Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Star Bred Terrier

Sevenday 32, Day 3

A driana opened her eyes to find Bran, propped on pillows, perusing his slate. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she asked, “Aught new?”

He lifted his eyes, a warm smile forming. “Good morning.”

She garbled “good morning” past a yawn, then repeated the greeting, pleased her voice was no longer a croak. She ran a finger along the sealant that the medics had applied to minimize the bruising, finding it dry.

Bran’s smile deepened. “It has gone gray. It will rinse off when you shower. How do you feel?”

Sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Well. What of Clarence?”

“The medics repaired his shoulder and reattached his ear. The ear will need cosmetic intervention and it will be three months before he has full mobility and strength. Assuming he lives that long.”

“What say you?” Unable to locate her tunic, she grabbed Bran’s from the floor. “Did he confess?”

“No. He and the botanist continue to claim they were seduced by the other.” Bran set aside his slate. “But there was poison in that tea, and we have a monitor record that shows him using the modified pulsar to turn those experiments to goop.”

The tunic did not quite cover her thighs. “I cannot imagine it will take long to get one of them to confess.”

Heat entered Bran’s gaze as it wandered over her. “We will not have the honor. Seigneur Trevelyan ordered both saboteurs onto the next militia transport bound for Fortuna. They will be gone by the time we return from the planet.”

She stopped at the door to the freshener, looking back at Bran. “Matahorn agreed to this?”

Bran nodded. “Seconded the order. I suspect both Trevelyan’s and Seigneur William’s operatives will participate in the interrogation.”

She started to say something and stopped. That Seigneur William oversaw Matahorn security-privilege was not well publicized, but she had no cause to be surprised it was well known among the upper levels of Serengeti. “Both Serengeti and Matahorn elicited the truth from despoilers. Do they suspect our saboteurs?”

“Of being despoilers?” Bran shook his head. “But the list of commerce interests that would benefit from slowing exploration of the Thirteenth System is a long one. Discovering who had the resources and audacity to sabotage us is paramount to Bright Star.”

The cost of the Nightingale was staggering. All the ancillary expenses from infrastructure to governing council fees had required the pooling of massive resources. Then there was the cost of defending the Thirteenth System. Everyone on the Nightingale knew that the Bright Star principals needed the funds that would come from licensing mining and other rights. The longer exploration dragged out, the more desperate Bright Star would be for funds. Desperate enterprises did not fare well in contract negotiations.

Stepping into the freshener, Adriana mused that whatever commerce interest had set Clarence and his paramour to their tasks would soon be locked out of the Thirteenth System. And while Lucius Mercio had a reputation for ruthlessness, Horatio Margovian was beyond vindictive and controlled the governing council. There would not be much left of the enterprise that instigated the sabotage when those two warriors were done.

***

Bran set the DOP-C on a course for the western edge of the plains. Adriana believed that since Blue had headed in that direction on her own, it was likely the terrier made her home somewhere between their former landing site and where the plains gave way to the arid section bordering the mountains.

“If she heads east, then we know we have gone too far west,” Adriana said from behind him. “If she heads west, it will tell us a great deal about her range and the size of the pack’s territory.”

“Are you so certain she has a pack?”

“Canines are pack creatures, and she is too healthy to be a loner.”

He glanced over his left shoulder to find Adriana rubbing the little terrier’s ears. In the cargo area, several crates held supplies for three days as well as their travel bags. It was not the romantic getaway Adriana deserved, but Bran was delighted to have a few days alone with her.

The engines hummed as they breached the thermosphere and Bran turned all his attention to the console. All systems stayed functional, the DOP-C descending through gauzy clouds to land in dusty purple, a half mile south of the forest area. He would have preferred to be farther away from the trees and the predators that dwelled in them, but Adriana did not want to be too far south of their original site. In their favor, it was early in the day, not past ninth bell. Whatever nocturnal predators lurked in the trees would not be stirring for bells.

