You can stand around playing guessing games until your O2 runs out or you dehydrate.
Any action is better than no action.
“Okay,” I said. “Go for it.”
Tang sprayed the lock and the bone-like (chitin) material that surrounded it. He kept squeezing the trigger until all that came out of the nozzle was a weak mist.
“How long does it take?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a couple of minutes.” Tang regarded me solemnly. “There’s a chance it won’t work at all.”
We waited several minutes. I put my weight against the door and pushed. I could feel it start to give, but it wouldn’t open.
Tang handed me a small pick they used for chipping away stone. I took a slow practice swing, trying to make sure the head of the pick lined up with the locking mechanism.
I motioned for everyone to move back to the corner and swung the pick toward the locking mechanism with everything I had.
It connected.
Crack.
The sound was like someone cracking a whip. It sounded like thunder inside the small room. I could only hope it hadn’t carried as loudly outside.
I pressed my hand against the door and it moved. I cracked it open a few inches, peeked my head out, and…
I was knocked back as the door was slammed closed. I fell on my ass, sending up a cloud of dirt. The door opened and the entrance was filled by a seven foot tall roach, its serrated arms scissoring open and closed.
Click-click-clack.
Its mandibles gnashed back and forth.
I scurried up and launched myself forward, coming in low, throwing my shoulder into its midsection. It doubled over and I used the opportunity to thrust myself upward, the top of my helmet making contact with the roach’s face. I heard a terrible cracking sound, followed by a long high-pitched hiss.
I grabbed its arm, twisted and yanked mightily. I kept the pressure on, and the arm tore free at the joint. The roach shrieked and batted me away like I was nothing.
I landed in the dirt, my helmet bouncing off the ground. In an instant, I felt a foreleg close around my neck, squeezing itself closed. I threw my leg up, kicking at its thorax, but its armor was impervious to my assault.
Its grip tightened around my throat. I tried to suck air, but couldn’t get any. I was either going to be choked to death or be decapitated. Whichever came first.
The roach’s face was inches from my faceplate. Its mandibles moved frenziedly. Coarse hairs poked out below its eyes and along its mandibles. I could see rows of fangs lining its throat.
Black dots floated across my vision. It wouldn’t be much longer. I delivered a hammer fist to the side of its face to no avail. I heard a sickening snapping sound as the bones in my hand broke.
If it hadn’t been for the threaded metal ring that allowed for a tight seal between it and my suit, I was certain my neck would have been broken.
The black splotches grew in size, clouding my vision.
My broken hand was on fire.
How much longer, I wondered. How long before my head comes off?
Clack-click-clack.
The frantic alien chatter filled my ears.
You gave a valiant effort.
Where was Burnell now? What advice would he have imparted as the claw of a giant space cockroach squeezed the life out of me?
And then a rock came flying out of nowhere and collided with the side of the roach’s head. Its pincer snapped open and I sank to the ground. I clutched at my throat with my good hand. My throat burned as I sucked in air too quickly, but I was still grateful.
I turned my head and saw Lisa standing ten feet away. She was on her feet as she got ready to throw another rock. She looked frightened beyond belief, but she stood her ground.
This was my window.
The only opportunity I would get.
I took it.
The roach had turned to face its new attacker. I jumped up onto its back, wrapped my arm around its throat and used all my weight to pull back and downward.
I had caught it off guard. It toppled backward. We crashed to the ground.
The roach writhed on top of me, its legs moving frantically in the air.
I kept my grip around its throat, squeezing as hard as I could.
Lisa came in from the side, avoiding its dancing legs and its pincer claws which snapped open and closed, searching for a target. She lifted the rock over her head and then hesitated.
“Do it!” I yelled through clenched teeth.
Lisa brought the rock down square in its face. She screamed, repeated the process. She brought it down again and again and again, black snot splattering across my faceplate. The roach’s resistance tapered, its legs slowed.
Lisa kept bashing in its face with the rock until long after it had ceased to move.
“I think that’s good,” I said.
She let the rock slip from her hands. There were tears in her eyes. I couldn’t blame her. The roach’s face was a smashed ruin. One of its mandibles hung askew, held in place by a thread of lose sinew.
I let my grip soften and rolled out from under the roach.
I massaged my aching throat. The pain was excruciating when I tried to move the fingers of my right hand. For once, I was glad to be a lefty.
I wiped the alien goop from Lisa’s faceplate, which only served to smear it more. “You saved my life,” I said.
Lisa managed a weak smile through the tears. “If you get the chance, please return the favor.”
CHAPTER 21
I was broken, but nothing life threatening. On an optimistic note, the pain in my hand and throat had made me forget how incredibly thirsty I was. If we ever made it back to the Astraeus, I would drink an ocean. Hell, if we made it back to the ship, I was going to hand in my resignation, screw the two week’s notice, and spend the entire journey home getting shitfaced in Finnigan’s. I’d give Flynn a run for his money.
