Star Force: Perquisition Read Online Free PDF Page A

but gravity drives were typically used in large bursts with lots of rest
time in between. Hover rates weren’t bad, but not knowing how long they’d be in
position left the crews unable to calculate fuel expenditure beforehand. The
Ma’kri had more than enough to accomplish this little shore visit, and getting
the sensors a bit closer to their target would enhance the accuracy, hopefully
enough to know whether or not a return trip with a digging crew was warranted.
    “Archon,” one of the analysis team said, stepping up
beside him holding a satchel of equipment that was dragging on her shoulder
heavily. “The sand is partially organic in origin, but there are significant
traces of technological residue within it.”
    “There also appears to be some foundations left buried
deep under the sand, according to orbital sensors.”
    “Salvageable?”
    “Don’t know yet. I’m having them take a closer look.
Anything on the weaponry used?”
    “The damage is ancient, so we can only extrapolate,
but it appears to be similar to a vertron inhibitor.”
    “Based on?”
    “The crystallization patterns. There are defects that
time hasn’t completely washed away yet. This entire desert may have once been
lush forest, given the organic traces still present, but the more recent ones
concern me.”
    “Oh?”
    “There is non-crystalized organic traces, minute, but
probably from lifeforms inhabiting here after the planetary damage.”
    “What kind?”
    “The burrowing kind,” she said with a cringe, looking
up at his opaque golden faceplate.
    He remained silent for a moment, then a head twitch
brought his vision back on her. “There’s nothing in the immediate area.”
    “The compaction rates are all wrong. This sand has
been churned over the years, I’m almost sure of it.”
    “So a lot of burrowers?”
    “Or environment turbulence. We’ll have to compare to
bedrock scans to be sure.”
    “How much more time do you need here?”
    “Another hour should do. We want to be thorough.”
    “Alright. Take your time and I’ll watch out for worm sign.”
    “What?”
    “Never mind. How you doing with the gravity?”
    “Getting my workout in for the day. That’s another
thing, the gravity should be compacting the sand more than it is.”
    “Add another mystery to the list.”
    “We might be able to figure this one out,” she said,
spinning a circle in the sand with her heel as she turned around and walked
back towards one of the sample sites spread around a quarter mile perimeter
from the dropships.
    Trey held position, watching with both his eyes and
his psionics to make sure his unarmored team came to no harm. They were
literally in the middle of nowhere with only some short dunes on the horizon
around them. The nearest village was over a hundred miles away on the outskirts
of the desert, leaving them alone on a cloudy day that would probably keep the
Ma’kri invisible despite its size.
    Trey waited for it to come down, watching the
battlemap and his team for the moment when the clouds pushed down above them
like a wall of cotton candy headed for the ground. They never got there, with
the hull plates of the dark grey Ma’kri forcing the white puffs aside as the 6
kilometer long warship appeared to pancake the ground nearby them to the
immediate west with almost all of his team physically jerking as the sudden
arrival spooked them.

 
    When they were finished collecting their samples the
Ma’kri had already returned to orbit, having confirmed at least a few levels of
infrastructure buried deep beneath the sands. What condition it was in was
unknown, but Trey hated to leave without finding out what it was. Coming back
on a second trip just for this might be a huge waste of time or a vital
discovery, he couldn’t be sure, but digging down to that level by hand wasn’t
going to happen either.
    The three dropships stayed together rather than
splitting up so Trey could keep an eye on everyone,
which amounted to a 63