Ammo knelt and examined the pile of fabric. “The coverall has been split with a knife, but other than some smears of blood that look more like an animal was nosing through the pile, it doesn’t look like it was being worn when whoever it was died. The blood is well dried too.”
Quinn nodded. “I’d say it happened last night. Probably one of those big predators. There are some serious bite marks on these bones.”
“Are there any other identifying details?” Marti asked.
“There are command bars on the coverall collar,” she said.
“And the ring,” he added. “It looks like an engagement band, maybe. And it’s a large hand, so probably male.”
“That makes it likely that the victim is Commander Stocton,” it said. “He and the mission medic are both commanders, but she wore no jewelry and from the partial record we have, I believe she was killed in the corridor outside the PSE locker room.”
“At the end of the security recording he wasn’t in an exosuit,” she said.
“He was not,” Marti said.
“Then he’d have been moving slow, or they’d have been carrying him,” Quinn said. “Maybe the Ut’aran’s killed him and left him behind.”
“We’re only five klick from the basecamp so they weren’t making big feet for sure,” she added. “You don’t think this is where they spent the night do you?”
“If it is, they’re not moving very fast at all,” Quinn said, turning around and giving the clearing a cursory examination. “I’d also think they’d have left more evidence of spending time here. They aren’t trying to conceal any of their tracks, and I don’t see much that shows they made a longer stay of it. I’d bet they stopped to eat or something and then moved on.”
“Marcus Elarah ate every five hours while he was aboard. If we assume that they follow a similar schedule then it is likely that they were roughly five hours from the beginning of their trek,” Marti said.
“That’s encouraging. They’re making less than a klick per hour,” Ammo said walking over and examining a spot on the ground where it looked like several bodies had spent time sitting. There was a trampled ring in the surrounding grass.
“But now they’ve unburdened themselves of one slow mover,” Quinn pointed out. “They’ll probably pick up the pace from here.”
“Then we’d better make feet,” she said. A set of deep gouges in the ground caught her eye as she turned to walk away. It looked like an arrow pointing down the trail with some words scratched into the dirt below it.
Day 1 Midday. Leaving Toby here. Sandi won’t last long. That way. Slowly. NT
“Nuko says his name was Toby,” she said.
“What?” Quinn asked, sounding shocked that she’d know that.
She pointed at the message in the dirt. “She left us a note. It says they were here midday yesterday, and that they went that way. One of the other survivors is Sandi, and she won’t last much longer.”
“I wonder if it’s the same one that was on the ship?” he asked
“She was one of the guides on our expedition,” Marti said. “And Tobias Stocton is the name of the Rockpile mission commander.”
“She also says they’re moving slow.”
“That’ll conserve power for their PSE, but we’ve got to keep moving,” Quinn said, walking over to stare at the ground with her. “Fortunately, the arrow points downhill. Climbing a mountain in this gravity would be a bitch.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Director Parker’s eyebrow raised the barest of millimeters as his face appeared on the ConDeck screen. “Dr. Caldwell, I’m surprised to be talking to you. Morris told me you would recover, but he said your injury was rather severe.”
“I’m fine,” she said, reaching up to touch the back of her head where she’d forgotten to cover the alleged injury. Fortunately, if she didn’t turn, he couldn’t see there wasn’t a bandage back there. “Let’s just skip the small talk. I understand you want to discuss business and I need to get on with it.”
“I expected as much, although I anticipated it would be your load broker I’d be talking to, but it doesn’t matter.” He reached up and tapped something on his desk. “The fact that you’re here means I should assume you got my message and are willing to accept my offer?”
He has initiated a recording of your conversation, appeared on the bottom of the screen as Marti advised her of what he’d done.
“Understand me you bastard, if I had any choice this would not be it,” she said, holding her voice steady and nodding slightly in response to Marti’s notification.
“That’s probably true, but you’re smart enough to realize you’ve got no choice,” Parker said, shrugging off her opinion of his parentage.
“I sure as frak don’t want to be hauling—”
“Remember we’re over an open comm here.” He cut her off with a tone that made sure she understood to mind her words.
“At this point that’s more your concern than mine,” she said.
“Trust me it’s mutual, so watch your mouth.” His glare punctuated his words with a far more personal threat.
Shocked at how easily he drew out her rage, she bit back on her visceral reaction to the director’s tone. “I’ll take your cargo on, but you need to get my people out of there.”
He smiled. “Tonight, it won’t be a problem.”
“I meant now,” she said. “Obviously, you aren’t burdened by a conscience, so breaking some rules shouldn’t be a problem for you.”
He shook his head. “Your people are safe. I know exactly where they are, but we will load the cargo before I lift a finger to get them back.”
“You know where they are?”
“Like I said, they’re not facing any immediate risk at the moment.” He leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “You need to understand that their situation could change. I don’t need to remind you that Dawn is an inhospitable world and the Ut’arans are a dangerous people.”
“You really are a bastard,” she snarled.
