Infinity's End: Books 4-6, page 58
That was it. If she stayed in this camp waiting any longer she was going to do something rash or stupid. She’d take a crew to the Honduras and meet up with Cas and the others when they circled around. If the Honduras had wounded aboard, it was better she get to them sooner rather than make them wait for him. How many had been on that shuttle, five? Or six? She wasn’t sure.
“Looks like a puzzler.” His words startled her, and she jerked around to see Martial walking up beside her. That was the last time someone came up on her unannounced. She needed to get out of her head and pay more attention to the environment around her. She also didn’t like a civilian inserting himself into non-civilian activities. He was being too helpful.
“Martial,” she said, keeping her voice even. “Anything happening out there tonight?”
He shook his head. “It’s all quiet. But you look like you’re working out something serious.”
“You could say that,” she replied.
“Anything I can help with?”
She eyed him, looking for any signs of deception or subterfuge and finding none. He seemed genuine but Evie had been fooled before. She’d already told herself to be more skeptical, more discerning. “No, just planning the next stages of our time here. We’re not going to sit around and do nothing. We need to find a way to notify wave three before they come down, if they haven’t already.”
“What about the downed shuttle?” he asked.
“I’ll be taking care of that personally,” she replied. “Is there something you needed?”
He shook his head. “No ma’am. Just coming off my shift, switching out.”
“You’ve been up non-stop since we’ve arrived.”
His face was unreadable. “So have you.”
She scoffed. “It’s part of the captain’s job. Don’t worry about me.”
“Maybe it would be better to wait until we have better light before heading out. We don’t need two teams lost in the woods.”
“With all due respect,” she said, keeping her temper. “That’s not your decision. If this planet is turning as slow as it appears, it could be weeks before we see daylight. And our crew doesn’t have that much time to waste.” She paused, reading his face for any signs of anger or surprise. “You may carry that rifle for us, but you’re not a Coalition officer. And I’ll thank you not to interfere in the chain of command.”
He put his hands up, supplicant. “Just trying to help.” He turned, heading for one of the supply shuttles with the water.
She didn’t need his help. And she didn’t like how close an eye he was keeping on her. Had he always been that way? Or was this how he acted when they were stranded on the surface of a planet? She didn’t want him following them out either. As soon as she was sure he wasn’t paying attention, Evie made her way over to River who had taken up position by the Calypso.
“I need the coordinates to the Honduras,” Evie said.
River pulled a scanner out of her pocket and input the coordinates. “Another one? What about the first mission?”
“I don’t want our crew waiting that long,” she replied. “Their injuries might be severe. Where’s Lieutenant Uuma?”
River pointed to the shuttle on the far side of the camp. It was the one they’d been using as temporary barracks until they could get something more permanent established. “Taking a break, I think.”
“Thanks,” Evie replied. “Keep this up and you might earn a promotion before this mess is over.” River beamed. Evie still hadn’t had an opportunity to check the logs as to why she’d lost her hands, but she supposed it didn’t matter. River had proven herself in a crisis more than once.
Evie crossed the camp, minding her footfalls. If everyone else could creep around without making a sound, so could she. She reached the barracks shuttle and once inside, found Uuma on one of the lower bunks. She gave her a gentle shake to wake her, and Uuma jumped with a start.
“Shh, it’s Evie. I need your help.”
“Captain?” Uuma asked, her eyes bleary. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to take a team out to find the Honduras. Based on how long Ensign River said it would take Cas to get to wave one’s site and back over there, I’m afraid it might be too long. We need to try and reach them sooner.” Uuma nodded, retrieving her weapon from under the pillow she’d slept on. “Gather a small group. No more than three others. I want to keep this light.”
“I know just the people,” Uuma replied.
“And one other thing. Don’t let Martial see you.”
Five minutes later as Evie stood on the far side of the shuttles staring at the small tracker River had given her. While trying not to think about whether this was a good idea or not, Uuma appeared, towing Carson, Vostokov, and Williams. Vostokov and Williams were two of her best security officers and Carson had been in the medical field for over five years and was trained in field triage. She’d figured Uuma would bring him with them. He was the only other medical personnel that had been in wave two, other than Xax, and they needed someone who could take care of any injuries aboard the Honduras. The fortunate thing had been the shuttle had been carrying mostly supplies and hadn’t had a large crew. Uuma handed Evie an extra pulse rifle she’d procured.
“Ready to go?” Evie asked. They all nodded without question. “Did Martial—?”
Uuma shook her head. “I made sure we stayed out of his sight. But I’m not sure if I know why.”
Evie dismissed the concern with a wave of her hand. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s get going. I don’t want to make a fuss leaving either. We’re leaving camp as quietly as possible.” She noticed a few of them try and hide their confusion or concern but she didn’t care. Sometimes the captain asked you to do things and that’s just how it was. It didn’t matter how much you agreed with the order or not, you followed it. It was strange to be on the other side of that exchange.
