Jungle colony book 2, p.49
Jungle (Colony Book 2), page 49
“Ah.” Probably, huh? “So there could be something out there, and we’ve just not seen it yet?”
“Maybe. Or maybe a whole bunch of somethings. Can’t say without more data. I just know that it certainly looks and sounds empty.”
“But nature abhors a vacuum, right?”
“Ja,” she said, driving one last spike into the ground and then looking at the remaining sensors still cradled in one armored arm. “I guess I’ll know soon enough. Anyway, thanks for keeping me company while I set these things.”
“Not a problem.” Karabou walked off, heading for the side of the bio-hab where she could presumably return the unused spikes. Anna, seeing the woman’s departure, began to walk over.
“How’s it going?” he asked as she approached.
“Not bad,” came her reply. “I’d singled out Johan as a possible troublemaker, but so far he’s just worked with the commander clearing out the underside of the hab.” She jerked a thumb in the direction of the pair, kneeling by the side of the one of the modules. “I guess their fields are actually a little close to one another. That, and there’s something trying to wind its way up the legs of the hab.”
“Really?”
Anna nodded. “Some kind of vine, maybe related to the ones in the forest.”
Jake nodded and gave the distant jungle a quick glance. Even from where they were, he could see thick vines stretching across the gaps between the trees. “Makes sense.”
“How was Karabou?”
“Good,” he said, keeping his voice low, though none of the expedition members appeared to be paying them any attention. Doesn’t mean that they actually aren’t. “She didn’t head off on her own, and waited for me to catch up. I think as far as the safety precautions go, she’ll be fine keeping them.”
“Good,” Anna said, nodding.
“There was something else, though,” he continued. “She was talking about how empty the jungle feels—how there’s no birds in the sky, or bugs flying around, or any of that.”
“I’d noticed,” Anna said. “It’s odd.”
“Maybe,” Jake said, shrugging. “Anyway, while she was talking about it, she said that the other day, when she was at one of the windows, she got the feeling that she was being watched.”
Anna perked up, her visor jerking away from the expedition team and looking right at him. “Really?” She asked. “Did she see anything?”
“She said she couldn’t spot anything. Why?”
“Just curious,” Anna said, though her answer didn’t feel entirely truthful. “She is the zoologist. She’d be trained to spot some animal that was thinking of making lunch out of one of us, I’d hope.” She was silent for a moment, then she spoke again. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You get any sense that we’re all being watched?”
“No …” He paused for a moment, looking up at her visor. “Why?”
“Nothing,” Anna said, shaking her head. “Just curious.”
“It’s not nothing if you brought it up,” he said. “Did you feel the same thing?”
Anna waited for a moment before nodding. “Yeah,” she said. “When we were landing. Just for a moment. It was like … I don’t know. Kind of like that feeling you get when you’re in a dropship, headed for an LZ, and someone’s playing a targeting laser over you, just trying to decide if they want to blow you out of the sky or not. No—” She shook her head. “More like they’re on your side, but only sort of, and they’re just itching to put that trigger finger to use.” She looked down at him. “Does that make any sense?”
“Kind of,” he said, reaching up to rub his chin and starting when his fingers met glass. Anna jerked, a small motion he recognized as a held-back laugh that hadn’t quite been loud enough to trigger her speakers. “Why didn’t you mention it?”
“It was just for a second,” she replied, shaking her head. “It was nerves.”
“But you still asked if I’d felt anything like it.”
“Yeah, well …” She took a quick glance around the rest of clearing, checking on each of the expedition members. None looked as though they were having any problems or in danger of being out of sight. “After Pisces, I’d be the first to believe I’m just a little overly paranoid. Jumping at shadows, that kind of thing. But if anyone else starts getting the same idea …”
“Right,” he said, nodding. “Then something’s up.”
“Maybe,” she said, shrugging. “It’s an alien planet, after all. It could still just be paranoia. After all, Karabou’s unnerved because we’re not seeing any wildlife. That’s her job, not seeing any reason for it would be enough to make someone nervous.”
