Shifter Planet: The Return Read online

  In the way? Fuck you very much. Ripper was gone before Rachel could voice her thoughts, for all the good it would have done. She probably wouldn’t have gone wandering the damn halls, anyway. This wasn’t exactly her first rodeo, and as a xenobiologist and civilian planetary specialist, her job wouldn’t actually begin until the ship was settled. But she was hardly a novice when it came to space travel. She was tempted to take a stroll, just to prove she could and maybe irritate Ripper in the process. But, instead, she stripped off her sweaty clothes and took a shower, using all the water she wanted. Now that they were on-planet, there was no reason to conserve their limited supply with thimble-size showers. Harp had plenty of water, fed by underground springs that, in turn, were fed by glacial run-off from a permanently frozen polar ice cap. No planet could produce a green belt like this one without a lot of water.

  She soaped up and washed away the sweat, eager now that the real mission was finally beginning. This was what scientific discovery was supposed to be, this excited anticipation of seeing and doing new things, of being on a planet where humans had been living undiscovered for half a millennium. Imagine the genetic possibilities. How big was the population, and how had they avoided destructive inbreeding? Interesting questions, but even more exciting, from her point of view, was the wildlife within the planet’s green belt. They were said to be exceptionally vicious and deadly, so much so that no one was allowed to venture in among the trees without a proper escort.

  That wouldn’t pose a problem for her. She had as much or more expeditionary time as any crewmember on this ship and would match her experience against theirs in a heartbeat. In fact, while most of the crew were friendly enough, none of them talked much about where they’d worked before joining this mission to study Harp’s animal life-forms. The only thing obvious to Rachel was that they were all former military.

  Rachel’s credentials, on the other hand, were an open book. She was one of the most sought-after planetary specialists in the private sector. An admitted overachiever from a family of distinguished academics going back generations, she had two PhDs—in xenobiology and chemistry—and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, with an emphasis on xenomorphology. On official records, it was her scientific accomplishments that counted. But in practical terms, it was her broader, experiential credentials that made her so attractive as an expeditionary leader. She was a two-fer—a proper academic, but with all the survival skills of a military-trained planetary specialist.

  She was qualified to deal with all kinds of hostile environments, had considerable experience in the same, and had assumed those two factors had influenced Guy Wolfrum’s decision to hire her. That’s right. Guy fucking Wolfrum was this mission’s leader, and he’d hired her to study Harp’s animal life, especially the huge, predatory cats who sat on top of the planet’s food chain. He was a giant in the field of xenobiology and had served as Chief Science Officer on United Earth’s biggest exploratory fleet, serving under Admiral Nakata. Nakata’s fleet was legendary, so it had surprised a lot of people when, just under two years ago, Wolfrum had resigned his commission to live on Harp. Rumor was that he’d done it for love, and he had married a Harp woman. But Rachel couldn’t imagine a man of his accomplishments walking away from his career if the planet hadn’t also represented a truly untouched treasure trove of potential scientific discovery.

  Of course, Harp was a tightly closed planet, which meant virtually no scientific data had been gathered since its rediscovery. At least, none that had been published off-planet. But she didn’t believe for a minute that Guy Wolfrum had been sitting on his hands for nearly two years doing nothing other than enjoying the Harp version of marital bliss. Even if she couldn’t share whatever she learned from this trip, or from Wolfrum himself, it represented an unequaled opportunity. A pristine planet which had somehow made life possible for humans. She was eager to finally meet the legendary scientist in person and exchange notes. All their communications thus far had, of necessity, been written, since he lived on-planet and Harp had such restrictive policies.

  But while, for Rachel, it was a scientist’s dream, she seemed to be the only crew member excited about it. In fact, despite their vessel’s scientific designator, none of her fellow crewmen seemed to have any scientific specialties at all. There were no lab facilities on board, and her gentle prodding had produced no evidence of scientific backgrounds. In fact, if it hadn’t been Guy Wolfrum himself who’d recruited her, she’d have been suspicious about their mission. As it was, she had a million questions once he finally joined them.

