Page 82

Chapter 16

Georgia grimaced asshe pulled her foot free from the sticky, foul-smelling mud that plagued this planet. The place was a nightmare version of the Never Ending Story, and although the air was breathable, every breath she took tasted of rotten egg. It was a landscape of hard rock, treacherous bogs, and cloth drenching dampness. The sooner they were off Epox with the animals in their cargo hold, the better.

Her banty sidekick also didn’t seem impressed with their surroundings, refusing to budge from her shoulder no matter how often she encouraged him down.

“It’s not far,” Ash said. “The signature’s been getting stronger the closer we get to this rock face.”

“Are there signatures popping up for any hybrids?” There weren’t many places to hide on this planet, other than a few stunted copses of half-dead trees.

“They’re staying out of our way. Maybe the Siblet have them caged so they can’t cause trouble.”

“If that’s true, they’ll release them as soon as they get a sniff we’re here,” she said.

“Then let’s make sure that doesn’t happen. This way.” Ash had his weapon out, but it was by his side as he strode ahead.

Georgia followed him, constantly scanning the surroundings. This place felt dead, and there were no signs of native wildlife. There was nothing here.

Ash slowed, and Georgia joined him, looking at the scanner in his hand.

She groaned. “Let me guess. They’re using underground caves again?”

“It seems to be their MO. That’s where we found their base on Sysal. And it makes sense. These rocks are filled with natural minerals, which makes scanning for accurate signatures almost impossible. They’re using the planet’s natural resources against us.”

“They’re cowards for hiding out underground.”

“Then let’s flush those cowards out and make them sorry they ever started this.”

After a few minutes of searching, they found an entrance that took them inside the rock face.

Ash spent a minute scanning the environment before walking farther along the tunnel. “It’s a network of subterranean caves. Some are small, but there are a few larger ones.”

“That could be where they’re keeping the animals,” Georgia said.

They headed inside, switching on their night vision goggles as they descended into the caves and the light dimmed.

“I’ve got movement up ahead,” Ash said.

“Animal or alien?”

“I think it’s Siblet. Let’s get out of their way. We don’t need a firefight this early on, or we’ll never make it to the white tails.” He diverted along a narrow passageway to their left.

Georgia hesitated. She wanted the kill, but they were here for the animals. Hiding made sense, even though it pained her to do it. She shuffled in next to Ash, and they waited.

A moment later, two Siblet marched past. They were dressed in a military uniform of close-fitting, shimmering metallic gray material. They carried their standard long, pole-like weapons that emitted an electrical blast from one end. Those blasts could knock you into next week if you took one in the chest. Their faces were concealed by flat-sided metallic helmets, so only the eyes were visible. To Georgia, they looked like futuristic mediaeval knights on steroids.

She swallowed down an echo of panic that made her shudder. She hadn’t been face-to-face with a Siblet for years. Her gut twitched, and her palms grew sweaty.

The banty nuzzled her cheek, as if trying to reassure her. She was surprised when his soft furry nuzzle did settle her panic. It felt good to have him along for the ride. Having a pet could work, after all.

“It’s safe to move,” Ash said. “I’m not getting any more movement heading our way.” He brushed his hand against hers as they moved back into the main passageway. “How was that?”

She could have shrugged off his comment, but Ash understood her issues with the Siblet. “It sucked. But I didn’t freak out.”

“That’s my girl. You’ve got this.” He cursed as his tablet vibrated again. “We’ve got movement behind us. We need to hurry.”

They broke into a jog, and Georgia could hear footsteps. She ran as quietly as she could along the cold, dark passageway.

As they continued to run, she saw lights embedded in the rock face that lit as they passed. “We must be getting close to something important,” she whispered.