There was no apparent change in the boulder… Or was there? My eyes darted from screen to screen. Had it quivered? Or was the movement I detected due to the shifting of the view-input units?
Zur’s skimmer was approaching again, slower this time. I could see them in the View Screens relaying Kor’s input units. Zur had his flex-mace out. Apparently he had joined the ranks of Warriors who shunned the swivel-mount guns.
Suddenly it happened, with such speed that only later review enabled us to sort the action out. The boulder exploded into life, pouncing on Zur’s craft with a leap that defied description. A spider.
A monstrously huge Spider.
The screens showing Zurs display flashed a sight of the ground, then blanked out. My eyes jumped to Kor’s screen, just in time to see the spider turn and start in that direction. It was incredibly fast, swelling swiftly in the screens to blot out all view of anything else. Quick as it was, though, Kor was quicker. We could see the cold-beams lance out, striking the spider repeatedly as it moved, but with no apparent effect. The view started to shift, and at first I thought Kor was attempting to maneuver the craft. Then it jarred to a halt, displaying a bush and an expanse of grass, and I realized what had happened. Two skimmers down, visual contact lost.
“By the Black Swamps!” Horc exploded, echoing my thoughts. “Whoever designed those skimmers should be killed, if I have to challenge them myself.”
“What’s wrong with those cold-beams, Technician?” Tzu interrupted. “Can’t your team even maintain existing equipment?”