I scrambled into a vac suit and marched out through multiple fabric airlocks. The pumps wheezed and complained because I hadnt waited around long enough to let them seal up properly and scrub the air that got into our innermost quarters. Gas monitors beeped and farted neutralizing agents to counter the contamination.

Outside, it was dawn-or what pa.s.sed for dawn on this frozen rock. In practice that meant the mist wasnt moving around as much as usual, and the diffused light was deep gray rather than the white of day or the black of night.

Hanging wisps of vapor swirled around one of the smaller machines, which whirred and clacked. In the still, windless air the gyrations of the machine appeared to be more p.r.o.nounced. Its flailing limbs churned, digging at a patch of exposed dirt.

I peered at the alien machine. The thing did resemble the one Id tried to make contact with the day before, but it was hard to be certain. They really did all look alike.

The camera-eyes noticed me, and they shivered a little. The machine stopped whatever it was doing and looked me over.

Finally, it broke off excitedly and ran toward me, gesturing with mouthparts. It tried to lead me to the spot where it had been working, running around like a dog. I followed it to the flat area where it had been s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around in the dirt. Squinting, I looked at what it had done.

"Pictures," I said. "Sketches. You came back for more communication, didnt you?"

The robot quivered and did a little spin around its latest work, but interposed itself between me and the other drawings. I figured it wanted me to see this image first.

It was a picture of a man, sort of, only the man looked like an oval with angled sticks for arms and legs. The man was inside a tent like the one Id just exited. The tent was a bag-like affair encircling it.

"Okay," I said. "Me in a tent. Or at least, close enough. What else have you got?"

It backed away and showed me the next thing. This showed a series of blobs surrounding the man in the tent. I didnt get that one.

"Hmm. A bunch of somethings around the tent. Okay..."

The machine backed up further, showing me the last image. I frowned. I saw the man in the tent was lying flat, and the tent was deflated. It looked like a limp bag on the ground. The circles that had been encircling it were now piled on, drawn on top of the man, the tent-everything.

"Is this some kind of threat?" I asked. "Or a warning?"

Staring cameras regarded me. The artificial feet tapped at random intervals, making clacking sounds on the stones. It had no idea what I was saying. I heaved a sigh, got out my sidearm and used it to scratch in the dirt beside the images the machine had treated me to.

I drew two figures. One was the man-figure, similar in nature to the version the machine had drawn. The other was a machine, one that resembled the little guy I was trying to talk to. I had each extend a stick-like limb toward one another.

"So this is what pa.s.ses for flirtation on Machine World, huh McGill?" Leeson asked. Hed been watching me with mild interest. "Why dont you draw two machines s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g? That will get you there faster."

He guffawed with laughter.

"Im trying to make it look like theyre shaking hands, not having relations, sir," I told Leeson. I offered him my sidearm. "Maybe you could do better?"

"Dont put that gun in my hand! Id as soon shoot this mechanical bug as look at it."

While I talked to Leeson, the machine examined my image then moved to a fresh spot and began to work again. It left behind an image that was similar to mine, but the man-figure was all wrong. I had too many limbs, and they looked all curly.

Sighing, I tried but couldnt come up with a translation for the machines work. Maybe it was too early in the morning. Leeson had no answers either. He finally got bored and left.

While I continued to examine the latest image the machine had drawn for me, a familiar specialist approached.

"Hey," I said in surprise. "Whats up, Natasha? I thought you were still aboard Minotaur."

"Were all in the process of coming down now," she said. "Turov has been deploying most of the troops at the beachhead Winslade established south of here, but I was sent here."

I could have asked "what beachhead?" or made other rude remarks, but I didnt. I was too happy to see Natasha. I ushered her to the machine and showed her the drawings. She eyed them with great interest.

"Okay," she said. "Im pretty sure thats you in the tent in the first image, or at least a generic human."

"Right."

"Then the man in the tent is surrounded, and finally destroyed. But what are those blobs that are performing the destruction?"

"I think theyre the big machines. They look a little like conical piles of dirt. Thats what the bigger ones look like."

She frowned at me. "So this guy is trying to tell us were going to be under attack soon?"

