Birthright: After Earth Read Online Free PDF Page B

she felt any resentment toward it, then she was automatically a bad mother because good mothers didn’t hate their children.
    I knew this was a bad idea. Jan wanted children, not me. I am going to be a lousy mother. A lousy mother who’s always going to resent her baby for—
    “Lieutenant, we’ve got the outpost on our scopes,” said Sutton.
    Mallory focused herself on the task at hand, however menial it was. In the rear of the shuttle were six large containers of water. It would have to last the scientists for at least two months, so they would have to be extremely cautious with how they used it.
    “Inform them of our approach.”
    “Aye, copy that.”
    Mallory watched out the forward observation window as they drew closer and closer. It was nothing more than a series of small buildings, each made of fluttering walls and roofs of smart cloth. Their supreme flexibility enabled them to withstand even the most formidable of winds as they roared through. There were also several silver towers. She had no idea what they were for; perhaps they gathered readings for various experiments the scientists were doubtless performing.
    Her tolerance for, and belief in, scientists remained minimal. Nevertheless, they were waiting to be helped, and it was her job to attend to their needs. She frowned, though, when long moments passed and they received no response to their hail. “Sutton?” She didn’t have to complete the question; it was obvious that she wanted to know why the scientists appeared to be radio-silent.
    Sutton shook his head. “Don’t know what’s going on, Lieutenant.”
    “Abbey, check the long-range monitors,” said Mallory. She had unstrapped from her seat and was pacing the interior of the shuttle. “See if a sandstorm is moving into the area. Perhaps that could be jamming the transmission.”
    “How would it be doing that?”
    “I don’t know,” she admitted in frustration. “Just check—”
    “Already have. True, things can come up quickly out here, but at the moment the screens are all clear.”
    Mallory studied the image of the outpost as it drew ever closer. She wasn’t seeing anything. No sign of movement, no sign of life anywhere. “Where the hell did they go?” she whispered.
    “Should we head back, Lieutenant?”
    She shook her head. “No. We need to see what’s going on. Maybe they’re hiding from something.”
    “Like what?” said Abbey, but he wouldn’t have to think terribly hard to imagine what the “like what” might be. It wasn’t a stretch for any of them, really.
    “We’ll find out,” Mallory said in a carefully neutral voice.
    Moments later, the shuttle had settled onto the ground about a hundred feet away from the encampment. After sending word to headquarters that something appeared to be unusual and they were going to investigate, Mallory irised open the ship’s door. The three Rangers carefully emerged from the ship, their cutlasses at the ready. Nothing appeared to be moving in the area. As near as the Rangers could determine, they were completely alone.
    There was no need to spread out. The outpost was small enough that, even with the Rangers staying together, it would only take a matter of minutes to cover the entire area.
    “Hello?” Mallory called out tentatively. It seemed absurd on one level to do so; clearly there was no one around. Nevertheless she did it reflexively. “We’re Rangers. Is anyone here? Is anyone in need of aid?”
    No response. Nothing save a steady breeze rolling in from the desert.
    “Lieutenant.” Abbey was crouching a few feet away and gesturing for Mallory to join him. “Check this out.”
    Mallory walked over to Abbey and saw that he was pointing toward something on the ground. There were a few dark red spots, and several small, white fragments of—
    “Bone?”
    Abbey nodded. His face was grim. “Blood and bone, aye. Something was slaughtered here. And something was eaten by something that didn’t leave much of anything