passing the immunity down. The Buri will make it.”
The relief was replaced with anger as the implications hit me. “That means Dynatec is responsible for the Buri that went missing. Max, I want you to transmit this information to your archives immediately, and send the boss a red alert. I want him to see this as soon as possible.”
“Kiera, this is only a theory. We can’t prove its validity.”
“No, and I don’t believe it happened exactly the way we’ve outlined. That would be too easy. But when you take the pieces we can prove, parts of the theory start to add up. Especially the part that says the Buri may not be native to Orpheus Two. That’s major, especially if they are descended from the Ashwani. And in the event that something happens to us, it will put the next agent Alien Affairs sends ahead of the game.”
“Do you really believe Dynatec would arrange an accident knowing the repercussions of such an event?”
Max, being only two cycles old, is a mere babe in AI terms, and tends to be a bit naïve when it comes to humans. “Take my word for it. Whatever they’ve found is so important they’re willing to kill off an entire race to get their hands on it. They aren’t going to quibble over one agent and her ship.”
“Sending.”
I gave a curt nod. “And while you’re at it, see if the boss can get his hands on the original log from the Dynatec exploration team. The company may not have realized what they had right away. I’d like to see if there are any hints we can pick up from it.”
“Yes, Kiera. Anything else?”
I hesitated. “Is Second Lieutenant Karle at the camp? I’d like to check in with her, see if she’s found anything that might indicate what the company is after on Orpheus Two.”
“No, she left this morning with the mapping team.”
“Okay, I’ll wait until she gets back before I head over there. Where’s Redfield?”
“He went into the jungle several hours ago.”
“Alone?”
“He appeared to be alone at the time he left, but Captain Frisk and the Dorn woman are also missing.”
I checked my weapons. “Point me in the right direction, Max. It’s time I had a little chat with Redfield.”
Crigo had left the hut while I was sleeping, but he hadn’t gone far. He was squeezed under a bush, ears flattened in annoyance as two dragon birds threw sticks and berries at him from just out of reach.
“It’s your own fault,” I told him, as the gorgeous creatures left him to chirp happy greetings in my direction. Every time I walked out the door, there was a contingent waiting for me, usually led by the iridescent green lad. He was getting braver, too, coming closer and closer by the day. “If you’d stop stalking them, they’d leave you alone.”
When I walked to the edge of the clearing, the cat rose and followed. “Okay, Max, which way?”
“If you travel northeast at an eighty degree angle, you should intercept the path he was on.”
“Thanks.”
Junior and Ghost were watching, and as soon as I started off, they fell in beside me. I would have preferred to confront Redfield alone, but the only way to rid myself of my honor guard was to outrun them. Since I didn’t want to get them in trouble by outrunning them, I’d have to put up with the duo and hope they didn’t interfere.
It took the better part of an hour to locate Redfield’s trail, and then another fifteen minutes to find the man himself. It had rained earlier, as it did nearly every day, and the jungle dripped around us in glistening drops of moisture. With every step we made, the scent of rich, damp soil and growing things filled the air.
There was so much life, I didn’t know where to look first. In one tree, I spotted a creature that looked like a long-legged, long-tailed koala bear. It watched us pass with unblinking dark eyes that were nearly buried in the folds of fat around its face.
Another time, we disturbed a catlike animal half Crigo’s size, with long, shaggy fur in
The relief was replaced with anger as the implications hit me. “That means Dynatec is responsible for the Buri that went missing. Max, I want you to transmit this information to your archives immediately, and send the boss a red alert. I want him to see this as soon as possible.”
“Kiera, this is only a theory. We can’t prove its validity.”
“No, and I don’t believe it happened exactly the way we’ve outlined. That would be too easy. But when you take the pieces we can prove, parts of the theory start to add up. Especially the part that says the Buri may not be native to Orpheus Two. That’s major, especially if they are descended from the Ashwani. And in the event that something happens to us, it will put the next agent Alien Affairs sends ahead of the game.”
“Do you really believe Dynatec would arrange an accident knowing the repercussions of such an event?”
Max, being only two cycles old, is a mere babe in AI terms, and tends to be a bit naïve when it comes to humans. “Take my word for it. Whatever they’ve found is so important they’re willing to kill off an entire race to get their hands on it. They aren’t going to quibble over one agent and her ship.”
“Sending.”
I gave a curt nod. “And while you’re at it, see if the boss can get his hands on the original log from the Dynatec exploration team. The company may not have realized what they had right away. I’d like to see if there are any hints we can pick up from it.”
“Yes, Kiera. Anything else?”
I hesitated. “Is Second Lieutenant Karle at the camp? I’d like to check in with her, see if she’s found anything that might indicate what the company is after on Orpheus Two.”
“No, she left this morning with the mapping team.”
“Okay, I’ll wait until she gets back before I head over there. Where’s Redfield?”
“He went into the jungle several hours ago.”
“Alone?”
“He appeared to be alone at the time he left, but Captain Frisk and the Dorn woman are also missing.”
I checked my weapons. “Point me in the right direction, Max. It’s time I had a little chat with Redfield.”
Crigo had left the hut while I was sleeping, but he hadn’t gone far. He was squeezed under a bush, ears flattened in annoyance as two dragon birds threw sticks and berries at him from just out of reach.
“It’s your own fault,” I told him, as the gorgeous creatures left him to chirp happy greetings in my direction. Every time I walked out the door, there was a contingent waiting for me, usually led by the iridescent green lad. He was getting braver, too, coming closer and closer by the day. “If you’d stop stalking them, they’d leave you alone.”
When I walked to the edge of the clearing, the cat rose and followed. “Okay, Max, which way?”
“If you travel northeast at an eighty degree angle, you should intercept the path he was on.”
“Thanks.”
Junior and Ghost were watching, and as soon as I started off, they fell in beside me. I would have preferred to confront Redfield alone, but the only way to rid myself of my honor guard was to outrun them. Since I didn’t want to get them in trouble by outrunning them, I’d have to put up with the duo and hope they didn’t interfere.
It took the better part of an hour to locate Redfield’s trail, and then another fifteen minutes to find the man himself. It had rained earlier, as it did nearly every day, and the jungle dripped around us in glistening drops of moisture. With every step we made, the scent of rich, damp soil and growing things filled the air.
There was so much life, I didn’t know where to look first. In one tree, I spotted a creature that looked like a long-legged, long-tailed koala bear. It watched us pass with unblinking dark eyes that were nearly buried in the folds of fat around its face.
Another time, we disturbed a catlike animal half Crigo’s size, with long, shaggy fur in
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