Part 3 (1/2)

”Perhaps best avoided,” he said; then the creature attacked.

The red ribbon of color coiled then launched itself at Magnus. It seemed certain to connect with him, yet it fell short and to one side. Its impossible trajectory confused Cilreth for a second.

What? Oh. A Vovokan sphere intercepted it.

Magnus staggered back a step. Telisa didn't hesitate. She was at his side in a flash, her tanto drawn.

”Back slowly,” he said. His voice was rock steady.

c.r.a.p, he's calm.

Cilreth had access to his vitals as an expedition member, but she didn't have time to check at the moment. The creature launched itself again. This time three of the orbiting spheres, two from Magnus and one from Telisa, intercepted the line of flight and deflected the sinuous attacker.

Magnus leveled his weapon and fired it once. The creature started to whip wildly back and forth across the rocks. The Terrans backed away, then resumed their previous course. The creature had been injured or at least cowed. Cilreth lost sight of the thing as it struggled.

”I a.s.sume that will be a fatal wound, unless it's a particularly tough creature,” Cilreth said.

”How did you spot it?” Telisa asked. ”I didn't see anything when I went by.”

”I don't know. Just caught sight of the red, just for a moment. Why did you keep looking behind yourself back there?”

Telisa looked surprised by her question. ”On Vovok, we encountered a few mostly harmless creepy crawlies. But dealing with a few brought lots more. We kind of stirred up a hornet's nest. I guess I'm paranoid about it happening again. Of course I know, different planet, different dangers.”

”Makes a lot of sense. You're learning from your experiences.” Or failing to get over your bad experiences, thought Cilreth's cynical side.

”I keep telling myself I'll get used to it like Magnus,” Telisa said. Magnus ignored the conversation, as he was checking some input in his link. Cilreth checked his recent biomarkers through her link. She was a little encouraged to see his heart rate had increased 20 percent. Telisa's had increased a bit more, while her own had skyrocketed along with her adrenal spike.

He's human, at least.

”A scout found something interesting,” Magnus announced.

Cilreth had access to the many roving eyes of the scouts, but she found it hard to concentrate on her own movements across the rough terrain and watch the scout feeds at the same time. Cilreth loved the machines intellectually, though the way they moved creeped her out. She did not much care for Magnus's PV interface to them either, though that was hardly surprising given that Magnus was not as experienced with software as she was.

Magnus led them toward another ancient building. The structure looked to be in better shape than the outlying ruins. They walked up to an intact reddish wall. One of the scout robots crawled nearby.

The stone wall held a thick ceramic grille or window at the level of Cilreth's stomach. She estimated it to be a little over a meter square. Its color looked slightly more brownish than the red rock surrounding it.

”So what is it?” Cilreth asked. ”A vent, I think.”

Telisa took out a light and s.h.i.+ned it through. ”There's a room beyond. Mostly empty from what little I can see. There's another vent like this on the far wall, but that one doesn't look like it could lead directly outside.”

”I don't see any other entrances. We can skip it and check another spot.”

”But this building is intact,” Telisa persisted. ”Maybe this is a door. It looks like a vent to us.”

”Great door it must have been. It's full of holes.”

”Maybe they needed ventilation. Maybe the weather is always good.”

Magnus checked the grille for opening mechanisms. His hands went around the perimeter of the vent, pressing and prodding.

”It feels solid,” he said. He took out his own light and checked beyond, then grabbed the ceramic lattice and pulled.

”Either wedged or solid as designed,” he said. ”This wall is old, though. I think we could force our way in.”

The scout robot approached. Magnus stood back, so Cilreth backed away, too. The spider robot started to attack the wall with the sharp tips of its front legs. Each time it whipped a leg into the wall, a chunk of material fell away. The little craters acc.u.mulated until a deep, crumbling hole grew at one corner of the grille. Cilreth was impressed at the strength of the Vovokan-designed legs. The scout robot was strong.

”Something odd is happening around the corner here,” Magnus said. He held his rifle ready in his hands, though his voice was calm.

”What?” Telisa asked. Cilreth followed them to the corner of the building with Magnus in the lead. When she turned the corner, Cilreth saw the red rocks on the ground were covered with creeping green worms. Hundreds of them.

”Whoa! What are those?”

”They're coming from that tree thing,” Telisa observed. Cilreth followed the same visual trail as Telisa. More of the green, caterpillar-like bugs were running down a stalk from the dissolving green blob at the top of the stalk.

”Wait a sec, are they coming from the plant-or maybe they are the plant!” Cilreth said. The creatures were exactly the same color as the green pom-pomalike ma.s.s of the leaves. She looked closer. The entire ma.s.s left at the end of the stalk writhed.

”Well, I guess our a.s.sumptions that these are like Earth plants is off,” Magnus said.

”Yes, neither plant nor animal, the distinction may be irrelevant here,” said Telisa.

Magnus kicked one away as it neared his foot. The green worm did not appear to have any legs, though it reminded her of a furry caterpillar.

”Dangerous?” asked Cilreth. We walked right by dozens of those green clumps. I walked under several.

”Doesn't look bad,” Telisa said.

”Neither do army ants, at first,” Magnus said. ”Besides, it's alien and we have no idea. Let's head back to the opening.”

”What do you think it's doing? Or should I say they?” asked Cilreth.

”Maybe that spot ran out of nutrients,” Telisa suggested. ”Or maybe it hunts that way. Maybe we should grab a sample?”

”Good idea,” Cilreth said. She took a small container from her pack. She put the trap in front of one, encouraging it to slide inside. Just in case, she held the clear plastic so her hand was s.h.i.+elded by the container. Magnus watched the entire operation intently. The capture was uneventful. Cilreth captured another one and then sealed the container.

They turned around and put s.p.a.ce between themselves and the expanding ring of worms. Magnus stared at her captive creatures for a moment.

”Let's leave the container out at camp for a while. Make sure those things can't get out of that.”

Cilreth nodded. ”Good idea,” she said.

”I'll never look at those trees the same again,” Telisa said, checking the horizon. ”There must be billions of them. What if they all crawl off the stalks at once?”

”Then we're getting the h.e.l.l out of here,” Magnus said. ”Maybe I need a flamethrower module for the scout robots.”

Telisa laughed and Cilreth joined in.

”What? I'm just trying to be prepared,” Magnus said.

”Now, where were we?” Telisa said, walking back toward the building's grille.