“Exactly. You chose to remain in your wealthy lifestyle.”
Her dark eyes swept towards the sky. “Yes, we saw the Horus come back last ren. We saw the pale people disembark and reclaim a land they had forsaken. It is our world now. You don’t deserve it.”
Pale people.
He glanced down at his hands beneath the cuff of the silver suit. On Earth his skin had turned bronze, but aboard the Horus it had faded considerably. This young woman’s golden skin added to her allure. She was a total contrast to the females of the Horus. If there was any truth to her tale she had his complete empathy. But, none of it explained why he was bound and held at gunpoint.
“Affluence has nothing to do with it. Everyone boarded that ship. Even sumpums.” His argument lost some of its zeal.
“Even sumpums,” she repeated with disdain. “Yes, you even tried to take the meat supply. Fortunately, you were people of the valley. You never bothered to look up. The valley was poisoned. We had to climb to find life.”
As her gaze scaled the mountain, a look of contentment aroused a raw beauty to her face. Beautiful or not, she was dangerous, and she had the upper hand, which he intended to change quickly.
The serenity left her expression when her eyes connected with his.
“The sun will be setting soon,” she said. “It was an unfortunate time of day to catch you, but my people will be pleased once we get there.”
“Once we get there…how long is this going to take? I can’t leave my ship. They need me.”
Her eyebrows knitted. “I don’t think you understand,” she hissed. “You are being abducted. This isn’t some minor inconvenience that you can smile your way out of and return to your ship.”
“Why in the stars am I being abducted?” He refrained from uttering the vulgar Anthumian curse he wanted to use.
The woman cocked her head.
“You will be jailed along with the others. This planet doesn’t belong to you anymore.”
CHAPTER NINE
Hooded eyelids nearly concealed the man’s stare.
“In answer to your question, my name is Corkos. And you shouldn’t have followed me,” he reprimanded.
“You–you saved me?” Aimee reeled over her near fate. “The boulder.”
“Yes, yes. The boulder,” Corkos answered impatiently, sounding like a crabby JOH. “All these idiots think these landslides stem from erosion. Hmmph. Scientists. Engineers. That’s what they call themselves. Offering all their standard hypotheses on the avalanches.” He jerked his head up towards the recessed ceiling. “To these academics, it is inconceivable that the source is manmade–malicious–a person or people purposely ambushing us.”
Aimee rubbed at her lower back as perspiration wormed down her spine, and her stomach inched up her throat.
“Who?” she gagged down a cough. “Why?”
The man snorted and turned towards a nearby stack of gadgets, shoveling them up in his arms and dumping them onto the earthen floor. “You might as well sit down,” he offered indifferently.
She took him up on his suggestion and settled onto the bench, eyeing the fluted device on the ground by her foot. It looked like a weapon of some sort–a ray gun–but the fact that he was disinterested in her scrutiny led her to believe it was unloaded.
“It was them,” he explained, his fingers twitching again. He ambled back and forth, nervously.
“Them? Them who?”
“The survivors.” Corkos wrinkled his nose. “Those who were left behind.”
“Left behind?” She felt like a moron repeating everything he said, but it was all so cryptic.
“What the scientists and engineers and all their sophisticated equipment didn’t detect was that there was still a small group of people on the mainland, tucked in a valley between the mountains. The Solthum Valley. Its people went unnoticed by the life scanners.”
“Oh, my God,” Aimee gasped. “How did they survive? I thought all food sources had become contaminated. Plant life. Animals. Even the water was unreliable.”
“Yes. As you see here, I had begun my stockpile at the first signs of the pathogens. I was prepared. But, anyone out there–” His quivering hand flailed like a wounded seagull.
