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Captain had listened to the esper's warnings, the forest wouldn't have caught them unawares so easily.
The Captain was too trusting. Krystel smiled slightly. There was only one rule to studying the alien: be
prepared to shoot first.
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She had her orders. In the event of Hunter proving unsatisfactory as team leader, she was to replace him
with herself. By force, if necessary. It shouldn't be too difficult. The Doctor wouldn't oppose her - he was
weak, and easily swayed. The marines would follow orders, no matter who they came from, providing
they were given confidently enough. And the esper would do as she was told. Espers knew their place.
But when all was said and done, Krystel had no wish to be team leader. She didn't care for the work or
the responsibility of giving orders. She worked best when others set the goals and restrictions for her.
She knew where she was then. Her role as Investigator left her free to concentrate on the things that
really interested her. Like killing aliens. So she'd give Hunter all the rope he needed. And only hang him
with it if it proved necessary.
The alien city troubled her. Technically, she should have insisted on contacting the Empire the moment
they discovered the city's existence, but she didn't want to do that, just yet. Probably for the same reason
the Captain hadn't. Firstly, she'd look a fool if it turned out to be nothing more than a deserted ruin.
They'd accuse her of panicking. And secondly, if she
reported the city, the Empire would take it away from her. They wouldn't trust her to do the job
properly not after Grendel. The Fleet would send their own team in, and they'd get all the glory. Krystel
wanted this city for herself. She'd use it to prove to the Empire that they'd been wrong about her. She
was still an Investigator.
She tapped into the pinnace's computers, and ran the records on the city. The strange towers and
monoliths lay superimposed on the scene before her, like pale disturbing ghosts. The patterns and
buildings matched nothing she'd seen anywhere else, which was something of a relief. The Empire's main
fear had always been that someday it would run into an alien counterpart. So far, interstellar war was
nothing more than a computer fantasy, and everyone fervently hoped it would stay that way. After the
discoveries on Grendel, the computer predictions had become increasingly depressing. Whatever had
created the living killing machines on Grendel was quite possibly even more deadly and implacable than
the Empire itself.
Aliens. As yet there had been no sightings of whatever built the city, but still Krystel felt a familiar tingle
of excitement running through her at the thought of encountering a new alien species. There was
something about the use of sword and gun that brought her truly alive. All Investigators knew a single
truth, and based their lives around it. Mankind has always achieved his best in the pursuit of violence.
Investigators were the end result of society's search for the perfect killer the most deadly weapon
humanity could forge.
And like all weapons, they needed constant tempering in the heat of battle to maintain their strength and
cutting edge.
Williams tried to keep his eyes away from the melting forest, and concentrated on the alien city. There
was money to be made there, he could feel it. But the Captain was going to be a problem. Dictatorial,
overbearing, and too strait-laced for his own good. If there were any profits to be made from this world,
Williams had a strong feeling it would be in spite of, rather than because of Captain Hunter. Still . . .
Williams smiled slightly. It was a dangerous world. It was always possible the Captain would have an
accident. A very regrettable, but thoroughly fatal accident.
The forest moved slowly past them as they made their way round its perimeter. Hunter kept a careful
eye on the more solid boundary, but the forest made no threatening moves. Hunter began to breathe
more easily. Perhaps the forest was going back to sleep again.
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The bright sun was high in the morning sky when they came across the water hole. It was roughly
circular, some ten feet across, and maybe a dozen yards away from the forest boundary. Hunter brought
the group to a halt, and stood a cautious distance away from the hole while he studied it. The water lay
a foot or so beneath the level of the surrounding ground, which was dry and rock hard, just like
everywhere else. The water had a dark crimson colour, and when Hunter leaned forward he caught a
whiff of a faint, sharp smell he couldn't identify. The sides of the hole were scalloped in a series of regular
markings, and looked as though they'd be unpleasantly smooth to the touch.
'We'd better mark the hole's position,' said Hunter finally. 'We're going to need a supply of fresh water
soon.
'Assuming it's drinkable,' said Krystel. 'We only have a limited supply of purification tablets.'
'Yeah.' Hunter frowned. 'I should have brought some dowsing equipment, so I could run tests on freely
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