“In other words, you don’t think there’s a problem, but I should be on my guard anyway,” he said, smiling.
Anna appeared to think for a moment before letting out a chuckle, though he knew the pause had just been for effect. He just hadn’t been able to see it due to her visor. “Yeah, just be paranoid,” she said. “The usual.”
“That I can do.” He turned as Commander Ikeda began walking toward them, apparently done with her examination of the underside of the hab. Johan had split off, moving to help Karabou take some large soil samples.
“Commander,” Anna said as Ikeda neared their position. “How’s the hab?”
“Fine,” Ikeda replied. “The growths were easily pulled away. We’ll have to keep an eye on them, maybe even make it a priority to clear them off every few days, but it doesn’t look as though they’ll be a problem. We took the opportunity to take some samples. Anything to report on your end?”
Jake shook his head. “Not from me. Unless you count Karabou pointing out how oddly empty of animal life our surroundings are.”
“I’d noticed that,” Ikeda said. “I expect it’s probably driving her to find some reason as to why. Hopefully it’s a simple answer. Anything else?”
“Nothing much,” Anna said, shrugging. “Straightforward enough so far. No one’s made any fuss about us keeping watch, either.”
“I didn’t think they would,” Ikeda said. “Johan may talk a lot, but he’s new. He’ll defer. And if he doesn’t … Well, he knows what the penalty for that is, and he doesn’t want to risk it.”
“How much longer do you plan on being out here?” Anna asked.
“Not much longer,” came the commander’s reply. “Wells has already collected enough samples to keep her and Silva occupied for some time, and Morel is … Well, he’s been ready to go back inside since he came out here, really.”
“What about you?” Jake asked.
Ikeda shrugged. “I took some samples, but much of my work is partially dependent on what others find. Johan is the same way. Really we’ll be ready to head back in as soon as Botha finishes taking her samples.” She looked over to where the expedition member in question was rising to her feet, a square cube of sod carefully cradled in her hands. She set it in a sealed container at her side, then both she and Johan escorted it back to the side of the bio-hab, where they slid it into one of the smaller sample airlocks.
Ikeda lifted her hand to the side of her head. “Botha, you about done?” she asked, the message coming over the group’s radio. Karabou mirrored the motion.
“That was my last sample for now,” she said. “So yes.”
“All right then,” Ikeda said, holding up her other hand as the rest of the group turned to look at her and closing her fingers into a fist. “Then this walkabout is over. Back to the airlock everyone. Time for a detox.”
She dropped both hands as the various expedition members began gathering up their tools and equipment, either depositing them in the smaller sample airlocks, or carrying them as they headed for the main entryway. Jake fell into position at the rear of the group, Anna off to one side as they gradually made their way back to the hab.
He came to a stop just in front of the doors, twisting back to give the distant jungle one final look, and a faint chill ran down his spine.
“What?” Anna asked.
“Nothing,” he said after a moment. “Just getting one last look around, making sure we didn’t miss anything.” You’re being paranoid, he thought as he stepped up into the airlock, the momentary chill gone. There’s nothing out there. Karabou and Anna just have you spooked.
The door sealed with a hiss, the lights flashing as the decontamination sequence started, washing away any trace of the outside world and reducing the outside of their gear to perfect sterility once more. He could see the excited, eager looks on the faces of the team around him, each ready to get back to their lab modules and start dissecting their finds.
Just nerves, he told himself as the cycle finished. That’s it. There’s nothing out there.
But for some reason he couldn’t quite fathom, the thought felt hollow in his chest.
Chapter 17
Well, Anna thought as she relaxed in the common area, her feet up on the small coffee table that had been provided by the window seats for lounging. So far this job has been … She took a quick look around the common area, first taking in the small kitchen and dining area, then the ladder up to the sleeping module, and then last the large window giving her a view of the unchanging scenery outside the bio-hab. … really not what I expected, she finished, holding back a sigh. Hell, it’s boring.
