Suddenly his allies became extremely agitated.

"Shiny, what"s going on? Are we being attacked? Are you attacking someone?" Telisa transmitted.

"Negative. Scanning for target. Verified Trilisk superseded a Terran."

"You don"t hear-oh. I mean, do you sense that atmospheric disturbance?"

Kirizzo looked through his mountains of monitoring data. He did not make progress until he had the key insight: the Terran sense of hearing.

"Speculation, theory, explanation: scout drone"s supersonic velocities disturbed local, nearby, proximate gaseous envelope. Please acknowledge: is theory probable, likely, satisfactory?"

"Oh, sonic booms? Yes, it sounds like that. Okay, as long as they"re yours. Thanks. So you think it"s in a Terran body as Arakaki said?"

"Over 90 percent probability. Otherwise, a Trilisk deception, misdirection, trick."

"Can we capture him?"

"Routing location to you. Move in," Kirizzo urged.

It did not appear he had to offer any incentive in trade. The Terrans gathered their equipment rapidly. They spoke of the target among themselves, including the new one. Kirizzo activated his walking machine and paralleled their course.

"This Trilisk is likely very dangerous," Magnus said.

"Scratch the likely part. It is dangerous," Arakaki added.

"Theorize, suppose, expect target has exhausted advanced resources. Otherwise, UED forces likely, probably, certainly, extinct," Kirizzo said.

As the Terrans moved out toward the suspected Trilisk, Kirizzo monitored the Terrans and the target intently.

Kirizzo detected a statistically significant increase in communications from the Terran named Telisa directed to her mate Magnus. His initial impression was that Telisa reacted with hostility to his interaction with the new female of breeding age. After all, they had encountered other Terrans without eliciting this response from Telisa. Perhaps she attempted to solidify her position with Magnus in antic.i.p.ation of a possible cooperative shift in Magnus toward the new female. In any case, Telisa was agitated and it appeared to have something to do with the new interloper.

Kirizzo made a note to investigate other differences between this female and the older one called Cilreth, but he a.s.sumed it had to do with the superior fertility of the UED soldier. Her suitability as a mate must be an order of magnitude higher than Cilreth; therefore she was more of a threat to Telisa"s status. Perhaps Kirizzo would get to observe a shift to compet.i.tion within the tightly knit Terran group at last.

Updates came in from his many machines on the planet, shifting his attention away from the interplay between the Terrans. Enemies ahead launched projectiles at the walker. At the same time, his Terran allies came under fire. One of Kirizzo"s attendant drones serving Magnus reported a projectile intercept, then another.

"Take precautions against enemy action," Kirizzo transmitted.

"Uhm, yes, Shiny," Telisa said. "We hit the dirt. We have a sniper. I think they"re far away."

Kirizzo checked Telisa"s position. She was indeed on the ground, along with her companions. Kirizzo found it odd how her phraseology had not changed even though the surface was now hard and rocky: "hit the dirt" remained her chosen expression. If Terran terminology was this inflexible, perhaps the Terrans themselves were inherently inflexible. Could this explain their reluctance to switch to compet.i.tive mode?

"Light screen of combatants ahead. Probable goal: delay pursuit," Kirizzo summarized for them. He sent along his sensor readings. The closest soldier in the screen was over a kilometer from their position. More rounds came in from the UED Terrans. Though they likely did not have clear targets, their projectiles knew roughly what they were shooting for. Or were they more likely configured for what they were not shooting for? At least in the case of the other Terrans it was likely they would be targets of opportunity for pa.s.sing rounds.

"It"ll take awhile to advance against them," Magnus said.

"A soluble problem," Kirizzo said.

"What are you doing?"

"Launching countermeasures," Kirizzo said. He allocated drones to four small positions held by pairs of Terrans ahead of them. His allies talked more among themselves. Kirizzo allocated more attendant spheres to them so that each of them would have at least two protectors.

The four sniper nests exploded in quick succession.

"Threat neutralized. May continue at current, present, existing pace."

Once again a stir went through the Terrans working with him.

"I knew those men. You didn"t have to kill them," Arakaki said on the group channel.

"Terrans seek to delay pursuit," Kirizzo informed them. "Target moving away."

"She means those soldiers are not against us," Telisa explained to him. "They are not in compet.i.tion with us; they don"t understand their leader has been taken over by an alien."

"What exactly are these things flying around us?" Arakaki asked.

"Don"t kill any other Terrans please," Telisa said to Kirizzo. "They are not our enemies."

"May further delay pursuit. Offer in exchange 5 percent more resource allocation from industrial seed. Alternative, secondary, additional offer: increased access to Vovokan military hardware."

"What?"

