Chapter 9
Maya
They’d managed to pry open a vent in every area of the mining station and place a bowl of reconstituted tepin meat just in reach of each opening in the hopes that Commander Chaos would smell the food and come out for a nibble.
The station was a lot bigger than she’d thought; there were two levels, and the vents roamed everywhere.
Maya had also gone to every single vent and called out his name. She cursed the fact that his favorite container of treats, which she usually rattled to get the dragus pup’s attention back home, was still on the delivery ship somewhere.
Ranek had made her promise not to go after the pup on her own without him.
He was currently going through the files in the main office to look for schematics of the station.
He had assured her that despite the Talleans’ reliance on technology, there were usually physical copies of maps and schematics in places like this on the off chance that the power went out.
Since this mining station had been so far away from the inner planets, it meant help was slow to arrive if anything took down the power systems.
Waiting was difficult. A little voice in her head told her to climb in the vents and look for Commander Chaos anyway.
But Ranek was right. They didn’t know what was inside or where it went, and she was as blind as a bat in there.
Not to mention it was so dusty that she was still coughing occasionally from the dust she’d inhaled diving headfirst in there the first time around.
“Commander Chaos,” she called again by one of the vents, before craning her neck to listen for any movement.
Every so often, there would be some scratching from inside the walls, but it moved around, and she could never pinpoint it or see anything when she held her breath and stuck her head into the vents. There wasn’t a single growl, or snarl, or yip.
She was pacing a trench into the floor when Ranek returned, holding an old-style looking scroll in one hand and a lantern in the other.
She frowned until he let it unroll. It was a color-coded blueprint of the station, with the ductwork highlighted in orange.
Her heart sank at the intricate network of ducts and vents.
Her eyes landed on several thick red lines. The other thick lines in orange denoted vent openings, but these were even thicker. They caught her attention. She squinted and gasped.
“These openings lead out to the mines!”
“They do.” Ranek pressed his lips into a thin, grim line.
“So the first thing we should do is make sure that those vents are not open,” she said, her mind moving quickly to put together a plan now that she had a map.
“Then we should start here.” She pointed to the section of the duct that had only one entrance.
“And make sure he’s not in this section before blocking it off.
And then…” She chewed on her bottom lip.
“Here and here, so he can’t move from floor to floor. ”
Ranek grunted in agreement. “This is a start. Then we can narrow it down from there.”
“Okay, let’s get out into the mine and see if those vents are covered.”
She walked over to pull out her still-damp boots, wrinkling her nose as her feet squished into the waterlogged lining.
Talleans didn’t wear socks because their clawed toes would rip right through them, and while they sold socks on Reka 5 now for those who did wear them, Maya had gotten used to going without.
She didn’t need them when boots and shoes were all lined with soft, plush, anti-bacterial lining.
But instead of heading toward the doors to the mines, Ranek went the other way.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“Before we open those doors, I must armor up and grab my weapons. There are dangerous creatures in the mines. But we are not going, I am. You will stay here.”
She was about to argue when he added, “In case Commander Chaos decides to come out of the vents.”
Alright, that made sense. She followed him back to the infirmary, where his armor and weapons were stacked in a neat pile on one of the cots. She watched him suit up and strap his weapons to his body like he was getting ready for battle.
Had Commander Chaos made his way into the extensive mining system?
He didn’t have his adult teeth and jaws yet, and his claws, while still sharp enough to tear fabric apart, weren’t enough to protect him.
Maya wanted to believe that the little dragus pup was still somewhere in the station vents, but she had a feeling, call it intuition, that he wasn’t and that Ranek would find one of the vents to the mines open.
She sure hoped she was wrong.
Then they were at the large, heavy double doors leading to the mines. The doors themselves had not only two locks but also a heavy metal beam barring them shut. Why would they need such preventative measures?
“Ranek?”
“Yes?”
“What’s in the tunnels?” she asked, suddenly very anxious for her little dragus pup. What horrifying creatures was he facing even now?
When he didn’t answer, she grabbed him by the arm. He was hiding something. “Those locks and the bar are meant to keep something out. What do you know about the creatures in the mines?”
“I know that they exist,” he said vaguely, clearly not telling her everything.
She fumed silently, but let him go. She’d learned to pick her fights, and the sooner he got out there, the sooner she’d know.
After unlocking both locks and lifting the bar, Ranek pulled on the door, and the heavy portal opened with a loud groan. The dust, which had been undisturbed for years, streamed down and made her cough.
Ranek only opened the door enough to slip through. “We must keep them unlocked so I can get back in.” He handed her his blaster. “Do you know how to use this?”
“Yes, we all had to learn to defend Reka 5 when the Dominion attacked.”
“Good. I don’t think anything will come, but if the door opens and anything comes in that isn’t me or Commander Chaos, shoot it. Do not shoot me.”
Maya hefted the weapon in her hands. “Don’t shoot you or Commander Chaos. Shoot everything else. Got it.”
She took a deep breath. She could do this.
“Wait!” she cried, as Ranek started to close the door. She lunged for him, going onto her tippy toes. She hauled him down, planting a kiss on his jaw, which was the only place she could reach. “Thank you. Come back in one piece.”
He didn’t say a word. Instead, he nuzzled the side of her face, inhaling deeply. Then he was gone, and she was staring at the back of the metal portal.
