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  Pressing her lips together, Spinner rose and continued along the barely visible path. Every few steps she made sure no other bodies lay strewn in their way, but as far as she could see, Toshian was the only victim.

  Suddenly she thought she heard something. Stopping, she raised her hand, giving the sign for her team to stop and be quiet. Distant voices coming from farther northeast made her want to start running, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying, and unless she was mistaken, she thought she detected smoke. Her flight suit was entirely closed to the surrounding environment, but faint tendrils of dark-gray smoke wisped among the greenery.

  “Something’s going on up there,” Spinner muttered over the communication channel. “Gazer, take 10 to 24 over to the left and then move in on my signal. I’ll bring 3 to 9 with me on the left flank. Weapons drawn, rifles on high, crossbows to kill.”

  “Aye, sir.” Gazer nodded solemnly, and she could tell from the tension around his eyes that he didn’t expect this one to be easy.

  “Let’s honor Toshian by getting all our team members back in one piece. All right?” Spinner motioned for them all to commence moving. She lowered herself, bending halfway forward to remain just below the smoke, not because she was afraid to inhale it—that wasn’t possible because of her flight suit and helmet. Instead, the smoke could make visibility a challenge, and she wouldn’t be able to rescue anything if she stepped right into whatever had killed Toshian.

  Soon they were close enough for Spinner to get a better idea of what was going on. At the forefront of Dael’s team, Lt. Schpay was swinging a large branch that was on fire, keeping what looked like oversized rats at bay. And were those fangs sticking out of the lower jaws? She shuddered. Every now and then a “rat” would come too close and seemed to spray something, and a strange thing happened. Whatever was in their glands was combustible. No wonder most of the creatures kept their distance. If their toxin made contact with the fire that Schpay and the others fire brandished, they virtually exploded.

  Spinner motioned for her team to pull off branches and light them.

  “CAG to Gazer. Alert your team that we need to create fire in order to help Caydoc and her people over there.”

  “I see it. We’re collecting branches already. Can you spot Caydoc from your end?”

  “Negative. She might be injured.” The idea of any of the toxin ending up on Dael’s skin nauseated Spinner. Determined to get to the team ahead of them quickly, she yanked a branch free and placed her sidearm against it, firing a low charge that made it erupt into flames instantly.

  “Follow me. Don’t let any of those damn rats near you. We don’t know how much of their toxin is required to kill you.”

  They hurried toward Schpay and the others, swinging branches, and the closer they got, the clearer it became how worn out the men and women securing the perimeter were.

  “CAG to Schpay. Keep going, and don’t take your eyes off the animals. Reinforcement is here. Twenty-four of my pilots and I are approaching with more fire.”

  “Oh, thank the Creator.” Schpay huffed as he swung his branch in a wide circle. “I have six people down. Two with toxin on their skin, one with a broken leg, one with severe bites, and two with head injuries.”

  “Can you give me the admiral’s status?” Spinner hurried on, so close now to Schpay she could see how the small animals were now turning their heads in her and her team’s direction. “CAG to team, watch yourselves. They’ve caught our scent now. We don’t know how tactically advanced the rats are. They might circle around us.”

  “Count on it. That’s what they did with us, before the admiral fell down the ravine.”

  “She what?” Spinner shivered. “What happened?”

  “She…she was trying to create a safe way for us to fall back, taking point. As the creatures attacked in great numbers, neither of us had seen the ravine. She stepped out into thin air and disappeared over the edge.”

  “And she’s alive?”

  “Last I heard. One of my team climbed down. No creatures down there with them, so I would say that’s our route to fall back if we could just get the chance. Ah!”

  Throwing herself forward, Spinner saw Schpay go down on one knee. Perhaps he had tripped, or something could have attacked from behind. Spinner ran, wielding her burning branch. As she was only two secs away, she saw three or four of the rodents hanging from Schpay’s left uniform sleeve. Not hesitating, Spinner jumped forward, stabbing at the attacking animals with her branch. Screaming with a terrible, piercing hissing sound, they let go and scurried away. Spinner tugged at Schpay just as the rest of her team approached from both flanks, screaming and chasing back the rodents. Gazer had let go of his branch and was spraying round after round into the now-fleeing animals.