"Maybe," I admitted.

"And you drew this last one? The one with the human making out with the machine?"

"Were shaking hands, dammit."

"Okay, okay. Then your friend drew something else-oh."

"What?" I asked. "I didnt get that one."

"Dont you see, James? Thats a machine shaking hands with a cephalopod."

The moment she said it, I could see the sketch her way. It was as clear as day, now that I thought about it.

"Hes telling me the machines arent our friends," I said. "Theyre allied with the squids."

"Yeah," she said. "Weve got to go in and report this to Graves."

I looked around a few minutes later and noticed the machine Id been struggling to communicate with had wandered off. Reflecting on the entire episode, I wasnt sure if the alien had come here to warn us, to inform us-or just to gloat.

The next day went badly. We were out scouting the local region at dawn, in preparation for proceeding with our mission. There was no way we could have known what we were in for.

The first hint came when my helmet began to scratch with radio signals. I realized Id left a channel open-a low-frequency channel in the kilocycle range. I contacted Kivi first, who messed with her settings and confirmed it. I had her move off a few hundred meters from me to get a second directional reading.

The signals pointed out to the lake north of us. I contacted Graves without hesitation.

"Sir, we have machine readings-lots of them. They seem to be moving nearby. Triangulating with my team, I figure theyre north, moving up onto the lakesh.o.r.e."

"Machines?" he asked. "Like the ones in that village you found the other day?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Ive reviewed the vids. The machines seemed pretty harmless. Even that big one shuffled off after you left the vicinity of the village. Just dont antagonize them."

"Right sir, but if I might add-there seems to be a lot of them, and theyre coming toward your position from the north."

"Okay, okay. Go up there and scout them for me. Give me a count and a definite heading."

My heart sank. Id been hoping Id be recalled. But that wasnt Graves style. Whether risking his own life or the lives of his troopers, hed always been a pretty generous contributor to the reaper.

"Okay, saddle-up," I ordered. "Were going north to check out that contact."

We moved toward the lakesh.o.r.e warily, trotting at about half-speed. The mists precluded a full-speed approach since we might have run into the targets blind.

As it turned out, it hardly made any difference. We were less than a kilometer from the ma.s.s of them when we realized what we were trotting our long-legged dragons into.

"Machines, Vet! Hundreds of them!" It was Carlos who sounded the alarm. Normally, I would have been suspicious of a line like that coming from him-but the tone in his voice indicated he was serious.

"Check them out. Have they detected you?"

"Theyre big ones, Vet! Like the mama-machine we saw back at the village. Theyre coming my way. I think they can hear our radios."

"Right. Wheel your mounts and ride!" I ordered my squad.

All around me, dragons turned and ran back the way wed come. It wasnt our job to fight these machines. We were supposed to locate them and gather intel, that was it.

"Carlos, can you give me a count?"

"I dont know-I see at least four on my tail. Jeez, these things are big! Theyre fast, too. I-one of them is gaining on me. It just wont give up."

I reported in to Graves then noticed Carlos blinking light. He was trying to contact me.

"Carlos, whats happening?"

"One of them caught me," he said, breathing hard. "It just plowed me over and knocked my mount down, but Im still breathing. It hasnt breached the capsule yet. Permission to fire, Vet!"

I was surprised hed bothered to ask. I wouldnt have. "Permission granted! Defend yourself! Were coming back."

"Is that a good idea?" Kivi asked. "Were not supposed to antagonize the locals. You were drawing pictures in the dirt with them yesterday."

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "That was before they attacked one of us. I told Graves Id leave them alone unless they attacked first."

"Vets right," Sargon said. "Weve got clear rules of engagement. The locals have broken them. Maybe theyll respect us more if we show them we arent helpless."

We plunged through the white mists and topped a small rise in the land. A machine loomed into view on the far side. It had to be the one that was trying to eat Carlos.

This machine was big. It was hard to judge, but Id be willing to bet it was even bigger than the first one wed met up with. The configuration was familiar. A mountain of interlocking plates covering a body that looked like a giant metal slug.