“After the Horus departed,” he continued. “I had time to assemble my laboratory. I raided any materials left behind. I crafted my own scanners in search of any wildlife–any potential food source that might have endured. It took some time, but eventually I stumbled upon the survivors. I tracked their movements, certain that they would eventually die off after such exposure. There was nothing I could do to help them. This vessel,” he waved at the ship hanging above, “is still useless. I couldn’t cross the ocean. I could not save them.”
Aimee heard the catch in his throat.
“Do you know how they survived?” she asked. “Did they become immune?”
The man shook his head. “I doubt that. Surprisingly, I tracked them as they climbed to higher elevations–elevations that should not sustain life. Barren rock lashed by clouds. A place with no florae–no organisms.”
“And they remained at these altitudes? You were able to see their lifeforms on your tracker?”
She searched the cave for anything that resembled the device he spoke of, but reminded herself that this was the man behind JOH’s design–an engineer capable of concealing the most sophisticated machine beneath a beaming blue face.
Anxiously, she fingered the pendant hanging around her neck.
“Yes, they continued to live at that elevation, and indeed, thrive. They increased in numbers over the years.”
“How many are there?”
“Hundreds now. Possibly more.” Corkos frowned. “But you see, it’s hard to estimate because they are on the move. Some have found a way across the ocean. They must have learned that the Horus came back here last ren. That is when they started their assaults. The incidents were tame at first…mishaps that could be blamed on the wind or a frolicking sumpum.”
“You’re saying these survivors are responsible for the supposed erosion–the mini avalanches?” She wrapped her arm around her waist. “You’re saying one of these survivors just tried to kill me?”
Corkos scratched his ear. “I don’t believe they intend to kill. At least I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. I think they want to scare us away.”
“That felt pretty malicious a few minutes ago. If you hadn’t–”
“They don’t know about this cave. I am sure their target was the new Bio Ward. You just happened to be in the path.”
“I fail to see how that isn’t malicious. Imagine the damage in the Bio Ward if there was any sort of structural collapse. Imagine the harm–or worse.”
The man sighed and buckled onto a stool, knocking over a pile of oddments in the process. It looked like each of his joints had softballs under the skin. His gnarled knuckles grabbed equally knobby knees, and his shoulders hunched forward.
“I agree.” Defeated, he added, “I had peace here for the longest time. I am sure they feel the same way. When the Horus first returned, it brought up to a hundred Anthumians back to this land. None ventured across the sea, though. They were happy to settle on Aulo and rebuild the city. I am sure the survivors on the mainland felt it was inevitable the islanders would eventually cross the water and invade their settlement.”
“They decided to pronounce innocent people who had nothing to do with their abandonment as the enemy?” Aimee asked in affront. “That’s not right.”
The man chuckled. “I am hypothesizing on their motivation. There is a man–one of the original elders who came back to Aulo on the first Horus pass. His name is Gallmor. I was thinking about speaking to him, but I haven’t been able to locate him. Heh,” Corkos chuckled, “I guess we all become recluses as we get older. Anyway, I thought he might be able to identify any strangers, because right now I just need to find them so I can stop them.”
“Have you told anyone? Maybe something malevolent happened to this Gallmor. We cou
ld have guards posted–”
“Posted to look for what–for who? I told you. They travel amongst us, undetected. After all, they are Anthumians too.”
“But, you still need law. Isn’t there law here? I know a man…the man you were just eavesdropping on. He represents the law on my planet. He can help. My husband can help too.”
Corkos shook his head and spoke in that JOH-like monotone. “I’m sure you won’t find this hard to believe, but the people of Aulo have labeled me an eccentric. The fact that I stayed behind–surely my mind was shattered. Whether it was by disease–or solitude–surely I am no longer capable of rational thought.”
Aimee snorted. “Temporary ignorance easily resolved by a quick conversation.”
“The woman speaks of ignorance…” Corkos mocked.
“So, what, then? What is your grand plan?”
“Lay a trap. Use myself as bait. They don’t realize that someone is aware of them. If I leave a signal on the tracker, letting them know they have been found…”
“But you need help. It’s too dangerous to confront them alone.”
