The sound of footsteps alerted her to someone"s approach. Telisa slid behind a pillar until she heard Magnus"s voice.
"Telisa?" he called, walking carefully up to Shiny.
"Over here," she answered.
"There"s a pa.s.sage upwards to the surface," he told her. "If we"re going to lose him, we have to go and wait for Joe to come back through it. We"ll hide near the entrance and when he walks back to this spot, we"ll run for it."
"So soon?" Telisa moaned. "There are all kinds of amazing things around here."
"What"ve you found?"
"I haven"t the slightest clue," Telisa said. "All kinds of stuff, maybe enough to discover something really amazing about the Trilisks!"
"That"s great, but we have to go or end up on a prison asteroid chipping at ore veins," Magnus said. "He could be back soon, I don"t think it"ll take very long for him to make a report."
"All right. Lead the way," Telisa said.
Magnus strode back the way he had come, with Telisa and Shiny following closely. They skirted to one side, and Magnus quietly indicated a circular opening in the wall that they were avoiding. They ended up beyond the entrance, standing behind one of the ma.s.sive pillars.
"We have to wait here for him to return. When he comes out and goes looking for us, then we"ll go up the tunnel," Magnus whispered.
Telisa noticed that Shiny waited with them in plain view of the entrance. He hadn"t placed himself behind the column of equipment.
"Shiny," Telisa whispered. She performed the motions for "follow me", facing the alien and stepping slowly backwards.
The creature watched her for a moment, and then took a few steps forward. Telisa walked farther back behind the pillar, continuing the hand motions.
"He"d better not give us away," Magnus said. "I"d rather not have to shoot Joe."
"No problem," Telisa said. "If he sees us, I"ll give him a jolt with my stunner. He"ll wake up later and we"ll be long gone. What I"m worried about is, what if he doesn"t come back quickly? He could be calling in reinforcements and waiting for them up there."
"s.h.i.t."
"What?"
"We have to stun him at least," Magnus said. "I just realized that he probably has vids of us in his link memory. We need to erase it."
"He may have already sent some if he"s managed to contact the base."
"Yes. We should have shot him in the back before he left. So stupid," Magnus growled at himself. "We"ll just have to hope that he hasn"t done that yet. His link memory would take a lot of bandwidth to transfer. But he may have sent a summary."
Telisa sighed. Another risk for them to take. There had already been so many.
"Are you sure you"ve done this before?" she asked.
"Yes. But we never got detected on the way in before. And I wasn"t trapped in an alien complex. That"s why things are so screwed up this time."
"Well, I agree we should stun him, but it"s probably not critical. Even if the link memory is erased, they can still work with him to come up with our visual profiles."
"Yeah. But it might slow them down, introduce some uncertainty. His memory might even be faulty. Maybe he spent all his time looking at you and he can"t remember me."
Telisa smiled. "I"m going up closer to the exit then. I"ll stun him the instant I see him."
Magnus nodded. "Sounds good." His Veer suit made him difficult to see, maintaining a near-black color that blended into the dark room.
Telisa crept around the side of the pillar and turned her flashlight down. She took the stunner in her right hand and moved until she stood with her back against the wall beside the tube exit. She turned her flashlight all the way off and waited for Joe.
Kirizzo watched from his position behind the pillar as the two humans observed the exit portal in front of him. Their behavior had been extremely odd. Kirizzo felt that perhaps a problem had arisen in the alliance the creatures had formed with each other. Perhaps he was about to witness a falling out amongst them.
The smaller human still carried the alien items that Kirizzo had gathered for it. Kirizzo hoped that this gift served to further convince the four-limbed creature that his presence would be beneficial. He would need any goodwill he could get when the time came to find transport off the planet.
Kirizzo felt a ma.s.s disturbance in the tunnel they watched. He decided to attempt to aid the humans again, to further demonstrate that keeping him around was to their advantage. Kirizzo moved behind the pillar so that he could not be seen, and he extended a single limb forward, pointing towards the doorway.
The larger human observed his motion and transmitted some information to the smaller one whose primitive weapon was ready. Kirizzo predicted the ambush would succeed. Their outlines were obscured by the clever suits they wore that broke up their visual signatures. To creatures with no ma.s.s sense, Kirizzo decided this must go a long way to disguising their presence.
Momentarily the third one emerged from the tunnel. It seemed from its movement patterns that it did not suspect anything was amiss. Kirizzo watched as the newcomer walked into the pillar room, then fell to the ground, incapacitated. The other creatures moved forward to inspect their enemy.
Kirizzo felt surprised. Why didn"t the pair take advantage of their position to destroy the third one? Perhaps the race did not eliminate others of their own kind but simply permuted their alliances from time to time.
Now the larger alien took a device out of his carrying shroud and applied it to the back of the head of the disabled creature. Kirizzo detected an EM spike and an electrical interaction between the device and the embedded equipment in the disabled creature"s skull. Kirizzo thought perhaps the victors stole knowledge from the head of their enemy. Or at the very least, they were forcibly disabling their foe even further.