"Is he offering us things in exchange for our buy-in on killing more of my fellow UED soldiers?" Arakaki asked. Her voice indicated higher than average levels of strain or emotional disturbance.

"We can"t bargain with you on this, Shiny," Telisa said.

"Seven percent more resource allocation from-"

"We can"t bargain with human lives," Arakaki said.

Perhaps an individual"s worth to society had to be fully measured before the Terrans would allow exchange of the individual"s life for resources. Kirizzo changed tack.

"Offering 1.3 times Terran average life valuation on Earth in any currency or resource for license, permission, agreement to kill intervening Terrans without breaking existing alliance," he offered.

"We refuse!" Arakaki said.

"Wait a minute," Magnus said. He sent further private communications among the other Terrans. Kirizzo did not intercept the signals, though he might well have done so if things were less hectic. The Terrans were obviously hung up on a point perhaps practical but more likely terminology oriented. Perhaps the one called Magnus could see a way through this particular intercultural maze. Kirizzo wasn"t sure what the conflict was, but he hoped Magnus could mesh their negotiation styles quickly.

"Don"t kill them unless any of us are in real danger," Cilreth suggested.

"Goal in danger, wish to prevent escape of valuable target," Kirizzo said.

"Where is the target going to go? You"re tracking it, right? We don"t need to kill these people," Telisa said.

"Target may descend into Trilisk tunnels to escape detection. May escape in UED s.p.a.ce vessel."

"He wouldn"t get past the Thumper, though?

"Unlikely, improbable, doubtful."

Kirizzo entered a planning phase. What should he do if the Terrans remained obstructionistic to the capture of the Trilisk in a Terran sh.e.l.l? Proceed without their a.s.sistance. Take the Trilisk back to the base in his own ship. The Clacker would be left with the valuable Trilisk artifacts, but he would have a Trilisk. The trade would be in his favor. Should he relocate the base in that case to avoid further Terran entanglement? It would depend on what he could learn from the Trilisk. Would it be dangerous to allow the Trilisk close to the AI? It was a troubling thought he hadn"t considered. A Trilisk might well be able to undo his handiwork with the prayer blocker and simply run rampant with it. Then Kirizzo would be the captured specimen. A great deal of time would be required to complete the phase. He would be better served by switching back to action now.

The intervening Terrans had all expired. Kirizzo"s countermeasures had been more effective than he had expected. He decided to soften the blow to his allies upon reporting the result.

"The Terrans ahead have scattered," he said. "Some casualties among them. Target now within confines of UED encampment."

"Do they have any defenses?" Magnus asked. Kirizzo prepared an a.n.a.lysis to reply, but Arakaki responded.

"Mostly the Guardians were the defense. I understand many of them have been destroyed?"

"Affirmative, correct, verified."

"They may have some grenades set. I could probably make it in myself, and they wouldn"t target me."

"What would you do by yourself?"

"Kill the d.a.m.n thing, of course," Arakaki said. "Your alien friend isn"t hesitating to kill any of them. Let me in there and take a crack at it. Maybe I can save the rest. If you all go in, then there will be more deaths."

"No personnel left in camp," Kirizzo told them. "Survivors gathering at grounded a.s.sault ship."

"Then we all go in," Magnus said. "Arakaki"s on point. She"ll let us know if any friendly grenades are armed within range."

"Unless Holtzclaw-the Trilisk, that is-reset some grenades and locked me out. I encountered him, or it, whatever, just after he shot one of our own. He knows I"m alive."

"Did he have time?" asked Telisa.

"Who knows what that thing is capable of," Cilreth said.

"Sending more drones," Kirizzo said. He routed more nearby machines toward the Terrans. "Within their capability to intercept Terran grenades. Two per host provides over 80 percent success rate outside the blast radius. Sending one ahead to seek active grenades."

"Handy," Arakaki said. Her voice feigned a trivial a.s.sessment belied by her physiological readings. The Terran Arakaki was, in fact, in a high state of stress. He intensified his study. Could this Terran have been altered by the Trilisk? He found no evidence to support the idea. A simpler explanation was simply that her life was under threat. Though as a trained soldier, she should be calm. He compared her readings to those of Magnus. They were comparable, so he dropped the line of investigation.

The anomalous readings changed subtly. They were centered on a Terran starship set slightly into a hillside.

"Target most likely entered vessel on far side of encampment."

The ship"s power systems spiked. The primitive Terran gravity spinner was being powered up. Meanwhile, his allies had reached the edge of the obfuscation device that covered the UED encampment.

"Forget it. Get back!" Arakaki transmitted. "He"s starting up the engines."