  Assuming Ripper ever let anyone leave the damn ship.

  …

  The Planet Harp

  Aidan lay motionless, his golden coat concealed by the dappled pattern of sunlight and cloud through the trees. Those trees were now whispering restlessly, unhappy with this metal invader in their midst. The ship hadn’t done anything overtly threatening yet, and so, just as the forest didn’t ring planetwide alerts about every local storm or out of control predator, the warning remained targeted at the one who could do something about it. Which was Aidan. Had he not been already on scene, the warning would have traveled farther, most likely to Clanhome.

  The Green had a very symbiotic relationship with its shifters. Unlike anyone else on Harp, they weren’t visitors to the planet; they were part of its ecosystem. It didn’t matter that, minus a very few exceptions, every human living on Harp had been born here. Only shifters were of Harp, right down to their DNA. And because they were part of the planet, the Green protected them, just as it did itself. Which was why the warning would have traveled to Clanhome with its large population of shifters—both as a warning and a plea for help.

  Aidan had been sitting on the same branch for hours, through a morning rainstorm and the midday clearing. But he was a born predator. He could remain still for hours more if that’s what it took. He stared hard at the invading ship, taking in the smallest detail.

  He’d never been on a ship in space, had never been off planet, and had no desire to do so, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant. Every member of the Guild—which represented the best hunters and the sharpest minds among Harp’s shifters—was well versed in the scientific facts of space travel. And their new fleet-built computing and science facility included a thoroughly updated database on the weapons and modes of transportation available to potential invaders. Shifters had a duty to protect the planet from all threats, and they took that duty seriously.

  This ship, which had somehow snuck onto Harp and landed far away from the city, was no shuttle. Its pocked and pitted surface spoke of a hard passage through the atmosphere, just like the shuttles which visited regularly, but the engines which had finally shut down were much larger and more efficient, and, as he’d suspected, definitely faster-than-light or FTL capable. He’d been right about the weapons, too. The ship was bristling with them.

  That, coupled with a landing far away from the city, added up to secrecy and collusion with someone in the science center. The question was why? Harp didn’t possess any rare or valuable resources for invaders to steal. It was the reason the fleet had been so accommodating in granting them the closed planet designation. Why, then, would a bunch of Earthers—and he was assuming that’s what they were, based on the ship’s overall design—want to make a secret trip to Harp? There had to be something they wanted here. Something they knew Harpers wouldn’t want to give up.

  The answer, or at least the beginnings of an answer, lay with the people on that ship. But although he’d been watching the damn thing for hours, no one had so much as poked a nose outside. It simply sat there, under power, wasting energy it apparently had plenty of, while the sun slid down the horizon and the shade deepened among the trees. Aidan wondered if they were planning a nighttime mission, hoping to use the cover of darkness to conceal their activities. And then he wondered if they understood just how dangerous Harp was at night. Or maybe they were aware and were waiting for an early morning start tomorrow to pursue wha
tever nefarious plot had brought them here.

  Or maybe not.

  The forest around him grew abruptly silent a mere instant before the hiss of vacuum seals brought Aidan’s big head off his paws. His eyes sharpened, his gaze on the shaded belly of the ship, where a rim of white light now outlined a slowly opening door. A ramp deployed as the hatch dropped open, and he caught a glimpse of a brightly lit interior before someone started to walk down.

  His cat eyes didn’t have the ability to widen in surprise, but if they did, they’d have popped out of his head. Only one person was descending to the forest floor—a lovely woman with a cap of curly, dark hair and a long, slim body. Slim, but strong, as attested by the way her formfitting pants hugged firm thighs and a flat belly, not to mention the delectable swell of her breasts beneath a snug, long-sleeved top.

