The Seeds of Time (15 page)

Clio peered into Liu’s mouth, as he opened for her to look. “Yeah, there’s a jagged wire back there. Where’s a pair of pliers when you need them?” She smiled at him, and he grimaced. Not funny. Liu didn’t like her. He was a foot shorter than she was. Could account for it: men were funny about things like that, Clio thought.

Posie took his headphones off. Looked over at Clio with a frown.

“How’s Shaw doing?” Clio asked.

“As well as can be expected.” Posie acted busy over the comm unit.

“Poor Shaw. You think he’ll be OK?”

“Depends on the kind of care Russo gives him. She’s not very handy about these things.”

“Well, it’s out of her element, that’s for sure.” Clio treaded carefully, trying to defer to Posie, warm him up a little.

Posie looked at her pointedly. “You in here for medical attention?”

“No. Feel fine. Just wondering about Shaw.” Posie continued to stare. “Guess I’ll leave. Glad you’re keeping a watch on Shaw.”

Posie sniffed.

A garbled noise came from the cot, and Posie pushed himself out of his chair, crossed over to Liu. Clio left the tent, thinking about the comm unit, thinking about a chat with Russo. But Posie was usually in med tent. No chance at the unit. Besides, what could she say to Russo? These guys are getting on my nerves?

A clanging sound from the door of the mess tent. Estevan was banging on a pot, announcing breakfast. He had wrapped his feet in canvas secured with twine, making his feet appear enormous.

Meng emerged out of the botany tent. “Well, well,” she called back to the recesses of the tent, “it’s Daisy Duck. Better come on, Daisy gets peeved if we’re late for meals.”

Clio was on first watch that night, along with Teeg. They patrolled in opposite directions along the perimeter wire at first. Toward the end of their watch, Teeg fell in step beside her. She wondered if she would be paired with Zee or Estevan anymore. Somehow, she knew her watch partners would be Teeg or Posie from now on. Paranoid, she thought.
It’s starting to get to me, too
.

The warm night air was saturated with the songs of the forest. From its turquoise depths, the Niang birds were cranking up the volume, joined by insects and creatures yet unseen. If the tarantulas could sing, they might lead the
chorus, or they might be minor players among the Niang cast, the pets of giants who roamed the braided canopy.

Teeg was chatting amiably, in a good mood. She wondered how long it’d take him to bring up sex.

“I still think about that night on station, Clio.”

As if on cue.

They walked in silence for a few moments. “We waited so long to be together. Seemed like it was forever. You know, waiting for you.”

“Teeg,” she began, ready to put a stop to this line of thought.

“No, I mean it,” he said, cutting her off. “It seemed like forever. We’d been keeping our distance, sparring like we always do, wanting to be together … and then you came to me, like you needed me, really needed me. Man, I never saw anybody so needy. And it was magic, like I knew it would be.”

Clio drew away as he put his arm around her. “Look, Teeg. I don’t know why I looked you up that night. But it was a mistake for me. You were good to me, but I can’t feel anything for you. I’m sorry. It was my fault for starting something, and I’m really sorry for that. But it’s over now.”

Teeg’s face slumped into a frown. “You don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I mean it. Believe it.”

“What about the love letters?”

Clio’s stomach tightened. “What love letters?”

“That you write me.”

“You think I write you
love letters!”
Her annoyance was rapidly trickling away, to be replaced by a shallow, acid sea. Jesus God.

“The things that you’ve said to me, Clio. That I’ll never forget.”

This was crazy; he was delusional. Love letters, for chrissakes? He was fixated on her, and getting worse by the minute. “You need help, Teeg. I’ve never written you a love letter and I never will. You’re sick, you know that?”

He grabbed her swiftly, yanked her close to him. “I know how you feel, Clio. I’ve always known.” He cupped
the back of her head and brought her mouth to his, holding her in a grip of iron muscle, parting her clenched teeth with his tongue, covering her face with saliva, moving his other hand down to her buttocks, pressing her into him. He was ox-strong. Clio was a strong woman, but, held as she was, her fighting had as much an effect as a bird fluttering in his hand. It excited him. She forced her knee up to his groin, but he deflected it with his thigh. Grabbing the hair on the back of her head, he pulled her back far enough to slap her face harshly.

