just one big, happy, diverse family, the colonel thought with a chuckle.

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-Two

Commander Mmrash stared down at the prairie as the gunship orbited over. Another shuttle was down, its carried squad deployed around the scene of the battle.

Not a battle, the Xlatan officer thought. More like a massacre.

The Humans had proven that they were innovative, using the wildlife as a weapon against his people. It wasn’t something he’d have thought of. Maybe not even something anyone of his species would have come up with. Either the Human leader was a military genius, or—and he hated to think this way—their species was just smarter than his. Mmrash was realist enough to know that the Xlatan weren’t the superior species most of their people liked to think they were. The Besquith were stronger and tougher. Many of the technologically superior species were where they were because they were faster or deeper thinkers.

“Nlorn is alive, commander,” the call came over the comm.

“What does he have to say about what happened?”

“We have him on pain medication,” the medic on the other end of the comm replied. “He’s not in any condition to answer questions.”

Mmrash cursed under his breath. Much as he hated to see any of his people suffer from a combat injury, he needed information. If the sergeant had to suffer to give him that information, that was just too bad for Nlorn. It had been the medic’s on-the-spot decision to put him under. If he’d been here to counter that order, he would have. He hadn’t been, and it was no use coming down on a soldier for doing his job.

“His condition?”

“All of his limbs have been broken, multiple fractures. Definite internal injuries.”

The shuttle took off, rising to five hundred feet and accelerating in the direction of the compound. Within an hour Nlorn would be in surgery, and if the surgeon wasn’t Xlatan, he’d been attending to them the entire time the warriors had been on the planet.

His other shuttle came over, this one without embarked soldiers.

“Get that bird down there and pick up the troops,” Mmrash ordered that pilot, “then set up a search pattern.”

“They’re going to be hard to pick up in that mess,” the pilot said.

Of course they are, the commander thought, choking back a curse. The Humans of the Fierce Eagle Company were stealth specialists. They could operate with equal efficiency in jungle, arid, or mountain conditions, but the jungle expressly played to their abilities. They couldn’t move as fast as soldiers in powered armor or riding in aircraft, but they could sneak into an egg-laying flyer’s hutch without the guard animal being the wiser.

Mmrash thought for a moment of starting another fire down in the jungle, trying to burn the enemy out, but it hadn’t worked before, and he wasn’t sure where they actually were. The most likely result would be more burned commodity and a very angry leader.

“A call is coming through from the boss,” the pilot said, his ears twitching in an unreadable series of signals.

Mmrash wasn’t sure, but he’d guess the pilot was extremely anxious at how his commander might react, while at the same time silently laughing his ass off. “Put him through.”

“Don’t give me any excuses, Mmrash,” Jillor growled as soon as his image formed over the dash. “You screwed up again and lost more of your command.”

“We’ll get them, boss. I’ll bet my life on it.”

“You already have. If I wanted to call in the chips, you’d already be dead.”

“But…”

“No excuses. All I want from you now is your people back here. I’m pissed that you disobeyed my orders and kept the gunship out there.”

“I thought we’d catch them out in the open, and the gunship was my best chance of getting them.”

“Then why wasn’t it waiting over the ambush?”

Mmrash couldn’t come up with an answer to that. He’d decided to hedge his bets, playing both chances, and he’d blown it again.

“Just get your people here. I want them in place when the Humans come at us.”

“There’s no way in all the hells they’ll get across that dead zone.”

Jillor returned a cold stare. Mmrash could guess what the boss was thinking. There’d been no way they could get off the plateau, then no way they could reach the lowlands. Now they were within a hundred miles of the compound. They were like ghosts, walking through all the high-tech advantages of their opponents like they weren’t there.

“We’ll be back in twenty minutes,” Mmrash said, feeling a hollow cold in the pit of his stomach. He was wondering if he’d actually live past the twenty-first minute.

* * *

“Stop,” said Xebraferd in an authoritative tone. “We are being watched.”

The Humans all looked around, checking every angle, weapons at the ready. Jonah glanced at the Kalagarta, who appeared alert but unworried.

“The River Tribe has found us,” said the war chief, looking over at Jonah.

The colonel looked back, the night vision of his visor making the amphibian look like a glowing green creature of nightmare. It was a very clear image, an improvement over what generations past had been saddled with. Color was still a problem, since there weren’t enough photons bouncing around at night to fill in the chromatic regions, but he could recognize individuals as well as if the sun was in the sky. From the expression on his face, Jonah could tell the war chief was relieved that contact had been made.

A trio of Kalagarta came forward into the open. They were dressed, or not, the same as the tribesmen with them. No clothing, leather bags hanging over shoulders. All had blowguns sheathed in other bags and spears over shoulders. All but one, who was carrying a laser rifle made for a much smaller species, as well as a web belt of power packs.

They’re guerillas, Jonah thought, recalling some of the storied irregular fighters of Earth. What came to mind were the Mujahedeen of Afghanistan and the Cong of Viet Nam, but they didn’t have the support of a rival government, and they’d had to procure what advanced weapons they possessed from their enemy.

“We are safe now,” said Xebraferd with conviction.

Jonah looked up at the overhead canopy as they followed the people who’d come out to greet them. He was looking for the inevitable gaps that would allow the folks in the sky to look in on them. They walked for minutes, and the colonel couldn’t detect any breaks.

“They’ve woven the canopy to provide cover,” Charley said, pointing up to a section.

Jonah zoomed in with his visor to look more closely at the point Charley was indicating. He could pick up the woven mat, and the strands of something that shone in his visor’s night vision.

“But is it enough to hide that,” he said, pointing ahead to where a large fire was burning in a small clearing.

The canopy was also woven across that space, but Jonah didn’t see how a mere camouflage netting of foliage could cover that much of a heat signature.

“The plants reflect the heat back at us,” said Xebraferd, following the gazes of the Humans. “We use the leaves to insulate when needed. We were hoping it would do the same with the devices the invaders use. So far it seems it does.”

“The plant life around here incorporates a lot of carbon crystals in their leaves and branches,” Ivan said, picking up a leaf from the ground and rubbing it with his fingers. “It could reflect the heat back to the ground.”

“One advantage for the home team,” Charley said as they passed numerous huts along the way. “But I want to know how they knew we were coming?”

It was obvious the Kalagarta of the River Tribe had been ready for them. There were a number of females cooking over the fire, and it looked like more than even a large village like this would need for a meal. The odor of cooking meat reached their noses before they sighted the large animals turning over spits. Huge pots of stoneware sat over parts of the fire, cooks stirring to make sure the heat was evenly distributed to the vegetable matter.

“The trees let them know,” said Xebraferd, looking back at Charley.

“The trees?”

“Well, not all the trees. But the messenger trees communicate across the distance and let us talk to other tribes.”

Charley looked over at Ivan, asking for an explanation from their best-read trooper on botany.

“I’m not a scientist, Major. I have some conjecture, but that’s all I have.”

“Well, however it works, it gives our friends another equalizer,” Jonah said. That might not have been quite true, since the Xlatan and their Syndicate allies had high-tech comms with full Tri-V capabilities.

“The chief would like to meet with you in the council chamber,” said one of their escorts.

“Might the chief meet with our guests out here?” asked Xebraferd, his eyes blinking out a message to the other Kalagarta. “They are not at home in the water like us.”

“The chief has said he will meet with the Humans in the council chamber.”

“We’ll meet with him wherever he wants,” the colonel said. He wasn’t sure what the deal was, but he wasn’t about to sour relations with their only allies.

Xebraferd made a gesture to the local, who turned and started away.

“Come on, Major,” Jonah said, nodding to his subordinate. “If I’m about to go through some obnoxious crap, you can sit through it with me.”

A body of water shone in the night vision of the helmet, and their guide was heading right to it. He was starting to wonder if the council hut was across what appeared to be a creak feeding the great river and started looking for a bridge, but his guide turned to the north and followed the creek bank until he came to a long, low hut that was built halfway into the creek.

The Kalagarta waded out into the water, then dove under. Jonah stared, not sure what he was supposed to do now. He looked over at Charley, who shrugged his shoulders. A moment later the Kalagarta reappeared, staring at the Humans with eyes blinking and gill slits opening and closing, a sure sign of confusion.

“The hut entrance is under water,” said the Kalagarta, coming up behind them. “It’s a short swim to the entrance, and there is air to breathe inside.”

The guide dove again, and Jonah nodded at Charley and went in himself. He went under, holding his breath, wondering if he should have engaged his breathing mask. The guide was waiting and turned to swim ahead. As Xebraferd had said, it was only a short swim. There was a light ahead, not much, but enough to guide him into the entrance. A short but claustrophobic swim down an underwater tunnel, and he could see the light above.

The chamber itself was mostly underwater, but there was three feet of space between the surface of the water and the ceiling of woven branches. Again, there were strands of some shiny substance woven through it, and he wondered if it was some of that natural carbon fiber he’d heard of.

A dozen Kalagarta sat in the chamber, water up to their necks as they formed a partial circle around the entrance. Their guide motioned for the two Humans to take the one open area, then dove back into the water to leave.

Jonah sat, and found that there was a woven seat underneath his buttocks. The water came to mid chest on the taller Human, though Charley looked very uncomfortable sitting neck deep in the liquid.

“I greet you, Humans,” said one of the older Kalagarta. “I am Chief Allaman of the North River Tribe, and this reprobate to my right is Chief Allasher of the Black Swamp Tribe. The other gentlemen present are the war chiefs of our tribes, as well as those of eight other tribes.”

“Why have you all gathered here?” Jonah asked, now wondering if the feast being prepared had anything to do with them at all, and if the talk of messenger trees was just something the natives were pulling out to fool the Humans.

“We are all here to meet with you,” said Chief Allasher, his gill slits opening and closing in a show of emotion. “These invaders have killed our people and destroyed our forest. Ten tribes that used to hunt the lands they despoiled are no more. And soon it will be the turn of our tribes, if something isn’t done.”

“We aren’t sure what you expect us to do,” Jonah said, watching as the gill slits and eyes started signaling their dismay. “We’re a small unit of light infantry. Our job here was to scout out the compound, so other heavy troops could come in to take them out.”

“When will these other warriors arrive?” asked one of the younger Kalagarta, hunching forward.

“We’re not sure they will arrive,” the colonel said.

The assemblage exploded, everyone yelling at once. It overloaded the translation software, but the colonel didn’t need to know what they were saying to get the gist of it.

“Why wouldn’t they arrive?” asked Chief Allaman, holding up his hands to silence the rest of the assemblage.

“We think we were set up by the Syndicate,” Jonah said, looking straight into the eyes of the chief. “The people who run the compound. We must have pissed someone off in their organization during another mission. They were waiting for us and shot us down on the high plateau.”

“Then you will try to get off the planet and get back to your own people?” asked another war chief. “And we will be left to our own devices to watch our world destroyed around us.”

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to get off this world,” Jonah said, shaking his head.

“Then what will you do? Hide in the jungle? We might be able to help you while we can, but eventually you will be on your own.”

“We know that, Chief Allaman. My people have discussed the situation, and we’ve decided we’re not going to hide out in the jungle until there’s no place to hide. And we’re not about to climb back into the frigid hell up above.”

“So you plan to do, what?” asked the other chief.

“We plan to attack their compound,” Jonah said, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t think we’re going to be successful, but we have to try. And maybe, just maybe, our backup will show up.”

“Then we will go in and attack with you,” said Allaman, looking over at his fellow chief and obviously getting a sign of approval.

“Your people aren’t equipped for a fight like this,” Charley said, shaking his head. “Everyone you send in will likely be killed.”

“And if we sit here,” croaked one of the war chiefs, “we will also be killed. Eventually. Better we die on our feet, attacking like warriors, than cower in the dark until the invaders come for our women and children.”

“Okay. I guess we really don’t have a choice in the matter. If we say no, you’ll just attack on your own and accomplish nothing. So we need to coordinate.”

“We saw a modern laser rifle on one of your warriors,” Charley said, already thinking about that coordination. “How many of those do you have?”

“Probably thirty of the rifles,” said Allaman, looking over at a younger warrior who must have been his tribe’s war chief. “Eleven of their pistols.”

“How in the hell did you get so many?” Jonah asked, surprised.

“The enemy had to send out cutting parties and not all of them were well guarded. When the opportunity presented itself, we killed them and took their weapons.”

“With your prim—uh, weapons?” Charley asked.

“The off-worlders are more advanced than us with their machines, but this is our world, our jungle, and that they do not know. We can move like shadows in our jungle.”

“Well then, let’s see what you have,” Jonah said, getting up from his seat, ready to get out of the chamber. The water was cold, and even though his suit would insulate him from it somewhat, enough was creeping in to chill his skin.

* * *

Jonah had to admit the Kalagarta looked fierce enough, like barbarian warriors who’d shed their blood in buckets to take out an enemy. Still, they’d be cut down trying to close the distance against lasers across open ground. Even if they did close, they’d be fighting aliens in advanced body armor. They might get some with their poisoned weapons. But enough?

A group of forty stood with modern weapons in their hands, laser and magrail rifles, along with light amp pistols. The rifles weren’t made for their physiology. They wouldn’t be able to make accurate shots with them, but they’d be able to provide fire. Those with pistols might be able to handle them better, but pistols didn’t often beat rifles.

“Remind you of the Viet Cong?” Jonah asked, looking over at Charley. Being light infantry, both men had studied that war extensively.

“More like the Karen in Burma,” said Charley, who was more knowledgeable about the region. “Most of the tribe fought with crossbows, but enough got ahold of Jap weapons to make themselves a pain in the ass. Killed Japanese at the rate of three to one.”

Jonah doubted their erstwhile allies would do that well. If they took some of the heat off his people and allowed them to get into position to get in some shots, that would have to be good enough.

“How did you plan to get across the open ground to attack?” Jonah asked Jrattrata, the war chief of the North River Tribe.

“We have ways of moving that can’t be detected,” said the proud male. He then looked down at the ground. “At least not by sight. But they have ways of hearing us.”

“We might be able to help you with that,” Charley said, looking over at his boss. “Maybe some seismic charges. Think Avgust can come up with something?”

“I’ll bet he’d love the challenge,” Jonah replied with a smile. The big man had been toting almost twenty kilos of explosives the entire way and hadn’t been called on to make use of them. And what demolitions man didn’t like to make big booms?

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-Three

Well, that went as well as could be expected, Mmrash thought after exiting Jillor’s office. Even exiting the office was more than he’s been expecting. Coming out with his head still on his shoulders was a plus.

“I could kill you and would consider it a day well spent,” Jillor had said as soon as he’d entered the office, disarmed. Supposedly.

He’d treated his claws before going in, determined to take Jillor with him if it came to that. Now he had to scrub his claws once again.

“How did it go?” asked Sergeant Krassh, now his senior NCO.

“We’re to prepare a mission,” Mmrash said, grimacing.

Jillor had told him the tribes were gathering, and Jillor wanted to hit them before they could get up to any mischief. While he was doing that, he was supposed to set up the defenses to catch the Humans out in the open if they tried to penetrate to the compound. On the surface, that sounded easy enough. He was certain against the Kalagarta, it would be.

But against the Humans? These were stealth specialists with very good equipment. Maybe not the best in the Galaxy, but good enough. What one would expect from a species that had spent most of their history at war?

“I want you to get two squads together. Take the gunship and one of the other shuttles and go on a search and destroy.”

“But we don’t know where they are. Or do we?”

“No, Sergeant. We don’t. That’s where the search portion of the mission comes in.”

“Can I have a third shuttle and another squad?”

Mmrash thought about that for a moment. It made sense. Or it would have, if he had enough shuttles. One was still out at the battle site, picking up bodies and equipment. That left him with two, and the gunship, and if he was to prepare the defense in depth he’d been asked to, he needed at least one shuttle.

“No. You’ll have to make do with what I gave you. If you get into trouble, I’ll try to lift a couple of squads out to you. You have your orders. Execute.”

The sergeant gave ear flicks of acknowledgement, then turned to walk away.

Too bad I still don’t have Lrator with me, the colonel thought. The sergeant was still MIA. The commander thought he must be dead. If he’d fallen into the hands of the Kalagarta, there was little doubt how the savages would treat the Xlatan. The commander didn’t give a thought about what his people would do to the Kalagarta if given the chance. After all, they were just barbarians.

* * *

Lrator stopped on the edge of the grassland, his eyes searching the night around him. He could smell the blood of his people, along with the faint stench of chemical explosives. A battle had been fought there, and he had a feeling the Xlatan hadn’t come out on top.

He’d made the decision after the first day to trail the Humans instead of running away from them. It was a risky decision, but no more so than wandering through the jungle on his own. Also, he might be able to accomplish something by trailing them.

The whine of a shuttle starting up its fans reached his ears. He moved out onto the prairie, noting the lights around the ship.

“Wait!” he yelled, charging toward the shuttle, which was over a mile away. “Wait! I’m here!”

They didn’t seem to hear him, and the craft rose straight into the air, then started on its way toward home base. Lrator stared in disbelief as his chance of rescue pulled away, and stopped running, out of energy and will.

Before his disbelieving eyes, the shuttle, its flashing strobes marking it in the air, did a slow turn and started back his way.

“Here!” he yelled, jumping up and down. He realized the yelling wouldn’t be heard on the ship, but if they thought they’d seen something and were coming back, he wanted to reinforce that thinking.

The shuttle stopped overhead for a few moments, checking him out. The whine of the fans decreased, and the ship settled toward the ground, coming in for a soft landing.

“We thought you were dead,” said the soldier who came down the ramp of the shuttle.

“So did I,” Lrator said, very happy it wasn’t true.

* * *

At least we get to sit in dry chairs for this meeting, Jonah thought, looking over the large open area. All of his people were present, along with twenty of the Kalagarta. Only Xebraferd of their original Kalagarta was here. His tribe wasn’t bringing as much to the table as the others, and it was really only a courtesy to the war chief that he was here at all.

Thinking of tables, there was one the Kalagarta had built according to the instructions of the Humans. Thirty by thirty feet, a sand table, with the buildings of the compound constructed out of woven twigs, placed as exactly as possible.

It looked to the colonel’s eyes just like the orbital photographs displaying on his HUD. A willing captain of a tramp freighter had come coasting into orbit, acting the part of a friendly merchant. The Syndicate had run him off after a search of his ship. The criminals had erased everything from the data banks they thought might be of military significance. They hadn’t gotten what they were looking for. The incriminating data had been hidden deep in the computer system of the freighter.

“There is another building, here,” said Kalaprax, the war chief of the North River Tribe. “The main gate has been moved over here, while a berm has been erected along the entire perimeter.”

Jonah stared at the sand table while visualizing those changes. The berm must have been placed around the camp to prevent any laser shots from coming in and hitting the buildings. The gate had a separate berm set thirty yards out from the perimeter, providing similar cover while allowing egress. But they’d moved it to a position where there was no chance of an angled shot near the landing field.

“What kind of laser defenses do they have?”

“Their people have their carried weapons,” said the war chief, “and each of the corner towers has a heavy laser, as far as we could determine.”

“And how did you determine that?” Ivan asked, putting a finger on one of the twig towers.

“Because the bastards vaporized the people we sent in to draw the fire of those towers.”

Jonah shook his head, wondering at the commitment it took to walk into laser fire just to prove the weapons were there. But then, the Kalagarta were committed to saving their world. Just as the Syndicate was committed to killing it.

