“Sorry about this, buddy.”
Radar pants lightly as he hikes at my side.
“I was hoping by now we’d have made enough I could move us into an apartment, get a hovercar, and have real food on a regular basis.” I always wanted to go back and finish school. I never thought Radar would be working as much as I am when I found him. I thought someone would take him in, give him a comfy sofa to sleep on, and lots of toys.
He was born into a world that had abandoned him. Something I can relate to.
When no one would take a groenendael-malnois mix because of how muchworkthey are, I realized how much we needed each other. I needed a partner. He needed a home that challenged him with new tasks every day.
Radar stops behind me and gives me a snort.
I turn around to see him sniffing a path that goes down. The way he lifts his nose into the air tells me there’s something there that he wants to check out.
We’re low on time. If any path leads nowhere, we could find ourselves confronted with a new kind of animal. I’ve heard of Mindorans, the wolf-like Shifters whose world was just attacked by the Nebulous Empire.That guy was something close, but different.
Damn Augments.
“Easy,” I tell Radar as I let him lead.
He hikes at a calmer pace down the pathway. I don’t like it, but I also know that we have a bond of trust that’s important to maintain. And he’s often smarter than I give him credit for because he can sense what I can’t.
The path winds around a switchback and narrows as it levels out. A sliver of light peeks in through the side of the tunnel. Radar runs toward it and begins digging rocks out of the way, trying to form an escape. I jump in and help him, and soon, we have a hole big enough to crawl through.
“Good job, buddy.”
I climb out after him, but when I see the landscape, I call him back to me. It looks like the inside of a dormant cinder cone with a funnel of dark rock and sand that slopes downward into a forest. There’s a huge chunk of a ship buried in the ground across from us so deeply, it’s tangled in the roots of trees and plants. Grassy dirt and rocks have no doubt shielded it from ships passing overhead.
Radar listens to my command, but I can tell he’s just as curious as I am. I motion for Radar to stay, then I step out and onto the loose ground. The gravel and sand of the steep slope give way, and I slide down to the wreckage. Only when I pull back the roots, I realize it isn’t just junk. It’s an entire pod.
It’s dented, looks like it has a thruster out, and it’s covered in blast marks. The design is Federation, but it’s so damaged that it has no identifiable markings left to tell me what it’s capable of or which force it belonged to. There isn’t even anyone inside.
Guess the Ginarigon-Mars battle knocked more than a few screws loose.
I have to figure the sandy hillside and the slope softened the landing. It looks like it barrel-rolled down the hill and smashed into the meadow. Finding the hatch release, I pull the lever. The door unseals, but there’s too much debris. I clear away what Ican, then pry the hatch open far enough that I can lean inside and take a look at the dash.
It’s been years since I saw the inside of a pod. A lot of things have been upgraded, but I think I can bring it online.
I flip the starter switch, and the dash lights up. It confirms one engine is down. But it still has three left and five hover thrusters.
“Radar, come!”We are going to sleep somewhere dry tonight.
But instead of his little feet rustling through the gravel, I hear him growl.
Looking up the slope, I see claws reach through the opening in the tunnel and a large, dark creature squeezing out. He’s covered in spiny fur, shaped like something reminiscent of a werewolf and rabid porcupine. He roars with ferociousness that terrifies me.
He can’t seriously be that upset over palladium.
When he charges at Radar, I draw my gun and switch it to the few lead rounds I have. “Radar,heel!”
As Radar backs toward me then sprints down the gravel slope, I fire everything I have at the creature.
I hold the hatch open. “Inside!”
Radar jumps in. I keep firing as I climb in with him and pull the hatch closed.
It latches and hums as I bring the engines’ jump coils online. The monster closes in. I kick on the thrusters I have, don’t bother belting in, and max the throttle.
The pod shudders and begins to move. Claws scrape over the glass. And finally, we shoot out of the hillside and careen upward, through tree tops.
