Another moment of confusion passed across the man's face. "Ah, yes well, I'm lead researcher, Savorne. Yes, that's who I am."
"Can your people walk?" Kassad inquired and when Savorne didn't answer immediately he added, "We need to move them back to the ship."
"Walk?" Savorne repeated the word as if it were alien to him. "Yes they can walk. The muscles work, it's the neurons in the brain related to sensory interpretation that are impeded. Eyes went, ears went, and the mind quickly winds down after that without sensory input. Most of are near catatonic."
"We need to start moving them back to the ship right away." Kassad said more to Greene than Savorne before addressing the man more directly. "Are they all here? We ran into one already and have him onboard."
"I think everyone is here. I told them to stay. That's the most important thing. Stick to the camp so they can find us." He explained then apologized, "My eyes went out, and they're all blind and deaf or nearly so. Most are in varying states of catatonia and weakened by malnourishment." There was a sullen pause then he concluded, "I tried to keep them together."
Kassad put a reassuring hand on Savorne's shoulder. "I understand. Hard to make people eat when they can't see or taste what they're eating." The scattered debris from the supplies told the tale of hunger pains amid plenty and finally Kassad asked, "How have you managed to keep yourself together?"
"I've," Savorne hesitated as if embarrassed, "I've been taking a trilutazen compound to offset the effects of local space."
"Trilutazen?" Greene exclaimed in horror. "The supply onboard was not for medical use. It's both toxic and radioactive."
"Yes," Savorne's face acknowledged what he'd done with regretful despair, "but it also promotes the same neural activity that this region of space inhibits. It kept me sane. I think. I decided to worry about the long term effects… if I lived." Savorne's death grip on the bottle loosened and it fell from his hand, lid wheeling away as it hit the ground to spill its contents across the sand.
Ignoring the dubious judgment of consuming radioactive Kassad proceeded with the business at hand saying, "Sabha is about a hundred meters as straight as possible through the boulder field. We'll start moving one or two at a time and get you people out of here." and then gesturing towards the figure hunched by the fire pit added, "Misses Greene just grab whoever you can heft and haul them back to Sabha."
"We're just going to haul them out like… salvaged cargo?" Greene's expression of disapproval was clearly visible through the wide clear mask of her pressure suit.
"You are. I'm going to do a head count and make sure we're not missing anyone." Seeing the uncertainty in Greene's face Kassad suggested dubiously, "We could try strapping them hand to hand and leading them out in a daisy chain."
Setting aside the distracting doubts she newly held Greene sighed in exasperation at herself. "No, you're right, let's get this done quickly."
Initially Greene's attempts to move the figure stirring the ash and embers were rebuffed. "No! Must stay! They'll find me! They'll come!"
Greene's attempts to coax or coerce the individual fell upon deaf ears and blind eyes. Eventually she resorted to hoisting the figure over her shoulder like a sack of rice. In the low gravity the effort to do this wasn't great for Greene, who was fit enough to manage the feat in a full gravity, and she briefly considered grabbing another.
Quick to notice Greene's hesitation and guess what she was thinking Kassad was just as quick to squelch the idea. "Get used to moving with the extra mass. No need to rush things and injuring yourself when we're so close to getting out of here."
Nodding at the wisdom of the suggestion Greene began to make her way back to the Sabha, grateful that she could focus on the physical task and wouldn't have to look too closely at the faces. Making sure everyone was present was the first task of a rescue team. Greene couldn't force herself to look through the camp for fear of what she might find. Even the figure over her shoulders was just a mass to be moved back to the ship. Within that simple mechanical view of the task at hand everything was manageable. Anything more risked an emotional release which could jeopardize the mission.
As Greene departed at a jog Kassad began a head count working counter clockwise around the camp. Some of the figures were so ensconced in emergency blankets that it took the prodding of the toe of Kassad's boot to reveal them to be people at all. Most of them were completely catatonic, the rest were hallucinating, rambling incoherently, and weak from malnutrition.
Double checking the heaps of trash he'd initially dismissed as habitation Kassad said, "Savorne, we're short two. Do you have any idea who they are, or where they might be?"
"No." Savorne said before immediately changing his mind. "Maybe. Could be someone went to find firewood. Maybe they got lost."
Checking to make sure Greene was out of earshot Kassad asked, "Or maybe they were made to get lost?"
"No," Savorne insisted severely, "I kept everyone together."
Keeping up the pressure was the only way to get any answers and Kassad braced himself mentally for what he might have to do. "But two aren't here. A third attacked us near my ship. You're saying you don't know anything about those?"
There was a hostile edge to Savorne's defensive reply but it was also filled with guilty despair. "I kept everyone here as best I could. They're blind, deaf, and suffering sensory deprivation hallucinations. I couldn't know. I tried."
With sarcastic reasonableness Kassad replied, "Certainly, and if a few loose ends got tied up there's no one to question that, is there Savorne?"
Earnestness of Savorne's protest marked him as either an outstanding actor or honestly innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about."
As far as Kassad was concerned it didn't matter what Savorne was innocent of so long as he kept withholding information he needed. "What about the Armhamon? Do you know about that?"
