Carson watched as the group of newcomers carefully worked their way through the forest, struggling to carry bulky crates and packs. It was comforting to see that he and his men weren't the only ones having problems with the humidity and the sweat on his brow reminded him of how much he missed the environmental control on his dogeybone. This place might look like heaven, but it certainly was as hot as hell.
He and his four men had spread out between the landing zone and the beacon because he anticipated that they'd follow the signal straight in just like Foss had. When the group got close, Carson gave the signal to cover and stood up from the foliage. They saw him immediately and halted, but the man in front waved and came forward. The others were unarmed and wearing light company jumpsuits, but this one wore fatigues and a raincoat. Stepping clear of the moss, the Sergeant met him half way.
"Staff Sergeant Carson I presume?" the man asked. "How do you do? I'm John Roman."
Carson shook his hand, carefully weighing the strong handshake and the man's smile as he met his eyes. They were the palest blue he had ever seen and they unnerved him, bringing his Father's advice back to mind. The way this "John Roman" had moved through the forest proved he wasn't a corporate pencil pusher on a holiday, so he had to either be a soldier or an operative with off-world experience. The eyes told him that there was something else there, but he couldn't read it and that made him uneasy.
"Care to tell us why we're here, Mr. Roman?" he asked, taking his hand back and returning it to his weapon.
"Of course," Roman answered. "You're here to secure a site for company purposes."
"Secure it against whom?" Carson asked. "We haven't found any sign of hostile forces."
The man smiled politely and shook his head. He certainly wasn't bothered by the heat.
"You're only here as a precaution," he answered as he started to walk. "Now, which way is it?"
Carson motioned and took point as they worked their way back towards the ruins and the rest of his men. The pyramid and the wall carvings had left him unsettled and kept playing in his head. Pacing his breathing with walking, he decided to press for as much info as he could get.
"You want to tell us where we are? Or what this place is?"
"No," came the answer as the man followed him. Carson paid attention to the way he navigated and nodded. "This boy has certainly been in a jungle before," he thought to himself.
"Look, Mr. Operative," Carson said as he stopped and turned to face the new comer. "-You're an operative aren't you?"
"Yes Sergeant," Roman answered, smiling politely. Carson knew every company man held a lot back and was determined to get it out of him, even if that meant shooting off one of his legs to persuade him.
"Well, these are my men and I'm responsible for them," he answered. "I need a threat assessment if it might keep them alive."
"I understand," the operative responded. "But I've told you what I can."
"What you can? That's not good enough," the Sergeant answered and stepped back to face him as he flipped the safety off his weapon. The click of the action carried and the soldiers followed his lead to pull back and cover the group. Maybe this wasn't the way that info traded hands back on Mort, but then they were the ones with the weapons out here.
Roman raised his palms and smiled again before speaking. "All right, just relax. You're on HM-160-Charlie-3 and it's a Resource World slated for stripping. Its common name is Morloss and we're here to evaluate its potential. You're providing security as per standard company operating procedures."
He had said "standard company operating procedures" like someone who was bored with the typical company sound bytes. The man also wasn't rattled by having weapons pointed at him at point blank by what the media would label a nut and that surprised Carson a bit. All of it was just more info for Carson to file away as he tried to add things up, knowing that thinking helped keep his mind off the heat.
"Morloss? Weird name," he said, accepting what he had been given.
Roman laughed. "Yes it is and before you ask, I'm afraid that I don't know its origin."
"What about the ruins? Is that why you're here? To 'evaluate' their potential too?
The smile on the man's face flattened slightly and something shifted behind the eyes. Carson knew he was being sized up and wondered if he and his squad were actually the subjects of this so-called evaluation. It wouldn't be the first time he had to deal with a corporate troubleshooter and this world had a lot of places to bury one if the need came.
"They are of some interest and we'll examine them. Several members of this team including myself are with the Department of Archeology."
"The Department of Archeology has operatives?" Jackson asked, still sounding like a little boy playing war. Roman turned to him and nodded.
"I'm on contract," he added and turned back to Carson. "If you don't mind Sergeant, we'd really like to get started. We only have about seven hours of daylight left."
"Sure. It's this way," Carson said as put the safety back on and began to lead the way back. He had gotten enough to go on for the time being, but had every intention of keeping an eye on them once they got started.
As he led the way back towards the pyramid, something clawed at the back of his mind, just out of reach. The weight of someone watching had returned and he looked around, only seeing his group and an endless wall of trees. His gut told him that something was out there waiting and he ground his teeth.
Weighing his priorities, Carson made a decision. If this Mr. Roman wasn't finished before the sun went down, this survey team was going to be alone and on their own.
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