“Every day. To sail amongst the towering forests and alight upon their limbs amid the falling dusklight? But it is not to be. I cannot go home.”
“What do you mean, you can’t?”
His compound eyes reflected the harsh light of the bunker like a prism, while revealing nothing of the thoughts hidden behind them. “That is a tale I will reserve for a later time.”
“I understand. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Hey.” Joaquim showed up to crouch beside them. “Xyche, we can take the tunnels all the way to the Curio Market, can’t we?”
“Indeed.”
“Great. One of the drones did a fly-by of the sector, and the Rasu haven’t bombed out the Market yet. I want to raid it for supplies—the sort of supplies your shop offers.”
“Offered, I believe you mean.”
“Yeah, sorry. But all isn’t lost if we can put your inventory to good use.”
Xyche set aside his rope-in-progress. “I accept this logic. What do you have in mind?”
“Disguises and traps. I was thinking…there’s no reason why morph tech won’t work on the Rasu, right? It manipulates EM waves, which has to be what they use to ‘see.’ ”
“Joaquim, appearing to be someone other than yourself will not save you from the Rasu. They do not care what you look like.”
“I know. I was thinking of disguising inanimate objects—drones, light poles, benches, whatever—as Asterions to draw Rasu in. Then we spring a trap and shred them into tiny metal pieces.”
Marlee piped up in interest at the notion of fileted Rasu. “Shred them using what?”
“Improvised bombs packed with archine blades and an electrical blast.”
“Ooh, sounds awesome. Do we have enough blades?”
Joaquim laughed. “I am shocked to report that Panetier has agreed to send out scouting parties to the rest of the bunkers. If they find people, excellent. If they don’t, they’ll bring back the food and other supplies stored there—especially archine blades. We should have hundreds by tomorrow.” He nodded at Xyche. “So what do you say? Permission to raid your shop?”
The Taiyok exhaled ponderously, the soft feathers at his neck ruffling as if disturbed by a non-existent breeze. “Granted.”
Beneath Namino One
The maze of underground tunnels was turning out to be far more extensive than Marlee had initially appreciated. The bunkers were built off the tunnels at strategic locations tied to surface access, but the passageways themselves wound beneath the entire city.
With her eVi’s positioning system down, she reluctantly admitted—only to herself—that she was completely lost five minutes into the trek to this Curio Market. Thankfully, she wasn’t the navigator. Selene had a map of the tunnel network and locations of all the bunkers; she was able to project it in the air so everyone else could view it, but without quantum communications she had no way to share it more permanently.
Xyche may or may not possess a similar map, but he moved through the tunnels with the confidence of one who had trod them many times before.
How odd, for winged creatures who could soar among the clouds to choose to travel these dark, claustrophobic paths buried beneath the bedrock of a world.
She thought about Xyche’s enigmatic explanation, and decided to seek out the other side of the story. As the tunnel curved to the left, she slowed her steps to fall in beside Grant. “Is it true the Taiyoks used these tunnels to get around the city?”
“That’s the rumor.”
A bit of annoyance flared, as yet again he was giving her a flippant, evasive answer. “But is it true?”
“For the most part, yes.”
“But why? Before the attack began, it looked as if there was a perfectly functional street, levtram and shuttle network on the surface.”
“The Taiyoks are naturally secretive creatures. They prefer to operate in shadow rather than light. And, truth be told, the Taiyoks here on Namino haven’t exactly integrated into our society. Officially, we are allies all day long. And we are. But our cultures don’t meld well. I suspect many Taiyoks are more comfortable using the tunnels than enduring the stares of the people.”
On this much, it appeared Xyche and Grant agreed. “It’s horrible how they’ve felt compelled to hide.”
“That’s life—imperfect. Don’t you have a bunch of species living together in Concord? Are their cultural idiosyncrasies all treated with equal respect?”