The colonel really couldn’t understand the reasoning of the invaders. If they harvested the plant materials they needed while replanting the cut zones, they could produce Invigorate forever. Instead, they seemed determined to rape the world for all they could get, raking in the profits in the process. Invigorate was not only a substance that lengthened the healthy lifespans of many species—doubled or tripled them, while preserving youth and strength—it was also highly addictive. Removing it from those addicted resulted in a fast and painful death, as they lost all the advantages of the substance. The Syndicate could probably addict many billions of beings, eventually killing them in the process.

The criminals didn’t care. Just like most crime bosses on Earth, they were stupid when it came down to it. The Galactic Union would allow them to operate as long as they didn’t cause undue trouble. Killing tens of billions of intelligent beings would turn the union’s attention toward them. It was attention they really couldn’t afford, but like most who’d operated above the law, they thought they could get away with it forever.

“How old is your intelligence?” Charley asked, touching each of the buildings and towers in turn with a fingertip.

“We last saw the compound a couple of weeks ago. One of the teams we sent in finally made it, under cover of a raid from the opposite direction. Or at least a couple of them made it back.”

“And how many of your raid made it?” Ivan asked.

“Less than one in ten. We lost two hundred warriors on that raid, but the ones who survived brought back some more weapons.”

Jonah thought about the war chief’s words. He visualized a mass wave attack into concentrated laser fire. That might not be how it had gone down, but he couldn’t think of any other way these people would have been able to carry out the assault.

“Did you kill any of their warriors?” he asked.

“A couple fell to our darts and spears, but the armor their six-legged warriors wear was proof against everything we had.”

“So what you have is two weeks old?” Charley shook his head, and Jonah knew what he was thinking.

The company’s job had been to gather intelligence for the Ravagers. The colonel had no doubt that the Humans, in their high-tech passive camo suits, would have been able to sneak in, especially since the enemy wouldn’t be expecting them. Well, that had changed for the worse.

“Some slaves have escaped, though,” continued Kalaprax. “It is certain death for most of them, but any who think they might have a chance go on the run. From what those few have told us, the compound looks much as it did then.”

“I wish we had some visuals,” Charley said.

The colonel had to agree. A bunch of second-hand reports, without physical intelligence to go along with it…well, there was no help for it.

“How the hell do you get across all that open area?” Ivan asked, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

Jonah had been wondering that himself.

“Several ways,” said Kalaprax, looking over at the Russian. “All of them take time. We don’t lose many on the way in, but if we attack, it’s a different story on the way out.”

“Show us,” Jonah said, activating the Tri-V projector on his helmet. A wide beam of light projected from the sensor node on the front of the helm, picked up by the moisture in the air and made visible. The top of the table took on the appearance of the map the colonel had uploaded prior to the mission. It wasn’t totally accurate, since more of the forest had been clear cut since the file was made, but it was probably close enough.

Some of the Kalagarta mumbled to themselves, and Jonah thought his program had interpreted one of the words as magic.

“Superstitious fools,” croaked Kalaprax, glaring at the other males. “This is just one of their machines. It has nothing to do with magic.”

Jonah waited for the mumbling to die down, then pointed to the map. “Does this look accurate?”

“The cut area is larger, but otherwise it looks pretty close, at least as far as I can determine.”

Of course the Kalagarta had never seen their homeland from the air, so they were having to translate between seeing it at ground level and from high in the sky.

“How do you get in?”

“The first way in is from these rocky hills here,” said the war chief, pointing a finger at several square miles of elevation that rose above the forest on the map.

The colonel did the mental conversion, figuring the hills had to be on the new edge of the forest. He nodded, looking over the other terrain features.

“We move through these gullies here, until we are within five miles of their compound.”

“They don’t spot you from the air?” Ivan asked, his own eyes locked on and studying the terrain feature.

“Sometimes they do. Once, we lost an entire party. But normally we are able to take advantage of the overhead on this side of the gullies. That, and we move really slowly, about ten miles a day, with woven coverings of the jungle foliage.”

“And the open area?”

“There we go at a crawl, on our stomachs, creeping along, covering the five miles in a day and night. Again, the woven foliage covers us from whatever the aliens use to pick up our heat. We cover our bodies in the sap of the Hus tree, which covers our own body scent. We haven’t always gotten through without loss, but we did get through a couple of weeks ago.”

“Damn, Colonel,” Joey said, smiling. “Looks like they could teach our people something about stealth.”

Jonah knew the young mercenary was talking about Native Americans. He was sure the ancient indigenous people who’d fought the Europeans could have done as well. His own, more modern people, were really no different in most respects than the rest of the Humans living in North America currently. His team, on the other hand, were well trained, and he had no doubt they could move as silently and as unseen as the Kalagarta.

“Okay. We might be able to work with that,” the colonel said, looking over at the war chief. “And the second route?”

“Through this creek that flows through the area. It’s near the size of a medium river and slow moving. We swim in until we reach this point here, then leave the water and move around this hill.”

“How does that spot look to you, Sandra?” Jonah asked, looking over at his chief sniper.

“Looks like a good perch,” the woman said, putting one of her fingers on the map and moving it toward the compound.

“I’m thinking this depression here might make a good spot for us to set up,” Ahmed Mohammed said, pointing at a small hollow a mile to the north of the hill, and maybe a mile further back.

“Good enough. So you four will go in by the creek.”

“Why don’t we all insert that way?” Charley asked, brows furrowing.

“We used to have success with that path,” said Kalaprax, his gill slits showing his emotion. “They have a water craft that plies the creek and the river, with some kind of sound-pulsing system to find underwater objects. We learned to avoid it, since it gives itself away long before we are within range.”

“How did you do that?” asked Sandra, who would be one of the Humans going in that way.

“We stayed right on the bottom and went silent and still when it got close. But we ran into a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” Ivan asked.

“We don’t know,” said the Kalagarta war chief, hanging his head. “All I know is that the last three groups that went along that path never showed up at the compound, and never returned to us.”

“Underwater drones? Robots?”

“One of the above,” Jonah said, nodding to his partner. “You still want to try that way, Sandra?”

“Sure. I think we’ll prove too much for any robotic creatures. With Xou’s help, of course.”

“I think I can come up with something to discomfit any electronic minions,” the Chinese said. “Just give me a day to plan and design.”

“Sounds good,” the colonel said, looking over at his snipers and mortar crew, still worried about them going into a situation they might not be able to handle. He wanted his people at those terrain features, though, while the rest of them would be going in from the northeast.

“I think we’ll insert from the hills, just like you do,” the colonel said, looking over at the Kalagarta war chief. “Then we can work our way around the side and attack them from a position I hope they won’t be considering.”

“Not all of my people will be going that way,” said Kalaprax, looking over at some of the other war chiefs. “We feel it will help the mission if we move in from four or five different paths in case they discover one.”

“Won’t that give them warning?”

“Not if they only find two. That is the most we have ever sent, and we can hope they will assume that is all we have sent.”

“And if they all get through?” Charley asked.

“That will not happen,” said another war chief, looking down at the ground. “My party will do whatever we can to focus their attention on us far out.”

“But you’ll be killed,” Sarah said, looking at the Kalagarta with a horrified expression.

“Probably,” replied the chief, “but we have done little against the invaders to date. The time has come for us to contribute to their defeat.”

We probably aren’t going to defeat them, Jonah thought, no matter what we do. The Kalagarta can at least die fighting for their best chance of a victory, even if it isn’t much of one.

“How long to get us all in position?” Jonah asked, looking back at Kalaprax, who was still staring at the map in an attitude of deep thought.

“If we start in the morning, let’s say three days.”

“The Ravagers are supposed to be here in four,” Charley said, eyes narrowing in thought. “If they’re coming.”

“Let’s assume they aren’t,” Jonah said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Still, we should time it so they can join the battle if they do show up. It would be bad form to win the battle before they can get in it.”

The Humans all smiled, and Jonah smiled back. Of course they knew the other mercenary company wasn’t coming, and they couldn’t win this fight on their own. This was the definition of a forlorn hope. It would go down in history as an example of a losing battle in a worthy cause, if anyone other than the Syndicate ever knew about it. Unlikely, since a criminal enterprise never wanted the common people they preyed on to know they could be fought.

“Then I think we’ll start off tomorrow, then set up camp at the edge of the clear cut.” The colonel looked over at his snipers and mortar team. “You four can start off three days from the start of the attack. That should get you into place in time, and not expose you to too much of their sensor net.”

If something in the water doesn’t take you out. If that happened, they might never know what happened to them, only that they hadn’t shown up.

“This brings us to you, Avgust,” the colonel said, turning toward the Ukrainian. “What do you have planned?”

“I have put together six two-pound remote charges,” the man said in his heavy accent. “Our friends alerted me to some very nice plant substance that will sustain the blast. That leaves me with eight pounds of explosives to use in the assault.”

“If you can capture their attention at the right time,” Charley said with a smile.

“Just get that gunship in the air where I can get a shot at it,” Ivan said, the Russian slapping the Ukrainian on the back.

“Just hit the damn thing when you shoot,” Avgust retorted after a snort of a laugh.

It was said in jest but was still a serious statement. They had two of the small multipurpose launchers, and a total of four remaining missiles. The enemy had more than just the gunship, and there were probably some armored vehicles in the compound.

Jonah stood silent, thinking about what they had to take the enemy home base. Every one of his people had their own weapon, in most cases a standard magrail rifle with eight hundred rounds and a couple of spare power packs. They also carried carbon nanotube knives and a few grenades each. The mortar team had lighter carbines, along with their weapon and a total of twenty-three of the three-and-a-half-pound rounds.

The snipers had their specialty rifles and ammo. Two hundred rounds in Sandra’s case, while Sarah carried ninety of her much larger projectiles. Of course Amobi Kabir had his grenade launcher, with nine magazines of twenty-millimeter projectiles, for a total of two hundred and seventy micro-grenades. Kevin Graham carried the only laser in the team, a heavy weapon powered by a backpack energy source. Then he had his ninjas, with their carbines, but their specialty was the close, stealthy approach to take out the target with their blades.

We’ll be facing an enemy with eighty or so armored Xlatan soldiers, and maybe the same number of other alien mercenaries, with possible armored vehicles and definite air cover. He gave them a sixty percent chance of getting into striking range without being picked up and obliterated from the air, and a less than five percent chance of taking out the compound. But as my uncle on the reservation used to say, “If you don’t play, you can’t win.”

“Everyone get a good night’s sleep,” Jonah ordered, wondering if any of them would. He was sure his sleep would be disturbed by bad dreams caused by worry. Still, he had to try, so his mind would be fresh when it was time to move.

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Why are you still alive, Sergeant Lrator?” Mmrash asked as the two ate a meal together in the Xlatan commander’s office.

I guess the commander wanted to talk to me by himself, thought the sergeant, who still felt completely out of sorts after a short night’s sleep. At least the night had been spent in his own quarters, where he hadn’t had to start at every sound in the night. He’d fallen into his bed and had slept the sleep of the exhausted.

“I really don’t know that, sir. The Kalagarta wanted to make me the guest of honor at an interrogation ceremony, but the Humans seemed to have some kind of code against abusing those they’d taken prisoner.”

“Why in all the hells would they have a code like that?” asked the incredulous commander. “They’re money fighters, aren’t they?”

Maybe they have a moral compass we no longer possess, the sergeant thought. He believed they did. Why they did was the question. Most beings in the Galaxy, as far as he knew, were only out for themselves, plain and simple.

“Well, I’m happy they were such fools. And I’m very happy you survived the attentions of the Kalagarta. I wouldn’t want to fall into their hands.”

“No, sir,” Lrator said, picking up a cup of the hot beverage his people drank for breakfast and taking a sip. He smacked his lips in pleasure, savoring the slightly biting taste of the beverage. Putting the cup down, he looked back at the commander, who was sitting patiently waiting for him to say something. “The Kalagarta were as shocked at the decision of the Humans as I was. They kept arguing for the Humans to give me to them in payment for the aid they’d given the aliens.”

“And they discussed their plans in front of you,” Mmrash said, his ears twitching with disbelief.

“They made sure I was at a distance, and I didn’t have my helmet to translate, so they probably thought I couldn’t understand anything being said.”

He hadn’t been able to understand the Human speech. The sergeant thought no one on the planet could decipher their speech. What the Humans and the Kalagarta hadn’t realized was that the sergeant, while not a linguist, could understand about half of everything the amphibians said. That came from having a particular affinity for languages and having patrolled in the jungle and worked around slaves. So he could make sense of most of what the amphibians were saying, while the Human helmet systems were blasting out the same croaking language.

“They were talking about attacking the compound?”

“Yes, sir. The still expect the heavy infantry, the mecha, to come dropping in. Or I should say, they have that hope, though not very much hope. A few of them seemed to think whoever set them up on arrival would also make sure the other Humans didn’t get here.”

“So they’re not total fools after all?”

Lrator stared at his commander in disbelief, trying to clamp down on the signals his ears were transmitting, not to his complete satisfaction. So far, except for being shot down in the initial engagement, the Humans had out-thought and out-fought the Xlatan at every turn. They might be outnumbered, but whatever plan they came up with was sure to cause the Xlatan a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, Mmrash was looking at a map on the Tri-V and not paying attention to his sergeant’s non-verbal signals.

“Well, we’ll be ready for them,” the commander continued, picking up a piece of meat that had come from a Kalagarta tribesman and taking a bite.

Lrator stared at his commander eating from the forearm of a native, something he would have engaged in himself before his last adventure. Having been thrust into the presence of Kalagarta who weren’t slaves, and weren’t trying to run away from enslavement, he was having a harder time seeing them as a food source. Xlatan didn’t eat Xlatan, but they ate any creature they considered inferior. He’d come to lose that opinion of the Kalagarta and would never consider the Humans an inferior species.

“Not hungry, Sergeant?” Mmrash asked, pointing with the Kalagarta forearm toward the plate of the other Xlatan.

“I’m too tired to eat, sir,” Lrator replied, sure the commander would see the lie.

Mmrash huffed out a breath of air but left it alone. “Well, I for one am glad you’re back. The rest of my NCOs are a bunch of idiots. And since Major Grolrror is dead, I have no one else in the unit who can actually think beyond what they’re going to eat next, so I’ll be counting on you as my second-in-command. You’ll be given a field commission so the other sergeants won’t give you any grief over being in charge. Think you can handle being called lieutenant?”

Lrator knew the signals of his ears weren’t getting past the commander this time, and he didn’t care. He’d been hoping for an eventual commission, and receiving one in the field ensured he’d go to an officer’s academy when the unit returned home.

“I can definitely handle that, sir. And thank you.”

“Good. Then we need to discuss our plans. When the Humans walk into our trap, I want to take their heads off with little trouble. Plain and simple.”

Lrator doubted anything with this particular band of Humans would be plain or simple, but he wasn’t about to tell that to the commander. His ears were giving off signals of anxiety, but the commander was once again not paying attention. And Lrator wasn’t about to call Mmrash’s attention to it.

* * *

“We’re here, sir. Two days ahead of time, as you requested.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Colonel Alexander Ramos replied, standing up from his desk, making sure his magnetic boots were gripping the floor. “Anything to report?”

“One small frigate much further in, within a couple million miles of the target planet.”

“Have they seen us?”

“Probably,” Captain Melody Chu said, smiling out of the Tri-V.

“Can you take them if you have to?”

“I’m sure I could,” said the captain, a woman who’d been commanding the ships of the Ravagers for over five years. “I’d prefer not to, since fights tend to break things aboard my ship, but in a head-to-head pounding match, I’m sure I could.”

The Guadalcanal was first of all a transport, capable of carrying the one hundred combatants of the company and their mecha. There was also room for all the supplies they’d need for a half-year deployment and fifty or so support personnel. Ramos had wanted more than that and had paid the extra money to arm and armor the ship. It was really more of a cruiser in that respect. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been built as a warship, and slapping armor and weapons on it didn’t change the inner structure of the ship.

“If it looks like they’re about to open fire, Captain, you have my permission to shoot first.”

“We’ll still get hit, unless it’s at extreme range.”

“Then on the way in I want you to plan for a first shot on my command. Set it up the entire way in. Don’t bother me with your plan, just be ready to open fire as soon as I give the word.”

Ramos walked out of his cabin, placing his feet on the metallic surface as he headed down the corridor. The boys and girls were sure to have their equipment ready, since they’d had weeks to prepare. That was part of their responsibility as professionals, while it was his responsibility to make sure. Getting into a combat situation and finding that the weapons hadn’t been checked out wasn’t a blame-game situation. It was to be avoided at all costs, hence the necessity to check it out.

“Colonel,” a voice called from behind him.

Ramos turned to see the liaison officer for the Fierce Eagle Company, Captain Jaqueline Burdett, walking toward him.

“Any sign of our people?”

“You know better than that, Jacqui,” Ramos answered, shaking his head. “If there was any sign of them from space, we’d know the mission had failed. Instead, we still aren’t sure they even went in.”

“They went in, alright,” replied the small woman who was the Eagle’s business manager.

Ramos knew from experience that Burdett had a combat record as good as any. But one too many missions had taken a toll on her body, and Jonah White Eagle had kept her on the staff to provide her with an income, while taking advantage of her skills as a staff officer.

“First, the Geronimo wasn’t waiting for us at the rendezvous point,” Jacqui said, holding up a finger. “Second,” she continued, holding up another finger, “the people who supposedly hired us have dropped off the grid. The same people who told you that the contract was cancelled, while paying above the required cancellation fee. The same bastards didn’t say squat to us before they disappeared. Why didn’t they cancel our part of the contract?”

“I know it has a suspicious feel to it,” Ramos agreed, nodding, “but we won’t know for sure until we assault the planet. And at that point, we might be violating Galactic Union law.”

“Third,” the woman said, sticking up another finger and ignoring what the colonel had just said, “I have a gut feeling about this. I know that’s not very scientific, but I’ve rarely been wrong.”

“Don’t worry, Jacqui. I’m not about to leave Jonah and his people in the lurch. I’m just stating the facts. I’m going out on a limb here.”

Ramos raised a hand to stop Jacqui from saying what he knew was going to come out of her mouth. “Jonah and Charley have taken risks for me and my company. Why, a year ago they saved us from annihilation. I only hope they’re still alive down there, but I wouldn’t place odds on that.”

“Then we can hammer those Syndicate bastards, yes?” Jacqui growled, looking up into the eyes of the large man with a fire that would discomfit most.

“That we can,” the colonel replied with a nod. “If we can’t rescue them, we can exact revenge.”

Of course, if he went down there and got his whole command destroyed, there was no one who would come along to avenge his people.

* * *

“We’ll see you at the compound,” Sandra said, looking up into Jonah’s eyes. “Don’t disappoint me and get yourselves killed.”

“We’ll try not to,” Jonah said with a smile. “Of course, the enemy will have a say in that.”

The company was on the banks of the great river, waiting for their transport across. Sandra had the other three of the team she was commanding standing behind her. The twelve who made up the colonel’s main party stood behind him. All had on their combat gear, skinsuits of impact armor with web gear over the top, helmets on, and faceplates down. Everyone also carried their large backpacks. Over it all was the active camo covering, the most important piece of equipment for a stealth unit.

Everyone had their coverings on passive, not using any of the power reserve that active sucked up. Still, the members of the party were hard to make out in the shadows of the forest, even when one knew exactly where they were standing. During the day, the covering would convert and store solar energy. Something they’d added were Ghillie suits for all. After hearing about how the Kalagarta had penetrated into enemy territory with coverings of their vegetation, they thought it a good idea to do the same. But Sandra, who had her own suit, had suggested the idea of the signature sniper camouflage. The Kalagarta had provided the netting, made up of the high carbon content fiber strands of their herbivorous spider-like creatures. In fact, the Kalagarta had grabbed hold of the concept of the suits and made their own versions, which left their hands free.

