Survivor (6 page)

Nova winced as she looked at the burnt-out
remains of the right cargo pod. The metal was twisted and
blackened. Jagged pieces of broken steel jutted out from a large
hole through which the empty cargo pod could be seen. She clenched
her fists as she thought of the haul which had filled that pod only
days before.

The lander stopped below Crusader and the
two airlocks clicked into place. Nova unclasped her belt and pushed
against the trapdoor. It swung up and slammed down onto Crusader's
floor. She placed her hands on either side of the door and pulled
herself up into the main ship. She breathed deeply, the familiar
smell of Crusader made her smile, it was home.

Cal waited beside the engine. His metallic
hand clasped a cool drink of Blue. She accepted the glass and
smiled at the robot. No doubt he'd seen the horrible grey goo she'd
been eating and had felt a twinge of sympathy.

The blue liquid slid down her throat with
the pleasant taste of berries and bubble-gum. It erased any remnant
of the grey gruel and left a refreshing zing over her mouth. She
couldn't help but smile at the sensation.

"That was perfect. Thank you, Cal."

The robot took the empty glass from her.
"I'm just glad I didn't have to touch that gruel."

"Tell me about it," she said. "Were there
any changes while I was gone?"

"Not really. We've been doing some
preliminary scans, to get a better handle on what's going on.
Whatever they're doing, it's big. Unfortunately they've shielded
the area, so we can't get a good look."

"That's okay, I'm going in after dark
anyway," Nova said. "I'll get a better look then. For now I need a
nap."

"Good. There hasn't been anything else out
of the ordinary. There are no other ships on the planet except for
the ones you saw and it doesn't look like there are any others
approaching either."

"Okay, so they've got all the people they
need for whatever this is. How's Crusader's fuel cells?"

"Still leaking. I've patched them up as best
I can, but it won't last long. We need money to get new ones. I
don't suppose that lovely scientist you spoke to would give you the
money?"

"I really don't think he's the type. Even if
we have the money, will we be able to get anywhere?"

"Yes. There's a small repair planet not far
from here. I've already checked their inventory. They'll have what
we need."

"Good. Let me know if anything changes."

"Confirmed," Cal said.

Nova left the storage bay and went straight
to her sleeping pod. She collapsed into bed and fell instantly
asleep.

CHAPTER SIX

Nova checked over her supplies. It was a meagre collection
compared to what she'd usually take on this kind of mission, but it
was all she had left after the cargo breach. It would be a long
time before she found replacements for her equipment. All she had
were clothes, including her dirt-stained jacket, her plasma pistol,
two metres of rope and her knives.

She looked down into the bare bag with a
frown. There was no telling what she might come up against or how
much of a fight the two fugitives would put up, that's if she
actually found them. Still, it was the best she could do. She
strapped a knife to her ankle and threw the bag over her shoulder
so that it hung by her side.

"The usual plan. If you don't hear from me
in twelve hours, take emergency measures. If there's no result
after twenty-four hours, get out of here and try to contact someone
from the Maw."

"Confirmed," Cal said.

Nova would have felt more confident if Cal
accompanied her but it was too risky. There were too many unknowns
and a robot would make it a lot harder to avoid the Confederacy
soldiers. For this, she needed to be as quiet and unobtrusive as
possible. Cal still needed a proper work-over; the occasional spark
from beneath his compartment was warning enough.

Nova wore a dark skin-hugging suit. The
non-reflective material would shield her heat signature from most
infrared scans. It would probably raise suspicion if she was seen
but she hoped it would allow her to go unnoticed. She patted the
bag at her side and dropped into the lander.

The landscape was completely different in
the dark. The ominous green clouds were cast in soft blue and red
by the moons. The sandy desert shone. The dirt and grit were calmed
into a solid ocean by the light, and the wind had died down to a
gentle breeze. The bent trees looked less like they were struggling
under an impossible weight and more as if they were resting,
sleeping peacefully.

The only thing to wreck the calm was the
sound of machines and digging, warning that the Confederacy had
decided to continue their excavations through the night. There was
a bright artificial glow coming from over the hill, evidence of the
massive spotlights which lit the work area.

Nova cursed. Bright lights and workers would
make it a lot harder for her to sneak past. Why couldn't they all
be asleep like normal people? Still, she had to make it down into
the tunnels. Who knew how much longer the fugitives would wait?
They could be laying bombs while she sat there watching.

She bent low and skirted to the right. She
kept her head tucked down near her shoulders and one hand on her
gun. She was careful to move sideways so that she was behind the
excavation and well out of the circle of light.

She crawled to the top of the hill on her
elbows. She pulled her body across the sand, keeping as close to
the ground as she could. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She was a
sitting duck for any soldier with a sniper rifle.

She lay down on top of the hill and looked
down at the workers. They scurried back and forth from the green
trees to the desert, carrying dirt and other items which she
couldn't identify. The guards were relaxed, standing at random
intervals around the worksite and talking amongst themselves.

The sand was cold and rough against her
skin. It left small indents on her forearms where she rested her
weight. Some grains were lifted by the wind to patter into her face
and fill her hair. She narrowed her eyes so the sand caught on her
lashes.

Flashes of sandstone blocks glinted amongst
the rustling leaves of the forest. A building of some kind nestled
amongst the trees. She frowned; if the planet had never had
sentient life then there shouldn't be any buildings.

Her eyebrows drew together. The Confederacy
were here for a reason. They must know something which the Cloud
didn't. Still, she couldn't be distracted by a crumbled building.
She had one mission on this planet: find the fugitives and hand
them over to the Confederacy for her reward.

She nodded once to herself and got to her
feet. She sidestepped down the sandy hill towards the waving
leaves. The trees hid her progress from the rest of the excavation.
She crept all the way down to the very edge of the small forest.
Leaves rustled.