Ranek
The inside of the mining tunnels was damp and dark.
But to Ranek’s surprise, the air wasn’t completely still; there was movement, as if air was being funneled up from somewhere deeper in the caverns, carrying with it the smell of decaying matter, earthy and organic.
It wasn’t silent either, at least not to his ears.
There were the sounds of tiny feet scurrying along the walls and the drip, drip, drip of water.
He let his eyes adjust. It was too dark in here to see, even for him, and the lantern cast long shadows down the tunnel.
Long ago, during their evolution, the Talleans had been predators that hunted in the dim light of dawn and dusk.
They had a tapetum lucidum, a reflective layer behind the retina, that reflected light back to be used again, making use of whatever little light there was from the moons and stars in the sky.
And while this normally gave him remarkable night vision, it still required some light to work, especially since his eyes had been damaged from being in the dark, close quarters of prison for too long.
Down here in the tunnel, it was pitch black.
Well, perhaps not completely pitch black, because as his eyes adjusted, several rectangles lit up faintly along the walls, marking the vents into the station.
He strode toward the nearest one. The vent had a heavy-duty cover, with a braided design that wouldn’t let anything larger than his fist into the station.
He grabbed the grate and shook it. This one was secure. He then moved to the next one.
Which was also intact and secure. But he didn’t even need to get close to the third one to realize what had happened.
The grate on this one was broken, like something had wrenched it apart.
Not Commander Chaos; he wasn’t strong enough.
But it didn’t matter who or what had done it, because there on one of the sharp edges was a tuft of grayish-brown fur.
He didn’t even need to see the fur to know that the dragus pup had gone this way. Because his nose had already told him. The smell of the creature was strong here. And he held up the lantern to see that a puddle had soaked into the tunnel’s ground where the little creature had urinated.
Ranek grumbled a curse. He’d really been hoping they wouldn’t need to hunt for Commander Chaos in the mines.
What he really wanted to do was to push the beds in the infirmary together, spread out all the blankets they could find, and spend the rest of the evening with Maya in his arms. But clearly, he wasn’t going to get what he wanted.
He dropped to the ground, put his face low, and inhaled.
The dragus couldn’t have gone too far. And his scent was easy to catch; it was unlike anything else here, and Ranek was certain he’d be able to locate him.
The question was whether he would do it in time before the predators of this domain found and consumed the little creature.
As it was, the trail led to the right, down the tunnel and into the darkness. Clearly, the little pup had no problem seeing in the dark and had no fear of it either. Or was that because he was too young and sheltered, having been protected his entire short little life, leaving him less cautious?
Maya really cared about Commander Chaos, even though she knew she’d have to part with the pup one day. Ranek swore to himself that today would not be that day.
He returned to the entrance of the mining station and shoved open the door, which creaked on its hinges, to let him in. He found Maya perched on a chair, her hands on the blaster but not pointing it. The hopeful look on her face turned immediately to disappointment the moment she saw him.
“He’s in there, isn’t he?”
“Affirmative.” Ranek shut the door to the tunnel, putting down the thick metal bar, but not engaging the locks since they’d be going back in soon. “There are multiple signs that he’s been that way, and a trail leading farther into the tunnels.”
Maya’s face screwed up like she was trying to tame her reaction.
“I did not scent any blood in the tunnels, so he must be still alive.” Unless he was swallowed whole, but Ranek didn’t add that part. “We will go after him.”
She brightened. “You’re not going to tell me to stay behind?”
“Would you have agreed if I did?” he asked smugly, already knowing the answer.
“Pssht. Hell, no.”
“Then we are going together. But there’s another reason aside from the fact that you wish to come along.
There are pirates on this planet, and some of them may be looking for you.
Your escape pod did not fall far from this station.
They will look here first, and I do not want you alone if they show up.
Unlike the flying creatures, locks and doors wouldn’t hold them long if they really want to get in. ”
“Gotcha. And yeah, I don’t want to be here alone for that either.”
He glanced over at the metal portal. “But there is something else you need to know.”
“What?”
She looked so small and vulnerable, it had Ranek’s breath hitching, and he absentmindedly put a hand on his chest to rub at the tightness forming there.
“I know there are at least two predators that would give me trouble and even view me as prey. My friend Ckzarr spoke of a massive reptile-like creature with three eyes that glows red in the tunnels. It has a huge mouth, taking up most of its body, and razor-sharp teeth. Ckzarr’s mate, Roxy, said it reminded her of something on your planet called a pack-man-frog. ”
She screwed up her face. “I think some people keep those as pets. But they’re only the size of my palm at most.”
“This one’s big enough to swallow me whole when fully grown. With luck, we will not meet one. But you need to know that there are risks going into the tunnel. I know you care for the dragus pup, but are you willing to take the risk? I will protect you with my life, but it may not be enough.”
She chewed her lower lip. After a long silence, she said, “I’m willing to go. But what about you? You didn’t ask for this. And now you’re getting all tangled up in my mess.”
Ranek chuckled. “I was going to explore the tunnels the next time I was here anyway. This just moved it up on my plans. Who knows what I might find in there? Perhaps something to kick-start my new life.”
That must have been the right thing to say because she seemed to relax. “Alright then. I guess we’re going in.”