I peeked out the door again. There had only been the one roach guarding the building. Somehow, our skirmish hadn’t attracted the attention of anyone else.
Twilight was arriving on 55 Cancri e. The sky was still crowded with ominous clouds, and it had started to rain lightly.
I looked down at Thomas and said, “Can you walk?” He nodded. Tang and I hauled him to his feet, careful of his broken arm.
“I can walk on my own,” Thomas said.
I picked up the torn appendage from the ground. I glanced out the door again and didn’t see any of the roaches.
Tang was behind me, looking over my shoulder. “They might be nocturnal,” he said.
I looked at Packard. “That might explain why your weather balloon didn’t pick up any signs of life when it captured video of the alien camp. That’s good news for us.”
But bad news for all of our crew that was trapped below ground. Given the number of roaches we had spotted topside, I assumed there were at least that many below ground. We were easily outnumbered, and even if we had all been armed I didn’t think we’d have a chance at fighting through them, especially underground where they were in their natural environment.
“Everyone stay behind me,” I said as we exited the building. The others followed as we made our way across the operation zone. We weaved past the heavy machinery and it wasn’t long before I could see the carrier ships. There were three of them in all. I tried contacting the Astraeus, but didn’t get a response.
“What if they left us here?” Lisa asked.
“I don’t think they’d do that.”
“It’s possible,” Bertrand said. “They’ve hauled several loads back to the ship already. It wouldn’t be a complete loss.”
“It’d be a liability nightmare.”
“No one would ever know.”
We were crouched down behind one of the idling dump trucks
. The trio of carrier ships was less than a hundred yards away. I tried to remember everything I knew about Sturgeon. I knew next to nothing about the man, but my initial impression was that he wouldn’t leave his people behind. All I could do was hope my instincts were correct.
“They’ll be there,” I said.
“I hope you’re right,” Bertrand said. “A corporation as big as Sarver might market themselves as being noble, as trying to advance humankind, but usually they are driven by financials. If the Chinese hadn’t been as interested in pursuing the science angle, I’m not sure my team would be here.”
Bertrand was making sense, but I chose to ignore it.
“It looks clear,” I said. “We’re going to make a run for it. Straight for the carriers.”
We ran. My legs were sore, my hand was on fire, and whenever I swallowed it felt like I was gargling with razor blades. The roach appendage was heavy in my hand, but I didn’t dare get rid of it.
We reached the carrier ships. I approached the nearest of them and fingered the release on the rear. The ramp folded down. After it was in place, I climbed up it…
Click-click. Clack-click.
I heard the chittering gibberish and had just enough time to throw myself flat as spiked foreleg arced over the place where my head had been only a moment before.
One of the roaches appeared out of the shadows. It brought its leg down again and I rolled out of the way. The serrated edge struck the metal ramp.
Clever, I thought. It also explained why we hadn’t seen any guards posted outside the ships. No one would expect for one of them to be hiding inside. I kept forgetting the roaches were as intelligent as we were. It was a costly mistake.
I rushed to my feet and brought up the appendage in time to block another attack. It came with enough force to send me stumbling back a few steps. I lunged forward, thrusting out with the barbed foreleg. I aimed for the small gap in its chitin, between its head and its thorax. The strike found its home, the barbs raking across its neck.
The roach gave an ear-piercing screech. Black snot sprayed from its mouth. I sidestepped as the roach fell forward. I shoved its body down the ramp and then checked the rest of the ship. Once I was sure it was clear, I motioned for the others to come up.
I glanced down at the control panel. It didn’t look user-friendly. A million buttons lined the panel and most of them weren’t labeled.
“Anybody know how to work this thing?”
Thomas climbed into the seat next to me and stared down at the control console.
“Don’t tell me you’re a pilot too,” I said.
“Not even close,” he said. He was sweating. His hair was wet and plastered against his skull. His left arm hung limply at his side. “But all the ship schematics and flight manuals were part of the training material downloaded into our headsets.”
“Let me guess, you learned it?”
“No, but I learned enough to do this,” he said and pushed one of the buttons. The panel lit up like a Christmas tree. He toggled a switch and a voice came over the speakers. It was Sturgeon’s.
“This is the Astraeus.”
“This is Security Officer Jake Lansing,” I said.
“Jesus Christ, Lansing, what’s the situation down there? Where’s Hayes?”
“Unknown. But I’ve got the rest of the science team here with me. One injured. Can you bring them up?”
“That’s affirmative. We’ll bring you all up now.”
The carrier ship’s engines came to life with a loud whine.
“Everybody strap in,” I said.
I waited for the others to take their seats and buckle in.
“They’re ready.”
“That means you too, Lansing. Strap in and we’ll haul you out of there ASAP.”
“Negative, Commander. I’ll catch the next ride.”
There was a long pause. I thought Sturgeon was going to argue with me, but he didn’t.
