by AM Scott
Saree had to choose, and tunnel B seemed a more logical choice. If she was wrong, she’d come back and hope her pursuers, if any, had given up. She headed into tunnel B. It sloped up, getting steadily steeper. Hopefully a good sign. She also hoped it didn’t get so steep she couldn’t get up it. Saree snorted a little. Wouldn’t that just be something? She’d get to the end of these tunnels, only to find a slope like the one they’d come down. There would be no way for her to climb a tunnel that steep. Not in her present physical condition.
She came to another split. Only one of the three tunnels were marked, with an ‘A,’ so Saree took it. Most of the rock was yellow, with only small layers of red or beige occasionally swooping in.
Suns. More rock. Would these tunnels never end?
The tunnels kept splitting in twos and threes, with only one or two tunnels marked, so every time, she took the tunnel marked ‘A.’ Saree had a tiny bit of hope that she really could find her way out of here—eventually. She walked along, the effort increasingly difficult, the sound of her footsteps and breathing seeming so incredibly loud. How could she possibly hear pursuit or tunnel monsters over all the noise she made?
So tired. Is there nothing on this world except rock?
∆∆∆
Weariness dogged her steps. Two hours of plodding and no sign of pursuit or monsters, Saree’s hands were raw and stinging from the oddly textured rock walls, her muscles ached from the hunched position, her mouth was dry and her feet just plain hurt. And she kept hearing things—pursuit, grinding rock—but as soon as she stopped, the noise did too. She glanced around the tunnel, her neck aching, and told herself there wasn’t anyone or anything around her, it was just her imagination. It didn’t help.
At the next split, she took off her pack and pulled out her last bev-tainer, taking a few scant mouthfuls. She had to conserve water, but dehydration wasn’t the answer either. Carefully, she refastened the top, checking it twice to make sure it wasn’t going to leak, and rooted around in her pack. One—no, two more bars. Saree wasn’t hungry, but she should eat them before her water was gone. Eating bars without water would dehydrate her faster.
Oh, blast. She probably needed one now. She was too tired to be thinking clearly. Pulling the least objectionable one, Saree ate it quickly, and drank a little more, holding the water in her mouth before swallowing.
Replacing everything, she started into the tunnel again. The tunnel branched, again and again. Her footsteps echoed around her, stopping and starting again each time she thought she heard something. But it was just her.
Saree came to another large chamber, about five meters in diameter. Oh, thank all the suns, finally a chance to lose her pursuers. Five different tunnels to choose from! Hope lightened her heart, if not her feet.
Layers of red and beige rock cut through the chamber. One tunnel clearly ended just a meter away in a wall of red. There weren’t any tunnel monster bones; it just ended. Only one was marked, the ‘A’ scrawled sloppily across the wall—Trena must have been tired, too. Blast. With only one tunnel marked, there was no way to lose the Inquisitors. Hope sank, but Saree pushed on—there was no other choice.
∆∆∆
Wait. Saree froze. She’d heard something, but now? Nothing. She waited three more minutes, then kept going.
Trekking slowly upward, she mused over Trena’s marking system. If a tunnel dead-ended, she’d have to come back, so why didn’t she cross out the letter and mark it DE? Maybe, since she was the only one down here, she thought it wasn’t worth the effort? That seemed a fairly likely answer.
Saree stopped. Maybe she should take one of the other tunnels and get some sleep? Saree snorted out a laugh, the echo sounding odd after so long with no noise but her own breathing and footsteps. Nope. Still not sleepy, not with possible tunnel monsters. Saree plodded onward. She couldn’t help but think of giant worms with rock-grinding teeth, catching and grinding her up. The vision kept her moving, despite her exhaustion. Saree chuckled just a little and jolted to a halt when the sound bounced back at her. Oh, one of the narrow spots. She pulled off her pack and turned sideways to squeeze through, pulling her pack behind her.
Wait. Shuddering, Saree switched her pack to her left hand, the one in front of her. She’d push the pack through first, just in case there was a tunnel monster waiting to eat her. Shuddering again, she squeezed through the rough area, her clothes catching and pulling on the rock, worn places starting to rip, the sound seeming far too loud. It wasn’t, it just seemed that way in the silence of the tunnels, and the close quarters of this narrow passage.
