Arlene had started to move. Giles opened his eyes to see her checking it with her hands flat against the invisible wall. “Okay. I think we’re good for about twelve hours,” she told him. “And hopefully long before then they’ll give up and leave us a chance to get back out of here.”
Giles nodded, and they headed back up along the new ledge to the second entrance to the cave. “They must be getting close by now,” he mused as they approached the next tunnel.
Arlene quickened her pace. “Yes, I can sense them gaining on us,” she told him.
Just then there was a shout that caught their attention. The pair stopped carefully and turned to look.
“Shit, it’s them already!” Arlene cursed, catching sight of a group of Zhyn on the other side of the crevice. Giles had accidentally looked down and was fighting the adrenaline that was pumping through his body. His legs felt wobbly and he clung quickly to the wall on the side of the ledge.
“We’ve got to keep moving,” he said, more for his own benefit than anything else. He pushed on, now sweating and his heart racing. For a split second he flashed back to the moment when he had slipped and fallen down a cliff off a similarly narrow shelf. Thankfully, Sean Royale, cyborg and super soldier, had been there to save him. But this time it was just him and Arlene. He shook the thought from his head as they finally arrived at the mouth of the tunnel.
“They’re almost at the bridge!” Arlene told him as she followed him into the darkened tunnel. He could hear the tension in her voice, even though she pretended to play it cool.
He turned and looked at her, leaning against the tunnel wall. She looked ready to keep moving. He caught hold of her wrist, stopping her in her tracks. “We’re okay now. I believe in you. That spell will hold them off.”
He steadied his breathing and deliberately tried to convey determination and confidence to her. It worked. The anxiety in her eyes seemed to settle to be replaced with her task-orientated ‘on-the-case’ look. Giles smiled at the shift.
“Ladies first, then,” he smiled, gesturing for her to take the lead at the now more relaxed manner.
She nodded and headed on, giving Giles a moment when her back was turned to compose himself inwardly and metabolize some of the excess adrenaline that was still pumping through his system.
The tunnel began to slope down, taking them deeper into the ground, and further from the temple. The pair kept walking, their only illumination coming from the light from their helmets.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Aibek Moon, Orn System, Temple Caverns
Koryss led the way into the cave. “When we get to the split, Ammo and Mennynad, go right. The rest of us will take the left. Stay in communication. If they’re in the right-hand channel, hold them there or terminate if you can.”
“Acknowledged,” confirmed Ammo and Mennynad in unison through their helmet audio communicators.
The warriors made their way through the tunnels in the half light, silently going their separate ways when it came to the point of divergence. Though they had drilled this a hundred times over the years, the thought of actually capturing someone was something novel.
Jendyg found himself wondering if in fact this was the correct course of action. Perhaps Gagai had been right all along, and he had just been losing faith? Faced with the possibility that their most sacred artifact might fall into the wrong hands, he felt his previous world view begin to crumble with each step he took into the caves.
Gagai had forged ahead of the four remaining in the troop, more determined than ever that they should not fail. As they approached the opening with the crevasse he quickened his pace, making it hard for the others to keep up. For a large warrior who found himself lapsing in his training after all these years, he moved fast.
He disappeared out onto the ledge and started jogging along the way towards the bridge. The others heard him shout out as they emerged shortly after him. Then they saw what he was shouting at. Across the crevasse they could see the two figures, one blue, one pink, and both scaleless, hurrying along, having already crossed the bridge.
He knew that there was no place for them to go, but there wasn’t a Zhyn present who wasn’t feeling this was too close for comfort.
Koryss immediately started issuing tactical orders, breathing heavily to keep up with Gagai. “The bridge will only take two at a time. I’ll go ahead with Gagai. Then Jendyg and Naldrir, you can follow once we’re over. Confirm.”
“Confirmed,” Naldrir responded immediately. Jendyg answered a second later, but Gagai was almost at the bridge. He barely hesitated, glancing back just for a fraction of a second to see that his team were following him before stepping onto the bridge and pressing on.
He hurried forward, feeling the vibrations on the wooden structure change as Koryss joined him. He could see their targets getting away.
No matter. They’ll be trapped in the cave with no escape once we get there, he thought to himself. And yet, despite that knowledge, anxiety wouldn’t let him slow down even a little.
He saw the end of the bridge approaching and prepared himself to leap off the other end and sharply change direction. He pushed vigorously forward off one leg and an instant later felt the wind being knocked out of him as he was thrown backwards. He found himself on the deck of the bridge, in pain and struggling to recover his breath.
He looked around, accidentally peering over the bridge into the abyss below. Adrenaline shot through his body as he struggled to regain his wits.
“Gagai!” he heard Koryss calling behind him. “Gagai! Are you okay, brother?”
Realizing he had somehow been thrown back by an invisible force, he carefully pulled himself into an upright position and then cautiously to his feet. His chest was pounding from the fright and the activity. Koryss was panting too as he joined him, carefully slowing before he reached the end of the bridge. “What is it?” Koryss asked, squinting to see what had impeded the advance.