  “Focus, you idiot!” his own voice chided him mentally, reminding him why he was here. Not that he’d forgotten for even a minute. There was nothing wrong with admiring a fine, female form. In fact, he was something of a connoisseur of female forms, having enjoyed close, personal contact with a wide variety and on many occasions.

  But not this one.

  This one came from an unknown ship that had chosen to land secretly and might very well be a harbinger of more danger to come.

  The woman reached the bottom of the ramp and paused, her head doing a slow turn as she scanned the trees circling the meadow, her eyes searching…for what? It was the smart thing to do in any new environment, but especially in the Green, where danger could lurk in a hundred different places. But what did this uninvited guest know about the Green? More than she should have, since she and her shipmates had known how to land without causing a crisis. But not nearly enough, he would wager, because this was the fucking Green. Norms who’d lived on Harp their entire lives couldn’t survive out here without shifter assistance.

  The woman raised a hand to one of the ramp supports and smiled as she gazed out onto the surrounding forest, her head tilted slightly. That smile did something to Aidan’s gut. It wasn’t the smile of an invader, of someone come to do harm, but one of delight and anticipation. As if she liked everything she was seeing and could hardly wait to explore.

  He narrowed his eyes, hardening his resolve against being overly influenced by her appearance. If she’d been a man, would he still be seeing the same innocence in her expression? Lids came down over his eyes in a long, slow blink. Yes, he thought he probably would. And that realization confused him because there was no doubt that she didn’t belong here.

  Heavy footsteps sounded a moment before she twisted sharply to look over her shoulder, her expression shifting to one of greater caution. More people appeared, but unlike the woman’s easy stroll down the ramp, these new invaders strode toward the forest floor in a disciplined group. The woman took a sideways jump off the end of the ramp to avoid being run over, her face lightening briefly in a combination of surprise and amusement. Amusement quickly fled, replaced by bland courtesy when the leader of the new group stopped to snap out what sounded like a command. The woman nodded in agreement, but as the invaders started across the meadow, her expression was filled with rebellion.

  Aidan’s attention followed hers, shifting to watch the larger group. They all wore the same uniform-like grey pants and shirts with heavy boots. Their shirts bore no insignia or rank patches, but there was no doubt in his mind that these were soldiers. They moved as one, with precision and discipline, responding to the barked commands of the leader—a woman of average height, who was blocky with muscle and had her hair cut so close to her scalp that he couldn’t tell what color it would be.

  These soldiers were the true danger delivered by that fucking ship. Aidan didn’t know how the other woman fit in, but she had to be a part of it somehow. She was on their damn crew, wasn’t she?

  He was torn. He desperately wanted to know more about the ship, and the woman, too. But he couldn’t afford to let a pack of invading soldiers roam his planet at will. Around him, the Green had taken note of these new invaders. Where the trees initially had been cautiously watchful, there was now a shiver of foreboding and growing alarm. They remembered previous human visitors, remembered the tremendous damage a few Earthers had inflicted with a single careless act.

  It was the woman who made Aidan’s decision for him. With a middle-fingered salute at the departing troop, she gave a last lingering look at the forest, and then thumped back up into the ship, slapping the hatch control as soon as she’d cleared the opening.

  And there went his chances of slipping onboard for a quick look around.

  His head turned, his gaze easily picking out the invaders moving across the clearing with what they probably considered to be stealth. They’d reach the trees soon. There were no clear paths in that part of the forest, and the shadows beneath the trees would grow darker with every step they took, making their headlong march far more difficult. Aidan could track them easily enough, though it would be more difficult if they decided to split up. He could still do it, but it would have been easier if he’d had at least one of his cousins along.

  He frowned, tempted to add his own warning to the one already humming through the trees, one which would alert his cousins to the possible danger. But he decided against it for now. Thus far, the Earthers hadn’t done anything particularly threatening. He rose to his feet and made an effortless leap upward, circling around the tree until he reached the far heights of the forest, where branches were so thickly intertwined that they formed a solid road through the treetops.

