Red Venus by Elliott Garnett

Author:Elliott, Garnett [Elliott, Garnett]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: General
Publisher: BEAT to a PULP
Published: 2015-01-11T16:00:00+00:00

The march turned into an hours-long slog under oppressive canopy. Every rustling fern, every cycad or low-hanging branch seemed to hide disaster. The tension sapped at Nadezhda's will. Her suit's cooling unit kept up a constant flow of air, but it couldn't prevent her from swimming in recirculated sweat. She soon appreciated the Americans' muttered nickname for Venus: 'Green Hell.'

At some point the fronds overhead began to make pattering sounds. She peered upwards, expecting another nightmare to come leaping down. Lev, too, hunched his shoulders and flexed empty hands.

"Relax," Macready said. "It's just the rain. Must be noon, or thereabouts."

"It rains at noon?" Nadezhda said.

"And early evening, and midnight. Like clockwork."

"Tell me, Captain, why do you bother to patrol this jungle? I don't understand the risk."

Macready checked his compass. "You should see in about five minutes."

Five minutes later they came upon another clearing, smaller than the first. A half-dozen salamen, their skin glistening ultramarine, labored around a squat tower some six meters tall. They all wore black neck collars with antennae attached. Some were digging post-holes to help support the tower; others cleared nearby brush with machetes.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Macready said. "We thought the locals were too stupid for useful labor, but Doc Hubb said otherwise. Those shock collars are his invention."

"'Shock collars?'" Lev said.

"Yeah. Gives 'em a little jolt if they try to move too far away, or just laze around. Nothing lethal."

"So you're exploiting them," Nadezhda said. "How typical."

"Don't curl your lip like that, sister. We tried to trade gew-gaws in exchange for labor, but these primitives have no concept of money. And we need their help for this little construction project we've got going. Unlike us, the lizards can work in the open without some nasty trying to eat them."

Lev had drifted closer to the tower while Macready spoke, peering through the open framework of metal struts. "What are they building?"

"It's, ah, a communications relay. But don't get too close, please. State secrets and all that." To the rest of the men he called out: "Time for a smoke break. Half you apes are on perimeter, while the other half take five. Then rotate."

Nadezhda watched in shock as he took off his helmet, and fished a cigarette out of the lining. "You want one, honey? I'd like to take a better look at that pretty face of yours."

"You're … breathing that? Directly?"

"Sure. Can't smoke inside a suit, can you? The air's thick, but you get used to it."

"I'll forego, thanks."

He stooped to work a chrome lighter, shielding his cigarette from the rain. "I always heard Russians would kill for American smokes. Blue jeans, too."

"I'm Ukrainian, and no, I wouldn't murder someone for tobacco."

"Suit yourself."

He took several puffs before walking over to inspect the tower. Whatever he saw must have met with his approval, because he nodded, snapped panels open and shut, and checked wiring with a contented expression. Lev observed the whole time. Nadezhda knew the engineer must be taking apart the structure in his mind, trying to glean function from form.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.