by Elin Wyn
I looked at my team. “Let’s go.” We rushed down to the basement, geared up, and I put in the call to Fen.
“This will be good timing.”
“What?” Speech pad malfunction. Had to be. The Urai weren’t exactly expressive, but they’d never been hard-hearted.
“I have been integrating the Gateway with the Aurora’s A.I. As I mentioned, I do have other responsibilities.”
Oh. She had, hadn’t she. And we’d all been treating her like nothing but a glorified shuttle driver.
“That’s brilliant, you know.”
“Yes, I do. Your rift will be ready momentarily. The A.I. will open it, while I observe.”
As we made our way out of the building, I saw Annie running towards us.
“You okay?” I asked as she came up to us.
She spent a second catching her breath, then looked up at me. “Rouhr told me what happened. He wants me to stay in the lab.”
“Good. We need all the information we can get. I’ll try to get you more samples to test while I’m there,” I said.
“Okay. Be careful, please,” she said. “I’m worried about you.”
I reached down and pulled her close to me. I brought my mouth to hers and gave her a deep kiss. She tasted of heat and desire. It took all my effort to pull away.
“I will keep your taste to remind me of you. And I will be careful, promise. Now, go. Rouhr is going to want all the information you can find, even if you’ve already gone over it a dozen times already.”
I let her go and joined my team as the rift opened.
“At least you’re smiling,” Sylor smirked. His eyes showed mirth, so I didn’t punch him.
“Shut up and move,” I ordered. We went through the rift and exited outside the west gates of Einhiv. Looked like the AI would be just fine at the job.
We were ushered in and rushed to where the destruction was. It looked bad, and terribly familiar.
“Hey!” Tona called out to us from a pile of rubble close to a nine-foot-wide crater. We rushed over and got to work.
Annie
I didn’t like the idea of Karzin and his team going without me. I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to help the people of Einhiv. In fact, I’d probably slow Karzin and his team down if I tagged along. Not knowing what was happening made me uneasy.
What if Karzin arrived and the attack was still going on? Would he remember? Would he be injured?
I dragged myself out of General Rouhr’s base of operations to walk to my own lab. Leena had saved all of my data in her personal archive and gave me an access code so I could pull it up in my lab.
Still, I didn’t know how I’d be able to concentrate knowing Karzin was somewhere else, possibly putting himself in danger.
“You all right, Annie?” Orlin called from his shack. He had a line of people waiting to order.
“It’s been a hell of a week, Orlin,” I called back.
“Your sister came to see me,” Orlin said. I stopped dead in my tracks.
“What?” I turned and walked back to the shack, stepping in front of other patrons.
“Yeah, she wanted a job.”
“Did you give her one?” I asked.
“I agreed to a trial period. It’s obvious the girl hasn’t worked a day in her life,” Orlin explained.
“I’ll say,” I mumbled. “I appreciate it, Orlin. If she works out, it’ll be a huge help for the family.”
“That’s why I did it,” Orlin grinned. “You’re like family. You remind me so much of my daughter.”
I felt a lump grow in my throat. Orlin’s daughter died here in Nyheim when the Xathi first attacked.
“Thanks so much, Orlin. I’ll be by soon for breakfast.” I waved to him as I continued on in the direction of my building.
I tried to imagine Cassie working at Orlin’s place. I couldn’t picture it, even though it was what I’d wanted all along. If I made it home tonight, I wouldn’t say anything about it. Cassie didn’t like it when people made a big fuss over her, contrary to what her personality would have someone believe. She was a bit of an enigma, but I loved her all the same.
When I entered the building, Bea was upon me in an instant.
“Where have you been?” she demanded. “It’s not like you to miss more than a day. Is someone sick? Are you sick? Don’t get me sick! I still have so much to do before I leave.”
“Back on the caffeine pills are you, Bea?” I asked, not breaking stride. I entered the elevator. Bea followed.
“I was never off them,” she replied. “Your equipment has gone silent again. Shame. For a moment there, I thought you were on to something.”
“I am, actually.” I kept my gaze straight ahead. “I can’t say much about it without General Rouhr’s permission.” I didn’t know if that was true or not, but if it got Bea off my back, I’d roll with it.
“Is that so?” she gasped. “I’ve heard so much about the general. Is he really as frightening as the stories make him out to be?”
“He has a strong presence,” I said, which wasn’t a lie. He did.
“Have you been working with the aliens all this time?” Bea asked. The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
“I’m sorry, Bea. I can’t say anything more about it,” I breezed off the elevator, hoping she wouldn’t follow me. Thankfully, she didn’t. She didn’t even step off the elevator. I think she only hopped on just to continue pestering me.
I unpacked the samples from Malvor and ran them through my equipment. My computer still couldn’t identify anything, but it could give me a rough analysis. When compared to the ones saved in Leena’s archive, I could see the Malvor samples were nearly identical to the other samples I’d already taken.
Obviously, whatever came out of the craters in Duvest was the same as whatever came out of the craters in Malvor. I didn’t need my lab to tell me that. What I needed to know was what was coming out of those craters. I wouldn’t figure that out by staring at little piles of dirt. I needed more.
