“Sixteen,” Dayall barked. “And that has nothing to do with my question. I asked—”
“You indirectly implicated me in making your crew member disregard direct orders. You give me no choice but to answer to those allegations.” Kyber pointed a finger at her. “She found the doorway we fell through. She was not injured in the attack, and awakened first while I was still unconscious. She took it upon herself to explore our surroundings, which is how she found food and water. I was not aware of her experimentation until it was too late.”
Reaching for the pouch at his waistband, he untied it and tossed the bag toward the physician, who caught it in midair. “Another one of those blue pancakes is in there. Test it. Tell us if we have anything to worry about, now that Kelen and I have eaten them.”
Sandow shook his head and threw the bag back to the Seneecian. “My scanner’s out of juice. I can’t test anything.”
“Oh, great!” Kelen threw up her hands. “What are we supposed to do now, Commander? Starve?”
“Eat the jellyfish.”
Everyone turned to see Dox holding up a piece of something as he happily munched away.
“Jellyfish?” Kelen echoed.
“See that seine over there?” Jules spoke up, pointing to the sail-like object. “The water from this cavern runs through it. We’ve caught several of those green things. Doc was able to check them before his scanner bit the dust. They’re tasteless once they’re cooked, but at least they’re edible.”
Someone nudged her arm. She glanced over to find Mellori handing her a grayish substance. Thanking him, she bit into it. The texture reminded her of a firm cheese. However, the taste was anything but.
“Jellyfish?” she repeated around the mouthful.
“That’s what we’re calling them,” Sandow acknowledged.
“Between your yellow mush, blue pancakes, and our jellyfish, at least we know we won’t starve.” Jules flashed her a grin.
“Tell them about the other energy source.” Massapa spoke out.
Kyber frowned. “Other?”
“I thought Dox was working on that,” Kelen remarked.
Fullgrath nodded. “He is, but here’s something else that’s interesting. Mellori and I are almost a hundred percent certain that big, mesh-like net hanging over that gorge is where this whole subterranean city gets its energy. From the water pouring through it.”
“Hydroelectric power!” she gasped.
“Right. See those towers holding the net?” Mellori pointed to the two poles sitting on opposite shores. “Those are what converts the force of the water into energy…we think.”
“How long do you think that grid will continue to provide energy to this place?” Kyber wondered aloud.
Mellori shrugged. “I can’t begin to answer that one. I can’t even tell you how long it’s been running.”
“I have a question.”
They turned their attention to the Seneecian named Gaveer.
“Now that we’re all together again, what’s our next plan of action?” He looked to Kyber.
“We can’t stay here. It’s too damp,” Kyber remarked.
“I agree. We keep going.” Dayall pointed toward a distant shore. “Let’s try to make it to there, then we can reconnoiter.”
“Why can’t we stay here?” Kelen inquired.
“It’s too wet,” Dayall told her.
“I know that. I meant up there. Inside those apartments where it’s dry. And there’s food and water available.”
She didn’t miss the distrustful glance the commander gave Kyber and his men. “It isn’t safe,” he finally replied.
“Oh, and hiking off into God knows where is?”
Dayall turned on her in a heartbeat. “It isn’t your decision to make, Lieutenant! Your job is to obey orders!”
“And what are you going to do if I disobey those orders, Commander? Put me in stasis? Or tie me up and make me do what you say? If you haven’t figured it out by now, Hod Dayall, the rule book has disintegrated. We’ve been thrown into unknown territory where any little turn of the road could bring our deaths.” Kelen pointed behind them, in the direction where the apartments lay. “Yes, those eye worms are back that way. But there’s also food and water, shelter, and a place to rest. It’s where we have light and warmth, and a toilet! It’s also somewhat directly connected to the surface if, God wills it, someone comes looking for us. If we keep going deeper into the bowels of this place, there’s no telling what we’ll find, or what will find us. I vote we stay here, for as long as we can.”
