Gray Panthers: Dixie Read Online Free PDF

of the Flem cities?” Horton asked excitedly.
    “My information is limited, but it would appear to be,” Beater replied.
    Captain Johnson listened to the interaction, then made his decision. Using the ship’s communication system, he contacted Young. “Captain Young, we have a potential entrance on the surface for you to check out. No hazards have been detected. You are cleared to check it out with a survey team.”
    “Understood, Captain Johnson. We’ve just been waiting for a site. We’ll launch our shuttle with a full team of ten men,” Young answered, assessing the shuttle’s supplies. His men were performing a pre-mission check of each other and the equipment they would use on the planet’s surface.
    “On me!” Young ordered as he stepped to the entrance of the shuttle. “We leave in thirty minutes. We’ll drop down to the target and perform a three hundred and sixty degree sweep of it up to a half-mile from a height of one hundred feet. If nothing is found, we’ll land half a mile south of the target and team A will reconnoiter to the target while team B with me will perform overhead cover in the shuttle. Once the target is secured, team B will join with team A and begin in-depth examination of the surface to see if the target is in fact a door to one of the underground cities. If the target is a door, we will attempt to find a way in.
    “The planet has minor background radiation but is not considered a threat. There should be no large animals or friendly natives on the surface. To our knowledge, the plant life can be dangerous, so don’t stick anything in your mouth. Duress word is ‘candy.’ Emergency recall is ‘mustang.’ Any questions?”
    “Cap’n, what can we expect on the ground?” Staff Sergeant Pieter Polanski asked.
    “The area we’ll be checking out will be on the side of a valley. The only flat ground is west of the target on the valley floor. The area is at a 30-degree incline. It appears to be low grass mixed with rocks, lightly covered in snow. The temperature is about forty degrees Fahrenheit. The gravity on the planet is slightly lower than Earth’s, and the atmosphere is slightly higher in oxygen. Any other questions about the mission?” Young paused for a moment, and then said, “Okay, we leave in twenty-five mikes.”
    Young sat in the pilot’s seat viewing the sensor data as it came in while the AI, Rogers, piloted the shuttle toward the target. The treeless slope didn’t seem like it could hide anything as the shuttle performed one last pass over the target area.
    Staff Sergeant Polanski did a quick last check of his team while waiting for the word to disembark. The shuttle hovered over the slope as the main hatch opened, blowing snow into the warm shuttle and replacing the smell of oils and metal with a crisp cleanness. The team jumped the three feet to the ground and took their positions as the shuttle departed to take up station above them.
    Watching the safety and security of the shuttle depart, Polanski checked his position and that of his men lying in the snow, facing all directions. Feeling the wind blow across his face and not sensing any danger, he decided it was time to act.
    “Washington, take point. Everyone else, like we planned it. Move out,” Polanski said softly. The wind felt good, though colder than anticipated. The view was good in all directions as the men made their way to the target slowly. Washington made a slight motion toward a small bush less than a foot high as he passed it. When Polanski got there he saw a part of the bush was leaking sap from where branches had been torn off. Numerous tiny footprints could be seen heading in a dozen different directions. Their size and shape indicated that they had been made by an animal approximately the size of an Earth field mouse.
    There were no further signs of life as the men reached the hatch on the side of the valley. The door had no console or handle. The exterior was smooth, though pitted from