Shear was burning. While half the planet remained dark, still in its night cycle, the other side glowed with bright oranges and reds. Occasionally a small pinprick of even brighter light would appear among the fire, denoting a nuclear detonation. If one was patient, they would notice that the fire was spreading, ever so slowly, to the dark half of the planet.

Above this view, dozens of massive evacuation transports and even more rescue shuttles swarmed around the planet in a frenzy of activity. A few hundred kilometers away, space rippled like water and another transport emerged into real-space. From the outside, this transport ship was nothing special, identical to any of the others hovering above the planet. But what made this one unique was its cargo.

In the rear hold of the transport sat a dropship. It seemed like the miniature of the ship that carried it, with two main thrusters at the back and a spherical reactor at the front, just behind the cockpit. Unlike the transport, it was built for agility and utility, with six smaller thrusters angled downward on each side and a series of sensor antennae and spotlights that gave it an insectoid appearance. High on the prow, silver letters spelled out the name Laurie-Anne. Though the model of ship was nearly forty years old, anyone familiar with Leading Edge would recognize it as the ship of William Cabot, one of the most renowned Planet Tamers ever.


Within the Laurie-Anne, one might expect a storm of activity as hardened soldiers and Planet Tamers prepared to drop. Equipment checks, intel reviews, strategy discussions, and barked orders would be the norm. And of course, the entire procession would be overseen by a grizzled and experienced soldier.

That was not what was happening. In the common room, the majority of the twelve person team were engaged in activities one might call frivolous. Several were clustered around the main table playing a card game in chairs as mismatched as the players. A few others were engaged in a discussion regarding the authenticity of the stories regarding Griffin Hallsey and an orion terrasaur.

Above them, their leaders were having a conversation with the aforementioned grizzled and experienced soldier. "I know you said that's all you know, but I'm saying that's not good enough." William Cabot, ex-hub marshal, ex- and now current Planet Tamer, stared down the hologram of the Ebonstar Commander. Though he wasn't a very large man and was getting on in the years, Cabot still had a fire within him.

The commander sighed and rubbed the long scar that ran across his face and through his eye, a bit of a nervous habit. "And I'm telling you again, that's all we know!" he snapped, "These things, whatever they are, tore through our defenses in days. By the time we knew they were there, our long range surveillance equipment was down. All we have left is on-site security footage, and it's understandably difficult to find people willing to go retrieve the data."

Behind Cabot, his second-in-command stepped forward. Even outside of his armor, James Parnell cut an impressive figure. Standing head and shoulders taller than Cabot and heavily muscled from his years as a Sol Guard trooper and mercenary, Parnell had a way of getting people to listen to him. "We know that gathering intel is difficult, given the current state of things" he said, "But I also know I don't want to go in blind. That's how you end up dead."

The commander sighed and rubbed his scar again. He seemed to be doing that a lot. "I can't get you any more information then what I've already given you", he said, "But I can give you an opportunity to gather your own." Cabot perked up at that as the commander typed something on a console just outside of the projection. A moment later his own console pinged to notify him of a message. "Those are coordinated to a small outpost near the edge of the attacks. We lost contact with the soldiers stationed there a few hours ago, so at the very least you can investigate whatever evidence is left." The commander said.

Parnell raised an eyebrow. "And at most?" The commander gave an uneasy shrug. "At most", he said, "The thing that killed them might still be in the area." Cabot folded his arms. "We'll take that chance. Anything else?" The commander rolled his eyes. "Of course", he said sarcastically, "When I said that was all I knew, I was just withholding a detailed list of all their strengths and weaknesses. No, there's nothing else."

Cabot nodded and grinned without humor. "Very well then." He said, "I'll leave you to your work commander York." The commander nodded briskly, then hesitated before cutting the call. "For what it's worth", he said, "Good luck."

The hologram of the commander faded, to be replaced by one of Shear. "Are you sure about this Marshal?" asked Bucket, speaking for the first time since they had begun their conversation with the commander. A cylindrical yellow head with a single blue eye rotated on the control panel to face him. "These creatures overwhelmed Colonial Security forces in less than a week. Clearly, we're dealing with something far beyond ordinary wildlife."

