Free Alien Worlds by Roxanne Smolen

from the animal as it beached itself. “We were lucky the turtles were there.”
    “What do you mean, lucky? I was almost an appetizer.”
    “Without them, we would have materialized in the middle of an ocean.”
    Another bad computer reference. The ring was following outdated programming. Impani loosened the moss rope. She coiled it around her hand and elbow then slid down the shell.
    The turtle looked larger out of the water. Its flippers were motionless upon the sand. Both heads were out. The neck that took the brunt of the reins looked red and abraded.
    “It’s exhausted,” she said.
    Trace knelt beside a purple bush and plucked a small white melon. He tossed it toward the turtle. “Hungry?”
    “Don’t,” she said. “What if it’s poisonous?”
    “Then it won’t eat it.”
    But the turtle did eat. It crunched loudly. Impani grinned. She picked an armload of the pale fruit and rolled them across the sand. The creature ate with both heads, beaks snapping at each other as it rooted for more.
    “It likes them.” She joined her partner.
    He gave her a rare smile.
    With a roar and a torrent of water, the predator rose from the ocean. It opened its jagged mouth and bellowed. The monster’s oversized head made it look like a T-rex. But as it stood, muscular forelegs emerged, exposing huge, webbed claws.
    The turtle churned the sand, unable to attain its defensive spin. Rex lumbered forward. Dark green water roiled about its knees. It bent low over its helpless prey.
    Trace drew his gun and fired. Energy bolts crackled over the beast and leeched into the water. Rex roared and staggered. Vapor steamed from its body. Teeth bared, it turned toward Impani and Trace.
    Impani pulled her weapon. They fired together. The blast threw Rex backward with a tremendous splash. Waves crashed onto the beach. Its mighty tail lashed the surf as the beast swam away.
    The two-headed turtle edged toward the water. Its flippers gouged the sand. Moments later, it disappeared into the ocean.
    Impani’s hands trembled as she fumbled with her holster. She no longer felt confident in her stat-gun. It hadn’t worked against the gargoyle birds. And if she and Trace hadn’t fired at the same time, it might not have worked against Rex. She didn’t want to kill anything. That wasn’t why they were there. But what if it was necessary? What if she had no choice?
    What if she had been alone?
    Scouting was dangerous business. That’s why Scouts were sent in pairs. She didn’t have to be friends with Trace to be a good partner. But it would help.
    “That was an adventure.” She smiled. When Trace didn’t comment, she added, “At least, you’re no longer covered in green goop.”
    “The sun is setting. I don’t want to walk around a strange planet at night.”
    She looked up. The bright orange sky had faded to rust. “When we get back, we should complain. Our masks should have infrared or night vision.”
    He shook his head. “That would make them too heavy. Let’s find someplace to rest.”
    They walked into the deepening brush. Mist and shadow obscured their path. Impani felt like she was walking upon a cloud. There were no trees—but a vast variety of bushes snagged her knees. Pale melon shone among the foliage.
    “I wonder if we should gather some of the fruit,” she said, “now that we know it isn’t poisonous.”
    “We can’t eat on an alien world. Real Scouts go three days without food. They have pellets.”
    “We don’t. That’s another thing we should complain about.”
    He picked up a melon and sliced it in half with his knife. The core was blood red, the flesh striated with purple veins. Maggot-like worms squirmed and fell.
    He tossed it away. “I’m not hungry enough to eat that.”
    She gulped. “Me neither.”
    In single file, they trudged away from the ocean. The grade steepened. Before long, they edged along a narrow path that zigzagged up a cliff. Three moons lit the night, and the mist glowed