Farthest Space: The Wrath of Jan by Ellen Fisher Read Free Book Online

if they were out for a pleasant stroll in the country.   She thought longingly about clubbing him in the head with her pipe, but realized that might be a trifle difficult to explain if rescue ever came.
    What happened to Captain McNeill?   Oh… I’m sorry to say he fell and hit his head on a rock.   Very unfortunate.
    She didn’t feel in the least like humming, conscious as she was of her uniform sticking uncomfortably to her body as sweat oozed from her pores.   She knew she had looked and smelled better.
    Not that it mattered, she amended hastily.   After all, there was no one to see her but McNeill.   And she certainly didn’t care what he thought.
    She was annoyed to see that he looked revoltingly attractive despite the oppressive heat.   Perspiration had glued his uniform to his body, revealing the strong muscles that bunched and rolled beneath the ebony material.   He’d pulled his long blond hair back into a ponytail, and sweat glistened on the nape of his neck.   She had the ridiculous urge to lick it off.   He even smelled good in the heat, a musky masculine scent that made her knees weak.
    She tried to get her mind off McNeill’s inexplicably attractive perspiration.   After all, this was a dangerous planet, and she needed to be alert.   “Precisely how many caves did Fred say there were near here?”
    “Fifteen, ranging from one to five kilometers from camp.   All together, the interiors of the caves comprise over a square kilometer’s worth of ground to cover.”
    “It’s going to take a long time to explore them all thoroughly.”
    “I don’t have much else to do,” McNeill said with that irritating cheerfulness that made her long to swing her pipe.   “How about you?”
    Vaish strove for a professional tone.   “Since this planet has never been explored, cataloging the local flora and fauna would be the best use of my time.”
    “You’re kidding, right?   You think it matters to civilization whether or not you catalog dandelions?”
    Vaish felt her hackles rise, metaphorically speaking.   “That is my job , Captain.   I am an exobiologist.”
    “News flash, sweetheart.   Your job description just changed.   Right now you’re a hunter and gatherer.   The only cataloguing you can do that’s worth a damn is finding out which plants in the area are edible.   But before we start wasting our time looking for edible plants, let’s devote ourselves to hunting for an intelligent life form that can get us the hell off this planet.”
    Vaish sighed, mentally conceding the point.   Unless they got off the planet, exploring this planet’s biosphere was quite simply a waste of time.   And if they didn’t get off the planet… well, she’d have plenty of time to explore later and determine what plants could be used in stew.
    They had marched off across the vast meadow, according to Fred’s directions.   McNeill’s communicator beeped, and he pulled it out.   “Hi, Fred.   Are we still heading in the right direction?”
    “Pretty much,” Fred’s voice answered.   “But you might want to go in another direction.”
    McNeill frowned.   “What do you mean?”
    “There’s a cat headed your way… in a big hurry.”
    *****
    Hell .   They were sitting ducks out here, McNeill thought as he ran at top speed toward the lifepod, Vaish on his heels.   She had long legs and was a remarkably fast runner.   Of course, the threat of being eaten for breakfast was enough to put wings on anybody’s feet.
    Suddenly Vaish stumbled and fell, and he heard her give a muffled yelp of pain.   Swerving back, he bent, scooped her up, and kept running.   She struggled in his arms.
    “I’m fine, Captain!”
    He doubted it.   Nothing less than excruciating pain would have wrung a yelp from this stubborn, proud woman.   He barreled on, grateful that she was fairly light.   Not a featherweight by any means, but her lithe, graceful body had little extra fat.
    And then she lifted her