The dusty purple color of the plains was not due to dust. The fibrous purple plants were thinner, growing up through pale gold grass. It made him think of harvest season at home, although according to the meteorologists, this segment of the planet was experiencing early summer.

Next to him, Adriana rubbed some of the stalks between her fingers. “Interesting. It is the color of the grain harvests on Socraide Prime but feels like summer grass. Cool, pliant.” She tilted her head, bringing the grass to full light. “It has a pinkish caste. Mayhap some cross-pollination with the heather.”

“You were wise to bring some botanical sample cases.”

“With both zoology and botany reduced by one, we will need to do more cross-department surveys.” Rising, she brushed her hands on the seat of her trousers. “But first, let us see where Blue will lead us.”

She looked around. “Blue?”

A sharp bark came from the west, Blue’s white muzzle rising out of the surrounding plants. Rolling her shoulders under her pack, Adriana activated her tracker. The palm-sized device held the topography mapping for the area, Blue a glowing white dot against the background. Grinning, she moved after the terrier. “As long as she remains white, we will not need this to follow, but I do want to record her path.”

Bran scanned the area for threats. “How certain are you that she will lead us to a pack?”

“She cannot be the only Star Bred terrier on the planet. How would she have been born?”

“Star Bred terrier?”

“If my theory is correct, the ancients bred her kind for stellar travel. And, since I found her, I get to name the breed.”

“Not the Adriana Pepys terrier?”

“I did not develop the breed, only discovered it.” She shrugged. “Blue and her kind deserve a name in keeping with their origins.”

He suspected other zoologists would not be so modest in similar circumstances. He wanted to kiss her. Instead, he reached for her free hand. “Blue, the Star Bred terrier. A sevenday gone, I would have thought it the title of an entertainment.”

She smiled at him. “Well, Blue is entertaining. And fast. We need to pick up our pace.”

Thirty paces ahead, the terrier stopped and turned, giving a sharp bark.

“It appears Blue agrees,” he said. “But we should keep to a walk. There could be hidden holes or other hazards.”

***

Two bells later and five miles northwest of their landing site, sweat dampened Adriana’s tunic and matted the hair at her nape. For all the mild temperatures, the sun was fierce, making her grateful for her wide-brimmed hat and sunshades. After more than a period following Blue, the heather had all but disappeared in favor of grass. The woods were only fifty paces away but had thinned dramatically. There were wide gaps between the trees allowing dark green shrubs to thrive. Even with the dense shrubs, pathways were visible.

Bran held out a hand. “Hold a minute.”

Nodding, she reached into her pack for a water vial.

“Blue is heading into the trees.” He lifted the distance-viewer hanging from the strap around his neck. “From here, it seems safe enough. I can make out a couple of game trails, but there is enough sunlight getting through the canopy, I do not think the predators are a threat.”

“According to the map, this section of woods is not much more than half a mile wide.” She took a swallow, holding the map for his view. “It is the tip between the plains and the arid section before the mountains.”

“No water source.”

“None that showed up in the topography scans, but the trees could hide a small pool or creek.”

A sharp bark from Blue announced her return, hopeful blue eyes on the vial.

Laughing, Adriana crouched and poured water into her palm. “It may be too late to return her to the wild.”

Shaking droplets from her muzzle, Blue trotted off toward the trees, making no attempt to reestablish her lead.

Adriana glanced at Bran. “We may be getting close.”

Within minutes they were following Blue down a game trail. It was pleasantly cool beneath the trees, the forest floor hard beneath a thin layer of decaying vegetation. Bird song and the soft scuffling of small animals went silent with their passing. Bran’s free hand dropped to his pistol.

“It could be Blue,” she said.

Bran shook his head. “Birds do not fear creatures that cannot climb.”

“Us, then. We are alien invaders. Unknown and therefore dangerous.”

“Mayhap. But I do not share your confidence that Blue’s pack will accept our presence.”

She started to protest and thought better of it. Bran would not use the pistol without provocation.

