***
The charging platform was a huge metal spider, its solar-absorbing abdomen resting just above the green landscape. Joe skillfully maneuvered his one-man copter in a spiral down toward the landing zone on the spider’s back.
He landed the flying machine expertly, then pried himself out of the tiny seat. He winced, coaxing sleeping muscles back to life. At least the weather had been good; it was summer on Yarnitha.
Joe walked down into the small living center of the station. As Commander Mailson had promised, two Series Seven robots waited for him. Joe wished that he could make use of more formidable hardware than the Series Sevens. The real combat robots, which looked more like tanks than humanoids, were reserved for base protection, so his two general purpose robots would have to do.
He looked the robots over and checked their programs. They were both loaded with reconnaissance software as he had expected. He left one alone and cleared the other’s brain, loading a combat package instead.
The robots were too heavy to ride on the small copter. There was a large, slow hovercar provided for their transport. It would serve to shuttle them back and forth but would be worse than useless in a combat situation. Joe decided that he would have to get a bearing on the smugglers before calling for the robots.
Joe had no choice but to sleep before getting started. The day-and-a-half trip over from the other continent had been long and uncomfortable. He was completely exhausted. The copter was fast and maneuverable, but sitting in the same position for several hours between rest stations was less than ideal. Still Joe spurred himself on, eager for the opportunity to hunt some real prey for a change. He was bored with the routine of sniping at helpless creatures while the robots catalogued them. This time the targets of his hunt might be able to fight back.
He cranked open the two tiny windows on opposite sides of his cramped quarters. He thought briefly about the dangers of allowing something in while he slept, but decided the robots could watch for him. He wanted to feel the warm night air and hear the sounds of the forest outside; it reminded him of summer nights on the frontier planet where he grew up. It seemed that he had done the same sorts of things back then as he did now, wandering around through parts unknown with a rifle on his shoulder. He fell asleep quickly with old memories of his childhood adventures knocking around in his head.
It was night when he climbed back into the copter. He fed current from the station into the energy storage ring of the copter and took to the air. Switching on his scanning equipment, Joe searched for lifeforms. The devices he had were for his usual job of cataloguing new species. Joe increased their helpfulness by screening out the target signatures of creatures he had already catalogued; anything he detected would be either new alien species or Terrans.
Joe set a search pattern into the computer and then let the copter fly itself over the dense expanse of spiny trees. He realized the search was going to be long and perhaps futile. He thought about ways to increase his chances of finding the smugglers. He remembered that the commander had allocated one of the new satellites to gather data for his search.
Joe linked into the satellite network to look over the information that had been obtained from orbit. He looked over the raw maps, searching for anything that would give him an idea. Something caught his eye: an electromagnetic anomaly on the surface. It didn’t look like any kind of spaceship, but some form of power generator functioned there—a big one.
Suddenly Joe had an idea. If this power source was so prominent to him, it might have been seen by the smugglers as well. Which meant they might show up there. Since the robots were wasting their time just sitting at the charging station, perhaps he should put them to use. He could set up an ambush at the power source, tell the robots to wait there, and then continue his search. Joe liked the plan. If he couldn’t find the smugglers, he might get lucky and get them to come to him.
Joe hailed the robots waiting at the charging platform and set up a rendezvous near the odd readings. They would meet close enough to walk toward it without alerting anyone there. He broke the copter out of its current search pattern and headed out.
At the rendezvous, Joe discovered that finding a spot to set the little copter down in the middle of the night was difficult. In the end, he had to have the robots set the hovercar down first and clear away a few trees before he could land.
Once on the ground, Joe converted the second Series Seven to a combat program. He designated his machines simply One and Two. They each had an assault rifle of standard UNSF issue and plenty of ammunition. Joe assigned Two to carry a backpack of miscellaneous gear.
“There are no other UNSF personnel on this continent,” Joe told them. “If we encounter anyone, it’s safe to assume that they’re smugglers operating here illegally. Shoot to kill.”
“We are to allow no surrender, sir?” asked One.
“The smugglers waived their surrender opportunity in an encounter with a UNSF ship in orbit of this planet. We’re now authorized to use lethal force in apprehending them.”
“Yes, sir,” both robots responded simultaneously.
Joe waited the last half hour until daylight, pacing about impatiently. Finally, he decided that the light had increased to a level that would be safe for him to walk in.
“One of you to each flank,” Joe said.
He created an off-retina map using his satellite link and headed out through the trees, cradling his rifle. The robots moved to either side, holding their rifles in similar fashion.
Joe remained linked with the automatons, making use of their scanning information so he would know if they detected any Terran signatures. Everything fed into his tactical map, filling it out as they moved. Joe picked his way through the spiny forest. The small battle group had made it perhaps a hundred meters into the forest when a transmission came in.
“This is Two. I am falling out of formation due to inordinate difficulties negotiating the terrain,” a voice said over the link.
Joe rolled his eyes. “This wouldn’t happen if I’d been assigned one of the Veer Leviathans,” he complained to himself.
“Do you need assistance, Two?” Joe transmitted.
“Negative.”
“You are making progress?”
“Five minutes added to ETA at logged destination.”
“I’ll slow down. Notify me of any further difficulties.”
Joe stood for a moment, listening to the sounds of the forest. He heard One and Two churning through the woods nearby. He debated moving ahead and scouting out the area alone.
“This is One. A native lifeform has attached itself to my leg.”
“My Momma Veer!” swore Joe.
“Repeat last, sir?”
“One, remove it with all due haste. Stay focused on our priority,” Joe said.
“I am unable to remove it, sir.”