  “Oh, thank the Creator,” Schpay said, and staggered to his feet. “We ran out of ammunition a while ago.”

  “Let’s get down the ravine before they come back.” Spinner looked around her. “We need people to deploy rope ladders. Are the wounded secured enough to go into the ravine in hammocks?”

  “Yes. As long as we maintained the perimeter, I had two people administer field dressings, neck collars, and ortho-support.” His eyes darkened. “I also have one deceased on the trail toward the clearing with the rock formation.”

  “Toshian. Yes, we saw her. We’ll send a special angel-guard back for her.” Spinner’s heart fluttered at one of the saddest assignment a team could perform. Angel-guards meant bringing home a fallen comrade-in-arms. It usually brought entire silence to a unit until their colleague and friend was back. Spinner briefly touched his shoulder. “In the meantime, we have to rescue the living. In her honor, right, Lieutenant Schpay?”

  “Yes, sir.” He pushed his shoulders back and took in the scene around them. “As your team is holding the perimeter we need to evacuate our wounded. Do you have amplifiers for the communicators? I haven’t been able to get much more than static when trying to reach the Espies Major.”

  “We do. I need to go down to confirm the admiral’s status. Here, connect the amplifier to your system and start sending exact coordinates. One evac freighter should be able to transport all of the wounded in one run.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “All right. Get to it and I’ll lower myself down the ravine. No signs of any creatures down there?”

  “Not so far,” Schpay said wryly.

  “Reassuring.” Spinner crossed the area Schpay and his team had fought so hard to preserve, taking a few moments to reassure the wounded that help was coming. The two crewmembers in charge of keeping them comfortable and above all, alive, seemed rattled and pale but held themselves together.

  “You’ll all be out of here soon. We have more than twenty-five people guarding the perimeter.” More would come if Ensign Umbahr’s team finally showed up. Spinner was getting worried. What if they’d run into another horde of those rats?

  Two of Schpay’s team members stood over by the edge of the ravine, both armed with thick burning branches. “Listen up,” Spinner said. “Here are some extra rounds. I don’t have a lot left, but enough for you to have at least two more cartridges each.”

  “Thank you, sir,” the crewmember on the left, a young woman, said, glancing up. She looked as frayed as the others, but also determined, with a steadfast gaze. “You can only do so much with fire sticks.”

  “True, but from where I stand, you all performed a miracle holding the animals off as long as you did. Now, I’m going down to check on Caydoc. I’ll use my own mesh, as those roots don’t look entirely reliable.”

  “Need any help securing it, sir?” the other crewmember, a man, asked.

  “No, that’s all right. Just keep vigil until the evac freighters come. They’ll take the wounded first and then the rest of you. Lieutenant Schpay is calling in the coordinates and information as we speak.” Spinner fastened the mesh as she spoke and then lowered herself over the edge. Her legs trembled somewhat, but not so much from fatigue as
from superfluous adrenaline. She looked down and spotted two of the crew tending to another one lying motionless on the ground between them. They gazed up and waved frenetically.

  “The admiral’s become unresponsive, sir,” said the one to the left, who sat at Dael’s head. “She’s breathing, if a bit shallowly, and her pulse is fast and uneven.”

  Spinner landed with a thud, almost falling over before she caught her balance. Glancing around them, she saw they were almost at the end of the ravine, which opened up onto the large meadow where they’d landed, an estimated four klicks away.

  Kneeling next to Dael, she saw the admiral was wearing her headgear with her visor up. Spinner pressed her fingertips against Dael’s pulse point on her neck. Her heart rate was indeed fast and uneven. “Sir. Admiral? Can you hear me? Open your eyes, please?” Spinner reluctantly placed two knuckles at Dael’s sternum and rubbed hard. It felt heartless to induce more pain, but she needed to know Dael’s level of consciousness. “Admiral Caydoc! Open your eyes.” She bent closer to Dael’s ear, whispering frantically. “Dael. Please!”

