The Ruins of Karzelek (The Mandrake Company series Book 4) Read online

  “Trade the words exciting relics for lowlife bandits, and you’ve described me perfectly.” Kalish looked at her hands, seemed to realize they were strangling her knees, and forced herself to loosen her fingers. “I’m just worried more people will be hurt—or worse—if we have to fight. This whole mission, my plans... they were all predicated on a stealth operation. My mother was right. I was naive to think we could pull this off when all we’ve ever dealt with on hunts before are dense foliage and irritated animals. The occasional giant insect or swarm of bees. Booby traps now and then. Those are dangerous, but they usually involve risking your own life, not killing piles of people just doing their job.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I babble when I’m nervous.”

  “Perfectly understandable.”

  The shuttle took an alarming swoop, and Kalish’s fingers tightened again.

  “If it helps, my program found five promising spots in your caverns,” he said, hoping to distract her.

  Her gaze locked onto his face. “It did?”

  He smiled and nodded. “Three on the map and two in unmapped areas. I’m not sure how easily we’ll find those spots, but it’s a start, right?”

  “We’re outpacing them,” Val said, “but I’m not sure how far away we have to get until we’re out of their range. Our shielding is supposed to scramble sensors, but they probably have a visual on us, right now. Or their sensors are simply unimpressed by our scramblers. Gregor, do you—”

  “Approximately 27.15 kilometers,” Thatcher said, “based on Carver 7-10 sensor capabilities.”

  “Approximately,” Tick said.

  Val gave him a wry smile.

  “I’m taking us through that mountain range,” Gregor said. “We’ll feign that it’s our destination, follow the back side for fifty kilometers, then there’s a canyon we can hide in that travels halfway to the next range. By then we should be outside of their visual and sensor range. Assuming they haven’t guessed our flight direction and deployed additional forces.”

  Val grunted. Tick grumbled something about flying.

  “You have your map up, right, Lieutenant?” Thatcher added.

  “Of course.” Val waved at a button, and the rear camera view shrank, replaced by the terrain around them. “Lead on.”

  Kalish touched Sedge’s arm. She had opened her tablet, calling up a map of her own, with the latitude and longitude displaying at the bottom. “This is the area I chose for our entrance. We’ll be almost a hundred miles from the mining outpost. It’s on their maps, but at the edge. Any chance your program found anything close to these mountains?”

  “I’ll check.”

  As Sedge fished out his own tablet, hers beeped.

  She hesitated before answering the comm call, glancing toward the back of the shuttle, like she might want a private place to talk. But Val swerved, following the other shuttle over the crest of a jagged brown peak and along the ridge on the far side. Kalish grimaced and remained where she was.

  “Kalish here.”

  “Hey, sis, how’re you doing?” came a young woman’s voice.

  “A little busy at the moment.”

  “I’m sitting in this nebula, playing Quiz and Quake with Mom. It’s about as exciting as a hangnail. You find a way in yet?”

  “We might have one soon,” Kalish said, glancing at the view screen. “I’ll contact you shortly with the details.”

  “We get to come, right?”

  “We’ll see how big of a hole we’re able to make and how tight it looks inside.”

  “Mom says to tell you that the mercenary ship went into a low orbit around the planet and should be in view of the miners’ sensors now. But they haven’t fired or gone in to attack. I thought you were paying them to be a distraction.”

  “I am. Apparently they can be distracting without blowing things up.” Kalish looked at Sedge, but he could only shrug. He hadn’t checked in that morning and hadn’t heard that the others had either.

  “The Carvers have lost us,” Thatcher announced over the comm. “They’re searching, trying to pick us up again, but they’re falling behind. We’ll continue on this course before altering it, in case it’s a ruse, but it should be safe to head to the coordinates soon.”

  “Good,” Kalish said, “thank you.”

  “What was that?” the sister asked.

  “We’ve had a little trouble, but we’re fine. Tell—”

  “Kalish?” a new voice asked, that of her mother.

  Kalish visibly braced herself. “Yes?”