He laughed. “I’ve been called a lot worse by people far more powerful than you.”
“I’m sure you have.” She let out a slow breath before she went on, “I have one condition if you want me to take this job.”
He leaned forward and glared at her for several seconds. “You’re pretty arrogant if you think you can set any of the conditions, especially given the tenuous security of your crewmates.”
“I don’t care what threats you’re making. You deal only with me on this. My handler and load broker are not going to be involved.”
“That’s a damned thin wall for them to hide behind,” he said.
She shrugged. “Maybe so, but it’s my decision alone. What they don’t know, might keep them from being hung for this.”
“That’s noble of you,” he said. “Pointless, but noble. If you do your part and deliver the cargo, nobody’s hanging for anything. You aren’t the first carrier I have worked with and you won’t be the last.”
“Then let’s get on with it,” she said.
“I’ll have my crew begin loading immediately.”
She shook her head. “You won’t load anything until I know where we’re taking your cargo, and exactly what we’re doing with it.”
“I’ll be aboard in a few minutes to work out the details.”
“You’ll come no further than the cargo container. That’s where the load goes, and you’ve got no business we can’t discuss there.”
“You sure screech like a beast for somebody with no legs, but I’m on my way.” He slapped his hand down on the desk to cut off the comm.
Remembering to make a quick detour by the MedBay to grab a small surgi-seal dressing for the back of her head, she had Marti apply it before she went down to meet Parker on the cargo container catwalk.
He stood just outside the inner airlock waiting impatiently. Marti’s Gendyne automech walked out behind her and took up a position blocking access to the ship.
It extended its legs fully and both heavy manipulator arms sported live-fire projectile rifles.
“Your robot doesn’t intimidate me much,” he said. “Everybody knows robots have blocks against firing on human targets.”
“That is a factual statement, Mr. Parker,” Marti said. “However, you should be aware that my Gendyne automech is under the control of a registered artificial awareness, and is not independent. As such, I have the cognitive authority to determine what is an acceptable use of force. Additionally, even if I were inclined to follow the robotic directive standards, the cargo you are bringing aboard is not human and therefore not protected under that inhibition.” The two fine dexterity arms locked rounds into the firing chambers on both guns simultaneously and it made sure they were pointing at the center of Parker’s body.
He took a half step back reflexively and Kaycee smiled. “Let’s call this insurance. You may have me over a bulkhead for the sake of my crew, but you need to understand that we play square, or it ends now.”
“You aren’t the only one with that kind of mindset, Doctor.” He tilted his head toward the far end of the container as two guards appeared just inside the airlock. He held out a thinpad. “That will serve as a bill of lading for you and your ship. For security reasons, it does not have your destination and timetable. I will give those to you after you’re loaded and ready to leave the system.”
“I want to know where we’re going,” she said.
“Not happening. The less you know right now the easier it is for you to keep it secret.”
“You’re worried about me turning on you?”
“Of course I am,” he said. “I’d be a fool if I didn’t have safeguards in place. For example, you need to look at the last screen on that thinpad.” He smiled as she flipped through to the end. “Do you recognize what that is?”
It was a piece of heavy artillery mounted on the bottom of the station and aimed at the underbelly of the Olympus Dawn.
“It may be antiquated, but in case you’re unaware of how much damage a rail-gun will deliver at close range, if you choose to back out there’s more than enough hit potential to guarantee there won’t be any pieces left of this ship big enough to survive re-entry,” he said. “Ordinarily I like to think of that as a motivational tool, although since you like to point guns at people, too, I think you can see the bigger picture here. What I’ve got aimed at you is along the same lines of what’s in your guard dog’s hands, except a lot bigger. I think that makes my dominance in this little game we’re playing clear enough. Don’t you agree?”
She nodded.
“So, if you’re done pissing on the deck, I have 300 sleeper cabinets and an independent power supply to get mounted before sunset down on the planet. As long as you and your robot stay out of the way, you should be ready to leave about the same time we are launching the rescue mission.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ethan walked untied from the line, but he stayed with the other humans as they trudged through the jungle. They had reached the edge of a wide, slow-moving river before they stopped for their midday meal. Instead of setting the rope ring in the center of their camp they set it against the edge of the water. Possibly so that the prisoners could drink.
As soon as they’d stopped marching, the wakat hoard dove into the river and swam out several meters into the deeper water. It wasn’t until they began throwing creatures up on the shoreline that he realized they weren’t playing, they were fishing. The Ut’arans grabbed up the writhing snakelike creatures and with a twist of a bare hand broke their heads off. They passed the fish out and everyone began eating ravenously. They appeared to prefer recently killed food over the preserved rations they carried in their pouches.
Ethan refused to eat the still squirming food and chose to stay inside the ring. Mir’ah had made it clear she now trusted him enough not to keep him a prisoner, but when he decided to join the other humans, she didn’t question his desire to be with his people, and instead opened the rope border for him.
