Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection (189 page)

PARNES

C
AELUM
S
TELLAR
S
YSTEM,
S
ENECAN
F
EDERATION
S
PACE

The mountain loomed with icy temperance over the sheltered valley in the pre-dawn light, casting a ghostly shadow upon the small research camp. Khione, they called it, after the Greek snow nymph.

When Caleb had suggested they go climb a mountain, she had assumed he meant Rainier or McKinley, or possibly some notable peak on Seneca. The fact he had instead meant this frozen volcano on the frozen fourth planet in the Caelum system, a planet so cold it was uninhabitable except in a narrow band at the equator, and then solely by a few dozen planetary geologists and geochemists? It only amplified her appreciation of him. This was fantastic.

It had taken them nearly two days to get here, since she still hadn’t managed to acquire the next-generation engine she’d been coveting. Her special use waiver request for the military’s highly classified sLume drive continued to be ‘under review.’ She could steal a copy of the schem flow—okay, she
had
stolen a copy of the schem flow—but she couldn’t steal an actual engine, not without getting Valkyrie in trouble with the authorities. Because much to her frustration, Valkyrie now ‘officially’ belonged to the authorities.

The arrangement, as well as Abigail returning to the service of the Earth Alliance, had been the only way Project Noetica was allowed to continue following the end of the war.

Alex was not in the employ of the government, but she was tethered to it by a thousand intertwined strands. The policymakers argued and prevaricated over what to do about Noetica, granting and revoking access to various systems by the Prevos on an almost daily basis. She’d been threatened with house arrest three times and relocation to a top-secret research facility twice…at least twice that she knew of.

Her mother was making a valiant effort to protect her from the worst of the inanity, running interference on countless bureaucratic meddling and power plays. It was a thoughtful gesture, but one driven by more than merely familial affection. Alex was a single provocation away from flipping everyone off and taking Caleb and her ship wherever the hell she wanted, permanently—something Miriam without a doubt knew.

In point of fact she would have
already
done exactly that, but for the risk to Valkyrie. The Artificial was still housed at EASC and physically under military control. If Alex ran, they could shut Valkyrie down. They could dismantle her if they wished, which Alex would not allow to occur.

So until she figured out a solution, she nominally played by the government’s rules. Rules which, for now, did allow her to roam settled space—so long as she informed the military of her location at all times.
Tethered.

“The volcano isn’t for sport climbing. This is not a tourist destination.”

Caleb dipped his chin at Dr. Becnel, the research station director. “We realize it isn’t, and we appreciate the serious work you’re doing here. That’s why we’re here as well—work. My companion is a professional interstellar scout, and we were hired to—”

“Oh, I know who you are, both of you. Your faces were all over the news feeds for weeks.” The man’s glare shifted to her. “Ms. Solovy, I was under the impression you worked in space, however, not planet-side.”

They weren’t here on a job, of course. Caleb was lying through his teeth, an act he excelled at. Being somewhat less skilled in the art, she gave the man a blank expression. “I’m branching out.”

He stared at the two of them for several seconds before shaking his head. “It’s your funerals. I can’t prohibit you from going up—but I’m also not obligated to come rescue you when you get into trouble. There’s more than one breed of dangerous wildlife on Khione, not to mention volatile winds and unstable terrain. The days are lengthy here—you’ll have thirty-four Galactic hours of light. But if you’re above three thousand meters come nightfall you will freeze to death.”

Caleb nodded. “Understood. We’ll be careful.”

Alex suppressed a laugh as the man wilted beneath the force of Caleb’s powers of persuasion.

“We have some backup gear adapted for use in Parnes’ conditions in the supply building over there.” He pointed out the semitransparent tarp protecting the office from the elements toward the rear of the settlement. “You’re welcome to borrow it—after payment of a security deposit equal to replacement value.”

Caleb smirked. “A generous offer, but we brought our own equipment.”

“Right. In that case, the sun will be up soon, so I suggest you grab your gear and get moving.”

“Valkyrie, why does the snow have a faint jade tint to it?”

The Artificial had quickly learned when Alex voiced a question aloud, the response was to be directed to Caleb as well, via a livecomm-style interface they had customized and added to his eVi. It was a habit Alex had worked to develop after some prolonged silences led to awkwardness in the early days of their new living arrangements.

“The planet is rich in the mineral zaratite. The active geology in this region in general and the volcano in particular leads to a constant churning of the zaratite through the atmospheric cycle.”

Caleb shifted his pack as the terrain grew steeper. “It’s one reason the scientists are here. The geology is unusually dynamic but fairly stable. The planet’s mantle is constantly being expunged and replaced. Though an active volcano under the strict definition, Khione’s never experienced a violent eruption. It simply leaks materials from the mantle into the ecosystem to feed the cycle.”

She smiled to herself. He’d already known the answer and then some.

He caught her inquiring expression. “Daniel—Isabela’s husband—did a stint here a year or so before he died. That’s how I knew about this place.”

“Ah.” She’d finally been able to meet his sister a few weeks earlier when they’d spent several days on Seneca. She’d found Isabela more reserved than her brother, but the woman displayed the same innate charm that made them both easily likeable. Her daughter, on the other hand, had been a whirlwind terror of energy and stream-of-consciousness chatter. Caleb was wonderful with the little girl, however, illuminating yet another facet of his character…one she hadn’t expected.

