Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Everyone clustered around Officer Abora’s comp screen.
“The first location is directly below us,” the woman said.
Lights appeared in the air above the console and Colm barely stopped himself from stepping back in surprise. The pretty projection showed the surface of the moon.
Fascinating. A glowing green X was prominent on the screen.
Honor was frowning as she studied the map. “Keep scanning. Let’s see what else turns up.”
“Another hit!” Officer Abora practically bounced in her seat. “It’s some distance from the first location.”
“I think it’s best to take down a small team,” Honor said. “We’ll take the marlins.”
“Marlins?” Colm asked.
“Small, two-man ships.” She eyed him up and down. “I think you’ll be able to squeeze in there. Just.”
Abora’s comp beeped again. The science officer grinned. “A third hit. The largest of the three.”
Honor turned to the others. “We’ll take two marlins down. Agent Wu can pilot the other marlin. Dr. Lev’nan, you select which archeologist you want to have go down.”
The archeologist nodded. “Got it, Agent Brandall. I think Dr. Behati is the best man for the job.”
A slim man with dark skin stepped forward with a groan. “It looks cold down there. I’m not fond of the cold.”
“Okay.” Honor ignored the archeologist’s complaint. “We need to gear up. Everyone needs environmental suits.”
A little while later, Colm found himself entering the shuttle bay of the Drake.
He’d stopped by his cabin and changed into his thicker winter trousers and grabbed his winter coat.
Three small ships sat side-by-side—the marlins.
They were all gray with sleek, narrow designs that made him think of a bird-of-prey diving with its wings retracted.
They had the Institute logo on the side.
Honor entered. He took a second to watch her efficient, athletic stride. By the warrior, she was beautiful. She was wearing a dark-gray, armor-like suit that slicked over her body like a second skin.
She frowned at him. “Why aren’t you in the enviro suit I left for you?”
“A warrior does not wear armor.”
“It protects from the cold, Colm. Don’t tell me warriors also go naked in snowy conditions?”
“Would you like me naked?”
She huffed out a breath. “Focus, warrior.”
“Your suit doesn’t fit me, Honor. Besides I have this.” He nabbed his coat and held it up.
Her eyes widened. “A pile of whitish-gray fur?”
“A coat made of husker fur. The warmest fur on all of Markaria.”
“You’re sure?”
He nodded. “Very.”
“Okay.” As Wu and the scholar entered the area, she nodded. “Let’s get down to Ansar and take a look around.”
At the first marlin, she touched the controls on the side and the rounded cockpit slid open.
Colm sucked in a breath. There wasn’t a lot of room. He was going to feel like a hargon beast wedged into a chicken coop. Still, he’d be enclosed in a small space with Honor. His mood lightened. He could think of worse things.
Honor climbed in, settling into the partly reclined seat. He followed suit. Something jabbed his hip but other than that, he fit. He pulled the harness across his chest and snapped it into place.
“Drake, this is Marlin Alpha,” Honor said, the controls flaring to life under her hands. “Preparing for take-off.”
“Roger that, Alpha.”
The canopy slid closed, and as Honor’s hands danced over the controls, more lights appeared on the console in front of them. Colm felt a faint vibration beneath him.
“Drake, engines are hot and we are ready for take-off.”
“Acknowledged, Alpha. Opening hangar doors in three, two, one?—”
Colm saw the large doors ahead retracting. There was a vague purple shimmer across the space, and beyond that he could see stars. He breathed in—this time, there would be even less between him and the space beyond. Just the flimsy canopy of this small craft.
Honor touched the controls and the marlin lifted up from the floor. They moved forward, and a second later, shot out of the Drake.
Once they were clear, the marlin tipped to Colm’s side and shot forward and down. He had an uninterrupted view of Ansar below and his stomach dropped.
“Hold on, warrior.” She grinned at him. “You’re in for a ride.”
She whizzed them in closer to the moon and he pressed a hand to the console between them.
She glanced at him and smiled. “You’re handling yourself well. What do you think of the marlin?”
“I like the speed.”
