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"That would be great," Danec said. "I've always wanted to try hunting those, but a permit is so hard to get."
"I have one. I use it when—"
I sighed to myself. We were about to land on a mysterious planet and they were talking about hunting pigs?
"Can I come?" I asked. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
"Absolutely. Wait until you see the sunset over—"
Something thudded against the side of the pod, hard enough to throw it sideways a kilometre or two.
"Hang on!" Brinley shouted.
The pod banked hard to the right and I was thrown against Danec. At least this time I wasn't thrown far. The harness held me for the most part.
Out the window I caught sight of a deluge of hail. No, not hail; rocks.
My heart stopped. Not rocks. Pieces of ship. My stomach twisted.
"The other pods," I said, my voice choked.
"There's too much debris for that." Slek's face was so pale he was almost lavender. "That looks like a whole ship."
"And the first of the pods," Danec said softly. "If they docked already."
"Oh no," I whispered. Tears sprang to my eyes. The IF must have been waiting and the first few pods had reached the ship. And then—
"What could have done this?" My eyes widened. And could it happen to us?
J'avet turned in his seat and looked in my direction. "Your friend Jones is on a pod behind us. Whatever did that—"
"Isn't him," I finished. "Then what?"
J'avet shook his head and turned back. That was probably the closest to an apology I would get from him. That didn't much matter now.
"I'm taking us in to land," Brinley said loudly.
"Everyone get ready for landing," J'avet said.
The pod banked the other way and headed for an expanse of grass. Chunks of debris rained around us, but only small pieces hit the pod.
When we landed, we did it in a skid. We slid across the ground for a hundred metres or more, then came to a stop just short of slamming into a trunk.
"Everyone out and make for the trees," J'avet ordered. He had already undone his harness and now threw himself at the door controller. It slid open silently and he stood to one side and waved everyone out ahead of him.
Someone took my hand, I couldn't even register who, and we ran.
The world around me became a blur of green until we reached a section of forest that was deep enough, the canopy thick enough, that we came to a stop.
"Trees aren't going to be much protection against space junk." Slek peered upward.
A crash sounded through the trees, followed by a rumble, then an explosion large enough to make the ground tremble under my feet.
"Neither was the pod," a Freytaurian woman remarked.
I grimaced in agreement. Had debris done that, or whoever had destroyed the IF ship? I shook my head and gulped. "We should find a bush to hide under."
"Or a cave," Danec said. "I've read about those."