Flashes of light erupted from under the machine as we approached. I figured that was probably Carlos trying to give it indigestion. I looked around but didnt see any other machines. If I had to guess, I figured theyd moved off while the lucky one that had caught Carlos tried to have a meal.

"Spread out. When I give the order, fire your grenades high," I said. "We dont want to blast our own man."

The squad went into action. Without being told, Sargon led his group around to the machines flank.

The machine seemed to take notice of us, shivering and twisting this way and that as if nervous. But it didnt want to leave its kill. I could tell we were going to have to give it some encouragement.

"Fire at will!"

Everyone began raining grenades down on the machine. They popped and flashed but didnt penetrate. A few of its scales fell off but not enough. I knew what the problem was. Our weaponry was built to take out infantry not heavily armored targets.

"Carlos?" I called. "Can you still hear me?"

He didnt answer, and thats when I noticed his squad ID was red. His name, on the list of names in my c.o.c.kpit, was listed as a dead link. I didnt know if hed succ.u.mbed, or his radio had gone out. The effect was pretty much the same either way. We had to get past this things armor before it ate him entirely.

"Im going in close!" I shouted. "Hold the grenade fire until I punch a hole in those outer plates."

I galloped forward, running my dragon at full speed. At the last second, the shivering alien machine lifted its lower edge. I realized thats how it must engulf things. It looked like I was about to run right under its skirt and spend some quality time with Carlos corpse.

"Look out, McGill!" shouted Kivi.

Without taking the time to answer her, I engaged my dragons exoskeletal legs with full power, stiffening the metal springs in the feet. I bounded high when I reached the machine, sailing right over the uplifted lip of it and landing with a sprawling clatter on top.

The footing was uneven at best. I didnt have more than a second or two before I knew it would reshape itself and send me crashing back down to the ground. After that, I knew it would swallow me.

Stabbing at the controls, I let my grippers fold back. Twin, high-powered force blades sprang from my dragons arms.

Up close, the machine was more complex and bizarre than Id realized previously. It had cameras-lots of them. Like a spider with eyes cl.u.s.tered between its legs, the cameras were nestled all over the place between the plates. There must have been a hundred machine-eyes watching me as I tore a hole in its armor.

Three times, I slashed. I didnt get fourth try. Plates flew off, clattering and clanging to the ground. A good-sized hole had opened up, but I didnt know if it would be enough.

That was as far as I got before I was unceremoniously dumped on the dirt. A great flap of the outer rim rose up, the whole machine shivered forward-then everything went dark.

I was underneath it, being crushed down. The underside of the machine reminded me of a roly-poly from my grandmas backyard. There were hundreds of gray metallic feet and churning legs. They clacked and sparked on my dragons armor. The experience left me with a panicky feeling. I knew this was how Carlos had died.

As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I could see tools hanging down from the insides of the machine. Tools mounted on arms that moved independently. I could tell already that when these steel pipes, spikes and blades got through my dragons hull to the soft meaty center, it wasnt going to be a happy moment for old James McGill.

"Squad!" I shouted on the com channel. "Can you hear me? Im inside the machine, underneath it. If I use my launchers, Ill blast myself apart."

"Hang on, Vet," Sargon said. "Were mounting a general attack."

"Go for the hole that I cut in the things hull," I said. "Try firing grenades in there."

"We might blast you if we do that, Vet."

Thinking about it for less than a second, I made a hard decision. I was going to have to get lucky to live this time. The luck might as well come right now.

"I know," I told Sargon. "But Ill be toast anyway in less than a minute. Go for it."

I waited, cringing, while the machine tried to eat me. Hardened steel can take quite a beating, but right now I was wishing Id opted for shielding and heavy weaponry rather than faster legs on my dragons load-out.

A white flash boomed, overloading my optic nerves for a second. I was glad my ears were well-covered because the noise was deafening under the enclosed surface of the machines outer hull.

I guessed one of my squad had gotten a grenade inside the machine. More explosions soon followed. It sounded like a rain of boulders on top of a metal roof.

Finally, the machine gave up on eating me. It peeled itself off my dragon and shuffled away. A dozen primitive legs thumped and clattered over me, and I was out in the open again.