So, what happened to make these rough areas where Trena blasted through? Did the tunnel monster run out of yellow rock to eat? Did it die, or back up? There was always some gravel and rocks around the gaps; she’d assumed the gravel was from the excavation, but maybe the bones crumbled? Too bad she didn’t have her e-torc; she could take a picture of the remains. Saree grimaced, the rough rock dragging at her clothes, bruising her body more. She needed her e-torc for more than pictures.
Pushing through—this one was less than a meter long—Saree caught herself on the rock wall when the grit under her feet rolled. From the blast or from a tunnel monster? No way to know. The mix of small, rough rocks was yellowish, but were tunnel monster bones yellow? She’d been using the red light when she found the bones; all the colors washed into shades of gray.
And it didn’t matter—what mattered was getting out and getting away from the Badlands and Gliese. Trudging along, she entered a chamber with three tunnels marked ‘A,’ ‘B’ and nothing on the third. Suns. Which one? On the way here, Ferra took the ‘A’ tunnel. But she wasn’t trying to get out, she was looking for something and following directions.
Saree sighed and scratched her forehead under the headlamp. Despite her best efforts, she’d sweated and her forehead itched under the strap. The light bobbed and dipped along the red and yellow rock walls. She grimaced. Guess she’d use the same reasoning, and take the tunnel with no label, assuming Trena used it to get out and didn’t come back to mark it.
Suns, for all she knew, they all went out.
The tunnel sloped up and widened, relieving her back, but she wasn’t sure it was a good sign. She stopped to listen for pursuit—or tunnel monsters—but heard nothing but her own breathing, the sound louder than it should be. Again. Would she be able to hear pursuit at all? Just the thought made her heart beat a little harder, even though she knew it was ridiculous. The slope increased, getting steeper and steeper. Saree forced herself forward, her shuffling steps rasping loudly against the yellow rock, the air gritty and dusty, making her mouth dryer.
“Oww.” Saree’s feet slid out from under her, smacking her knees on the rock. She started to tumble and flattened herself, face down on the tunnel floor, arms spread, feet turned under.
She stopped.
Oof.
Saree just lay there, recovering. Cautiously, she turned over, careful to keep at least one foot flat to hold her in place. She sat up, her ass and feet firmly planted, and really looked back down the tunnel she’d trudged up. Suns, this tunnel is steep.
Shrugging off her pack, she pulled out her bev-tainer and took a few more swallows while she waited for her heartrate to slow. This was a good thing, right? They’d gone down a steep tunnel originally, so she had to go way up to get out. Maybe ‘B’ or ‘A’ was more gradual? She didn’t have much choice—she had to go back and try—this tunnel was too big to brace herself against the sides.
At least she was awake again.
Saree placed the bev-tainer in her pack and swung it on her back. Cautiously, she scooted back down the tunnel on her butt, sand under her adding to the misery, until the slope lessened. Back in the chamber, she dusted herself off, and tried to decide. Tunnel A or B? Powdery puffs rose around her and Saree realized she had to be close to the surface; the dust of Gliese was back. Her shoulders slumped. So close, and yet so far.
Suns! What was that?
S
he held her breath, listening intently. There was definitely some sort of noise from the tunnel behind her, but what was it? Tunnel monsters? Inquisitor monsters? Saree took in a big breath and blew out, slowly, quietly. Both were bad. She listened again but heard nothing but her own heartbeat. She’d heard something…blast and rad.
She’d better make the right choice because it was final—she couldn’t come back. Saree looked at the tunnels. ‘A’ was smaller than ‘B’, so she’d take ‘A’ and hope it narrowed enough to hold herself against the walls if—no, when—it went up. And that it wouldn’t become too narrow.
Ducking into ‘A’, her back screaming at the stooped position, Saree shuffled forward. The tunnel climbed steadily, swooping and turning in lopsided spirals, areas of red and beige rock appearing occasionally. The rock layers curved and bent very strangely here. The twists and turns seemed similar to a water slide on a human recreation planet. She’d seen vids, but never had the time or credits to experience one.
And after this, she had absolutely no desire to.