Gagai stepped forward carefully, one hand held out in front of him. After a few inches he felt it make contact with some kind of field. He snapped his hand back.
“Craft!” he declared in disgust as if it were a curse word. His nose wrinkled up and his eyes flared with anger.
Koryss looked concerned and thought for a moment about trying to touch it himself, but then thought better of it. “What can we do?” he asked.
Gagai shook his head. “I’m not sure. There’s no telling how long this will last. We might be able to force our way through in a few minutes.” He glanced down the way at the two figures disappearing into the next tunnel. ”Either way,” he said, “it won’t last forever, and we’ll either get through, or they’re going to have to come out.” He turned back up the bridge to head back to the others.
Ammo and Mennynad had just emerged from a secret passageway further down in the other direction. Gagai assumed by their presence that they didn’t find anyone down that way.
Gagai arrived back at the other side of the bridge, and considered their next move. “Okay, listen up,” he announced as Ammo and Mennynad came jogging up to join the group. “They’ve put a shield up on the end of the bridge. There’s no way to know how long it will last, but we need to be prepared for it to be a while. Koryss?”
Koryss came up beside him. “Yes, brother?”
Gagai barely looked at him as he issued his orders. “Organize a rotation of two guards to be here until that barrier is down. The second it looks like it might be failing we want the whole team here.”
Koryss bowed his head in acknowledgment. “And what of the coming freeze?”
Gagai thought for a moment, the immediate blaze of anger in his eyes subsiding, replaced with mere frustration. “We’ll have to retreat when it comes. But we need to stay as long as we can withstand. We don’t want to give them an opportunity to escape back to their ship. This is our chance to prevent them from figuring out how to advance, and everything we’ve worked for rests on this outcome.”
He started heading of
f the bridge and the warriors parted to allow him to pass. He trekked back along the ledge to the tunnel they had come bounding out of only minutes before, his head hanging and fists clenched.
Aibek Moon, Orn System, Temple Caves
“Giles, Arlene?” Beno’or’s voice came over their implants.
Arlene responded. “Arlene here. Everything okay?”
Beno’or’s voice was tinged with concern, despite the well-cultivate operational focus of a seasoned leader. “It is at the moment, but Scamp has just been looking at the precession of this moon. His conclusion is that it is due to freeze over in the next few hours when it disappears behind a cluster of these moons and all light from the nearest stars is blocked.”
Arlene’s face showed mild annoyance, rather than fear. “Meaning that once again we’re in mortal danger,” she commented, turning to look at Giles, as if it was his fault once again.
Giles’s face dropped. He put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her that it was going to be okay. Her face softened. He spoke over the audio feed. “Well, at least this means our friends out there will need to go and find shelter. Probably back from whence they came.”
Arlene nodded, considering their options.
Giles’s eyes seemed to spark in recognition of an idea. “Beno’or? Do we know how cold it’s going to get?”
“Scamp says Subzero,” the Justicar replied. “Enough for you to freeze off various parts of your anatomy that you’d rather keep intact,” he added.
Giles took a deep breath his brain still churning. “How long for?”
“Thirteen hours,” Beno’or responded quickly. “But then it will take another three to return to normal temperature.”
“Okay,” Giles decided. “Stay on the ship. You’ll be safe there. Scamp will look after you. We’ll hunker down here.” He paused. “Everything is going to be okay,” he added reassuringly.
They signed off, leaving Giles and Arlene in the tunnel. Arlene leaned gently against the wall. “How on Estaria are we going to protect ourselves from sub-zero temperatures?” she mused.
Giles shook his head. “With no fuel and no oxygen, we’re going to be struggling. Our best bet is to find a way out of here and get back to the ship.”
Arlene nodded. “Okay. Let’s get moving then,” she said, moving off into the darkness. “And hope that they don’t know of another way in past the bridge,” she added grimly.
Giles followed along behind her, still trying to think of creative ways to get them out of there.
***
Eventually the tunnel opened up into a cavern.
“End of the road,” Giles muttered. He placed his hand on the wall as if to reassure himself it really was just a rock face and not an illusion.
Arlene started looking around. The area was about ten feet across, from what she could tell with the low light levels, and the ground seemed rather uneven. There was a feeling of damp in the air too, which was unusual for a planet with so little atmosphere. She took mental notes as she wandered around the outside, checking for another exit using the light from her helmet.
“Looks like we’re trapped,” she said matter-of-factly.
Giles didn’t respond. He was too busy inspecting the space too. Looking up, he saw that there was a light coming from above, but it was too dim and unfocused for him to make out where the shaft was coming from. Or how far away.
“At least it looks like we have an air supply,” he said.
Arlene inspected the floor, rubbing dirt between a gloved finger and thumb.
“You got something?” Giles asked, catching sight of her interest in the dirt.
Arlene looked up from her crouched position. “Not sure yet,” she said, getting up again. “But first things first. We need warmth if we’re going to stay here.”