Cabot leaned on the projector table, his eyes fixed intently on the image of Shear. "Clearly." He said, almost to himself. He turned to Parnell. "What do you think?"

Parnell glanced up from the tablet he was examining. Per Cabot's contract with NORDITA, they had been provided with a list of all the major facilities in the area they were assigned to assist. After they learned of the situation, they also received Ebonstar's file on the threat. Not that it was much, just a blurry photo, a one sentence summary, and a codename: Goliath.

"I think we should do this carefully" he replied, "One four man team. One person to track and corral it, one to kill it, one to keep them alive while they do it, and one to pick up the slack." Cabot nodded. Though he was far more experienced with dealing with wildlife, Parnell was more knowledgeable about military tactics and stratagems.

"Who do you propose to make up this team?" Bucket asked. "I'll go" Cabot said almost at the same time. Parnell shook his head. "I understand you want to lead from the front, but take it from me: sometimes it's better to let someone else head up the charge." Cabot looked like he wanted to argue, but conceded the point. "So do you have a team in mind?" he asked.

"Well for tracking, I was thinking Griffin. He's experienced, so that should give them an edge should worst come to worst." Cabot nodded. "Agreed. And for the medic?" Parnell shifted his weight. "I think Laz would be a good choice. If this turns out to be worse than we thought, he could help lessen the blow."

Cabot considered for a moment, then shook his head. "His tactics leave him exposed. Better we keep him in reserve in case the team gets into trouble then to put him on the front line." "Perhaps Ms. Wolski would be a better choice" Bucket piped up, "Her dossier shows that she is experienced under fire and is a competent field medic". Parnell nodded slowly. "That's true", he said, "And with the whole CIG9 thing, we need to know where she stands." "We should send Markov too" Cabot said, "For similar reasons. His attitude towards potential death is… unhealthy, to say the least." "Agreed", said Bucket, "We need to know if he'll dive towards danger or see this through."

Parnell nodded. "And we've already established that you aren't going" he told Cabot. "I would be the logical choice" said Bucket, "With my mind-state stored in the ship, I would survive even should my platform be destroyed." Parnell considered the idea for a moment, then shook his head. "You run your mobile platform by downloading part of your mind into it, right?" "It's a tad more complex, but that is correct" Bucket replied. "So if the platform is destroyed, you lose that part of your mind permanently?" Parnell continued. "Correct…" Bucket replied, beginning to see where this was going. "Even if you survive mostly intact, I'd rather not be flying around in a ship where the pilot is missing part of their mind." "I assure you, it has no long term effects. I can restore a backup and reconstruct the mind fragment using vestigial telemetry data within a day!" "That's true" said Cabot, "But we're going to be here for a while. A day might be too long." "Very well…" Bucket grumbled. "So that leaves Hank." Parnell conclude, "It's always a good idea to have another point of view when going into an engagement."

Cabot nodded and stepped back from the projector table. "Take us in, Bucket" The dropship hummed beneath his feet as Bucket prepped the ship for takeoff. Cabot reached over to a control pad and entered a command. In the common room below, the viewscreen flickered on, displaying the burning planet below them. The conversations stopped and the card game was abandoned as the hunters turned to look at the image.

"What could have done this?" asked Caira, her copy of Field Guide to the Far Arm forgotten. "Apparently", Cabot called, grabbing their attention, "The things we were hired to kill." He paced for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "I just got off the line with Colony Command. This is no longer a wildlife problem." The whole team watched him in silence. "It's a full scale evacuation. Gear up – we drop in 5."


AN: I wish I could tell you that most updates will be faster then this. I really do... Unfortunately, this is likely going to be the rate of new chapters most of the time. I should have another one done soon since I feel this one was too insubstantial to really count on its own. Feedback is appreciated, especially regarding how well I do dialogue, as that tends to come out clunky with me.