Hidden in Predator Planet, page 23
(static)
“Wing Commander, activate burners; something is wrong.” (Bjorn Nielsson)
“Affirmative. Burners activated. Altering flight path.” (Linnea Pain)
“Holy shit, what is that?” (Bjorn Nielsson)
“They’re firing weap—” (Linnea Pain)
(static)
End Transcript
Stunned, I fisted my hands in my lap and took great gulps of breath. I hadn’t heard my mama’s voice in decades. Cool and collected, my astronaut mother sounded like the quintessential space pilot, and even though it was just a few words, I felt so proud of her, proud to be her daughter. And the next moment my heart was breaking at the senseless loss of life in what was supposed to be an exciting new chapter in Earth’s era.
While a later Qhudret envoy had brought generous gifts and shared technology, they never disclosed the transcript detailing what had happened. They’d pleaded ignorance alongside Space Global the whole time until later disasters and tragedies made the news headlines and my mama, and the rest of the mission, were forgotten.
“Thank you for the gift,” I whispered to VELMA and removed my helmet.
Years. Decades.
We’d suspected she had passed on, of course. But the not knowing had been a dull ache for so long that I’d just learned to live with it. Like an injured tendon or something that you couldn’t treat with a cast, you just had to deal with it until the pain faded.
And my life would go on, and things would happen, and milestones came and went, and then a smell would trigger a memory of her or I’d look at my hand and see my mother’s fingers, the way the skin wrinkled around the knuckles, and the not knowing would hit me in a street-fight gut punch, and I’d have to sit back and breathe and wait for the hurt to dull again.
And VELMA, an incredible collection of code designed with painstaking architecture, but at the end of the day, just a program, had taken the initiative to search the almost limitless archives at its disposal to find the one thing I’d lacked for most of my life. How … ? She—it—she couldn’t possibly comprehend what it would mean to me, and yet she’d done that.
Grateful and astonished, I couldn’t even form thoughts. I sat and let the last piece of the puzzle settle into place.
Warmth touched my left side in the cool cave air, and I recognized Raxthezana’s spicy scent. He didn’t say anything, but he must have known I was reeling because he took my hand and enfolded it in his own as he sat beside me. And it was enough.
53
Raxthezana
Mayhap it was our impending quest. Mayhap it was the danger from several quarters. I didn’t know what troubled my CeCe, but I would sit and witness her grief. The shel could heal many things, but they had not yet healed the wounds of the soul. Perhaps that was the original purpose of the heart mate, I mused. To have one who would bear witness to your inner wounds, one with whom to share the burden of trials and hardships. Perhaps when the heart left its heart home, escaping the confines of the thick fibrous membrane, it was better able to sense the troubles of your heart mate—because it was closer.
I frowned.
Warmth flooded my chest.
Bursting joy fluttered in my gut.
Nay, it was not the excruciating torment of the heart transition, but could not these feelings signify the same phenomenon?
Mayhap CeCe was not my heart mate, but she was indeed the mate of my heart.
Liquid slipped from my eye and raced down my face. Startled, I reached up with my free hand and swiped, expecting to find blood. It was clear. I tasted it. It was a tear.
Squeezing CeCe’s hand, she gripped mine back but then let go. And leaned into my side, and I put my arm around her shoulders and cradled her trembling body, and marveled.
After a time, she sat straight and looked at me.
“VELMA researched my mother’s disappearance with her diplomatic envoy and found out what happened,” she said, her eyes penetrating and brow creased with a slight wrinkle. “I knew she had passed. But now I know how it happened and when. I’m shocked, sad, angry—and also relieved. It’s so strange to have all these emotions happening at once.” She clutched at her immovable chest panel.
Tenderness for my mate welled up in my body.
“VELMA gave you an incomparable gift,” I said and reached to stroke the length of CeCe’s cheek with my finger.
CeCe laughed. “That’s exactly how VELMA presented the information to me,” she said with delight, though a tear sparkled at the corner of one eye. “What fascinates me is that she had access to all of that information this whole time. She just had the motivation and initiative to look for specific keywords and markers.”
“VELMA is truly a wonder,” I said. “I can’t begin to comprehend the way in which you programmed electronic machines to simulate a sentient mind, but you are possessed of a magnificent intellect.”
Her cheeks deepened to a burnished pink, and she smiled. “Now you’re just trying to flatter me.”
“Upon my word, I am not,” I said with a smile. “I had never hoped to find a companion with which to share the thoughts of my heart or the curiosities of the universe, but in you, I would have these things. You are a treasure to me.”
CeCe blinked, her dark lashes shadowing her dark eyes for a jotik, and she tilted her head, studying me. I’d never once been self-conscious of my broken fang until now, but I allowed a small smile anyway. I noticed the jotik her gaze lingered on my mouth, and flashes of my brethren sharing breath with their heart mates crashed to my mind. My pulse thundered in my throat and in my ears, and I felt one of my fingers twitch, as if rehearsing the light touch I wished to give her.
Her eyes caressed my face, my ears, my hair, and I dared not move nor flinch. I was prey captured by her scrutiny.
She released me from her intensity after a rotik and looked across the cavern to the others as they made their preparations.
