Among Hidden Stars by John Coon

Author:John Coon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Coon
Published: 2022-08-19T19:49:43+00:00

21

When Calandra first laid eyes on the odocos, the herd of tree-eaters struck her as peaceful animals. She silently echoed Lily’s desire to interact with odocos up close. Now the herd bore down on their cruiser in an unexpected stampede. They faced no real threat of injury inside the ship. But Calandra also understood they risked damaging the cruiser’s landing gear if the ship stayed in the path of the frightened, brown-furred animals.

A damaged ship meant being grounded until Gulah and Eliah made necessary repairs. It would strand her and Xttra far away from Alexa for several hours—an unacceptable scenario for them and their little girl.

“How fast can you get this ship airborne?” Sam asked. “Staying on the ground isn’t wise unless we can slow these odocos down.”

“I’m powering up our main engines again.” Gulah threw a control lever on his console forward. “This will be a close one.”

He retracted the landing gear and the cruiser lifted off the ground moments before a lead wave of odocos swept into the meadow. Tracking sensors showed the herd closing fast. They galloped under the belly of the airborne vessel and out past the bridge. Terror filled the widened eyes of every odoco.

Three animals covered in black fur charged from the foothills. Their narrow eyes focused on a pair of juvenile odocos. Tusk-like incisors protruded from the upper and lower jaws of these predators, contrasting their short broad snouts. Saliva dripped from panting mouths over taut lips; visible hunger threaded through their light-brown rounded faces. Their long stout legs and broad bodies formed a harmonious balance of speed and power, allowing the three predators to match the strides of their fleeing prey.

“Are those bears?”

Bo’un’s question left his tongue in a near-whisper. His lips quivered and he swallowed hard.

“Saber-toothed arcodons.” Lily corrected him. “We first discovered them when…”

She paused and snapped her head toward him.

“How did you know about bears? That animal species is native to Earth.”

Bo’un instinctively rubbed the jagged scars along his jaw and throat.

“The word ‘bear’ became seared in my mind when Kevin named the animal which mauled me on Earth. You don’t forget an alien creature that nearly stole your life from you with the swipe of a massive paw.”

Calandra stared at the fleeing animals, while the cruiser hovered overhead at a safe distance. Her heart raced faster as she followed churned soil and broken trees to judge the stampede’s trajectory. The odoco herd galloped straight toward a small village west of the ship.

“Look! The odocos are fleeing toward that village.” Calandra stabbed a finger at a low stone wall surrounding a cluster of dwellings. “We need to divert the herd before they trample innocent people.”

Xttra stole a glance at the tracking sensors. A resolute frown washed over his face.

“I know how to deal with this situation. Bring the ship down again.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Eliah’s voice grew animated. “You don’t give orders here. Especially when they make no sense.”

Xttra shot him an irritated glare. Calandra hoped he would curb his temper, even though Eliah seemed determined to provoke a conflict with his bluntness.

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