by Elin Wyn
It was a petty thing for me to do, but I didn’t like the fact that a crew had been imposed on me. Even if those guys were competent, I liked picking my own team.
“Already did it,” the Skotan said in that deep tone of his, his right hand hooked on his tool belt. “He’s on his way here to see it for himself.”
“You shouldn’t have told him without my say-so,” I frowned. As foreman of the building site, it was within his purview to do what he did, but I didn’t like it.
Whenever I had to handle a project as large as this, I liked to remain in control of every single thing that happened on site. Micromanaging isn’t exactly one of my best qualities, but there are times when I just can’t help it.
“The job is done,” he shrugged, and then just turned on his heels and started walking down the bridge. He unbuckled his belt as he went, and slung it over his shoulder in a casual manner. I followed him with my gaze until he joined the rest of the crew, more than fifty men -aliens, whatever - resting under the shade of the forest, right on the other side of the bridge, and let out a heavy sigh.
I still wasn’t sure what to make of them. They were good workers, but they had a way of going about things that I wasn’t used to.
Efficiency was something I valued, no two ways about it, but I still wasn’t used to not having humans around.
“Let it go, Alessa,” I muttered under my breath. The crew had done an impressive job, and the bridge was already done.
There was no use in dwelling on things now. With some luck, there’d be some time between my next project, and Alberon would see the light and give me the all-human crew I wanted.
Wiping the sweat off my brow, I started making my way across the bridge. I always liked doing a little speech whenever a project was completed, especially when my crew deserved some praise, and I wasn’t about to change that just because these guys were aliens.
Good workers deserve respect, even if they weren’t my first choice.
Once I closed in on the group, I climbed onto a transport truck and stood on its hood, hands on my hips as I allowed my gaze to take them all in.
“We made it,” I started to say, and almost every single one of them stood up straight to hear me. It was slightly disconcerting. Human crews were hit-or-miss when it came to respecting a female supervisor, so having them all stand at attention just because I said a couple of words was something I wasn’t used to. “And we did it on schedule. I can tell you that Alberon and the investors were expecting delays and extra-costs, but we’ve managed to pull this off without a hitch. And all thanks to you.”
I was about to continue when the roar of a loud engine took over our surroundings, and a sudden breeze whipped my hair back.
Reacting on instinct, I looked up to see a small transport shuttle cutting its way across the blue sky, its engines on a feeble truce with gravity as it made its way down.
“Looks like the boss is here,” I cried out, hoping the guys would hear me, and jumped out of the truck. I waited as the shuttle landed on a nearby clearing and, once the engines were killed, I started making my way toward it.
Alberon climbed out from it a moment later, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled to his elbows. He was wearing dress pants and impeccably polished shoes, but no tie. Even though he was a corporate animal, he enjoyed dressing down a little whenever he came to meet his troops.
“Alessa, I’m impressed,” he said as we met, immediately reaching for my hand and shaking it. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you for another week or two. The investors were ready to pony up some extra money to see this happen, you know?”
“I can give them my bank account number, if they’re that eager to part with their money,” I said with a smile. Even though Alberon was my boss, our relationship was a friendly one. He knew I was essential to the success of his building company, and I depended on him for a steady stream of interesting projects I could work on. Our success needed that friendly trust.
“You’re in a good mood, huh?” He laughed. “Come, walk with me. I wanna see this bridge of yours.”
“It’s more yours than mine,” I said, walking after him as he made his way toward the bridge. We walked side by side until we were standing in the middle of it and, just like I had done earlier before, Alberon leaned over the edge and glanced at the river down below.
“You’ve done an excellent job here, Alessa.” Leaning against the railings, he folded his arms over his chest and smiled at me. “I know this project was harder than the rest, with all the craziness that’s been happening, and I think I might persuade the investors to provide you with a nice bonus. You like the sound of that?”
“A bonus? Damn right I like the sound of that,” I laughed. “But, really, I just want to move on to the next project. I don’t like standing still.”
“I’m sure we’ll find something for you. With all the rebuilding that’s taking place across the continent, there are a lot of projects that wouldn’t mind an experienced engineer at hand. It’s just a matter of securing the right contracts.”
“There’s just one thing I’d like to ask you,” I continued, shifting my weight from one foot to the other as I thought of what my next words would be. I didn’t need to worry, because Alberon quickly realized what I was getting at.
“Oh, come on, Alessa, not this again,” he sighed, shaking his head and placing both hands on his hips.
“I just want to choose my own crew.”
“No, you just don’t want to work with the aliens,” he corrected me. “I seriously have no idea why’s that an issue. They’re extremely competent, they got this bridge done on schedule, and they respect you. Why don’t you like working with them?
“I just don’t,” I insisted.
Truth be told, I had no better answer. I had been lucky, as my family had been left alone by the Xathi during the invasion, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around how much things had changed after the aliens arrived here.
I accepted their presence as a fact of life, but that didn’t mean I liked it.
My heart tightened every time I thought of all the buildings I had helped build, most of them now turned into rubble, and all because of them.
