Read Online SGA-13 Hunt and Run by Aaron Rosenberg - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Aaron Rosenberg
Tags: Science-Fiction
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anyone. That’s why he was only allowing Ronon two hours. Two hours from dawn, presumably — he knew that was when Ronon woke if not awakened by something else beforehand. So Nekai must have felt that they would be safe for those two hours. Or safe enough.
Ronon nodded to himself and slid the tracking monitor into his pocket without switching it on. He wouldn’t cheat. Nekai had probably known that. But he needed to know he could find the Retemite on his own, using just the skills Nekai had taught him and his own instincts and senses. He needed to know he could do this without any help.
Crouching down, Ronon studied the ground around him carefully. No footprints, no drag marks — Nekai was careful. Maybe too careful. He grinned as his eye registered a swathe of dirt that was a little smoother than its neighbors. Gotcha.
Straightening and dusting his hands off on his pants legs, Ronon drew his pistol, made sure it was still on stun, and headed into the scrub brush surrounding the little clearing. He was on the hunt. .
* * *
Some time later, he glanced up at the sky, gauging the time from the position of this world’s sun. At least that was a skill he’d already been taught in the military, even the calculations necessary to adjust for a sun’s size and a planet’s proximity to it. Right now, he’d say it had been at least an hour and a half since he’d left the spot where they’d camped the night before, and possibly closer to two. Which meant Nekai would be hunting him soon instead of just the other way around.
He’d followed the brushed-out trail at first but had quickly lost it as the undergrowth had thickened, making it unnecessary to hide footprints. The ground here was covered in dry leaves, wet leaves, creeper vines, moss, and occasionally flower petals. The trees were close enough together to provide excellent cover but far enough apart to allow a man to slip between them without difficulty. Low branches offered concealment from above, as did hanging vines, and the foliage filtered the sun so only speckles of light shone through, dancing across dust motes and creating constant shadows. It was a perfect place to hide — or to hunt someone unsuspecting.
Fortunately, Ronon was well aware of that. Unfortunately, so was Nekai.
He had picked up the Retemite’s trail twice more, once when the shorter man had nudged aside a hanging vine and disturbed its place on the branch above and once when he had brushed leaves back into place behind his feet but had flipped one over, leaving it the only dry leaf among a patch of damp ones. Both times the trail had vanished again a few paces later, but Ronon had kept to the same general direction, sure Nekai meant to put as much distance between them before doubling back. The trick would be noticing when he did begin that wide turn, otherwise Ronon would keep right on going and Nekai would be able to come at him from behind.
Nor had his mentor left the area unprepared. Twice Ronon had noticed snares, once just barely in time — his foot had literally been an inch off the ground when he’d spotted a vine with a little too much tension in it and had realized it was a rope concealed among the true foliage. He’d been forced to roll forward to avoid stepping into the trap, which had taken him safely out of harm’s way but had meant he’d spent several minutes concealing all the marks he’d left from that tumble. He knew Nekai would probably circle back and hunt for him along his own previous path, so there was no sense making it easy for the other man.
Given the time, Ronon was sure Nekai had already begun his turn. He hadn’t seen any evidence of that, but he could feel it in his gut. Which just left the question of which way to go. If you were simply running from someone, you’d want to turn away from the sun so you could better see what you were doing and where you were going. But if you were hunting someone — or evading someone hunting you — you’d
Ronon nodded to himself and slid the tracking monitor into his pocket without switching it on. He wouldn’t cheat. Nekai had probably known that. But he needed to know he could find the Retemite on his own, using just the skills Nekai had taught him and his own instincts and senses. He needed to know he could do this without any help.
Crouching down, Ronon studied the ground around him carefully. No footprints, no drag marks — Nekai was careful. Maybe too careful. He grinned as his eye registered a swathe of dirt that was a little smoother than its neighbors. Gotcha.
Straightening and dusting his hands off on his pants legs, Ronon drew his pistol, made sure it was still on stun, and headed into the scrub brush surrounding the little clearing. He was on the hunt. .
* * *
Some time later, he glanced up at the sky, gauging the time from the position of this world’s sun. At least that was a skill he’d already been taught in the military, even the calculations necessary to adjust for a sun’s size and a planet’s proximity to it. Right now, he’d say it had been at least an hour and a half since he’d left the spot where they’d camped the night before, and possibly closer to two. Which meant Nekai would be hunting him soon instead of just the other way around.
He’d followed the brushed-out trail at first but had quickly lost it as the undergrowth had thickened, making it unnecessary to hide footprints. The ground here was covered in dry leaves, wet leaves, creeper vines, moss, and occasionally flower petals. The trees were close enough together to provide excellent cover but far enough apart to allow a man to slip between them without difficulty. Low branches offered concealment from above, as did hanging vines, and the foliage filtered the sun so only speckles of light shone through, dancing across dust motes and creating constant shadows. It was a perfect place to hide — or to hunt someone unsuspecting.
Fortunately, Ronon was well aware of that. Unfortunately, so was Nekai.
He had picked up the Retemite’s trail twice more, once when the shorter man had nudged aside a hanging vine and disturbed its place on the branch above and once when he had brushed leaves back into place behind his feet but had flipped one over, leaving it the only dry leaf among a patch of damp ones. Both times the trail had vanished again a few paces later, but Ronon had kept to the same general direction, sure Nekai meant to put as much distance between them before doubling back. The trick would be noticing when he did begin that wide turn, otherwise Ronon would keep right on going and Nekai would be able to come at him from behind.
Nor had his mentor left the area unprepared. Twice Ronon had noticed snares, once just barely in time — his foot had literally been an inch off the ground when he’d spotted a vine with a little too much tension in it and had realized it was a rope concealed among the true foliage. He’d been forced to roll forward to avoid stepping into the trap, which had taken him safely out of harm’s way but had meant he’d spent several minutes concealing all the marks he’d left from that tumble. He knew Nekai would probably circle back and hunt for him along his own previous path, so there was no sense making it easy for the other man.
Given the time, Ronon was sure Nekai had already begun his turn. He hadn’t seen any evidence of that, but he could feel it in his gut. Which just left the question of which way to go. If you were simply running from someone, you’d want to turn away from the sun so you could better see what you were doing and where you were going. But if you were hunting someone — or evading someone hunting you — you’d
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