  Sedge was beginning to think Kalish’s entire crew that she had spoken of amounted to her mother and sister. Maybe that made sense, keeping the business in the family, but it seemed a dangerous business for three women to be in by themselves. Of course, there was this father, too. Maybe he was usually a part of it. Sedge looked toward the view screen, not sure why he was worrying about Kalish’s business. She wouldn’t appreciate it if he poked his nose into her affairs.

  “What trouble? Is it those mercenaries?”

  “No, Mom. They’re doing all I could ask. But we’re going to need to put a new tent and cots on the shopping list. The miners have figured out we’re still here.”

  “So we fled with our tails between our legs for no reason?”

  Kalish sank lower in her seat. “Essentially. But once we get into the caverns, they shouldn’t be able to find us easily.”

  “New cots,” her mother grumbled. “As if we’ll be able to afford cots or anything else after the payment goes through to the mercs. As much as they charge—”

  “Mom, did I mention that this isn’t a private call?”

  After a moment of silence, her mother gave a tart, “No.”

  “I’m in one of their shuttles now. We’re about to blow our way into the cavern system. I’ll contact you once we’re in, and I’ll send the coordinates. If you think Tia can handle the flying. I wouldn’t mind a third ship to help pull out our cargo, if we succeed in finding it, but her claustrophobia...”

  “Is less of an issue than the fact that she hits something every time she turns around in close quarters. Sometimes I wonder at this policy of yours to keep everything in the family.”

  “Me too, Mom. Me too.”

  Sedge was looking toward the view screen and pretending he hadn’t been listening, but he couldn’t help that the calculating part of his mind sucked in every bit of data that floated past. Three ships to pull out her cargo? That was interesting. It didn’t surprise him that she had something specific in mind, but at the same time, he couldn’t imagine expecting anything specific when nobody had actually explored the ruins yet. Some retired miner’s hearsay was hardly a reliable source. More than once, he had been wondering if they would actually find anything down there. Only the fact that Thatcher and Val had found deliberately caved-in entrances made him believe the miners might have more than ore to hide down there.

  “We’re approaching the coordinates,” Val said.

  Sedge risked unbuckling his harness to walk up front for a better view. A new mountain range spread out ahead of them, more jagged brown peaks. He had seen little in the way of water or vegetation on the planet, but a herd of something that reminded him of scaly deer looked up as the shuttle cruised overhead. Somehow animals managed to survive out here.

  “I’m going to circle the mountain to the south and look for a promising approach,” Thatcher said. “Care to go north, Lieutenant?”

  “Happy to. I can hug a few more boulders on the way. Tick thinks I need practice.” Val smiled at Tick, more relaxed now that they didn’t have pursuers on their tail.

  Tick was more relaxed too. He leaned back and elbowed Sedge in the hip.

  “How was your night, LT?”

  “Not as long as I would have liked it to be.”

  “Oh?” Tick wriggled his eyebrows and leaned around him to look at Kalish. She was poking at something on her tablet and did not notice. “Did Striker’s ingenious plan work, then?”

  “Wh
at plan? Locking me out so I had to seek accommodations elsewhere?”

  “Precisely. The tent seemed warm and cozy. Especially her cot. Did you find it so?”

  Aware that the comm between the two shuttles was still open, Sedge hurried to say, “Whatever you’re insinuating, I would appreciate it if you didn’t. It would be inappropriate for me to pursue a relationship with our employer.” There, if Thatcher was listening, he ought to approve of hearing his words parroted back.

  Tick made a face. “She turned you down, eh?”

  “What? No.”

  “You didn’t set up all of your little machines, did you?”

  Sedge flushed, hoping Kalish was engrossed in her work and not listening. Tick wasn’t doing a good job of lowering his voice. “That has nothing to do with anything. I didn’t proposition her. I simply set up another cot.”

  “I don’t know how you sleep with all those instruments hissing and blowing around you. It’s like being in the cockpit of a fighter ship. Man was meant to lie beneath the stars with his back in the dirt as he breathes in the scents of the lush vegetation around him.” Tick glanced at the barren landscape outside. “If he can find it.”