“It’s too dangerous to involve others. Who knows, it could start a civil war if we take that approach.”
Busily mulling over his comments, Aimee searched the cave for an exit. Corkos truly was cloistered away in here.
“So, how has that JOH been working out?” he interrupted her musing. “Honestly, that was just a prototype, but they decided to go ahead and implement it on the Horus because they had run out of time to produce an adequate communication system.”
“JOH?” she mused.
How many times had JOH been there for her? He was a friend. A protector. A skilled tutor. He was a computer with a heart.
“I’d say JOH proved to be a success,” she offered.
Corkos nodded, pleased. “It was designed with goal-based advancement. For each mark of informational data JOH acquired, an emotional trigger was unlocked. The more practical intelligence he learned, the more he evolved as an emotional creature.”
“Yes. That’s JOH. He is emotional. He also hates it if I call him a computer.”
A grin snatched Corkos’s lip. “Understandable. He was an intelligent retrieval system with a little something extra. A–” he pronounced JOH’s real name–a word she could still not wrap her mind around. JOH was much easier.
“Yes, well could he eventually function in Aulo?” she asked. “Right now, he is unable to leave the proximity of the Horus, or any Horus offspring crafts.”
Sharp gray eyes shifted around the improvised workshop. “He could survive in this network of caves. I have enough components from the original equipment used in his development. He could also subsist in the Crater Hangar.”
Aimee’s spine jerked to attention. “Crater Hangar?”
“Yes,” he replied flatly.
“What is the Crater Hangar?”
Corkos’ eyebrows twisted.
“It is the construction site of the Horus,” he explained. “It still remains primarily intact. When the Horus first departed, I snuck over there several times to retrieve a few items for my collection. For the most part I didn’t need anything excessive. So now, it sits as a memorial–a memorial no one visits. Those who came back here last time from the Horus chose not to remember the grueling labor and life-threatening deadlines of that hangar. The second generation, such as yourself, or your friends may return for a curious glimpse, but it will mean nothing to them. They did not toil to build the means of their salvation.”
The magnitude of the image humbled her. Men, women, children–all struggling to meet the ultimate deadline.
“After we find the survivors from the mainland–after we have convinced them that we are not their enemy–” she swallowed, “can I see it? The Crater Hangar?”
Corkos brooded over the question. His expression was sober when he said, “Change those afters to ifs, and then yes, maybe you’ll still be alive to see it.”
CHAPTER TEN
“Jailed?” Gordy struggled against the vine that ensnared his arms. “That’s crazy.”
The young woman seemed indifferent to his reaction. “Keep moving. It’s getting dark. We need to reach shelter. It gets cold here after the sun descends.”
Gordy refused to budge. This had become absurd. He was not going to be jailed by a girl wrapped in fur, and pretended to know what to do with a Star Laser.
His obstinacy drew her wrath. “It’s quite simple,” she uttered. “You move or you will die out here.”
“You want me to move, and yet you bind me with this damn weed.” He glanced down at the tenacious creeper.
She cocked her head as rich sable hair swept with the action. “You are different than the others.”
“How so?” he grumbled.
“Well, you talk a lot.”
“I have a lot to say.”
A look of consternation crossed her face. “I am not listening.”
For as agitated as he was, he glanced at her ensemble. Although the fur was assuredly warm, it was swathed around her only to mid-thigh, and her bare arms intrigued him, also causing an absurd sense of concern. Exposed limbs were rare on the Horus, but he had seen pictures of female mecaws on Earth with less attire.
“If it’s going to get as cold as you say, what are you doing romping out here in an outfit that exposes you to the elements?”
She nudged her laser, aiming it at his chest. “I will be fine if you don’t delay us. Now move.”
As they started their ascent, Gordy began to calculate his location from the elevated perspective. They were not high enough yet for him to see over the tree line, but he had an idea of which direction the clearing was, and soon he’d be able to pinpoint the site of his module.