Dayall’s eyes narrowed. “You vote? When in hell did you decide this had become a democracy, Chambliss? You’re still an officer in the fleet.”
She threw up her arms. “What fleet?”
“Regardless, you’re still under my direct command. Consider this shore leave.”
“Shore leave?” She snorted in disgust. “We’re struggling to survive as it is. We can’t simply obey your every whim anymore, Commander. I’m sorry, but this little expedition has to become a democracy. We all get to pitch in, since all of our lives are at stake. Even the Seneecians.” She glanced around to see if anyone was willing to either join her or come to her defense. It was impossible to tell by their expressions.
Dayall’s, however, was quite clear. Storm clouds gathered in the knitted brows above his eyes. “Now, you listen to me, you insubordinate little bitch. What I say goes, for all of us! There is and never will be a democracy in this group! Got me? As long as you’re part of my crew, you will do as I tell you!” The man was practically spitting in anger.
“Well, then, I quit,” Kelen calmly announced, crossing her arms over her breasts.
Dayall’s attention shot to Kyber. “You put her up to this, didn’t you, you inhuman sneek.”
Kyber lowered his face as his expression darkened. “I did no such a thing.”
“Commander.” Sandow moved forward, holding out a hand toward the man. Dayall slapped it away and took a menacing step in Kelen’s direction.
She knew she’d disregarded protocol. Worse, she’d refused direct orders. But she stood her ground and waited to discover what Dayall would do next. Sooner or later, the man had to realize that being aboard a war cruiser, and being stranded on a dangerous planet were not the same thing. There had to be a little give and take among them now if they were to survive.
The man put his face in front of hers. The muscles in his jaws clenched and unclenched as the commander fought to control his temper. “I’m only going to say this once, so you’d better pay close attention, Lieutenant Kelen Chambliss. You are the only female in this group of males. That makes you the most important commodity in this community. Therefore, it’s imperative you follow my orders to the letter.”
Commodity? A feeling of terror rose in her throat, threatening to cut off all air to her lungs. Balling her hands into fists, she remained resolute.
“You better not be telling me what I think you’re telling me,” she snapped.
Grinning, Dayall nodded. “You know exactly what I’m saying. In the event it takes years for our people to find us, you’re our only hope of repopulating this planet. To make sure our descendants are around when the rescue ship finally arrives.” He reached over and grabbed her upper arm.
Kelen cried out as she fought the man’s grip, when a huge black shape swooped down between them. A roar of anger rang in her ears as Kyber struck the commander full in the chest. It broke the man’s hold as he flew backwards, landing on his side on the rock almost a dozen meters away. Immediately, Fullgrath and the others moved toward the Seneecian, when Kelen placed herself in front of the alien.
“Stop! Stop right now!” She glared at the others who came to her defense…or to Dayall’s. “Is that what you’ve been discussing before I rejoined you?” she demanded hotly. “How you were going to use me as a brood mare to repopulate this planet? What did you do? Draw straws to see who would have at me first? How dare you!”
“Whoa. Kelen.�
�� Jules shouldered his way between Mellori and Fullgrath as Sandow rushed over to the fallen man. “Swear to God, we had no idea that’s what Dayall was planning. Yes, we discussed you being the only female, but nothing was said about repopulating this planet. I promise. You gotta believe me.”
Fullgrath took another step toward Kyber. Again, Kelen blocked the man’s way. Fullgrath stared at her in shock and surprise.
“He’s only protecting me,” she told the man.
“Why? Why would he protect you…unless he’s claimed you for himself?”
“I claim nothing,” Kyber said in a low growl. “But no one has the right to force another person to do something against their will.”
“Dayall is our commanding officer,” Fullgrath reminded him.
“Does that include ordering her to have sex with all of us?” Jules countered.
“Someone has to lead,” Mellori said. “Someone has to make the decisions.”
