Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,68

crew, and the captain had brought every one of them, as if they were his personal hounds. Now there were only five left, but even at their reduced number, they still made her uncomfortable. Hell, one alone would be enough to do the job. She couldn’t help but stare as they moved with an anxiety she had never seen in the predators.

Their full attention had been focused just moments earlier on Azan, not with the sexual hunger that Terri often felt focused on her, but with a certain amount of fear that made her wonder what Azan had done to inspire it. Now, however, they were eyeing the water ahead. The nostrils in their muzzles flared, and their large eyes rolled, betraying their nerves.

One turned his head to look back at her, his orange tongue slipping out hungrily as he licked his teeth. It didn’t last long, however, before he was once more staring out at the water further down the corridor. Regardless of what his instincts demanded of him, his fear was far more powerful.

Terri squinted as she peered down the hall, her heart leaping as she saw what appeared to be a large fin push out from the water. A very, very large fin. It sank down and disappeared so quickly that it almost appeared to be a trick of shadows, but she knew what she saw.

“Veral…” she whispered as she reached forward and grabbed his arm.

“I am aware,” he murmured, his blue eyes scanning the water. His hand closed around hers as he cautiously led her forward, farther down the hall. “Stay close, anastha. It seems to have withdrawn for the moment, likely to draw us deeper into the water where it can efficiently kill us, but it will return.”

“What is it?”

“Ship systems appear to identify it as Experiment 226. An aquatic destroyer. Large tubular body covered with fins for accurate fine motor abilities in addition to a large dorsal fin and tail. It escaped from its containment tank when the hull was breached in the western laboratory unit and followed the river until it made its home in this sector of the ship. It hunts by echolocation in the water, releasing vibrational songs once every hour, though the frequency increases to once every six standard minutes when it enters frenzy mode. Its range is impressive, but we have not yet approached close enough for it to notice our presence.”

“Fuck. Will we be able to get into the storage area before it returns?” she asked.

“Unknown. The odds are difficult to calculate. There are too many unknown variables regarding fallen structures farther within the ship that may reduce mobility in parts of its territory, or whether wildlife will travel within the vicinity of its den to lure it out into the river.”

“Why would it attack wildlife?”

Veral slanted her a surprised look. “Because it still has biological needs. It requires an energy source. It is why the Elshavan made the weapons as hunting beasts. It was so that they could acquire energy from natural feeding processes. It cannot reproduce, but so long as it is supplied with energy from feeding, it will continue to exist.”

“What is that?” Azan called out, her arm shaking as it rose to point to what looked like a partially sunken metallic skeletal frame.

It was horrific. Terri couldn’t imagine what it must have looked like alive. Although the skeleton lay at an odd angle that made it difficult to discern specific features, she was able to note what looked like a long, barbed tail that appeared to stretch out behind it at. What was far more noticeable was its long, narrow skull. With four huge orbital sockets, it no doubt had keen sight, but more disturbing were the massive tusks that jutted up from its jaw, surrounded by two rows of sharp teeth, each surpassing the length of her arm. Massive claws rested near its head. It was huge, and no doubt had been responsible for much of the mess in the corridor.

“Experiment 195,” Veral reported. “Land predator, quadruped with camouflage capabilities. It had a reinforced musculature and aerodynamic frame that would have allowed it to run at high speeds. It appeared to have been caught in this part of the ship during the crash. With the flooding, the emergency closure of the area would have made it impossible to escape. Without an energy source to hunt, it terminated.”

“Terminated, huh? That’s the first good news I’ve had all day,” Terri replied.

“I second that,” Azan said,