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couldn’t be certain what it was. Her helmet cycled through multiple display modes until the thermal imaging picked up movement near the base again. She studied the entire mound more carefully, noting the temperature of it was a few degrees warmer than the ground beneath it. Perhaps it absorbed the sun’s radiation. It was either that or the mound was something else altogether.
    Else reassembled her rifle and held it in one hand. She drew her vibro-knife with the other and approached close enough to jam it in and pull it out. The knife sliced through easily but she noted the outer layer of dirt was crusty, almost like a shell. She stared at the wound in the earthen mound and saw it begin to shift. Dirt sprinkled out of it for a moment then a multi-segmented insect crawled out at an alarming speed. It had to be at least six inches long, but that was the last thing on Elsa’s mind. She was already back peddling and bringing her rifle up defensively.
    More of the Vitalian termites poured out of the opening, some even leaping in her direction from the hole. She stumbled backwards, tripping on some grass, and then scrambled to regain her feet and put more distance between herself and the newest alien terror.
    A blur of action burst through the grasses to her right, flashing in front of her and then disappearing to her left. Two more followed, sweeping some of the bugs with each of them. Elsa saw just enough to know it was a sort of animal. Smaller than everything else she’d seen but fast.
    The bugs fell back to their mound, retreating from the newest threat. Elsa gathered her feet under her and rose carefully, watching carefully around her. She turned slowly, cursing the thick grasses for preventing her sensors from seeing any further than her eyes.
    Her rotation stopped when she saw one of them on the path she’d made through the grass behind her. It stood a little over half her height on four legs. Elsa thought it looked feline, but it had a long neck and a head filled with teeth. The critter in its mouth crunched with each chomp, then it straightened its long neck out as it swallowed the mouthful. It’s appetizer out of the way, it turned to stare at Elsa.
    Elsa returned the stare, although hers was down the barrel of her rifle. “There were three of you, where’s your friends?” Whether it could hear her or not it lowered its body down into a crouch, gathering itself to spring. Teeth bared it hissed at her. “Really? You’re going to try that? Is everything on this planet stupid?”
    She fired her rifle, sending it spinning around in circles as it hissed and spit at her. Smoke rose from the scorched region along its flank where the ions had cooked the meat. She tracked it and fired again, scoring a hit on the center torso of it. It jumped into the air before falling flat to the ground and convulsing. Elsa grinned, she’d guessed right and cooked off some of its important organs.
    The world turned upside down and Elsa’s rifle went flying. Her arm was yanked and crushed, then something slammed into her stomach that made the air explode from her mouth. The other two predators were trying to rend her limb from limb and only her armor was saving her.
    Claws raked across her chest, catching on a panel and yanking her up on her side. Elsa whimpered in her helmet and tried to pull herself into a ball. The creature that had her arm pulled back, threatening to dislocate it again. Desperate, she dialed up the power in her suit and jammed her left fist into the neck of the beast on her left side.
    The electricity and impact made it jump back, momentarily stunned by the punch. Elsa grabbed her knife and sliced across, scalping it as her blade glanced off its head. It hissed around its mouthful and shook its powerful head like a dog. Blood flew from the head wound even as Elsa screamed in agony. She heard a terrible ripping noise, then felt her arm yanked again before there was no feeling at all.
    Else reached down and grabbed