by M. D. Cooper
While Martin talked, Malcolm’s face had been falling until it finally looked like it couldn’t fall any farther.
Despite his fear of letting the student loose on his site, Martin felt a twinge of guilt. “Actually, it’ll probably only take you a couple of weeks to read everything. And there won’t be any tests.”
“Do you really mean I can’t go into the ocean at all until then?”
“It’s probably better that you don’t.”
“Not even with you?”
An icy hand clutched at Martin’s heart. He lifted a finger and paused as he formulated the exact words to convey what he needed to say.
Finally, finger still raised, he said, “We need to be very clear on something. If and when you go near my organisms, you will always be with me.”
“Okay. Got it. But what about the beach? Surely I can go for a walk by myself?”
Martin considered.
“Yes, of course you can,” Martin said magnanimously. “Just let me know where you’re going and how long you’ll be gone.”
Malcolm’s cheerful demeanor had entirely deflated. He left the stasis chambers and plodded to the sofa, where he sat down. Then he lay down, propping his feet up on the sofa arm. Martin gritted his teeth, but didn’t say anything; Malcolm was sand-free for the moment. The student closed his eyes.
Relieved that he’d forestalled Malcolm’s interference in his work for a while, Martin finished up cleaning the kitchen and gathered what he would need for his morning’s work. As he left the house, he stopped in the doorway and said, “You should pay special attention to the plankton species. It was tricky to put together the right mix.”
Malcolm didn’t answer.
Perhaps he’s fallen asleep. Martin shrugged and left.
Canaan Prime was already well above the horizon. Martin tutted and strode through the sand to his boat. Having a student around was going to be a drain on his time.
Martin clenched his teeth.
Eamon’s chuckle echoed in Martin’s mind. He didn’t know what the AI was laughing at, but he wasn’t interested to find out. He threw his equipment in his boat and placed his hands on the bow, preparing to push it out to sea.
A shard of fear stabbed at Martin.
When he contacted his friend, however, Cameron couldn’t oblige.
The biologist pursed his lips, frozen in place as the waves lapped against the prow of the boat.
“I have to go away for a while. At least a week, maybe longer. Do you think you could look after the site for me while I’m gone?”
“Could I?” A huge grin broke over Malcolm’s face. “I’d love to.”
Martin’s stress level inched higher. “Great. Thanks,” he said heavily. “I’m going to write very precise instructions, and I expect you to follow them to the letter.”
SOARING
STELLAR DATE: 03.20.8937 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: Mount Athos
REGION: Tyre, New Canaan System
Isa’s pinnace crested the scarp of Mount Athos’s vast caldera and flew down toward the entrance to the chute. She was pleased to notice Martin’s eyes pop at the view of the ice-sheathed caldera. She’d been disappointed that he’d seemed unimpressed by Tyre ever since he’d arrived the previous day.
She guessed that it was mostly because he wasn’t there on vacation, but rather due to his worry about her. But she wanted him to have a good time, now that he’d come all the way to another planet.
Today, no other vessels were visible within the icy confines of the massive crater, and they didn’t have to wait long as the airlock doors drew open, and the ship passed through the grav field and into the bay.
“This grav tech sure is amazing,” Martin said. “I don’t get to see it in use much in my day-to-day.”
“Seriously?” Isa said as she glanced over at Martin. “We’re inside a mountain that is almost thirty kilometers high, and you’re impressed by the grav field?”
Martin cast her a serious look, then winked. “Don’t worry, I’ll save some excitement.”
The pinnace landed in a cradle, and they climbed out, walking across the bay and down a short corridor to the area where passengers were assigned pods. Though this was the second time for Isa, thrills were passing through her in anticipation of what lay ahead. Perhaps because it was her second time. She knew what was coming.
She took Martin’s hand and squeezed it. “You’re going to love this. I promise.”
He gave her a sideways hug. “We’ll see.”
A human assistant greeted them and asked if they wanted two single pods or a double.
“Let’s take a d
ouble,” Isa said. She wanted to see the look on Martin’s face at certain points of the ride.
The assistant ordered the double pod, and it popped out from behind a screen, sliding down the track to the boarding point. It was a two-seater version of the one Isa had used for her ride: long and slim, shaped for minimal air resistance. Passengers sat in reclined seats, their heads raised just enough to see where they were going.
