Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The data transfer crawled across the screen at an agonizing pace—forty-seven percent, forty-eight, forty-nine.
Alina kept her eyes fixed on the progress bar while her fingers tapped an irregular rhythm against the edge of her workstation.
The backup device was small enough to fit in her palm, unremarkable enough that no one would give it a second glance.
Just another piece of equipment in a lab full of equipment.
Come on. Come on.
Fifty-three percent.
She’d already scrubbed the main servers of anything that could lead to Rhyx’s cavern.
The original anomalous readings, the trajectory calculations, the atmospheric analysis that had first caught her attention—all of it either deleted or buried so deep in falsified data that it would take months to untangle.
But she needed a copy. A real copy, one that she could take with her when she left.
When, not if. She’d made her decision. Whatever came next, whatever future waited for her and Rhyx beyond Mars’s rusty horizons, she wouldn’t face it without the research that had brought them together.
Sixty-one percent.
The lab was quiet at this hour, most of the other researchers having finished their shifts and retreated to the common areas or their quarters. Alina had waited deliberately, timing her work for the gap between the evening meal and the late-night skeleton crew.
She should have known better.
“Working late, Dr. Falkner?”
The voice came from the doorway—smooth, familiar, carrying that particular edge of smug satisfaction that made her stomach clench.
Martin.
Alina didn’t turn around immediately. She needed three seconds—just three seconds—to school her expression into something neutral before facing him.
One. Two. Three.
She swiveled in her chair, her face arranged into careful boredom.
“Just finishing up some documentation. You know how it is.”
Martin stepped into the lab, and immediately the space felt smaller.
He was dressed in his usual immaculate style—crisp lab coat over a tailored shirt, gold-rimmed spectacles catching the overhead lights, blond hair slicked back with precision.
The cloud of cologne preceded him like an advance warning.
But it was his expression that made Alina’s pulse quicken.
He looked triumphant.
“Documentation.” He drew the word out, rolling it over his tongue like wine. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Of course you’re not.” Martin crossed to her workstation with deliberate steps, his pale blue eyes never leaving her face.
In his right hand, he held a tablet. “That’s always been your problem, Alina.
You’re brilliant—I’ve never denied that—but you lack vision.
You see the trees and miss the forest entirely. ”
Alina’s gaze flicked involuntarily to her screen. Seventy-two percent.
Don’t look. Don’t draw attention to it.
“Was there something you needed, Martin? I’m rather busy.”
“Oh, this won’t take long.” His smile widened, thin and sharp. “I just thought you might be interested in what GenCon’s new equipment has been finding.”
He turned the tablet towards her.
The image on the screen was grainy, rendered in false-color gradients that indicated density differentials in subsurface rock. Alina recognized the technique immediately—ground-penetrating radar, capable of mapping structures deep beneath the Martian surface.
And there, clearly visible despite the image noise, was the distinctive hollow shape of a cavern.
Her cavern.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
“Interesting, isn’t it?” Martin’s voice was silk over steel. “A subterranean void of significant size, located in the foothills. Almost exactly where you were conducting your unauthorized survey before that dust storm.”
Keep breathing. Keep your face neutral. Don’t give him anything.
Alina tilted her head, studying the image with what she hoped looked like detached professional curiosity.
“That’s what you wanted to show me? A grainy blob on a radar scan?”
Martin’s smile flickered.
“It’s a cavern system, Alina. A significant one. Possibly connected to others.”
“It’s a density anomaly that could indicate a void space.
” She shrugged, the motion carefully casual despite the tension coiling in her shoulders.
“It could also be an unusual rock formation. Differential mineral composition. Even an artifact from the scan itself—radar imaging isn’t exactly precise at those depths. ”
“Don’t play stupid. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m not playing anything.” Alina met his gaze steadily. “I’m pointing out that you’re drawing conclusions from inconclusive data. That’s bad science, Martin. Even for you.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw.
“I know you found something out there. I know that’s why you changed your search parameters after you came back. You’re hiding something.”
“I found an interesting mineral deposit and realized my original survey area wasn’t optimal for geochemical analysis. That’s all.”
“Liar.”
The word hung between them, ugly and raw.
