Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [198]
'I'll just stay here out of the way.' Orli's bright eyes watched everything.
The readings spun upward and held. Hull sensors verified that the seal integrity remained uncompromised. Tasia clapped her hand on Nikko's shoulder, then threw her arms around Robb. 'Bull's-eye!'
'Are we ready to go?' Orli asked, sitting up straight. 'Davlin told the people it would be another day, or probably two.'
Davlin gave her a calm smile. 'I didn't want to give them false hope. This way they won't be disappointed.'
Robb shut down the systems, not wanting to waste fuel. 'I'm convinced. Let's get back to the caves and tell everyone to head out.'
'We could just fly there,' Nikko said.
Tasia frowned at him. 'It'll be quite a trick to land a ship this big anywhere near the bluffs - not that we couldn't do it, mind you - but the Osquivel is barely holding together as it is. Take-offs and landings can be rough on a ship. How much do you want to increase our risk factor?'
'Not by much.' Nikko sounded concerned.
'It'll only take us half an hour to jog back to camp,' Orli said.
'Or run,' Davlin said. 'Let's go.'
They travelled under the cover of night, their eyes adjusted to the stars and shadows. DD marched ahead, leading the way, and Orli, who already carried her meagre possessions with her in a backpack, trotted after him.
'I do not wish to leave Margaret Colicos behind.' DD sounded forlorn. 'She is with the Klikiss.'
'We don't even know if she's still alive, DD.'
'Perhaps one day we can come back and check.'
'Sure,' Tasia said from behind them. 'One day. We'll bring along a whole friggin' military assault force.'
'That might work,' Nikko said.
Before they could reach the sandstone bluffs, Tasia thought she heard a flutter and hum, followed by a clicking sound in the darkness ahead. She didn't like it.
DD paused. 'Excuse me, but I detect movement ahead of us. Large shapes are approaching. Many life forms. Perhaps they are indigenous animals.'
'Not very likely.' Tasia instinctively moved closer to Robb.
Davlin's face seemed to be a mask made of carved wood. They all heard thrumming and buzzing too distinct to be ignored. In his hand he produced a flare grenade. Tasia didn't ask where he had gotten it. 'Let's see what we've got. Stand ready.' He looked around, assessing all the worried expressions.
'Stand ready with what?' Tasia asked. Nikko picked up two sharp rocks, and Orli did the same. Robb balled his fists.
Davlin tossed the grenade, counted out loud to five. Tasia flinched as a cascade of brilliant light gushed into the air. Blinking in the glare, she saw a dozen Klikiss scouts and warriors, along with some oddly pale humanlike hybrids. New hybrids.
Undeterred by the flare grenade, the Klikiss surged forward. Davlin, who had one of the few EDF weapons, shot until the charge pack was empty, blasting bugs, splattering gore. Their squeals were deafening. The attacking insects ignored their fallen comrades and closed in, driven by the intent mind of the subhive's new-generation breedex.
Robb stood back to back with Tasia. 'I'm ready to fight with bare hands and fingernails if I have to.'
'My brave hero. I'd rather go with a happily-ever-after scenario, though.'
DD remained beside Orli as if he meant to protect her. Remembering how she had stopped the Klikiss scout that had attacked their small party of escapees, she swung the pack off her back. If she could only get her synthesizer strips.
One of the Klikiss warriors extended a tube weapon and sprayed a stream of greyish-white fluid, splattering Orli before she could free her small keyboard. It targeted her on purpose, as if the breedex remembered exactly who she was. A cascade of hardening resin crusted her hands and arms. She squirmed, and another spurt from the web guns covered her mouth and neck.
The Klikiss shot their web guns to entangle and capture, rather than kill the small group. Within minutes the creatures had rounded up the humans, immobilizing them with the constraining resin. Tasia couldn't move against the gobs of hardening slime, could barely breathe.