Galaxy's Edge Magazine: Issue 4: September 2013 by Mike Resnick

Author:Mike Resnick [Editor] [Resnick, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Analog, Asimovs, clarkesworld, Darker Matter, Lightspeed, Locus, Speculative Fiction, strange horizons
Publisher: Phoenix Pick
Published: 2013-08-26T04:00:00+00:00

Copyright © 1994 by Maureen McHugh

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Jeff Calhoun is a long-time fan of science fiction. This marks his first professional sale.

GARUDA SUPERIOR

by Jeff Calhoun

Guy Richard crouched behind the fur-coated trunk of a mink tree and thumbed the safety off his carbine.

It was a cool morning; Tau Ceti was above the horizon and Rama’s pale orange crescent was still visible in the west. Half a kilometer down in a natural amphitheater formed between steep rocky hills, a solitary monoceratops cropped patches of beryl grass with its curved beak. Guy spotted the tether attached to the saurian’s third left foot. He saw no other movement, though his earlier sensor scan showed two humans concealed on the farther hill.

A piercing screech broke the stillness. Guy looked up to see a five-meter wingspan silhouetted against the sky. The garuda banked and executed a steep dive into the amphitheater before leveling off. Sensing the predator, the tethered monoceratops began bleating frantically and tried to run. The garuda soared over the mink tree, its dark plumage flashing in the morning sun, and Guy saw the spear tipped with obsidian clutched in the avian’s upper claws. He switched on his helmet cam.

The garuda climbed high and banked once more before swooping in to release its spear like a guided missile. The monoceratops kicked up a dust cloud in a futile effort to escape. The spear plunged into the horned reptile’s flank and through it to its innards, knocking the herbivore on its back. Six feet pawed the air helplessly before falling eternally still.

The garuda alighted on its hind claws and folded its huge wings before yanking the spear from the saurian’s corpse and carefully licking off all the blood. Then it drew a hatchet from its leather belt and began butchering the corpse. Only then did it freeze, spotting the tether.

Seconds later the morning air was rent by the harsh chatter of machine gun fire as the garuda’s body was shredded and it toppled lifeless over its prey.

The humans emerged from their place of concealment mounted on hopping quadroos. Both wore turbans, vests, and baggy trousers that were common dress here in Pashtunstan Province, along with boots made of monoceratops hide that marked them as local ranchers. But Guy recognized their weapons as military issue that were not only uncommon but illegal.

He waited until they dismounted to examine the slain garuda before breaking cover and cautiously moving in to listen.

“Careful, you idiot!” the shorter one yelled. “Make sure it’s dead!”

“Our bullets tore it to shreds, Uncle Mahmoud,” replied the taller man.

Mahmoud shook his head. “I once saw one of these screechers disembowel a man after he swore he’d killed it. Use your laser knife to cut off its head.”

Just then Guy’s foot dislodged a loose rock. The ranchers jerked about to face him. So much for the stealthy approach!

“Colonial Ranger!” Guy barked. “Drop your weapons!”

The younger man reached for his gun, but his uncle stopped him. “Do as he says, Ali! So what if this underpaid flunky arrests us? No court will convict us for defending our property.

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