Forged in Space by James David Victor

Author:James David Victor [Victor, James David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fairfield Publishing
Published: 2017-11-20T07:00:00+00:00

The sandy surface made for a heavy running track, but activating his power assist helped Jack maintain a steady pace. The sand clung to his boots and gathered in clumps that he had to periodically pull away. The sand trees that grew out of the surface created a labyrinth of strange branching pillars that Jack had to weave between.

Stopping for a moment to check his sightlines, Jack leaned against a sand tree. He pushed a clump of the pink sand out of the trunk. The sand was clinging together the same way as it clung to his boots. It was how these huge towering and branching sand trees were built. An electrostatic charge on the grains was creating and sculpting this pink sand forest.

It was a strange world and Jack began to doubt what he had seen in the landing craft camera. The dark tower could have been anything.

“You know what you saw,” Jack said to himself, scanning between the trunks through his pulse rifle sights. “Don’t go second guessing yourself now. That was a Chitin structure alright.”

Jack checked his suit’s biomonitors. He needed to hydrate. He activated the water tube in his helmet and allowed himself a small sip, just enough to wet his dry mouth. Then he was off again, running through the pink sand trees.

Running was always a pleasure, even in this strange, sticky sand. He felt free when he was running and almost forgot the reasons why. He dropped to a knee and scanned the area again.

Through the trees, he spotted a movement—a black slithering movement. Maybe it was shadows cast through the forest by a cloud overhead. Maybe. Jack trusted his instincts. He knew what he had seen. It was a Chit. He would recognize that motion anywhere, no matter how hidden. Just the merest glimpse of those tentacles, that long head with the antenna flicking about, every part of the creatures was burned onto his mind. He was alert to the merest flicker of Chit activity.

Jack adopted a prone position and took cover behind one of the thick pink trees. He knew the structure of these trees was tenuous, only being held together by some electrostatic charge or a slight surface tension. It was not substantial enough to resist a Chit plasma spear, but it would hide him from sight.

Jack watched carefully and then he saw the dark slithering shape again. It was a Chitin soldier alright. The writhing tentacles moved it across the pink sands. Jack noticed that the grains didn’t stick to the Chit like they did to his boots. If it came to a running battle, the Chits would have another advantage. It came as no surprise that the sand forest was against the Marines as well as the Chits.

Jack noticed that the sand grains in front of him were creeping up over his arms and he propped himself up off the floor. He wasn’t sinking. The grains were climbing. He pulled his arm upwards and came free of the sand

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