“Good luck,” he said.
How many times had I heard that lately? And here I was, still alive somehow. I figured I was pushing my luck.
Lisa stopped me as I walked past.
“You can’t do this, Jake.”
I could read the entirety of her argument in her eyes, but she didn’t speak the words. She knew as well as I did that there wasn’t any choice in the matter.
“I’ll see you soon. Okay?”
She nodded.
I rested the faceplate of my helmet against hers. “I don’t want to spoil the surprise or anything,” I said, “but when I get back to the ship the first thing I’m going to do is rip this helmet off and kiss you.”
She smiled. “Is that a promise?”
“More of a guarantee.”
“You won’t chicken out?”
“I’m still working up to it.”
I descended the ramp and watched as it folded back into place. I moved a few paces back and waited while the ship rose into the air. I stood there and watched until it disappeared into the clouds.
CHAPTER 22
Twilight. It made me long for the days when I could look up into a blue sky and see the sun blazing away in the distance. If I ever saw Earth again, I was going to stare into it until my eyes burned.
In situations like this, you make a lot of promises to yourself. My personal list had grown exponentially over the last twenty-four hours. You start thinking of all the things you want to accomplish and how there hadn’t ever been a hurry because you had all the time in the world.
And then, unexpectedly, time runs out. You take inventory. You triage. You prioritize. The best cure for procrastination is looming death. It’s a lesson you always learn the hard way.
“…get down there…maze…lost…never find our…”
The transmission came across staccato-style, broken up by interference. It sounded like Perkins’s voice.
“Lansing to Perkins,” I said into the com. “Perkins, do you read me?”
A burst of static. “Lans…where…you…”
I moved farther into the operation zone, threading my way between the mining equipment in order to keep a low profile. I hadn’t seen any roaches since the one hiding on the carrier ship, and it seemed safe to assume that the twilight hours had driven the bugs below ground. Either that, or the fact that it was raining, coming down with more force now, slowly turning the ground to mush.
I approached the open pit and gazed into it. It appeared deserted.
“What…location…”
I skirted around the pit, making my way over to one of the access shafts. I got down on my knees, switched on my suitlights, and peered down into the shaft.
Nothing.
I leaned back and pondered my next move.
“Coming…you…”
The signal seemed to be stronger.
I looked around, surveying the area. If I went down the shaft there was a good chance I would get lost in the labyrinth of tunnels below. I could search for days and never run into the others, maybe I’d never find my way out. But what was the alternative?
“Lansing to Perkins, do you read –”
Something gripped my leg and I spun around, bringing up the insect blade.
“Whoa, hey, I come in peace!”
It was Harper. He was climbing out of the shaft.
“Famous last words,” I said, and helped him climb out of the shaft.
Perkins, Jin, and Gloria climbed out after him.
“I thought you were going to take my head off,” Harper said.
“Might have improved your looks,” I said. “What did you guys find down there?”
“They’re all down there.”
“Either those things are nocturnal, or they don’t like bad weather,” Harper said. “They herded everybody below like they were cattle.”
; “Tell me something I don’t know. What about Hayes?”
Perkins said, “They’re alive. But we couldn’t reach them. They’ve got them separate from the mining crew.”
“We must have been within close enough proximity for the coms to work,” Gloria said. “Hayes ordered us to get out of here.”
Perkins shook his head. “That’s one order we aren’t going to follow.”
I told them about Lisa and the rest of the science crew.
“Good work,” Perkins said. “Common sense would have been to go back with them.”
“Common sense isn’t one of my strong suits.”
“He’s not lying,” Harper said. “I can vouch for that.”
“I’m glad you got Lisa out okay,” Gloria said. She looked exhausted. It was hard to say what was keeping her going, or any of us for that matter. We were running on fumes.
“If we could just distract them long enough to get the others out.”
“How are we going to do that?” Jin asked. “There are at least a hundred of those things down there.”
“That’s easy,” Harper said.
“Easy?”
“We’re listening,” Perkins said.
CHAPTER 23
"We threaten their queen,” Harper said.
“Threaten their queen?”
“If they’re anything like the social insects of Earth, and I think we’ve already seen a number of similarities that point to that, then they’ll come running. They’ll protect the queen at all costs. I mean, they can function without her, but it’ll disrupt their shit, that’s for sure.”
“And that’ll work?”
“It should. Maybe. Fifty-fifty?”
Given the situation, fifty-fifty odds sounded pretty good.
“Or we could take one of the carriers and go back to the Astraeus,” Jin said.
I wanted to lay him out for making the suggestion. He was a coward. But I could understand where he was coming from. Fifty-fifty odds was probably being optimistic. He knew that. We all knew that.
But the numbers didn’t matter.
“You can wait here if it makes you feel better,” I said.
“One problem,” Harper said.
Project Diamond (Jacob Lansing Series Book 1) Page 18