Free Adventures of the Starship Satori 4: No Plan Survives Contact by Kevin McLaughlin Page A

sprinting around the twisting tube as it spiraled away from the light. All the while he was going over the very crude plan in his head, trying to think of some way to improve his chances of surviving it.
    He hadn’t come up with anything by the time he hit the base of the tube. He paused there. Staring across the big room with its pools of water hiding monsters, dimly lit still by patches of green light where his glowsticks still cast some illumination, Andy felt a lot less sure of this plan. It had seemed so much more reasonable up there in the daylight than it did in the murky shadows below.
    “Hey you!” he shouted into the room. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the deeper pool. “Our here!”
    Nothing moved. There was no sound except the splash from the rock he’d thrown and the quiet ping as drips hit the surface of the water somewhere. That big monster had to be down here somewhere. All he needed to do was get the thing to follow him and then survive long enough to get it to the surface.
    He threw a few more rocks. Some of them clattered against a wall or the floor. Others fell into water. But there was no response from the giant insect. Either he’d hurt it worse than he thought with the flash-bang, or it simply didn’t want anything to do with the two legged creature that was able to brighten its dark home so fiercely. Whichever the case, it wasn’t coming out.
    Frustrated, he kicked a rock toward the smaller pool. One of the small creatures jumped up and scuttled toward the water to escape his sudden movement. John thought those things were the younger form of the big one. Was it possible it might act to protect its young? Some insects would do that, back on Earth.
    He darted forward and grabbed the thing before it could reach the water, snatching it up from the cave floor. It was almost as long as his forearm, all chitinous shell and darting legs. Mandibles the size of his fingers snapped at him from the front of the bug. He kept that end away from him, struggling to hold on to the thing.
    It began emitting a shrill, high-pitched keening noise. Andy froze. Was that the sound of movement from somewhere back in the pitch-dark hollows at the rear of the cave? The sound came again, audible even over the little bug’s screech. Something very big was coming his way.
    No time to lose. He darted up toward the tunnel, carrying the smaller bug with him as he ran. His lungs were screaming from the effort by the time he reached the first turn, but he kept running for everything he was worth. Behind him he could hear the monster gaining on him, coming closer. Its massive claws were pounding the floor of the tunnel as it sped along.
    Up and up Andy went. He’d never run so hard in his life. Daylight was just ahead. One more turn and he’d be there. The monstrous insect was immediately behind him. It lunged forward. He ducked more from instinct than skill, and the massive mandibles slashed the air where his head had been a moment before.
    Andy ran with renewed vigor, somehow putting a couple of arms length between him and his pursuer. The cave entrance was in sight. He caught a glimpse of his friends hiding at the edge of the opening. He saw their looks of confusion and concern, and then the horror as they saw what was following him.
    He didn’t have to tell them to get back, to hide themselves. That was good because he didn’t have the breath to do it. He’d never run so hard or so fast in his life. Without breaking his stride he continued his sprint through the cave entrance. He was out in the open now, and the Naga had him in their sights. One of their rounds impacted his chest. Pain blossomed there, fiery agony that took his breath away. Another shot hit his left thigh and he toppled forward to the ground.
    The monster was right behind him. Andy didn’t know whether the Naga had seen anything like it before or not. They responded in predictable Naga fashion though. The entire unit opened fire on the thing