Trying a different tactic, Clio fell limp. A mistake. He released his grip only slightly as he prepared to lower himself on top of her, still holding the back of her waist, easing her down to the ground. “I want you, baby,” he said. “Tell me you love me.”

Clio hung limp, timing her next move. As he released his grip on her hair, she jerked her hip to the side, rolling over and into a crouch, her hand flipping the holster cuff, digging for the Harmin. He swung out his fist, sending her into the dirt as she avoided the punch. He came lunging to his feet, and closed the gap between them. She pointed the gun at his forehead, inches away.

Cocked the hammer.

“I’m going to splatter your brains all over your shirt, Teeg.”

She was just informing him, not threatening him. She wanted to kill him.

Teeg recoiled. “Jesus, Clio. Jesus Godalmighty. Don’t freep out, point that thing away from me. We’re just having a tussle, maybe I got a little excited. Take it easy, OK?” He was still backing up, in a crouch, hand up in front of his face, fending her off.

Clio kept aiming the Harmin. Panting hard. Watching for him to rush her. “Keep your hands over your head. Get on your knees.”

Teeg obeyed, but slower now. “Jesus, Clio. You’re overheated, lady. Take it easy.”

She stood up. Starting to shake. She had a tiger at bay. What would happen when she let him go? Teeg was sick.
Dangerously sick. But she had to play a game with him, or he would have his revenge.

“You’re trying to take advantage of me,” she whined. “You’re commanding the mission, so you think you can have sex on call. Just when I’ve fought with Hillis, and feel lousy. I trusted you, and you tried to force yourself on me.”

Teeg was standing up now. “No, it’s not like that Clio. Maybe I was a little rough. I thought you liked that, liked me to be strong with you.” Then, in a different tone of voice, “Put the gun away, Clio.”

She lowered it a little.

“Put the gun away, and I’ll forget it happened. Forget that you drew down on your commanding officer. You were pushed. I admit that. But do it now, before I get mad.”

Clio heard the crunch of boots on ground. She holstered the gun.

“Change of the guard,” Zee announced cheerfully, from a distance.

Zee walked closer, stopped, eyeing them.

Teeg was gazing intently at Clio, and she, back.

“Carry on,” Teeg said to Zee. Then he broke the gaze, and walked off into the shadows toward camp.

Zee hurried over to Clio, pushed the hair away from her face, looking at the bruise. “He hit you, the bastard hit you, didn’t he?”

“Where’s Posie?”

“Haven’t seen him yet. You OK? If he hit you, we’re going to report him, aren’t we? Because he can’t hit you.”

“We could report him if we could get to the comm unit in the med tent. If we could get Russo to believe us. Those are pretty big ifs.”

Zee nodded. “She might not believe us.”

“Right. She might not.”

“We can’t just let this go by. Teeg hit you.”

“Zee. It doesn’t matter. We’re not in New Jersey now. All the rules have changed, there really aren’t any rules anymore. So don’t be outraged, just be careful.”

He grinned at her. “Me, be careful? Go get some ice on that bruise.”

As Clio left the perimeter she met Posie coming on watch.

“Doc,” she said, nodding to him as she passed.

He was already past her when he said, “Next time stay on watch until you’re relieved.”

Clio bit her tongue, headed for the med tent. Found the chemical ice packets, plastered one on the side of her face, which now felt like an overheated tomato. Eyed the comm unit, thinking of Russo. Let it go. She made it to her cot and took off her boots. Slipping her gun under her pillow, she turned on her side, resting against the ice pack, her brain swimming in choppy seas, fending off visions of Teeg, Teeg saying,
What about the love letters?

After a long while, still wide awake, she got up and laced on her boots. Hillis, Estevan, Meng, and Shannon were asleep. She crept out of crew tent and waited in the heavy night air, listening. Nothing but the jungle. She made her way to the med tent, slipped in, and sat at the comm unit, hands resting on the earphones. Picked them up, reached for the toggle to send. A scape of gravel outside. Clio flew out of the chair and turned to the supply cabinet.

Teeg walked in. She rummaged for a cold pack, hands shaking hard. Found one. He was still watching her.

“What’re you doing here?” he asked, his mood dark and blustery.

“Looking for drugs,” she said, snapping open the pack.

“Not funny, Clio.”

“Sure it is.” She pressed the ice against her face.

“That kind of talk can get you in trouble.”

“Get me a beating?”

“I didn’t hit you that hard.”