She wanted to snap back with a snarky response, but it was a childish desire, and she was doing everything in her power to convince Grant—and the others, of course—that she was not a child. “It’s a complicated question. Us humans didn’t know any aliens until fifteen years ago, when we encountered the Kats. Then we got dumped—in the best way possible—into the middle of an ancient, flourishing society comprised of dozens of species. So for many humans, all the aliens are weird and incomprehensible, but they’re kind of all equally so? Except for the Efkam. They’re weirder and more incomprehensible than the rest. But they’re glowing gelatinous blobs, so.”
Grant chuckled. “So they would be. Sure. But you don’t act nonplussed in the slightest by the Taiyoks.”
“Well, I work for the Consulate. Interacting with aliens is sort of my job. And I always wanted to do it, from the time I was a little girl. Each species is fascinating in its own way, and I—”
Joaquim and Xyche came to an abrupt stop at the front of the procession, and she could practically hear Joaquim scowling. “Are we here? I don’t see a way up.”
“Yes.” Xyche walked straight into a solid stone wall—and through it.
Joaquim laughed. “Nice camouflage!” He motioned them forward. “Through the stone, everyone.”
The stone wasn’t actually there, obviously. It was some sort of projection, though Marlee discerned no equipment powering it, and it provided no resistance when she stepped through it. On the other side was a lift built into the earth.
Joaquim gathered the group around him at the lift. “Standard high-risk operating procedure once we’re above. Assume Rasu could be anywhere, so stay quiet and move carefully. Grant, you know the type of materials we’ll need and you’re familiar with the Market layout, so you and Marlee investigate the other shops. Ava, go with them and watch their backs. Xyche and I will empty out his shop, Selene and Dominic will stand guard and keep an eye on the horizon, and we’ll meet back at the lift in fifteen minutes.”
No one voiced any objections, and once Joaquim gave the all-clear, they followed him up the lift.
It felt like ascending into a well-preserved tomb. No lights brightened the hallways of the building, and since they were aboveground they didn’t dare risk using lights themselves. Everything was cast in dull flint and muted amber. The halls were wide and tall—again, Taiyok construction—and a dry wind wafted in through jagged holes in the exterior façade. She didn’t see any windows…they could have all been blown out, but given what Grant had said about the Taiyoks, the most likely conclusion was that the Curio Market contained none.
The odor of rotting flesh greeted them when they rounded the first corner, and her hand reflexively came to her mouth. A few meters ahead, the shadowy outline of a Taiyok corpse lay sprawled beneath broken chunks of wall, its wings spread wide, as if it had been preparing to take flight. She hurriedly turned down her olfactory receptors and gave the body a wide berth.
Grant took her hand in his, which was nice, and guided her through a doorway on the left, while Ava took up a defensive position at the door. What minimal light had existed in the hallway from the moonlight vanished, pitching them into near-total darkness. She increased the infrared filter in her ocular implant, so she was at least able to make out the outlines of furniture and equipment.
Grant appeared to be able to see a lot better—she shouldn’t really be surprised—as they moved to a floor-to-ceiling stack of drawers along the back wall. He set his bag on the floor and opened it up, then studied the drawers for a moment befo
re pointing up and to the right. He leaned in close to her ear to whisper, sending a tingle racing up her spine. “Empty the second, fourth and fifth drawers from the right, third row from the top.”
It was with a great deal of reluctance that she stepped away from him and started opening drawers. As near as she could tell in the dark, they held fibers, wires and small objects of unknown use.
Her bag was half full when Ava backed into the room, her gun arm trained on the door. Grant grabbed Marlee’s arm and dragged her behind Ava; Marlee leaned out to peek around the tall woman’s shoulder.
Beyond the door and a gaping hole across the hallway, two aerial drone-looking Rasu cruised past. Their darting violet irises crisscrossed the landscape before swinging around to sweep over the Market.
Marlee held her breath, every muscle frozen, as the beams passed over the broken structure…and kept going.
She sensed Grant relax beside her as he picked up his bag. “Finish emptying those drawers, then we should go, before they decide they need to investigate more closely.”