  With a final glance at the closed hatch of the ship, he took off after his prey.

  …

  Rachel left her cabin door a little bit open the next day as she gathered her gear, listening to her shipmates as they traveled up and down the passageway. She made no apologies for eavesdropping. It was the only way she could learn anything about their march into the forest yesterday. They may have thought they were being stealthy, but it was obvious to her that none of them were trained in wildlife observation. They’d marched away like a conquering army, probably frightening away whatever animals they’d hope to observe. And they’d left her behind, which made no sense at all. She was the xenobiologist, the only one of them, as far as she could tell, who knew anything about studying non-Earth life-forms, or any life-forms, for that matter. But now that they’d made planetfall, the same crew who’d been so friendly during the journey here, the ones who’d laughed over meals and sweated with her in the gym, had become studiously uncommunicative. It was as if they’d suddenly lost the ability to speak. At least to her. It was the opposite of what she usually experienced. A lot of the scientists she’d escorted in the past had been tense and even frightened during the dangerous transit to a new location, but once they landed safely, they always fell back on their scientific training and shared her enthusiasm for a new world to explore.

  But not this time. With every averted glance, every unanswered question, she was more convinced that this mission was not what she’d been led to believe. Commander Ripper and her people weren’t scientists of any stripe, and they weren’t here for the joy of discovery. She didn’t know why exactly they were here yet, but she was certain that it wasn’t something she would have agreed to be involved in. Which made her wonder why Wolfrum had enlisted her in the first place. Had he simply needed her academic credentials to bolster his grant application? It wouldn’t be the first time that someone had included names on a proposal just for the sake of appearances. But if that was case, why her? He was Guy fucking Wolfrum—he could have gotten anyone he wanted to stick their name on a proposal without the expense of flying them all the way to Harp.

  She’d tried to reach Wolfrum directly. Now that they were on the same planet, with him only a few miles away, communication should have been easy. Unfortunately, there was very little that was easy about Harp. The same electromagnetic anomaly that had made their planetary descent so perilous also wreaked havoc with any kind of electronic gear, incl
uding communication devices. Nothing would work, not even a simple two-way radio.

  As for anything more complex, Wolfrum’s limits on what equipment she could bring along, some of which had excluded gear that she’d previously considered irreplaceable, now made sense. She’d brought her personal computer, of course. But on Wolfrum’s advice, she hadn’t attempted to turn it on since they’d landed. One of her fellow crewmen had ignored the warning, and his computer was now fried. Ripper had, er, ripped the guy a new asshole over it. Apparently, the planet’s reaction would have been far more catastrophic if they hadn’t been within the ship’s shielding. If, for example, the errant crew member had decided to sit outside in the sunshine and type up some notes, it could have been bad. Really bad. Rachel had been tempted to do exactly that yesterday afternoon, when Ripper and the rest of the crew had left her alone to mind the ship. She thought it would be okay if she disabled the comm functions and only used her computer as a glorified typewriter.

  Thankfully, she’d erred on the side of caution and written her notes by hand instead, saving not only her computer, but all of the research it contained. She was more than a little pissed, actually, that Wolfrum hadn’t been more categorical in his warnings. Why hadn’t he bothered to share his two years-worth of experience living here? Harpers would have grown up with the restrictions, but Wolfrum would have known from experience the pitfalls awaiting someone who’d grown up with Earth technology, especially when it came to scientific research.

  So this morning, armed with a pad of ordinary paper and some pencils, she was heading out to take notes the old-fashioned way when the thump of boots on the metal floor of the passageway drew her attention. She paused just inside her cabin and listened. It sounded as if they were all heading out again to do whatever the hell they’d done yesterday. One thing she knew for damn sure—she was not going to be stuck babysitting the ship again. She didn’t give a damn what fucking Ripper said. Now that they were on the ground, the commander had no authority over Rachel or her tasks. She’d been hired by Wolfrum to explore the planet and study its apex predators, and that’s what she intended to do.