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  Her sidearms were charged with a hundred rounds of metal-tipped garnets each. Her holster held two hundred rounds more.

  “Don’t forget to wear a helmet, sir.” Schpay motioned toward a chest sitting next to the arms locker.

  She wasn’t fond of wearing protective gear—she found it restrictive when it came to moving fast—but knew it was insane not to. The vest contained shoulder pads that extended outward around her shoulders, covering her entire torso from the hip up. She strapped leg braces around her thighs and attached them to the rings at the bottom of the vest. Moving her arms in a wide circle, she was fairly pleased with her movability.

  “I’m all set. Everyone ready?” she asked Schpay.

  “Yes, sir. Ensign Toshian is taking point, you and I will pair up behind him, and we’ll have six more security guards behind us. We’re also bringing two zoologists. They’ll document and perhaps take samples if we encounter local wildlife.”

  “Very well. You’re in charge of this team. Lead on.” Dael was happy to let her crew lead so she could mainly observe. She’d handpicked a lot of the senior staff and even some of the junior officers. They in turn had handpicked their subordinates, which meant she trusted them to do their job well also.

  They crossed the field in formation, ready to engage potential dangers. It was as if the planet was trying to show its best side though. The sun warmed enough to cause rivulets of sweat to run down Dael’s back under her uniform. The tight vest wasn’t helping keep her cool.

  As they closed in on the tree line, Dael started to wonder if they would be able to make their way inside, as the foliage looked almost like one brown-green wall. Schpay and Toshian each produced a large hatchet-looking blade and began slashing away at the smaller twigs, thus creating a passage.

  If the air was sweet out on the meadow, it was thick and sugary inside the forest. Very little light filtered through, and for some reason, the planet looked less idyllic in here. Dael pressed two sensors on her helmet, one to turn on a light and the other to lower a mesh visor. Schpay and the others did the same.

  “All right, people. Toshian and I will take point. We need two in the front to cover each other. Behind us, Ensigns Coymi and Daga will take up the flank on either side of the admiral.” Schpay stated everyone’s position with a calm voice that didn’t allow for any objections or questions. Dael wasn’t entirely pleased about being given the rookie position, but Schpay would have been neglectful in his duties if he didn’t safeguard the highest-ranking officer’s position.

  “Let’s move in. Sharp attention.” Schpay motioned for Toshian to keep chopping away at the foliage they encountered, effectively creating a path for the team behind them.

  The greenery, so lush and beautiful, both awed Dael and made her cautious as she carefully stepped inside this forest. The ground felt spongy, as if they were walking on centuries of decaying plants that could hide just about anything.

  After half an hour, they reached a clearing. Here the sun reached the ground, which hardened it and made it easier to walk on. In the center a large rock formation gave them all pause. It didn’t look manmade exactly, but deliberately stacked. The individual rocks were as big as Dael’s fist.

  “How the hell did they get there like this? And why?” Ensign Toshian rubbed his neck under his tall collar. “That’s not a natural formation.”

  “Could it be animals?” a female ensign asked from behind Dael. “The rocks look like someone rolled them here and piled them up.”

  “Could be,” Toshian said, but sounded hesitant. “I have to scan them for traces of DNA.” He stepped closer, and Dael was just about to caution him when a small, rodent-like creature scurried out from the pile of rocks. Dael raised her crossbow, aiming it at the light-brown creature. It was about the size of Dael’s lower arm and twice as wide. Its fur was matted and dirty, which Oconodian rodents usually wouldn’t put up with. They groomed themselves obsessively, but this creature looked like it never bothered.

  “Don’t shoot it, sir,” the female ensign said urgently, and moved halfway in front of Dael. “We need to collect samples of these—ow, shit!” The young woman jumped back as the rodent suddenly stood on its back paws and opened its mouth wider than what seemed possible. Large fangs seemed to shoot from its lower jaw, and something sprayed in a fine mist from its mouth.

  “Did anything get on you, Tanith?” Schpay barked as they moved back in unison.

  “Just above my glove. Stings like hell.