“Also, the ground cover cannot accurately be called snow. Rather, it is a mineralized crystal containing only 4-6% water.”

At least Valkyrie had begun to drop the endless decimal places during normal conversation, Alex observed wryly as she inhaled the dry, frigid air. The atmosphere was breathable but thin, and despite the nanobot injections they’d taken to increase oxygenation in their bloodstreams they’d need to don the breather masks soon.

Caleb glanced behind them and came to a stop. “Turn around.”

The research station lay two kilometers down the steep incline. The rays from the white sun, glazed the palest of green hues by the pervasive mineral in the air, now blanketed the valley below. They reflected off the ‘snow’ to create rainbow prisms upon every surface and lit the settlement in an effulgent glow. Off to the left the ice fields peeked out from Khione’s profile in flashes of radiance.

“Well this is sublime, and we’re less than halfway up.”

“Yep.” He massaged her neck through the thermal jacket. “I think if—” His voice cut off with a sharp inhale.

Don’t move.

She felt his body tense against her back as first one hand, then the other dropped away.

What is it?

Thirty degrees to our right, eighty meters down the slope. See it?

She honestly didn’t. Normal human eyesight discerned only whiteness decorated by the burnished nickel of scattered boulders. So she opened the full connection to Valkyrie, blinked and saw the scene anew.

The creature stood four meters tall even in its crouched stance. Six slender limbs ending in splayed pads were connected by a translucent membrane. No, ten limbs—the filmy membrane continued on to connect to the four appendages currently on the ground. Each pad was lined in a ring of stunted but barbed talons. Its skull was narrow and gaunt, the skin covering it more chitin than flesh. Two front-facing eyes were fixated on them while the additional two eyes located halfway down the long skull darted around in recessed sockets. The color of weathered flint, the creature blended almost perfectly into the surroundings.

I see it.

Do you trust me?

Implicitly.

As soon as I step away, start moving a LOT. If it leaps toward you—which it will—make a show of drawing your Daemon. If it gets too close, don’t hesitate to shoot it. Ready?

She mentally noted the precise location of the weapon attached to her utility belt, brought along in case of an encounter with the ‘dangerous wildlife.’ An encounter like this one, it seemed.

Ready.

His absence manifested in the increased chill at her back. Her left hand went to her hip. She leapt up and waved one arm in the air as her fingers fumbled with the Daemon’s clasp through the thermal material of her glove. “Hey you! Over here!”

Her pulse pounded with the force of a hurricane in her ears as the creature sprung forward and the clasp came free. Its upper limbs spread out and the dual membranes became pseudo-wings, giving it lift as its lower limbs skimmed across the ground at astonishing speed.

She raised the Daemon and pointed it at the creature’s thick chest. Its elongated jaw split apart to expose razored edges and a spindly, knife-like tongue.

She had no idea where Caleb was, but this beast was ten meters away and closing fast. She fired.

The laser struggled to penetrate the tough, bony hide. The impact evoked a shrill, strangely hollow cry, but the beast didn’t fall or even slow. She kept the trigger pressed to send an unrelenting torrent into its chest, albeit to little effect. Her other arm instinctively came up to protect her face and she retreated backward. Talons extended toward her in concert with the horrifying tongue and—

—the creature reared up, sending a limb and the attached wing whizzing by her face. A shimmer flickered to reveal Caleb atop its spine. His arms wrapped around its skull, and with a violent wrench he yanked its head up and sideways. It fought him, thrashing wildly as it tried to escape his grasp and throw him off.

Then the left-most eye locked onto Caleb’s fierce gaze and the flailing ceased. Seconds ticked by as they stared unmoving at one another.

The creature’s jaw looked as if it dipped slightly. He gave it a tight nod in return. In an exaggerated motion he released his hold and swung off its back to land smoothly on his feet beside it.

Its attention veered to her. She had quit firing, not wanting to hit Caleb amidst all the thrashing, but the Daemon remained pointed firmly at its chest.

It took a series of hurried steps to the side until it was able to watch both of them at once. Its head rose into the air and it let loose another shrill cry, then pivoted and glided off down the slope.

“Are you hurt?”

She spun to Caleb as he hurried over. “No, it never touched me.” A frown materialized as she willfully tuned Valkyrie’s excited chatter in her head down to a low hum and wiped blood from a cut on his cheek. “You are, though.”

He grimaced and wrapped his hand around hers. “Only a scratch, right?”

“I suppose. What just happened?”

“A show of dominance. It respects strength.” With a soft exhale he pulled away and slipped his pack off, then dropped it to the ground and began rifling through it. “It’s an intelligent animal. Probably not primate-level intelligence, but clearly smarter than most canines and reptiles.”

“And you learned how to recognize this…spending your summers roaming the Senecan wilderness as a teenager?”

He shrugged mildly and dug deeper into the pack. “Some of it.”

“I didn’t know you brought a cloaking shield.”

“Habit, and one I’m thinking I’m not inclined to give up.” He finally produced two energy bars from the depths of the pack and tossed her one. “Lunch?”