  “Sounds unsanitary,” Sedge said.

  “I’ve found a cliff that may work,” Thatcher said. “Please bring Ms. Blackwell to look at it.”

  Val steered the shuttle over the bumpy foothills of the mountain, following its curve. Kalish walked up to stand beside Sedge.

  “It was the vacuum that turned you off, wasn’t it?” Tick asked her.

  “What?” she asked.

  Sedge knocked a knee into the back of Tick’s seat and issued his best icy glare.

  Fortunately, the second shuttle came into view, hovering in front of a near vertical cliff, and everyone turned their attention forward. Kalish consulted her tablet. “That should work, if you can blow away about a hundred feet of rock. Get as low as you can. It looks like the cavern ceiling reaches about a third of the way up this mountain.”

  “A hundred feet?” Tick asked. “We should have stolen one of those ships with the giant drill heads.”

  “Our weapons will be sufficient,” Thatcher said. “Backing up to a safe distance to strike. Approximately twelve hundred and... thirty meters.”

  “Does he grab those numbers out of the air,” Kalish whispered, “or is he pulling up the calculator on his tablet?”

  “Math is involved,” Val said, “but I couldn’t always tell you the formulas he uses. I’ve never seen him use a calculator.”

  Val guided her shuttle into a stationary position behind the other one and faced the cliff. “We’ll be safe and go with twelve hundred and fifty meters.”

  “Engaging in a sustained laser burn,” Thatcher said.

  “Engaging in watching you,” Val said.

  Tick snorted.

  “Let us know if you need help,” she added.

  The forward shuttle fired a single beam from one of its laser cannons, the crimson rope of power cutting into the cliff wall. Shards of rock flew everywhere, and within seconds, a beige cloud of dust obscured everything.

  Val glanced at her controls. “This could take a while. He’s not using anywhere near the maximum setting.”

  “Obliterating the entire mountain would not be useful,” Thatcher said.

  No, it wouldn’t. Sedge pictured the entire slope self-imploding and burying the caverns and all access to them.

  Kalish shifted her weight. Was she impatient? Or glad for Thatcher’s reserve? The bigger of a hole they made, the bigger the chance that one of the compound’s ships would find it. He doubted the miners would give up the search, now that they were certain someone was here.

  “I can’t see a thing through all that dust,” Tick said after a few minutes. “Is he making any progress?”

  Val leaned forward, eyeing her displays. “My instruments... can’t see much through that dust either.”

  “How far in does Ms. Blackwell estimate the cavern to be?” Thatcher asked. “Did I hear one hundred feet?”

  “About forty meters,” she said.

  “Then I estimate penetration at twenty-five percent.”

  Tick smirked over at Val. “Does he say sexy things like that to you in bed, LT?”

  Val gave him a baleful look, and Sedge thought Tick might get a smack on the back of the head. Instead, she said, “Not unless it’s on my list.”

  “There’s a list?” Tick asked. “For the bedroom?”

  “A happy lover is one who gets exactly what she wants,” she informed him sagely.

  Tick started to laugh, but cut it short, scratching his head thoughtfully instead.

  “We’re still working on the gift-giving list,” Val added, a little ruefully as she smiled toward the comm. “I keep putting frivolous things on it, and he keeps getting me practical things. When I wrote chocolate, he ordered a box of chocolate protein logs from Mandrake’s supplier.” She wrinkled her nose. “When I wrote sexy underwear, he got me thermal longs. I’m learning to be more specific with my request lists.”

  “Did you not comment on the usefulness of the heated undergarments just this morning?” Thatcher asked.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “What kind of gifts do you get him?” Tick asked.

  Val smiled. “Ones that are appreciated by all.”