The tunnel narrowed, forcing her to scrunch down as she climbed. Maybe this tunnel monster started small at the top and got bigger as it ate? In her crouch, the backpack scraped against the tunnel ceiling. Just a quiet whoosh, but still more noise than she wanted to make with people in pursuit.
So thirsty.
No, she had to conserve her water. Keep moving, Saree.
Sshh…
She stopped, listening. Was there something behind her? Her heart pounded so loudly she couldn’t hear anything else. Maybe it was her backpack?
Saree swung the backpack around to her front and kept shuffling, forward and up, back hunched. She tried to minimize the sound of her feet against the rock, but exhaustion dragged at them.
Two minutes later, she was crouched down so much she gave up, and started crawling. The rock rasped painfully against her knees.
No matter how tight this tunnel got, she had to keep going. There was no other choice. She crawled another thirty meters, her hands and knees burning, every joint aching.
Ow.
She’d bumped her head into the tunnel ceiling. Blast it all into a sun. How small can this tunnel get? Small enough to trap her? Oh, by the egg of Zarar.
Saree let the pack drop off her shoulders to the tunnel floor, lifting and pushing it in front of her, the rasping of pack against rock terrifyingly loud. As the tunnel narrowed farther, she lowered to her elbows, turning her knees out, and low-crawled, pushing the pack in front of her.
Inching upward ever so slowly, muscles screaming and shaking, elbows and knees stinging, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, grimacing at the muddy residue. The tunnel narrowed. Each time the material of the pack shooshed across the rock, she winced. Hopefully her body blocked the noise from traveling down the tunnel.
But she had no choice.
Saree sucked in a big breath and realized her mouth was not only dry, but gritty. The dust of Gliese was back—she must be near the surface. She pushed forward with new energy.
The pack dropped—frantically, she grasped it. Snagging it between her thumb and middle finger, she collapsed on her stomach, reaching out with both hands. She stretched agonizingly far, clamping both hands on the strap painfully tight. Saree almost sobbed from the effort. Suns, now what?
Staying on her stomach, she clenched the pack and took a few breaths. One more push and she’d be out. Saree wriggled her way forward, keeping a tight grip on the pack.
The weight on her wrists suddenly decreased—the pack must have landed on something. There was a ledge or ravine bottom or something there. So, she wouldn’t just be suspended in the air, up high on a wall.
Whew. Slowly, she released the pack, sighing again when it stayed right there. Stretching out her fingers, reveling in the release, she let her entire body collapse.
Something clamped brutally around her wrists and dragged her forward.
Saree’s nose rasped against the rock until she raised her head, her neck and shoulders screaming in pain, the rock scraping the length of her body and the air whooshing around her with the speed of her extraction. She wrenched her shoulders back and forth, tried to hold herself against the tunnel walls with her legs, but nothing worked.
Suddenly, she was outside and upright, her wrists and arms clamped in front of her by a pair of black gloves. She squinted against the bright light, looking up. Way up. A huge man, in black combat armor.
Her stomach dove for her feet and a wave of dread rolled through her. Suns. She hadn’t escaped at all. All that effort, just to be caught on the far side. By all the suns, she was done.
Saree sagged in despair, too despondent to even think about fighting back.
Chapter 20
“Lightwave, Fortuna Lucia.”
“Go ahead, Fortuna Lucia,” Ruhger said, a tendril of trepidation travelling down his spine.
“Fortuna Lucia requests release. Scholar Sessan is on the surface of Gliese. Fortuna Lucia must retrieve Scholar Sessan.”
Suns. “Shuttle Fortuna Lucia, stand by for release. Do not engage thrusters until cleared.”
“Shuttle Fortuna Lucia will comply.”
Ruhger released the clamps and carefully pushed the Scholar’s shuttle away from Lightwave. He notified the crew about the shuttle’s request and release. But what made the Scholar’s shuttle so sure she was on the surface? “Fortuna Lucia, did Scholar Sessan contact you?”
“Negative, Lightwave. Shuttle Fortuna Lucia did not receive any communication from Scholar Sessan. Shuttle Fortuna Lucia received a signal from the tracking beacon in her backpack. The beacon signals every fifteen minutes whenever Scholar Sessan is on-world. Transmitting Scholar Sessan’s current location to Lightwave now. The signal is weak.”