She snorted. “Men. You really aren’t all that different, despite what planet you come from.”
He watched how her hands moved across the dizzying array of controls.
“It appears you need just as much instinct and courage as experience and training to fly this thing.” The marlin turned as she adjusted their course.
“I think it’s a little like riding a hargon beast.” He eyed her with speculation. “Maybe I can try flying?—”
She laughed. “Hell, no.”
The comm line crackled to life. “You’re about to hit atmo, Alpha.”
“Roger that, Drake. Hold on, Colm, we’re entering the moon’s atmosphere.”
It got a little bumpy as they left space. He watched it all with great interest, and it dawned on him that he was the first Markarian to ever do this.
Soon, they were soaring through dense clouds.
“Marlin Beta, how are you two doing?” Honor asked.
“Right on your six, Agent Brandall,” answered Wu.
“Coming up on location one. Let’s circle around, then land.” She turned the marlin in a wide loop over the location.
Colm looked down through the canopy.
“See anything?” she asked.
He grunted. “Snow.” He couldn’t see anything that looked like a ship. It was all white snow.
She slowed the marlin. “The ship’s computer will pick the safest spot to land. Wouldn’t want to land right on top of the entrance to an ice tunnel.”
The ship slowly started to descend. They touched down on the snow.
“Ready for a stroll?” she asked.
Colm grabbed his long winter coat. “As good a time as any.”
Honor pressed a button on her suit and a visor slid into place over her face. He didn’t like that he couldn’t see her eyes. He saw the glimmer of lights at the bottom of her visor.
She noticed him looking. “I have a small heads-up display. My suit can monitor the environmental factors as well as my body’s vitals.”
He grunted and pulled his coat around his shoulders.
She touched a control and the canopy slid back. The blast of cold and snow rattled his teeth. Clenching his jaw tight, he climbed out.
The wind was brisk, tossing snow around. His coat settled around him, and he flicked the hood up.
Now it was time to find what they’d come searching for…and at the same time, protect Honor from Ansar’s unwelcoming environment.
Trudging through the snow, Honor wondered how the stars Colm was going to cope in this without an enviro suit on.
She looked over at him and blinked. He had the hood of his fur coat over his head, casting his face in shadow. Snowflakes were already clinging to the fur.
He looked like a snow monster.
Derek and Dr. Behati appeared out of the wall of white. Derek held up his scanner.
She nodded. “Let’s get looking.” They fought their way through the deep snow, her boots sinking knee-deep. This could take far longer than she’d guessed. Even walking was hard.
Except for Colm. The damned warrior looked like he was out for a gentle stroll. He paused every now and then to kick snow away with his boot, studying the ground.
Derek’s scanner made a beep. They all stopped, and the agent crouched and brushed at the snow with his gloved hand.
Only to find hunks of rock.
Derek shook his head. “The rock has a high iron content. It seems to be setting the scanner off.”
Dammit. Could all the readings be false positives? “You think that’s what Abora picked up?”
Derek shook his head. “Don’t think so. The Drake’s scanners are more powerful.”
“Keep looking.”
The wind picked up. The snow was now small flecks of ice that pinged against her visor. She checked on Colm. He’d pulled his cloak tighter around himself, but seemed fine. Every now and then, he’d bend on one knee to scrape away snow.
Derek turned. “Nothing here, Agent Brandall. If there is, it’s too small to pick up. Maybe the rocks did ping the Drake’s scanners. I’ll need Ning to adjust for that.”
Honor pressed her lips together. “Okay. Let’s move onto the next location.” And get out of these frigid conditions and warm up. Even with her suit and gloves, her fingers felt numb. She spotted Colm, staring off into the falling snow.
“Colm?”
With no response, she trudged over to join him. “Colm? We’re heading back to the marlins. There’s nothing here.”
He kept staring. “There’s something moving out there in the snow.”
What? She turned, scanning around them. All she saw was fluttering white. “Easy to imagine stuff in these conditions.”
He glanced down at her, his face serious. “Stay close to me.” His voice was a deep rumble. “I didn’t imagine anything. There is something out there.”
