The torrent was merciless. Rain pelted off the windscreen, its din filling the cabin with a low roar. The composite wheels squealed through churned muck, their control arms struggling to maintain traction. Ahead, she could see nothing but a gray haze. Now and then, a tree would emerge from the mist, making her jump a little as she swerved to avoid it. Once past it, she’d right their course, trusting their lives to the nav computer.

To her right, her traveling companion was not handling things as well. He kept squirming, yelping unhelpfully every time a tree popped up in their way.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Treymon asked, wide eyed.

Jaunita nodded, maintaining focus, hands firmly on the steering yoke. “The nav knows the way. The rover’s sensors can see through just about anything. Even this.”

“Well I’m glad the…whoa!” he shouted as another towering conifer sped past them. “I’m glad the rover can see in this! Because I can’t see shit!”

Neither can I, Jaunita added, though not aloud.

“Wha…what if…oh shit!” Treymon yelled again, covering his face as another soaring pine passed on their right. “What if the nav drives us right into a tree?”

She cocked her head, clicking her tongue. “Then we hit a tree,” she replied, flatly. She turned to him, glaring. “Which is why I need to concentrate.”

Though still terrified, he gave her a staccato nod, and said nothing further. Satisfied, she returned her attention to driving: hands on the wheel, eyes darting rapidly between the view ahead and the nav readout on the console. And so they went; a slow trudge through the storm. They’d been in transit for about fifteen minutes. It felt like hours.

The malfunctioning sensor lay only a few kilometers from the outpost, but in such heavy rain it was slow going. Eventually, they reached it: a nondescript patch of sodden forest. The rover squealed to a halt, hitting a large puddle that sent a surge of water up over the hood, splashing across the windscreen like a wave. Treymon screamed again, nearly climbing out of his seat. As the wave subsided, he turned nervously to Juanita.

“We’re here,” she said, simply. After Treymon spent a moment gaping at her, they both zipped their jackets, and popped their hatches.

Jaunita hopped down from the rover, her boots sinking into the mud as water splashed up past her knees. The rain had built into a deluge; it pelted her clothes and stung her eyes mercilessly. Their clothes were waterproof, but the rain was relentless. It ran down her face and neck, soaking her clothes clean through to her skin. Less than a minute, and she began to shiver.

Eager to get to work and get going, she wiped the water from her face, and cupped a hand over her eyes. She scanned the surrounding trees, looking for a meter-tall metal pillar: the sensor. But all she could see was trees and ferns, waving in the rain and the wind.

“Do you see it?” Treymon asked from beside her, shouting over the din.

She shook her head, still looking. “I don’t get it,” she began, “It’s gotta be around here some…” she trailed off, then pointed. “Wait, over there! Look!”

Treymon stepped beside her, wiping the rain from his face and straining his eyes. Several meters ahead of them, a tree had been uprooted. It appeared recent: its exposed roots were still caked in mud, its remaining branches bursting with green needles. Confused, he turned to Juanita. “I don’t get it. How could this happen?”

“Could it have been struck by lightning?” she asked. They’d heard several claps of thunder since they’d arrived.

Treymon shook his head. “If that’d happened, it’d just burn standing.” He paused, turning back to the tree. “Nah, I dunno what caused this,” he paused again, lifting his tab and brushing water from its surface before lifting it to scan. “But I think we know what happened to that sensor.” He lowered his tab, pointing. 

Juanita followed his gesture to a faint gleam, halfway up the fallen trunk. She stepped closer, squinting, and found it was coming from a thin tube of metal. The base of a sensor, still caked in mud. 

She sighed heavily. “Well, given how big this tree is, safe to say the sensor’s a loss. We’ve got a spare, right?” she asked, turning to him.

He nodded. “It’s in the back. Grabbed it before we left.”

“Well hurry up and get it, will ya? I’m drenched down to my soul!”

Treymon turned and headed back to the rover. Juanita remained, staring at the tree, wondering what could have caused a healthy conifer to simply fall over. As she thought, she heard something, barely audible over the deluge. It was a strange, squawking noise, almost like a bird, but deeper. It was coming from somewhere ahead, beyond her range of vision in the storm. Curious, she stepped closer. As she approached, she could see movement through the mist: something was caught beneath the upper trunk of the tree. She moved closer, cautiously.

As she drew near, she could make out a long tail, clawed feet and forelimbs. The animal wasn’t overly large; no more than two meters from snout to tail. It was covered in mud, kicking up plumes of muck as it pawed at the trunk and thrashed, struggling to wriggle free. At several meters, she stopped dead in her tracks. The animal’s dense feathers were muddy, but here and there she could make out a flash of bright scarlet. Suddenly, the animal ceased its struggle, its attention drawn to her movement. It craned its neck to look at her, and she was paralyzed in its gaze. She recognized this creature: the bony crests over its eyes, the wide mouth hiding razor-sharp teeth. Instinctively, she reached for the pistol at her hip, priming its power cell.

As Treymon arrived, he was at first oblivious to her discovery. “I’ve got it!” he announced, hefting the replacement sensor. “Now let’s get this thing in the whoa holy shit!” he shrieked, dropping the sensor. He jumped back, turning to her. “Is that…”

“A jing,” she replied, nodding slowly.

He stepped forward, gingerly. Like Juanita, he’d never gotten a close look at the native apex predator on their planet. “Is…is it hurt?” he asked, tenuously.

“If it is, it doesn’t look to bad,” she replied. She pointed to the animal, which had resumed its thrashing. “Look: it’s stuck. But it’s trying like hell to get out.”

Treymon looked at the creature for a moment, then back at her. “What should we do?”

Juanita shook her head. “I have no idea,” she replied.

“Should…should we kill it?” Treymon asked, hesitantly. “Are we even allowed to?”

Juanita sighed heavily. “I dunno. I’m no biologist, and believe it or not, my training didn’t cover anything like this.” She paused, leaning forward cautiously to examine the jing. “I don’t see any serious injuries. If it was hurt, I’d say we should probably put it out of its misery.”

Treymon nodded. “An injured predator wouldn’t last long out here. But since it’s not hurt, then what?”

She paused, thinking, and in the end her decision surprised even herself. “You got a cutter?” she asked.

He nodded. “Semper paratus,” he replied, withdrawing a cylindrical laser from his belt and handing it to her.

She took it, eyeing him quizzically. “Were you a boy scout?”

He scowled at her. “No, I’m an engineer.”

Rolling her eyes, she lifted the laser, and approached the jing. She stepped slowly, laser level as though a weapon. As she drew within a meter, it again ceased its struggle, turning to look at her. It locked eyes with her. Its gaze was frightening, but she stood firm. A press of a button activated the laser, emitting a bright beam, accompanied by an artificial whine meant to alert others to an active cutter. In one fluid motion, she cut through the log, searing the wood mere centimeters from the creature’s hind legs.

The animal leapt immediately. Though clearly a juvenile, once standing it towered over her. Juanita slowly lowered the laser, staring into the creature’s eyes as it rumbled from somewhere deep in its throat. One snap from its powerful jaws could tear her in half. She held her breath, fighting the urge to close her eyes. Eventually, the animal turned, stalking off into the forest. Several meters away, it turned back abruptly, fanning its muddy crest of feathers and hissing, before vanishing into the forest.

She continued to watch, waiting for it to return. Eventually Treymon stepped beside her, gazing into the forest.

“You’d think it would’ve been grateful,” he quipped.

“It didn’t kill us,” she replied. “I think that’s as close to grateful as those things can get.”

END