Alina’s hands wanted to shake. She kept them flat on her thighs, pressing her palms against the fabric of her pants.
“Think whatever you want, Martin. I can’t stop you from wasting GenCon’s resources on wild speculation.”
For a moment, something dangerous flickered in his pale eyes—the same look she’d seen when he’d grabbed her arm, when he’d tried to corner her in the corridor. Her body tensed, preparing for confrontation.
But then his expression smoothed, transforming into something almost worse. Something calculating.
“You know,” he said, his tone shifting to something approximating warmth, “it doesn’t have to be like this between us.”
“Like what?”
“Adversarial.” He set the tablet down on the nearest workstation and took a step closer. Close enough that she could see the individual threads of gold in his spectacle frames. “We could be partners, Alina. In every sense of the word.”
Oh no. Not this again.
“Martin—”
“Hear me out.” He held up a hand, the gesture almost magnanimous. “I know we’ve had our differences. I know I’ve been… perhaps too aggressive in pursuing what I want. But that’s only because I recognize your potential. Your value.”
The words landed like stones in her stomach.
Value. Like I’m an asset to be acquired.
“I’ve spoken with the GenCon representatives,” Martin continued, his voice dropping to an intimate register that made her skin crawl. “They’re very interested in whatever’s hiding in those mountains. Very interested, and very generous with their funding.”
“I’ve already told you I want nothing to do with GenCon.”
“But that’s the beauty of it.” He smiled, and somehow it was worse than his anger.
“If you’re willing to work with me—truly work with me—then I can present this as a joint discovery.
Your name alongside mine. Full credit, full recognition.
The kind of career-making find that scientists dream about. ”
Joint discovery. As if he had any claim to what she’d found. As if Rhyx was something to be discovered, cataloged, dissected for academic publications and corporate profit.
“And in return?” She already knew the answer, but she needed him to say it.
“In return…” Martin reached out, and before she could pull away, his fingers brushed along her jaw. “You stop fighting what’s between us.”
Alina jerked back, her chair rolling against the workstation behind her.
“There’s nothing between us, Martin. There never has been.”
“That’s not true.” His voice hardened, the mask of charm slipping. “I’ve seen the way you look at me. The way you challenge me, argue with me—that’s passion, Alina. You just won’t admit it.”
“It’s contempt. There’s a difference.”
The words were out before she could stop them, sharp and clear and absolutely true.
Martin’s face went white.
Then red.
Then something twisted and ugly that made every instinct in her body scream danger.
“You think you’re better than me.” His voice was barely above a whisper, but it cut like glass. “You’ve always thought that. Standing there with your natural brilliance, your perfect intuition, looking down at everyone who actually has to work for their achievements.”
“That’s not—”
“Do you have any idea what I’ve sacrificed?
” He stepped closer, and she pressed back against the workstation, feeling the edge dig into her spine.
“The hours, the years, the compromises? Everything I’ve done to get where I am, and you just waltz in with your pretty face and your clever little mind and expect the world to fall at your feet. ”
“Martin, you need to calm down.”
“Don’t tell me what I need!” His voice cracked, loud enough that it would carry into the corridor if anyone was passing by. Then he seemed to catch himself, drawing a breath that shuddered through his entire frame.
When he spoke again, his voice was controlled. Cold.
“You’ll regret this, Alina.”
He turned and walked towards the door, his steps precise despite the tension vibrating through his body.
“That scan is just the beginning,” he said without looking back. “GenCon has resources you can’t imagine. Equipment, personnel, authorization to access any area they deem relevant to their research. And I’ve made sure they understand that whatever you’re hiding, it’s worth finding.”
He paused at the threshold, his hand resting on the door frame.
“You could have been part of something extraordinary. Instead, you chose to be my enemy.” Now he did look back, and his smile was the coldest thing she’d ever seen. “I hope your principles keep you warm when I’ve taken everything else.”
Then he was gone, his footsteps echoing down the corridor until they faded into silence.
Alina stood frozen for a long moment, her hands gripping the edge of the workstation so tightly that her knuckles ached. Her heart was pounding, her breath coming too fast, and there was a fine tremor running through her body that she couldn’t seem to stop.