Placing the tracker device in her pocket, Evie double-checked the rifle wasn’t active and hooked it around the opposite shoulder from her sword. She hadn’t planned on taking a gun at all, but not doing so would look suspicious and she wasn’t about to argue with Uuma in front of the others. She’d take the stupid thing, but it didn’t mean she had to use it. She peeked around the edge of the shuttle, scanning the camp for Martial. He was on the other side near Xax’s shuttle, picking through one of the food containers. She pulled back around and nodded to the others to follow her out into the woods.
As they stepped into the darkness, she hoped none of them caught her slight hesitation at leaving the camp. Because as determined as she’d been, she realized it might not be the smartest idea. But it was too late.
She was committed.
Chapter Nineteen
Box had been right; Cas was out of shape. By the time they reached kilometer thirteen his calves had begun to seize and release and his ankles were sore. Even his midsection gave him cramps. How long had it been since he’d done any rigorous exercise? He hadn’t considered he might be the one to slow them up and he wasn’t about to succumb to his soft body. He’d have to push through, there was no other way around it. All he had to do was put one foot in front of the other, keeping the light low and steady and not turning to the rest of the group so they wouldn’t see the sweat streaming down his face.
Much of the jungle floor had been unobstructed, allowing them to maintain a good pace. Only in a few places had they come upon a fallen tree or other obstacle that needed traversing. They’d crossed two small streams, one which had spread further than its boundaries into kind of a shallow marsh, but it hadn’t lasted long. For that Cas had insisted they all use their portable repel fields in the event an alien insect could be carrying a hostile disease. While the Coaliton had some of the best immunity blockers in the known galaxy, they were still on a planet far from Coaliton space with exotic animals and even more exotic diseases. The last thing they needed was to become sick and die before they even made it to the camp. This was the reason he enjoyed the sterility of space travel more than planet work. It had also been one of the reasons he’d been more than happy to courier for Veena rather than work on Cassiopeia or Vetar. Space was just so much easier.
He hadn’t been sure he could make it, but by the time they reached kilometer twenty-eight Cas caught something in the wind, the smell of something tangy in the air he hadn’t smelled before. It was the smell of civilization, if such a thing existed. Broken trees and the scent of fuel combined with metal. It was a far cry from anything they’d smelled thus far on the journey. Regardless, he was grateful. His legs were worn out and he needed respite, if only for a few minutes. Pretending to be in shape was a lot harder than it looked, but he couldn’t let his exhaustion get the better of him.
The closer they came to the camp, the more his heartrate picked up. He held the group back even though he couldn’t yet see the camp itself.
“We’ll go in quietly,” he whispered. “I don’t want them shooting us by accident. With this low light it’s hard for anyone to see anyone else. Stay behind me and hopefully we won’t surprise them.”
They all motioned an acknowledgment and Cas found the ache was gone from his legs. His heart was palpitating about what they might find there, whether they’d find Box and Laura alive along with the rest of the crew. Though if something happened to Rafnkell he couldn’t necessarily be upset. He tried not to have any expectations about what they were approaching, but he couldn’t help letting his mind from wander into dark places. As long as Box was alright, they could still get out of this. He pressed forward.
As they approached, Cas was eerily aware of the lack of sounds emanating from the area. There was no breeze, nothing to move the trees or limbs, but also all the background noise they’d heard on their journey had disappeared. It was as if everything around them had been turned off. And if the camp was directly ahead of them, the crew of wave one being much quieter than their counterparts back at the other camp.
Cas pushed a few branches to the side revealing the camp. Much like wave two, most of the shuttles were arranged in a rough circle, all of their cargo hatches open. Some of the crates had been spilled out while others remained sealed in their places. Cas held everyone in place for a moment as he surveyed the scene. In the center of the camp was the base of the tower they’d constructed, obviously from parts taken from the Fengari. Parts of its shell remained off to the side. There was evidence they had used torches and other pyres for light, but they were all dark, long since burnt out. Cas approached the nearest one, putting his hand on the ashes. They were cool to the touch, no hint of having been lit anytime recently. As best he could tell, the camp was abandoned.
None of this made sense. Wave one had only been an hour or two ahead of them, how could they have disassembled the shuttle so fast? And why hadn’t they focused on finding the source of the power drain? Cas tried to think. Where could they have all gone?
“Fan out and search the camp, but do it quietly. They might be hiding somewhere close,” Cas whispered. He could see no movement, hear no rustle of leaves or brush. Something was very wrong here.
With his weapon out in front of him, Cas searched the closest shuttle only to find most of it emptied or damaged. From the way things were tossed around it seemed something large had gotten inside. But he couldn’t be sure. When he tried the control panels, he only found the same problem that had plagued them back at their own camp. Everyone hadn’t been killed in the initial fall, and it even looked like they’d managed to save all the shuttles. So, where were they?
“Hey, Cas,” Jann whispered from the end of the shuttle. She motioned with her head for him to follow her.