“Not for me,” Kelen snapped. “I quit, remember? Besides, why can’t we all make the decisions? We talk out our options, then we agree on what step we take next.” She looked over at where Sandow was helping Dayall to sit up. “And we definitely don’t treat each other with anything less than respect.”
Dox meandered into the center of the area where everyone was facing off. Glancing from one person to the next, he finally settled on Kelen and smiled. “We must go.”
Kelen wiped the angry tears from her eyes. “Go where, Dox?”
He gestured in the same direction Dayall had indicated. “We must leave now.” Turning around, he gathered up his collection of odds and ends and started hurrying down the path. Fullgrath yelled at the departing figure, but the little man never stopped or looked behind him.
“Come on, Kyber,” Kelen told the Seneecian, and took off after the engineer.
“Kelen?” It was Jules.
She did a one-eighty, back-pedaling as she answered him. “Have you ever known Dox not to have a damn good reason for what he does?”
She saw Kyber rush to join her, followed closely by the others. At the rear of the group, Sandow aided Dayall in getting to his feet. Satisfied, she started to turn around, when the creature rose from the depths of the underground lake and began coming directly at them.
Chapter 22
Bath
Stunned by the sight of the huge leviathan towering over them, Kelen’s foot slipped on the rocky ground, and she fell heavily on to her tailbone. Kyber rushed to her defense, taking a stance in front of her and baring his talons. The reptilian-like monster that was all mouth and no head arched its long neck and continued to swim in their direction.
Massapa and Tojun hurried to join him, placing themselves in front of her. Kyber snarled at the creature, which seemed to hesitate. If a headless creature could appear perplexed, this one did. It was Dox who solved the puzzle.
“Can’t cross the energy field.”
Kelen felt a hand on her arm. She was about to jerk away from the grasp, when she realized it was Mellori offering to help her to her feet.
“Dox seems to have hit the nail on the head,” Fullgrath agreed. “Damn thing won’t move out of that lake or pass underneath the sail to come after us.”
“Wonder how long it’ll sit there and wait for us to get back within reach?” Sandow commented.
“Doesn’t matter,” Dayall gasped. “We’re heading in the opposite direction, away from that thing…like I’d suggested earlier,” he added, glaring at Kelen.
The trail inevitably led them to another doorway. This one was visible in the side of the cliff face, and made of the same rock-like material as the others. Gaveer found the symbol to open it, and everyone hustled inside.
Instead of a tunnel, they found themselves facing a honeycomb of rooms. Rows of doors ran along both sides of the passageway, each one spaced several meters apart, for as far as they could see, until the tunnel curved to the right at the other end and disappeared.
“Looks like more apartments,” Mellori commented.
“Or an office building,” Kelen countered.
Kyber walked over to stare at one of the panels. “These are different.”
“Different? How?” Fullgrath asked, walking over to join him.
Kyber pointed to the middle of the portal. “The doors we’ve used previously did not have any symbols directly carved into them. These do.”
“Are any of those symbols lit up?” Kelen asked.
Dayall snorted. “What difference does it make?”
Kyber cast the man a hard stare. “It makes a lot of difference. Kelen has a theory—”
“A theory?” the commander interrupted.
“A theory that so far has not proven her wrong,” Kyber continued. “She believes the glowing marks are indicators, and a combination together are instructions. She also thinks that the signs may also indicate specific functions. Curved lines are for food and water. Straight lines are not. We tested a few while we were trapped inside that room. That’s how we discovered the blue pancakes and yellow mush.”
“And their version of a head,” Kelen added.
Gaveer moved closer. “A head?”
“A place to relieve one’s self of nonessential body fluids,” Kyber interpreted. He touched the door. “There is one symbol here, and it is not lit.”
“One symbol? Sounds like a nameplate,” Jules guessed.
“It’s a bath.”
They turned to see Dox standing a few meters away. The little engineer pointed to the door he was studying. “It’s a bath,” he repeated, then slapped the symbol. Instead of the door dropping into the floor, it slid to the side with a rasp. Dox stepped inside without hesitation. They hurried to follow him. Jules reached the opening first and stared inside.