“Can you still make progress?” Joe asked, exasperation drenching his voice.
“Five minutes added to ETA at logged destination.”
Joe clenched his teeth. If some critter still clutched the leg of his Series Seven when they got to the power source, he felt inclined to shoot whatever it was.
“This is Two.”
“Let me guess. Five minutes added to ETA?”
“At logged destination, sir. For a total delta of ten minutes over original estimate.”
“Both of you, break inward. We’ll assume a file formation; I’ll take the point.”
“That is not an optimum skirmish formation,” Two transmitted.
“I’m aware of that.”
One came limping through the undergrowth. A huge orange ball dominated the lower part of its left leg. Joe carefully knelt to examine the thing.
“What the hell is that?”
“A primitive hexapod with a thick exoskeleton,” summarized One.
Joe reached out to try to pry the creature off.
“I suggest extreme caution, sir. The creature has manipulators with an extremely high mechanical
advantage,” said One. The robot showed Joe its hand. One of the metal fingers had been removed, leaving a small stub of twisted metal.
Joe snatched his hand back.
“We’ll shoot it off once we’ve reached the site and made sure there’s no one there already,” he said. “Catalog it and warn me if we near any other ones like it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Two eventually stumbled through the forest and joined them. Joe took the lead, weaving back and forth through the vegetation, searching for the easiest path. He could tell by referencing the satellite data that they were almost at the location of the power anomaly.
Joe slowed the column, stopping every minute or so to listen. The group crept along until Joe could see a ruined building ahead. The structure was dark gray and covered with vines. A gaping hole beckoned in the side of the building.
“One, move in and investigate the interior,” Joe ordered.
He hooked up with the Series Seven’s optical receptors and got a view of the inside. Dust covered a series of chest-high pieces of inexplicable equipment. The devices could have been anything. It might take a detailed examination and a year of work from a Trilisk expert to figure out their function, if they ever did figure it out. In any case, it was certain that they were ancient; Joe ignored them.
A huge cylinder opened into the room from the floor. It seemed like the only other interesting feature. Joe and Two moved through the hole in the building’s exterior.
Joe took a look at the inside for himself. At one time it might have been a high-tech facility, but it didn’t look like much now. Joe realized that the fresh footprints they were leaving in the dust would warn any smugglers away.
“Two, clean up our trail. I don’t want it so obvious that we came through this way.”
“Acknowledged,” said Two. It shifted foliage and ruined pieces of equipment to cover up the footprints. It smoothed over the remaining tracks, backing up toward Joe.
Joe watched the process until he was satisfied. Then he spoke quietly into his link.
“This is Lieutenant Hartlet. I’m investigating a local ruin site with subterranean components. I may be out of reception for a short time.”
Joe linked out from the satellite network and gave some more orders.
“One, move into that tube and tell me if there’s anything in there.”
The Series Seven clumsily climbed into the aperture. The tube was taller than the robot. One moved deeper inside until it was no longer visible.
“The tunnel is descending and spiraling to the right,” One reported. “I am continuing forward.”
“Keep us posted. We’re coming in behind you,” Joe said. He motioned Two forward and followed it into the odd tunnel. The inside was dirty, but the tunnel walls were intact.
“I have reached the end,” One reported.
“Dead end?”
“There is an anomaly.”
“Did you find the power source?” Joe asked. He linked in to take a look at what the robot was seeing. The tunnel was blocked by a narrow circular rim with a dead black center.
Joe couldn’t tell what it was. He jogged down to the spot with Two.
“Can you detect anything beyond that circular… thing?” Joe demanded.
Two moved slightly forward, turning its head side to side. “There is nothing there,” it announced.
“Nothing beyond the opening?”
“I detect nothing, sir,” the robot said.
Joe didn’t feel comfortable with the entrance. He decided not to risk it. He would send the robots in first.
“One and Two, move forward and take up positions beyond the… beyond the circular frame ahead.”
The robots stalked forward, their rifles cradled in cold metal hands. They moved into the blackness. Joe blinked. It was as if the robots had stepped beyond a black curtain. They were not visible.
“One and Two, are you in position?”
No answer came. Joe transmitted again, trying to reach the robots without luck. His link refused to acknowledge their mental interfaces.
“Purple paste. What in R’lyeh…”
He paced nervously.
One emerged from the blackness.
“One. Are you functioning? Is Two okay in there?”
“Affirmative. I returned to investigate a communications dysfunction. I did not read the presence of your link once moving beyond the barrier.”
“Describe what’s beyond the portal,” Joe commanded.
“There is a concrete corridor with a white tile floor and standard lighting. The corridor extends—”
“Wait. You said ‘standard’ lighting. Explain.”
“The lighting is provided by long LEDs, commonly referred to as glow rods,” One replied. “An analysis of wavelength and intensity reveals that the illumination falls very close to the Terran average for such fixtures. Hence the term standard.”
Joe frowned. That couldn’t be right. Terrans hadn’t built any installations here. The two UNSF bases were it. Unless smugglers had actually discovered it first and built a base… the thought alarmed him.
No. More likely a Core World corporation came here in secret, he thought.
He moved up to the black area and tested it with his hand. It seemed harmless.
“Follow me through,” he said.
Joe moved quickly through the blackfield and joined Two on the other side. One stepped through beside him. He stared at the walls, floor, and ceiling as he walked forward. He felt no doubt that this was a Terran habitation. It could have been one of a million corridors that Joe had seen in his lifetime. Everything, from the square tile floor to the height of the ceiling and the long tube lights, was familiar.
“Follow me,” Joe said.