Nova pushed forward through the first layer
of branches. She ducked under a large leaf and into the forest
beyond. Her breath created plumes of steam.

It was cold inside the trees. The harshness
of the sandy desert was gone. She may as well have stepped onto
another planet. Where the desert was desolate with no signs of
life, here was a green forest surrounding the run-down remains of a
great building.

The small sandstone blocks she'd seen from
above were just the beginning. As she got further towards the
centre of the trees, the scattering of blocks increased. They were
covered in vines and moss, which created a stark green contrast to
their sandy surface.

The rough-hewn blocks came together in the
centre of the forest. They rose up to form what resembled a massive
temple. The yellow bricks were arranged into a pyramid which ended
just below the highest trees. The square levels went up like a set
of stairs, a stepped pyramid.

Carvings traced every surface of the
sandstone blocks; pictures of people and animals scampered from one
side of the pyramid to another. Symbols and charms weaved up the
structure; an ancient language. At each of the four corners,
halfway up the pyramid, there were metal bowls. The massive dishes
were stained black on the inside, the only remnant of ancient
fires.

Every block had been carefully placed and
shaped for its position. They locked together with barely any gaps
between them.

As well as the metal dishes, other
decorations dotted the corners of the pyramid. Statues of creatures
which Nova had never seen stood as sentinels at the corners. At the
very top, seated just beneath the canopy, was a gilded dragon. It
crouched on the highest block, its eyes staring down the front of
the pyramid. Its carefully carved scales glinted golden in the
mixed moonlight.

Set into the base of the yellow rock
building was a solid metal door. The silver metal contrasted with
the ancient stone. The door had locks which would seal firmly shut,
an obvious recent installation by the Confederacy. The door was
open. Confederacy workers walked in and out in a continuous
stream.

What are they doing? Nova thought to
herself.

It was some kind of illegal excavation, that
much was certain. The Confederacy had decided to steal a few
ancient relics before the Ministry of Historical Affairs could get
hold of them. These kinds of artefacts would be covered by the
ancient monuments act, public property. The laws rarely applied to
the Confederacy.

She watched the workers' movements, counting
the time between them and taking note of the way they walked. It
didn't take long to work out the pattern. She pulled the
dirt-covered jacket out of her bag and threw it over her shoulders.
She thrust her arms through each of the sleeves, ignoring the musty
smell. She waited for a break in the line of workers.

In a moment of silence she crept across the
sand. She kept her head low and her footsteps steady. She walked
straight through the steel door without being noticed.

Inside was a wide tunnel with alcoves
leading off to either side. Paintings of alien animals ran up the
walls. Each alcove held a dusty podium where no doubt statues used
to sit. Mixed in amongst the ancient relics was evidence of
something more. Metal panels ran along the wall and emitted a faint
glow which lit up the tunnel. There was no need for torches or
glowballs because the tunnel provided its own light.

Nova ducked into a side alcove where she
wouldn't be noticed and took the time to study the carvings. The
walls and floor were mostly made of the same yellow sandstone as
she'd seen on the outside. The metal portions were shiny silver,
probably steel or something similar. The lights had an inner,
bioluminescent, glow.

Beyond the metal doors and further down the
tunnel was a large archway which spanned the tunnel. It was lower
than the rest of the corridor and carved into it was a foreign
script. There was a hint of familiarity to it though, something
which tickled the back of Nova's neck.

"What language is that?" she said.

"It's similar to the ancient languages of
Earth," Cal replied. "There are traces of ancient Mesopotamian,
Mayan and Egyptian. There are also other symbols which I can't
identify. Some of the images have been seen at ancient sites on
other planets."

"What are they doing on the wall of a tomb,
a hundred light years away from Earth?" she said. Her mind raced
with possibilities. It was as if humans had made it into space eons
before the first recorded moon landing, but that was
impossible.

"That data is unavailable. However, a rough
translation can be made based on human texts," Cal said.

"Alright, upload the patch," Nova said.

Cal sent through the software upgrade and
the symbols transformed into something she understood. The
translation software allowed her eyes and ears to interpret foreign
languages, provided there was a patch for it.

She whispered the words under her breath.
"Enter and you will have the power to control the universe."

"I suppose Codon was partly telling the
truth," Cal said.

"Looks that way," she said. "I'm going to
have to go further though. Those fugitives are supposedly working
in the deep."

"Confirmed," Cal said.

She waited for the next worker to pass by
her alcove and then stepped into place. She walked with her eyes
locked onto her own feet, avoiding the gazes of everyone she
passed. It wasn't hard to find her way; the lighting in the tunnel
walls guided her.

The sounds of excavations echoed through the
tunnels. It rumbled and shook the earth, threatening to cave-in at
any moment. Not that that would be a problem for Codon or the Human
Confederacy, it would just mean finding more workers and sending
them to dig past their crushed companions.

There was no sign of digging. These tunnels
must have been clear when the Confederacy arrived. What were they
digging through now? The tunnels gave her no answer.

The further she went, the fewer workers she
saw. They were assigned to scouring the tunnels for trinkets. For
the moment that kept them mostly near the surface. Nova found
herself alone in the eerily lit tunnels. The echoing excavations
were her only company.

As she went deeper, the noise got louder, as
did the vibrations. The shaking set her teeth on edge and she could
feel her bones vibrating. Her legs wobbled with the motion of the
ground. She kept one eye locked on the ceiling, scanning for signs
of a cave-in.

As she reached a fork in the tunnel, she
heard raised voices. She slowed down and tiptoed to the fork,
listening.

"It's now or never. We don't know what's
going to happen when they make it through."