“Find someone?”
“Maybe.” She pointed to a part of the bottom structure of the tower. On it there was a dark crimson mark, like a splatter. Cas bent down, putting his nose close to the stain and not liking what he found. “It’s blood, isn’t it?”
He nodded. Jann pointed to one of the overturned crates and Cas caught glimpse of another dark splatter, then another on a makeshift table that had been knocked over. All over the camp were splatters and, in some cases, dried-up pools of crimson. And from some of those pools, marks that headed out into the woods.
“Whatever it was, killed them then dragged the bodies away.” Stillwater came up beside them. “No bodies anywhere in the camp.”
“No robots either?” Cas asked.
“Haven’t found him yet.”
“Keep searching. For footprints, trails, marks, anything. We have to know what happened here.” He tried not to let his mind go down the path of what he was going to tell Evie. If every member of wave one had been killed, that was another forty personnel, most of them security or tactical. Which of course included Laura. Cas couldn’t believe they would have gone down without a fight. He began searching for evidence of weapons fire, but if they’d been shooting into the woods, he might as well be searching for a rogue planet.
Ecks came up beside him. “Looks like most of the food is gone. Either whoever attacked them took it with them, or they destroyed it. Some of the medical supplies are still here. And all of the backup equipment.”
Cas sighed. Without power that equipment was nothing but dead weight. “Leave it, leave all of it.”
“What about the weapons?”
Cas shook his head. If whatever took them hadn’t taken the weapons with them when they attacked, they wouldn’t come back for them. Evie had been right; the aliens were here on this planet. And they were ruthless bastards. “Everyone stay sharp. They may have left someone to watch this camp. We need to head for the Honduras.”
They were all smart enough not to groan or complain, despite the fact they’d just walked thirty kilometers. Cas’s legs were screaming at him, but he wasn’t about to stay here in this death pit. And they needed to get back. What if the same thing was happening to the second camp at this very minute? Though aliens attacking the camp didn’t explain what happened to Box. Unless they disabled him and took him with them. For what reason, he couldn’t fathom.
Cas made a motion with his hand, his boomcannon still ready. “Let’s get of here.”
Chapter Twenty
It felt good to move. To be doing something rather than standing around camp waiting. Evie had forgotten how much she enjoyed being planetside. Her last significant trip down to a planet, apart from Cypaxia, was when her last assignment, the Saragosa, had stopped on Esook, a planet teeming with life. The Esook were conservative, and everything they built was designed to either have zero impact to the surrounding environment or enhance it in some way. She’d walked among their massive bamboo cities, which had been constructed above the plains on which they sat, suspended high above the trees and the animals that grazed there. The air had been fresh and the star’s heat warm. And the music from the surrounding wildlife was like an injection of purity; all these creatures living in a harmony cultivated and preserved by the Esook. She’d found it invigorating.
Trudging through the woods sent a similar tingle ran through her skin. She enjoyed being outdoors where the air currents could change, where the sights and smells never ceased, and where the sounds of wildlife carried on the air. There were no errant sounds on a starship except for the occasional hum or clang of something going wrong. And the air was always sterile, unless someone happened to be burning incense or something more exotic. The decking was always sure underfoot and no one ever had to worry about scratching themselves on a stray limb sticking out somewhere. For all the senses humans had, living on a starship was boring.
This was much more refreshing. Humans weren’t meant to be sealed up in tiny little ships, flying across the cosmos. They were meant to be part of an ecosystem, one determined by the random occurrences of a planet. It all made her miss Sissk.
“Captain,” Uuma whispered from somewhere behind her. Evie turned and trundled back to the group. She’d pulled ahead without realizing it. Her security chief was standing close to a series of plants they’d passed just a moment before, shining her light on their leaves.
“What is it?”
“Does this look like blood to you?” Uuma held out the blue leaf with the dark crimson stain. Evie had to admit, it looked like dried blood, but she couldn’t be sure. She shone her light on the rest of the leaves, only a few of them had the mark. She rubbed the leaf with her fingernail and the crimson smeared off, having not completely dried in the humidity.
“What are the odds the creatures on this planet bleed red?” Evie asked. Uuma indicated to their left, more marks along the trunks of the trees and even on the ground. Whatever had happened, it had left a trail.
Evie didn’t like the coincidence of this. According to River’s calculations they were less than a kilometer from the shuttle, or its approximate location. She’d said there could be a three-kilometer variance in any direction, so the plan was to reach the center of her coordinates, then search outward in a circular pattern until they found it. She hoped this was a sign someone was out hunting for food, though there would have been no need to do so. The Honduras had been packed with supplies; enough to keep the small crew on the shuttle alive for weeks if left alone.
“Captain,” Uuma said, further concern in her voice. She and the others turned to look as Uuma had followed the trail further until she stopped. Evie came up behind her, gritting her teeth as she saw what Karen had found.