The soft light brightened ahead, sunlight streaming through the trees making Blue’s fur glow. The trees gave way, revealing a clear pool with a rocky ledge on the far side. Beyond the tumbled rocks, she could see the distant mountains rising toward the clear sky. It was beautiful. And perfect for a pack with a clean water source and a ledge that she was certain held caves. It had ready access to the woods and plains for hunting without having to enter the more dangerous sections of the forest.

It was also empty. Where was Blue’s pack?

Bran’s voice was low. “Can this be it?”

Blue skirted the pond, tail up as she navigated jumbled stones up to the ledge. Shadows moved and then brightened to white revealing another terrier, a third larger than Blue. With a yip , Blue licked the other dog’s muzzle, tail wagging.

“That is the alpha.”

Intelligent blue eyes turned to the sound of Adriana’s voice. Its snout lifted, nostrils twitching. It cocked its head much as Blue had done at their first meeting. Without warning, it leapt past Blue, springing down the rocks without visibly touching. Reaching the pond edge, it slowed, walking forward, head lowered, tail moving in a slow glide. Bending, Adriana offered her hand, fingers curled and knuckles outward. The alpha came forward. Sniffed. Backed up.

“Come on, little alpha. I will not harm you.”

It eased forward, sniffed again.

She brushed its jaw with her knuckles. “Pretty . . .” she canted her head for a better view. “Boy. You are a pretty boy.”

It pushed its head against her knuckles. Accepting the invitation, Adriana rubbed its ears. When it accepted the caress, she used both hands and its eyes slit with pleasure. “Bran, come closer; let him get your scent.”

The terrier’s eyes opened, but he did not move away. He sniffed Bran and then accepted one of Bran’s hands in the place of Adriana’s. Straightening, she let Bran continue to pet the alpha. Blue was still on the far side of the pond, watching. “Blue?”

With a doggy grin, she bounded down the rocks and back to Adriana.

The alpha’s low growl had Blue skirting Bran to reach Adriana and Bran starting to straighten.

“Keep petting him. The growl was canine for mine . He is not about to share your attention with Blue.”

“Are they it? These two?”

“No. Look.” On the ledge, another five terriers appeared. Four more crouched among the tumbled rocks above the ledge, no doubt near entrances to their caves. “With Blue and the alpha, eleven. Maybe one or two more out hunting. It is a sizable pack.”

“What now?”

“We make friends.”

“How?”

“I have four lures in my pack. A few of the plains rodents should make a decent start.”

***

“Are you sure this is wise?” Bran asked. He carried two lures squirming with ground squirrels. “I thought we did not wish to disrupt their behavior patterns.”

Adriana shifted her lure, the furball it contained frozen in a protective sphere. “Star Bred terriers are not wild creatures. They are hard-wired to want our companionship.”

“Is that why you offered Blue a piece of nutrition bar?” While they waited for the lures to populate, they returned to the Star Bred terrier den, settling on the far side of the ledge to consume a midday meal of nutrition bars. When offered a piece, Blue sniffed it, then licked it before turning her muzzle away in disgust.

The alpha had appeared and showed a similar disdain before returning to the ledge to doze in the sun. According to Adriana it was normal for canines in the wild to be active dusk to dawn. If Adriana had not been out at dusk that first night, it may have been months before they discovered the terriers.

Adriana glanced at the dog trotting by her side. “I was curious to see how she would react to processed food.”

“It was cruel of the ancients to abandon them.”

“It may not have been intentional. They could have died here at the outset of the Anarchy.”

“We have found nothing that resembles a settlement, despite speculation.”

Several ancients’ scholars had petitioned to explore the planets for potential ruins. Only the first three systems held ancients’ remnants. None had been found in any of the systems discovered by the Five Warriors or their descendants.

“We still have almost half of this continent to survey.” Adriana gestured toward Blue. “The terriers may have traveled from their original location, but I doubt they crossed oceans or the stellar expanse.”

Bran chuckled, wishing he had a free hand to take hers.