"Armhamon?" Savorne repeated the word, his face contorted in confusion. "Armhamon. You're not from the Armhamon?"
"No." Kassad answered flatly.
Confused by this admission Savorne worked the problem aloud. "But the University wouldn't have sent you. They couldn't have sent you."
"No, I'm not from the University either, and I think we both know what that means. Since you were expecting them to make the pickup that means you knew about the Lawship." Kassad gave Savorne a sidelong look. "So maybe you can tell me why there is a Lawship lurking outside of this system on the other side of Law's End? Did you call them in?"
Savorne shook his head, the rebreather mask waggled loosely against his face. "I can't say."
Leaning in close and making his voice as deadly serious as possible Kassad threatened, "Listen to me carefully old man. We both know what's going on here and that this is the time to clean up any loose ends. If I get hauled before a board of inquiry I want the first words to come out of my mouth to be 'I can speak without fear of contradiction' and if there's someone here who might I need to know now."
Doubt and fear struggled for control of Savorne who answered lamely, "I… I don't know who called in the Lawship."
"But somebody squealed about what was really going on here, didn't they? Otherwise why would that Lawship be here?" Kassad asked rhetorically. "You do realize that they're threatening to take you all into custody when we come out?"
Panic gripped Savorne and he blurted, "You can't let them." He cut off whatever other words tried to follow through his still moving lips.
Grabbing Savorne roughly by the shoulders Kassad demanded, "Why not? Who are you afraid of them getting their hands on?"
Sounding as if he were on the verge of crying Savorne said, "No. It's not like that." Again Savorne's mouth worked without making any sound then he firmly ordered, "Just get us out of this place."
Sensing that he was close to an answer Kassad shook Savorne so hard the man's rebreather slipped off and blind hands desperately pushed it back onto his face. As Savorne struggled with the mask Kassad realized that any answers would require more force tha
n was excusable for a rescue mission. Then again knowing Professor Fitzgerald like he did the mission had probably been about recovering information from the beginning, and that hadn't changed when lives were put at risk.
Anger pushed Kassad to confirm his suspicions, "It's not a 'who' is it. This is about what you don't want them getting their hands on isn't it? The data set? Do you have it?"
Pulling the mask back into place Savorne shut down, insisting weakly, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Concerned gripped Kassad that Greene would be returning soon for her second body and derail his interrogation. Putting his shoulder into Savorne's gut Kassad hefted the grown man with little trouble in the low gravity. What resistance Savorne offered was jolted out of him as Kassad loped for the nearby woods. Savorne continued to protest but was too weak and disoriented to offer serious resistance to Kassad's abduction. Under the low gravity the main difficulty was the stress that landing with the added mass placed upon Kassad's back and knees.
Densely packed vegetation gave way easily as Kassad crashed into it. Almost immediately it became apparent that only Alone's sturdiest trees would offer any resistance to his passing. Most of the plant life seemed to be supported by internal columns of fluid that burst when even modest pressure was applied to them. In short order Kassad's external garment was soaked from the waist down in thin translucent plant sap.
Deeming that he had gone far enough Kassad set Savorne down and surveyed the area around them. Although line of sight was limited to a few meters in any given direction Kassad didn't think he'd have any problem finding any survivors who had run off this way. Wherever the undergrowth was broken it quickly collapsed into a dark charcoal mass that stood out vividly among the lighter grey tones of plant life, and whose true colors Kassad could only guess at.
Fear was quickly winning out over fear in Savorne's voice. "What are you doing? Where did you take me? Why are you doing this?"
"I think we both know what's really going on here," Kassad accused, "and if I don't get some answers there's no one to contradict me when I say you ran off into the wilderness never to be seen again."
Savorne's voice quickly tipped over the edge into hysteria, "You can't. You wouldn't. There's no reason. That's monstrous."
Getting to the heart of the matter as quickly as he dared Kassad replied accusingly, "And there's no reason you would rig the survey platform to blow sending all of your work into the local star?" Savorne said nothing in response. "All of your work, except the final data set. Isn't that right?" Savorne stood and tried to feel his way around which only served to coat his hands in glossy plant liquid. "Greene is here on a rescue mission, but I'm not. Do you understand?" Savorne looked up his unseeing eyes wide, but he said nothing and once again Kassad grabbed the man roughly by the shoulders and shook. "This is a recovery mission. Do you understand how important this work is? I'm being paid a lot for this, and it's not just so you can see home again. Do you understand?" Savorne nodded meekly, his face already emaciated from malnutrition had managed to become even more withdrawn and pale, but he said nothing. "Nothing to say? Because I wouldn't think you'd want to spend the rest of your life here."
Savorne's remaining reserve crumbled. "Please don't leave me here." Savorne began openly weeping, the inside of his respirator quickly fogging up.
Releasing Savorne from his grasp to let him collapse in the rapidly wilting vegetation Kassad pleaded, "Then tell me what I need to know. Did you destroy all the evidence about your project when you blew the platform?"
Bitterly Savorne finally admitted, "No, not all the evidence."
Kassad demanded flatly, "I need it."
