Freelancers: Kidnapping In Outer Space by Larry Payne

Author:Larry Payne [Payne, Larry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Other Worlds
Published: 2018-02-28T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Magnus had forgotten how stifling the heat and humidity was on the jungle planet until they stepped through the sliding double doors of the Targus spaceport.

Armond Juncker walked behind Magnus. “You’re kiddin’me, right?” Armond complained as he adjusted the straps of his backpack across his shoulders. He looked over at Basko Zarr walking beside him. “You’re seriously going to wear that coat?”

The old man looked down at his coat, then back at Armond and smiled. Armond could only shake his head.

They entered the jungle shortly after leaving the spaceport and perspiration quickly darkened their shirts as they hacked their way through the dense foliage. Magnus called a halt when they reached a small clearing. “Take a break,” he said. “No use killing ourselves in this heat.”

Kalar dropped heavily to the jungle floor and took a canteen from a pocket of her backpack. “Is it like this all the way to the compound?”

“Only to the river,” replied Trace. “Then there’s a trail that will take us the rest of the way.”

Armond slapped his neck. “How far to the river?”

“We should reach the river by tonight, but we won’t cross ‘til morning. We’ll camp in a clearing nearby.”

Movement in the jungle caught the attention of Magnus. A bushy head popped up, first in one place and then another. Never exposing itself for long. “I think we’re being watched.”

“Mukmows,” replied Trace without looking up. “The local natives. They call this steam bath home. They’re little ugly fellas with bushy hair all over their heads. Big, flat noses mashed on their faces and big pointed teeth that will rip your throat out at their first opportunity. They’re out lookin’ for a main course for supper and we’re on the menu.”

“I take it you’ve run into them before.”

Trace looked up at Magnus. “Yeah, I ran into ‘em before. Don’t think I’ll ever forget it neither. Remind me to tell you about it sometime.”

Magnus patted the freighter’s shoulder and stood up. “Be alert, people, we’ve attracted visitors.”

Qwee moved up beside his friend. “Took you long enough to spot them. They been following us for a while.”

“Seems we’re the objects of their affections,” replied Magnus.

He got everyone up and moving again amid groans and complaints. The Mukmow soon grew quite unnerving as they darted around the jungle, never revealing themselves, except for an occasional bushy head disappearing back into the dense cover that sometimes attracted a burst or two from a blaster.

As the light filtering through the jungle canopy dimmed, the Freelancers came out into a small clearing. “We’ll stop here tonight,” said Trace. “The river is just ahead.”

He strode to the center of the clearing and dropped his gear. “We’ll keep a clear field of vision all around us so the little brutes can’t sneak up on us.”

Magnus recruited Armond and Basko to collect dried brush, vines and tree limbs and soon a fire was blazing in the middle of the clearing.

“I can’t believe we eat this stuff. We can fly light years in seconds,

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