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They hadn’t been expecting reptile men
or spiders that laid eggs under the skin but they’d run into both so far. Who
the hell knew what else was out there?
    “Julian, you and Diller are going to scout the area and find
out what that is.” Gates grabbed his reader out of his pocket and then turned
it on and brought up the map. “We’re around here.” He circled an area with his
fingertip. “The object is here.” He pointed to an area to the north. “And the
rest of the team is going to go this way.” He trailed his fingertip from their
current location to the north but slightly to the west. “We’ll rendezvous
here,” he said, pointing out the spot. “Where you’ll give me a full report.”
    Julian studied the map for a second longer and then nodded.
“Got it, sir.” Relief made his muscles relax and his spirit light as he
realized the mission would allow him some precious alone time. Maybe if he
wasn’t surrounded by Gates’ presence he wouldn’t obsess about him. At least for
a couple of hours.
    Gates nodded and then turned to the other soldier. “Diller?”
    “Got it, sir.”
    “Safe scouting, men.”
    “Thanks, Commander.” Julian adjusted his backpack and then
he and Diller set off to the north. They stayed silent as they made their way
across the jungle floor. Of course there were noises they couldn’t avoid.
Occasionally one of them would step on a twig or walk too closely to a plant
and their clothes would brush against it. But those were noises that fit with
the jungle around them. They wouldn’t speak to each other though. Instead they
used hand signals when communication became necessary.
    It was the respite Julian expected but he didn’t find the
peace he’d hoped for when setting off. The silence and monotony of the day led
his mind to wander. He should stay focused. His brief time on the planet had
taught him that. But he just couldn’t. He found himself thinking about Gates’
muscled body more and more often as the day passed. When he caught himself
remembering the feel of Gates’ shirt against his face for the third time in
what could only be a fifteen-minute span, he nearly cursed.
    Damn. It. To. Hell. Why had Gates comforted him that night?
Life would be so much easier if he hadn’t. Sure, Julian would still be
tormented by images of the man jacking off. But that was attraction. Lust.
Nothing more. By letting Julian lean on him, Gates had made the attraction more
complex. He’d given it a depth.
    Julian was so wrapped up in the troubling thoughts that he
almost didn’t notice Diller’s abrupt stop. As it was, Julian barely stopped in
time to prevent stepping on the man. He couldn’t believe he’d been daydreaming
for the better part of the scouting trip. He’d have to get his head on straight
if he had any hope of surviving this mission.
    Diller pointed to himself then to the east before pointing
to Julian and gesturing to the west. They were going to encircle the object.
Sounded like a reasonable plan to Julian. He nodded and then made his way to
the west. When he glimpsed the first view of the shuttle he crouched down low
to the ground and crept closer.
    The vines and foliage that encroached on the vehicle told
him that the ship had been here for some time but he still approached it with
caution. He had his weapon raised and ready to be fired at any sign of trouble.
The gray-and-blue insignia painted on its side was the first real evidence that
they weren’t the only military force on the planet. And since the Coalition
occasionally appropriated military property during raids, he needed to
establish which side the crew fought on. A team of genetically modified rebels
running around would be something Gates would definitely need to know about.
    The cockpit looked as if it’d been abandoned for a couple of
months. Long weeds grew through the cracks in the glass and metal of the
structure and crept in through the open door to blanket the floor without any
sign of