He crashed to the soft dirt beside Tash and powered down his suit. He’d been stumbling along on muscles for about half the day but hadn’t shut his liner down at all, so he was sore, but still not crippled. When the liner powered off and the gravity pulled his blood supply toward his lower body, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and he collapsed flat onto his back.
Rene and Angel were already in that position.
“Is it safe to drink the water?” he asked, glancing at Tash.
She shrugged.
“If we don’t drink some, dehydration will kill us before the gravity does,” Angel said.
“There are parasites in the water,” she said.
“How long will it take for them to kill us?”
“We haven’t found any in the local environment that will kill us. With the right medical care, they can all be dealt with easily,” she said. “The problem is they can make you sick for weeks, and that can be deadly without treatment.”
“I don’t think any of us expects to be here for weeks,” Nuko hissed. Her patience with the situation had reached a ragged end.
“Then I’m going to risk it,” Ethan said, rolling over onto his belly and sliding down to the edge of the river. “I don’t think I’ll have another day to worry about it if they don’t catch up with us soon.”
“What about those carnivorous fish?” Angel asked.
“They’re all small. If you don’t put your face in the water your suit will protect you enough to keep them from being a problem,” Tash said.
He shoveled up a handful of water in his gloved hands and with only a moment of hesitation sucked it down. It was shockingly cold and tasted faintly sweet. He nodded, scooping up another handful to rinse his face. It was an inefficient way to drink, but it was worth the effort.
Nuko helped Rene roll over and get close enough to the bank so he could get a drink too. He looked painfully weak.
“How are you holding up?” Ethan asked after the engineer had gotten several handfuls of water into him.
“I’m done,” he said, breathing hard and resting his head on the wet dirt as he looked at the captain. “My suit liner is dead and the only time I’m not shit-blind dizzy is when I am lying down.”
“I can keep carrying him,” Angel said, she was kneeling on the bank, scooping up water and letting it run down over her head.
Rene shook his head, making squishing sounds as it rocked in the mud. “This would be a smart place for me to stay. If you cross the river, you’ll need someone to point the rescue team in the right direction. It’s hard to track footprints in the water.”
“Nothing says we’re going across,” the captain said.
“Doesn’t matter, it’s still better to leave me here. I have water and…” his voice trailed off. He’d run out of ideas to try to sell them on abandoning him here.
“He’s right,” Angel said. “If he can keep his liner intact, he can float in the water and take some of the gravity stress off his body. All he has to do is hold his head up to keep the killer tuna from eating his face off.”
“I hadn’t even thought of that,” he said. “My plan was to go up a tree and try to get them to leave my suit intact. I figure if nothing else, the liner would help seal in my stink. The less I attract the attention of the critters, the better my chances.”
Tash sat cross-legged on the grass more than a meter back from the bank. She hadn’t dipped her hands into the river. “I think the clothes are an oddity for the Ut’arans. Cutting them off has to be improvising on their usual ritual, so if we strip him down first, there’s no reason for them to shred his liner.”
“How sure are we that help is coming?” Nuko asked. She looked like she was fighting to accept that they might have to leave Rene behind.
Ethan was too, but he forced himself to focus on what they had to do instead of what they felt right doing. “I’m sure that was a ship this morning. The only thing we’re wagering on is how fast they can catch us
.”
“Before nightfall?” she challenged.
Tash nodded. “If this is the river I think it is, we’re about eighteen klick from the Rockpile. A Windwalker team can cover twenty before midday.”
“Then they could be close by this point,” Rene said. “I’ll be alright.”
Ethan rolled onto his back and with a grunt propped himself up onto his elbows. “They’ll have brought down some command personnel, too. A medic and some security types, so they won’t be quite that fast.”
“And nothing says they didn’t spend some time at the basecamp figuring out how shit went sidewise,” Angel added.
“The Rockpile has an integrated surveillance system. They probably already know what happened,” Tash said. “At least until the power went off.”
“Even if we add a couple hours for getting their bearings, that means they’re still only a few hours away,” Rene said. “I think this is where I have to make my exit from the party.”
Nuko shook her head. “That’s a lot of assumptions to be wagering your life on.”
He struggled for several seconds to roll over before Angel grabbed his arm and pulled him onto his back. Tash grabbed him by his feet and pulled him up so that the back of his head could rest on dry ground. “I’ll do what I can to stretch my survival time, but you all have to march on. Help me get undressed and then just don’t let them hide the liner. As soon as you move on, I’ll get back into it and go for a swim.”
“Do you even know how to swim?” she asked.
“Nope. But I can use a vine to tie myself off to something. All I have to do is keep my head above water.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Kaycee paced along the length of the command deck corridor between the ConDeck and the lift cage. It wasn’t as disturbingly empty as the mid–deck lounge or the crew deck, and it kept her from feeling like she was completely alone. She’d been on the Olympus Dawn for most of a year, but this was the first time she felt the size of the ship. It wasn’t huge by any real measure, except when it was empty.
Wings of Earth- Season One Page 56