Free The Copernicus Deception (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 15) by T.R. Harris

If we find them, I’ll make the power in the barracks flicker once. That will be your cue that we’re ready to go.”
    “What about my collar?” Coop asked.
    “I have it identified. When the time is right, I’ll neutralize it.”
    “Just make sure you do. We may be supermen, but, damn, it really hurts when they turn these things on.” Coop grabbed Adam’s arm as he turned to go. “What if they’re in one of the other barracks?”
    “We’ll deal with that when the time comes. We have some additional status here already. We may be able to intermingle with the other prisoners, especially at mealtime.”
    “You make a lot of assumptions…Captain Cain.”
    “It’s called contingency planning. You always need a backup for the backups, and so forth. Now just chill. We may not find them on our first work detail, but I’m sure we will, eventually. And one last thing.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Don’t go killing anything without checking with me first.”
    “I’ll try…but no promises. And you guys watch your asses. If you get eaten I may be here for the duration.”
     
    ********
     
    It was deceptively cold outside the stuffy barracks, and Adam and Riyad were thankful the guards allowed them to keep their full-length capes. They placed the hoods over their heads and cinched down cords. It helped, but the frigid, biting wind still swirled in from underneath the garments.
    What was surprising was that the other prisoners wore very little protective gear. The reason soon began apparent.
    The two Humans joined a parade of prisoners headed for the perimeter of the compound, where they took turns picking up chainsaw-looking devices from several long tables. Watching the others around them activate the cutters, they found they were indeed a form of chainsaw, yet with tiny laser points instead of tines for cutters. Without being directed, the compliant prisoners formed a line at the imposing jungle and began to hack at the obscenely huge leaves and vines. In the eerie shadows, the jungle wall appeared to be encroaching on the cleared space at a rate of about a millimeter every few seconds. If one stood still long enough, the progression could be seen; stand long enough in one spot and you would become part of the jungle.
    The saws were amazingly light for the Humans. The gravity of Visidor was .57 that of Earth, making Adam’s one-hundred eighty pound weight only one hundred three on the planet. Normally gravity that light also meant a greatly reduced surface air pressure and corresponding lack of oxygen in the atmosphere. But the abundance of jungle growth on the planet provided ample oxygen, and although both Humans suffered from irritating inner-ear pain, it was something they could tolerate, at least in the short term.
    Adam and Riyad set to work, swiping their laser-tipped chainsaws back and forth against the jungle. Within minutes they were soaked to the skin in the watery spray from the cut vegetation. The physical activity forced them to pull the hoods from their heads and unbutton the front of their capes. Visidor was an enigma. The high humidly provided both a penetrating cold along with a profusion of sweat. Adam knew it wasn’t healthy to sweat in colder climes; that could lead to hyperthermia. So the Humans began to pace themselves, seeing that they were vastly more proficient at clearing than the other prisoners. They took the opportunity to scan the work line, looking for signs of their alien friends.
    Kaylor was a Belsonian, with light blue, almost translucent skin. He stood about two meters tall, so he would stand out in the line of shorter workers, just as did Adam and Riyad. Jym, on the other hand, was about four feet tall and covered in a coat of fine black hair. Adam often compared him to a little black bear, walking on two legs. He would be even shorter than the native Visidorans. So Kaylor was the beacon they were looking for.
    Lights from the inner compound were aimed at the jungle wall,