The Way It Is

finding - part 1

I wipe sweat running down the side of my face. I need a better hat. Or a towel because my current hat is already sweat-soaked.

I take a drink of my "infused" water. Due to the extreme temperature during the day on this part of the planet, Syndicate had insisted we bring this special infused water to keep us hydrated.

No idea exactly what she had put in it, but I instantly feel a cooling sensation spread through my body, stopping when the top of my head tingles ever so slightly. I let myself enjoy another small drink. Definitely not wasting this stuff.

I glance over at Britt as I put the cap back on and almost spit my water out my nose. Mother of stars males can be so damn obvious.

The way he is staring at me says he just watched me take a drink and is having a hard time not being jealous of my water bottle.

Personally, it's too hot for my brain to travel in that direction. Maybe if he was an ice cube, I could be enticed but not right now as this solar system's sun tries to turn my skin into jerky.

Choking back my water and wiping a small drip that dribbled onto my chin, I finally swallow it. I start to laugh even louder when the realization that I know what he is thinking crosses his face.

"Well, that just ruined a good fantasy," Britt grunts his displeasure, not even a little embarrassed.

I laugh so hard I snort. Holding my sides, I finally look up at Britt, ready to give him a friendly ribbing. Seriously how can he be thinking about doing anything that would make us even hotter?

Yet when I see his face, I stop laughing instantly. Britt is staring at his microband as it lights up his wrist with a silent warning. His neck muscles flex, and his nostrils flare. Checking my own micro, and I see it too. Someone or something is coming.

Cursing in my head, I snap my goggles back on and bring my gun to the ready. We have already sent instructions to the drone to map the building. It's almost done, but Syndicate hasn't gotten back to us about the building's security yet.

We are stuck unless we run and abandon our possible point of entry.

We crouch low against a brick wall. Britt tries to look around the corner to see if he can spot our company. Looking at my microband, I see them approaching quickly. It's big, whatever it is. Then I hear it.

The unmistakable hum of a Zu'Lar Explorer Pod. Their engines have a very distinct hum, low and not quite a rumble but easy to tell it's a machine of some kind.

The explosion must have caught the attention of their drones or satellites. Now they have sent a small unit to check it out. Shit!

Why haven't they left this dying planet yet? All the people to harvest are gone.

Stars. They want the Human too. It makes sense when I think about it. But how had they found out the Human was here on this planet?

However, a more important question right now is, do we let them lead us to our objective and then kill them? Or kill them now and be done with it?

Unfortunately, we have led them right to the door more or less, so the odds they won't discover how to get to the underground tunnels to explore further is pretty small.

This is bad.

"My thoughts exactly!" Right, Britt and I are still connected like a malfunctioning communications unit. Right now, that is probably a good thing. It makes communicating silently highly efficient.

I hear the hum stop. My microband tells me what the sound of booted feet confirms. They are heading into the building. Somehow the lucky bastards haven't activated the security system. Probably Syndicate's doing. Incredible timing on their part.