Tia knew why, then, in a flash of insight Alex had just gone from 'fellow predator' to 'prey'; the jackal-dogs were used to grazer-bulls charging them aggressively to try to drive them away. Alex was imitating the behavior of the bulls, though he did not know it, and in better times, the pack probably would have responded by moving to easier prey. But these were lean times, and any imitation of prey behavior meant they would try to catch and kill what was taunting them.
Alex was now in real danger.
But Alex was a better flyer than Tia had ever thought; he kept the sled just out of reach of a strong jump, kept it moving in unpredictable turns and spins.
Then, one of the biggest beasts in the pack leapt, and landed, feet scrabbling on the back bumper of the sled.
'Alex!' Tla shrieked again. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw his danger.
He sent the sled into a spin; the sled's protection overrides objected strenuously, whining as they fought him. The jackal-dog fought, too, hind-claws skidding against the duraloy of the bumper. Alex watched desperately over his shoulder as the beast's claws found a hold, and it began hauling itself over the bumper toward him.
In what was either a burst of inspiration or insanity, he jammed on the braking motors. The sled stopped dead in mid-spin, flinging him sideways against his safety-belts.
And flinging the jackal-dog off the back of the sled entirely, sending it flying into the pack, and tumbling at least a dozen of them nose-over-tail.
At that moment the team reached the second dome.
The flash of light as they opened the door told Alex they were safe, and he no longer had to make a target of himself. Alex burned air back towards Tia; she dropped open a cargo-bay, activated restraint-fields and hoped he'd be able to brake in time to keep from hitting the back wall. At the speed he was coming, the restraint-fields, meant to keep the sled from banging around too much in rough flight, wouldn't do much.
He didn't even slow down as he hit the bay door, which she slammed down behind him. Instead, he killed the power and skidded to a halt on the sled's belly in a shower of sparks. The sled skewed sideways and crashed into the back wall, but between Alex's own maneuver and the restraint-fields, the impact wasn't bad enough to do more than dent her hold-wall. Once again, Alex was hurled sideways against his seat-belts. There were a half- dozen impacts on the cargo door, indicating the leaders of the pack hitting it, unable to stop.
He sat there for a moment, then sagged over the steering wheel, breathing heavily. Nothing on Tia's pickups made her think he was hurt, so she waited for him to catch his breath.
When his breathing slowed, and he looked up, she focused on his face. He was flushed, but showed no shock, and no sign of pain.
'Well,' she said, keeping her voice calm and light, 'you certainly know how to make an entrance.'
He blinked, then leaned back in his seat, and began laughing.
It was no laughing matter the next day, when Haakon-Fritz emerged from his shelter and was confronted by the remainder of his team. He had no choice; Tia had threatened to hole his dome if he didn't, giving the beasts a way inside. It was an empty threat, but he didn't know that; like any other fanatic Practical Darwinist, he had never bothered to learn the capabilities of brainships.
Les took charge of him before he had a chance to say anything; using some kind of commando-tactics to get a hold on the man that immobilized him, then frogmarching him into the ship.
By common consent, everyone else waited until Les and Tia had secured Haakon-Fritz in one of her cabins, with access to what was going on in the main cabin, but no way of interrupting the proceedings. Any time he started in on one of his speeches, she could cut him off and he'd be preaching to the bare walls.
As the others gathered in the cabin, Doctor Aspen looking particularly shaken and worn, Tia prepared to give them the news. It wasn't completely bad... but they weren't going to like part of it
'We aren't pulling you out,' she said, 'although we've got that authority. We understand your concern about leaving this dig and losing essentially two years, and we share it.'
As she watched four of the five faces register their mix of relief and anticipation, she wished she could give them unmixed orders.
'That's the good news,' Alex said, before anyone could respond. 'Here's the bad news. In order to stay here, we're going to order you to stay in your domes until the next courier shows up with your new generator and parts for the old one. We ordered one for you when the old one slagged; the courier should arrive in about a month or two with the new one.'
'But-' Doctor Aspen started to object