They climbed in and snapped closed the locks on their snugly fitting safety harnesses. When the assistant handed them their safety helmets, Martin raised his eyebrows at Isa. She grinned and put hers on.
“Just a precaution,” the assistant said. “We haven’t had an accident yet.”
Martin took his helmet.
“So we’re about to drop twenty-eight and a half kilometers through a supervolcano?” he asked Isa.
“A dormant supervolcano,” she corrected. “and the base stretches a long way out, it’s about a hundred and forty kilometers of chute.”
Martin looked dubiously at his helmet before sliding it over his head.
“Any last words?” the assistant asked him mischievously.
Isa chuckled. There really was something about Martin that brought out the tease in everyone.
“I’m sorry?” Martin’s eyes narrowed.
“I meant, are you ready?” said the assistant.
“Yes,” Isa replied. “We’re ready.”
Domed transparent lids lifted and closed over each seat. Now Isa could only see Martin through the domes, though their seats were side by side, and they could reach underneath to clasp hands. She beamed at him. Their vehicle gave a slight shudder, and then they were moving.
The first drop was in pitch blackness, which was more terrifying than seeing where you were going. All Isa could feel were the sensations of speed and falling.
Very gradually, the chute evened out, slowing the progress of the pod. Lights appeared, showing they were still traveling at high speed. They slowed further, and the lights became brighter, highlighting the densely striated rock they were passing through.
Suddenly, the tunnel twisted sideways, and they plummeted another few thousand meters, periodically corkscrewing and then passing through a series of loops. The pod slowed for a second time until they were moving horizontally and sedately. The tunnel widened. At the end of the passage, a river crossed their path. The pod moved directly onto it, and the next moment, they were floating, borne along by a strong current.
Martin hadn’t said much up until that point, or maybe Isa hadn’t heard him over her own screams. But he was grinning stupidly, so she guessed he was having a good time.
“You’re going to love the next part,” she said.
They’d left the artificially created part of the chute and were traveling under arched natural rock, tastefully lit by concealed lights. The passage narrowed once again, and the river current grew stronger, speeding up the progress of their pod. The noise of rushing water penetrated the interior, and Martin looked questioningly at Isa, as if the sound was familiar. Just as realization dawned on his face, the river suddenly dropped out from beneath them, and they were carried over a waterfall and straight down.
At the bottom of the torrent, the pod smacked into more water and sank beneath the surface. For a short time, they were surrounded by water and bubbles. Then the pod popped out like a champagne cork and came to rest, bobbing on a lake. The pod’s motor kicked in and began pushing the vehicle along.
“Fantastic,” Martin exclaimed. “You’re right. I do love it. If you’d told me this is what we’d be doing, I wouldn’t have hesitated.”
“If I’d told you this is what we’d be doing, it wouldn’t have been a surprise.”
They were moving toward an archway that led to the rest of the ride. Isa was relieved at Martin’s delighted expression. She’d wanted to turn his trip to see her into something fun and rewarding on its own for him, and she’d succeeded.
As they floated across the underground lake, her mind wandered back to the conversation she’d had earlier with Martin—in the same restaurant where she’d eaten with Samuel, Ada, and Rahmin.
* * * * *
“I’m fine, really,” she’d said. She had been deeply touched that Martin had come all the way to Tyre to check that she was okay. She knew how much it meant to him to leave his site.
He’d reached out and put his hand over hers. “You do seem fine, now. But I still don’t understand what happened to you. You’re sure the doctor couldn’t find anything wrong?”
“Of course I’m sure. Why would I lie?” She wasn’t strictly lying to him—the doctor hadn’t been able to find anything wrong. Yet guilt still gnawed at her for not telling Martin the entire truth, and he seemed to suspect she was hiding something.
“I don’t think you’re lying,” he said. He took his coffee from the servitor.
Isa was grateful that he’d decided not to pursue the subject for the moment. “So what do you think of Tyre?”
“Seems okay, though I haven’t seen the oceans yet. Are we far from the coast?”
“Seems okay?” Isa was flabbergasted. “Did you notice Mount Athos? It’s so tall, you can’t see the peak.”
