DISASTER
The Throg the Terran Survey a minutes after dawn, without warning, and with a which that the had and prepared that attack. Eye-searing of energy and across the with accuracy. And a single witness, on a in the above, that when the last of those yellow-red fell, nothing would be left alive there. His teeth closed hard upon the thick of the his thin forearm, and in his a of terror and was stillborn.
More than him on that narrow of rock. Watching that below, Shann Lantee not himself to move. The of the Throg move-in left him weak. To to a of Throgs in action, and to be an eye-witness to such action, were two different things. He in of the of the Survey Corps uniform.
As yet he had none of the aliens, only their plate-shaped flyers. They would until their long-range out all opposition. But how had they been able to make such a complete of the Terran force? The last report had the nearest Throg at least two away from Warlock. And a had been about the Circe the minute that Survey had marked its second for colonization. Somehow the had through that tight and would now their with their speed at rooting. First an energy attack to the small Terran force; then they would take over.
A month later, or maybe two months, and they not have done it. The would have been up, and any Throg ship into Warlock's amber-tinted sky would to be. In the for as a power, Terra had that one small over the of the enemy. They need only out their new-found world and the assembled on its surface; then that would be locked to the beetles. The period was the of a world and the of control. Planets in the past had been that time lag, just as Warlock was now.
Throgs and Terrans.... For more than a century now, time, they had been their queer, among the stars. Terrans worlds for colonization, the old for land of their own men from the over-populated worlds, out of Sol's to the stars. And those worlds of native life, open to settlers, were none too many and scattered. Perhaps a dozen were in a century, and of that six maybe only one was for life without any and of man or world. Warlock was one of the lucky which came so seldom.
Throgs were predators, on the they garnered. As yet, had not been able to they did from any home world. Perhaps they on their plate ships with no permanent base, into a life by the of the on which they had originally been spawned. But they were now, waste worlds, up the of in which no native life remained. And their temporary were about the galaxy, their need for worlds with an to Terra's as necessary as that of man. For in of their bodies, their minds, the Throgs were warm-blooded, oxygen-breathing creatures.
After the the early Terran had to promote a the species, only to that Throg and man there appeared to be no meeting ground at all—total of producing misunderstanding. There was no point of communication. So the Terrans had one after another until they perfected the grid. And now their were safe, at least when time in their favor.
It had not on Warlock.
A last of red over the of in the valley. Shann blinked, by that glare. His as he his teeth. That was the finish. Breathing raggedly, he his head, to that he was the only one of his left alive on a none-too-hospitable world by enemies—without or supplies.
He into the narrow which was the entrance to the ledge. As a of his he was not impressive, and now with those he not master, his thin body, he looked smaller and more vulnerable. Shann his up close under his chin. The of his woodsman's jacket was pushed in of the of the morning, and he the of his hand across his and in an gesture.
None of the men who had been alive only minutes had been close friends of his; Shann had anyone but in his short, life. Most people had him to give orders, and one or two had been malicious—like Garth Thorvald. Shann at a memory, and then that into wonder. If Thorvald hadn't to Shann into trouble by opening the wolverines' cage, Shann wouldn't be here now—alive and safe for a time—he'd have been there with the others.
The wolverines! For the time since Shann had the of the Throg attack he the he had been into the hills. Of all the men on the Survey team, Shann Lantee had been the least important. The dirty, clean-up jobs, the which no but which had to be performed to keep the comfortably, those had been his portion. And he had that willingly, just to have a to be among Survey personnel. Not that he had the of up to an S-E-Three in the service.
Part of those had been to clean the animal cages. And there Shann Lantee had something new, something so that most of the labor had to as to he return to the of the animal runs.
Survey had early the of using and Terran animals as in the of worlds. From the and on Terra came a of aides-de-camp to man into space. Some were fighters, silent, more than a man at his or in his hands. Some were eyes, noses, than the produce. Bred for intelligence, for size, for to conditions, the animal from Terra were prized.
Wolverines, the "devils" of the on Terra, were being for the time on Warlock. Their caution, a quality in their breed, them for new territory. Able to in an animal three times their size, they should be added protection for the man they into the wilderness, and their wide ranging, their ability to climb and swim, and above all, their were assets.
Shann had by their cages; he ended by these with long tails. And to his the was mutual. Alone to Taggi and Togi he was a person, an person. Those teeth, which tear into strips, at his fingers, closed without any pressure on arm, on nose and in what was the of their kind. Since they were of no ability, twice he had had to and lead them to from of their own devising.
But the second time he had been by Fadakar, the of animal control, he lock up the delinquents. And the memory of the resulting still had the power to make him with anger. Shann's had been aside, and he had been delivered an ultimatum. If his again, he would be sent on the next supply ship, to be without an official sign-off on his work record, thus locked out of the level of Survey for the of his life.
That was why Garth Thorvald's act of the night had Shann the unknown of Warlock alone when he had that the test animals were gone. He had to and return them Fadakar his inspection; Garth Thorvald's attempt to him into trouble had saved his life.