  Sedge shook his head in bemusement at the conversation. He wasn’t surprised that Thatcher made lists in his personal life. At work, he was always making them for himself and others and insisting on precise adherence to them. If he had somehow convinced Val to find that trait endearing, then maybe there was hope for Sedge to convince a woman that sneezing was attractive. He kept himself from eyeing Kalish with speculation, since he had already told himself his interest wasn’t professional at this time. Perhaps later, after the mission was over, they might...

  What, Sedge? It’s not like she’s going to join Mandrake Company. And you’re not ready to quit flying around the system and pitting your mind against opponents, right?

  He was chewing over that last question when Thatcher said, “Seventy-five percent penetration.”

  The comm beeped, announcing another caller. Val waved at the sensor, and Captain Mandrake’s head appeared in the air in front of her and Tick.

  “Calendula here, sir,” she said. “Thatcher is busy penetrating things.”

  Sedge struggled to hold back a choking noise in his throat. He might make jokes with those of his own rank or below, but he would never speak so lightly to the captain or anyone his senior. He wasn’t sure whether to admire Val’s irreverence or be shocked by it. She hadn’t spent as many years in the Fleet as he had, having mandatory military courtesy drilled into him, but she had gone through the flight academy and been an officer for a year or two. Of course, pilots throughout the Fleet often believed their jobs extra important and themselves equally important. Irreverence wasn’t that uncommon.

  “Is he,” Mandrake said, his voice flat. “Will you be in the caverns soon?”

  “Should be.”

  “Good, because Mandrake Company will be sending out search teams to hunt for the wayward crew members who stole two shuttles and who attacked the mining complex down there for their own gain. The miners have agreed that these miscreants must be captured and punished. They’re aware that said miscreants stole data.” Mandrake’s eyes narrowed to slits, and even though he wasn’t looking in his direction, Sedge squirmed, feeling they hadn’t done as well as they could have to salvage that situation and keep everyone’s identity secret. “The miners would be assisting us in our search,” Mandrake went on, “but they’re busy with a new problem of their own, down in the tunnels. A ship drilled into a new area, and they believe that’s what caused a strange gas to seep out of the rocks. It’s corrosive to their drilling equipment and has unpleasant gastrointestinal and neurological effects on humans who breathe the air as well. You’ll want to avoid it, but its influence shouldn’t extend too far past the opening in their compound
. I gather you’ll be entering the caverns elsewhere.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good. Consider the miners distracted, Ms. Blackwell. I can’t promise the gas will keep them out of the mines indefinitely, as they’re already trying to figure out how to move in ventilation equipment without the corrosive element affecting it, but you should have a few days. After that, we’ll see what we can do if you need more time.”

  Mandrake lifted a hand to cut the comm, but Sedge spoke before his face disappeared from the display. “Who came up with the biological agent, sir? That sounds like a complicated compound.”

  “You can thank Microbacteriotherapy, Inc. for that, specifically their microbiologist. I would thank her myself, but she never comes out of her lab.”

  “Ah, Lauren.” Tick smiled as the captain’s face vanished. Wistfully? Odd, there was definitely an atypical dreaminess to his expression.

  With so few women on board the Albatross, the men often speculated about the three women who had their own company and worked out of the ship’s new laboratory, but Dr. Keys wasn’t the one who was usually the recipient of the speculation. She was pretty enough, but older than the other two and, as far as Sedge could tell, utterly oblivious to men, women, and the human need for social interaction and companionship. He had spoken to her a few times, curious to know if the gut treatment they were working on, one that incorporated the microbiota that the extraordinary hale and long-lived ancient aliens had been hosts for, might be of some assistance to him when they finished their research and tests. None of the ruins that had been discovered had ever mentioned allergies in the writing, music, and art samples that had been left behind. At his behest, Ankari had put him on the list for when the company was ready to begin clinical trials.

  “We’ve reached the one hundred percent mark of Ms. Blackwell’s estimate,” Thatcher said. “Forty meters. No end to the rock wall yet.”

  “No satisfaction even at a hundred percent penetration, eh?” Tick asked. “The list may not be working.”

  This time, Val did smack him.

  “Continuing to cut into the rock,” Thatcher said, without acknowledging Tick’s humor.