“That’s not a valid answer,” Alberon said. Shaking his head once more, he sighed heavily. “I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.”
Well, that was something.
Navat
“I thought the Urai’s tech was supposed to be advanced,” the scientist, who had not warmed up to me at all in the past hour, huffed impatiently.
That was alright. I hadn’t really warmed up to his scrawny self either.
“It is,” Maki replied.
“Then why don’t we have our results yet?”
“Our results?” I lifted a brow. “Now you want to be part of the team?”
“I’m the one with the team. Not you,” he shot back.
“We’re the ones with the satellite,” I corrected.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be allowed to see the results of our work,” Maki teased.
The scientist’s face turned a concerning shade of red. That was a man who needed a drink if I’d ever seen one.
Actually, a drink didn’t sound too bad now that I thought about it.
A ping drew my attention to Maki.
“Results are in,” she grinned.
The scientist scurried over to Maki with a greedy look in his eyes.
“What is it? What is it?” He demanded frantically.
I gave him a suspicious glance.
“Sir, I’m going to need you to take a step back.”
“Excuse me?” he hissed. “This is my work.”
“Look into my eyes,” I ordered.
“Navat?” Tyehn gave me a curious look. “You don’t think…” he trailed off.
“We can’t be too careful,” I shrugged.
“What are you talking about?” the scientists demanded.
“Just do as he says,” Maki urged gently.
�
�Fine.” The scientist fixed me with a withering glare that would’ve been quite intimidating if I were someone else.
And a child.
Who was easily frightened.
“His eyes look clear to me,” I said.
“I agree,” Maki said.
“What are you talking about?” the scientist demanded.
“He’s not showing signs of aggression, just irritability,” Tyehn said.
“No shit I’m irritable,” the scientist spat. “You three just waltz in here and take over my camp and expect me to be calm about it?”
“The rest of your coworkers are calm,” I observed.
“They don’t have anything riding on this the way I do,” he insisted.
“Like what?”
“I’m writing my thesis on this,” he explained. “My standing in the scientific community depends on what I discover here. If I come up with piles of dirt, I’m nothing. I’m finished.”
“That explains a lot,” I muttered. “Okay, he’s clear for signs of Gorgos, as far as I can tell.”
“You thought I was one of them?” He shrieked.
“Can you blame us?” Maki gave him a look. “We’re at the site of a massive Gorgo exposure. This is where some of the first people fell under their influence.”
“I’m not one of them,” he hissed. “I just want to see what’s beneath the earth.”’
“Do you have somewhere where we can pull the image results up on a larger screen?” Maki asked.
“Follow me.”
As if nothing happened, the scientist turned on his heel and stalked toward a cluster of tents.
“Talk about work-place stress,” I sighed.
“And we thought fighting Xathi was intense,” Tyehn joked.
We followed the scientist deeper into the camp. We passed his colleagues as we walked. Some nodded to us, others ignored us.
All of them gave the pushy little man a wide berth.
“How do we see the scans?” He asked once all four of us were in one of the tents. The far wall of the tent was completely covered in monitors displaying all kinds of charts and graphs.
“I’ll connect to the Urai’s network,” Maki offered.
“I’d prefer if you didn’t mess with my set up,” the scientist said.
“Okay,” I shrugged, my patience wearing thin. “We’ll just head back to our labs and look at it there.”
“Sounds good to me,” Tyehn agreed.
“Wait!” The scientist cried out.
“What’s the point, sir?” I asked. “You aren’t going to give us access and we need to see what’s on these scans. We’re trying to work with you. I’d appreciate it if you tried to work with us as well.”
“How diplomatic of you, Navat,” Maki grinned.
“He’s full of surprises, isn’t he?”
I rolled my eyes at my companions.
The scientist stared at us for a long moment until I thought he was for sure going to kick us out of the workspace. Instead, he let out a sigh.
“Go ahead,” he gestured to the set up. “But screw any of my data up and there will be hell to pay.”
“I expect nothing less,” I said.
Maki went to work accessing the Urai’s network. From there, they connected her to the satellite.
As soon as the images appeared on the screen, we knew we’d stumbled onto something unusual.
“What is that?” Tyehn asked.
“I don’t know,” Maki shook her head. “Whatever it is, it’s big.”
The satellite image showed shadows beneath the earth perhaps fifty feet below the surface. The shadows were huge, indicating a large, dense structure. Judging from the images, it was two hundred meters long and perhaps one hundred and fifty meters wide.
The depth of the structure was hard to ascertain for certain, but it looked as if it penetrated rather deep into the earth. Another five hundred meters, maybe.
“How did the Gorgo know about this?” I wondered.
“Who knows?” Maki said. “I want to know why it’s so important to them. We should call in a dig squad and start a proper excavation.”
“Absolutely!” The scientist gushed. “I knew something was down there. I just knew it.”
“Hold on a moment,” Tyehn said. “I don’t think we should go diving into that thing just yet.”
“Why not?” Both Maki and the scientist demanded.
“What if there are toxic spores? What if there are traps? We have no idea what that thing is. We should do above-ground testing before we break out the shovels.”