Shann back, to make his as small as possible. One of the Throg appeared out of the of the sky, over the camp. The were in to the site of their victory. And the place for any Terran now was as from the of those as he get. Shann's was an as he through the narrow mouth of a and so into the wall. The climb him he in part, for this was the path the had on their two other escapes. A moments of and he was out in a with with the of Warlock. On the other of that was a small cut to a hillside, on another valley, not as wide as that in which the stood, but one well provided with in the way of trees and high-growing bushes.
A light wind pushed among the trees, and twice Shann the harsh, call of a clak-clak—one of the bat-like leather-winged that in along the walls. That present of two-tone that the land was empty of strangers. For the clak-claks and on their territory.
Shann hesitated. He was by the to put as much him and the landing Throg ship as he could. But to the attention of clak-claks was for trouble. Perhaps it would be best to keep on along the top of the cliff, than a to take in the the patrolled.
A of dust, by a tooth-shaped of rock, gave the Terran his proof that Taggi and his had him, for printed there was the familiar mark of a wolverine. Shann to that animals had taken to in the ahead.
He lips. Having left without any pack, he had no canteen, and now Shann his possessions—a kit, heavy-duty clothing, a jacket with mittens, the marked with the Survey insignia. His supported a and knife, and pockets three tokens, a of wire to the of the cage, a packet of tablets, two identity and work cards, and a length of cord. No rations—save the bravos—no for his stunner. But he did have, a on the jacket, a small torch.
The path he ended in a drop, and Shann a at the odor from below, though that meant he climb to the here without any clak-clak attention. Chemical from a against the wall, off any in this section.
Shann up the of his jacket and the into place. He must away—then food, water, a place. That will to live which had Shann Lantee in the past was in command, him with a determination.
The up in a about his waist, but he on, for the open and air. That the in color to the normal purple-green, and then he was in a of trees, their pointed at to the rust-red trunks.
A small from moss-spotted ground covering, an squeak, out of as as it had appeared. Shann two trees and then paused. The of the larger was scored with of sap, a which was a of scarlet. Taggi had left his mark here, and not too long ago.
The soft of no marks, but he he the of the animals—a down-valley. Shann was to plan now. The Throgs had not the Terran out of existence; they had only sure of the death of its occupiers. Which meant they must have some use for the installations. For the of a Survey would be to those who over the of entire elsewhere. Why? What did the Throgs want? And would the continue to the for long?
Shann did not what had to him since that of attack. From early childhood, when he had been on his own to a living—a of a living—on the Dumps of Tyr, he had had to use his to keep life in a and body. However, since he had been from Survey rations, he was not so any more.
His education was close to zero, his and off-center vast. And that particular which had been on him for years now in his to a new set of facts, ones. He was alone on a and world. Water, food, safe shelter, those were now. And once again, away from the ordered of the where he had been by the and of others, he was thinking, in freedom. Later (his hand to the of his stunner) later he might just a way of an from the beetle-faces, too.
For the present, he would have to keep away from the Throgs, which meant well away from the camp. A of green through the him—the lake! Shann through a last and to look out over that surface. A up. Shann put to his mouth and whistled. The turned, black him, to water. To his the was his summons.
Taggi came ashore, on the of the to shake himself vigorously. Then the came at a to Shann. With an unknown him, the Terran on knees, hands in the fur, to the welcome Taggi gave him.
"Togi?" Shann asked as if the other answer. He to the lake, but Taggi's was in sight.
The under his hand around, black nose pointed north. Shann had been sure just how intelligent, as intelligence, the were. He had come to that Fadakar and the other had them and that more than they were for. Now he an of his own, one he had had a to try only a times and at length. Pressing his on Taggi's head, Shann of Throgs and of their attack, trying to in the animal a to his own and anger.
And Taggi responded. A a growl, teeth gleamed—those teeth of a to they were of aggression. Danger.... Shann "danger." Then he his hand, and the off, north. The man followed.
They Togi in a small where a of a from the last high-water period. She was a breakfast, the of a water being against need after the of her kind. When she was done she came to Shann, plain to read in her eyes.
There was water here, and good hunting. But the site was too close to the Throgs. Let one of their them, and the little group was finished. Better cover, that's what the three must have. Shann scowled, not at Togi, but at the landscape. He was and hungry, but he must keep on going.
A into the from the west, a of sorts. With very little knowledge of the countryside, Shann was to that.
Overhead the sun its of the sky. A of green marked a of for a feeding. Lake was good eating, but Shann had no time to one now. Togi started the bank of the stream, Taggi her. Either they had his choice through some contact, or they had already that road on their own.
Shann's attention was by a piece of the drift. He the length free and had his of his own manufacture, a club. Using it to a low branch, he the wolverines.
Within the hour he had breakfast, too. A pair of skitterers, their long together with a of grass, from his belt. They were not particularly good eating, but they were meat and acceptable.
The three, man and wolverines, their way up the to the and through a into the larger space beyond. There, where the was at the of a falls, they their camp. Judging that the would any smoke, Shann a pocket-size fire. He than the after he had an and of them, and the meat from the in mouthfuls. The by on the gravel, now and again a to test the on the air, or into the distance.
Taggi a in the throat. Shann of over the fire. He had only time to himself face-down, the and cloth of his into the color of the earth on which he lay, every tense.
A across the hillside. Shann's hunched, and he again. That terror he had on the was in full as he waited for the to at him as it had at his fellows. The Throgs were on the hunt....
