Warsong (Hunter-Killer #2)

Prologue - Monsters in the Deep

Year 204 P.L. Rychter Calendar
Coordinates: 51.3°S; 76.9°W
Site Designation: Scraegar Labyrinth

Craggy, steep-sided walls soared up on both sides of the column of vehicles that traversed the gully floor. Six bulky haulers with bulbous front wheels and fat, broad track sections at their rear trundled onward, carrying forty intrepid souls into the unknown. The further they plunged into the depths, the more distant the searing heat and brightness of Rychter's twin suns became. It was still hot down here though, the narrow trails compressing the heavy air into an oppressive cocktail that left the human explorers short of breath and constantly on the brink of dehydration.

But they pressed on nonetheless.

Bryas Karvonen's expedition team had encountered the twisting, towering maze of crags and canyons five days ago as they delved into the deepest reaches of Rychter's southern hemisphere, further than anyone before them. Two centuries had passed since the colony ships first landed on the desolate planetoid's surface, and now, in spite of their inhospitable new home, the humans were thriving.

From a half dozen settlements in the relatively temperate northern climes, Rychter's new residents had spread, further and further, gouging their presence into this world in spite of the dust storms, scorching heat and volcanic eruptions. The most recent jewel in their crown was the city of Brekka, a large settlement that now sprawled over a rugged plateau that formed the gateway to the north. It was from there that Karvonen and his companions had set out two weeks ago, officially hunting for fresh settlement sites; for mines, quarries and geothermal extraction sites.

Unofficially, Karvonen and his entourage planned to journey as far south as they could, outstripping any other expedition on Rychter. There were bragging rights to be had here, and the leaders of the prospecting convoys had long engaged in healthy competition, all desperate to find something that would cement them in the history books.

As he looked out of the crawler's narrow armoured window and gazed at the barren walls of rock, Karvonen decided if they didn't find something soon in this desolate region he would have to give the order to turn back. The original orbital scans from over two hundred years ago dubbed this place the Scraegar Labyrinth and he had to concede it had been aptly named. Thick with heavy metals the passages of the labyrinth interfered with the crawler guidance systems, and if they pressed on much further they might not be able to find their way back out.

"Road forks into three tracks ahead, Doc," Hesse warned from her seat in the crawler's cramped nose cone. She craned her neck to look back into the passenger compartment. "Come take a look."

Karvonen rose from his seat and shuffled his way along the compartment. He was a big man with a thicket of a beard and a shaven skull, and in his set of loose-fit beige overalls he looked more like a miner than an explorer. Stooping slightly to not bang his head on the crawler's low ceiling, he made his way to the driver's station, leaning in over Hesse's shoulder to scan the road head. Sure enough, he could see the branching paths a few hundred yards distant.

"Got a scientific method for this one?" Hesse joked. A practical, unflappable woman with a close crop of blond hair, she'd driven the crawler through far more treacherous terrain than this, but in the dark unknowns of the Scraegar Labyrinth he was glad to have her steady hand at the wheel. He cast his eyes over the displays for a moment, and then pointed.

"Scans show the right hand passage slopes deeper than the others," he told her.

She leaned her head to the left, taking a slurp from the drinking hose built into the headrest. "Into the belly of the beast, eh?"

"Nothing quite so dramatic." Karvonen smiled thinly. "But there's certainly a better chance of finding a mineral load deeper in."

Hesse glanced up at him with a smirk. "Save the hard sell, Doc." She took another drink, and then picked up the mouthpiece for the convoy's short range comms. "Roller One to all vehicles. Veer right on my lead."