  Dael wasn’t going to take any chances. Having never lowered her crossbow, she fired a dart set to kill into the small animal. It fell over with a squeal, a high-pitched, chilling sound. The ground seemed to move under Dael’s feet and she backed up farther.

  “Fall back. I think this was a huge mistake,” Dael barked, taking over command.

  “Sir! Watch out!” Toshian yelled as he fired relentlessly with his garnet rifle. The rounds singed the rocks as he sprayed the pile. Despite his direct aim, a flood of rodents streamed out of the many exits, all of them emanating the same high-pitched squeals. Dael’s heart pounded and felt like it moved up into her throat, making it impossible to swallow. Disregarding the threatening panic, she kept firing and heard the rest of the team do the same.

  “We’ve got to get out of here.” Toshian’s voice nearly broke as he almost fell while trying to kick two rodents off his leg.

  Dael knew it would be close to impossible. The dense forest was treacherous at best, and trying to move out while firing at the rodents, who moved much faster in this terrain, wouldn’t work.

  “Form a circle and keep firing. Tanith, you’re injured. Stay inside the circle and call for backup.” Dael glared at them. “Now!”

  Their training kicked in and they formed a circle, all of them facing outward while shooting at the vicious creatures. Dael heard Tanith call for backup, and one of the voices answering her rather panicked plea was Spinner’s.

  “Tell the admiral to hold on. We’re on our way. I have your coordinates, Tanith.”

  “Hurry, oh, please, hurry.”

  Concerned at the slur she detected in Tanith’s voice, Dael risked turning her head to look at her. Something in the substance the small animal had sprayed on Tanith was making her ill. Her skin, where it was visible, was turning a strange yellow, and the white in her eyes was yellow as well, with redness at the rims. Her legs trembled and she was clutching her communicator.

  “Hold it together, Tanith, do you hear me?” Dael was afraid Tanith would go down and be swamped by the rodents, who seemed to be quite tactical hunters. They kept circling the group of twelve humans.

  “I’m running low, sir,” one of the crewmen called out.

  “Here.” Dael dislodged two of her clips with rounds for her sidearms. “Can you reach them?”

  “Yeah. I have them.” The clips disappeared from her hand. “Thanks.”

  “Make every one of them count.” She raised her crossbow again after reloading it with more lethal mini-missiles. Help would come, but at the rate these horrifically poisonous little creatures kept growing in numbers, it might not come quick enough.

  “We have to fall back toward the west, sir,” Schpay called out. “Seems like these damn rodents are getting reinforcements before we do. We’re surrounded, but they’re scarcer toward the west.”

  Glancing quickly in Schpay’s direction, Dael verified his conclusion. “Help Toshian. I’ll make a wider path among these horrid creatures.” She drew both her sidearms, kept them slightly apart, and fired at the rodents as she made them scurry to the side. Some hissed at her, spraying whatever venom they possessed, but her gear and uniform were protecting her. So far.

  “Just keep going, sir. We’re right behind you.”

  “Don’t let anyone fall behind, Lieutenant!” Dael watched carefully where she put her feet. If she fell among the small animals, it was all over. Toshian’s reaction to having a miniscule amount of the venom made for chilling theories as to what would occur if s
omeone were doused in the substance on a larger area or, worse, got it in their eyes or mouth.

  “Sir! Watch out!” Schpay called, making Dael stop cold. Behind her, an ensign half-carrying Toshian accidentally pushed her forward. Flailing to regain her balance, Dael knew she wouldn’t make it. She closed her eyes hard as she fell.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Assault Craft 25, this is the CAG. You have the lead position. Keep mapping and surveying the northern hemisphere using ACs 26 to 200. ACs 2 to 24, follow me to the southern hemisphere. Acknowledge.”

  A series of tiny lights lit up Spinner’s console, showing her that everyone knew what she expected of them. She changed heading and saw on her sensors twenty-three assault crafts out of the original two hundred do the exact same maneuver.

  “Spinner to Espies Major bridge. We’re en route to the site on the southern hemisphere to assist the admiral and her team.” Her ribs clenched around her lungs, making her feel out of breath. The initial request for assistance hadn’t provided a lot of information. “I need continuous updates.”