I needed to go back to the large crater.
Karzin would never agree to it after what happened last time. Or worse, he’d agree to go but refuse to take me along. I didn’t want him to go into the desert again. If anything happened to him, I didn’t know how I would handle it.
I’d go alone.
I’d go quickly and quietly, and be back before anyone knew I was gone. Besides, I’d have a better chance of rappelling into the crater unnoticed if I went alone and didn’t use any lights.
I drummed my fingers on the lab bench. I’d still need someone to watch my ropes from the surface and pull me up in case of an emergency.
I looked around the lab at the other scientists working at their stations. I didn’t know any of them very well. I’d only been working here a little over a month. To them, I was the bottom-rung new girl. I wasn’t in a position to ask favors yet, especially dangerous ones.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spied him. An intern.
I smothered a manic smile as I approached him. He was tall, at least six feet, but as skinny as a bean pole. His dark hair was in need of a trim. He smiled eagerly.
“Lennox, right?” I asked him. He nodded vigorously. “What are you working on currently?”
“I was just going to prepare samples for Dr. Wilks to test.” Lennox looked over at the portly old scientist, who was half asleep at his station.
“He’s got you doing all of his work while he naps? Despicable,” I laughed. Lennox gave me a nervous smile. “I’m working on something important for General Rouhr, and I could really use an assistant.”
“You’re the geologist, right?” he asked. “I don’t think I’d be much help. I specialized in neurology.”
“That’s okay!” I said brightly. “You don’t need to know anything to help me with this.”
“I really should get those samples taken care of.” He started to walk away, but I grabbed his arm.
“Did I tell you I’m going out in the field
? Where the pieces of the Xathi ship fell?”
His eyes brightened with interest.
“I’ve always wanted to see that ship up close,” he said.
“Now’s your chance. Plus, General Rouhr has a special interest in this project. I’ll give you credit for everything you do.” I had him on the hook. He glanced nervously at Dr. Wilks. “I doubt Dr. Wilks will mention you in his final report.”
That did the trick.
“What do you need from me?” Lennox asked.
“First, we’re going to check out some climbing equipment.” His expression was overcome with worry. “Don’t worry, you won’t be doing any of the climbing,” I assured him.
No one paid us any mind as we left the lab. One floor below us was a room stocked with equipment for fieldwork. I signed out climbing boots with spikes, plenty of rope, a harness with extra reinforcement, and anything else I thought I might need.
“I’ve never done any field work before,” Lennox said excitedly as I passed him two duffel bags full to bursting.
“How exciting for you!” I said. “It’s really important work, too. You’ll be glad to have helped.”
“What are we doing, exactly?” he asked. I considered him a moment before deciding there was no harm in telling the kid the truth.
Part of the truth, at least.
“I went out to the desert a few days ago to check on some unusual readings,” I explained. “When I got there, I found this huge crater. Now I’m thinking it might be a tunnel. It’s incredibly deep. Miles deep. I didn’t get a chance to collect enough samples last time I was out there. Today, I’ll rappel down deeper and get better samples.” I decided to leave out the part where Karzin and I nearly died.
I didn’t want to frighten the poor kid.
“What are you hoping to learn?” he asked.
“The planet’s crust in that specific area is thin. That’s why the debris from the Xathi ship was able to cause a collapse. I want to figure out why the crust is so thin,” I explained.
“Why?” he asked.
“What if the crust is thin in other places?” I asked. “What if Nyheim is one crack away from falling into the center of the planet?”
“Then why aren’t you testing here?” Lennox asked. I sucked in a deep breath. I really didn’t want to tell him about the attacks, but if he kept this up, I wouldn’t have a choice.
“Because there isn’t a crater here,” I replied. “Come on, we’re wasting time! I want to get back long before nightfall.”
“How are we getting there?”
Crap.
That was a valid question. The office had a single land-based transport unit available to scientists to use for field work, but the project had to be preapproved in advanced. I wasn’t officially working on a project. I’d been thrown into this and never drew up a project report. I’d been too busy leaping through rifts and kissing a green alien.
“We’re going to ask nicely,” I said with a decisive nod.
The lab director was in her office, looking over papers no doubt filled with properly submitted project outlines.
“Doctor Parker,” she said without looking up. “General Rouhr sent me a message about you, commending you for all of your help. I’m glad I sent you to him.”
“So am I, Dr. Hines,” I smiled. “I actually came here to ask you about that.”
“Oh?”
“General Rouhr and I are still working together. He’s asked me to collect more samples. Naturally, he didn’t realize I needed to submit a project outline to get approval to use the transport unit. If no one’s using it, can I borrow it for a few hours?”
I held my breath as she pondered.
“If it’s for the general’s work, all right,” she nodded. I let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to tell the general how helpful you were.”
Before Dr. Hines could say another word, I pushed Lennox out of the office and made a break for the garage.
Karzin
The scene at Einhiv was terrible. We had spent hours fishing survivors, and non-survivors, out of the rubble of two buildings while people worked in the other two buildings that had fallen.