The skinsuits would harden on impact, stopping all but the highest velocity rounds. They could handle several seconds of rifle-level lasers, spreading the beam and the heat over the entire the suit until penetration was achieved. They would protect the Humans against the fire of the Xlatan riflemen. Against heavy lasers, they’d do nothing. Only by making use of good cover would the Humans survive. In most cases, the Kalagarta didn’t even have that advantage.

“Our rides are here,” Ivan said as the shadows of several large canoes came up to the bank, the paddlers grabbing branches to hold them in place.

Jonah had wondered why an amphibious species had developed river craft so much like Eastern Amerind war canoes, but the Kalagarta traded things that couldn’t survive in the water, so they used the large canoes to transport them. The invaders had started blasting them from the air whenever they saw one during the day, so the Kalagarta had resorted to using them only at night.

The main party would go across the river and work their way to the rocks that were to be their entry points. Sandra’s team would move to the mouth of the creek, then insert by water. If everything went well, they would be at the compound in two days.

Charley shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, ‘when had anything gone well since they had arrived on this world?’

Four to five Humans got into each canoe, along with five Kalagarta to work the paddles. The darkness had fallen quickly, and the river looked like a pitch-black mat stretching into the distance, the deeper dark of the forest on the far bank forming a backdrop. In a couple of weeks, that part of the lowland forest would no longer exist, but they’d be able to take advantage of it tonight.

The Kalagarta were masters of their craft. They dipped their flat paddles into the water and moved them without a sound. There was a slight phosphorescence behind the canoes, but not enough for anyone to see unless they were right on top of the party. In a couple of sweaty, anxious moments they were across the river, then moving east along the bank.

Jonah checked his helmet HUD, noting the time passing. Twenty minutes and they were again being pulled to the bank by tribesmen on dry land. Several hundred Kalagarta were gathered under the trees, softly croaking to each other. The colonel could make out some words, but he wasn’t about to ask the tribesmen to speak up.

Kalaprax and Xebraferd came shuffling out of the dark, and the other Kalagarta moved out of their way.

“Are we ready, Human?” asked Kalaprax, his eyes glowing slightly in the reflected light of his night sight.

“The colonel and his people are always ready,” said Xebraferd with a croaked laugh. “We could learn much from them.”

“I don’t want to learn much from aliens,” growled the North River Tribe war chief. “I want to kick them off our world.”

“You’re wearing one of the camo coverings they taught us to make,” said Xebraferd, hunched over as he glared at the other war chief.

“As soon as we finish this mission, we’re gone,” Jonah said, trying to head off a confrontation between proud chiefs, something they definitely didn’t need right now.

“That would probably be best,” said Kalaprax.

Xebraferd started to move toward the other chief. Jonah reached out a hand and put it on the tribesman’s chest, shaking his head, a gesture the Kalagarta had seen many times before.

“We have a long way to go,” Charley said, patting Xebraferd on the back.

“Then let us get moving,” said Kalaprax, turning on his heel and walking away.

“They have suffered much,” said Xebraferd as soon as the other chief was out of hearing range. “Still, he had no cause to insult those who are here to help. We do not stand a chance without your people. His pride blinds him to that fact.”

And even with our help, you’re probably doomed. But what else can we do but try?

The war party, four hundred Kalagarta and thirteen Humans, walked through the night. According to the plan, this wasn’t the only war party on the march. There were over fifteen hundred Kalagarta making the approach on other axes of advance. They were staking everything on this attack. It was a wise decision, since failure here meant the rest would be relegated to the status of targets. Still, failure would mean the massacre of the warriors of most of the local tribes.

The sun was on the horizon by the time they reached the rocks. If time hadn’t been of the essence, Jonah would have called for everyone to lay low until night fell again. On the off chance the Ravagers were coming, they didn’t have the time. It would be a tiring two days, with little in the way of sleep. The Humans had the reserves to handle a couple of days without sleep. The primitives should as well.

“There is the first of the gullies,” said Kalaprax, pointing ahead at the dark crevice which was still in complete shadow. “We can move fairly quickly through it for about four miles. At that point we will need to move across open ground until we get to the next one.”

“Sounds like a repeat of our adventure in the midlands,” Charley said, looking at the gulley, then scanning the area.

The region looked much like a blasted moonscape. No living vegetation for miles on end, all the way to the horizon. There were numerous stumps cut close to the ground, branches scattered about, and even a covering of dead leaves. Almost perfect camouflage for the people to move through. An intact forest would be better, but they weren’t about to get it so close to the center of the Invigorate processing.

The party came down from the rocks and moved quickly into the gulley. It was about ten feet deep, with a lip of dirt held together by root mats on the west side. The line of warriors moved down the gulley, keeping under the cover of the lip. With their Ghillie suits, they’d be hard to spot, even to someone directly overhead.

A couple of hours into the march, they heard the whining sound of a shuttle overhead, followed seconds later by another. One continued on, obviously not looking for them. The other circled overhead for a few moments, raising the anxiety level of everyone in the gulley. It must not have seen anything, though, because it continued on, heading to the west.

“This would be a bad place to be if they fire some incendiary rockets at us,” Ivan said, pulling up his helmet visor to take a swipe at the sweat on his face.

It’s damned hot out here, Jonah thought, following Ivan’s procedure and only succeeding in spreading the sweat around. Pulling an absorbent rag out of his gear and wiping his face met with more success. His face was dry for a couple of minutes, until the sweat started flowing again.

“Everyone watch your water,” he ordered, pulling out his own canteen while he wondered if they’d have enough. The Kalagarta had to be suffering as much as the Humans were. They weren’t showing any sign of it, which meant they were either tougher than he thought, or they’d figured out some way to preserve their water. That they didn’t sweat went some way toward explaining that, but it wasn’t the whole answer. Maybe Ivan can find out what they have going for them when this is over.

Cheung Xou was at the front of the line, stopping every fifty yards or so for a couple of seconds to push a probe into the ground and pull it out again. He would then reinsert it fifty yards further on.

“What is your man doing?” asked Kalaprax, looking at the large Chinese mercenary.

“He’s testing to see if the enemy put sensors in this gulley.”

“I do not think they have in the past,” said the North River Tribe war chief. “At least they were not waiting for us when we came into the open near their compound.”

The Kalagarta continued to look as Xou continued his work. “I think the invaders are not as good warriors as you are. They have similar machines to you, but they do not use them as well.”

That made sense to the colonel. Humans had been fighting among themselves for thousands of years and had evolved the principles that led to victory. Or at least to not being an easy victim. One of the principles was to assume if you’d thought of something, the enemy might have as well. If they hadn’t, and you wasted a little bit of effort, no harm done. If they had, and you didn’t make the effort, you could get burned. Being burned in a military situation often led to death.

“Are your people going to do okay with water?” asked Charley, who had noticed the same thing the colonel had.

“We will come to a small spring-fed pool tonight. We can drink our fill and fill our bags.”

“What about the warriors who don’t have a spring in their path?” Jonah asked, not willing to believe every route would have convenient water.

“They will just have to carry more water,” said the Kalagarta leader, not surprised at all by the question. “That means less food and fewer weapons, but if they get there, what does it matter?”

A couple of hours later one of the shuttles flew overhead, maybe a mile to the west, on a heading for the compound. Minutes after the second shuttle flew over, passing overhead a mile above. The war party covered up again, but the shuttle had little chance of spotting them. That might not be true for those moving in the open, but from what the war chiefs had said, they’d be moving at an extremely slow pace, carrying their camouflage with them. If one was spotted and destroyed, the others would carry on.

Except that something’s different this time, Jonah thought, looking up into the sky after the shuttle had passed. We’re here, and the enemy knows we are. Which means they’ll be more careful in their search patterns. If they find one of the Kalagarta parties, they’ll be on heightened alert status.

The party moved through the day, covering half the distance to the compound. At one point they had to leave the gulley and move across a half mile of open ground. It took almost an hour, groups of three or four going over in a hunched position, falling to the ground to total stillness for a few minutes until they were sure the whistle of a shuttle wasn’t coming their way.

White Eagle had to admit the amphibians had the making of very good guerilla warriors. If they were properly equipped and trained in the use of that equipment, they’d play hell with the Syndicate. The problem was, there was no supplier, and the Kalagarta had only been able to acquire weapons in small quantities, and at the cost of many lives.

They continued moving several hours after the fall of darkness. When they finally settled down, the members of the war party ate their only large meal of the day, cold meat and some grain cakes washed down with water. As promised, they’d come to a small spring with a run off forming a tiny creek. They’d start the next day with a full load of water. The leaders would worry about getting enough for the way back if necessary.

Sentries were posted, and everyone tried to get as much rest as they could. Putting sentries out was common sense, but if they were discovered, the Xlatan shuttles would rain fire down on them. Jonah dismissed those thoughts. There was nothing he could do about them, and he’d learned years ago not to entertain anxiety-causing worries that would rob him of rest. Instead, like the old trooper he was, he lay his head down on his pack and closed his eyes. The next thing he knew, the coming dawn was lightening the ground outside the gulley, which remained in shadow.

He felt rested and was satisfied his internal clock was working. Then he moved and felt every part of his body complain about the motions he had repeatedly made the day before, added to the hard ground he’d slept on. I’m getting too damned old for this, he thought. It might be time to think of retiring, if he made it off this planet.

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-Five

“We flew around all last night, Commander, and didn’t find a damned thing.”

“Even checking the known village sites?” Mmrash asked, staring at the sergeant.

The commander thought for a moment after the words left his mouth. Of course, if they knew the Syndicate had located a village, they’d move. And even if they didn’t know they’d assume they’d been targeted and still move.

“Even that big damned village down by the river,” the sergeant agreed, his ears flicking in aggravation. “I put down a half mile from the location. The huts were still there, but it looked as if they’d moved everything that wasn’t nailed to the ground. All their smoking racks, cooking spits, even their weapon-manufacturing stations.”

“That was a risk, sergeant,” Mmrash said, his own ears signaling disapproval. “If there had been any lying in wait, they might have killed some of your squad.”

“No worries there, sir. We had all of our sensors on, and the shuttle was looking on from overhead.”

And that’s what has gotten over forty of my people killed since we took this job, he thought. Everyone in the Syndicate had taken the natives for granted, and forty of them had paid for their arrogance. His people had been better than the non-Xlatan overall, but the Kalagarta had been able to ambush some of them as well, including his now-deceased second-in-command.

Then the Humans came along, and I’ve lost over thirty people to them. He wouldn’t have believed that possible, but the Humans were good. Very good. Some of his people didn’t think they could come here, but he knew better. And if the Kalagarta had gone into hiding, he was sure they’d be attacking along with the Humans. By themselves, they really weren’t much of a threat to take the compound. With the Humans and their weapons, they might cause a lot of trouble for the operation. And if there was trouble for their employers, there was sure to be trouble for the Xlatan clan they employed.

“Get some rest, sergeant,” he said finally. The NCO hadn’t led his squad into disaster, and he’d come up with useful intelligence. “I want you and your people back in the air at first light.”

The ears of the other Xlatan let Mmrash know what he thought about that idea. As long as soldiers didn’t refuse a command, a good Xlatan leader let it go. In a species that couldn’t help but project their feelings to every other member within sight, certain conventions had been developed to keep them from each other’s throats.

“Lrator,” the commander called over the comm as soon as the sergeant was out of the chamber.

“Sir,” the new lieutenant replied, hurrying into the office.

“I want half the soldiers on alert for the rest of the night, and fifty percent ready every night after.”

“You think something’s going to happen?”

“You faced the Humans. What do you think?”

“I think they’re going to hit us here with everything they have. Possibly tonight, but more probably one of the next couple. If they’re still expecting the other company to arrive, they’ll move within the next couple of days.” Lrator looked down at the floor for a moment before continuing.

“And if their friends do arrive, sir?”

“No chance of that, Lieutenant,” Mmrash snorted. “The Syndicate made sure their contract was cancelled.”

“What if they come anyway?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Lrator. They’re money fighters, same as us. If no one’s paying them, of course they aren’t coming.”

“Yes, sir,” Lrator said in agreement, though his ears told a different story.

The new officer was a very intelligent member of their species, and Mmrash had learned years ago to ignore the opinion of idiots, while paying attention to those who could actually think. So he spent the next several hours worrying about what Lrator thought and wondering what he could do about it if the heavy troops did come. He concluded there wasn’t much he could do.

* * *

“We want to talk to the people in charge down on the planet,” Colonel Alexander Ramos said, sitting in the command chair of the Guadalcanal. Captain Chu had taken another bridge chair, letting the overall commander have the stage.

“I have orders to turn everyone away,” said the alien on the viewer.

Ramos wasn’t familiar with the being’s species. That wasn’t surprising, since there were so many different species scattered among the billions of stars. It had a roughly humanoid face, deep blue skin, and some kind of fleshy crest running down the center of its spine. Ramos had no idea if the creature was male, female, or something else, not that it mattered. This was a flunky, just an obstacle placed in his path.

“We’re not leaving until we talk to your boss. Understand?”

“You can sit there until you run out of food and air, for all I care, but you will come no closer to the planet.”

Ramos wasn’t sure why they didn’t want him talking to the authority on the planet. He could just ignore the frigate and transmit a message himself. He doubted they’d fire on his ship for such an action. The problem was, the authorities on the planet didn’t have to answer back.

“Kill it,” he told the comm tech. The being disappeared from the viewer, replaced by a zoomed in view of the frigate. It was a tactical view, with the obvious weaponry on the vessel highlighted. There were a pair of megawatt-range lasers and a quartet of missile tubes. There might be more weapons hidden, and of course a couple of defensive arrays on the stern wouldn’t be out of the realm of probability.

“What do you want to do?” Chu asked, getting out of the chair she occupied as soon as Ramos left the command chair and headed toward her own.

“Keep them targeted,” Ramos ordered, glaring at the viewer. “If they make a single move that looks hostile, take them out.”

“That’s giving me a lot of leeway,” the captain said, her tone not completely accepting.

“Then log it in that I gave the order. In fact, let me record it right now. I have given the captain of the Guadalcanal, Melody Chu, orders to engage the ship opposing us if they show the least sign of hostility. Satisfied?”

“It still might not be enough to save my ass, but it’s acceptable.”

Actually, since they’d been hired to take this planet, it was well within their rights to destroy anything trying to prevent their insertion. Whether that would hold up in court was another matter, since the contract had been revoked, even though payment had been made. The legal precedents in a Galaxy where many matters were settled by hiring military might were unclear.

“How fast can you get us into orbit from here?”

“We’re basically sitting still in space,” the captain said, looking over at her navigator, who nodded his head. “From here I can get us into orbit in less than an hour at maximum acceleration and deceleration, assuming our drive doesn’t take too much damage from that fool.”

“If you have to open fire, boost for the planet.”

“And if they fire at us from the surface?”

That was a better question than it seemed on the surface. By Galactic law, they weren’t allowed to bombard the surface of a world from above an altitude of ten miles. If they were fired on, they could return fire, but only at the weapon batteries’ locations. The problem with that was they had to wait to be fired on. If there was something powerful down there, the transport could be reduced to a hulk in the merest of moments. He didn’t think they had those kinds of defenses, but no one knew for sure.

“If they fire, fire back. Hit their batteries with the most powerful warheads you have.”

Ramos turned to walk off the bridge, turning back just before he reached the hatch. “And keep monitoring the surface. If White Eagle and his people are down there, maybe they’ll get a signal to us.”

Or they could already be dead, in which case Ramos’ Ravagers would be forced to sit here in orbit until they got tired of sitting here. The colonel could only hope they were still down there, alive and kicking, and getting ready to do some more kicking.

* * *

Sandra Clemenceau was a skilled diver and a strong swimmer. She’d been diving in the oceans and lakes of Earth since she was a small child, taken into the water by her marine biologist father. This time it wasn’t a pleasure trip into the deeps. The water was shallow, filled with animals she had no experience with, and there were people nearby who would love to kill her. And possibly something deployed by them in this small river was waiting for someone like her to come along for the same purpose.

Since there was nothing she could do about any of the above, she kept pushing ahead. The memory plastic of her boots and gloves were formed into fins and webbed gauntlets, giving her more pull through the water. The tiny rebreather unit on her back was sucking in air from the small oxygen tank, scrubbing out the carbon dioxide, and augmenting it with the dissolved gas of the water. No bubbles, no sound.

“How much longer?” Ahmed Mohammed asked over the short-range sonar comm.

Sandra looked back at the man, exasperation running through her. She’d told the others not to transmit unless absolutely necessary. Even on tight beam, there was a chance that enough sound would bleed out to alert something. She waved a hand at him, a signal to shut up, then held up a couple of fingers, indicating two hours.

A sonar pulse came from ahead, strong enough to generate a return on anything in its path. The four Humans were just above the bottom, and at a signal from Sandra, they dropped down even further.

The Kalagarta with them were also low, though slightly higher than the Humans. From the way they covered the sides of their heads, they were directly in the path of the beam. Several went into convulsions, and the sniper knew what kind of weapon the robots used against the amphibians. Another sonar pulse, followed by a third, and most of the fifty Kalagarta were dead in the water.

Sandra looked closely at the nearest comatose Kalagarta and was relieved to see his gill slits were still moving. They weren’t dead, but whatever weaponized sound had struck them had done its job. And here came the things that had produced the sonic beams.

A pair of fish-shaped objects, streamlined and propelling themselves with no visible means, approached out of the murk. They were about Human-sized, a little over six feet in length. Both had also deployed some tentacles. The first to get within reach of a Kalagarta made a slashing motion with one of its tentacles. The murky water became even more so as the blood of the native flowed into the river.

We’re not having any of that, the sniper thought, pulling her rifle from her back and making sure it was ready for underwater combat.

Chemical propellant weapons had problems firing underwater. The charge would still go off, but sometimes the pressure of the water would cause a backup explosion that shattered the chamber. There was no such problem with high-tech magrail weapons. They could be used in any environment, from a high-density liquid to total vacuum.

She took aim at the closest robot and fired. The water swirled around the projectile as it cut through the liquid. Clouds of silt rose from the bottom under the action of the suction, obscuring the scene.

There was a loud crack as the round struck, blasting through the body of the robot. That damaged the device but didn’t destroy it. The small explosion of the round within its body finished it, and the robot fell to the bottom to settle.

The other robot reoriented and headed toward what it had assigned as the primary threat. It sped up, coming in at fifty knots, and Sandra tried to draw a bead on it before it could get in a slash. Her armor might protect her, but then again it might not, and she had very little time to react. She tried to line up the shot, but the rush of fear-induced adrenaline made aiming difficult.

Ahmed and Yusef had her covered, though, and their rifles sent out projectiles that hit the front of the robot. Their rounds didn’t have the explosive heads of hers, and the smacks of bullets hitting the robot did little to slow it down, but they did reprioritize the robot’s target selection, and it put on a burst of speed as it went for the mortar team.

Sandra couldn’t develop a good sight picture as it flashed by. She had one chance, one shot, and she took it, firing from an underarm position. The sniper wasn’t sure she’d fired at the right time; she was afraid the two mortarmen would find themselves in a close-in fight with the murderous machine. The sound of a smack, then the small explosion let her breathe a sigh of relief. The robot fell through the water, joining its partner to become wreckage on the bottom.

“Damn,” Yusef said over the sonar comm. “I guess we know what took out the Kalagarta who came this way.”

Yeah, and the poor bastards didn’t have a chance. The robots had stunned the Kalagarta with sonics, then cut them to pieces with their razor tentacles.

“Only use the comm in an emergency,” she cautioned the others. “There might be more of them.”

