restraints until she found the release button. “First of all, I’m not a doctor. I’m just a researcher. But I guess that’s beside the point. We’re looking for a species of protozoa native to this area. It secretes an enzyme vital to my research, so we need to find a lot of them—just in case a few don’t make it back to the lab.”
“Okay, do we have any idea how to locate one species of microorganism among billions? This is a swamp we’re talking about,” Agent Perkins chimed in.
“Alex has provided me with a map to the location where the first sample was taken along with a genetic analysis of the microbe we’re looking for.” Luna walked to one of the crates containing her equipment. She popped the lid open and removed several sample cases, which she handed to the agents along with a small holo-pad containing Alex’s data.
“Here,” she said, punching in a few commands on the small handheld device, “I’m uploading the details of my research to your heads-up displays. If you see anything that looks like a glowing yellow cloud in the water, mud, or foliage, it’s most likely the microbes. Scoop up a sample with the kit I just gave you, and put them in their corresponding containers,” she said, demonstrating each step.
“Is that all there is to it?” Agent Rush asked.
Luna nodded and strapped her own kit to a magnetic utility clasp on her armor.
“All right then. Let’s get to it, men,” Keith said, walking to one of the Stratocruiser’s storage compartments. Luna watched him type in a quick series of numbers, and the door opened, revealing a rack filled with 9mm submachine guns.
She took a step toward the chopper’s loading ramp, doing her best to ignore the weapons. She had never liked guns, and she was finding it hard to keep her unease in check.
Easy. Calm down. The swamp is dangerous — you know that, Luna told herself, watching the ramp slowly lower into the boggy ground outside. Those guns are for your protection. You wouldn’t want to get eaten by something out here, would you? No, I didn’t think so.
She forced herself to forget about the arsenal behind her and began to concentrate on completing her task.
“There was a Swamper attack here not that long ago,” Agent Fox said over the comm.. “The area may still be hot, so watch your step out there.”
“Understood, Terence,” Keith said, shouldering his weapon. “Just man the scanners and keep me informed. If anything so much as blinks the wrong way, I want to know about it.”
“Will do, Keith. I’ll keep the engines warm.”
Luna stepped off the ramp and immediately felt her feet sink into the bog. She grimaced and pulled her boots out of the thick muck with a loud sucking sound.
It’s like it doesn’t want to let me go! she thought, fighting to take another step. She struggled out from under the Stratocruiser’s tail section and took in the bleak scene spreading out around her.
They had landed on the fringe of a long since drowned forest; its massive moss-covered trees reached into the sky like gnarled hands begging the rain for mercy. She shuddered and looked away from the haunting sight, but everywhere she looked she saw more of the same: fog and rain obscuring the muddy browns and greens of tangled swamp plants and rotting trees. As she walked into the swamp, tiny droplets of rain and mist accumulated on her faceplate, rolling down its slick surface into the dank water sloshing around her feet.
She ran a gloved hand over her visor to clear her vision and stared off into the swirling fog. There were other objects, too, not just trees. Luna strained to see through the gloom, activating her HUD’s built-in magnification screen to get a better look. She sucked in a startled breath as the blurry objects snapped into focus. They were buildings. Ruined skyscrapers of a long-abandoned city that had been claimed by the swamp.
“Hey, there’s a city over there!” Luna
“Okay, do we have any idea how to locate one species of microorganism among billions? This is a swamp we’re talking about,” Agent Perkins chimed in.
“Alex has provided me with a map to the location where the first sample was taken along with a genetic analysis of the microbe we’re looking for.” Luna walked to one of the crates containing her equipment. She popped the lid open and removed several sample cases, which she handed to the agents along with a small holo-pad containing Alex’s data.
“Here,” she said, punching in a few commands on the small handheld device, “I’m uploading the details of my research to your heads-up displays. If you see anything that looks like a glowing yellow cloud in the water, mud, or foliage, it’s most likely the microbes. Scoop up a sample with the kit I just gave you, and put them in their corresponding containers,” she said, demonstrating each step.
“Is that all there is to it?” Agent Rush asked.
Luna nodded and strapped her own kit to a magnetic utility clasp on her armor.
“All right then. Let’s get to it, men,” Keith said, walking to one of the Stratocruiser’s storage compartments. Luna watched him type in a quick series of numbers, and the door opened, revealing a rack filled with 9mm submachine guns.
She took a step toward the chopper’s loading ramp, doing her best to ignore the weapons. She had never liked guns, and she was finding it hard to keep her unease in check.
Easy. Calm down. The swamp is dangerous — you know that, Luna told herself, watching the ramp slowly lower into the boggy ground outside. Those guns are for your protection. You wouldn’t want to get eaten by something out here, would you? No, I didn’t think so.
She forced herself to forget about the arsenal behind her and began to concentrate on completing her task.
“There was a Swamper attack here not that long ago,” Agent Fox said over the comm.. “The area may still be hot, so watch your step out there.”
“Understood, Terence,” Keith said, shouldering his weapon. “Just man the scanners and keep me informed. If anything so much as blinks the wrong way, I want to know about it.”
“Will do, Keith. I’ll keep the engines warm.”
Luna stepped off the ramp and immediately felt her feet sink into the bog. She grimaced and pulled her boots out of the thick muck with a loud sucking sound.
It’s like it doesn’t want to let me go! she thought, fighting to take another step. She struggled out from under the Stratocruiser’s tail section and took in the bleak scene spreading out around her.
They had landed on the fringe of a long since drowned forest; its massive moss-covered trees reached into the sky like gnarled hands begging the rain for mercy. She shuddered and looked away from the haunting sight, but everywhere she looked she saw more of the same: fog and rain obscuring the muddy browns and greens of tangled swamp plants and rotting trees. As she walked into the swamp, tiny droplets of rain and mist accumulated on her faceplate, rolling down its slick surface into the dank water sloshing around her feet.
She ran a gloved hand over her visor to clear her vision and stared off into the swirling fog. There were other objects, too, not just trees. Luna strained to see through the gloom, activating her HUD’s built-in magnification screen to get a better look. She sucked in a startled breath as the blurry objects snapped into focus. They were buildings. Ruined skyscrapers of a long-abandoned city that had been claimed by the swamp.
“Hey, there’s a city over there!” Luna
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