When they reached the clearing, Adriana continued to the edge of the pond before lowering her lure. By the time he had his lures next to hers, the alpha had appeared. It sniffed at a ground squirrel and gave an eager bark. More terriers appeared, either drawn by the alpha or the scent of prey.

Adriana tugged Bran’s arm. “Let us move back toward the trees. When I release the lures, we do not want to be in the way.”

With eleven dogs to three small mammals, Bran expected fighting. Instead, there seemed to be some form of hierarchy and organization. The hunt was brief, and the last three to eat stripped the carcasses.

“Interesting,” Adriana murmured. “I wondered about that.”

“About what?”

“They are not dirty. No blood. No dirt from the hunt. That slick feeling to Blue’s fur. Engineered to stay clean?”

“If they got muddy, the chameleon effect would not work.”

She nodded. “I wonder if it also serves to mask their scent?”

“Research for another day. We need to return to the DOP-C before dark.”

***

Better provisioned for camping this time, Bran activated the portable cooker. The sun setting over the mountains was spectacular and the properly used pest pulsar had cleared the area around the DOP-C. They could not safely slumber outside, but at least they could enjoy an evening meal.

Blue gave the cooker an interrogative sniff and then flopped into the grass. She had whined and yipped at the pest pulsar but had not run off. He held no doubt that the terrier would be returning to the Nightingale .

At the sound of a soft step, he turned to smile at Adriana. She had pulled her tunic free from her trousers and loosened the top fasteners, revealing a hint of cleavage. Her throat was unmarked. No hint of huskiness lingered in her voice. Clarence should consider himself fortunate that Blue got to him before Bran.

She held up a small container and two cups. “Fortuna green wine. Not ideal with stew, but I thought we deserved the treat.”

Smiling, he rose. “You are brilliant.”

Taking the cups and container, he set them on the small table before pulling her into his embrace. With a soft sound, she melted against him, her lips feathering against his neck. “I could stand this way all night, but you would miss the sunset.”

With a soft laugh, she stepped free and claimed a camp chair. Blue went to her, pushing against her shins until Adriana complied with ear fondles. “She deserves all the petting.”

“She does,” he agreed, taking the other seat and pouring wine. “Clarence clearly underestimated her ferocity.”

“I doubt he saw her. She was asleep in a corner and blended with the floor.” Adriana tilted her cup in a salute. “Although, I admit, I underestimated Clarence. I had no notion he was so strong or could move so fast.”

“He is a warrior. They revere martial arts.”

She gazed at the mountains where the sky was deepening to indigo shot with violet and gold. “He kept fit. Evander was the same. But there is naught lethal about Evander. I let Clarence’s incompetence in the lab lead me to believe he was incompetent in all.”

He did not like the way her mood was darkening. Reaching for her, he threaded their fingers together. “Enough of that traitor. What are your thoughts about tomorrow? Do we return to the pack?”

“If the alpha will allow it, I would like to give him a tracker. Mayhap the entire pack. And, with your aid, a few monitors in the trees.”

The cooker chimed. Lifting their joined hands, he pressed his lips to her knuckles before releasing her.

***

The simple briefs and tank Adriana used for slumber were not seductive, but the ice-blue flattered her complexion. But then, she was hoping that she would not be wearing them for long. Exiting the freshener, she found Bran on the camp bed, propped against pillows, the sheet pooled around his waist revealing his solid chest and abs. Was he wearing briefs? Even if he was, if she had her will, he would not be for long.

His gaze narrowed as his welcoming smile turned into a grin of anticipation. “You are beyond enticing.”

He pulled back the covers in invitation and, in the process, revealed his swelling length. Eager to explore him, she crawled onto the bed, sliding down until she could tongue his shaft.

She wanted to give the same exquisite pleasure she had received. She lifted her eyes to find his head thrown back, eyes closed. “Bran, tell me.”

The fingers in her hair fisted. “Good. So good.”

Her heart swelled even as she bit back frustration at the nonanswer. “What will please you?”

He groaned, his eyes slitting. “All. What you wish will please me.”