It had been two days since the expedition’s first excursion outside, and there’d been little for her and Jake to do in the meantime, save run drones around the surrounding scenery and watch various scientists go about their work. Which, while interesting, was far enough out of her limited scope that it quickly became an exercise in frustration.
Now I see why all those exploration shows tend to gloss over the science end of things, she thought as she watched the trees sway in the distance, another stiff breeze moving across the jungle. They want to jump straight to the exciting parts. And watching a half-a-dozen scientists swap test tubes around or take sensor readings really isn’t that fascinating.
Granted, the exciting bits in those shows were generally the expedition team getting eaten, diseased, kidnapped, or otherwise threatened by some form of local life, so maybe boredom was the acceptable recourse in their current situation. Then again, she thought with a glance to the table, where her Gorka Uno lay in slight disassembly, the result of a cleaning that it hadn’t really needed but she’d started anyway. At least it would give me something to do.
Not that any sort of threat of the level that would require the Uno was currently expected. If anything, the most the expedition team had to fear at the moment was the local plant life trying to grow up over the bio-hab’s feet. Which, while fairly aggressive as far as plant life went, at least according to Wells and Silva, wasn’t going to do any harm to the hab as long as they kept clearing it off. The tendrils didn’t appear to be capable of damaging the metal, and it was the work of only a few minutes outside each day to tear the small growths down.
Five days here now, and the worst thing we’ve encountered has been aggressive plants, Anna thought as she shifted her weight. Not exactly the largest threat so far. Unless it turns out to be toxic or something. Which if it did, Morel would probably know soon enough. His work so far had been, as Ikeda had put it, “more than dedicated,” which probably owed to his more than slightly fearful personality. But he’d been working almost non-stop since their initial excursion, constantly analyzing and documenting everything he could about any sample he could get his hands on. He’d even ventured further from the bio-hab—though it had taken a little coaxing to get him to do so—all the way to the edge of the clearing. Which was about as far as any of them had gotten.
Until today, Anna thought, glancing over at a clock sitting nearby. It was almost four in the afternoon, Earth Standard Time, which was when Commander Ikeda had planned to make the first excursion past the tree-line. Which was why she’d decided to give the Uno an unexpected cleaning. Well, that and boredom, she thought as she lowered her legs, leaning forward and checking another part of the sophisticated coil rifle. While she tended to the members of the expedition team in the forest, Jake could wait atop the bio-hab with the rifle at the ready, just in case. If anything surprised them … well, the weapon could easily shoot from one side of the valley to the other. A shot across the clearing would be almost nothing.
And while it verged on the side of overkill, Jake was a surprisingly competent shot with the rifle, as he’d proven back on Pisces. A very interesting skill-set for a man whose job was ferreting out those spilling industrial secrets or embezzling company funds, she thought as she slid a piece of the weapon back into place with a faint click. Then again, they had swapped stories during the long hours spent together aboard the Python, and learned that a surprising number of financial criminals were at least smart enough to hire similarly motivated muscle. A few times he’d even gone up against neural skinsuit armor and walked away—an achievement not many unaugmented could lay claim to. In all occasions he’d been carefully prepped beforehand, and done the best he could to steer clear of direct engagement with his opponents, but even so …
She slid another piece of the Uno into place with a plastic-on-plastic snap, the sharp sound echoing through the common area. It’s just a precaution, she told herself, hefting another piece in her hand. And a mostly unneeded one.
At least, if the last five days had been any indication. Five days of leaving the hab’s sensors on at all times. Five days of basic security systems reviewing overnight footage. Two additional days of the zoologist—Botha, that was her name—having her own sensor net out past the station’s, one which she had twice moved further out, now up to the very edge of the forest. And in all that time, she’d not found so much as a whisper of animal life.
Microbial, yes. Her study of the soil samples she’d cut out of the clearing had shown signs of microbial bacteria analogues, small cultures of growths similar to lichen, or perhaps mold. But of anything larger, from worms to insects …. Nothing.