  Slowly, dark lashes fluttered and opened into narrow slits. Below them, dark circles looked like bruises against Dael’s pale skin.

  “Mmm. Stop it.”

  “Then look at me and I will stop, sir. That’s it. Help is coming. Evac freighters.”

  “Crew…toxic creatures…”

  “I know, sir. We have the perimeter secure above. You fell down the ravine, remember? No sign of the rats down here.” Yet.

  “My head hurts.” Dael shifted as if trying to sit up.

  “No, no. You just lie down and relax,” Spinner said, feeling utterly ridiculous at such words. Dael’s glance showed she agreed. “I mean, don’t move until a medical professional has evaluated your condition.”

  “Very well.” Dael closed her eyes.

  “Try to stay awake, sir.” Spinner made sure no toxic creatures were looming anywhere nearby. When she couldn’t detect any movement, she pulled off her right glove and did the same with Dael’s and held her hand firmly. Squeezing it, she grinned as Dael’s eyes opened more than before. “That’s it, sir. Stay awake until the evac gets here. I’m staying with you and the ensigns here. You’re safe. I have plenty of ammo, and we can light the branches that these two so cleverly gathered, should any of those rats dare approach us.”

  “Thank you.” Dael squeezed her hand back, very weakly. “Toshian…I saw her go down in the midst of that horrible pile of rodents.”

  “We lost her, sir.” Spinner rubbed her thumb on the back of Dael’s hand, trying to console her. She knew how it felt to lose someone under your command, and Dael was in charge of all of them. This was her mission, her responsibility. “I’ve marked her location, and angel transport will take her home after we’ve evacuated all the others.”

  “So young.”

  “And yet very seasoned. She loved being a part of the Advance team.”

  “Do—do you?”

  “Do I what?” Spinner frowned, trying to keep up. “Oh, you mean, do I love being a part of this mission? Yes. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be. Well, apart from in this forest with those fucking rats, that is.”

  A smile ghosted over Dael’s face. “Rats, huh? Sure could do without them in the future.”

  “Yeah. I guess this planet isn’t much of a paradise after all.”

  “I’ll say.” Dael stopped talking, looking too exhausted and pale. She didn’t close her eyes again but kept her eyes trained on Spinner, as if the sight of her wayward pilot grounded her.

  “I hear the freighter.” Spinner looked up. “We’ll have you in the infirmary in no—”

  “Sir! Look!” The female ensign stood, frantically lighting her branch. “Oh, Creator of Oconodos, we can never hold all of them off.”

  Spinner looked in horror at the veritable billowing field of rodents approaching from the inner depths of the ravine. She lit several branches and placed them in the ground between Dael and the onslaught of animals. The hissing sound from them sounded like triumphant laughter. Clearly their toxin had no intraspecies effect, as a faint mist hovered all around them. What happened if a person inhaled that stuff? Surely that couldn’t be good. Visions of Toshian’s body, torn to pieces and with burns from the toxin all over, made her grip her weapon harder with one hand and her communicator with the other. She hoped her message would still go through even though she’d given her amplifier to Lieutenant Schpay.

  “CAG to evac freighter, what’s your status?”

  The hover pilot answered immediately and the connection was good. “Landing in a few minutes on the meadow, sir.”

  “Negative. Fly hover-style into the ravine. You have our coordinates. We’re under attack by the indigenous creatures. We don’t have time to run with stretchers. Not sure what the situation is above the ravine, but we’re looking at thousands of animals here.”

  “I’ll see if it’s doable to hover into there.”

  “Hurry, or the admiral, two ensigns, and I will be dinner.” Spinner could imagine the pilot tearing at the controls, stressed, as the life of the admiral depended on his skills.