“Yeah, I noticed coming down in the shuttle. I’m not much of a mountain person myself.” Martin sipped coffee.
“There’s a chute that goes all the way through it.”
“Really?” Martin didn’t sound interested. “So how’s your work been going, apart from the unfortunate incident?”
“Really well. I love it, in fact. It isn’t at all difficult to be enthusiastic in the recordings when I’m showing off so many fabulous places. How about you? I was so surprised when you told me you were at the air and spaceport. Did you persuade your friend Cameron to look after your site again?”
“Uh, no.” Martin’s expression turned sour. “I have an intern.”
“An intern? You didn’t say you were taking on an intern.”
“I wasn’t. It was Cameron’s idea. He thinks I need help. I don’t know what makes him think that; I can manage the site perfectly fine by myself.”
“What’s your intern like?”
“He’s a student. Called Malcolm.”
Martin didn’t seem to be about to offer any further information, so Isa asked, “Do you know anything else about him?”
“He loves to cook, and he’s very bad at cleaning up. And he says ‘you know’ a lot.”
“Oh.”
Martin was glowering so much, Isa fought the urge to smile. Erin had told her all about the darker side of Martin she’d seen when they first met. From the look he currently wore, Isa could imagine exactly what Erin had meant.
“It’s good that you have someone to look after the place while you’re away,” she said.
Martin took another sip of coffee, put down his cup, folded his arms, and looked out the window. “So you were saying something about a chute through the mountain?”
“Yeah, we should do that this afternoon. It’ll be fun,” said Isa. She reflected that Martin had to really dislike his new assistant if he was diverting the conversation to something that didn’t interest him.
He peered at Mount Athos through the windows. “How tall is that thing anyway?”
“About twenty-eight and a half kilometers.”
“Okay. Let’s do it. As long as I’m here anyway.”
As they flew up the long slopes of Mount Athos in the pinnace, Martin’s enthusiasm for their upcoming adventure seemed to increase.
“It’s quite something, isn’t it?” he commented. Then he added, “what’s happening over there?”
Isa followed his gaze and saw distant squares floating slowly downward. “They’re wing-gliding. You borrow a suit, and there’s a jump-off point near the top. It takes an hour or so to reach the ground, I heard. The updrafts around the mountain are insane. We could do that instead, if you want.”
“Looks like fun, but let’s do the chute thing today.”
“So you’ll be here tomorrow, too?”
“Yeah. I haven’t decided when I’ll return to Carthage.”
Isa’s throat grew tight and hot tears stung her eyes. The sentiment behind Martin’s words was unspoken but clear: he wasn’t satisfied that she was okay, and until he was, he was going to stick around—even if it meant leaving his site in the hands of someone he didn’t like or trust.
* * * * *
The memory faded as they reached the end of the lake and found themselves racing down another watery shaft. Martin’s hand reached out and clasped hers, making this one her favorite ride.
“Just wait till we go through the ice tubes!” she said over the thunder of the water outside the pod.
* * * * *
Their excursion the following day took them to a location Isa hadn’t yet visited. She tucked in her shirt and took a final look in the bathroom mirror. She was wearing practical clothes made from light, airy fabrics suitable for the semi-tropical rainforest climate of their destination.
“Are you ready?” Martin asked. “I think your friends must be waiting for us downstairs.”
“Yeah,” Isa replied. “I’m coming.”
Martin was sitting on the bed and putting on his boots. “You look like an explorer from old Earth,” he said when he saw her.
“I do? Is that good or bad?”
“Good,” he said. “You always look good. Doesn’t matter what you wear.”
“Awww, thanks.” Pleasure suffused her, and she reflected on how much she liked having Martin around. “You look good too.”
“I feel good. Really looking forward to seeing these fjords today.”
“Ha! What I think you mean is you’re looking forward to swimming in these fjords today.”
Martin smiled. “That too.”
They left the hotel room and walked down the single flight of stairs to the lobby. Samuel, Rahmin, and Ada had arrived and were similarly dressed for adventure. Their look of surprise when they saw Martin reminded Isa that she’d forgotten to tell them about him.
After the introductions were over, Samuel said, “Our pinnace is outside. I was going to suggest that you come along with us, Isa, but we only have a four-seater.”