I breathed.
“It goes against logic,” she said, not meeting my eyes but sparing me a fleeting glance first. “And against science, social constructs … hell; it goes against common sense. But you’ve become very important to me as well,” she said before her chest rose, and she looked at me. “I want to explore this more.” She scooted close enough that her armored thigh scraped against mine where we sat. Pressing two fingers to her generous lips, she kissed them, then pressed them to mine, and my breath caught. “I don’t even know how this could work, considering what we’re about to do,” she said with a confused laugh and furrowed brow. “But stay with me. Stay nearby. Everything we do, let’s do it together. And who knows? Maybe we could have a happy ending like all of them.” She angled her head toward my brothers and their mates and gave me a smile that stole my breath.
A seeker of truth, I was also a titled hunter with prime lands on Ikshe. I’d bagged some of Ikthe’s grandest trophies as an apex predator on Certain Death and yet …. I was powerless in the face of CeCe Pain’s smile. I would fall prey to her with a willing heart again and again if she chose me.
Lips still burning from her touch, I grasped the nape of her neck and pressed my forehead to hers.
“Together,” I whispered. “I vow it.”
54
Natheka
“This tunnel leads to the lava fields,” I said to Amity, turning to watch her clamber over a pile of collapsed stalactites.
“Is that why I’m starting to feel hot?” she said. “Or is it watching you prowl these tunnels like a badass?”
Cocking my head, I rehearsed the words. “You’ve used that phrase before, but a direct translation is ….” I paused.
“Offensive?” she said with a chuckle. “It’s supposed to mean powerful, Natheka. You’re powerful. And handsome. And funny. I could go on.” She hopped down, took off her helmet and reached me where I stood. “You’re also tall as hell. Bend over and kiss me.”
Removing my helmet, I complied, relishing the flavor of her warm kiss and savoring the love that grew between us.
We helmeted back up and walked through the tunnel as it narrowed.
“Agoshe,” I said, expecting the darkness ahead to light at my command. It didn’t.
“Damn,” she said. “I wonder ….”
We slowed our approach to the curve in the tunnel where only our helmet lights lit the black rock walls, every rough bump casting a dark shadow until the tunnel looked pocked and ragged. We walked three veltiks and stopped.
“Yep,” Amity said, hands on her hips. “That’s what I wondered.”
We stood before the rubble of a collapsed tunnel. Shining our lights all around, it was apparent that at least one, if not more, of the recent quakes had tumbled this lava tube into ruin.
“Was there another turn back there?” Amity asked. “I couldn’t tell if that dark area was another passage or not.”
“Let’s go look,” I said. “But I don’t think it was. Mayhap a quake opened up another path to the lava fields.”
We retraced our steps and found an offshoot leading away from our original route.
“Shall we investigate?” I asked.
“Does Diablo poop in the woods?” she replied and entered the dark opening first.
“He does indeed,” I answered. “And on the plains. Near camp. On trails.”
Amity laughed, and my heart soared at the sound.
The offshoot narrowed; we walked single file. And then I ducked. And then I crouched. When Amity crouched, I knew this passage wouldn’t serve.
“Let’s head back,” she said, mirroring my thoughts. “I could crawl, but you big lugs won’t be able to fit, and God knows where that tunnel comes out.”
Retreating, we made our way back to the havabuthe to find everyone ready to leave.
“The passage to the lava fields is blocked,” I said, and Raxthezana’s scowl deepened.
“The only other route comes in from the north,” he said. “It would take days to return from whence we came and carve a path around Black Heart.”
“There was a very narrow tunnel we explored partway,” Amity said. “But I’m afraid only us humans could fit.”
“Maybe we could take that path, find the ore and harvest it, then return?” Pattee suggested.
“Nay,” Raxthezana said and scraped a claw down the center of his forehead while closing his eyes. “There lay many more dangers for humans to face alone. Let me think.”
“All due respect,” CeCe spoke up, and my ears perked. Long had I waited to see someone disagree with the surly Raxthezana. “These humans have faced down the worst Ikthe has had to offer and triumphed without your help.”
Grinning, I watched Raxthezana’s brows crash against each other.
“That is a true statement,” he said, and my smile dimmed. Had he agreed with CeCe? He continued. “I do not doubt your abilities to combat what lies ahead, but the quest entails far more than mere survival. We will need reserves of energy to mine the ore and retrieve the Holy Waters. We need everyone.”
CeCe’s gaze softened when she looked at him, and Amity grasped my hand and tugged. When I looked down at her, she winked and spoke on our private channel.
“I think they came to an understanding,” she said, her voice warm nectar in my ears, and I wished we were back in our little cave alcove of several nights ago. Amity sighed, and her throaty exhale tightened my groin.
Swallowing a groan, I squeezed her hand. “When love blooms on Certain Death, its glow outshines the piercing glare of peril, does it not?”
Amity laughed.
“You haven’t lived until you’ve loved and almost died on Ikthe,” she said.
I borrowed one of her favorite phrases when I said, “True facts.” Though it was but one single truth. Amity’s sudden embrace of my mid-section had me smiling again when CeCe spoke.