The Kalagarta around them were starting to stir, moving with intent, some faster than others. They all looked at the Humans with new respect. They’d thought the aliens would be weak in the water, and yet the Humans had saved them from certain death.

Sandra motioned, and the Humans started forward; the Kalagarta fell in, this time behind instead of ahead. They were a pragmatic people, and now that they knew what was waiting for them, they were willing to let the allies better able to handle the threat lead.

Several hours later, one of the Kalagarta motioned to the bank, his mouth moving as he croaked out a few words. “We’re here.”

As much as she loved diving, Sandra was glad to get out of the river. She found a place a couple of yards from the bank that looked like it might give good cover and took a seat. Pushing a setting on her boots, she retracted the memory plastic fins, then did the same with her gloves. Disconnecting her mask, she stowed the rebreather in a pouch on her bag, then pulled out her camo covering and her Ghillie suit. In a few minutes she was almost invisible to the naked eye, and difficult to even pick up on infrared.

The other Humans and the Kalagarta hurriedly put on their own camo. Checking the time, Sandra found it was still a couple of hours until darkness, and the attack wasn’t scheduled to begin until an hour before dawn.

“Is there a better place to wait nearby?” she asked the Kalagarta war chief who was leading the party of natives.

“A couple of hundred yards that way,” replied the being, pointing to the northeast, where a cluster of rocks stood just off the river. “Large depressions.”

That sounded good to Sandra. Their best bet was to lay low until dark, then move to the hill where they could set up. The trick was to only move when necessary, and otherwise stay still. There was a lot of open area to cross, with the possibility that the enemy had people scanning that region, which called for very slow movement.

After darkness fell, the group started to move, hunched over, making as little of a target as possible without getting into a crawl. The natives did the same, taking their cues from the Humans. It took just under three hours to make it to the hill where the snipers would set up. The mortarmen peeled off before they reached the hill, heading for a depression to the north where they’d deploy.

“And now we wait,” Sandra said to Sarah.

The other sniper lay beside her, motionless. The night was hot. In a tropical region like this, it didn’t really cool down at night. It some ways, that was an advantage, since the differential from hyperthermic animals and the surrounding area was minimal. They’d still put out heat, and if they were in line of sight of the compound they’d eventually be picked up.

Sandra had something to make that detection a lower probability, even though she wasn’t in the viewing area of the compound. The woman pulled a couple of hard probes from the lining of her camo cover and pushed them into the ground as deeply as they would go. The superconducting threads attached to the probes would transfer much of the heat building up under her coverings into the ground, cooling her and preventing escaping heat blooms.

“You go ahead and sleep first,” the senior sniper told her subordinate.

Sarah nodded, turned over, and immediately fell into a deep sleep. Since most Humans had brain implants, and one of the most basic was a sleep inducer, none of the company had any trouble with anxiety keeping them awake. And if anything happened, the other sniper would be awake and alert in an instant. Sandra would watch half the night, then take her own rest. Sleep inducer or not, there would still be anxiety in their dreams. And if anything forced them awake before they were ready, it would probably be more than they could handle.

* * *

“We caught a couple of the amphibians trying to cross the dead zone,” the soldier said, looking out of the comm unit at his commander.

“Have you interrogated them?” Mmrash asked, leaning forward.

“Not possible, sir. The ones we didn’t shoot down stuck themselves with sharpened sticks and fell dead.”

That damned poison of theirs, the commander thought, ears twitching with disgust. They’d used that poison very effectively against the Syndicate. Until recently, they hadn’t been known to use it on themselves. That they were committing suicide to prevent capture was something new. Kalagarta had always resisted capture with every possible strategy and tactic they could come up with. When they were captured, though, they came along. Sullenly, but they came along. Obviously they didn’t like losing their freedom and working as slave labor, but they didn’t think death was a better outcome.

“How many?”

“Five. It looked like a small scouting party.”

“No others?” He was expecting some of the Kalagarta to come through the dead zone. Maybe not to join with the Humans in an assault, since he couldn’t see them making much of a contribution to a higher tech attack, but at least to gather intelligence. Was this one of those parties? If so, where were the others? And the Humans?

“That’s all we could find, sir. We put people on the ground to sweep the area, while drones flew overhead looking for body heat.”

Mmrash had been wondering if the natives had come across some solution to masking heat sensors. He couldn’t think of any way they could, and none of the technicians he’d asked could come up with anything. There were things in the Xlatan inventory that could deflect heat, and the Humans were sure to have many of those items. Not the natives.

Then how in the hell do they keep sneaking in like that? he thought. That he didn’t know was a failure on his part. It was his business to determine all the capabilities of the natives who were opposing him and find out how to circumvent them. In this respect, he was failing.

“Bring your people back to the compound,” Mmrash ordered. “I’ll want them up and out at sunrise.”

“Yes, sir,” the sergeant replied, his ears telling his commander what he thought of the order.

Too bad, Mmrash thought, scowling at the trooper until the vid died. They’d spent almost a year on this world, and much of it had been spent sitting around doing nothing. It was time they earned their pay, and if they had to go without proper sleep for several weeks until the situation was taken care of, then that’s what they’d do.

“You heard?” Mmrash asked Lrator, whose face appeared on another viewer. “What do you think?”

“I think the Humans have enlisted the Kalagarta to their side.”

“Then you think they’ll attack? When?”

“Within days. Probably not tomorrow, but I wouldn’t put it past them to attack on the run.”

“But you doubt it?”

“I do.”

“Me too,” Mmrash said, his tail swishing through the chair hole behind him in frustration and anxiety. “But we’ll still have an alert in the morning. I want all our people turned out just before sunrise. We’ll do the same for the next week, until either the Humans attack, or we find them out in the jungle and destroy them.”

“You don’t want to take prisoners?”

“I don’t. These creatures have caused us enough trouble. The sooner they’re dead the better.”

He saw the disapproval in the ears of the other officer, and his own ears twitched in frustration.

“You don’t agree?”

“I agree we need to stop them, sir, but I’d prefer to take as many of them prisoner as we can.”

“Lieutenant. Your orders are to kill every one of the Humans you encounter. If any try to surrender, you are to execute them on the spot. Understood?”

“Yes, sir. I’ll admit I don’t like it, but I will follow orders.”

“Good. Then we’ll have no further discussion about this. Perform your duties to the best of your abilities, help me destroy these pests, and you’ll be on the next ship home to attend the academy.”

That brought a staccato response from Lrator’s ears that showed satisfaction. Of course it did, the commander thought. The life of a Xlatan officer was one of wealth and ease, compared to the hardscrabble existence of the common soldier. And getting off this backwater planet? He almost wished he could turn the command over to Lrator and go back himself.

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-Six

It was time. Jonah White Eagle made a last-minute check of his equipment, making sure everything was functional. Amateurs went into battle with faith that the equipment they checked out the day before would be ready. Professionals constantly checked their equipment. They were obsessive compulsive with their checking. It made sense. If a weapon failed when most needed, they were dead.

The five people around him were doing the same, checking power levels on rifles, making sure their spares were secured in the proper pockets. Ivan pulled both of his grenades off his web gear and looked at them, then replaced them. Joey cycled through the functions of his helmet, while Amobi Kabir checked his grenade mags. Avgust stood ready with his detonator set. All had left their Ghillie suits on the ground behind them while they squatted in their high-tech camo covers, all but invisible as the nanofibers projected the image from behind to the opposite side. All had probes in the ground sucking off enough body heat to keep them from roasting alive inside the heat seals of their body armor.

Dotty Farrah was completely motionless, lost in her thoughts. Her job was to attempt the rescue of any of the company who went down in battle. With the weapons the enemy was using, it was unlikely anyone hit hard enough to go down would survive, and Dotty would be taking the risk of trying to reach them and keep them alive. Risking her life for little chance of success. If needed, she’d lend fire support to the others, but that would only last until the first casualty.

A hundred yards to the north was Charley’s team, with Manny Fernandez, Achilles Antonopolis, and Cheung Xou squatting with him. Kevin Graham lay on the ground in prone position, his shoulder into the heavy laser that was their only beam weapon for this fight.

The two ninjas, Asuka and Hotaru Yamashuri, were nowhere in sight. They were using their active camouflage and their superb training to close with the compound. Xou had located the gaps in the sensor net, and the married pair had moved with consummate stealth to within yards of the berm, climbing on top and going to ground. As soon as the action opened they’d be through the fence and roaming the compound. They’d been given a kill zone that was out of the blast area of the mortars and grenades. Anything that moved in their zone was to be taken down, and Jonah almost felt sorry for the poor aliens that entered their range.

“Think Sandra’s in place?” asked Ivan, an unmoving blur to the colonel’s right side.

“If she isn’t, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Jonah closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. The pre-battle jitters were on him. They did him no good, accomplished nothing, and could get in the way of clear thinking. When Jonah thought his mind was as clear as could be, he opened his eyes and looked in the direction of Avgust.

“Now,” he said in a half whisper, then raised his rifle to his shoulder, looking for a target in one of the towers, zooming in with the scope until he was looking into the heat image of a face.

Avgust grunted, and a second later the rising fireballs of blasts rose into the air, followed thirty seconds later by the deep crump of explosives going off twenty miles away. The sound was the signal, and Jonah started the countdown for the unit to open fire. One minute, and he could only hope the enemy did what he thought they would. In one minute, the snipers and mortar crew would open fire, right on schedule. There was nothing he could do about that without giving his company away to the enemy comm net.

“There it goes,” Ivan said, his camo-blurred body hefting the small tube that wasn’t covered in deceptive blurring to his shoulder, holding onto the pair of folding pistol grips.

With the whine of fans, a shuttle left the landing field, swiveling in the air and heading for one of the fireballs.

“Dammit. It’s not the gunship,” Ivan said, his missile launcher swiveling to cover it.

The gunship was the target. It was the biggest threat, with its multiple lasers and slung rocket launchers. The other shuttles could also be dangerous, but not to the same extent as the gunship.

“It’s lifting,” Jonah said, zooming in on the rising craft and making sure it was the gunship.

The other shuttle was heading to the south, almost out of the effective range of the anti-air weapon. Manny was similarly armed, with a pair of missiles for his launcher. Jonah hoped they wouldn’t have to use all four rounds, since there might be an armored vehicle in the compound that would need servicing.

The gunship moved out low and slow, seemingly aware that this might be an ambush, but paying attention to the outward path. Ivan fired, the rocket spit out of the tube by the magnetic accelerator, then flashing at over a thousand gravities toward the target locked into its warhead. It was a perfect shot, but one that the gunship’s stern laser would have handled, only it was locking onto the missile Manny had fired, heading in at a slightly different angle.

Manny’s missile exploded meters from the target, sending plasma and shrapnel into the laser unit on the stern of the gunship, knocking it out of action. Ivan’s weapon slammed into the port engine pod, its shaped charge blasting through the light armor and into the turbine, shredding the fans. Smoke immediately started pouring from the pod, and the gunship wavered in the air before turning around.

“Shit!” Manny yelled, scrambling to grab his second missile and load it. Ivan took his time, going through the motions smoothly and efficiently as he loaded his second warhead, while Manny fumbled his.

The gunship opened fire with its laser. Jonah never knew whether it had spotted Manny, it was just aiming for the area its system told it the shot came from, or if it had a lock on Ivan as well, and just picked a target arbitrarily to service first. The laser swept through the position where Manny was squatting, barely missing a couple of other mercenaries. The armored skinsuits were proof for a second or two against personnel lasers, but not against vehicle-mounted ones, which were many times more powerful. Manny blew apart as the fluid in his torso converted into superheated steam and blasted through the armor.

Ivan fired his second round, the missile flashing from tube to gunship so fast it looked like a beam of light. The missile struck the forward cockpit window. The armored portal was tough, but the warhead was designed to blow a small hole through the toughest armor. It wasn’t much, but it was enough, as superheated plasma blasted into the cockpit and killed both Xlatan. The gunship wobbled again, then went into a shallow dive, hitting the ground fifty yards from the berm before skidding along and through, knocking down one of the guard towers before coming to rest.

May God be with you, Manny, Jonah thought. The man had paid with his life, but the team of Zhukov and Fernandez had knocked down the biggest aerial threat. The enemy still had shuttles, up to three of them, with one heading out but possibly starting to return. Now it was time to open the second act of the play.

Every Human opened fire as Jonah yelled the command through his comm. Rifles sent high-velocity single shots at what targets they could find. His initial target had gone down with the tower, so Jonah quickly acquired one in the other close corner tower, sighting in on the glowing face on the infrared. The colonel squeezed the trigger, then watched as the face in his scope disappeared as his high-velocity round struck the target. Kevin held his fire, since no appropriate target had presented itself, and his weapon could give him away. He’d swiveled around, ready to cover them, when the other shuttle in the air returned.

A blast going off in the compound near the shuttle field indicated that Sandra and her team had made it to their positions. Two seconds later another mortar went off. The third was intercepted in the air by the laser defense system. The fourth made it through, showing that something had happened to the defensive system, meaning his snipers were now on the job.

“Let’s go,” Jonah ordered, moving up to a crouch and starting for the compound.

The people around him moved with him, all but Kevin, who stayed in position to provide covering fire into the compound or to light up the returning shuttle as needed. All was going well until a laser on one of the remaining towers, illuminated by the dust and smoke as it sought a target, lanced out, and the second of his people went down.

* * *

As soon as she caught sight of the rising fireballs on the horizon, she started the countdown in her head, the implant keeping an accurate measure of time.

“You got the laser defense system?” she asked the woman lying beside her.

“I see two domes,” Sarah said, also fully covered in her Ghillie suit. “One on the edge of the landing field, the other over by the low building near the center.”

They thought that was the administrative building, the headquarters. It made sense they’d have a defense system there. What didn’t make sense was there were only two of them. Then again, the Syndicate would be watching their bottom line, and really had no concern about an attack on their compound by anything above stone-age technology, so they’d put in just enough to feel safe.

The clock ticked down, and what the colonel had been expecting happened as a shuttle left the ground and headed out. But it wasn’t the right shuttle. The plan called for the gunship to take off. The mortars could probably take care of the unarmored transports, but they didn’t know if the high-explosive rounds would do the job on the armored gunship.

“There it goes,” Sarah said as the gunship rose from the field, going up to fifty feet and turning in the air before pushing forward and out.

“Pay attention to your target,” Sandra cautioned. “Nothing else matters.”

She’d already picked out her first three targets. Now, the trick was to service them in order before any of them got it in their heads to move.

“Now,” she said as the sound of missile warheads going off on the gunship reached her ears. There were still some seconds on the clock, but no reason to hold back now.

She made sure her first target was centered in her scope and squeezed her trigger in a practiced motion. The rifle slammed hard into her shoulder, sending the ten-millimeter round out the accelerator tube at five thousand feet per second.

The Xlatan soldier on the end of her shot, who’d been looking at the fireballs and presenting part of the side of his face, jerked back and crumpled to the ground. The sniper thought it was a kill. She’d have preferred to get a straight-in shot through the face. Either way, that being was out of the fight, probably permanently.

A mortar round went off in the compound, a ball of fire rising from the landing field a couple of yards from one of the shuttles.

Sandra fired again, this time getting a target right through the face. A sure kill. Another round hit the field, right on top of the shuttle the mortar team had just missed. The ball of fire rose from the shuttle, which started smoking while flames burst from the body. The next round going in was intercepted by something in midair, exploding it just over the ground. The rounds were coming in at a very low trajectory, barely clearing the berm. There was still enough time, though, for the defense system to pick them up, acquire, and hit them with a powerful laser.

“Got it!” Sarah yelled in exhilaration after grunting from the recoil of her rifle.

Sandra took her third shot, taking down another soldier, this one from a different species. She pulled away from the rifle and zoomed in from her faceplate system, spotting the dome and the extended arm that had risen from it. That arm had sported a laser system. Now it sported the shredded remains of one—all that was left after a twelve-millimeter armor-penetrating explosive round hit at five thousand feet a second.

“Second one gone,” Cohen said a couple of seconds later.

At that moment, another mortar round came in, right on target, taking out the remaining grounded shuttle, and making sure it remained grounded for the rest of the fight.

“Got another one!” Sarah yelled out in exultation.

This isn’t a damned game, Sandra thought, looking for another target and finding one. This one didn’t present any unarmored aspect to her, so she went for the back of the helmet. A squeeze of the trigger, and that one was down. Probably not dead, maybe even not permanently injured, but sure to have the Xlatan equivalent of a concussion.

She looked over her scope in time to see one of Sarah’s targets go down, the heavy round of the anti-material rifle blasting through the helmet and mashing the head it covered.

Mortar rounds continued to go off throughout the compound, now landing on buildings and blowing holes through them. The compound was starting to fill with smoke from the shuttle fires and anything flammable the buildings might have contained. Visibility was dropping considerably, though the infrared systems could still look through it, as long as there wasn’t a fire backing the target.

“We’re out,” Yusef said over the comm. “Transitioning to ground assault.”

“We’ll cover,” Sandra said, searching the compound for a target of note, and finding one almost instantly.

She wasn’t sure what the species was called that headed up the Syndicate, but she remembered what they looked like. About the size of a black bear, with gray wrinkly skin under a layer of fur. That skin was supposed to be really tough, like that of an elephant or rhino. We’ll see if you can handle one of my little packages, she thought as she sighted in.

* * *

“Get your ass under cover, Hrallo!” Jillor yelled, waving to his secretary/lover. He’d already sought cover in one of the trenches the Xlatan had dug within the compound. The boss had thought that work a waste of time. Now he was thankful they’d seen the need. Not that he wouldn’t strangle Mmrash anyway when this fight was over, since the attack had blindsided them.

The female ran toward him, more like a slow jog. Their species wasn’t known for being speedy, and the long robe-like dress she wore wasn’t helping.

The female stumbled, and he was about to climb out of the trench to help her when she fell heavily to the ground. Her face was turned to him, and it was a horror of burst flesh and bone. Something had hit her in the head, hard. A chill went through the boss as he thought about what he’d almost exposed himself to.

I’ll miss her, he thought, not letting himself get too concerned over the loss of a female. There were plenty of them around, and a message would get another here to act as his secretary. Any secretary who wanted to advance would fall into the position of lover sooner or later.

No, the concern now was that someone was smashing his operation. His fault or not, the Syndicate would lay the blame at his feet. Being spaced on the way home was probably the most painless way out of the punishment they would have planned for his failure. More likely his death would be long and painful, an object lesson to the next boss that failure was not an option.

“Are you okay, Boss?” came a voice over the comm bud in his ear.

“Mmrash. Mmrash. What in the hell are you doing? Kill those fucking Humans. All of them.”

“They have a bunch of Kalagarta with them, and the slaves in the compound are starting to rise.”

“Then kill all of them! Put down every Kalagarta you see. Just get this situation under control!”

As they were speaking, a dozen of the Kalagarta slaves came running into sight, most armed with whatever they could find. Jillor motioned to the soldiers with him in the trench and they swept their beams through the escaping slaves. In an instant they were no longer a concern. There would, of course, be others, not much of a danger except for their ability to focus attention on themselves.

At least the explosives that had been dropping in on them from the air had stopped. That was wonderful, but as he watched, another worker went down, this one’s head exploding into a reddish mist from a heavy round.

“Will do,” Mmrash said, the tension clear in his voice. The Xlatan had to know that no matter what happened from this point, he was through.

Jillor hoped he had enough people left after this to round up some more Kalagarta. He needed their labor, and this time around it would be more difficult to round up a sufficient number of them, since it seemed they’d moved their villages. After this they’d probably move them again.

