Planet B by Scott Jasper T

Author:Scott, Jasper T. [Scott, Jasper T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Amazon: B09RHM8VF1
Goodreads: 60552059
Publisher: Anthem Press
Published: 2022-06-07T07:00:00+00:00

PART THREE: DEADLY ENCOUNTERS

Chapter 27

4:47 AM, September 27

As Axel showed them around the inside of the dam, Bruce couldn’t help wondering why the so-called Architects hadn’t dropped them off directly here instead of in the middle of that field. It would have saved them a lot of trouble.

The living quarters of the facility seemed familiar and comfortable enough. The temperature was much warmer, too.

Now they sat in the living room, watching through a curtain of spray as the rising sun bathed the valley in a warm orange glow. Bruce nearly drained his third cup of water while quietly contemplating the view.

Axel sat in an armchair beside him, sipping something that looked and smelled exactly like rum. But rum was made from molasses, which required sugar cane. Could sugar cane even grow in this climate?

“Any questions?” Axel asked, speaking into the silence that had fallen over their group.

“About a million,” Layla said, frowning at him from the couch where she sat with Alice, Jess, and Neil.

Tom sat by himself, his arms spanning the back of another couch. Both he and Axel were still wearing their armor, but they’d left their helmets and weapons inside the ship—with the exception of a sidearm that Axel had holstered to his hip.

“Go ahead,” Axel encouraged between sips of his drink.

“The natives,” Alice said, speaking before Layla could. “Who were they?”

“The Jakar,” Axel explained.

“But where did they come from?”

Axel blinked at her. “Where else? Earth.”

“Do you know when they arrived?”

“No clue, but they must have been here for a long time already to have built their villages.”

“Not to mention capturing that T-Rex they made us fight,” Bruce said.

“Hold on—” Axel put up a hand. “—they made you fight a T-Rex? And you killed it?”

“We wounded it badly, and then they stopped the fight. How do you think we got these?” Bruce asked, holding out his raptor-claw necklace.

“I don’t know, I guess I thought the Jakar were in a good mood when you met them, or that you managed to impress them in some other way. But beating a T-Rex... that really is impressive.”

“We almost died,” Layla said through a scowl.

“But you didn’t,” Axel replied.

“If they’ve been here longer than you, why did the Architects bring you here to make you a minder instead of appointing one of the locals?” Alice asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You might not be the first,” Layla pointed out.

An uneasy look crossed Axel’s face. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe there were others before you, but something happened to the previous minder, and they had to find a replacement.”

“The skeleton we found,” Bruce suggested, and Layla nodded.

“What skeleton?” Axel asked.

“Some bones we found in a cave. The ID in his wallet puts him as being from the nineteen sixties.”

“I guess there could have been others,” Axel decided. “Does it matter?”

“Maybe,” Bruce said. “It means we’re replaceable. It might also mean the job is dangerous.”

“That ship we flew in on,” Alice said. “Can it get into orbit?”

Axel drained his glass and grimaced. “No.”

“You’re lying,” Layla said.

Axel’s eyebrows shot up.

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