“Wow.”
Kelen peered into the room. Dox laid his armful of miscellanea on the packed earth and began to remove his pants and boots. They watched as the young man then stepped downward. Curious, they entered the low-ceilinged chamber to see Dox emerge himself up to his waist in a pool of swirling water. From the humidity inside the room, and the mist rising above the water, they could tell the temperature of the bath was warmer than the ambient temperature.
Dox looked up at them, a wide grin on his face. “Feels good.” He divested himself of his shirt, throwing them onto his pants. Completely nude, he plunged beneath the surface. After a brief moment, he came up for air and wiped the water from his face. “Feels very good.”
“All right. I get dibs to be next,” Kelen announced.
Sandow knelt at the edge of the pool and dipped his hand into the water. “It’s definitely warmer than what we drank up top.” He smelled his wet fingers. “Some alkaline. Maybe a bit of salt. Dox, don’t drink any of this until I can get a reading on it, but it appears safe enough to bathe in.”
“Perhaps there are other baths behind the other doors,” Massapa suggested. He turned to leave the group. “I’m going to check to see if that symbol is on another door.”
“Don’t go too far,” Kyber told him. “Stay within range. If you see something, anything, call out.”
The Seneecian nodded and left.
Mellori walked over to where Dox was happily splashing. “Maybe it’s warmer here because we’re closer to the source. As the water goes to the surface, it cools down.”
The physician nodded. “Very likely. Dox, hold out your arm.”
The little engineer stuck out a limb for the doctor to examine.
“No signs of anything affecting the skin. Dox, do you feel any itchiness? Or burning?”
“No.”
Sandow scratched his head. “Well, I have to admit, the thought of a hot bath, even one without soap, sounds like the perfect medicine.”
“Kyber.” Massapa returned to the room. “I didn’t see that marking on any of the other doors. But I did discover a large room with pallets.”
“Pallets? You mean beds?” Fullgrath asked.
In answer, Massapa gestured for the oth
ers to follow him. Other than the doctor and Dox, the rest gathered in the corridor. The room Massapa was talking about was directly across from the bath. Inside, as the Seneecian had said, lay several thick, pillow-like pallets lying along the walls.
“This will be an excellent place to spend the night,” Kyber noted.
“Guess the bathing pool is for community use,” Fullgrath remarked.
“Which means all the rest of you will have to wait in here for your turn,” Kelen announced. “I’m not about to take mine with an audience.”
Kyber walked over to where Kelen stood. “If you’re going in next, you’ll need someone to guard you. You should not go alone.”
“He’s right,” Mellori acknowledged. “We can’t assume any place is safe.”
Kelen glanced at each man and Seneecian standing there, watching her and waiting for her to comment. “You’re right,” she told them, resting her gaze on the physician, who had finally joined them. “That’s why I tap you, Doc, to be my watchdog while I take the plunge.”
“I’m done.”
Dox’s admission drew their attention into the open doorway across the corridor where the young man stood naked and dripping at the pool’s edge. Sandow chuckled. “Very good, Dox. Now put your clothes on and join us.”
“What about the other doors?” Gaveer asked.
Kyber sighed loudly. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t do a quick systematic search to see what’s inside while Kelen takes her turn. But we don’t need everyone to get involved. Two or three of us at a time should be sufficient. The rest can remain in this bigger room.”
“Put me on checkout squad,” Fullgrath announced. Massapa and Tojun quickly added themselves to the roster.
Kyber nodded, and Fullgrath turned to the Seneecians.
“Let’s start at the end of the tunnel where we came through the main door. We can work our way to where it veers off, but stop once we get there. We don’t need to put ourselves in a spot where we can’t call out for help in case we need to, or be unable to get back here.” The Seneecians agreed, and the threesome walked back to where the tunnel entrance was located.
Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 1) Page 12
