Ghostworld (Deathstalker Prelude) by Simon R. Green Read Free Book Online Page B

analysis on this. Odin,” she said finally. “Look for repetition of words and phrases, subjects emphasized or avoided, all the usual things. If it isn’t the AI, could it be someone alive, inside the Base?”
    “If it is,” said Odin, “I would have to say that they were quite insane.”
    Outside the pinnace, it was even colder than Stasiak remembered, and he hugged himself tightly and stamped his feet hard on the landing pad while he waited for the heating elements in his uniform to kick in. He was beginning to think he should have found the time to give his uniform a thorough overhaul before he came down here. It was long overdue, and Stasiak was coming to the conclusion he might have left it a little too long. He shrugged, and rubbed his hands together briskly. He’d survive. Ripper, of course, was taking no notice of the cold, and was staring out at the forest boundary with calm, thoughtful eyes. Stasiak followed his gaze, but was damned if he could make out anything significant, or even interesting. He sniffed loudly, and looked longingly back at the pinnace.
    “Ripper, tell me you didn’t just drag me out here for the exercise. Tell me there’s a good reason why I’m standing here in the cold, before I decide to batter you to death with a blunt instrument and dance a jig on your remains.”
    “You don’t have a blunt instrument,” said Ripper, without looking round.
    “I’ll improvise!”
    Ripper smiled, but still didn’t look away from the forest. “You weren’t looking at the sensor panels, were you? According to the sensors built into our proximity mines, something or someone has approached or crossed our perimeter in several places before falling back to the forest again.”
    “You’re kidding,” said Stasiak. “You’ve got to be kidding. If something’s crossed our perimeter, why haven’t the mines gone off?”
    “Good question,” said Ripper. “Another good question might be why the mines’ sensors detected a presence, when the pinnace’s instruments continue to insist there are no living things on this planet apart from us. You’ve got to admit, Lew, it’s an interesting place our Captain has brought us to.”
    “I’ll give him interesting,” said Stasiak darkly. He moved over to stand beside Ripper, and glared out at the mists and the trees. “You know why he brought us here, Rip? Because we’re expendable. We’re just here to test the water for him. And if anything were to happen to us, he’d just shrug and say what a pity, and then contact the Darkwind and have them ship down two more warm bodies.”
    “That goes with the job,” said Ripper. “With being a marine. If you can’t take a joke, you shouldn’t have joined.”
    “Just let me survive the next five months, and my contract will be up,” said Stasiak. “And then I’ll be out of the marines so fast it’ll make your head spin. I can’t believe I landed an assignment like this so close to getting free of it all. I’ll tell you this for nothing, Rip: I’m not taking a single risk down here that I don’t absolutely have to, I’m taking this one by thebook and by the numbers, with no volunteering for anything. Whatever else happens on this mission, I’m coming back alive and intact, and you can put money on that.”
    Ripper finally turned to look at him. “And what will you do then, Lew? Where will you go, once you’ve left the Service? All you know, all your training and experience, comes from being a marine. There aren’t that many openings for a professional killer, outside the Service. Shall I tell you what’s going to happen to you? You’ll go from one dead-end job to another, each more frustrating than the one before, breaking your back every day for half the money you used to make as a marine. And finally, when your money’s run out and you’re out of your mind with boredom, some shark with a big smile and a suit that cost a year of your wages will sign you up as a mercenary for which he