Chapter 6 #2
“Right. And you only sell your items to the scummiest black-market dealers or private collectors you can find.”
She turned back and raised a brow. “That’s right.”
He studied her face. “You know, I dug around after you stole that Terran necklace out from under us. I couldn’t find a record of a sale.”
“Doesn’t mean I didn’t sell it.”
“What about the Haladian gems you found on Halad III?”
She looked over his shoulder. “What about them?”
“The transaction was really well hidden, but I discovered that they are sitting in a pretty little private museum on Zeta Volantis.”
She turned her back on him. “We need to keep moving or we’ll run out of time before our radiation exposure is up.”
He watched her as she wandered into the next room. Nothing was ever as it seemed with Nera Darc.
“Sleep quarters?” she said, looking out the waist-high gap that would have been a window.
“Bedroom, yes.” Nik ran a finger over the reinforced wall structure. Who had lived here? What had their life been like? Had they made it off the planet before it was destroyed?
A glint of something buried in the layer of black sand on the floor caught his eye. He grabbed it and gasped, holding the item up.
Nera stepped closer. “Pretty.”
It was a necklace. The chain was broken but the pendant was still shiny. It was a purple color that reminded him of one of the colors in Nera’s eyes.
“It’s small,” he said. “Probably belonged to a child.”
She studied him. “It saddens you?”
“Sure. To think of a child caught in the machinations of governments who were more concerned with power and pride, than with the survival of the young and innocent.”
“You think because the child was young, she was innocent?”
He regarded her carefully. “Yes. Children are innocent, regardless of what they’re forced to do or see. Regardless of what others make them do.”
“There are so many more shades of gray than you see, Niklas.” She turned away. “Let’s move on.”
They scoured the next few buildings. More homes with few artifacts remaining. Nik guessed most things had either been destroyed in the intense blasts that had taken out the city center, or had just deteriorated over time.
In the first shop, they had more luck.
“I think this was a music shop.” He touched the remains of what he guessed was a Terran guitar.
“I think you’re right.” Nera turned, cradling a metal object.
In perfect condition.
“God, it’s beautiful.” He touched the metal, his fingers bumping hers. “A flute, I think.”
They checked the next few shops, most of which were disappointingly bare. He found a few general items—a cup, the twisted remains of a precursor to the Sync communicator, and a shoe—but nothing that would get Avril excited.
They walked out onto the street. Nera consulted the mini-Sync attached to her wrist. “Only twenty more minutes of exposure time left. We need to start heading back.”
He nodded, eyeing a lump of twisted metal on the street.
She followed his gaze. “A transport?”
He nodded. “I think so. A car.”
They moved closer.
“Terran cars are worth a lot of money…but this is barely recognizable as a car. It wouldn’t be worth moving it.”
“Yeah.” He knew a few rusted chassis of old Earth cars had gone for millions of e-creds. No one had ever found a Terran car in pristine condition. If they did, it would be worth a small fortune.
He noticed Nera tense. She was looking down the street, past the remains of the buildings.
“What is it?” He searched where she was looking, but didn’t see anything.
“I thought I saw movement.”
He frowned and checked his Sync. “The other teams are nowhere near us.”
“It was…furtive movement. Like someone was hiding, and watching us.”
“Nothing on scans, although once you get over seven meters out, the radiation makes them unreliable. No one could have survived here. Seeing shadows?”
Her mouth flattened. “No. I saw something.”
If she did, he believed her. “Okay. What could it be then? No wildlife survived in this part of the planet. The jungles to the south contain…things.” Mutated things. He figured they really didn’t want to run into whatever had managed to survive Earth’s destruction.
Finally, she shook her head. “Let’s check out the last part of this sector and get back to the ship.”
They walked to the end of the street and the final structure. Nik frowned. Here, the black sand looked like it had been subjected to intense heat. It formed a solid sheet of what looked like black glass.
Nera tapped it with her boot. Parts of it broke off. “It’s gone brittle.”
“It could be covering something.” He looked back at the other buildings. “Probably another shop.”
“Wonder what caused this?”
“Some sort of localized blast, maybe? Who knows?” And they’d never know.
It was the frustration of his passion for the past. For every one of history’s secrets he revealed, he uncovered several more that would always be a mystery.
It took him a long time, but he’d learned to celebrate what he could and not let the rest drive him crazy.
He pulled his multi-tool off his belt and dialed up the hammer. He hit the black glass and it chipped away.
He worked for a bit, just to see how thick the layer was.
Suddenly, a portion the size of a dinner plate gave way, leaving a gaping hole.
Nera crouched and flicked on her ion light. She shone it into the hole, but all they could see was impenetrable darkness.
“It appears there’s a space under there,” she said. “Want to take a look around?”
“We should maybe send a probe in first. And we don’t have much time left—”
She stood and kicked the edge of the hole with her boot.
A huge slab broke off, leaving a hole large enough for a person to crawl through.
“Nera…”
She shone the light again. This time, it gleamed off…something.
His pulse tripped. Damn, now he wanted to know what the hell was in there.
“Come, Dr. Phoenix. Live a little.” She leaped into the hole.
“Nera!” Dammit to hell, they had fifteen minutes left.
Grinding his teeth, he followed her in.
The drop was only a few meters, and his feet hit concrete. Smooth, well-preserved concrete.
Nera appeared out of the darkness and shone her light in his face. “Come take a look.” She swung the light away from him.
It illuminated a… He took a deep breath, his eyes widening. “Oh my God.”
It was a perfectly preserved car.
Its body was long and stylish, and glossy red. There was only room for two people to sit in it. It was long in the hood, and short at the back.
God, it was beautiful. A work of art.
Nera touched the still-shiny metal. “It seems…far less modern than I imagined Terran transports to be.”
“It’s not a model that was manufactured at the time of Earth’s demise. It’s a classic car.”
She frowned. “It was already old.”
“Yes. A collectors’ item. I have some records on ancient automobiles. I think this is one of the cars listed. A 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang.”
“Priceless,” she murmured.
“Yes.” It would fetch a fortune on the open market. And would look very nice in a museum where the galaxy’s children could marvel at a piece of their history.
Nera moved through the darkness. “There’s another one.”