* * *

“Ready?” Ahmed Mohammed asked, looking at the blurred image of his subordinate. They’d shot their wad, every warhead they’d humped in with them, all landing in the compound to what they hoped was maximum effect. Thanks to the snipers, only one had been intercepted by the laser defense system.

“As I’ll ever be,” Yusef bin Sherif replied.

“We’re moving,” the senior mortarman said to the hundred or so Kalagarta who were gathered around them. Ahmed thought it a shame what they were using the natives for. The amphibians were wearing their camouflage nets, but when they were moving to attack, they wouldn’t be hard to pick out by the high-tech enemy. They might get a kill or two with their primitive weapons before they were gunned down, but their providing themselves as targets would take the focus off the hard-to-spot Humans, who could kill and kill again. Possibly killing enough enemy for the Humans to come out of this alive, though Ahmed still doubted it.

The senior trooper said a quick prayer to Allah under his breath and moved out of the hollow they’d set up in. Most of the action seemed to be taking place on the other side of the compound, so maybe they’d get lucky. He knew that was a forlorn hope when four of the nearest Kalagarta fell screaming to the ground, each in several pieces.

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“It’s coming back, sir,” Kevin Graham called out over the comm.

Well, we expected it, Jonah thought, crawling to the side of the tractor he was covering behind, exposing the minimum of his head, and sighting in to take a shot. The round missed the head of the alien he was firing at, and it ducked down behind the rock it was using.

“Can you take it out?”

“I’ll try. It doesn’t know where I am, I hope.”

“Try to keep it that way. You’re my ace in the hole.”

A series of crackling sounds came from the south, and Jonah turned his head in time to see a number of flashes. His grenadier was at work, sending his micro-grenades into the enemy. The small explosives could penetrate any body armor the enemy was likely to have. A larger blast came to the north, Avgust using some of the small but potent demolition charges he’d worked up.

It’s a damned cluster, he thought, waiting for the enemy to pop up again. The battle had devolved into total chaos. No one knew exactly where the enemy was. That went for the enemy as well, and it worked to his advantage. Still, it wasn’t comfortable fighting in such an environment.

The alien head popped up again, the being making two very serious rookie mistakes. First, he came up over the cover instead of to the side, where he’d have displayed the smallest possible target. Second, he came up at the same place he’d disappeared. That was all the colonel needed, and he put a hypervelocity round through the head of the alien, rocking it back. The creature fell behind the rock, and Jonah waited a moment before moving himself to use that cover.

“We’re pinned down here,” the voice of Achilles Antonopolis came over the comm. “They have me and Xou trapped.”

Jonah hoped the enemy wasn’t tapped into his comm net. Not because they might listen in to his transmissions, they were encrypted to the maximum, switching codes every couple of seconds according to a pattern programed into the helmets. He also wasn’t worried they’d be able to locate his people from their transmissions. Xou had deployed every micro-drone he had left, and thousands of them were in the air, acting as relays. What he was worried about was they might jam his comms. The system was switching freqs constantly, but a powerful enough jamming system could take out many frequencies at the same time.

“We’re coming,” he replied. “Where are you?”

“Over by the tower on the other side of the landing field.”

“We’re on it,” Hotaru’s voice came over the comm. “One minute.”

Jonah breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of the woman’s voice, and the plural term she’d used. The ninjas were causing havoc in the enemy rear, but he hadn’t heard from them in several minutes.

“How far are you?”

“Near the administration building,” the ninja answered.

Jonah checked the position on his HUD map, shaking his head.

“Stay where you are. I’m closer. As soon as I gather up someone else, I’m heading over.”

“Colonel,” Joey called, coming up behind White Eagle in a crouch, a blur in the smoky atmosphere, “Ivan’s down.”

“Is he alive?”

“Yes, sir. Lt. Farrah is with him. She told me to seek you out, that she’d handle Ivan.”

“You did right, son,” Jonah said, picking up the guilt in Joey’s tone. “We need you in the fight. Dotty will take care of the wounded.”

A pair of Xlatan came rushing through the smoke, heading straight for the pair with lasers shining through the obscuring atmosphere. One was flung to the side, a large hole appearing in his helmet, while the other went down to his knees, hands going to his head after he dropped his weapon.

“Let’s move.”

Jonah led, letting the younger man follow to his left. His attention was straight ahead, while Joey handled the flanks, looking back and forth. The colonel checked the two Xlatan who were down. Both had faceplates covering their entire faces, leaving only their ears exposed. If he had the poisoned weapons of the Kalagarta, he might be able to take advantage of that exposure, but he didn’t see how he could use it with the weapons he had. Squatting for a second, the Human wrested the faceplate out of position, exposing the slack face of the creature. Standing back, he put a round through the face, making sure he wasn’t leaving an enemy behind who might recover.

He turned to see Joey staring at him.

“We can’t afford to let any of them get back in the fight, son, and I’m not about to take prisoners. Not right now.”

Joey nodded, and Jonah turned his attention back to the front. He wasn’t sure how they were going to win this thing, but the thought had entered his mind that getting to the administration building might be a good first step, as soon as he rescued his people by the landing field.

* * *

Kevin Graham sighted in on the shuttle that was on a slow approach to the compound. It was obvious they were searching for a target and didn’t want to risk hitting any of their own. He didn’t have that problem. It hung in the air, and with a flat-trajectory light-speed weapon, there was no way he could miss, while the shuttle didn’t know he was here.

“You’re dead,” he whispered as he pressed the firing stud. The beam was highlighted by the dust and smoke swirling through the air. It struck right where he aimed it—the starboard engine pod. Alloy spurted in sparks and glowing metal, and the engine started to flame and smoke.

The shuttle’s crew saw him—his beam pointing out his position—and the shuttle’s beam came back at him in an instant. The heavy weapons specialist let out a grunt of pain as his right leg exploded, and a wave of agony swept through him. The shuttle started to turn in the air, and Graham gritted his teeth and sighted in, this time aiming for the cockpit. Again the hit was instantaneous, this time burning through the side of the forward compartment. He hadn’t gone for it to start because he wasn’t sure he’d get burn through, and the engine was a sure thing. He must have hit something vital, he was hoping the pilot, because the shuttle immediately nosed down and hit the ground.

Should have stayed in Alabama, the gunner thought as his vision started to go black. His HUD showed his right leg was no longer there, and the damage reached all the way up to his lower abdomen. He triggered the small med pack on his suit to give himself a large dose of pain meds and stimulants. His vision cleared a bit, and the pain moved to a more distant space. He could still function, for a short time, as long as he wasn’t called on to move. And the one person who might be able to save him was in the compound, attending to other injured.

Might as well go out with a bang, Kevin thought, looking for a target worthy of his weapon. He spotted it through the infrared scope—what looked like an armored vehicle sitting on the edge of the landing field. He didn’t think his weapon would penetrate the armor, but the two Xlatan who were trying to scramble aboard didn’t have that kind of protection.

He sighted in, pushed the stud, then swung the barrel the inch needed to bring the second target into focus. That being was trying to get over the falling body of his comrade, and Kevin’s vision started to blur. He pushed the stud, sending the beam on its way with a prayer on his lips.

* * *

“Lrator. Get some people and go after whatever’s hitting us on the other flank.”

Mmrash didn’t know what was over there. There had been some kind of explosive device projector, but it was no longer firing. Most likely they’d run through their ammo. The Humans had walked in, and that had to limit what they could carry. That they still had something up there as evidenced by the beings that kept dropping from some kind of long range shots. It wasn’t a beam weapon, since whatever it was made the crack of a round flying at hypersonic speed.

“I’m on it,” Lrator called back over the comm.

If anyone could get to those Humans, it was the newly-promoted lieutenant, unless they spotted him and took out enough soldiers to make the others keep their heads down.

“Get that damned thing up and running!” the commander yelled at the two specialist troopers who were running for his one armored fighting vehicle. It wasn’t really a tank, but it was more than a personnel carrier. He doubted the Humans had anything that could blast through its high-density armor, and the heavy laser cannon it carried in its turret would destroy any of them it caught in its sights.

The crew could have entered from the rear, through the doors that provided access for the four scouts the vehicle could carry. A smattering of small explosions across those doors changed their minds, and they headed for the side away from the fire of the Humans to climb up to the upper hatches. One had gotten to the top of the hull and was starting to climb up into the turret, the other right behind, when a beam of light penetrated the smoke, burned through the body armor, and vaporized part of the soldier’s torso. The body fell, slamming into the other Xlatan. It took him several seconds to fend off the body, while Mmrash tried to backtrack the beam to find the Human who’d fired it. The second beam came in, a miss, until it swept into the body of the other tanker. There wasn’t enough contact for a clean kill. The Xlatan cried out in agony as the beam burned through a mid-limb and the soldier fell off the AFV heavily.

“That way!” Mmrash yelled, backtracking the beam. “He’s over there. Put fire down on him.”

He was losing too many people, but he still had the people to lose. The Humans couldn’t have started the fight with more than twenty people, and he knew the Syndicate had taken down a couple of them. We’ve got to beat them, don’t we? he thought. So why didn’t that thought have the strength of conviction behind it?

* * *

“Is anyone coming?” Achilles Antonopolis cried out as he ducked back from his firing position. A laser beam struck where his head had been, while three more passed over the top of the pile of tree trunks they were sheltering behind.

The pile was at least eight feet wide. The enemy could burn through them, given time and a lot of extra power packs. That had made them seem good shelter, but the two infantrymen had made a mistake by not ensuring their avenue of retreat.

“The colonel said he was coming,” Cheung Xou said, getting off a shot around his end of the pile and scooting back.

“Then where the hell is he?” the Greek asked.

Xou shook his head, studying the layout of the enemy through the drones he had floating overhead. Antonopolis had only been on one other mission with the company, and it had been an easy one. Xou had been with White Eagle for five years and had been on almost twenty operations. If the colonel said he’d do something, he would, or he’d die trying. What worried him was that the last part was very possible on this field.

* * *

“Colonel Ramos,” Captain Melody Chu called over the comm.

“What do you have?”

“I’m not completely sure. I think something is going on down at the compound.”

“Show me.”

Ramos leaned forward in his chair as the Tri-V came to life. The globe of the planet appeared, with the image of the Syndicate frigate as seen from the Guadalcanal in the foreground. The view zoomed quickly, the surface rushing up until it centered over the Syndicate compound.

“What the hell?” Ramos pointed at a spot in the view and zoomed in further, bringing what looked like a crashed shuttle into view. Moving his finger, he slid the view over into the compound, where a pair of the same type of aircraft were burning on the tarmac.

“We’re being warned off by the frigate,” the captain said, her face appearing on another view screen, “and I’m picking up another ship entering the system.”

“What kind of ship?”

“It appears to be a freighter.”

Ramos made an instant decision. “Take out the frigate, now, and get us to drop range.”

Ramos switched the comm to contact his people, leaving the little detail of the space battle to the experts. “Get the boys and girls to the shuttles, Major. We drop in five minutes.”

The ship shook under his feet as he walked from his office and started for the bridge in a jog. Another shake, this time more violent, and he sped up into a run, his boot heels barely grabbing hold of the deck with each step. He could get to the shuttles in less than a minute, and what was going on in space was important as well.

“They might be a little tougher than we thought,” Chu said as the colonel came through the hatch.

Red lights were blinking while the drone of a klaxon sounded. The closest board showed a schematic of the Guadalcanal, small areas glowing red to indicate damage. The frigate was on the main viewer, the nozzles of lasers glowing. The enemy warship spat a missile that exploded moments after entering space, hit with one of the assault transport’s defensive lasers.

“Can you take her?” Ramos asked, feeling doubt for the first time.

Part of the frigate’s hull glowed, alloy puffed into space, and the other ship moved at an angle opposite the push of the vapor. Another part did the same, then another, just before a warhead went off close to the frigate, burning into its hull.

“Keep firing!” Chu yelled as the enemy got off another shot. The transport shook again, just before the last enemy laser blinked out.

“I’m not going to take a chance with this bitch,” Chu said, looking back at Ramos, who nodded in return.

More laser hits burned into the hull, a missile exploded next to it, and, with a flash, the enemy warship went up in a ball of plasma.

“How much damage?” Ramos asked, looking over the shoulder of the rating to see the glowing red on the schematic.

“One laser mount out. Some hull breaches over the starboard cargo holds. Some electronic shunts. Nothing we can’t fix.”

Ramos nodded, looking at the ship’s captain and reading the worry on her face. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was bothering her. “If that ship looks to be more than a match, or even your equal, I want you to protect the ship. Run and hide. You do us no good providing a spreading debris field up here.”

“Will do,” Chu agreed, relief on her face. “I’ll try to stick it out.”

“Just make sure we have something to take us out of here,” Ramos said, stepping over and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Now it’s time for us ground pounders to do our part.”

“I’d suggest coming down a hundred miles from the compound, then coming in nap of the earth.”

“Sounds good,” the colonel replied, stepping to the hatch. “See you in a few.”

I hope, he thought as he worried about the battle he was about to drop into. The plan had been for the Fierce Eagles to gather the intelligence so the Ravagers would know what they were dropping into. He could bring in all of his people in three drops. Instead, the light infantry was stuck full in, and he’d be dropping into chaos. Since time was short, he’d only be able to bring in a third of his force.

Can’t be helped, he thought as he walked through the hatch into the hangar, throwing an abbreviated salute to the troopers who had snapped to attention. The men and women were all dressed in the padded clothing they wore while inside their mechas, with serious expressions of their faces.

“Time to go to work, people,” Ramos said, heading for his assault shuttle. The rest immediately ran into their own shuttles. Moments later the outer hatch opened, and the first assault shuttle nosed out, oriented itself, then boosted toward the planet.

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Yusef!” Ahmed yelled out as his partner went down under the sweep of a laser. Beams were crisscrossing all over the field in front of the berm, forming an almost impenetrable barrier. Bodies of Kalagarta lay all over the area. The remaining warriors were close to the ground, trying to burrow into it. They were brave enough in the attack, but seeing all of their comrades going down as soon as they got close to the berm was enough to dissuade even the most courageous of warriors.

“I’m okay,” the other Human croaked into his comm. “Just got a touch on the shoulder.”

Ahmed breathed a sigh of relief. A laser hitting unprotected skin could be fatal, even if it didn’t hit a vital area. The combination of tissue destruction and heat transfer could stop the internal systems of a living being. Their camo covers wouldn’t do more than reflect the laser beam for a second or so, which could be enough for survival. The armored skin suit could also repel laser fire for a second or two. Still, it wasn’t unheard of for a second or less exposure to punch through the protection, and heavy beamers could burn through in an instant.

“We’re stuck here,” Yusef continued, lying about a dozen yards to the right of the senior mortarman.

“I don’t think they’ve seen us,” Ahmed replied, craning his neck to try and get a glimpse into the compound. From his position he couldn’t get a view over the berm, but the ten or so Xlatan on the top of the earthworks, firing their lasers, were readily apparent. “They’ve got our allies pinned down, sure enough.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I think if we can get close enough we can take those infidels out,” Ahmed said, looking over the terrain and picking out what he thought would be the best path. Some shallow runoffs, but with their camouflage he thought they could do it. “Follow me.”

Ahmed started moving at a low crawl, not the most comfortable means of travel, and one that would tire a soldier quickly. He was already tired, but there was no help for it. His skin crawled under his covering, the mercenary expecting a shot in the back at any moment. They were all but invisible, but not truly. If someone observant was looking at the blur of their outlines as they moved across the ground, they might take a shot.

May Allah protect us, the mercenary thought. From what he’d seen of the universe, though, Allah did little for his worshippers other than welcome them into paradise after they met their fate.

* * *

“Get your people over to that point to cover the field!” Mmrash yelled into the comm. “Move, damn you!”

“The men are spooked,” the NCO replied over the comm. “Something we can’t see keeps killing our people.”

“You know this? It has happened to you?”

“No, uh, no, sir,” said the hesitant sergeant, “but we’ve found the bodies of soldiers who were sliced open. Whatever they’re using goes right through our armor.”

Carbon nanotube blades, the commander thought, feeling his ears twitching in a combination of fear and frustration. As blade weapons, they weren’t of much use at most times in modern combat. Unfortunately, it seemed the Humans had found a way to use them. And the effect the combination of their stealth and killing with blade weapons was having on his people was disheartening.

“I don’t care what the hell you’ve seen. The Humans are about to take the landing field, which means they’ll be able to cover in the buildings.”

“Yes, sir. We’re moving. We’re…”

The Xlatan’s words cut off suddenly, an abruptness that sent a chill up the commander’s spine. There was yelling, screaming, three voices turning into one, then that one cutting off with a squeak.

“You men,” he told the six troopers set up around his command post, “we need to move to the field. Follow me.”

Mmrash didn’t like the idea of leaving his covered position, especially if there were invisible assassins out there taking out the small groups they came across, but if he held these people in reserve too long, he risked the situation getting completely out of hand, if it wasn’t already. And if he didn’t lead them, he had no way of knowing if they’d go to ground before they accomplished anything.

Hefting his rifle, Mmrash started out at the head of the half dozen Xlatan. He moved in a crouch that was unnatural to the six-legged species, his mid limbs useless in that gait. Since it made him a smaller target, he was willing to put up with the disadvantage, and besides, he could only fire one rifle at a time anyway.

* * *

“Kill them!” Jillor yelled to the four Xlatan who’d brought the pair of Humans under fire. He himself was still having trouble even seeing the bastards, especially since they’d gone to ground by the side of a building. Whatever they were using for a concealment field, it was better than anything he’d ever heard of. As far as he could tell, they were moving without a trace or a sound. Yet somehow one of the Xlatan had spotted something, and had fired, alerting the rest of the fire team to the general location of the Humans.

The Humans were firing back, their rounds making loud cracks as they pushed into the hypersonic range through the air. One of the Xlatan was hit, a glancing blow on tough chest armor. The rest continued to put their laser beams into the target area, but for some reason they weren’t hitting the Humans, who were taking advantage of the cover they had.

Jillor wasn’t sure if he was seeing things when he caught the moving blur out of the corner of his eye. He turned in time to see two of them, or possibly just one moving really fast. The blades coming out of the blurs were very visible, long lean weapons that showed their infinite sharpness when they struck.

Two of the Xlatan were down before they even knew their enemies were there. The blades went through the back armor of the soldiers, sticking out of the front and dripping gore. They slashed back out in cuts meant to cause maximum damage on retraction. The remaining Xlatan turned in a panic, to be met by blurs which seemingly moved too fast to be living creatures. The blades both swept in at neck level, and two Xlatan heads flew into the air to spin to the ground.

Jillor was thirty yards from the invisible death, and he knew he couldn’t outrun them. The door to the administration building was right behind him, with a pair of small Vroton guards kneeling behind cover and looking out. He fired his pistol, sending out a stream of hypervelocity rounds into the nearest of the blurs, then turned to reach the door.

“Stop them,” he said to the guards, who looked at him in confusion. He didn’t have time to tell them more. Getting into the building was of paramount importance. He thought he could find safety in his office, and maybe now was the time to call in his ace in the hole.

The door closed behind him, and he triggered the lock on the thick alloy door. He stumbled to his office, his limbs leaden from shock and fear. The door to his office was just as strong as the outer portal, and he pushed the wall panel to slide it closed. Another push and it was locked.

“I need you,” he said into the comm as he fell into his chair. “Kill everything that gets in your way.”

Sure, he might lose some of his own people to that killing machine. If it got all of the Humans, it would be worth it.

* * *

Asuka and Hotaru had been cutting a swath through the compound, relying on their modernized version of traditional weapons to kill. The pair had been raised in a traditional ninja family in Japan. Ninjutsu was a lost art to all but a few related groups. They could move silently through the darkness, surprising enemies who didn’t even know they were there until their life’s blood was flowing onto the ground. With traditional resources, they were fearsome. With modern stealth equipment, they were all but unstoppable.