Giles stood with his hands on his hips, thinking. “We have some devices. Back up comms. Might be able to create a spark. Though, oxygen is an issue.”
He checked his air gauge. “How much air have you got?” he asked her.
Arlene looked down at her holo. “Fifty-five minutes,” she said. “You?”
Giles lowered his eyes. “One hour and twenty. We need to figure out a way to get some of this air over to you,” he said without missing a beat.
Arlene shook her head. “Stop it. We’re going to figure this out,” she told him firmly.
Giles shook his head. “You’re only here because of me. If it gets tight, you should take my air. Promise me you will?”
Arlene shook her head. “Will you stop!” she said, exasperated. “Besides, we don’t even have a way to transfer air from one helmet to another.” She dismissed the subject. “Okay, so situation is: we’re stuck. Priority is air and then heat if we’re going to survive the oncoming temperature drop.”
She looked agitated. “We should have checked air supply before we sealed the bridge,” she chided herself.
Giles walked over to her as she kicked at the ground. He held her shoulders to get her attention. “Hey, none of that. If we didn’t seal off the bridge we would have been killed already. We did what we had to do. We thought there would be another way out.”
Arlene looked around. “What if there is?”
Giles shrugged. “Then we’d better find it.”
The pair set off searching every inch of the cavern, working in opposite directions like two hands belonging to a single mind.
After several moments, Arlene stopped. Giles noticed but kept working, intent of finding something that was going to save them. When Arlene didn’t call out or resume her search he turned around to see her in the center of the cavern with the palms of her hands pointing at the floor. She was channeling energy. He could sense it vibrating off her.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Check it out,” she said, nodding down at the ground.
“What?” he asked, moving closer.
Arlene stopped what she was doing, and switched off the seal on her helmet. Giles moved to stop her, but a second later she was taking off her helmet.
“What are you doing?” he shouted at her.
Helmet off, and tucking it under her arm, she shook her head, shaking out her hair, and taking a deep breath.
Giles stood there amazed. “How did you know there’s air?” he asked.
Arlene smiled her smug, knowing smile she reserved for moments when she had been especially clever. “I noticed the leafy weeds growing in the ground,” she said pointing down. “Those kinds of plants can’t grow without the right composition of nitrogen and oxygen, and for whatever reason, I think this cavern has got an air supply.”
“But how?” Giles gawked.
Arlene shrugged. “That I don’t know yet. But, I’m betting there is enough in here, and the tunnel, for us to breathe for a while. And maybe even start a fire or two. In fact, I’m thinking that there must be a constant stream of breathable air because, well, we didn’t break a seal when we came in here.”
Giles frowned. “But there definitely isn’t air outside.”
Arlene nodded. “That’s right. But we’ve changed elevation a lot since we came into the first cave, so who knows what’s going on in here.”
Giles felt a brain-ache coming on. He fiddled with his holo to switch off the helmet seal and then removed it. The air was fresh: cold and pleasant to breathe. There was a slight dampness to it. Like the smell of plants or something.
Arlene returned to what she had been trying to do.
Giles watched her, puzzling it out. “Ahhhh. So you’re going to light a fire ball!”
Arlene nodded slightly and smiled. “I am. If I can concentrate for long enough, that is.”
Giles considered himself told off. He closed his lips and zipped his fingers across them.
Arlene was already ignoring him again.
At first there was just a glimmer on the floor in front of her. It was barely perceptible. Giles questioned himself as to whether he was really seeing it. But soon the little yellow
flicker grew, and turned into a white light, which shifted into a white ball with a blue glow around it. An instant later it popped and fizzled into a bigger ball and took on a self-sustaining energy of its own.
Arlene looked over at him with a broad smile.
Giles’s eyes turned wide in amazement. “I didn’t know you could still do that!” he exclaimed.
Arlene turned her mouth down at the corners and tilted her head onto one shoulder. “I didn’t either!” she admitted.
Giles approached the fire ball with his hands out. “Wow, there’s some heat coming off that too.”
Arlene nodded, glancing up at the roof of the cavern. “And some light,” she said, nodding at the scribbles carved into the rock above them.
Giles looked up, his mouth dropping open.
Arlene grinned and held her hands out again to a spot a few feet from the first fireball. “Let me get a few more of these lit, and then you can geek out on the decryption,” she told him.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Aboard the Flutningsaðili, Level 4, Restricted Access Area
“Keep moving!” The command cracked through the dark silence.
Suddenly the lights in the cargo area started flicking on, triggered by the motion sensors. Anne heard the voice coming from the darkness, accompanied now by four sets of footsteps.
She scrambled to her feet in the far corner of the meeting room and waited for the people to emerge into the light. The footsteps became louder and crisper, especially the boots of the two guards she could hear.
They came into view, roughly holding onto two fellow Estarians. One was an older gentleman who wore a white scientists coat. The other was young and female, casually dressed, like she had been taken on her way into work. Her makeup had run and her eyes were swollen and red around the edges. They both looked disheveled and emotionally drained.
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