Becoming Human by Eliza Green

Author:Eliza Green [Green, Eliza]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-12-17T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Exilon 5

Bill Taggart gathered his surveillance team in the heart of no man’s land, an area of rocky terrain that stretched between New London and the next city on Exilon 5. The sky was a deep blue, speckled with tinges of purple and green. The occasional cloud floated across it, providing little protection for the road maintenance workers spread out across acres of the red and gold-tinted stony landscape. A single road that provided the only access in and out of New London, lent a sense of normality to a seemingly chaotic city. Soon, when funding came through from the government, a dozen similar roads would cut across the surface close to the city to offer a vital transport network between cities.

Bill could hear the animals were close by, probably on the hunt for that easy kill. Resurrected from preserved animal DNA, the animals were housed in special biodomes on the borders of the six cities. Each dome contained a variety of predators, vegetarians and birds alike, living together as natural companions as well as enemies. It was common for the predators to move beyond the biodomes—lions, wolves, coyotes—as they instinctively hunted for a life without boundaries. But their ventures were usually short-lived. The animals would retreat to the safety of the domes where a meal was always guaranteed.

Bill purposefully brought his team to a spot ten miles from New London’s city limits. He knew the predators only ventured out a mile, maybe two at most, where food was most likely, and by staying downwind of the biodomes, there was less risk that the animals could pick up their scent. He didn’t want to risk bringing the team back to his ITF apartment; with the ITF listening, it would never have been a private affair. What Bill had to say to them was off the record.

There were seven people on the surveillance team, including Bill, and among those were the male and female officers who had disobeyed him—Caldwell and Page. He positioned himself front of the team, his arms folded tensely across his body. He directed his first question at the duo. ‘Tell me what happened after you deliberately disobeyed my direct order not to move in.’

Page, spoke first. ‘We did exactly what we needed to do.’

‘What the hell does that mean?’

Caldwell interrupted. ‘She means there was no danger to the overall mission. We needed to get close to the alien, so we made the call and moved in. It didn’t see us, so I’m not really sure what the problem is.’

Bill pinched the bridge of his nose a little too tightly, leaving behind a red mark. ‘Are you absolutely positive it didn’t see you? How could you tell? It’s an alien, which we know very little about. Do you know something about its abilities that we don’t?’ His eyes scanned the length of the group. Everybody stood at military ease, staring uneasily at a blank point in front of them. Except for Page and Caldwell, no one else dared to make eye contact.

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