The colonel had recognized their abilities. They could move in the skirmish line with the others, but that wasn’t their strength. Their greatest abilities were moving silently and quickly, and killing just as silently, just as quickly. And unlike most of their kind, they had a bond as a pair that went beyond being partners on the battlefield. They’d been married for over a decade and complimented each other in almost every way.

Now the team ran toward another group of Xlatan, a risky move. Since the aliens had some of the pair’s teammates pinned downed, it was a challenge they couldn’t deny. They didn’t make a sound, though such silence was unnecessary with the clamor of battle all around them. Cracks of hypersonic rounds, the buzz of lasers, even an explosion here and there. Hotaru thought they could have made the approach on a still night, but the background noise was comforting.

Both thrust their swords into the bodies of the first Xlatan they encountered, as near to simultaneously as to make no difference. There was an instant of resistance when the sword hit the back armor, followed by none as it pushed through the organic matter, then a bit more resistance as it ran through the front plate. She immediately pulled it back, putting pressure on the hilt to force the blade down and cut through more of the vital organs. Those Xlatan fell in silent heaps, already suffering massive blood loss.

Hotaru swung her blade back, the blood from the aliens sliding off the frictionless surface. A swing in, and she cut through the relatively thin neck armor, sending a Xlatan head spinning through the air.

The pair turned, searching for the next target. It was right there, by the building that was one of the primary targets, a large brown-furred alien, wrinkled gray skin showing through patches. That skin was supposed to be tough, but she had no doubt her blade would slice through it like it was water.

The creature raised a pistol that started to spit a rapid stream of hypervelocity pellets. A quick move and a duck took her out of the line of fire. The grunt from Asuka indicated he hadn’t fared as well.

“No,” she hissed under her breath as she turned to see her husband fall bonelessly to the ground. He was still a blur in his covering, but there was a tear through the field that showed his masked face, and the forehead of the mask showed a large hole, with blood and brain matter leaking out.

Hotaru kept her mind on the fight, looking back up and watching the creature who’d killed her husband run through a door, while two small aliens in the poor combat rig of guards knelt behind some filled bags, looking confused. Sure she wasn’t about to be fired upon, the woman knelt by her husband, her hands going to his head. It only took an instant to ascertain that Asuka would never rise from this field, and it only took Hotaru a second to bury her grief. Mourning could wait. She looked up at the guards and in an instant decided on her angle of approach. A dozen steps to her right, and she was padding softly up the side of the building. Having no idea about the hearing ability of that race, she decided to take no chances.

The first the aliens knew she was there was when her blade sliced through the throat of the nearest. She didn’t go for a decapitation, wanting her blade out at the right angle for the second kill. That came an instant later as she closed the distance with an athletic leap, her sword going through the side of the alien’s neck and dropping him in a heap.

The ninja looked back at where her husband lay, still a blur in his suit. With a shake of her head she held back the tears and pulled the small tool kit from her belt. Her own discipline had taught her how to handle many locks. Xou had taught her how to deal with the more advanced types. She put her husband out of her mind and got to work. She had a mission, and now revenge was a part of it.

* * *

“They got one of the ninjas,” Joey said, starting to take a step out toward the pair.

Jonah grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. His people knew what they were looking for, which made it easier to pick out their active camouflage, while any opponent had trouble just determining what they were looking at.

“We have a job to do, son. They have two people pinned down.” Just like we were, Jonah thought, taking one last look at the ninjas as one of them moved away and took up a position to take out the alien guards by the building door.

The pair hurried on, keeping low in a hunch, giving any watching enemy the smallest possible distortion to wonder about. There were several targets they could have hit on the way. The colonel made sure Joey ignored those. They didn’t need to get into another fire fight on the way.

“There they are,” Jonah said in a low voice. It would have been nice if he could have used hand signals and directed his partner without talking. Unfortunately, the stealth coverings worked both ways, and there was no guarantee another trooper would see the signal, much less interpret it correctly.

Four Xlatan were crouched behind very good cover, the partial wall of a building that had been hit by something during the early stages of the battle. They were firing lasers at a twenty-yard-long pile of logs, setting small fires.

“We’re here,” Jonah said over the comm. “Are you behind those logs?”

“Thank God, sir,” Antonopolis said. “Yeah, that’s us.”

“We’re safe enough for now, sir,” Xou’s voice came over the comm.

Yeah, but I need you in the fight, not covering in safety. As he had that thought, he spotted another pair of Xlatan working their way around to flank one of the men.

“Watch out. You’ve got a pair coming in on your left flank. Take care of those, and we’ll take care of the ones to your front.”

“Wilco,” Xou said.

“Let’s take them out,” Jonah told Joey, sighting in on the back of one of the Xlatan after dialing his rifle up to maximum velocity.

* * *

“Dammit,” Sandra hissed as her round hit inches away from her target. Take a breath, she thought, pulling back from the sight.

The Kalagarta had been chopped to pieces. There were possibly a dozen or fewer still on the field. As soon as they showed any part of themselves, they intercepted a laser beam. Those who had been hit left horribly mutilated bodies. Missing limbs, heads that had burst like smashed grapes, large holes through torsos. She was their only hope. But putting stress like that on herself wasn’t helping the situation.

“Got another,” Sarah said in a gleeful voice, putting a round through the torso of a Xlatan who’d popped up from behind cover. Several others had also come up to fire, and all immediately dropped back.

A series of popping explosions started to the left of the pair. Bright flashes of small grenades blasted over them. Sandra closed her eyes, waiting for death. When the popping stopped, she opened her eyes again, amazed she hadn’t felt the pain of a hit. A quick check of her diagnostics showed she was still unhurt. She turned over to look at Sarah with a smile that immediately left her face.

“I’m hit,” exclaimed Sarah. She’d been hit hard enough that her stealth was no longer working, and she lay with blood flowing through gaping holes in her lower back.

“Don’t move,” Sandra said, crawling over to the other woman as another burst of grenades exploded.

“Get the hell out of here,” the other sniper groaned. “They’ve got me spotted. All you’re going to do if you try to help is put yourself in the target area.”

Sandra was about to argue when a trio of lasers cut through the drifting smoke. One hit Sarah on the right shoulder, a strike that held for over a second and burned through suit and flesh. The woman’s body went limp, and a quick assessment told Sandra she was dead.

With a feeling of guilt at leaving a comrade, Sandra low crawled away toward the back of the rise. When she was far enough down that she was sure she wouldn’t be spotted, she rose to a crouch and headed to the north, her eyes searching for another firing position.

That could have just as easily been me, she thought as she moved. That it hadn’t been didn’t mean it wouldn’t soon be. Taking a series of deep breaths, she continued on. Now was not the time for fear or regret. That would come later, when the fighting was over. If she was still around.

* * * * *

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lt. Dotty Farrah was worried, not so much for herself as for her people. A medical school dropout, she’d learned enough on the job to have qualified for a degree. The problem was, she didn’t have the equipment in the field to save all the lives she could have saved with a fully staffed hospital. She’d already lost one. She wasn’t about to lose another.

Come on, she thought as she dragged Ivan Zhukov over the ground. The fully-equipped trooper was too much for the small woman to lift. She’d stabilized him, treating the left leg that had been almost cooked by the laser strike. He was medicated to the point of unconsciousness, the severe pain held at bay. He would make it, though the leg would probably need to be removed. It could be replaced. As long as the man was alive, she was determined he’d stay that way. The medic needed to get moving and see to others who might still be alive, but lying out in the open didn’t increase his chances of surviving.

Only a few more yards. She was almost to the small drainage ditch she thought might be a good place for Ivan to stay until they could get to him after the battle, if there was anyone left to come and get him.

“What’s that over there?” called out a voice in the earbuds of her helmet, translated for her.

Dotty looked up in horror to see a quartet of Xlatan, one pointing right at her. She and Ivan were both in full camo, blurs to anyone who saw them. Unfortunately, even being almost invisible wasn’t the same as being truly so. The Xlatan aimed their weapons, and she struggled to get her own rifle off her shoulder. Too late, and two of the beams hit her low, right in the hips and abdomen. The agony washed through her from her lower body. There was no feeling coming from her legs; the nerves had been destroyed.

Farrah was falling, and she retained enough sense to use the weight of her upper body to fall over her patient. It probably wouldn’t save Ivan, but if she could cover him, he might gain some time. Enough? Probably not.

Her consciousness started to fade as she heard the Xlatan approach, speaking among themselves.

“Big bastard, wasn’t he?” one of the aliens said, and Dotty’s last thought was that they thought the two bodies lying together were one. Then the last beam hit her in the back, burning through into her upper torso and broiling her heart and lungs.

* * *

“That finished him,” said the leader of the Xlatan quartet, looking down at the large blur on the ground. The center of the blur showed a hole in reality, with scorched flesh showing through the opening.

“That’s the largest Human I’ve ever seen,” another of the Xlatan said. “Better tell the commander we got another one.”

* * *

“Everyone ready?” Colonel Alexander Ramos asked, running a last-second check on the systems of his CASPer.

He had twenty-four of the units with him on the ground, only a third of what his company had on the ship, but all they could land on the first drop. He could have waited for another drop, but the Eagles might not have the time. So he’d move with what he had, and hope that if he needed reinforcements they’d be down by that time.

The troopers in the other CASPers sounded off, all sounding ready and eager.

“Take your platoon in from the west, Becky,” the colonel told his mission second, Captain Becky Schultz. “I’ll come in from the east. We’ll crush them between us.”

“Yes, sir,” the always cheerful officer responded. “We won’t let you down.”

Ramos watched as the twelve mecha started off at a run. The war machines were over eight feet tall and thick of body, with arms and legs that made them look like fat headless humanoids. All had heavy autocannon on both shoulders and carried laser shields on each of their arms. Ramos didn’t have the most advanced model of CASPer, but they were advanced enough, and his mechanics had made some improvements that put them head and shoulders above the others of their generation…even if they didn’t have heads.

He felt confident that he was bringing enough firepower to win the fight. That was only part of the problem, though. Could he win fast enough to rescue Jonah White Eagle and his people, or would he achieve victory in time to hold a service for them?

* * *

“You take the two on the right,” Ahmed said, sighting in on the first of the pair on the left. That, of course, left the one in the center. They just had to hope they could take down the others in time for one of the mortarmen to get that one, too.

“Too bad we don’t have some grenades,” Yusef said softly.

Ahmed had been thinking that himself. Even if the grenades didn’t kill all their opponents, it would have at least knocked them back. Unfortunately, the mortarmen had already been weighed down enough with the weapon and ammo they’d humped in. They didn’t even have a full load of ammo for their rifles.

“Now,” Ahmed said, squeezing his trigger and sending a stream of rounds into his first target. With a cyclic rate of ten rounds a second at five thousand feet per second, the rifle almost pushed him onto his back despite his widely-spaced feet. The burst of eight rounds hit the Xlatan in the shoulder and side of the helmet. None penetrated, but the three that hit the helmet put the Xlatan over on his side, probably concussed.

Ahmed swung his weapon over to the next soldier, who’d started to turn his way. His burst caught the Xlatan in the shoulders and helmet, just like the last one. This Xlatan, though, had his faceplate turned toward the Human, and two of the rounds blew through the thinner armor and into the head beyond. The soldier fell backwards, his rifle falling from his hands.

The senior mercenary switched his attention to the one in the middle, just in time to see the soldier trigger his weapon, the laser beam linking weapon with target. He glanced over in horror to see the blurry figure of Yusef catch the beam dead center. He shot at the Xlatan soldier, getting solid hits in the faceplate, but not in time to stop the laser from punching through his partner.

“No,” he whispered, stepping over and kneeling by Yusef’s body. The hole showing through the camo field gave enough of a view for him to see that his partner was dead.

A loud smack grabbed his attention, and he looked up while swinging his weapon around just in time to see another Xlatan, weapon leveled, falling to the side with a hole in his faceplate.

“Get your ass moving, soldier,” Sandra said over the comm. “I can’t keep babysitting your ass.”

“They got Yusef.”

“I know. And they got Sarah. But we both have a job to do, so get to it. I’ll try and cover you.”

The eleven Kalagarta who’d survived jumped to their feet and were moving to the berm, until a trio of lasers cut through the smoke and reduced them to eight living members.

“We have more Kalagarta coming up from the river,” Sandra said, “but they’ll fare no better than the ones that just went down.”

“I’ll hit them from the flank while you keep their heads down,” Ahmed said, moving forward in a crouch, eyes locked on the Xlatan force a hundred yards away. Every eye of that force was looking out, and most had their heads down as much as possible in realization of the long-range death out there. The only problem was there were seven of the enemy, and he wouldn’t have a chance against all of them. He’d join Yusef in paradise, and he had no desire to go there yet.

“I’ve got an idea,” he said after scanning into the compound for a moment. “Don’t get yourself killed before I get into position. Then we’ll see just how good a sniper you are.”

* * *

“Get your ass back here, Avgust!” Major Charley Thapa yelled, taking a shot at a Xlatan who’d shown his head for a moment. The shot missed, and Charley took a deep breath and said a mantra of calm.

“I’m coming, Major,” the big man said, running back in a crouch and rolling over the barrier they’d been covering behind.

“You took too long, your big bastard,” Charley admonished, taking another shot, this time hitting a Xlatan. He didn’t think he’d hit anything vital, nor had he achieved penetration, but he’d forced the other Xlatan down for the moment.

“I had to make sure I placed them properly,” the Ukrainian responded in his thick accent.

“Doesn’t do us much good if you’re lying out there wounded. Or dead.”

“Just watch.”

A fusillade of lasers came in, burning into the tough alloy of the concrete and steel blast barrier on the edge of the landing field. The field was behind them, the buildings of the processing plant the barrier protected were ahead, and in that space were several piles of logs waiting their turn to be turned into pulp and product.

“They’re moving,” Charley said, looking over at the other mercenary.

“I see them.” The air above them was seeded with scores of microdrones, feeding their views to the helmets of the mercenaries.

The images weren’t all that clear, not with all the smoke. Still, the men could see the blurry heat images of the Xlatan moving. The beings were cautious, moving in a manner that kept cover between them and the Humans. Three were heading for one of the log piles, two more for another. A smart move on their part, and it was going to bite them.

“Now!” Charley ordered.

Avgust triggered the charges he’d planted, four of his precious remaining six. Each carried a pound of the most powerful crystalline chemical explosive known to Humankind, along with some accelerant provided by the Kalagarta. Both log piles exploded upward, propelled through rising balls of fire.

The Xlatan were slaughtered despite their body armor, crushed by the heavy logs that flew into them or landed on them.

“I’ve got two more, sir. Where do you think I should place them?”

Charley shook his head. Like all demolitions experts, the Ukrainian really only got joy from blowing shit up. As long as he made good decisions about where those explosions were located, the major didn’t really care how much of an explosives nerd he was.

The roaring sound coming from the north sent a shiver down the major’s spine. He’d heard that sound before, and it was never a good thing.

* * *

“We’ve got a problem here, Colonel,” Charley’s voice came over the comm.

As far as Jonah could see, they had more problems than they could handle. So what was another one?

“What do you have?” he asked his second, looking over at Joey and seeing the grenade hanging at the end of a blurry appendage. Jonah waved his own grenade, then hit the button on the top with three quick taps, arming it, then tossing it toward the three Xlatan that were his targets. Joey’s left his blurred area, flying through the air toward two more of the aliens. Jonah’s got there first, hitting the ground and detonating on impact. The grenades had an ounce of the same explosive Avgust was using. The rest of the quarter pound device was the trigger and hard alloy that formed the fragmentation component. The weapon exploded in a ball of spreading fire, engulfing the Xlatan. Two came flying out of the blast zone, armor on fire, while the last was slammed forward into the barrier they were sheltering behind to bounce back into the ground that was aflame.

“What do you have, Major?”

“A damned Tortantula, Colonel. It just strolled out of that damned circular building. What the hell is it doing here?”

Jonah stared ahead in shock. Their intelligence had said nothing about one of the massive killing machines being on the planet. No one had spotted it, including the Kalagarta who’d escaped from the compound. It’s the thing they were being fed to, Jonah thought, angry at himself for missing the signs.

“Can you take it out?”

“Maybe. Possibly. Probably not. You know the damned things have hard natural armor. And this bastard has strap-on armor. If I was willing to bet, that armor is the best its employers could provide.”

“Stay out of its way until we can figure something out.”

“I’ve got something figured out, Colonel,” Avgust’s voice said over the comm.

“I’m not going to have you commit suicide,” Charley growled.

“I agree. Keep your distance until we can come up with a way to ambush it.”

“That might be hard to do, sir,” Charley said, his voice shaking. “I don’t know how, but it seems to have seen us, and it’s moving really fast right at us.”

* * *

Kevin Graham came out of his blackout, his blurred vision barely able to pick out his surroundings. The pain in his lower body was enough to make him cry out. He looked at his inventory and groaned as he saw that his pain medication store was empty. A scan of his systems confirmed his worse fears. With most of his lower intestines not working, as well as having non-functioning kidneys, his still intact biology was starting to fail to the poisons that weren’t being cleared from his blood.

What the hell is that? he thought, seeing a large blurry object moving in the center of the compound. The heavy weapons specialist attempted to clear his vision. It improved slightly as he squinted, but he still couldn’t tell what it was. That it was large and moving meant it was probably trouble. Which meant he needed to do something about it while he still could.

He sighted in through his telescopic sight, trying to aim for a weak point. His vision continued to blur, and he finally had to settle for aiming center mass. When he thought he had the best shot he could get, he pressed the firing stud, sending the powerful laser beam into the target. He kept it on target for a full three seconds, the best he could do, before his vision blacked out again and he sank back into unconsciousness.

* * *

“Hold on a second, Ahmed. I’ve got a priority target inside the compound.”

“I’m almost in position, Sandra,” the other mercenary said, disbelief in his tone. “If I don’t do something soon I’m going to have to back off.”

“This is important. If we don’t take this thing out it’s going to slaughter our people.”

And what in the hell is that damned thing doing in there, she thought, watching as it walked purposely toward something she couldn’t see. It could move very fast for such a large creature. And from what she’d heard, the Tortantula was as deadly a being as existed in this Galaxy.

She took a shot, right into the body of the creature. She couldn’t see the strike, but there appeared to be no damage to the armor it was wearing. A second shot let her know that she wasn’t doing anything by shooting at it. If she’d had Sarah’s rifle, too far away to be of any use, she might be able to get some penetration. Though she seriously doubted it.

“Okay, Ahmed. I’m back on track. First shot in three seconds.”

* * *

“We have more of the Kalagarta moving to the north,” Lrator said, looking over at his NCO. “You hold this position while I take half our people up the berm to stop the natives.”

The sergeant acknowledged, and Lrator dropped behind the berm and hurried to the north in a crouch, four soldiers running along behind him. The officer wondered when the natives would get the point that there was no way they were going to take this compound. An explosion four hundred yards away, on the other side of the compound, reminded him that the Kalagarta weren’t in this alone.

* * *

Ahmed let out a sigh of relief. He was in position behind the Xlatan, within thirty yards. It had taken some minutes to get into this position, low crawling across a thirty-yard stretch of open ground. He’d wanted to cover on the side of a building until he’d found Kalagarta tribesmen were trapped in the structure, and there was no way the mercenary was going to use the poor slaves as cover. So he was back on open ground, in prone position, his weapon to his shoulder and ready to fire.

“Taking the first shot, now,” Sandra called out.