  “Admiral Caydoc is with a team in the forest. Ensign Umbahr received an alert transmission, requesting backup. He said the voice on the other end was definitely that of Lieutenant Schpay.” Commander Weniell spoke fast.

  “Any information regarding the status of the admiral?”

  “Apart from knowing Schpay was clearly alive and able to talk three minutes ago, we have not been able to reach them. Umbahr is moving in with a team. I need you to perform a short-range sensor sweep at these coordinates. Transmitting them now.”

  Spinner’s computer console beeped. “Received and logged in, sir.”

  “Help the crew on the ground to find them, CAG.”

  “Will do, sir. CAG out.” When the first landmass of the southern hemisphere appeared on her screen, Spinner regarded the coordinates and adjusted her course as she transmitted them to the rest of her subordinates. “These are the coordinates where the admiral and her team were last heard from. Something has gone wrong, and the team on the ground needs to know their exact location in the area. It consists of dense woods, so use the short-range sensors and fly as low as you can without planting your face in the bedrock. Acknowledge.”

  Yet again, the small line of lights showed everyone was alert and knew what to do.

  As they raced to reach the presumed idyllic area where, for all she knew, Dael and her crew could be dead or dying, Spinner used every single method she’d perfected over the years to remain calm and focused. She couldn’t afford to allow her heart to rule her actions.

  She’d saved many lives, directly and indirectly, during her career. Her latest direct effort had been Gazer, who now was back flying as her wingman. Before that, she had rescued the military secretary, her husband, and her security detail. Those daring rescues had paid off because she focused and did her job, went above and beyond, as that was the only way she knew how to operate. Yet this time it was about Dael—the woman who’d chosen to dance with her in front of everyone present, who’d kissed her cheek. Granted, their paths had hardly crossed in a private setting since the party, but regardless of that…this was Dael.

  “All right, people. The area is coming up in front of us, five klicks ahead. Wing-to-wing formation. Sensors to maximum resolution. Doppler engaged. Heat sensitivity engaged. Acknowledge.”

  They moved as one in a low swoop, nearly touching the treetops. Spinner let her bird keep the required distance from the ground and her wingmen while her eyes never left the sensor readings. Damn it, Dael, I’m coming for you. I swear I am.

  Two flybys later, she still saw no signals larger than tiny blips on the sensors, and she was beginning to despair. Cold sweat dripped down her back, and she operated the controls with stiff fingertips. She had to check the internal sensors to make sure the interior temperature wasn’t below freezing, which of course it wasn’t.

  “One more round, people,” Spinner said, disregarding her ever-clenched jaws. “This time, one click farther south. Acknowledge.”

  Another swoop, this time actually grazing the treetops. And one par later, a massive sensor reading. Several voices called out over the communication system. “I see it, I see it. Shut up now, all of you.” Spinner hit another channel sensor. “CAG to Lt. Umbahr, CAG to Espies Major. Transmitting coordinates that our sensors picked up. Looks like a massive blip. Too big to be just the team. I estimate that they’re under attack by some sort of wildlife.”

  “Good job, CAG. Return to mapping and surveying—”

  “Negative, sir.” Spinner interrupted Weniell. “You have more than a hundred and fifty of my assault crafts doing that. I’m setting my team down and we’ll be assisting Umbahr’s rescue efforts.”

  “Spinner, do not—”

  Spinner hit the sensor again, effectively silencing her commanding officer, who she couldn’t be bothered with at the moment. If this landed her in the brig, so be it. “CAG to assault craft 2 to 24, land in circular formation on the meadow to the far south of the forest. Use caution, as Umbahr’s team has already erected some habitats. Acknowledge.”

  The assault craft descended in a perfect circle and touched down onto the beautiful flower-filled meadow.

  “Looks too damn pretty to be true,” Spinner muttered as she unclasped her harness. Opening the arms locker, she strapped on two sidearms and a crossbow. She also took a four-barreled rifle and made sure she had enough rounds to take out a small village by herself. As she opened the hatch, she glanced quickly around to make sure no beasts were waiting to munch on her. She jumped onto the ground, landing softly on the grass, and her pilots did the same. Some of them had taken off their helmets, and she scowled at them.

