Part 34 (2/2)
”Mixture,” she replied tersely. ”Inimical.”
”I'll hold it off,” Veg said. ”You find the projector.”
”No, the thing is dangerous. I'll tackle it.”
”Thanks,” Veg said sourly. But he moved off, allowing her to make a stand while he searched.
Aliens were hard to read, but the malevolence seemed to radiate out of this thing. Obviously it recognized her general type and intended to exterminate it. Had a human agent done something on a prior visit to arouse justified antipathy, or was the creature a hater of all aliens? Or could it be the farmer growing these plants they were mutilating? In that case, its att.i.tude was more that of a man with bug spray. It hardly mattered now; she had to deal with it.
The creature came close and suddenly charged her, its hand wheels leading. They were spinning like little buzz saws -- which they surely were. She leaped aside, not wis.h.i.+ng to reveal her technology by using a power weapon. The longer she fenced with it, the more she would learn about it. Was it intelligent, civilized -- or was it more like a vicious guard dog? The evidences were inconclusive so far.
The saw-wheels came at her again. This time she stepped in, blocking the two arms with her own, forcing the wheels out while she studied the musculature and perceptive organs of the torso. The thing's skin was cold and hairy, like that of a spider.
In the moment her face was close, an aperture opened and spewed out a fine mist. Caught off guard, she did not pull her face away in time. It was an acid, and it burned her skin and eyes, blinding her.
She touched her hip. Her blaster fired through her skirt, bathing the creature in fire. It's body crackled as it was incinerated. The keening stopped.
”Yo!” she heard Veg call.
She ran to him, orienting on the sound. She had been trained to handle herself regardless of injuries. She used the echoes from her own footsteps to identify obstructions, such as the tall moving plants.
”Here -- in a pile of rocks,” Veg said as she came up.
”Is it charged?”
”Think so. I've never been quite sure how you could tell.”
”Time to learn.” While she talked, she focused on her autonomic system, blocking out the pain. ”There's a little dial in the base with red-green markings. Read it.”
He stooped. ”It's on green.”
”Right,” she said, though she could not see anything. The flaming in her face retreated as her pain-block took effect, but that was only part of the problem. The damage was still being done, but she could not yet wash the acid off. ”Now let's see if you can activate it.”
”That I know. You shove this thing, this little lever -- ”
She heard the echoes of his voice and knew that the changing walls were there. They had made the s.h.i.+ft.
”Now let's see if you know the way to the next projector.”
”Hey -- how come all this practice now?” He paused. ”Hey -- your face -- it's bright red! What happened?”
”That animal-mineral-vegetable was also a skunk.”
”Acid!” he cried, alarmed. ”Acid in the face! We've got to wash that off!”
”No water here. Let's move on.”
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