Kirizzo considered the countermeasures at his disposal. Though the walker commanded sufficient firepower to bring down the Terran a.s.sault ship with precise strikes, destroying the Terran vessel seemed inadvisable. He could well kill the Terran body Holtzclaw inside, even though it enjoyed superhuman status.

Instead, Kirizzo contacted his starship in orbit and instructed it to prepare to intercept the Terran a.s.sault ship.

His own Terran allies ran to safety. There was a brief discussion about taking shelter in the cavern entrances just inside the camp, but the threat of traps instead sent the Terrans moving alongside the perimeter and toward a large fissure. Should he inform the Terrans that the more ma.s.sive Chigran Callnir Four predators preferred to lair in the largest fissures? No. The group was well armed and could likely survive any such encounter.

The Terran ship lifted from the surface. It did not attempt to use its ground attack munitions or its propellant drive to attack as his allies feared. Instead it proceeded optimally toward orbit.

"Shifting attention away from the surface. Obtain items of interest."

"Will do, Shiny, good luck," Telisa responded.

The anomalous readings continued, centered on the Terran ship. Either the Trilisk truly was aboard or it had sophisticated means of tricking Kirizzo. The Gorgalan wondered if the Trilisk was aware a non-Terran hunted it. Perhaps it thought it only needed to escape any Terran forces in orbit.

The Thumper released independent probes and weapons to form a screen that would follow and intercept the fleeing ship. But the Terran vessel was slow and clumsy. It was easily intercepted by the Thumper itself, despite the huge ma.s.s difference.

Something changed. The odd readings Kirizzo used to track the alien disappeared. He switched away from its Terran body signature. Nothing. He switched back to the original parameters he had used to scan the planet. Still nothing. More scans on the surface at the lift off site did not reveal the Trilisk, either.

The Thumper moved in and hacked the Terran vessel"s control systems to shut down its gravity spinner. The ship was in his grasp. Several of his remote probes and pieces of ordnance attached themselves to its surface.

"I have captured the UED vessel," he reported to the Terrans. "However, no Trilisk signature detected aboard vessel. Anomalies have disappeared, ceased, vanished."

"What? He"s still down here somewhere?"

"Unknown, uncertain, unascertained."

The first possibility was that the retreat to the Terran vessel had been a ruse. The second possibility was that the Trilisk was still in the ship but could not be detected. A third possibility was that the Trilisk had rendezvoused with an undetectable ship, boarded it, and left.

Kirizzo tried to think of other explanations. After a moment, another theory surfaced: Trilisks might be so advanced, they might not need starships to travel between the stars. But if so, why the ruse? Perhaps the method required distance from the planet to achieve. There was no way of knowing. Better to concentrate on conventional explanations first? But the target was thought to be a Trilisk. Conventional could hardly describe Trilisks.

"Advise continue search on surface and in orbit," he transmitted to the Terrans. "However, chances of recovering target rapidly diminishing."

The Terrans commandeered two remaining sensor modules from the UED force and started searching for the Trilisk in the body of Holtzclaw. Their search signature lacked sophistication; however, if the Trilisk was still in Holtzclaw, they might succeed.

Kirizzo thought about the sequence of events. Had the moment of transition to the Terran vessel been a ruse? Perhaps it had entered a Trilisk tunnel beneath at that time. But the nearest tunnel went under the west side of the UED camp, where they had been digging for Trilisk technology. He spotted a likely error: the a.s.sumption that the Trilisk had none of its own devices to use. Its industrial seed may have been exhausted, broken, or even destroyed in an enemy attack (the methane breathers?), but that did not mean the Trilisk did not have any of its other tools left to use. Perhaps it had been rationing what it had left for dire circ.u.mstances.

Kirizzo conducted a search of his own vessel. What if the Trilisk had gotten on board? Kirizzo realized the creature would be very dangerous if it still had functioning devices to use. The Trilisks had been capable of almost anything. How could Kirizzo hope to capture it unless it was deprived of its own technology?

"Trilisk no longer detectable," Kirizzo admitted. "Further a.n.a.lysis required to determine its location."

He did not say he doubted he would ever be able to find it.

"Then what are we going to do?" asked Telisa.

"Recommend return to base for study of Trilisk materials," Kirizzo said. "Many large artifacts available to examine."

"Yes, let"s head back. And pray us up some scout replacements," Magnus said.

"And an army of combat robots this time," Cilreth interjected. "And a bunch of high-tech traps."

The new Terran looked perplexed. "What about the hunt?"

"If Shiny doesn"t know where it is, then we don"t either," Telisa said. "But we can keep looking, and the next best thing is to figure out its toys."

"What kind of a base is this?" Arakaki asked.

Magnus smiled and told her, "You"re going to love it."

But the Terran called Telisa did not look at all happy about it.