Chapter 76: A New Hunt Begins
Au’dtair chuckled as he followed the panicked smell of his prey. Even if he couldn’t smell it, a youngling would be able to follow its trail through the jungle. He crept slowly just off to the side of the broken branches, not letting the scent get too faint or too strong.
Despite his prey being a small size, it was able to make more noise than a zilonis, a beast that weighed a few tons and had large ears. It was a preferred prey to many hunters thanks to its sharp teeth capable of ripping flesh off bones.
As cute as he found his prey’s inability to quietly creep through the jungle, he also became concerned about its age. Even younglings knew better than to go through any place like that, let alone one where a predator could easily follow them.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice that it had stopped suddenly. He was lucky that he was running on a parallel path; otherwise, he would have run straight into it. Then again, that might not be that bad of a thing to happen. Then he would be able to roll himself in those pheromones until they were seeped so deep into his skin, they could never dissipate.
He was still unable to hear or see anything when it came to his new, preferred prey, but he could smell. And now he could smell frustration and anger.
He chuckled under his breath once again when all of a sudden, the scent shot straight up in the air. Looking up, he could see the canopy of trees part and break as something shot through them like a laser out of a cannon.
Wondering what was going on now, he activated the anti-gravity system of his armor and slowly increased the field until he was able to counteract the gravitational pull of the planet and rise up into the sky.
He looked around the tops of the canopy, trying to find some sign of his prey. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing to strongly in this atmosphere that it was erasing the scent before he could even capture it.
But he was not one of the best hunters in his tribe for nothing. He knew when to wait patiently and quietly for his prey to resurface.
It was only a matter of minutes before he saw something punching down through one of the clouds just a short distance from him. Increasing the gravitation, Au’dtair quickly followed the wisps of clouds until he was once again blinded to where his prey could be.
Stilling, he waited until it gave itself away again. There was no way he was giving up. Stolen technology be damned; he no longer cared. Let them call him a rogue; he didn’t care. All he cared about was that tantalizing scent.
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I was now confident that I had lost whatever was stalking me. I could no longer feel the single-focused intensity that I had before. Breathing a small sigh of relief, I looked down at my wrist unit and thought about what I wanted to do.
I needed to get to the jungle floor to be able to find a small frigging snake, but I was tired of being on the Drop Zone. I slowly moved the bright red bar from where it was currently down a bit further. Maybe if I was slow, the anti-gravity settings would also be slow.
No such luck. I managed to crash through the canopies, once again breaking branches and startling the birds. I wrinkled my nose in disgust for not being able to figure out the control immediately. Oh well, I guess not even I can understand alien technology.
But maybe it was like breaks on a rental car. The more I used it, the better I understood just how much pressure to apply.
I cut the anti-gravity settings completely and fell the half foot to the sturdy branch I had set my eyes on. It was less that the original 25-foot drop that I had done before, so I stepped off the branch. I landed gently onto the forest floor.
Looking around, I didn’t see any sign of the carnage I had unknowingly caused before. Feeling confident that I was far away from the spot, I let down my guard.
I turned off my camouflage setting. I was worried that it might have a time limit on it or something where after awhile, it would simply run out of juice or whatever it needed to work. I still maintained my external temperature to match the jungle, but if the Saalistaja couldn’t see in anything other than infrared, I should still be able to remain hidden.
Taking in another deep breath of the recycled air, I wrinkled my nose. "Is it possible to breathe the air on this planet?" I asked my helmet, hoping that I was going to get a very straight, non-attitude-y answer. I had initially activated the voice command to make my life easier, not to deal with a newly born AI.
"According to external readings, the levels of nitrogen are currently at 74% while oxygen is at 25%. There is 1% of other atoms within the air, but they will not cause damage or injury. Analysis is; yes, the air is breathable on this planet."
I let out a sigh of contentment. That was exactly what I was looking for. No sarcasm, no long sentences filled with unnecessary dialogue. Just straight and to the point. I would worry about bugs and anything else in a few minutes. I just needed a second to not be encased in Nanos.
I brushed the right side of my neck and stretched as the armor dissolved back into my choker. I was dressed in a body suit made from the black bullet-proof material with thigh-high boots (no heels) on my feet. The boots were made out of thick leather and then covered with the same material as my bodysuit. I should be okay if I accidentally crossed paths with the snakes and they tried to bite my ankles.
I had put a backpack on before activating my armor, so it was still on right now. Pulling it towards my front, I took out a power bar from Earth and bite into it. It was not the best tasting thing in the world, but hopefully, it would settle my stomach enough that it would stop threatening to rebel.