  “Put the cans back on, people. You don’t know what’s in that forest.”

  When twenty-four of them were suitably protected, Spinner fell into a jog toward the forest, when all she wanted was to race there as fast as possible. But she needed to conserve her strength to avoid being totally exhausted once she reached the team. Soon enough they passed the treeline. Inside the dense forest, she felt nearly blind. “Try night vision,” she ordered her team. “I see a manmade path over there. I’ll take point again. Gazer, you take rear. We do not deviate from the path, is that clear?”

  Voices agreeing streamed through her headset. Spinner motioned with her hand and began making her way as she scanned the area around them with the sensors built into her helmet. Again, she wanted to run but instead strode as fast as she could.

  They reached a clearing after a while. A rock formation in the center looked too constructed to be naturally occurring. The team spread out and examined the structure and the ground around it.

  “Sir!” Gazer waved her over. “This registers as human blood.” He pointed at the ground.

  Spinner regarded the spots on the ground. They weren’t large enough to warrant concern, but she still shrugged off a serious case of goose bumps. “Any chance of determining whose blood?”

  “Hang on, my scanner is processing it. Usually takes a bit of—ah, it’s Ensign Toshian’s.”

  “I see.”

  “Wait, there’s more. It’ mixed with some sort of alien toxin, which has some weird qualities. I’m filing this for transmission later when we’re out of this Creator-forsaken place.”

  “Good.” Reading the footprints, Spinner estimated the direction Dael’s team had taken. Then she knelt, regarding something between the familiar prints from Oconodian-issued boots. “Look at this. Tiny paws. With long needles like claws. I couldn’t see any of them over there in the clearing where the ground was much harder. These must be from the enemy, the creatures responsible for the attack.”

  “You’re right. Look at the number of them.” Gazer grimaced and hoisted his crossbow.

  “CAG to 2 to 24. Use extreme caution. We’re dealing with some creatures that look deceptively small. We don’t know if they come from the trees or the ground, so stay alert.” Spinner motioned for them to follow her a
s she tracked the boot prints and the tiny paw prints. “Where the hell are Umbahr and his team? The Espies Major and we both sent the coordinates. They should’ve been here before us.”

  “I have no idea, sir.” Gazer shrugged. “We just have to keep tracking Caydoc’s team.”

  He was right. Once they found Dael and the others, they’d go after Umbahr’s team. The path was becoming increasingly narrow, as if the ones in charge of cutting down branches and other small shrubbery didn’t have time to perform any more than the rudimentary amount.

  Spinner called out as her foot caught on something, perhaps a big root, and she went down on her knees. Gazer was at her side ready to haul her up, when she stopped him. The item crossing the path wasn’t a root. Instead she was staring at a leg clad in shredded uniform fabric.

  “Help me here, Gazer. It’s one of ours.” Spinner swallowed against her fear. It better not be Dael or she’d go homicidal on these creatures they had yet to encounter. She pushed the branches away, broke some, and knew Gazer was swinging the large knife he carried above her. Eventually they uncovered a slender body lying facedown across the path. Carefully, Spinner tore off her glove and felt for a pulse beneath the casualty’s visor. The skin was cold and damp, and no pulsations betrayed life in the person.

  “Dead,” Spinner said. “Gazer, help me roll them.” Her. It turned out to be a woman. Chalk-white face, filmed-over eyes staring into nothing, mouth half open. It wasn’t Dael. It was Toshian.

  “Fuck,” Spinner whispered. “Whatever those vicious creatures are, they did a number on her. I hope she was dead beforehand.” Toshian’s uniform was shredded beyond recognition. Tiny claws had scratched at pale skin, and something, perhaps small, long teeth, had punctured the pulse points they could reach. Swallowing repeatedly, Spinner gently put Toshian down, making sure no one else would trample her. “Place a marker on her harness so we find her again later. We have to keep going.”