No infrared markers. Nothing tripping motion detectors. Nothing on any known sensor. As far as Botha had been able to determine with her best efforts, if there was any animal life larger than a microbe on the surface of K-247-2, it didn’t exist in the valley they were residing in.
Granted, there was still the nearby river. Or the area over the mountains. Or the oceans that the peewees had uncovered. But all but the first of those were off-limits, outside of the operational area assigned to them by UNSEC.
Not that we’ve got the gear to go explore some uncharted ocean anyway, Anna thought as she looked down at her skinsuit. She’d taken to wearing it around the station, since they’d started making daily excursions outdoors to sweep away the ever-encroaching plant life and move sensors around. It was easier to simply wear the skinsuit at all times and put on the rest of her armor as needed. The skin-tight armor had earned her more than one set of wandering eyes, but her only reaction so far had been to give the owners a knowing look. One that came with both a warning, and a not so subtle “Yeah, you’ll never have this.”
Whether or not those wandering eyes were born of interest of jealousy, she didn’t know. Nor did it really matter.
She leaned forward as she slipped the second-to-last piece of the Uno into place, her hands gripping the composite with a grip far tighter than most would have expected. It always takes a bit of force to get this last piece in, she thought as she gripped the rest of the rifle between her legs. Then she chuckled. Jake couldn’t even manage it, and he’s not exactly a slouch in the fitness department. Then again, he wasn’t boosted either.
The piece finally clicked home with a short-but-sharp clack that almost sounded as if she’d broken something. But she hadn’t, and she gave the weapon a quick heft with one hand, aiming down the top of the barrel out through the window. Technically there was still one piece missing, but the rifle could be fired without it. Satisfied that the gun was complete, she turned her attention to the last piece—the sight sitting atop the table—and plucked it up with one hand. It slid into place easily across the Uno’s top rail, locking into place with a quick twist.
There, she thought, glancing at the clock once more. That’s done. When the time for their first big foray into the jungle came, she could rest easy knowing Jake was at her back. Even if she was a half-mile away. And through several trees.
Not that she was going unarmed. Or unequipped. Neither would the rest of the group be traveling completely unprepared. She’d made that clear.
She looked back up at the clock. Not long now, she thought. Almost time to get ready. Still, there were still a few more minutes she could take to relax. Besides, if the prior excursions had taught her anything, it was that even if she waited, she would still likely be ready before at least half of the party.
Let’s see, she thought, setting the Uno down on the tabletop once more alongside the small cleaning kit she’d been using. Who am I going to be watching today? The commander, I think. Kombes is staying behind again, though if she used the skimmer she could be on us in minutes. The river’s not that far. Botha’s coming, mostly to look for more samples. Lankiss, since she wants to collect a few samples of her own. And then Silva. She frowned and leaned back once more, resting her hands behind her head. Apparently, he and Wells had gotten into an argument about handling of the samples—she wasn’t privy to the details—but the resulting fallout was one of the reasons he was coming along on the current expedition and not Wells. The argument had been verbal only, and no one had been forced to intervene, but it had left the two botanists annoyed with one another, and they’d been acting cold toward one another for the last day.
Which meant that not only was she going to need to keep an eye on the most experienced member of the expedition, he was possibly going to be in a somewhat foul mood. Lovely. At least I’ve dealt with worse.
She took another long look out the window, mentally cataloguing the various team members and equipment as she stared out at the jungle. We’ll take both ATVs, she thought, eyeing the distant fauna. The undergrowth is sparse—well, make that nonexistent, so we shouldn’t have any trouble there. We’ll probably be slow going, since we’ll have people wanting to take samples every so often … Though most of those we’ll probably get right at the tree line. I guess the only real worry is that we’ll have to cut our way through vines or the ground will be too soft for the ATVs to get a good grip. Which wasn’t likely. She’d taken a look at the machine’s technical specifications, and they were solid. Top-of-the-line, at least as far as off-roading capacity went.
