Read Online The Girls From Alcyone by Cary Caffrey - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Cary Caffrey
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nine kilometers away from the nearest cargo drop. Sigrid tapped the pilot on the shoulder. "Can you take us closer?"
The pilot frowned in response and jerked his thumb, signaling an emphatic, 'out!' .
"Worth a shot," Leta said.
The four girls hopped out and the Starling zoomed off as soon as they'd cleared the props. Sigrid looked around. Thick-trunked redwoods towered over them. The ground was mossy and soft and thick with leaves. Even at night the humidity was stifling. It was all so different from the mild climate they were used to. Within minutes their clothes were damp and clinging to them.
Suko grabbed her bowie knife and cut the legs off her trousers. "Much better," she said and sighed.
"And fashionable," Sigrid teased. The long pants were uncomfortably hot so she quickly followed Suko's example, slashing off the legs of her own pants—Leta and Khepri did the same.
"I just hope there aren't any brambles," Leta said.
Suko realized she hadn't considered the underbrush. "Oh…"
"Oh, crap," Khepri said, wondering if she could reattach the pant legs.
Leta surveyed their surroundings. "Which way do we go?"
All the girls keyed their PCMs to summon up the information. Two of the containers were over twenty kilometers distant with the other two located closer at twelve and nine kilometers, respectively. They ruled out the closest target—it rested on the other side of a rather imposing mountain. The other one might be further, but they'd have a clear run to it .
"All right," Suko said. "We'll go for that one—looks like we head east about five klicks to that river, then we can just head north along the ridge."
"Sounds like a plan," Leta said.
They took off toward the river, running impossibly fast for average teenagers—though they were hardly average girls. Thanks to their genetically modified bodies, most of the girls could cover a kilometer in less than two minutes. The undergrowth wasn't very thick, but they encountered numerous fallen trees that needed to be hurdled over or crawled under. This slowed their progress, but only slightly. Sigrid did her best to keep abreast of the pace. If anyone other than Suko had been leading, they'd have left her behind long ago, but Suko stayed by her side, jogging easily.
"Want me to carry that for a bit?" Suko asked, pointing to the sniper rifle Sigrid was forced to lug along.
Sigrid shook her head, concentrating on breathing and not stumbling. "Figures they'd give me all the extra stuff to carry," she said, managing a brave smile.
"You're doing great."
After all of Dr. Garrett's work on her, Sigrid had hoped her days of trailing the other girls were over, but of course they'd all received the same enhancements. As fast as she had become, she was still slower than the rest of the girls.
As they reached the river bank, Suko stopped suddenly, dropping to a knee. "Hold up!" Suko looked around quickly, scanning the area. "What the…?"
"What is it?" Sigrid asked.
"I could have sworn…I'm sure I picked up something up on the scan. It just blipped—but it's gone."
"Can you replay it?" Khepri asked.
Suko scanned the data, playing it back and transmitting it to the other girls through their implants. Sure enough, they all saw it, just a brief blip picked up from the Nav-Sats, and then it was gone.
Sigrid gasped. "What was that? "
"It looked like something flying by," Suko said, "but then I lost it,"
Leta craned her neck, looking skywards. "Probably just one of the transports."
Suko narrowed her eyes. "Maybe—I don't know. Let's just be careful. I don't feel like getting zapped ."
Khepri looked uneasily at the dark forest and the river before them. "Let's get moving. I don't feel like walking back, either." She began to wade out into the river. It was about twenty meters wide, and shallow. The dark, murky-brown water was barely moving.
" Gah…!" Khepri said, as she moved further out in the water.
"What?" Sigrid asked.
She turned back with a disgusted look on
The pilot frowned in response and jerked his thumb, signaling an emphatic, 'out!' .
"Worth a shot," Leta said.
The four girls hopped out and the Starling zoomed off as soon as they'd cleared the props. Sigrid looked around. Thick-trunked redwoods towered over them. The ground was mossy and soft and thick with leaves. Even at night the humidity was stifling. It was all so different from the mild climate they were used to. Within minutes their clothes were damp and clinging to them.
Suko grabbed her bowie knife and cut the legs off her trousers. "Much better," she said and sighed.
"And fashionable," Sigrid teased. The long pants were uncomfortably hot so she quickly followed Suko's example, slashing off the legs of her own pants—Leta and Khepri did the same.
"I just hope there aren't any brambles," Leta said.
Suko realized she hadn't considered the underbrush. "Oh…"
"Oh, crap," Khepri said, wondering if she could reattach the pant legs.
Leta surveyed their surroundings. "Which way do we go?"
All the girls keyed their PCMs to summon up the information. Two of the containers were over twenty kilometers distant with the other two located closer at twelve and nine kilometers, respectively. They ruled out the closest target—it rested on the other side of a rather imposing mountain. The other one might be further, but they'd have a clear run to it .
"All right," Suko said. "We'll go for that one—looks like we head east about five klicks to that river, then we can just head north along the ridge."
"Sounds like a plan," Leta said.
They took off toward the river, running impossibly fast for average teenagers—though they were hardly average girls. Thanks to their genetically modified bodies, most of the girls could cover a kilometer in less than two minutes. The undergrowth wasn't very thick, but they encountered numerous fallen trees that needed to be hurdled over or crawled under. This slowed their progress, but only slightly. Sigrid did her best to keep abreast of the pace. If anyone other than Suko had been leading, they'd have left her behind long ago, but Suko stayed by her side, jogging easily.
"Want me to carry that for a bit?" Suko asked, pointing to the sniper rifle Sigrid was forced to lug along.
Sigrid shook her head, concentrating on breathing and not stumbling. "Figures they'd give me all the extra stuff to carry," she said, managing a brave smile.
"You're doing great."
After all of Dr. Garrett's work on her, Sigrid had hoped her days of trailing the other girls were over, but of course they'd all received the same enhancements. As fast as she had become, she was still slower than the rest of the girls.
As they reached the river bank, Suko stopped suddenly, dropping to a knee. "Hold up!" Suko looked around quickly, scanning the area. "What the…?"
"What is it?" Sigrid asked.
"I could have sworn…I'm sure I picked up something up on the scan. It just blipped—but it's gone."
"Can you replay it?" Khepri asked.
Suko scanned the data, playing it back and transmitting it to the other girls through their implants. Sure enough, they all saw it, just a brief blip picked up from the Nav-Sats, and then it was gone.
Sigrid gasped. "What was that? "
"It looked like something flying by," Suko said, "but then I lost it,"
Leta craned her neck, looking skywards. "Probably just one of the transports."
Suko narrowed her eyes. "Maybe—I don't know. Let's just be careful. I don't feel like getting zapped ."
Khepri looked uneasily at the dark forest and the river before them. "Let's get moving. I don't feel like walking back, either." She began to wade out into the river. It was about twenty meters wide, and shallow. The dark, murky-brown water was barely moving.
" Gah…!" Khepri said, as she moved further out in the water.
"What?" Sigrid asked.
She turned back with a disgusted look on
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