Free The Knights of the Black Earth by Margaret Weis, Don Perrin Page A

the stars—a rare sight on TISor 13 and one that occurred only when
one of the other moons was in position to completely block the light of the
planet. The eclipse was one of the reasons Armstrong had chosen this date for
their incursion.
    The two agents
stayed closer together this time, but moved faster. They had been over the
ground once already and knew where they were going. Every fifty meters they
hunkered down, pulled out their night-vision goggles, and scanned the area. The
factory loomed ahead of them. They skirted the trees on the perimeter, heading for
the building’s back end.
    The two slipped
slowly and cautiously into the swamp, avoiding any noise. For the better part
of fifteen minutes, they slid forward on their bellies, crawling through bottom
muck, sliding over fallen trees and rocks.
    Xris reached the
tree stump closest to the loading dock fence and pulled out his night-vision
goggles. Inside the compound, nothing moved; he could detect no heat sources
that would indicate a living presence. Something heavy slid across his boot as
he knelt in the water. Ito hissed and drew his lasgun. A snakelike creature,
over ten meters in length, slithered past. It kept going, but Xris noticed that
Ito didn’t put his gun away. Xris knew how his partner felt. It wasn’t the
snakes. Something was wrong.
    And still no word
from Rowan.
    Ito slid closer.
Xris lifted his headset to hear.
    “The more I think
about it, the less sense it makes. We can’t do a damn thing without our
computer expert. Why don’t you call in and request an abort on this one? We’re
allowed to do that much, even under Blackjack.”
    Xris toggled the
transmitter switch. “Sunray, this is Delta One. Request permission to abort.
Javelin has not linked up with this call sign yet.”
    “This is Sunray.
Proceed. Out.”
    The two stared at
each other. Ito shook his head. Cursing under his breath, Xris drew his lasgun,
sloshed out of the swamp, and crawled to the fence. Seeing nothing in the
compound, he motioned Ito forward.
    Ito came slowly,
dragging his tool kit bag behind him.
    Xris pointed at
the fence. He’d tested it yesterday, but he wasn’t about to trust anything or
anyone, especially now.
    Ito pulled out a
signal analyzer.
    “It’s not
electrified and it doesn’t have any sensor data flowing through it,” he
reported.
    Xris nodded,
sprayed neoprene on the section of the fence that he was going to cut. The
rubber hardened into a black mass on the fence’s metal links. Using laser wire
cutters, he cut a hole in the fence large enough for them to pass through. The
neoprene prevented the laser from building up a resonance within the wire,
possibly setting off a passive sensor somewhere. The rubber also coated the
ends of the wire, keeping it from snagging the agents’ clothing when they
crawled through. In case a quick exit was needed, they didn’t want to worry
about getting hung up on the fence.
    Ito slipped
through the hole onto the paved loading area. He ran to the front of a
hovertruck that was backed into the dock, and quickly scanned the area. No
signs of life. He motioned Xris forward.
    Xris slid through
the hole in the fence. Once inside the compound, he began inspecting the
hovertruck—a basic container carrier, used to offload space containers from
shuttles and move them to the factory. The power was shut off. The truck rested
on its air-cushion skirts.
    After a quick look,
Xris again keyed the comm unit and whispered, “Sunray, this is Delta One. We
are inside the compound and are preparing to enter the facility. Any further
instructions?”
    Armstrong’s answer
was immediate and terse. “This is Sunray. Proceed. Out.”
    “Sunray, this is
Delta One. The area is deserted. We could hold here until Javelin arrives.”
    “This is Sunray.
Proceed. Out.”
    Something was
definitely wrong. Xris took a twist out of its waterproof case in his pocket,
stuck the tobacco in his mouth, chewed on it.
    “If you decide to
pack it