Of the four buildings that had fallen, two of them were still mostly intact, they had fallen because their foundations had been compromised. For the third building, the top half of it broke off and crumbled into the street, killing one pedestrian.
The fourth building, the building Tona had directed us to, was the worst. Not only had it fallen over, but part of it had fallen into a nearby crater. Our only saving grace was that the crater wasn’t very wide, or very deep.
We had noticed that there were two types of craters. There were the ones with bottoms that we could see. And ones that went on forever.
We were on a break, trying to get as much rest as we could so we wouldn’t make a mistake. Someone had brought us some water, and I sat on a set of stairs, watching the rescue efforts commence as the sun came back up over the horizon. I was sore, and I think I had lost skin from one of my shins, but I was encouraged by what I was seeing. The people of Einhiv had come together and were working nonstop to get as many people out as they could, while cleaning up as much rubble as possible to help make room for the rescue.
Tona came to sit next to me. “Thank you for coming. I was kind of expecting the other teams as well, though.”
I took a drink of water and nodded. “The general wanted to keep the other teams on standby just in case another attack happened somewhere. He did, however, send the two shuttles with supplies and extra help.”
“Yeah, I sincerely appreciate that. Sorry, just tired.”
“It’s okay. How are you?” I asked. I liked Tona. He was a good man. I would not worry about going into combat with him by my side.
He let out a sigh that seemed to come from his ancestors. “Exhausted, in pain, and my lungs are probably filled with dust, but I’m here.”
“Has anyone said anything about whether or not they saw anything?”
He shook his head. “No. Most of the people coming out are asking us what happened. No one knows anything, and that bothers me.”
“You and me both.”
“Were you wanting to look at the craters? I know you need to get as much info as you can.”
I nodded. “If you can spare us, but we’re more than willing to jump back in and help.”
“Honestly?”
“Please.”
“This crew is about dead on their feet. You think you can help me finish up?” he asked as he stood and extended his hand to me.
“Let’s get to work.” I accepted his hand and let him pull me up. “Let’s get back to it, boys.”
The team got to their feet without complaint and we went back to work. The few hours turned into half the day before we found everyone.
Although there were only six dead, that was six too many. I ordered everyone to get some sleep. We needed the rest before we looked into the craters. While the team went to find a place to rest, I went to one of the craters to have a look.
This one wasn’t big, maybe ten feet deep and six feet across. I called over one of the rescue workers and asked him to get my rappelling gear. When he returned with my gear, I had already gotten a ladder and put it down into the pit. I put on my gear, attached myself to a street post, and headed for the ladder.
“Why did you need your gear if you have the ladder?” he asked me.
“Simple. If the floor of the crater isn’t strong enough to hold my weight, I’ll fall through, and I don’t know how far I’ll fall. If it does break underneath me, the rope will catch me as long as the street post is solid.”
“Ah. Makes sense. I’m here if you need me, sir.”
“Appreciate that,” I said as I stepped onto the ladder. I gingerly made my way down, taking soil samples for Annie along the way. When I got to the bottom of the crater, I slowly stepped off the ladder, testing the ground with my foot. It held.
The cra
ter was a tight fit, but I managed. I took a sample of the soil I was standing on, then twisted around the bottom of the crater, trying to see if I could find anything useful. I searched the whole of the crater, finding nothing, at first.
“Ho, Karzin!” a voice called to me from above. I glanced up to see a short, well-built man looking down. It took a moment for me to remember who it was.
“Ho, Skit,” I called back.
“Find anything?”
“Not yet,” I answered as I looked down again. I noticed something that time. Some of the dirt seemed to be falling in on itself. I knelt down to get a closer look.
“There’s something you need to look at over here,” Skit said.
“Okay. Just a minute.” I dug a bit into the spot and the dirt came away quickly and easily. Then I noticed a small hole in the crater wall. The dirt began falling through faster and faster. I got to my feet and ran for the ladder, but the ground gave way beneath me. I slammed into the wall of the crater as the ladder fell another twenty feet in a rain of dirt and debris.
“Oh, shit!” I heard Skit yell. My rope tautened and then I was being pulled upwards. “Are you alright?” he asked me as I was pulled back to the surface.
I took a few moments to catch my breath before I nodded. I rolled over to the edge of the crater and looked down. I could see the ladder at the bottom, and what looked to be small tunnels. “Well, whatever it is that’s doing this, now we know how they’re moving around.”
“Yeah.” Skit looked at me and I looked at him, then both of us put stupid grins on our faces at the thought that I had nearly died because of dirt.
“You said you had something to show me?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, it’s actually at the bigger crater, but you’ve already seen it. I was going to show you that we had found tunnels.”
“Oh, well, then I’m glad I could save you the trouble,” I quipped.
“Huh. I thought Sakev was the only one that had that stupid sense of humor.”
“Ouch. Okay, I’ll just get to my investigation now,” I said as I rolled to my feet.
Skit helped me up, then looked up at me. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” With that, he turned and left to go back to whatever it was that Tona needed him to do. I moved about the area, looking at each of the craters and trying to see where they had materialized.