The head of one of the Xlatan rocked back, the round striking him in the faceplate. The being fell from the berm and landed on his back, still moving, but obviously no longer conscious.

Ahmed took his shot, hitting another Xlatan in the back of the helmet. There was no way he was going to achieve penetration, but the force of the hit was sure to cause some damage.

Two of the Xlatan turned his way, trying to bring their weapons to bear. One decided the threat from outside needed covering and started to turn. It was a rookie mistake, taking him out of the fight against the threat on the inside while making no possible difference against the shooter outside.

The one who’d decided to try and fight the inner threat triggered his laser, sending a beam into the ground a few yards to Ahmed’s right. The Xlatan swung his beam further to the right, indicating to the Human that his enemy had no idea where his target was. Still, with enough time and luck he could hit Ahmed. He decided he didn’t want his opponent to have the time or the chance of spotting him.

A burst to the faceplate knocked the Xlatan back. Ahmed wasn’t sure if he’d achieved penetration, but the Xlatan was currently out of the fight.

A round cracked over, Sandra taking her next shot. The Xlatan had already ducked and held his rifle up to use its sights to try and find a target. Ahmed sighted in carefully, then put a burst into the back of the enemy’s helmet, knocking him unconscious.

“The rest of them went to the north,” he reported back to the sniper. “No telling when they’re going to come back.”

“I’m coming in,” Sandra said, “and you’ll have some friends coming over the berm any moment now.”

Within a minute Kalagarta were swarming over the berm, weapons clutched in their hands. They fell on the downed Xlatan, pulling off armored gauntlets and faceplates and stabbing them with poisoned weapons. In moments it was over; the downed Xlatan were dead, many in postures caused by muscles forcibly contracted by the poison. The Kalagarta started into the compound, croaking out their war cries.

“I don’t think they’re going to last long like that,” Sandra said, coming over the berm.

“Then we might as well take advantage of their sacrifice,” Ahmed said, turning to jog after the natives.

* * * * *

Chapter Thirty

“Call your creature back,” Hotaru demanded, staring at the being that was known in the compound as the Boss.

“I can’t,” the large creature said, staring at the light-reflecting blur of the ninja. “It’s not under my control. Once it left its habitat it’s under its own control.”

“Then I guess there’s no longer a need to have you around,” the ninja said, letting the rage and sorrow at the loss of her husband have free reign.

“Now don’t be hasty,” the boss stammered in a deep voice. “That’s quite some impressive tech you have there. Better than I expected from Humans.”

“We aren’t as primitive as some of you believe.”

“That’s obvious. It’s also obvious that you personally have some well-developed skills. You could go far in our organization.”

“I am a warrior, as was my husband,” Hotaru said, taking a step forward. “Like I would sign on with a bunch of scumbag murderers like you.”

“Too bad,” the alien said, reaching quickly into his desk.

Not quickly enough. Hotaru sprinted forward, leaped into the air, and landed on the desk, her blade sweeping out and catching the creature’s wrist as it rose with the pistol. Hand and pistol went swirling through the air to smack the wall.

“I’ve never seen anything move so fast,” the boss hissed.

“Then it’s fitting it will be the last thing you ever see,” Hotaru said, sweeping her blade accurately through the neck of the boss. At first it appeared she had missed, as the head still sat on the shoulders, then the body of the boss collapsed, and the head slid off and landed on the desk, staring up at the ninja.

“You are avenged, husband,” she declared, sweeping her blade through the air to rid it of the blood.

Now there was a battle to return to and a fearsome monster to kill. She wasn’t sure how she was going to do it, but she knew fate would offer her the chance.

* * *

“Our fire is doing squat, Colonel,” Charley called out over the comm.

“Join the club!” Jonah shouted into his comm, firing a series of bursts into the body of the monster. Nothing was penetrating. Maybe if we had lasers, the colonel thought, wondering not for the first time if his choice of weapons for this mission hadn’t been a mistake.

A series of bright flashes erupted over the body of the Tortantula, followed by the pops of the micro-grenades. The creature let out a roar, stopping in place as its armored head swept the area looking for its tormentor. The grenades seemed to have done no damage to the monster, but its reaction showed something had happened to it.

The Tortantula seemed to have trouble locating the Humans. Jonah wasn’t sure how good its eyesight was. Probably not as good as Human vision. They were said to have an acute sense of smell, which wouldn’t help with exact target acquisition. It caught sight of a Xlatan soldier and charged toward it, in its rage going after something it could see.

The Xlatan fired its laser dead center into the spider-like creature. The Tortantula ignored the strike and grabbed the Xlatan. It ripped an arm off the Xlatan, then another, and tossed the dying body away.

Other Xlatan opened fire, now going after their attacker and ignoring the Humans. Beams struck all over the armor, none penetrating, though in places the hard covering glowed red with heat exchange.

“They’re not having any better luck,” Joey said, reloading, then firing again.

And we’re going to waste our ammo on something we can’t hurt, Jonah thought, trying to come up with a plan to take the killing machine out before it killed any of his people.

* * *

A bright thick beam struck the creature on the side, then dropped down to a leg. The Tortantula roared again, turning toward the beam, which was coming from some distance outside the compound.

“Good job, Kevin,” Jonah said over the comm. He’d wondered where the heavy weapons specialist had gotten to.

The beam held onto one of the Tortantula’s legs, burning through armor and appendage, and sending the great spider into a stagger. The beam winked out, and the creature stared out into the distance, looking for the being that had just hurt it.

Another string of grenades exploded across the armor of the monster, and it roared again. Turning, it caught sight of its tormentor and charged, staggering slightly to the left as it tried to use its missing leg. Amobi tried to get another magazine into his weapon, but he wasn’t given the time. The Tortantula lifted the blurred form of the Human into the air, and suddenly there were a pair of blurs, dripping bloody intestines to the ground.

Kalagarta started to flood the area, firing their bows and throwing spears at the Tortantula. Of course nothing penetrated the body. One got through the mouth opening, sticking into the flesh, and the colonel waited for the huge carnivore to fall over from the effect of the powerful poison.

That didn’t happen, and the Tortantula grabbed the closest Kalagarta and ripped the warrior into two pieces.

“Last mag!” Joey shouted.

Jonah had one more left. Each mag contained two hundred of the ten-millimeter rounds. They were able to carry considerable amounts of ammo for their magrail weapons, but the load wasn’t unlimited, and the colonel was beginning to think there wasn’t enough ten millimeter in the universe to take out the creature before them.

The Xlatan were all firing at the Tortantula now. They’d seen the creature kill one of their own, and no longer trusted it to fight on their side. Unfortunately, their light lasers seemed to do little more than enrage it. Maybe if it weren’t in the armor? But Jonah could think of no way to get it off the creature. Maybe if Sarah was still alive, with her heavy anti-material rifle. He couldn’t imagine anything other than thick vehicle armor standing up to that. But she was dead, and as far as he knew, her weapon was also gone.

The Tortantula tore another Kalagarta apart. The rest of the doughty warriors seemed to be without fear, continuing a rain of arrows, spears, and darts, but to no avail. The Tortantula continued with the slaughter.

“Avgust,” Charley yelled, “get your stupid ass back here!”

The Ukrainian didn’t answer as he ran silently toward the Tortantula, which at first didn’t seem to notice him. His stealth field made him difficult to detect, but the creature had good motion vision and a 360-degree view; even a blurry form could be noticed. Fortunately for the demolitions specialist, there was a lot of movement. Xlatan trying to get away, shooting at their erstwhile ally. Kalagarta trying to break off their attack and get away from the thing slaughtering them.

The big man looked like he was going to get to the creature untouched, until the Tortantula spun around and two of its arms reached out, grabbing the Human and jerking him into the air.

Jonah aimed and fired, trying to damage at least one of the arms holding his man, and watched as his rounds bounced uselessly from its armor. A couple of other mercenaries were shooting at the other arm with the same null result. The arms started to move apart, and Avgust cried out into his comm.

The heavy laser beam appeared through the smoky air, hitting one of the arms and staying there for the fraction of a second the weapon needed to cut through. The Tortantula screeched as its arm fell away. Avgust hung from the other for a moment before that one also released, and he fell to the ground.

“Everyone, take cover!” the Ukrainian yelled as he scrambled to his feet and took off at a run.

Jonah zoomed in on the Tortantula and saw the two objects that were now sticking to the armor over the front of its body.

Before Avgust could get under cover, the two devices went off with thunderous roars. Large balls of fire rose and blotted out the view of the Tortantula. It let out a loud, abrupt screech that cut off with a deathly suddenness. When the fire balls rose away, Jonah could see the creature staggering on its thin, armored legs. The armor had been blown away from two areas over a foot across. The real damage was underneath the armor, where jets of explosive plasma had driven into the body. With a staggering step the creature moved forward, then fell.

Avgust had been lifted into the air and fortunately deposited outside the shadow of the creature. He picked himself up off the ground as the Tortantula slammed to the ground.

“That takes care of that,” the Ukrainian said, getting back under cover while he could.

There was a moment of quiet as both sides gathered themselves for the final act. The compound was a complete wreck. Buildings that had been made of prefab components and corrugated metals were either flattened or standing upright with holes large and small blasted through them. Every vehicle was damaged, many in pieces of scrap scattered along with molten ingots. It seemed that everything that was flammable was burning, adding oily smoke to the air.

The worst part, as far as the colonel was concerned, were the bodies. A dozen species lay about, almost none of them whole. An arm here, a head there, a couple of torsos missing all the limbs by a building. He didn’t see many Human bodies, both because there hadn’t been that many to start with, and the tendency of the stealth clothing to continue functioning even when pierced or shredded. The odor of the dead was overwhelmed by the smells of materials, but it was still there. Alien though they might be, the contents of digestive organs were still familiar enough.

“Everyone keep to cover. Let the bastards come to you, and take them out.”

“I’m almost out of ammo, Colonel,” Charley’s voice came over the comm. “Less than half a mag.”

And we’re down to nine effectives, the colonel thought, checking his own loadout and grunting as he saw less than sixty rounds registering in the weapon, with no reloads. If Kevin was still active, they still had his heavy laser, but he had no way of knowing the gunner’s condition. His telemetry was down, so there was no way of knowing, but Jonah wouldn’t have been surprised if he were seriously injured, if not dead.

“Grab what enemy equipment you can. As long as we’re on our feet, we’ll fight.”

There were weapons scattered about, many destroyed or damaged beyond use, though there were some in working condition. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been made for Human anatomy—the weapons of the Xlatan had longer stocks and pistol grips that wouldn’t fit Human hands. Still, they could be triggered, which made them better than weapons without ammo.

The noise of battle rose around Jonah. The cracks of hypersonic rounds that had missed a target and carried on. The hum of lasers. Even a few explosions, none of Human origin.

“I’m out,” Joey said from a couple of yards away. “I guess it’s time to see how good these Xlatan lasers are.”

The fight continued. More of the Xlatan and other aliens went down. Achilles Antonopolis and Cheung Xou were overrun, both letting out last cries as their lives were taken. Finally, only Sandra still had ammo, and very little at that.

Jonah tried to aim with a captured laser, but was unable to get a good sight picture so he settled for aiming from the hip and sweeping. The weapon buzzed as it sent a beam through the smoky air, missing his target. The colonel swept the beam back into the small alien, slicing deeply enough into its body to drop it. Before he finished the sweep, the weapon’s buzz died, and the beam winked out.

“Shit,” he cried, tossing the useless weapon to the ground and looking for something else. There was nothing within reach, so he pulled his carbon nanotube weapon from its sheath and crouched behind cover, looking for an enemy he might be able to sneak up on.

“I’m down to my kukri,” Charley said over the comm.

“Surrender, Humans,” a familiar voice said over the Human comm system. The system translated but tried to retain all of the tone of the original voice.

Well, crap, Jonah thought, looking around, trying to spot the Xlatan transmitting. It was difficult to break into the comm network, but not impossible. He thought for a moment about switching to another algorithm, then decided not to. What was the use? It was maybe time to talk, while he still had any people alive. At least he could find out what the enemy had to offer, while he thought about whether he could trust them or not.

“Lrator,” the colonel replied. “Glad to see you made it.”

“And because of that I’m offering you your lives,” the Xlatan said.

“What are you doing, Lieutenant?” another voice asked.

“Commander, I’m trying to save lives here. Ours as well as the Humans.”

“You’re disobeying orders, Lrator. Consider yourself under arrest. After we finish these Humans, I’ll deal with you.”

“But, sir. They have to be almost out of ammo. If we can settle this thing without losing more of our people, why don’t we?”

“The soldiers nearest to Lrator are to place that traitor under arrest. If he resists, shoot him.”

Lrator didn’t return to the comm, and the colonel was worried the Xlatan with him might have shot him. His only crime, as far as Jonah could tell, was offering mercy to an opponent who’d already lost.

“I’m here,” Charley said, his indistinct form and one other climbing over the barrier of rubble Jonah and Joey were sheltering behind, “and I brought another of our ducklings with me.”

“We’re trying to get there, Colonel,” Sandra said over the comm, switching to a frequency and encryption the Xlatan hadn’t tapped into yet.

“I want you and Ahmed to stay where you are. It won’t help to have you get killed along with us. See if you can find Ivan and Kevin, then move out into the jungle.”

“Colonel…”

“That’s an order, Ahmed. We’ve lost. Me and Charley and the others are doomed, but we’re not going to become prisoners.”

“Kill all the Humans,” came the command Jonah had been waiting for.

He accepted a power pack that Charley handed over, clumsily reloading the alien weapon.

“You heard me!” the Xlatan commander yelled, voice rising when no one moved to charge and overrun their opponents. “Kill them, you cowards. Kill…”

The commander’s voice broke for a second, followed by a gurgling cry. There were two more quick cries, along with the buzz of a laser, then silence.

“You’re back in charge, Lrator,” Hotaru came over the comm. “Your commander has been retired with honors.”

Jonah knew the woman was talking about an instant kill. That settled having to deal with Mmrash, the commander, but the problem remained. Much as he’d have liked to trust Lrator, there was no way he would put his life, and the lives of his people, into the hands of the Syndicate.

“Throw down your weapons, Human, and I’ll ensure that you’re well treated,” Lrator said.

“And when the Syndicate gets another boss in here? What then, Lrator? Will you make sure we’re safe when those bastards have returned?”

There was silence in response. Jonah felt for the Xlatan officer. Lrator was a being of honor, but how far would honor take him with the criminals he worked for?

“All I can tell you is I’ll do my best to protect you.”

“Not good enough. Either you let us walk out of here, or you’ll have to spend more of your blood taking us down.”

“Then that’s how it’ll have to be. I give you one minute to consider your choice. After that we’ll be firing on your positions with as many weapons as we can bring to bear. I hate to order your death, Colonel, but if you don’t surrender, you leave me no other choice.”

“Thoughts?” Jonah asked the mercenaries sheltering with him.

“I don’t want to die,” Joey said.

Jonah nodded. It wasn’t unexpected that some of his people might prefer to take their chances with surrender. That choice left some possibilities. Getting burned down here and now left nothing but certain death.

“But I don’t trust those people either. I’d rather die fighting back, not on my knees.”

“I agree,” Charley said, “and I’d be surprised if this big bastard didn’t agree.”

“No argument here, Colonel. If I’m going to go down, I want the screams of dying enemies in my ears.”

“I have your answer, Lrator. And it’s no go. We will die as warriors.”

“Very well. All Xlatan who can, target the Humans. On my command, fire.”

Suddenly there were explosions all over the compound, with Xlatan and other aliens crying out in the background.

“To all of those opposing Colonel White Eagle and his people,” a Human voice called out over the comm, echoing as speakers sounded through the compound, “you are surrounded and outgunned. Drop your weapons and come out into the open with your manipulation organs empty. Failure to obey will result in your destruction. You have one minute.”

“A trick,” one of the Xlatan called out.

More of the Xlatan cried out in surprise, many of the other aliens echoing that with calls of terror. A half-dozen CASPers stepped into view, laser shields open on their arms, heavy cannon on both shoulders rotating to follow the gaze of the pilots.

A couple of lasers struck out of the smoke, splashing off the laser shields of the CASPers. The rotating cannon immediately spoke, sending streams of explosive shells into Xlatan positions. Abrupt cries came over the comm as those positions were turned into abattoirs of flame and flying debris. A couple of Xlatan tried to leave their positions, attracting the attention of the CASPers. A couple of short bursts, and those aliens were turned into shredded husks with heavy mists of blood hovering over them as they fell to the ground.

“Thirty seconds,” Alexander Ramos said over the comm, his voice sounding like the thunderous voice of a god over his speakers.

“Xlatan Warriors, throw down your weapons and come out into the open, slowly,” Lrator said, his voice low with dejection now that he was to become a prisoner again.

“But, sir.”

“We can’t fight against what these newcomers have. So unless you want to die for no reason, do as they say.”

A half-dozen Xlatan, including one figure Jonah thought had to be Lrator, got up from where they’d been under cover, all with four hands empty. More CASPer showed themselves as well, stomping from the concealment they’d been using.

Jonah thought the Ravagers could have taken the compound by themselves, but not without losses, possibly heavy. The enemy at full strength, with their tank and shuttles, could have taken out some of the heavy powered armored suits. With what they had on hand now, they could only die bravely, and Jonah was happy to see there weren’t many of them that stupid. Especially when the power of the CASPers had been demonstrated to them so emphatically.

“Glad to see you, Colonel,” Jonah said as one of the CASPers headed toward him. “I wasn’t sure you were coming.”

“We’re here,” Ramos said after a short laugh. “Though I guess we’re not going to be making much of a profit on this operation.”

“Glad to see you, Alex. I have a couple of ideas about making a profit.”

* * * * *

Chapter Thirty-One

One Year Later

“I’ll get right to the point, Colonel White Eagle,” said Walther Model, the Special Representative of the United Nations for Extrasolar Affairs. “There are a lot of people back home concerned about this little plantation you’ve established out here.”

Jonah nodded, looking into the eyes of the UN Official. He had a feeling this man had already made up his mind, and there was nothing he could say that would change his opinion. Well, too bad. Earth has no jurisdiction here.

He and Ramos had already dealt with the Trade Guild representative. That had gone better than he’d thought it would. Presenting the evidence that a criminal organization had been in charge of the fate of an entire sentient species while the Union had been paid off to stay away had gone a long way to smoothing over the representative’s concerns. Interviews with the natives, who were still living in their traditional societies, though with some technology they now had the money to buy, smoothed over others. There was still concern about lifting up the Kalagarta before they were ready, but as long as they didn’t try to push it too far too fast, there wasn’t enough pressure to hold back. And of course, greasing some palms had gone a long way toward reducing the scrutiny.

The Syndicate was still a problem, but not on Kalagart itself. Sure, there were contracts let, and some of the more recognizable of the mercenary companies’ leadership had to take precautions while traveling. Since they’d moved their headquarters to this world, there was little need for any of the possible targets to travel. The criminals hadn’t been foolish enough to try and land troops on the planet, not after a pair of failures. Both the Ravagers and the Fierce Eagles kept full company-strength forces on the surface, rotating with the other units of their companies for active contracts. There were two frigates in the system and a naval mercenary company, with a third to be in place within a month.

“Plantation, Mr. Model?” Alexander Ramos asked, taking the controls of the shuttle and lifting it from the expanded landing field. “It sounds like you’re accusing us of using slave labor.”

And why in the hell are you even bothering, Jonah thought, looking over at his fellow colonel and shrugging his shoulders. Earth was getting their cut. Millions of credits of interstellar currency each month, much needed by the planet.

“Maybe not slavery,” the official said, shaking his head. “Exploitation, now, that’s another question altogether.”

