Mutiny on Outstation Zori Read Online Free PDF

crass bastard," Devor told him. "Stick to the training mission."
    Kleg said, "What is the—"
    "I've got it here," Jamie interrupted. One of the screens on the co-pilot's console scrolled out tactical and strategy info. He read off the mission instructions. "We're to proceed fifteen klicks to 75/15/22 latitude and 128/03/07 longitude."
    Karr engaged the forward drive. "Simple enough." The mosquito rose up on its spindly legs and began stepping over the field of jagged boulders. "What do we do when we get there?"
    "Says here that we're to rescue a couple of archaeologists who were excavating a shallow cave when their ground transport malfed."
    "Yeah? And?"
    "That's all," Jamie said, a little dismayed that the mission was so easy.
    "Big deal." Kleg punched the mining-crawler's speed up another notch.
    Small servos whined in protest, struggling to keep the cabin perfectly level while the mosquito clambered forward over the rough terrain.
    Jamie let his mind drift, wondering if he could make mental contact with his companions, since they sharing this dream. He centered his thoughts on Aura and felt something, but got no response when he tried to address her mentally. Finally he decided that a shared HAVENset wasn't much different from an ordinary one.
    Aura mused aloud, "I wonder why we're inside such an exotic vehicle. That long drilling assembly in the front must be important for something on this assignment."
    "Use the vid, Clamber," Kleg commanded, "See if you can get through to our stranded rock collectors. Let 'em know help is on the way."
    It was a good idea, but Jamie didn't like taking orders from Karr. Still, he thought, I am only the co-pilot, so I shouldn't complain. The whole purpose of this exercise is to see how well we can work together. He flipped the switch labeled Auto Freq Tune and immediately got a dark scene on one of the screens. "There they are," he said with some pride. "Got them on the first try."
    Two men were standing in what looked like a small cavern, arguing about something.
    "You...you...you...better do it and do it quick!" one of them charged, shaking his nearly bald head. "I'm not ...I'm not going to do it."
    "It's not my turn," the other explained more calmly. "You don't expect me to do things out of turn, do you Tommy?"
    "I...I...I...?" The flustered man placed his hands on his hips. "You think I'm pretty stupid, don't you? You think I don't know about the Satanic Hairburners. You think—"
    "Whoa, wait, Tommy! Get it right. You're talking about the Serrantic Harbingers. The Old Ones, the forerunners of all intelligent life in the universe."
    The mining-crawler moved in closer to the mouth of the cave. Jamie released an anti-grav spy-eye to establish communications with the two men standing in the rear of the caverns. "That...that's what I said," implored the archeologist. "The Santa Harpon ...the ...what you said."
    Devor wondered aloud, "How are they just standing out there in the heavy gravity?"
    "I don't know." Kleg crouched the mosquito into the cave. "Let's ask 'em."
    "This isn't right," Aura breathed.
    Jamie sent a spy-eye orb ahead to hover above the arguing scientists, while Kleg announced, "Attention, gentlemen. You can relax now. We've come to rescue you."
    "Swell," smiled the nervous one. "My… my brother and I were starting to think—"
    "Wait a sec," Jamie warned. "I think I've found something." Behind a large boulder next to the damaged crawler lay two human bodies, flattened and deformed from the planet's 13-g force. "That's what's left of the archaeologists." He looked up from his screen. "Those other two guys must be fakes."
    "Get 'em, Dickey!"
    The two men outside the mining-crawler burst out of their human forms and swelled, hardening and cracking into larger craggy-looking rockmen.
    "Holy juice!" Kleg exclaimed, backing the vehicle out of the cavern.
    "I can stop them mentally," said Aura. "They don't look very intelligent."
    "What are you talking about?" Kleg shouted.