  “Time to lay down cover fire,” Spinner said, and stood with her feet a shoulder-width apart, her weapon raised. She was trained to hold this position for hours, and she would as long as she had ammunition. “I need one of your to take care of the third on the left and the other the third on the right. I’ll be firing into the middle and overlap with you. Use the pellets setting. Any questions?”

  “No, sir,” the two ensigns said.

  “Fire at will.” Spinner opened fire, using the setting on her weapon that sliced the projectiles into nine smaller pellets, spraying them onto the target. She figured with these small and lightning-fast animals, they’d have better luck that way.

  The rodents fell in droves as they started shooting. The squealing among them sent shivers all over her skin. She didn’t dare take her eyes off her target, even though she wanted to check on Dael more than anything.

  “Admiral, talk to me. Are you all right? You still with us?” Spinner bellowed to make herself heard over the weapons’ fire.

  “Hard to get some rest in this mayhem,” Dael said, sounding much closer than Spinner had thought possible. Then two hands supported themselves on her hips. “Keep firing, Spinner.”

  Dael was standing up? How the hell had she managed that? Was she secretly one of the changed ones or just superhuman in her own way? Spinner felt one of her sidearms being pulled free from her harness. Dael then grabbed hold of the harness and began firing on rodents that had slipped through the onslaught of projectiles.

  “We’re not going to hold them off for more than a few minutes.” Spinner kept shooting, but she focused primarily on making sure she’d catch Dael if the other woman suddenly went down for some reason.

  “Just keep shooting. Tell me when you need to reload.”

  “Yes, sir.” Grinning wryly, as having Dael issue orders actually made her feel better, Spinner sprayed more pellets into the mass of rodents. How many were there and how could it be that they moved almost as one? Were they part of some super-rodent hive mind? Groaning at that unpleasant idea, she glanced at the display at the top of her rifle. “Unhook another cartridge, sir!”

  “Here.” Dael gave her the cartridge as Spinner popped out the used one, letting it fall to the ground. It only took two or three secs, but that was enough for the animals to advance far too close. “Hell!” Firing at the virtual ocean of rodents, Spinner knew they couldn’t hold them back. “Dael…”

  “I know, Aniwyn. Just keep shooting.” Dael clung to her shoulder now, firing also, but with less accuracy than before.

  A roar from above nearly deafened Spinner, and she snapped her head back. Six assault craft came from behind them, literally opening fire. Equipped with flamethrowers of the impressive sort, they plowed through the layers of approaching animals.

  “Yeah!” Spinner threw her free arm around Dael to
keep her from falling. “My people are here—just in time.”

  “I see, I see,” Dael murmured, leaning heavily against Spinner. “Thank the Creator.” Then she slumped sideways, dropping Spinner’s sidearm as she did indeed go down.

  “Dael, oh no.” Leaving the ensigns to clean up the few rodents who scurried in all directions in full panic, Spinner lowered Dael carefully to the ground. Holding her gently, she watched the evac freighter hover and then land next to them. Above, another freighter hovered at the level of the forest, extending a ramp over to where the rest of the crewmembers were located.

  Four medics came running with a stretcher and cautiously lifted Dael onto it. “You all right, CAG?” one of them asked as they strapped the now-unconscious admiral securely to the stretcher, effectively hooking her up to medical surveillance machines aboard the freighter at the same time.

  “I’m fine.” Spinner turned to the ensigns. “Let’s get aboard. The admiral needs the infirmary, and you’re not eager to hang around any longer, are you?”

  “No, sir!” The ensigns jumped aboard, shortly followed by Spinner. As the hatch closed, she regarded the charred remnants of the horrible creatures who’d only responded true to their nature, but in such a way that no doubt a lot of the crew would have nightmares about rats for a long time. She strapped herself in for takeoff and couldn’t remember when she’d been so relieved to get back into space.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Dael moaned and opened her eyes. She could tell she was in one of the infirmary beds. The linen was made of that scratchy mesh she detested, and the lights were hurting her eyes, making her close them again. Slowly this time, she opened her eyes again, blinking a few times before she could focus.