shades of light tan, black and white that made it resemble a large dust mop. It hissed at us when Ghost stepped in front of me and raised his spear, then turned and fled into the brush.
Crigo watched it with interest, then thoroughly sniffed the area where it had lain, his lips curling back from his teeth as he inhaled. Without a glance in my direction, he bounded into the jungle to give chase.
Great. All I needed was a bunch of half-breed rock cats running loose on Orpheus Two. Nothing like screwing up the ecology in a big way. On the other hand, I didn’t want to wrestle with a hot and bothered rock cat either, so Orpheus Two would simply have to make room for a potential new species.
We weren’t making any effort to move silently, so Redfield had plenty of warning that he had company. I spotted him through the trees, facing us, a knapsack at his feet. My gaze dropped to the hand resting on the butt of his laser.
“Expecting trouble, Redfield?”
His glance shifted from Ghost to Junior before he swung his upper body to nervously to scan the surrounding jungle.
“It pays to stay prepared for anything on this planet. Make them stay back.”
“Sorry, I don’t speak their language. But I do know they won’t hurt you unless you threaten them. If I were you, I’d take my hand off that laser.”
Behind Redfield, the bushes rattled and another Buri stepped into view. This one had dark auburn hair, and he looked as tense and ready as my escorts.
Redfield hesitated, then slowly removed his hand from the laser, his gaze going again to an area off to our right, and I picked up a feeling of tense awareness from him, like he knew something I didn’t. “What do you want, Smith?”
I smiled. “Want? Nothing in particular. I was out for a stroll and ran across your trail. Thought I’d be sociable, since we’re the only GEPs around.” I lowered my shields further, and was almost bowled over by the frustration he generated. He wanted desperately to talk with me, but something was stopping him, and until I knew what it was, I couldn’t risk saying anything.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” I moved closer and gestured at the knapsack. “What are you collecting?”
“Botanical specimens.” He relaxed just the tiniest bit and gave me a “wait until later” signal.
Surprised, I dipped my head in an almost imperceptible nod. “Find anything interesting?”
Again, he hesitated, then shrugged. “Yes, I did.” He pointed to the plant near his foot. “Take a look at this.”
I leaned down and studied the flowers he’d indicated. They were about the size of a large orchid, as inky black as Thor’s hair, and shaped like a trumpet. A cloyingly sweet aroma rose from the petals. Redfield stopped me before I could touch them.
“You don’t want to do that. They’re carnivorous.”
I yanked my hand back. They couldn’t have hurt me, but Redfield didn’t know that. He had no idea I’d been created by a monster. Besides, reflexes are reflexes, even when you’re less prone to injury than the average GEP, and my reaction was spontaneous. “Really?”
“Watch.” He removed a probe from his pocket, squatted, and lightly touched the edge of a petal. Instantly, the filaments I had taken for stamens snapped out, grabbed the metal probe, and tried to pull it down into the flower.
Gently, he disentangled the probe, then stood and pulled out a square of gauze. He used it to wipe down the probe, and then held the material out for me to see. Small bubbles boiled on the surface, and the threads parted, eaten away by the liquid.
“Acid,” he said. “They use it to liquefy their prey. And just look at their color. They aren’t simply a dark purple, they’re really a true black. Do you know how rare that is? And that’s not all. They exhibit some unusual properties in the lab. I’m convinced they could have a real use in the medical field.”
He was so enthusiastic about the plant that he’d forgotten his
Crigo watched it with interest, then thoroughly sniffed the area where it had lain, his lips curling back from his teeth as he inhaled. Without a glance in my direction, he bounded into the jungle to give chase.
Great. All I needed was a bunch of half-breed rock cats running loose on Orpheus Two. Nothing like screwing up the ecology in a big way. On the other hand, I didn’t want to wrestle with a hot and bothered rock cat either, so Orpheus Two would simply have to make room for a potential new species.
We weren’t making any effort to move silently, so Redfield had plenty of warning that he had company. I spotted him through the trees, facing us, a knapsack at his feet. My gaze dropped to the hand resting on the butt of his laser.
“Expecting trouble, Redfield?”
His glance shifted from Ghost to Junior before he swung his upper body to nervously to scan the surrounding jungle.
“It pays to stay prepared for anything on this planet. Make them stay back.”
“Sorry, I don’t speak their language. But I do know they won’t hurt you unless you threaten them. If I were you, I’d take my hand off that laser.”
Behind Redfield, the bushes rattled and another Buri stepped into view. This one had dark auburn hair, and he looked as tense and ready as my escorts.
Redfield hesitated, then slowly removed his hand from the laser, his gaze going again to an area off to our right, and I picked up a feeling of tense awareness from him, like he knew something I didn’t. “What do you want, Smith?”
I smiled. “Want? Nothing in particular. I was out for a stroll and ran across your trail. Thought I’d be sociable, since we’re the only GEPs around.” I lowered my shields further, and was almost bowled over by the frustration he generated. He wanted desperately to talk with me, but something was stopping him, and until I knew what it was, I couldn’t risk saying anything.
“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” I moved closer and gestured at the knapsack. “What are you collecting?”
“Botanical specimens.” He relaxed just the tiniest bit and gave me a “wait until later” signal.
Surprised, I dipped my head in an almost imperceptible nod. “Find anything interesting?”
Again, he hesitated, then shrugged. “Yes, I did.” He pointed to the plant near his foot. “Take a look at this.”
I leaned down and studied the flowers he’d indicated. They were about the size of a large orchid, as inky black as Thor’s hair, and shaped like a trumpet. A cloyingly sweet aroma rose from the petals. Redfield stopped me before I could touch them.
“You don’t want to do that. They’re carnivorous.”
I yanked my hand back. They couldn’t have hurt me, but Redfield didn’t know that. He had no idea I’d been created by a monster. Besides, reflexes are reflexes, even when you’re less prone to injury than the average GEP, and my reaction was spontaneous. “Really?”
“Watch.” He removed a probe from his pocket, squatted, and lightly touched the edge of a petal. Instantly, the filaments I had taken for stamens snapped out, grabbed the metal probe, and tried to pull it down into the flower.
Gently, he disentangled the probe, then stood and pulled out a square of gauze. He used it to wipe down the probe, and then held the material out for me to see. Small bubbles boiled on the surface, and the threads parted, eaten away by the liquid.
“Acid,” he said. “They use it to liquefy their prey. And just look at their color. They aren’t simply a dark purple, they’re really a true black. Do you know how rare that is? And that’s not all. They exhibit some unusual properties in the lab. I’m convinced they could have a real use in the medical field.”
He was so enthusiastic about the plant that he’d forgotten his
Similar Books