Once the electronic vandalism was complete, the larger alien motioned to Kirizzo and the smaller one. He moved towards the exit, with his body bent forward oddly. Kirizzo guessed this must be their battle posture. It did serve to shrink their silhouette, perhaps to reduce the possibility of being seen. He filed the observation away for future use and followed them towards the tunnel.
In the exit pa.s.sage, the bipeds increased speed, lengthening their strides and pushing off strongly with each leg. Although they seemed rather ungainly to Shiny, his estimation of their balance did come up a notch. He kept up with them easily, working his many legs without conscious thought.
He emerged after them onto the surface of the planet. The weather was still calm above; a few motes of moisture floated in the sky under the yellow sun. The spiny plants still looked strange to Kirizzo. On his home planet, life thrived on volcanic heat below the surface, not solar radiation from above.
The larger biped took only a moment to acclimatize to the surface conditions. Then they resumed running, heading off into the vegetation. Kirizzo hoped that some transportation had been cached away somewhere nearby. It would take a significant amount of time to go any large distance on foot. He wondered about the physical endurance of the creatures. They didn"t usually seem to prefer moving so quickly, so would they eventually tire and slow to their more normal speed?
When they moved into the forest, the group did slow. It appeared to be more because of the inhibiting ma.s.s of spiny growth than any fatigue. The leader took out a sharp implement and raised it as if to clear a path but then hesitated. The pair moved their mandibles for a moment and then the larger human put it away. Kirizzo theorized that they didn"t wish to leave an obvious sign of their pa.s.sage.
They marched deeper into the forest. Kirizzo thought that if they had a vehicle here, this would be a sufficient distance from the site to avoid visual detection. Perhaps they feared some other form of sensor with a wider perimeter. Kirizzo continued to hope that faster transport would be forthcoming. The language barrier would have to be broken as soon as they had a chance, he decided.
Suddenly a large ma.s.s exploded into movement within meters of their position. Kirizzo turned his optical receptors towards the disturbance and caught a glimpse of shaking vegetation. Then a large creature burst from the leaves, headed straight for Kirizzo.
The creature sported a wide maw that bristled with spiky mineral deposits. Kirizzo realized that it would enjoy a considerable advantage if the opening were to be fastened upon any part of his own body. He maneuvered to avoid this, his many legs thrashing in the vegetation as he tried to flank the thing.
Kirizzo"s move saved his torso from the jaws of the monster, but as the huge mouth clamped down it caught two of his legs. The thin brittle limbs snapped off near his body, spraying black goo on the spiny leaves of a shrub. Kirizzo felt a throb from each of the legs that his muscle sensors gave when the flexors in his body contracted completely.
The smaller of the two aliens worked its mandible and scrabbled for its weapon. The large alien had unlimbered its long projectile thrower and leveled it towards the thing that had bitten Kirizzo"s two legs off.
The Gorgala readied a seeker projectile to destroy the threat, but he held his fire. His supply of weapons was limited. He scrabbled away at full speed, running around the base of a large plant.
The muzzle of the larger human"s long weapon flashed. Kirizzo felt the ghost of rapidly moving ma.s.s pellets tunneling their way through the thing that fought him. Immediately its movements became erratic. Kirizzo continued to retreat, hoping that the wounds would render it inactive. He saw that the smaller biped used its weapon as well. It did not appear to be a projectile-based weapon; Kirizzo could not detect what principle it worked on. Perhaps it emitted radiation on a wavelength he could not detect.
The thing seemed to be mortally wounded. Like Kirizzo, it leaked its internal fluids out onto the fuzzy leaves on the forest floor, but it did not have attendant modules to tend to its wounds. The small spheres moved over to Kirizzo"s severed limbs and began a temporary repair. Kirizzo realized that the bipeds had lost interest in the native creature and had moved over to see how he fared. Perhaps they did value his presence since they watched the modules working carefully, or perhaps they were simply curious. Kirizzo indicated the previous direction of travel with one limb, urging them to continue.
"Do you really think he"s okay to keep going?" Telisa asked Magnus.
"We don"t really have a choice," he said. "Obviously we have no idea about his physiology, but we have to get back to the ship as soon as possible."
"You"re right," she agreed. They stepped around the body of the awful creature that had bitten Shiny. The thing looked like a giant salamander, but it had moved like a tiger, bolting out of the cover and attacking without warning. Just looking at its mouth gaping in death made her shudder. She kept her stunner ready and scanned the forest. If another thing like that lurked nearby, it could kill them.
Obviously Magnus thought the same since he cradled his slugthrower in his hands and his gaze moved across the area warily.
They moved up the hillside and through to valley after valley, making good time. Without Jack and Thomas holding them back, Telisa thought they might make it in a single day, but when the light of day faded, twenty percent of the distance remained.
"We"re almost there, let"s keep going," Telisa urged.
