Read Online Parker Interstellar Travels 6: The Celaran Ruins by Michael McCloskey - Free Book Online Page B

that’s exactly it,” Telisa said. “But of course, there are many
possibilities.”
    Interesting
that she challenged me in my area of expertise. Yet I feel like she saw something
there that I didn’t.
    “Let
me study the design some more,” Siobhan said. “I’ll figure it out.”
     
    ***
     
    Jason
and Imanol dropped back down onto the roof of the tower building. Cilreth
greeted them back. Jason felt good. It was amazing to be on another alien
planet. The sun and the wind and the view had lifted his spirits.
    I
could get used to this. The lower gravity is nice, too.
    “Learn
anything?” Cilreth asked.
    “The
rail goes all the way up. The top platform has a door there to let things
through,” Imanol said.
    “The
view up there is fantastic,” Jason said enthusiastically.
    “Twenty
five says Caden and Siobhan will be jumping off the tower within the next 24
hours,” Imanol said.
    “ESC?”
Jason asked.
    Cilreth
and Imanol laughed.
    “What?”
    “Frontier
folk don’t need your core world banks’ rigged bucks. Peer-to-peer currency if
you please,” Imanol said.
    “Frontier,
peer to peer,” rhymed Cilreth. It had the ring of a well known saying.
    Jason
shrugged. “Okay, sure, I have some. A little.”
    “Well
you’re going to need more, so don’t take his bet,” Cilreth said. “It was bad
enough before, using UN banks. Now that Shiny’s taken over, who knows?”
    “Well,
can you guys go out and capture some of the life forms we have catalogued with
the attendants? Telisa wants to see what they digest. We think there’s a food
processor down there that makes some kind of syrup for the Celarans.”
    Imanol
shrugged. “Sure. As long as we have eyes in there looking for big baddies.”
    Jason
felt a mixture of excitement and dread. In the action VRs, the first guys to
head out into the alien forest always died. He did not express his concern.
    “How
about between here and the New Iridar ?” he asked.
    “No,
we should go out farther,” Imanol said. “We may have scared some critters off
on the way in.”
    Well,
exactly.
    Jason
checked the attendants. There were three attendants out in the forest on the
far side of the building. He hoped that would be enough to spot any major
predators.
    “Do
you want to come with us?” he asked Cilreth.
    “Me?
No thanks. I’ll stand here and cover you.” She winked.
    She
has experience with what happens when you go exploring. You get gnawed upon by
hideous alien creatures. Ah well, I wanted to be part of the PIT team. Now I
am.
    “C’mon,
let’s go,” Imanol said. He pointed down an incline and took the lead. Jason
followed him down. He sent his personal attendant ahead into the vine cover,
but told it not to go far. They were able to slide off the building onto a big
vine branch without using a smart rope. After that, they walked on the huge
vine deeper into the forest.
    It
felt completely different to merge with the forest rather than follow the
superhuman Telisa as she hacked through it. Jason immediately saw more insects
than before. Their bodies glistened with reds and blues among the vines and
leaves. Jason wondered why they were so easy to spot.
    They
must have predators. So they should be camouflaged. Or maybe most of them are,
and I just can’t see those... oh, or some might be concealed predators with
body parts that look like bugs to draw something to it.
    The
thought made Jason shudder. At least he had attenuated to the heights in the
simulations they ran on the ship. When he looked down, he no longer felt like
dropping to hug the vine. The lower gravity also helped him to put fear of
falling aside.
    “Here
are some critters. I don’t have many containers, though,” Jason said. “Why do
you suppose the bugs are so brightly colored? Sparkly, almost.”
    “Who
knows? We can use a bag or two to catch some creepy crawlies,” Imanol said. “We
could even leave some food or equipment here near the tower building to free up
some storage