Free Extinction by Jay Korza Page B

very minor points
concerning their anatomy.
    Daria had become very interested in
Emily’s work and so they spent many hours together each day. Emily was always
teaching Daria about her work and much to Daria’s surprise, she caught on quite
quickly to the research.
    “Now take a look at this,” Emily began. “This
artifact has almost a completely different readout display and input terminal
than the others we have encountered so far. Why do you think that is?”
    The answer seemed so obvious that Daria
almost felt stupid saying it. “Because it came from a different species.
Possibly an off-world trader or someone along for the ride.”
    “Good, but how can you explain the fact
that it is made of the exact same material as everything else we’ve found? A
different species would indicate a different alloy or even a different
processing of a similar alloy. So why the difference in appearance and
biological compatibility if it were made by the same people?”
    Daria thought for a moment. “Maybe,” she
hesitated, “whoever made these artifacts stole the technology from a different species
and were too lazy to reconfigure it to their own specifications. The original
creators and the ones who stole it were close enough in biological
compatibility that no changes were necessary in order to use it.”
    “Very good answer, but as a scientist we
need more than one hypothesis to work with. Give me another one,” Emily
challenged.
    After several moments of thinking, Daria
placed the artifact down and replied, “My hypothesis is that my training for
the day is over and yours is about to begin.”
    A week ago, while excavating at a nearby
site, a local bug had decided that Emily was a suitable host for its larva.
These bugs were the size of a small cat and had a spine-tipped tail that
injected its larva into a host organism. After a few weeks, the larva hatched
and ate their host from the inside out. The problem was the bug laid thousands
of eggs so it was found to be nearly impossible to get them all out before they
hatched. Unfortunately, two marines had already died from these bugs and one
scientist was nearly lost. The base forces set out with flamethrowers and
small-arms to terminate the creatures. The sweep had done a pretty good job of
clearing out the immediate area but there were still a few that lingered here
and there.
    Daria had seen the bug making its
stealthy approach and yelled a warning towards Emily. All Emily could do was
stare at the thing now running towards her. When she finally snapped out of it,
she tried for her sidearm but was too clumsy to get it out in time. Daria quickly
pulled out her throwing knife and deftly pinned the bug, from ten meters away,
to the packing crate it was crawling across.
    From that moment on, Daria had made it
her personal goal to teach the lieutenant how to fend for herself. For a lab
geek, Emily was learning more quickly than Daria had expected. She was almost
able to beat Davies in a simulated knife fight, though Daria teased this was no
great accomplishment.
    Emily eagerly put down the artifact she
was holding and stood. She really enjoyed these workouts and that was probably
why she advanced so quickly.
    “Where’s Davies at? I’m in the mood to
win today.”
    Daria laughed aloud. “Sorry, lady, but
he’s on duty so you’ll have to face me in the ring. And today, we work with
staffs.”
    “I’ve never used one before.” All of a sudden
she didn’t seem too eager. Simulated knife fighting wasn’t bad. The fake knives
left a mark on your training suit and the computer determined the damage
created by the strike. If your arm was injured too badly, the computer would disable
the appropriate joint in your suit and you could no longer use that body part.
If you were killed, well then, the computer just said so and you started over.
    But staffs, those were a different
story. Emily knew that there weren't any training programs for staff fighting,
so they must be using