The trek grew increasingly precipitous as their path turned into a narrow trail with barely enough room for two feet to walk abreast of each other. Loose rock added another challenge as he stumbled, his thigh muscles digging in to regain balance.
“I thought you were going to cut me loose once we started climbing,” he mumbled. “I can’t even catch myself if I fall.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I can’t trust that you won’t escape.”
That’s for damn sure. At the first opportunity, he was out of here.
“Where am I going to go? I don’t know my way around.”
Another lie. He was certain now that he could make it into contact range with his crew.
“How do you do it?” He asked, glancing backwards and nodding at her feet. Flimsy hand-made sandals barely offered support.
Agile steps negotiated the rock-strewn path.
“My feet are as adept on these rocks as your–” she pointedly stared at his rear, “–as your bottom is adept in a pilot’s chair.”
Forced to focus ahead, Gordy weighed whether he had just been complimented on his piloting abilities, or slammed for the fact that he sat on his butt all day. Considering that he had ditched his craft in a clearing he gathered it was the latter of the two. That notion aggravated him. This whole situation annoyed him.
“How much further?” he griped.
The sun dropped in the sky, shrouding the mountainside in shadow and enticing the first licks of cold air.
“Just up there.” She pointed to a bluff above.
To Gordy it looked like the perfect vantage to survey the valley and spot the Tok. It was also where he intended to escape this ridiculous abduction.
“It looks pretty steep from here. How about cutting me some slack?” It was a term Aimee used from time to time and it seemed appropriate here.
Dark eyes gauged the choking vines. Without warning a bright strobe slashed between them, searing the clingy creeper at a spot just above his wrist. At the first sign that tension had been released, Gordy snapped his wrists apart and broke from the bindings. Immediately, he tried gauging how to get past her to retreat down the narrow path.
Her pink lips pursed.
“Did you see how precisely I stru
ck that vine? I am sure you won’t even find a burnt hair on your arm.”
Instinctively he held his arm up for inspection. The suit had not been penetrated or marred in any way, except for maybe some viscous residue from the plant.
Okay, so she had a valid argument. But her intention was to sleep in the cave before scaling the rest of the mountain. A time would come when she would slip. Eventually those fascinating eyes were going to drop closed…
“Alright, lead the way,” he flashed a smile.
Perhaps her lips inched up slightly, but she seemed unfazed by his charm.
“Nice try. Turn around and climb. I’ll be right behind you. If you attempt to escape I will drag your corpse to my people. They would prefer you alive, but they will still herald my capture, regardless of your state.”
Despite the chill, Gordy forced levity into his voice. “You are just feeding my ego–making me out to be such a valuable commodity.”
The Star Laser bobbed, prodding him forward.
He complied. Having the functionality of his hands and arms brought back some sense of control. But, every stealthy glance backwards left him staring down the barrel of a Star Laser.
The sun dropped behind the tree line, pouring a blanket of gold atop the fertile canopy. Though he could guess at its location, there was no pinpointing the specific hollow that concealed the Tok.
“Stop,” the woman commanded from behind.
Gordy halted and rubbed at the tension crawling up his neck. Searching the immediate area, he found nothing that resembled a shelter. At this elevation, the wind lashed against the mountain and the cold started to numb his fingers.
“Through there,” her husky voice called over the high-pitched gusts.
Shadows loomed, but he followed the motion of her hand to a wedge in the rock–a sliver so thin the sun must have sliced it with a molten blade.
Standing before the narrow gap, he waited until she jarred her Star Laser in his direction, and then ducked his head, sliding between the granite partition.
Immediately, the howl of the wind ceased, and the striking hush of an ancient peak brought chills of a different kind to his skin. He turned to face his captor who was silhouetted against the backdrop of the setting sun. She stalked forward confidently, blocking out that glimpse of light.
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