Pulling up the coordinates, Ruhger swept them to the map of Gliese. The Badlands, but on the side nearest the Sisters’ compound. All too near the exit used by the Inquisitors to dump the girls’ bodies. Ferra and the Scholar had travelled a long way under those hills and ravines. Ruhger shuddered at the thought. All that rock above your head? Suns. Blowing out a breath, he blew the dread out too.
“Shuttle Fortuna Lucia, you said the signal is weak. Is the Scholar still underground?” He zoomed the map in. Definitely in the Badlands and maybe under them still.
“Unknown, Lightwave.”
On the wide area surveillance, he watched the Scholar’s shuttle plunge down in an unmanned combat orbit, aiming for the Badlands. Fortuna Lucia reached atmosphere, and abruptly fired thrusters, coming back up out of the atmosphere.
Ruhger waited until the shuttle was in a low, but stable orbit. “Fortuna Lucia, Lightwave. Is there a problem?” Suns, let it be something he could help with.
“Lightwave, Fortuna Lucia believes Scholar Sessan remains under duress. She is moving too fast. Fortuna Lucia cannot attempt a rescue if she is under duress. Fortuna Lucia will remain in orbit, near Lightwave Fold Transport.”
Blast and rad. If they were down there already, they could help. Maybe. He frowned. They might get her killed, too. “Copy that, Fortuna Lucia. Lightwave’s shuttles will be returning to Gliese later tonight. We will watch for Scholar Sessan.”
“Copy, Lightwave.”
Ruhger sighed with regret. If only…but no. It didn’t happen, it wasn’t going to happen. Even if the Scholar returned, there wouldn’t be anything happening between them. It couldn’t. Ruhger pushed the regret away. He had to take a nap before the water run tonight. Walking over to his bed, he plopped down, still fully clothed, and started a y’ga meditation.
∆∆∆
Beta Shuttle took off from the surface of Gliese and Ruhger exhaled with relief. His turn now. Full of water, Alpha shuttle accelerated upward without hesitation, pushing him back into the pilot’s chair until the grav generators compensated. A faint exclamation came from one of the women behind him but nothing unduly pain-laden. Once out of enemy shuttle range, he relaxed a little more.
“Any issues, securit
y team?” he asked. No one replied, so Ruhger enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment. Once offloaded, they’d have more than enough water for the fold to Deneb, even if they stayed here three more days.
Scanning for shuttles and other threats, Ruhger saw nothing. Once they exited atmosphere, he contacted Chief. “Lightwave, Alpha shuttle.”
“Go ahead, Alpha,” Katryn said.
“Water transfer system ready?”
“Yes,” Chief said. “We’ll bring you into the normal top berth. I’ve routed a semi-flexible tube around the outside of Lightwave. We’ll use a remote to connect it to the water bladders in the hold. It will only take a few minutes to unload.”
“Copy that, Chief. Good job.”
“Lightwave out.” Ruhger turned toward the woman in the co-pilot’s seat. “So, Sister Lashtar, how does it feel to be in combat again?”
Lashtar turned and frowned at him.
The quiet talking behind him ceased. Guess all the Sisters wanted to hear this.
Lashtar said, “I’d hardly consider this combat, Captain.”
He leveled an ironic look at her. “You know full well that most combat situations don’t result in shots fired. But the preparation is the same.”
Lashtar grimaced. “Yes, it is.” She shrugged. “I don’t miss it. I’ll be very happy to return to a quiet life of teaching and contemplation.”
Sure she would. “And security and hacking land out of a jungle?”
Lashtar shrugged again. “Whatever it takes. This was more excitement than I wanted. I wouldn’t have gone looking for it and I’ll be happy to have it behind me.” She gazed serenely back at him.
Okay then. Guess he didn’t need to worry about Lashtar fitting into Lightwave’s command structure. Good. Turning back to the controls, he carefully didn’t listen to the quiet talk of the Sisters behind him. He considered Lashtar’s words. He’d be happy to have all this behind him too.
What he wouldn’t be happy to leave behind was the Scholar. He wished there was something, anything, they could do for her.
