Readyworld

fiction by michael werneburg

"Yes, I do. Very promising. Would Dr. Hu like to continue our partnership?"

He nodded at me. "During the chaos I picked up a complex object that Dr. Hu should, ah, examine." He patted a shape under his clothing. Complex object—A weapon?

I did a Japanese bow-nod to signal that I recognized the significance. "I have something that requires Dr. Hu's expertise."

He gaped at me. "Requires my expertise? As an exobiologist? During the battle!"

I nodded at him, dead serious.

He was clearly digesting that fact. "Then we must consider storage." He winced and waved his hand. "Preservation," Hu clarified.

My new partner caught on quick! Just then, the shuttle shifted, and we were all thrown back; we were heading for the Inas Dorge at full throttle.

"We're not out of the woods yet," remarked a soldier behind me.

Lena, still clutching Sonia to her, said, "Why did those aliens invade?"

The soldier struggled to take off his helmet in the cramped conditions. "That was no invasion." His face was a mess of genetic fixes, drug therapy, and implants. "If that had been an attack, you wouldn't of survived."

I winced at his grammatical error and wondered if this were one of the dolts that had been pestering me this morning.

"So, what was it?" Hu asked.

"Looked to me like they were hunting," said someone else, to my right. He was wearing the outfit of the facilities maintenance support staff. "Looked just like they were hunting; reminded me of one of the safari operations I worked at on Hertzworld. Bunch of muck-a-mucks with the cash to travel to a new world just to kill animals. Those types often hunted with knives and ancient projectile weapons, too. Even in space we can't escape big game hunters."

"By the Goddess," exclaimed Hu, sounding outraged. "I see what you mean. They built a world and populated it with creatures just hunt them down!"

"But who would do such a thing," Lena said, rocking Sonia to silence at last. "Tailor all that life? That's just monstrous!"