22
* * *
NAMINO
Camp Burrow
The trip back to the bunker passed in silence, as the roving Rasu drones and decomposing Taiyok corpses had everyone a little rattled. Once they were again ensconced behind their camouflaged door, Grant and Joaquim dumped the spoils of the field trip out on one of the workstations and sorted the items into piles in preparation for building some bombs.
Curious about what the design and assembly of an Asterion bomb entailed, Marlee leaned against the wall a meter away and watched them work. She had a thousand questions, but she’d learned that Joaquim got cranky if you peppered him with inquiries while he was working on a project. It wasn’t a problem. She could figure out most of what they were doing by careful observation.
Abruptly a rapping noise resounded from the other side of the door, and Selene, Joaquim and Ava instantly had weapons in their raised hands as they cautiously approached the door. Grant nudged her and several other people into the hallway and out of line-of-sight of the door. A hush fell over the bunker.
As Marlee understood it, the code for the doors and how to access them had been widely shared among the residents of Namino in the hours before the invasion, but it was conceivable that someone hadn’t received all the necessary information. Also, a Rasu wouldn’t bother to knock, right?
She positioned herself at the front of the hallway and peeked around the corner in time to see Joaquim jerk a nod to Selene. The woman approached the door, reached in from the side and opened it, then quick-stepped back to train her weapon on the opening.
A deep voice murmured something unintelligible, and a man half-covered in blood and soot stepped through—
—her heart dropped straight through her chest as she leapt out of the hallway and shoved past Grant into the open space. “Caleb?”
The instant his gaze landed on her, he rushed forward, and she let herself be swept up into his embrace. “You’re alive.”
“I am,” she mumbled into his neck. He was squeezing her almost as hard as Pinchu did, and she wiggled in protest until he set her down. “What are you doing here?”
He regarded her with shining sapphire eyes and a big smile. “Rescuing you, of course.”
“What?” Her hand came to her mouth to fail at muffling a sob. Why was she crying? She laughed as tears streamed down her face. “You….” Then she was in his arms again, and it sure sounded like he was crying, too.
“I was coming for you when all the wormholes shut down, and I had to take the long way instead. I’m sorry it took me so long to get to you.” He pulled back to hold her at arm’s length. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” She shook her head roughly. “I mean, I was, but Grant and Selene and the others took care of me. I’m fine now. But what about you? You’re covered in blood.”
A shadow passed across his features, and he shrugged with forced mildness. “Had a few Rasu encounters on the way here. Nothing too bad.”
Given his state, she shuddered to think of what a ‘bad’ encounter would entail. She suddenly noticed Grant, Joaquim, Selene, Ava and half the occupants of the bunker gathered a respectful distance away ogling them. She choked out a teary laugh and gestured to the room. “Everyone, this is my Uncle Caleb. He came to find me, because he’s a badass.”
Caleb wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand and offered a general nod to the room. “Thank you all very much for taking Marlee in and looking after her. I, um….” His voice trailed off and his face blanched, almost as if he were seeing a ghost.
She swallowed back renewed sobs and motioned him over toward a free couch. “Come, sit. Do you want water? You must. Food? You look exhausted. And, again, very bloody. We have a shower, too, whenever you want to get cleaned up.”
“It’s been…yeah.” He eased down onto the couch. “In a minute. Sit with me first. Tell me what happened to you.”
After spending twenty minutes listening to and trying to absorb Marlee’s story, which was alternately astounding and surprisingly mundane, Caleb finally stood to stretch and take her up on her offer of food…which was when he realized the numbness had faded, and his left arm hurt like a son of a bitch.
He didn’t want to take the medwrap off in front of her, though, so he needed a distraction. “How about some of that food you mentioned? Now that I’ve finally stopped moving, I’m famished.”
“You bet.” She stood, then frowned darkly. “You did get injured!”
