Freedom's Landing
- Автор: Маккефри Энн
- Серия: Catteni Sequence #1
- Язык: английский
- Жанр: Научная фантастика
Электронная книга - «Freedom's Landing». Краткое содержание книги:
The alien Catteni value strength and intelligence in their slaves—and Kristin has managed to survive her enslavement while hundreds of other humans have not. But her trial has just begun, for now she finds herself part of a massive experiment. The aliens have discovered a new world, and they have a simple way of finding out if it’s habitable: drop hundreds of slaves on the surface and see what happens.
If they survive, colonization can begin. If not, there are always more slaves.
"What we can discover, find, see, know." Kris had never thought of herself as a pedagogue but she had this intense itch to correct Zainal and improve his language skills.
Thank goodness he was amenable to learn-as-you-go.
They jumped down off the outcroppmg and made their way across the field. Zainal moderated his pace from yesterday's stride but not by much. Maybe his feet hurt, too? How much walking did a space trooper get to do?
Coo found some green globes in one of the hedges, which he gobbled juicily, humming happily to himself but Slav curled his upper lip in distaste - a process which fascinated Kris, as Slav really did curl his lip up and into a fold above his uneven set of teeth. She wondered again how Rugarians kept from seriously biting the insides of their lips with such dental equipment.
Everyone kept their eyes open, surveying behind them and above them, especially when they were out in the open. A rear-view mirror would have been right handy, Kris thought. Dead things got sucked into the ground at night but clearly the avian critters patrolled by day for their sustenance on things that moved.
"3' The fields were endless on this gently rolling terrain.
Streams were laid on at such intervals that Kris's earlier wish for a canteen was redundant. There were no roads, no bridgs, no fly-overs, nothing more serious than rather abrupt little hillocks of stone that seemed to rise straight up out of the ground. She'd seen something similar somewhere on Earth but it took her some time to dredge up Ethiopia from her memory. Most of the hillocks were bare but a few seemed to have caught enough soil to support bushes, and one or two were crowned with the almost-trees that baby bushes became if they had a chance to live long enough.
Then they came to a whole series of fields that had recently been harvested. No track to tell them what direction the harvesters had come from or gone to.
Although the direction would take them out of the circular loop Zainal had proposed they make, they followed the harvesting signs.
They heard it before they saw it and only had time to take cover before the mechanical gadget floated over the intervening hedge in the very next field.
"Do we stand or run?" Kris whispered hoarsely to Zainal. He shrugged but he was stuck as far into the hedge as he could get, and stock still. She imitated him, wincing as branches dug into the softer parts of her.
They could smell hot metal, combined with odder smells that must have been fuel - only that begged the question in Kris's mind, Who manufactured the fuel, not to mention the machiny? They waited in this position until she got a knotting cramp in one side and grimaced, trying without moving much, to relieve the spasm.
When was that mechanical going to move on? Or, and the thought pierced her with a good deal of fright, was it waiting for reinforcements? Did the machiney on this planet learn? Very carefully craning her neck up, she could see through the funny-shaped foliage of the hedge material that the Dalek hadn't moved a smidgeon: it lust hovered there, on the other side of the hedge.
She poked Zainal who was also watching for movement, and when he carefully turned his head to her, she raised her eyebrows in query.
Just then Coo came alert - not that the Deski hadn't been tense with the waiting. He turned his glance down the field and very carefully pointed out a direction. Something was coming for them? The fliers always seemed to come out of the sun at them. What would be coming up the hill? And should they leave? If they could, with the mechanical monster an arm's length away. And if they did make a run for it, where would they go? There wasn't even a hillock close enough that they could scramble up.
Kris didn't like this at all.
She liked it even less when Coo let out a whimper and pointed with more agitation down the hill.
The things moved so fast that Kris barely saw the glint of them in the sun when they were upon them - and -shooting their little darts.
She felt the prick and she lost consciousness from one moment to the next.
She just avoided tripping over a sleeping beastie of some
Chapter Six
A hand rocking her shoulder roused her from the stupor caused by the drugged dart.
"Kris, wake up." Zainal's voice.
"Lemme sleep." She ached and she was so-o-o-o tired.
"No, we go now or not.
That brought recent events back and she shot up so fast she nearly cracked her head on Zainal's as he knelt beside her.
It was dark all around, but she could make out both Slav and Coo, and then the odd stamping and heavy breathing, as well as animal smells, gave her another clue. They'd been dumped in a barn?
Classified as animals by the mechanical? She didn't know whether she was amused or indignant.
"Water?" And Zainal handed her a full cup which she sipped to revive her parched mouth and throat.
"Thanks." She got up as she finished and, when she would have handed him back the cup, he pointed to the empty loop on her belt.
"Oh! Yes. Thanks again." Then she felt for the important parcel of ration bars and her blankets. All in place and accounted for. She breathed a sigh of relief. "So how do we get out of here?" she asked, sensorially aware of the size, as well as the darkness, of the building.
"This way," and Zainal cupped one big hand under her right elbow and turned her in the right direction.
"Care kind: one of the creatures that made a liquid looing sound.
She blinked furiously to accustom her eyes to the gloom and took a couple of quick and careful steps to catch up with Zainal, Coo and Slav.
"The main door, of course," she murmured when she realized that that was their destination. A very large set of doors. And how they were to open them, when there was no apparent handle or lock or knob - She heard a little snick, a click and a pleased mutter from Zainal and heard the rumble of a door moving on a track as he replaced his boot knife.
"Come," Zainal said, and she and the others wasted no time in slipping out. Zainal carefully closed the door behind him and it snicked once more when shut.
They were by no means clear yet, for their temporary prison seemed to be only one of many such buildings set in a long line, visible as a greater darkness against the lesser one of the sky. For she could see stars above but none of the moons.
"Hold," and Zainal took her hand in his and then she felt Coo's dry fingers closing around her left hand.
Slav, with better night vision, was their leader.
They must have completed a full circuit of the immense yard before they halted again.
"Place to hide?" Zainal asked Slav. The Rugarian shook his head.
Coo said softly. "Up?" and pointed in the direction of the stack of crates that had been halfway round their exploratory circuit.
"Maybe we can see more when a moon comes up," Kris suggested.
Zainal nodded and they made their way back to the tall crates.
Once again, Zainal's height and heft made the difference as he boosted each of his team up onto the first level of the container stack. It took the three of them to haul him to their level. The process was repeated until Zainal decided they were high enough up not to be immediately visible from the ground.
Visible to what? was Kris's question but she didn't voice it.
They had at least reached enough space for all of them to lie down, which seemed the best idea although Zainal just sat, propped against the crate, obviously intending to stand the watch.
"Wake me to spell y,) Kris told Zainal and made to lie down on the hard surface. How odd, she thought, that a simple convenience like a mattress was a distant memo,y.
Then she felt hands pulling at her and, quelling her immediate resistance because the only hands that were that strong were Zainal's, she allowed herself to be pulled around, her head resting on his thigh.