"It"ll be dangerous, but I agree," Magnus said. "I don"t want to run into one of those monsters in the dark, but we need to leave now to avoid any kind of UNSF response to Joe"s messages."
"And we"ll take Shiny with us," Telisa said.
"That"s insane. The government would hunt us down," Magnus said. "Our DNA is still back there, somewhere."
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn"t," Telisa said. "Inside the part that shifted, the matter was being molded all the time. It may be absorbed. And I noticed in the other room with the Trilisk columns in it, that there was no dust. That means it gets cleaned somehow. Any hair or skin we left there might get removed."
"Well, it"s still insane. But Shiny got us out of that place. So if he wants to come with us, I"m not saying no. Besides, maybe we can sell him," Magnus said.
"Uh!" Telisa started at the suggestion, ready to rant back at Magnus, and then she saw that he was smiling at her. It was a joke. "Of course we won"t. Think what we can learn from him!"
"Yeah, we won"t. But Momma Veer would pay a pretty penny for those floating things of his."
"We"d be arrested for selling something like that," Telisa said.
"In normal channels, yes," Magnus said. "But Jack knew some people. We might be able to work something out and keep out of prison. Maybe. With some work. It helps if you"re selling defense systems and not armament."
While they talked, the light became inadequate. Telisa took out her flashlight and turned it on. Magnus attached a light to the end of his slug thrower so he could see ahead.
An eerie red light came from behind Telisa, illuminating the nearby leaves and tree trunks. She looked back and saw that Shiny had many glowing cubes.
"Like in the caves back in the complex," Magnus noted.
"Yes! That"s interesting. He must come from an underground society, at least in its primitive beginnings."
"Wouldn"t they make regular-shaped tunnels like humans do inside of buildings? The caves seemed... so primitive.
"The walls were irregular, but they weren"t natural. His race probably doesn"t have an aesthetic about regular shaped rooms. It"s not surprising considering how different their technology looks."
Magnus grunted in response. They were working their way over the last rise into the valley where the ship rested. They worked their way through the forest for a few minutes in silence.
"Worried?" Telisa asked.
"Yes, but I shouldn"t be," Magnus said. "If they detected the ship and they"re waiting for us, we"re already caught. Our lights will give us away."
"What about satellites?" Telisa asked.
"This planet isn"t developed at all," Magnus said. "They don"t have enough infrastructure in place to detect anyone anywhere. That"s one of the reasons why we came here, because there"s a lot to be taken and not a lot of resistance to taking it."
They came to a flatter area, and the vegetation thinned. Telisa knew they were almost to the ship. She could see a map and their location in her head via her personal link. Would a team of soldiers be waiting to arrest them?
They sped up, consuming the last of the distance in less than half an hour. At last the ship stood before them, and Telisa let out a sigh of relief. There were no lights or cordons of men. The forest remained silent.
Telisa could tell that Shiny was sizing the ship up in the red light.
"What do you think he thinks?" she said.
Magnus snorted. "He"s probably thinking, it"s not safe to fly in that thing," he said.
"I can"t tell for sure if he"s more advanced," Telisa said. "He seems mysterious, and his modules are impressive, but he may have been there a long time, collecting knickknacks. And maybe his technology is better than ours in some areas and worse in others."
"Yeah, or maybe we"re primitive worms and he"s barely tolerating us," Magnus retorted. The ship"s entrance port activated and lowered a ramp for them.
"Ship says we haven"t been detected," Magnus reported.
Telisa remembered that she could link in again. It felt rea.s.suring to link in and see the ship"s resources available to her, like coming home. She had never before gone as much as a day without being able to link into nearby services.
They walked up the ramp, and Shiny followed without hesitation.
"Looks like it"ll be a flight for three," Telisa said.
Chapter Seventeen.
"We must be crazy. Trying to smuggle away a live alien from the UNSF," Magnus said. He sat in a chair, eyes closed. Telisa knew he preferred to close his eyes while running the ship interface.
"How could we turn him away after he helped us escape from that place?" Telisa demanded. "It"s obvious he wants to go with us. Would you rather he gets captured and prodded by those UNSF monkeys?"
"Hey, careful there. I used to be UNSF, y"know." Sounds reverberated through the ship, signaling their takeoff. Telisa hoped that Shiny wasn"t getting into trouble where they had left him in the cargo bay. Hopefully if he could survive trapped in a mysterious Trilisk complex, he could make it in the bay. Telisa thought she should get back there soon.
"Be ready to get in a pod," Magnus said. "I don"t know if they considered us important enough to have called any ships back before they heard Joe"s report. We might be in for another rough ride."
"What"re you worried about? You can defeat their scanners, right?"
"We can probably get away from this planet. Probably. But now they"re going to be hunting for us everywhere. They don"t have the funds to search for every handful of smugglers that sneaks away with an artifact here and there. But this is huge. They"ll spend a lot of money to recover Shiny."
"You think they"ll know where to look?"