The land stretched out below them as the shuttle rose. The fifty-mile zone around the old compound was now farmland. The formerly dead land had been reborn, planted with fast-growing shrubs that concentrated Invigorate four times more efficiently than any naturally occurring vegetation. It had cost a bundle to get the geneticists of the Science Guild to build the genome of the plant. Over two thousand square miles of farmland, stretching to the horizon in any direction.

The compound, rebuilt, refurbished, and enlarged, sat in the center. The processing plants were still there, running at full efficiency on the softer vegetation they had to work with. There were still barracks and facilities for workers, hired from a number of species. And new facilities, for research on the planet and its wildlife.

Another planting area was in the process of being tilled out on the grasslands, but it wasn’t a large area. The plan was careful to maintain the environment of the planet while still reaping a large profit. A dozen villages dotted the current planting area, and another dozen sat within the jungle around the circumference of the open area. Kalagarta worked the fields, laboring in the hot sun to tend and weed, water and feed.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Model said, pointing out at one of the fields. “Those poor people are working themselves for your gain.”

“And theirs,” Ramos said with a frown. “Seventy percent of the profit goes directly to the Kalagarta. They volunteer to work the plantation so their families can get some advanced technology and education.”

“And destroy their culture!” the UN man exclaimed.

This SOB is just looking for something, Jonah thought, shaking his head.

“You can’t have it both ways,” Ramos said, turning the shuttle and heading for the edge of the planting zone. “Either we’re exploiting the natives, or we’re destroying their culture. Do you know that the Kalagarta can now afford medical personnel in their villages to study their physiology and work on curing every disease that strikes on a hot world? We’ve already cured most of their traditional diseases. The doctors estimate we’ve almost doubled their average life expectancy, and that’ll only go up.”

“We’re here,” Jonah said as the other officer brought the shuttle down in a small clearing that was just large enough for it.

“Why are we here?”

“So you can talk with some of the people you’re so concerned about, Representative,” Ramos said, unbuckling his straps and gesturing toward the hatch.

It was hot outside the shuttle, as always. The large village was alive with people coming down to greet the shuttle, and with it their saviors. There were hundreds of children, with enough adults to look after them while the others either worked the plantations or hunted in the jungle. The Kalagarta had insisted on retaining much of their traditional life, but they had jumped at the chance of getting long-range comms, off-world entertainment, and, of course, some modern luxuries.

“Welcome, Colonels,” said a wizened Kalagarta male, walking through the children, shooing some away. The children croaked out laughs, enjoying the attention of their elder. “We are happy to see you.”

“I think you’ll enjoy the meal they have planned for us, Representative,” Jonah said after shaking the hand of Chief Allaman.

“Where are the older children?” Model asked, a frown on his face. “Working in the fields?”

“They’re in class,” Ramos said, gesturing toward one of the huts. “Shall we look in?”

Almost forty children were seated on the floor of the hut, a Xlatan standing at the front of the room speaking Kalagarta while gesturing with four hands at a Tri-V presentation.

“How goes it, Lrator?” Jonah asked, smiling.

“I want to thank you again for the opportunity to make up for my past actions, Colonel White Eagle,” the being said.

The children all turned and looked at the newcomers, several getting to their feet and running over to pat the two colonels.

“What’s he doing here? Weren’t his people responsible for the excesses of the criminal enterprise that caused all of this?”

“Lrator was not welcome back on his home world,” Jonah said. “He wanted to make up for some of those…excesses. So we found a job for him that helps everyone.”

Model continued to ask questions, and White Eagle was starting to get frustrated. The man was a crusader who would save the sentient beings of this planet from the perceived exploitation, whether they wanted it or not. Whether it existed or not.

Finally, after a meal, the Representative was off with Ramos for the compound and his own shuttle. Jonah wasn’t sure if they’d satisfied the man. He wasn’t sure if anything would have. He wasn’t too worried, since this wasn’t Earth, and he’d arranged to live here for the rest of his life.

He watched the lights of the shuttle recede, then walked over to the graveyard the Kalagarta had donated to his company. Hard alloy markers that would last practically forever marked each grave, and the Kalagarta lovingly tended to them. Everyone had been moved here, even those who had fallen on the upper plateau.

He stopped for a moment in front of the grave of Kevin Graham, who had held on to his life beyond reason to help take out the Tortantula. Next to him was the grave of Amobi Kabir, and then that of Sarah Cohen. All lay here, and they all still lived in his heart and mind.

“Colonel,” Ivan Zhukov said, walking past him to head for a particular grave, flowers in his hand.

“You doing okay, Ivan?”

“Fine. Getting better every day.” The man knelt in front of Dotty Farrah’s grave, saying a quick prayer and placing the flowers on the marker. “If not for her, I wouldn’t be here.”

Ivan hadn’t said a word in a year about returning to missions, and Jonah wasn’t going to push. None of the people who’d fought to liberate this planet would be forced to fight again, unless it was to defend the world of Kalagart. Charley, Sandra, Joey and Hotaru were off planet on a mission. Those four had decided they hadn’t had enough. When they had, they’d be welcome back here, or anywhere else they wanted to go.

“Thank you,” said Chief Allaman, walking up behind Jonah in the darkness. “Thank you. If not for you, our world would have been doomed.”

Jonah nodded silently to the old Kalagarta. Every time he came here, the chief thanked him, and every time he didn’t know what to say. Looking at the form of the chief in the dark, he realized he didn’t have to say anything.

# # # # #

About the Author

Doug Dandridge was born in Venice Florida in 1957, the son of a Florida native and a Mother of French Canadian descent. An avid reader from an early age, Doug has read most of the classic novels and shorts of Science Fiction and Fantasy, as well as multiple hundreds of historical works. Doug has military experience including Marine Corps JROTC, Active Duty Army, and the Florida National Guard. He attended Florida State University, studying Biology, Geology, Physics, and Chemistry, and received a BS in Psychology. Doug then studied Clinical Psychology at the University of Alabama, with specific interests in Neuropsychology and Child Psychology, completing a Masters and all course work required for a PhD.

He has worked in Psychiatric Hospitals, Mental Health Centers, a Prison, a Juvenile Residential Facility, and for the past five years for the Florida Department of Children and Families. Doug has been writing on and off for fifteen years. He concentrates on intelligent science fiction and fantasy in which there is always hope, no matter how hard the situation. No area of the fantastic is outside his scope, as he has completed works in near and far future Science Fiction, Urban and High Fantasy, Horror, and Alternate History.

* * * * *

The following is an

Excerpt from Book One of the Omega Wars:

A Fiery Sunset

___________________

Chris Kennedy and

Mark Wandrey

Available Now from Seventh Seal Press
eBook, Paperback, and Audio

Excerpt from “A Fiery Sunset:”

Avander Pharmaceuticals, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Earth

“Dr. Avander will see you now,” said the Veetch. The alien obviously thought he was stupid, Major Good decided, as it flipped one of its left hands to indicate the enormous mahogany door behind it that sported the nameplate, “Dr. Ezekiel Avander, CEO.” As it was the only door beside the one he came in, Good really didn’t need a lot of decision-making skill to figure that out.

Apparently, showing in visitors wasn’t part of the alien’s job description, as it went back to what it was doing without getting up. Nice.

Major Good walked to the door and turned the handle. The solid mahogany door was every bit the feature-piece it appeared to be and required a decent portion of his augmented strength to open. It probably was meant to overawe visitors. Good, however, found it slightly annoying.

“Dr. Avander?” he asked as he entered the room. The office was as ostentatious on the inside as he had guessed it would be from looking at the exterior. Luxuriously-appointed furnishings were tastefully positioned throughout the room, with bookcases artfully filled with a variety of works, from classical masterpieces to the latest treatises on the art and practice of war. It was a tribute to an extremely wealthy man who had equally eclectic tastes.

The other feature of the room was a massive desk that matched the entrance door, on which sat a forest of slates and monitors, to the extent that the man behind them was only glimpsed in portions and slices. From what Good could see, the man appeared in constant motion, working on a great portion of the devices in front of him, nearly simultaneously.

“Yes?” came a distant voice from behind the monitors.

“I’m Major Good,” the intel officer replied. “I’m here to talk with you about why you haven’t returned our calls.”

The motion behind the monitors ceased, and a hand slid a number of the monitors out of the way so Good could see the man behind them. Whatever Good had expected from the merc-turned-CEO, this wasn’t it. The man wore a faded leather jacket, and a giant stogie hung from the corner of his mouth. Lines from his implants trailed off to four of the slates. Although the man was closing in on 150 years old, he looked no older than 55, and appeared in top physical shape. The piercing blue eyes stared at Good for a moment as if looking into his soul, then the man smiled and waved him to one of the two chairs in front of the desk.

“Please sit,” the man said, “and call me Zeke.”

“Hi, Zeke,” Major Good replied; “we’ve called you a bunch, and you haven’t returned any of our calls.”

“There’s a damned good reason why, too.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not interested,” Zeke said, and he started to pull the monitors back into their earlier positions.

“One second,” Good said. “Can I ask why you’re not interested? Your planet has been assaulted by aliens, and all you want to do is to sit here and run your empire? Trying to milk a few more credits from old men and women in search of the Fountain of Youth?”

“Look,” Zeke said, “I enjoyed my time with The Golden Horde, and I think I did very well for you. Certainly, my service helped garner some extra credits for the company. Now, I may not have the intelligence facilities the Horde does, but my network runs pretty deep, and I’m kept passingly familiar with anything important going on, anywhere on this planet, that might affect business. I am well aware of the aliens on Earth and their intentions. I’m not, however, interested in coming back to work for the Horde; I have enough to do here.”

“What could be more important than joining the resistance?”

Zeke cocked his head and looked piercingly at the major again. “Do you know what we do here?” he finally asked.

“You help old people live another day through a variety of treatments and enhancements.”

“I help people live longer,” Zeke said. “I help them beat diseases that are untreatable anywhere else on this planet. I do this by working at the cellular level, fixing things that have previously been unfixable by mankind. I give people life!”

Zeke turned one of the monitors so Good could see the image of a virus on it. “I can also take life,” he continued, his voice quiet, “just as easily as I can give it. You are running around recruiting people for a war that is already underway, a war that I am already fighting. Only my company can tailor viruses to do the things we want. To attack the creatures I want. Why am I not interested in coming back to the Horde? Because I’m far more valuable here.”

* * * * *

Get “A Fiery Sunset” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CBCK45L.

Find out more about Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/.

* * * * *

The following is an

Excerpt from Book One of In Revolution Born:

The Mutineer’s Daughter

___________________

Chris Kennedy & Thomas A. Mays

Now Available from Theogony Books
eBook, Paperback, and Audio

Excerpt from “The Mutineer’s Daughter:”

Kenny dozed at his console again.

There he sat—as brazen as ever—strapped down, suited up, jacked in…and completely checked out. One might make allowances for an overworked man falling asleep during a dull routine, watching gauges that didn’t move or indicators that rarely indicated anything of consequence, perhaps even during a quiet moment during their ship’s long, long deployment.

But Fire Control Tech Third Class Ken Burnside was doing it—yet again—while the ship stood at General Quarters, in an unfriendly star system, while other parts of the fleet engaged the forces of the Terran Union.

Chief Warrant Officer Grade 2 (Combat Systems) Benjamin “Benno” Sanchez shook his helmeted head and narrowed his eyes at the sailor strapped in to his right. He had spoken to the young weapons engineer a number of times before, through countless drills and mock skirmishes, but the youthful idiot never retained the lesson for long.

“Benno, Bosso,” Kenny would plead, “you shouldn’t yell at me. You should have me teach others my wisdom!”

Benno would invariably frown and give his unflattering opinion of Kenny’s wisdom.

“Get it, ya?” Kenny would reply. “I’m a math guy. Probability, right Warrant? The Puller’s just a little ship, on the edge of the formation. We scan, we snipe, we mop up, we patrol. We don’t go in the middle, tube’s blazing, ya? We no tussle with the big Terrans, ya? No damage! No battle! So, something goes wrong, back-ups kick in, buzzer goes off, we mark for fix later. And when’s the only time you or the officers don’t let a man walk ‘round and don’t ask for this, don’t ask for that? When’s the only time a man can catch up on the z’s, eh? One and the same time! So I doze. Buzzer goes off, I wake, make a note, doze again till I can work, ya? Such wisdom!”

Benno usually lectured him about complacency. He asked what would happen if they were hit, if the shot was hot enough, deep enough, destructive enough to burn through the backup of the backup of the backup. What if they did have to face the Great Test, to rise and work and save the Puller themselves?

Kenny would always smile, relieved. “Well, then I be dead, ya? No more maintenance either way. Good enough reason to doze right there!”

Benno could have reported him any number of times, but he never had. Putting it on paper and sending it above them was a two-edged sword. It would solve Kenny’s sleepy disdain for order, of that Benno had no doubt, but he also knew he would lose Kenny’s trust and the vigorous drive the young ALS plebeian applied to every other task. Plus, it would signal to the officers above that Benno couldn’t handle a minor discipline problem on his own. And it would indicate to the ranks below that Benno was no longer one of their own—when he had gone from Chief to Chief Warrant Officer, he had changed his ties, forever.

So Benno growled, but he let it slide, content only he would know about Kenny’s acts of passive rebellion. No one else would ever know why the young tech kept getting extra punishment duties. Besides, it wasn’t as if Kenny was actually wrong, in the fullness of things.

Then, before Benno could check his own side of the console to verify whether things were indeed alright, his internal debate was blown away by the unforgiving, indiscriminate lance of an x-ray laser blast.

The single beam struck the Puller a glancing blow, centered on a space just beneath the outer hull and aimed outboard. Armor plate, radiation shielding, piping, wireways, conduit, decking, internal honeycombed structure, atmosphere, and people all ionized and ablated into a dense, mixed plasma. This plasma exploded outward, crushing the spaces surrounding the hit and dealing further physical and thermal damage. Combat Systems Maintenance Central, or CSMC, lay deep within the Puller’s battle hull—three spaces inward from where the x-ray laser struck—but that meant little next to the awesome destructive power of a Dauphine capital-class xaser warhead.

The forward and port bulkheads in front of them flashed white hot with near-instantaneous thermal energy transfer and peeled away, blown out by the twin shocks of the outward-expanding plasma and the snapping counterforce of explosive decompression. The double blast battered Benno in his seat and threw him against his straps to the left. As the bulkheads vanished, their departure also carried away the CSMC monitoring console the two watch standers shared with them into the black, along with Kenny’s seat, and Ken Burnside, himself.

The young engineer disappeared in an instant, lost without ever waking. Benno stared, dumbfounded, at the blank spot where he had been, and of all the possible panicked thoughts that could have come to him, only one rose to the forefront:

Does this validate Kenny’s wisdom?

Benno shook his head, dazed and in shock, knowing he had to engage his brain. Looking beyond, he could see the glowing edges of bulkheads and decks gouged out by the fast, hot knife of the nuclear-pumped xaser. Only vaguely could he recall the sudden buffeting of explosive decompression that had nearly wrenched him through the straps of his acceleration couch.

He knew he had things to do. He had to check his suit’s integrity. Was he leaking? Was he injured? And what about Kenny? Was he gone, unrecoverable? Or was he waiting for his poor, shocked-stupid boss Benno to reach out and save him?

And there was something else, something important he needed to be doing. He wasn’t supposed to just sit here and think of himself or unlucky, lazy Kenny. Oh no, thought Benno, still trying to marshal his thoughts back together, Mio is going to be so angry with me, sitting here like a fool…

“CSMC, report!”

Benno shook his head against the ringing he hadn’t realized filled his ears. He reached out for the comms key on his console, swore at how futile that was, then keyed his suit mic. “Last station calling, this is CSMC. We’ve taken a hit. I lost my technician, console is…down, hard. Over.”

“CSMC, TAO,” the Puller’s Tactical Action Officer said through the suit channel, “pull it together! We just had a near miss by a capital class Dauphine warhead. The battle with the Terrans has spread out of the main body. I have missiles up but zero point-defense. I need guns and beams back, now!”

* * * * *

Get “The Mutineer’s Daughter” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BRTDBCJ

Find out more about Thomas A. Mays and “In Revolution Born” at:  https://chriskennedypublishing.com

* * * * *

The following is an

Excerpt from Book One of the Salvage Title Trilogy:

Salvage Title

___________________

Kevin Steverson

Now Available from Theogony Books
eBook and Paperback

Excerpt from “Salvage Title:”

A steady beeping brought Harmon back to the present. Clip’s program had succeeded in unlocking the container. “Right on!” Clip exclaimed. He was always using expressions hundreds or more years out of style. “Let’s see what we have; I hope this one isn’t empty, too.” Last month they’d come across a smaller vault, but it had been empty.

Harmon stepped up and wedged his hands into the small opening the door had made when it disengaged the locks. There wasn’t enough power in the small cells Clip used to open it any further. He put his weight into it, and the door opened enough for them to get inside. Before they went in, Harmon placed a piece of pipe in the doorway so it couldn’t close and lock on them, baking them alive before anyone realized they were missing.

Daylight shone in through the doorway, and they both froze in place; the weapons vault was full. In it were two racks of rifles, stacked on top of each other. One held twenty magnetic kinetic rifles, and the other held some type of laser rifle. There was a rack of pistols of various types. There were three cases of flechette grenades and one of thermite. There were cases of ammunition and power clips for the rifles and pistols, and all the weapons looked to be in good shape, even if they were of a strange design and clearly not made in this system. Harmon couldn’t tell what system they had been made in, but he could tell what they were.

There were three upright containers on one side and three more against the back wall that looked like lockers. Five of the containers were not locked, so Clip opened them. The first three each held two sets of light battle armor that looked like it was designed for a humanoid race with four arms. The helmets looked like the ones Harmon had worn at the academy, but they were a little long in the face. The next container held a heavy battle suit—one that could be sealed against vacuum. It was also designed for a being with four arms. All the armor showed signs of wear, with scuffed helmets. The fifth container held shelves with three sizes of power cells on them. The largest power cells—four of them—were big enough to run a mech.

Harmon tried to force the handle open on the last container, thinking it may have gotten stuck over time, but it was locked and all he did was hurt his hand. The vault seemed like it had been closed for years.

Clip laughed and said, “That won’t work. It’s not age or metal fatigue keeping the door closed. Look at this stuff. It may be old, but it has been sealed in for years. It’s all in great shape.”

“Well, work some of your tech magic then, ‘Puter Boy,” Harmon said, shaking out his hand.

Clip pulled out a small laser pen and went to work on the container. It took another ten minutes, but finally he was through to the locking mechanism. It didn’t take long after that to get it open.

Inside, there were two items—an eight-inch cube on a shelf that looked like a hard drive or a computer and the large power cell it was connected to. Harmon reached for it, but Clip grabbed his arm.

“Don’t! Let me check it before you move it. It’s hooked up to that power cell for a reason. I want to know why.”

Harmon shrugged. “Okay, but I don’t see any lights; it has probably been dead for years.”

Clip took a sensor reader out of his kit, one of the many tools he had improved. He checked the cell and the device. There was a faint amount of power running to it that barely registered on his screen. There were several ports on the back along with the slot where the power cell was hooked in. He checked to make sure the connections were tight, he then carried the two devices to the hovercraft.

Clip then called Rinto’s personal comm from the communicator in the hovercraft. When Rinto answered, Clip looked at Harmon and winked. “Hey boss, we found some stuff worth a hovercraft full of credit…probably two. Can we have it?” he asked.

* * * * *

Get “Salvage Title” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8Q3HBV.

Find out more about Kevin Steverson and “Salvage Title” at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/kevin-steverson/.

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