Catalyst Read Online Free Page A

the surface, the animals still needed periodic vaccinations, and their microchip tags required updating, and Jared did that too, as well as providing care for pets. It was a huge job.
    “I’ve got a good tracker, new model. We’ll be done and back in no time.”
    “Famous last words,” she said, waggling a finger at him. Now that she was actually with him instead of just thinking about being with him, she no longer felt nervous or flustered. He was so comfortable to be with that she fell into the teasing she often did with her fellow crew members on the
Molly Daise
.
    “I know, I know,” he replied, grinning again, remembering one of their earlier trips to Sherwood, which he had promised would be quick but lasted two weeks. He’d only just got her back to the space station in time to reach her ship before its scheduled departure.
    The tracker was docked in the small bay adjacent to the vet clinic. They seated themselves in the vehicle, checked with Traffic and were assigned a time, cleared their orbit, and recorded their destination.
    Jared was a good pilot, and Janina sat back to enjoy the flight. As soon as the docking bay doors retracted, she could see the green and blue bulk of the planet Sherwood. As they descended, the long valley between two minor mountain ranges that constituted the Varley ranch zoomed in beneath them. It was a rich holding, and Varley was known as a successful but responsible settler who took good care of his stock, so she understood why he would want to make sure all his animals were being imported legally. It wasn’tas if the breeder couldn’t afford to pay the costs of legitimate additions to his stock.
    That didn’t mean that someone else couldn’t have brought the horses to Sherwood. There were always ways to elude notice. Pirates and smugglers could likely make an unseen landing when the station eclipsed the planet. Even Traffic couldn’t monitor everything. But why would anyone go to the trouble of smuggling stock to boost someone else’s herd? It didn’t make sense.
    Jared had a brief, earnest conversation with Traffic, after which he seemed lost in thought most of the time. He glanced at her once or twice to smile encouragingly, and she knew he was happy to have her help, and, she hoped, her company.
    But as excited as she was to be off on another mission with him, and reassured as she was by the precautions he took to ensure Chessie’s safety and their own, Janina felt a twinge of worry and guilt about leaving her charge. She compulsively checked the security camera monitor every few seconds, sure that Chessie would go into labor the minute she wasn’t looking. Chessie was still sleeping soundly, though the chicken livers were now gone. Janina knew it was silly of her to worry, but she wouldn’t have been a Cat Person if she had not.

    The broken-colored horses were rather surprising. They didn’t act wild or even worried when they saw the humans.
    The first lot of them, six in number, were grazing when Janina and Jared arrived, and after several coy sidelong glances, one of them, with a black saddle and rump and one rather rakish black eye, trotted cautiously over. Jared had armed himself and Janina appropriately. She proffered an apple as a bribe and the mare sidled in more closely, finally accepting the apple from her palm. Meanwhile, Jared clipped a halter across the horse’s neck. The mare whuffled but did not interrupt her treat long enough to seriously protest. He clicked the scanner and shook his head. No chip.
    When he tagged her ear, she started, neighed, and reared in protest, dropping the remains of her apple. The DNA smear from her saliva would establish whether she was related to any of the local herds.
    “Shhh, shhh, it’s okay,” Janina said soothingly. “That’s all there is to it. Don’t be such a big baby. My cat barely noticed when we did hers, although hers is here.” She touched a spot on the back of her neck. “It’s how we know who you are