She swallowed, her nerves itching. She looked again, trying to see what Colm was seeing. “I don’t see anything.”
“I wouldn’t either, without my nanami.”
She touched the side of her visor. “Drake, Brandall here. Are you picking anything up near us? Heat signatures?”
“Nothing,” Ning answered. “But the snow is interfering with our scans.”
So essentially they were blind down here in this snow. “Let’s get out of here.” Honor turned and took one step.
The ground disappeared beneath her boot. Her body dropped, snow rushing past her.
Something grabbed her hand.
Her heart in her throat, her pulse racing, she looked up and saw Colm had grabbed her. She was buried in the snow to her chest, just her hands still above the surface.
Stars. She fought for some calm. Colm had her. She was okay.
Then she felt her glove start to slide through his grip.
“Honor!”
She reached up with her other hand, grabbing his wrist tight.
He pulled, yanking her up. Snow rushed against her visor, then she fell into his arms.
“Honor? Are you okay?”
“Fine, fine. Must be a hole, or entrance to one of those ice tunnels under here.” She gave a shaky laugh. “Thanks for grabbing me.”
He reached out and touched her visor.
“Let’s get out of here.” She turned, her gaze landing on the other two not far away. “Derek, last chance. Anything?”
“Nothing,” the man called out. “No wreckage here.”
“Let’s move to the second location,” she said.
They hurried back toward the marlins. The wind was harder now, slowing their progress, and the small lumps of falling snow were verging on hail.
Honor happily climbed back into the marlin, and once Colm was seated, she closed the canopy, abruptly cutting off the howl of the wind.
She retracted her visor. She saw Colm staring out through the canopy, an intense look on his face. She mustered a smile. “It must have been the snow’s movements you saw.”
“No.”
She sighed, touching the controls. “I was worried you’d say that.”
“I can sense we are being watched.” His brown eyes turned her way, and she saw the glimmer of gold in them. “We were being hunted, Honor.”
“Okay. But now, we’re leaving.”
He nodded and settled back in his seat. She took off, and she wasn’t afraid to admit she was damned glad to be back in the ship.
“Your eyes…I see them glimmer gold sometimes,” she said.
“The nanami cause the change. We can’t control it. It means our emotions are running high.”
“That’s fascinating.”
“But inconvenient in a fight.” He looked her way. “It gives too much away to your enemy. Warriors spend as much time learning control as we do sword-fighting skills.”
When they landed at the next spot, it wasn’t snowing, although a blanket of ice and snow covered the ground.
They climbed out. She watched Colm look around. “Anything?”
“I don’t sense anything.” Another flicker of gold through his eyes. “Even with the aid of my nanami, I don’t detect anything.”
“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way.”
They moved in organized search circles, Derek’s scanner making a steady beeping noise. Colm and Honor kicked at the snow in places. Dr. Behati scribbled notations on his Sync.
“It’s like looking for space pirates in an asteroid field,” Derek muttered.
“Or danari beasts in the Forest of Kern,” Colm added.
Derek blinked. “Ah, I’ll take your word for it.”
After some time, disappointment began to settle in. Thus far, they’d only found rocks and lumps of deep-blue ice below the snow.
Soon, Honor realized she couldn’t see as well as she had before. A dense white fog had drifted in.
“Colm—”
“I see it.”
The scanner made a loud squeal that made Honor wince. They converged on Derek, who was crouched by a mound of snow.
“It’s a good, solid reading?—”
They all scraped around the snow…and discovered another rock.
The young agent’s shoulders slumped. “Damn.”
“Keep looking.” Honor looked around. “But don’t wander too far off in this soup. I don’t want to lose anybody.”
As Derek and the doctor moved off to continue the search, Colm knelt by the rock.
She frowned. The rock did look…odd. More regular than the other ones they’d found.
Colm touched it. Then gave it a solid hit with his fist.
It crumpled.
She sucked in a breath.
“My God,” she breathed, kneeling beside him.
It was no rock. It was a metal lockbox.