The Trilisk Supersedure by Michael McCloskey Page A

that attacked him on Vovok came to the fore. He took a deep breath
and mastered the nervousness it brought.
    On
second thought, maybe it’s a kind of animal pen to them. Those critters that
live down there might have been raised like domestic animals. But they can get
out. Which means the pen is to keep the predators out.
    The
results of the passive scan came back. Magnus opened a pane in his PV to look
over the results. The information unfolded in his mind, and he instantly saw
signs of scanning coming from a nearby hill overlooking the ruins. Someone had
placed sensors there to keep track of what was going on in this area of the
ruins.
    So. We’re
curious about them, and of course, they’re curious about us. Or they’re just
cautious.
    Magnus
examined the scan patterns more closely. The sources must be Terran, he
decided. There was something familiar about them. He became apprehensive.
    Military.
    Magnus
realized he was already in a lot of danger just being within the scan arc of
the sensor he’d noticed. There was a good chance he hadn’t been picked up,
being a lone man in a Veer suit with a couple of small robots. His Veer suit
masked his signature to some degree, at least at long distance. Of course,
military sensors would be designed to defeat such obfuscation, since soldiers
so typically wore them.
    Magnus
immediately moved to the side of the old building away from the source of the
scans. He thought for a moment, then decided to continue. He sent a scout ahead
to find a route with some cover from the hill. The next structure was not far.
Magnus dropped low and moved slowly to get behind the next building. And the
next. He stayed calm and alert. His link had the stealth device ready, but he
didn’t want to use it unless he had to, since he didn’t know what its lifespan
was.
    If
something bad happens, hopefully I’ll have enough warning to activate it.
    His
lead scout had come to the edge of a shallow escarpment. Its video feed showed
a small valley below its position.
    Magnus
kept low. He decided to stay away from the open area and rely on the scout’s
vision. The open valley would mean danger of being spotted. He dropped to the
ground. The rocks were rugged and sharp, but the Veer suit was more than enough
protection.
    Magnus
accessed a binocular feed from the scout in his PV, so he could get a three-dimensional
view from the machine. When he closed his eyes and concentrated, it was as good
as being there himself. He watched for a couple minutes before he decided
something looked wrong down below. He activated an optic enhancement suite on
the scout to get the best possible look.
    Magnus’s
breath caught in his throat. In one moment it hit him hard: that was a camo net
system. A Terran active camo net.
    Down
below, he saw them. Men dressed in dark gray fatigues. One of them wore a
battle suit very much like his own Veer skinsuit. The suit had adapted itself
to the terrain, taking on a light rust coloration.
    Oh no.
    Magnus
shook his head as if to clear it. UED soldiers? Have I finally gone nuts?
    He took
another look. They were still there. Magnus refused to believe for another
moment. Maybe I breathed in some hallucinogenic toxin. I’m just seeing
things.
    He
tried to contact Shiny.
    There
was no answer.
    Magnus
took one last look at the men below. They were grabbing gear. Preparing to
move out. Have they detected me?
    Magnus
got up onto all fours to crawl away. His trailing scout became the lead, and he
told them to slowly move back toward the Clacker .
    The
crack of a large projectile weapon thundered across the landscape. The scout at
the edge of the escarpment behind him exploded into a thousand tiny fragments.
A dozen of the bite-size pieces landed all around him.
    Magnus
dropped prone again. Time for some serious cloaking!
    He
activated the alien stealth field through his link. A moment later his other
scout was vaporized.
    Boooom.
    Magnus
decided to trust his cloaking. He stood and sprinted back