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War's Oversight

Chapter 08

Sarah had finally reached the point she'd been striving toward for just shy of two hours duration - an unremarkable patch of dusty ground which sat at the foot of the craggy landscape that was Omicron Kappa Geologic Survey Site 16.

After what had been a long period of idleness, in which a random shuffling of audio tracks had been diverting her mind from the tedious business of trudging along under load, her earpiece beeped and advised, in its usual voice, "Navigational waypoint Alfa reached."

She slowed, and tried to shake the feeling of ache from her calves and Achilles tendons. Taking a moment or two to unbuckle the load of supplies from her body, she gently dropped her rucksack to rest in the dust at her feet, and then took a moment to fish her canteen out of one of the pockets of her cold-weather suit, which was clipped to the top of her rucksack and had draped itself limply over the rest.

She sat, resting her back against the bundle of gear she'd brought, and drank deeply from her canteen before she glanced up at the sun for a moment. It was very near the peak of its travel, and in the few places where the winds of Epsilon Kappa 3 didn't blow too harshly, the temperature might be reaching anywhere up to thirty degrees Celsius near the equator. Sarah wasn't exactly sweltering, considering the breeze which whipped along and around the landscape, but she was glad for the small period of basking she could undertake on a day like this, before the freezing cold of the afternoon, evening, and night took hold.

She stowed her canteen again, and took a moment to open one of her rucksack's side pockets. From it, she withdrew a slender but sturdy-looking tripod, and yanked on its legs to telescope it out to its full length before snapping it open and setting it on the flattest piece of ground nearby. From another rucksack pocket, she withdrew a complicated-looking device no larger than her fist, which appeared to sparkle with multiple optical lenses and shine with the polished rings of multiple gimbal mounts.

She gave the tripod a vigorous slap on its flat, circular top in order to settle it properly, and then took a moment to secure the stabilized imaging device so that it could sit in its afforded place. When the tiny swinging movements of the imaging device's more sensitive components ceased, she touched a small button on the tripod and looked down at her wristcomp.

Tucking her chin against her collarbone, she carefully enunciated, "Connect to device."

Her communications earpiece beeped, and replied with, "Found device EK3-Imager-06. Do you wish to connect?" After the customary affirmative, her earpiece added, "Connected. Do you wish to initiate scan?"

She ignored this, and turned her attention to the interface now appearing on her wristcomp. She tapped at the screen with her index finger for a few moments, producing a map of the area, and then tapped a few more times at the screen to narrow the imaging device's sweep and elevation to the site itself. Only when she was satisfied with the parameters she saw, did she clear her throat gently and indicate, "Initiate scan."

Obediently, the imaging device powered up and began to produce a whirring sound. Before long, a bright ray of light lanced out and toward the site, tracing a brilliant blue-white line across the dusty landscape which faded only after a long distance. The dust in the air served to reveal the remainder of the ray's extent, as it rose into the sky at a pronounced angle, and was lost into the air. Sarah was reminded only faintly of watching sunlight pouring through an open window into a dusty room. After a few seconds, the ray began a slow sweep to the right, traversed its way across sixty degrees of arc, and then disappeared, beginning from the left again.

* * *

The Terran structure in the distance had the appearance of a silvery strand of wire inexplicably stuck partway into the dust of the planet's surface. Infrequently it would sway with the buffeting of the winds at the altitude it reached, but was otherwise as still and unremarkable as a fencepost.

The Chakri studied the structure for several minutes, suspecting that it was a communications antenna, and mentally noting the various features and symbols which could be discerned and committing those details to memory. If the structure were of any strategic or tactical value, it would be an easy target for an orbital strike, although expensive to be removed in such a fashion.

The curious aspect, however, was that there was almost nothing nearby of any import except the formation of mountainous rocks on which he was perched. Even the Terran colony was almost so far away as to be out of communication with the site, had its own large antenna array not been hit in a surgical strike.

The Chakri took his eyes from his optical lenses for a moment, and quietly considered this. The Terrans were resourceful with sensors and electronic surveillance. Despite his precautions, it was possible that he had been detected while traversing the area. In that case, however, it would have made more sense to send in a reconnaissance drone, a large warhead, or a squad of armed soldiers instead of a communications device . . .

Something drew his eyes to the right, a faint glimmer against the almost featureless and flat landscape in the distance. He squinted, and gingerly turned the optical lenses in the direction he was already looking.

A quick adjustment of focus revealed that the upright blur was a figure - a walking figure. Involuntarily, the fur on his body started to bristle slightly, and he resolved that his stay on the surface in broad daylight was going to be a short one. With another adjustment, the optical lenses brought his field of view closer to the figure and he was able to see it in closer detail.

It was a Terran - that much he had guessed. This one was dressed in a work uniform and carrying a full pack - but not one of their military personnel. A Terran working alone was not unusual for one of their civilians, but to be out this far from their colony . . .

In the distance, the Terran stopped, and unslung its pack. The Chakri continued to memorize details, gauging what he thought to be the Terran's height and mass, and agility. The Terran seemed to be drinking something . . . water, in all likelihood, and given the dryness of the planet and its high gravity relative to Earth, it would be necessary for them to quench their thirst frequently. This Terran was not wearing a helmet, but instead had an unusual headpiece that seemed almost decorative, which it started to remove, and revealed the curiously long hair of -

A female. A female human.