Jerry Reed, whom she was told was one of the better pathfinders. They left within an hour of her walking out of the hut she’d slept in for three days, against the advice of the local medic and her own implants, but she knew that time was more important of a factor than it had begun as.
The fleet would wait out past the heliopause only so long before coming in, and when they did, she had to have things ready and waiting for them.
That was what brought her to the knoll upon which she currently crouched, the local pathfinder laying stretched out on the ground beside her, looking across to where the colony site resided on the large plateau that rose from the jungle.
“It’s quiet,” Jerry said, reaching for a pair of imagers.
She restrained his hand, shaking her head. “Don’t.”
“What? Why?”
“Those use active lasers for range finding.” She told him, eyes fixed on the site that lay three miles down from their location. “Right equipment on the other side and that’s like wearing a nice big sign saying ‘shoot me’.”
Jerry grimaced, laying the imagers aside. “So how are we supposed to see anything from here?”
“Take this,” she said, pulling a small chunk of plastic from a pouch and handing it to him.
He recognized it easily enough as a portable computer system, its flexible screen tucked away inside the protective plastic shell. He pulled it open with a jerk, shaking his head, “What good is this going... holy...”
“It’s linked to the imaging system built into my implants.” She told him as he found himself looking at a close up of the Colony’s center of government. “I’ve got liquid lenses floating over my eyes... a little computer adjustment to the surface tension and...”
The scene zoomed in even closer, focusing on a window over six kilometers away.
“And in we go,” she said, her voice dropping, “Looks deserted.”
The pathfinder nodded, “That’s what I said. Quiet.”
“Why hit the colony if they weren’t going to move in?” Sorilla asked rhetorically.
Jerry snorted, “Better question. Why hit the colony at all? There’s nothing of extreme value here... some plants that can be processed into some useful pharmaceuticals, but nothing spectacular. Local geology isn’t anything special either, richer than Earth for metals and such, but nothing compared to any asteroid belt in any of a thousand stars within jump range.”
Sorilla had to remind herself that Jerry wasn’t the ‘classic’ definition of a pathfinder. That type of man and woman had really faded from the scene hundreds of years earlier, the last true versions of them dying out as the last continental wilderness was settled and ‘civilized’ on Earth. A few still existed in odd places back home, but they were rare and were the exception rather than the rule now. It was out on the colonies that Pathfinders and their traditions still existed, and always would, but they had different jobs now.
Hunting wasn’t a priority here, the local fauna wasn’t edible anyway, so Jerry’s job was that of a surveyor with a little botanist tossed in for good measure. He had to know the rifle he had slung at his side, to be sure, since the local animals weren’t always the most pleasant types, but odds were he knew his way around a pocket processor a lot more.
“There aren’t more than three worlds with jump range of Earth that can support life,” Sorilla replied, “That’s just basic statistics. Hayden’s World is three jumps out, and in that entire sphere we’ve only found a total of fifteen planets we can live on... after a fashion.”
“And Hayden is the most earthlike we’ve ever found,” Jerry replied dryly, “I know the story.”
“Well, you might be looking at a flat out land grab.” She told him, “Still one or two countries back home that might think they can get away with it.”
Jerry shook his head, “You weren’t there when the colony was hit. Those
The fleet would wait out past the heliopause only so long before coming in, and when they did, she had to have things ready and waiting for them.
That was what brought her to the knoll upon which she currently crouched, the local pathfinder laying stretched out on the ground beside her, looking across to where the colony site resided on the large plateau that rose from the jungle.
“It’s quiet,” Jerry said, reaching for a pair of imagers.
She restrained his hand, shaking her head. “Don’t.”
“What? Why?”
“Those use active lasers for range finding.” She told him, eyes fixed on the site that lay three miles down from their location. “Right equipment on the other side and that’s like wearing a nice big sign saying ‘shoot me’.”
Jerry grimaced, laying the imagers aside. “So how are we supposed to see anything from here?”
“Take this,” she said, pulling a small chunk of plastic from a pouch and handing it to him.
He recognized it easily enough as a portable computer system, its flexible screen tucked away inside the protective plastic shell. He pulled it open with a jerk, shaking his head, “What good is this going... holy...”
“It’s linked to the imaging system built into my implants.” She told him as he found himself looking at a close up of the Colony’s center of government. “I’ve got liquid lenses floating over my eyes... a little computer adjustment to the surface tension and...”
The scene zoomed in even closer, focusing on a window over six kilometers away.
“And in we go,” she said, her voice dropping, “Looks deserted.”
The pathfinder nodded, “That’s what I said. Quiet.”
“Why hit the colony if they weren’t going to move in?” Sorilla asked rhetorically.
Jerry snorted, “Better question. Why hit the colony at all? There’s nothing of extreme value here... some plants that can be processed into some useful pharmaceuticals, but nothing spectacular. Local geology isn’t anything special either, richer than Earth for metals and such, but nothing compared to any asteroid belt in any of a thousand stars within jump range.”
Sorilla had to remind herself that Jerry wasn’t the ‘classic’ definition of a pathfinder. That type of man and woman had really faded from the scene hundreds of years earlier, the last true versions of them dying out as the last continental wilderness was settled and ‘civilized’ on Earth. A few still existed in odd places back home, but they were rare and were the exception rather than the rule now. It was out on the colonies that Pathfinders and their traditions still existed, and always would, but they had different jobs now.
Hunting wasn’t a priority here, the local fauna wasn’t edible anyway, so Jerry’s job was that of a surveyor with a little botanist tossed in for good measure. He had to know the rifle he had slung at his side, to be sure, since the local animals weren’t always the most pleasant types, but odds were he knew his way around a pocket processor a lot more.
“There aren’t more than three worlds with jump range of Earth that can support life,” Sorilla replied, “That’s just basic statistics. Hayden’s World is three jumps out, and in that entire sphere we’ve only found a total of fifteen planets we can live on... after a fashion.”
“And Hayden is the most earthlike we’ve ever found,” Jerry replied dryly, “I know the story.”
“Well, you might be looking at a flat out land grab.” She told him, “Still one or two countries back home that might think they can get away with it.”
Jerry shook his head, “You weren’t there when the colony was hit. Those
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