She sat down on the cot to keep her legs from trembling. Teeg was acting harsh and distant. She had to admit it was better than Teeg the lovesick suitor.

“Look. I’m sorry,” he said.

“Sorry’s not good enough, Teeg.”

He stood silent for a moment. “Maybe it’ll have to be.”

Her eyes snapped up to look at him, standing in the tent door, the perimeter lights glaring behind him.

“Maybe we’re gonna make our own rules from now on,” he said.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, just like I said. Our own rules. We’re a long way from Vanda, Clio. Maybe I like it here. I was hoping you liked it too.”

“What are you talking about, Teeg?”

“You ever think about staying?”

“On Niang?” Clio’s heart was sinking like an elevator with the cables cut. “No, I never did.”

“Maybe you should start.”

“Jesus, Teeg. You gotta be kidding. Get a grip. Nobody wants to give up Earth, give up home.”

“Maybe you haven’t been paying attention, Miss Red. Posie does. Liu and Meng too. We’ve talked.”

Clio looked at him, scared for the first time. “You’re crazy. Think they wouldn’t come after us?”

“Think they’d find us?”

Then, from a distance, shouts and then gunfire. Teeg bolted through the tent flap, Clio behind him. She ran for her gun in the crew tent.

Hillis was just emerging from the crew tent, zipping up his pants. More gunfire from the perimeter.

Liu came by on a dead run, shouting, “Rally at the lander! They’ll go for the lander!” He spied Clio. “Something’s on the perimeter, come on!” And he was gone.

Automatic weapons fire stuttered as Clio raced toward the sound, nearly colliding with Shannon, who was headed in the opposite direction toward
Babyhawk
. “We’re supposed to guard the lander,” she shouted, waving Clio to join her. Clio ignored her, noting that the gunfire had stopped for the moment. The perimeter lights were still functioning.

Up ahead she saw Teeg and Posie huddled together and Meng close by, saying, “Holy shit, you got one. Holy shit.”

Meng grabbed Clio by the arm as she went by. “Don’t look. It’s an ugly son of a bitch.”

Clio shook loose, peered over Posie’s shoulder, saw a
mass of furry legs and a round body the size of a volley ball. Whatever it was, it was dead.

Teeg nudged the creature with his boot, flipping it over. A set of capable teeth ringed a mouth in the center of the body. Its six legs were jointed once, ending in round pads like feet. Its black hair was close and shiny, like a jaguar’s.

“At least eight of them,” Posie was saying. “They came from all sides, at once. I lay down a curtain of fire, atomized three, at least, maybe four. Then this one leaped the wire and was coming for me, and Zee was right behind it, so I had to use my pistol, or I would have blown Zee away. One round put the spider down. Must have been a lucky shot.”

Estevan was crouching by the remains, probing it with a stick. “Doesn’t look like an insect to me,” he said.

Teeg noticed Clio. “You and Zee keep a look out. This could be a diversion. Estevan, you and Meng take the Dharhai and post yourselves at the lander. Where the hell is Hillis?”

As Clio and Zee moved off from the group she asked, “What happened, what did you see?”

Zee’s voice was high-pitched, spring-loaded. “I didn’t really see anything. I heard the Dharhai erupt, and came running in time to see Posie screaming at this huge bug that was bounding over the perimeter wire. Posie shouted at me to duck, and I heard a pistol shot so loud I thought I’d been hit. Then Posie swings back to the perimeter and starts blasting away. To tell you the truth, I was most afraid of a stray round from Posie, he was swinging that gun from side to side like a crazy man, laying down fire at the thin air.”

They stared across the clearing toward the brush, watching for movement. The chittering of the forest continued unabated. At a sound behind them, Zee swung around with a short gasp.

Meng stood there, looking at Clio. In her soft, lilting voice she said, “I told you there were spiders.”

She turned and walked back toward the center of camp.

Zee stared after her. “She gives me the spooks.”

They walked in silence for a time. Then Clio took a detour off her perimeter walk to check on Hillis.

He was standing in the door of the botany tent, holding the tent flap open, staring out toward the jungle edge. He was just a black silhouette against the light from the tent, but his lean form was unmistakable. “All clear?” he asked.

“Yeah. Posie mowed down a visit from the spiders. They were unarmed, but he figured it was an invasion.”

Hillis had already turned into the tent, busy with some boxes.