“What about the canal?” she said. “Has anyone swum through to its source?”
She was met with blank stares from my brothers, and then we turned as one to look at the water that curved along the west wall and disappeared into the north face.
Before anyone could react, CeCe had dropped her pack, jogged to the bank and dropped in, soft glowing water covering her helmet, and then she ghosted into the shadowy channel where it stretched to unknowable distance beyond the rock.
“I should have seen that coming,” Pattee said.
“Anyone else in the mood to dive into a mysterious cave river in search of “lava fields” and other questionable destinations?” Esra asked.
“That’s the CeCe I know and love,” Joan said with a dry smile. “While she seems reckless at times, she’s actually very analytical. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s anchoring bolts and stringing line down there. This isn’t her first cave swim.”
Pride swelled in my chest for the newest member of our company, and while the forecasts of impending danger were quite dim, I felt an abundance of hope and confidence. We would overcome evil and triumph in the face of our enemies. I had no doubt.
55
CeCe
The johohiha Shegoshel, little water suns, darted away from me when I entered the canal, but when I swam into the underground channel where it had carved through the rock, they resumed their lazy bobs, glowing all the while as I bolted an anchor and tied the first knot for the line I planned to lay. The water was pristine here, but the more people swam through and touched the walls or bottom, sediment would get stirred up. Clouded water was disorienting to say the least; a line to grab hold of would keep all of us on the correct route.
My armor and helmet had underwater settings allowing me to breathe, but I took comfort in the fact that if my armor malfunctioned, I had the ability to keep going for a few minutes. However, my colleagues didn’t, and I needed to take that into consideration as I scoped out how far the channel could take us.
The section I passed through now was wide enough for two hunters or three humans to swim side by side, though I would insist we go single file. About two and a half meters deep, the size of this canal suggested it was very old, having had time to widen from both solution-dissolving rock and exceeding its flow threshold.
The light from the bioluminescent creatures lent a gentle glow to the peaceful underground river, and I felt my heart slow to the most relaxed beat yet since waking out of cryosleep. I had three anchors left, so I hoped the channel would open up into a chamber soon. I’d passed two offshoot tunnels, but they looked too narrow for the broad-shouldered hunters.
Swimming another five meters, I placed another bolt. The channel widened here, and I swam upward to see if there was an air pocket. There was, though it was only about two meters in diameter. Diving back to my line, I tied a knot in it indicating the air pocket.
Two bolts left; I swam another five meters but decided to anchor my next to last bolt at the six-meter mark. The water sun population had dwindled in this part of the cave, and I wondered if it meant I was close to an open cavern, somewhere cave wildlife could come to the water and prey on them, or if the devil stars preferred the other side of the tunnel and kept the water suns concentrated nearby.
Another peek at the water’s surface, another air pocket. I tied a knot. I had to be closer.
One bolt left and ten meters of rope.
I’d been gone thirty-five minutes, so I checked in.
“Raxthezana?” I said.
“Ik,” he answered, and his voice further grounded me.
“I’m just about to the end of my rope but wanted to let you know I’m fine. I hope to find an outlet soon.”
“Thank you, Dear One,” he said, and heat flooded my face.
Endearments hadn’t been a part of my life for decades.
Determined to make everyone proud, I skimmed the side of the tunnel to the nine and half meter mark and bolted my last anchor. Cave diving was one of the most dangerous occupations in the universe, aside from space travel itself. Underground rivers were infamous for disorienting divers who couldn’t distinguish up from down or trapping them in currents that flowed into narrow chutes. Disturbed sediment obscured visibility to zero, and malfunctioning equipment left divers without air.
As much as I wanted to keep going, it would be foolhardy for me to proceed without more rope. Trying to compose myself, I swam upward to see if there was a break in the tunnel. My gloved hand touched a rock ceiling, and disappointment bore down on me.
I could swim back and collect a few more anchors and another skein of rope, but how much might we need farther along in the cave system? How much time did we have to waste on this route when we could be backtracking to the original entrance and making our way around the mountain base?
Swimming back down to the last anchor, I paused and peered into the murk ahead of me. My helmet light didn’t reach far, and when I pulled out the flashlight from its forearm panel, it didn’t shine much farther. Cloudy water didn’t help, and from my spot at the wall, I couldn’t see the other side of the tunnel. I bit my lip.
An opening could be just a few meters away.
Every minute of training demanded I give up and turn back. We could decide as a group what to do next. But my intuition told me there was an outlet ahead.
If I swam ahead without the line, tracking my hand along the rock wall, I might be safe enough.
Reason and heart.
Caution and risk.
The old CeCe—and—who was I now?
Peering into the dark water in front of me, my hand touching the wall at my side, an odd sensation thrummed all around me and tingled the fingers pressed against the rock.
Dammit.
Earthquake.
56
Raxthezana
VELMA’s warning rang in all of our helmets, but I was already diving into the water. Just as Joan had predicted, CeCe had driven anchors into the tunnel wall and laid a line. As sediment muddied the water such that I couldn’t see past a jovelt in front of my face, I felt the wall move under my hand. Awash in terror, I moved as fast as I dared with the line and wall under my hand.