He glanced at his arm; the ragged hole in his shirt revealed part of the medwrap and a fresh trickle of blood. “It’s nothing. Merely a scratch.”
She studied him suspiciously for another few seconds before disappearing down a hallway on the opposite side of the bunker from the door. Once she was gone, he dug into his pack and retrieved a more robust medwrap before removing the existing one from his arm. In the bright lighting of the bunker, he was able to take in the full extent of the singed flesh, torn tendons and glimpses of bone. He didn’t see any signs of infection, but normally a wound such as this one would be well on its way to knitting itself together by now.
He checked the medical readout from his eVi while he secured the new medwrap. It insisted the wound was healing, but at a regular human rate at best. In other words, Akeso was not currently pitching in. He rubbed at his jaw. Fine, then. Just pout.
“Here you go.” Marlee stood over him, offering him some sliced chicken and cheese on rye bread.
She looked so fantastic—all her limbs attached and unmarred, her hair wild with untamed curls and her eyes dancing with vivacity. He allowed himself to relax a little bit. Only for a minute.
He accepted the sandwich from her and patted the seat beside him.
She plopped down on the couch, but instantly zeroed in on his re-bandaged arm. “Are you sure you’re not badly hurt?”
“I am. But it is ugly out there.”
“Oh, I know. Joaquim let me go with them on a supply raid to the Curio Market this evening. It was intense.”
He hunted around for the man she’d earlier identified as Joaquim, a righteous tirade poised on his lips…but he let it go for now. He wasn’t going to be the grumpy uncle who was no fun at parties—or insurgencies.
“Then I’m glad you made it back here safely. We’ll stay here for a few more hours—I admit I could use a nap—then head out. Darkness will provide us some added cover, and if things go well, we can reach the Ghost by sunrise.”
Her eyes hooded, and she gazed deliberately around the bunker before returning her focus to him. She reached out to grasp his free hand, and her shoulders rose. “I’m staying.”
“You’re…what?” He hurriedly set the plate on the floor and turned all his attention to her. “No. I came all this way just to save you. This is a deadly warzone—a bloody killing field—and we need to get home.”
“I know it is. I know we do. But these people? They’re facing what seem like insurmountable odd
s, but they’ve been wonderful to me anyway. They need help—they need your kind of help, or else this cavern is going to become their grave. We can’t leave them to that fate.”
“I sympathize with them. With everyone on this planet, believe me, I do. But Marlee, be reasonable. What about your mother? She thinks you could be dead. And if we stay here for much longer, she might be right.”
“Mom.” Marlee let go of his hand to cover her face. “I realize she’s worried sick, and I feel horrible about it. But a couple of days won’t change our eventual happy reunion for her, while they can make all the difference for these people.”
“A couple of days? I don’t think the Rasu are planning on leaving anytime soon.”
“We—they, but also with my input—have been trying to pin down the source of the quantum blocking field. If we can zero in on it, Joaquim wants to mount a mission to take it out. Then we can call in the cavalry.”
“Marlee, I’m not certain there is a cavalry. The battle wiped out the Asterion fleet and cut a huge swath through the Khokteh, Novoloume and Taiyok fleets.”
Selene had hinted at the same thing, but Marlee had chosen not to believe it. “Pinchu?”
“He’s alive and still in command.”
“Whew. And the AEGIS ships held out, didn’t they?”
“Sort of.” He hadn’t wanted to break the news to her. He chose to believe that back home, Miriam had by now woken up well, whole and completely her old self. But here on a besieged planet, where thirty meters over their heads a cold and callous enemy laid waste to a civilization, it no longer seemed inevitable.
“What is it?”
He forced himself to meet her gaze. “The Rasu learned how to squeeze through cracks in our adiamene hulls. During the battle, they boarded several AEGIS vessels.”
“Boarded! What happened?”
“The AEGIS vessels self-destructed to prevent the Rasu from taking prisoners or gaining vital Concord intel.”
Inversion (Riven Worlds Book Two) Page 15