"No, it's my insurance!" Savorne's hands flew protectively to his breast.
With brutal finality Kassad declared coldly, "I'm your insurance now."
Batting Savorne's hands out of the way Kassad rummaged through the man's many layered clothing. He quickly discovered a flat solid rectangle buried deep in a pocket. Tearing away the last layers of fabric Kassad retrieved the rectangular palm sized data storage device.
Considering the object he held Kassad abandoned any notion of leafing through it to find out what was really going on as it was as large as information storage devices were made. Sabha's entire data system was composed of twenty of such cards and that easily held detailed navigation charts for the entire hundred thousand galaxies of Laniakea. Obviously the data couldn't be loaded into anything smaller and more easily hidden or Savorne would have. Whatever data Savorne had loaded into the module was massive.
Pleading, Savorne's hands feebly grasped at Kassad, "It can't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. You mustn't let it. We should all die before that happens."
Unable to suppress the wonder in his voice Kassad asked, "What's on here?"
Confusedly Savorne asked, "You mean you don't know?"
Rather embarrassed Kassad admitted, "No, I was bluffing." and he put a friendly hand on Savorne's shoulder. "Sorry about that. I truly am. I didn't like having to scare you, but I don't like being left in the dark about a job." Mostly to himself Kassad muttered, "Which is strange considering how often it happens to me. You'd think I'd be accustomed to it by now."
"What are you going to do?" Savorne asked.
Kassad shrugged putting the data module into one of his suits many pockets and sealing it in before answering, "First I'm going to get you back to the camp so Greene can take you back to the Sabha. Then I'm going to track down your missing crew. Shouldn't be too difficult with the tracks left in the undergrowth I'll just follow the outside line of dead vegetation."
Dismissing all concern over personal wellbeing that had so dominated his mind moments before Savorne demanded, "About the data, what are you going to do about the data?"
Seriously considering the question Kassad ran his fingertips over the rectangular mass in his pocket before admitting, "That depends on what it is."
Chapter 9: "Evacuation"
"I don't care what your particular job is out in the Big Vacuum. Ship crew, miner, construction, maintenance, or anything else; it's all dangerous work. Radiation, pressure, gravity, and equipment failures and on top of all of that they're always trying to replace us with more cost effective automation. So you earn what you have and slipping any of that to your local shop to watch your back may grate, should grate on you, but the alternative is dying because no one was watching out for you, and let's face facts; if living down a well was an option for you then you wouldn't be listening to this."
-Excerpt from "Why Support Your Local Spacer's Union?" informational.
Arriving back at the camp Kassad was still trying to grasp the implications of what he'd learned when Greene interrupted his thoughts demanding to know, "Where did you two run off to?"
"Hmm, oh, the head count turned up two short." Kassad explained. "I should be able to find them without problem now that I know what to look for." Then he asked, "How's the round up here going?"
Satisfied by the explanation Greene answered, "Well I've got four onboard now. None of them seem to know what's going on around them so they aren't much trouble. I've just been putting all of them in the medical pods." With five of the automated medics to each of the pods there was just enough for the entire research team.
"Good idea," Kassad said approvingly," put Savorne here in with the rest, but tell the machine to keep the sedation light in case we need him chatty." Exhausted from the emotional ordeal he'd just been through Savorne made not a single sound of disagreement.
If Greene thought the directions were strange she made no mention of it and instead swept her gaze around the camp. "It's strange. I was worried about seeing him here, my husband, but I don't know if I'd even recognize him like this. What does that say about me?"
"The romantics think that the heart can see through anything," Kassad opined, "but the romantics are only romantics because they haven't actually been through something like this and can glamorize it in their minds."
Greene r
aised an eyebrow at the sentiment. "I thought you were the romantic?"
"I am incredibly romantic." Kassad protested indignantly. "I'm also incredibly practical." Finally he smiled broadly claiming, "I am an incredible and complex man in all aspects."
Cutting off her scoffing chuckle Greene asked seriously, "Are you sure you can find the two who are missing?"
"Before the sun goes down, if we get back to work." Kassad replied.
"Benefit of a thirty two hour day." Greene smirked in reply as she scooped up Savorne as one might a child and started jogging back to the Sabha.
Back in the forest it took Kassad only a few springing leaps to place himself high enough in the canopy to get an idea of where his rogue crew might be hiding. The pattern of dark dead vegetation spread out in a wide swath that covered the better part of a kilometer and a half. Fortunately there were spots of particular darkness that Kassad strongly suspected might have been the result of a body habituating for a prolonged period. Taking a bearing on landmarks was impossible at ground level and so Kassad took a bearing on his inertial compass instead to survey the first likely location.
At the heart of an area so blackened it appeared to have been burned Kassad found the first of two missing crew. At first Kassad feared the individual he discovered to be dead. Where all of them were suffering from various degrees of malnutrition this one was gaunt, with distended stomach, and lay breathlessly still in a morass of their own filth. The sad figure's mouth and hands were caked in blackened vegetation and who knew what else eaten out of desperation. A faint pulse was all that betrayed the presence of life and Kassad gently gathered the body to him and quickly sprinted back to the camp.
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