“I’m inclined to agree with Tyehn,” I said. “If the Gorgos want it, I’m willing to bet it’s something dangerous.”
“If it’s dangerous, shouldn’t we get to it before the Gorgos have the chance?” Maki countered.
“What if the Gorgos have already gotten to it?” I replied. “What if there’s already something down there, waiting for someone to carelessly disturb it? I’m not saying we should cover it up and walk away, I’m just saying we need to proceed with caution here.”
“Exactly,” Tyehn nodded.
“Remember what happened to Amira and Dax?” I asked. “They almost died in that underground temple because they had no idea what they were getting into. I don’t want a repeat of that.”
“What if that’s what this is?” Maki’s eyes lit up. “It could be another one of those temples.”
“What temples? What are you talking about?” The scientist looked eagerly back and forth between us.
“Ever use rift travel?” Maki asked him.
“No, but I know what it is.”
“Friends of ours found the device that makes rift traveling possible inside a temple out in the desert. We never figured out the temple’s origins.”
“Do you think another one of those devices could be down there?”
“Maybe,” Maki shrugged. “It’s impossible to tell from here.” She turned back to face me and Tyehn. “Which is why we should get excavating before the Gorgo’s send another horde after it.”
“I’ll inform General Rouhr,” I said. “I’ll see what he wants us to do.”
“I’ll arrange dig site preparations, just in case,” Maki smirked.
“Fine,” I sighed. “But don’t confirm anything until General Rouhr gives the go-ahead. I don’t want to pay out of pocket for diggers and sensors and whatever other nonsense you’re thinking of bringing in here.”
“You know me too well,” Maki grinned. She turned to the scientist. “How do I get ahold of any of the major cities from here?”
“Follow me.”
The two left the tent, leaving Tyhen and me behind.
“What are your thoughts?” He asked me.
“I think we’re about to poke into something that was never meant to be disturbed,” I replied.
“Cryptic,” Tyehn barked out a laugh. “I’ll go make sure Maki doesn’t go overboard.”
“Wise decision,” I nodded.
I pulled out my radio and reached out to General Rouhr.
“That was quick,” he said once I was patched through. “I wasn’t expecting to hear anything so soon.”
“We’ve found what appears to be a large structure buried beneath the earth,” I reported. “Initial scans don’t give us much to go on. Maki wants to start excavating as soon as possible.”
“Was there anything concerning on the scans?” General Rouhr asked.
“Only that we can’t confirm anything about the structure,” I replied. “The scans were taken by one of the Urai satellites. You should be able to pull them up on your console.”
“Excellent.” General Rouhr went quiet as he pulled up the scans. “Oh. Yes, I see what you mean. That’s remarkably large, whatever it is.”
“We’re theorizing that it’s another temple,” I said. “Like the one Amira and Dax discovered.”
“Reasonable,” General Rouhr said thoughtfully. “Well, I see no unusual energy signatures or heat markers. I authori
ze you to bring in a dig team and get to work.”
“Maki is already making preparations. Hopefully, we’ll make progress before sundown.”
“Good. I’m going to send someone over who might be able to give you some insight,” he said. “Expect them in a few hours.”
“I’ll make arrangements,” I said.
“I expect frequent reports as this matter develops.”
“Yes, sir.”
Alessa
“He’s already expecting you,” the blonde receptionist smiled. Leaning on her chair, she pointed at the office door behind her, motioning me to walk in.
“Thank you,” I said, returning her smile as I walked past her and into Alberon’s office. He was sitting behind an old mahogany desk, one that was littered with all kinds of documents and schematics.
His office was old and cramped, but he always assured me that soon enough we’d start building a new office building and move there. The old one had been destroyed during the war, which forced him to move his company into a rundown building on the outskirts of town. Much like other companies, the war had put us through financial hell.
“Glad you could make it in such short notice, Alessa.” Raising his head, he looked at me and drummed his fingers against the edge of his desk.
“It’s not like I was busy,” I said as I sat across him. “What’s this about? You got a new job for me?” It had been almost a week since I had finished the bridge, and I was starting to get antsy. I needed to keep moving, or else I’d go mad. Alberon was always trying to convince me to go on holidays, but I always refused.
“That’s right.” Leafing through a stack of documents, he grabbed one of them and slid it across the desk. “It’s not your usual thing, but I think you’re going to like it all the same. It’s an interesting job, to say the least.”
“If you say so,” I muttered, grabbing the document and glancing at it. The location given for the job was the Sika jungle, which was odd. “What’s this about? Are we gonna start building things in the middle of absolutely nowhere?”
“Who said we’re building anything?” He laughed. “Just keep reading.”
Frowning, I did as he told me to and kept on reading. Apparently, the company had been hired to help perform an excavacation on some ancient structure that had been found in the middle of the jungle. It’d be an archeological job, then. Not my usual cup of tea, but digging stuff up was always fun. I just didn’t understand why someone would pour money into such a thing when almost every single city across the continent needed the funds for rebuilding.