Harry's Sacrifice (8 page)

Harry didn’t really care what the motivations were. He just wanted Roshin 72 with him. No matter what.

“Then the matter is settled. The clerical assistant will accompany Hara on the military transport to the dig site. You will both depart as soon as suitable cold-weather gear has been supplied. Please make yourselves ready. The transport awaits you in the Council’s private hangar.” Councilor Orin signed the order as he spoke.

Roshin 72 didn’t question. She merely stood and went to the door, waiting for Harry to join her. They’d clearly been dismissed with marching orders.

The door slid open. They stepped through and it immediately closed behind them. The soldiers were gone. Apparently, they were on their own in getting themselves to the transport.

“I must return to my quarters to pack a few things. I will meet you in the hangar.” Roshin 72 was all business. As cold and emotionless as the rest of her race.

Harry wanted to reach out to her. He wanted to touch her cheek. To bring a smile to her face. The smile he’d seen in that pseudo vision.

But the time wasn’t right. Not yet.

He had to trust his vision that the time
would
come. He would keep her close and he would see that beautiful smile. See the sparkle of life in her pretty eyes. They just had to get through this expedition and all that it entailed.

She’d turned away from him without waiting for a response, already gone in her silent way. She didn’t make much noise. In fact, she walked with a gracefulness he’d seldom seen and had a calmness about her that appealed to him.

Harry realized he was staring after her and shook his head. He had to grab some stuff from his quarters and give Caleb the heads up—not to mention his family back on the ranch. He’d tell Uncle Mick what was going on telepathically and let him decide what to tell the rest of the family. He didn’t want to worry his adoptive mother, Jane, or his siblings.

Harry sent the message, glad once more that Mick was such a powerful telepath. Between the two of them, they had enough reach to keep the family connected while Caleb was stuck here in the alien city. That conduit would be cut off when Harry went on this mission, of course, but there were other ways. Not as efficient or as fast, but there were ways to get messages back and forth.

Harry made contact and filled Mick in on the basic information he’d been given.
“I’ll try to keep in touch while I’m away, but I’m not sure I’ll have the reach. All they said was the site was in the far north. Other than that, I have no idea where on the globe I’m headed.”

“It’s okay, son. We’ll leave a light on for you here at the ranch and you tell Caleb we’ll go with plan B if he has to contact us in your absence.”

“Will do. Mick, he’s been seeing this for a while now. I think these are the people in ice he’s been foreseeing for weeks. This could be a turning point.”
Mick would understand the emotions such a moment would inspire. Mick was always ready to support Harry emotionally, even though he was a man of few words by nature.

“If it is, we’ll be ready. And you know you’re ready. You’ve been working toward this your entire life. You were born ready, son. Don’t ever doubt it.”

Harry kept up the conversation while he gathered a few things from his quarters. There wasn’t much to bring. A few changes of clothes, though he’d be issued cold-weather gear by the military escort, so he only brought the necessities. He threw them haphazardly into a carryall as quickly as he could so he’d have time to spend with Caleb before he had to go.

Knocking on Caleb’s door a few minutes later, he was unsurprised to see Caleb ready and waiting for him. It was hard to surprise an oracle of Caleb’s ability.

“So you’re going then.” It wasn’t a question.

“As soon as I get to the hangar. They’ve got a transport waiting.”

“And the girl is going along with you?”

Harry shot his uncle a sly look. “Why didn’t you tell me about her before?”

Caleb grinned. “Life has to have some surprises, son. Even for people like us who can foresee parts of the future. I knew she had to be with you when you found the ice people, but more than that, I can’t say right now. The visions keep coming fast and furious. We’re at one of those nexus points where the future branches off into many possibilities. Choose your path wisely, Harry, that’s all I can say.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“The girl—” Caleb’s eyes took on an introspective look, “—is her name Rose?”

“Roshin 72, actually.”

“Her father calls her Rose.” Caleb’s voice sounded almost dreamy, and Harry recognized the tone as being one of memory from a vision. He’d heard it before.

“Father?” To Harry’s knowledge, none of the current generation of Alvians knew who their father was. They’d all been genetically engineered in a lab and raised in pods by the collective.

Caleb blinked back to awareness. “Father figure, I think. Leader of her sect.”

“Councilor Markus is the leader of the clerical workers.” Harry was confused. Markus didn’t seem to have much paternal instinct at all. Only political ambition.

“Not Markus. There’s another man in her life. Somebody in the shadows. He’s important but hidden. He’s her father figure.” Caleb laughed. “Your little girl has secrets, son. Don’t take her at face value. She’s more than she seems.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Harry noticed the time and knew he had to go. “I’ll be in touch when I can. Take care of yourself.” He reached out to the man who had been a second father to him all his life and gave him a hug, which Caleb returned in full measure.

“I love you, Harry. Take care of yourself and that girl. She’s going to be important to the cause. Maybe important to you. Can’t tell yet for sure.” He shrugged as they let go. “Now go make us proud, Harry.”

“I’ll try.” Harry walked to the door, reluctant to leave the safety of Caleb’s presence. He was a bear of a man who’d always been there for him when he needed someone to talk to.

“You’ll succeed,” Caleb said with surety in his voice that went a long way toward calming Harry’s nerves.

A lot was riding on what would happen next. Harry knew it. Caleb knew it.

Only the Alvians were oblivious.

But that wouldn’t last too much longer.

In the days since Cormac 7’s discovery, the climb team had managed to clear a path that included a switch-back ramp that angled downward to the level where the pod was buried. It zigzagged through the more stable ice on one side of the crevasse and had been made using the half-dozen crawlers they’d used to get to the site in the first place. Skimmers could not rely on their instrumentation near the electromagnetic field put out by the pod, so travel had to be accomplished using more rudimentary vehicles that crawled over the surface.

The massive, lumbering beasts—mechanical monstrosities—were coming in handy moving the ice and snow out of the way. Cormac 7 spent much of his time documenting the portal and its inscription. He’d directed Fergal 51 and his team to clear the ice as best they could to either side of the portal, but they’d been unable to find the outer edges of the pod in either direction.

Cormac 7 was beginning to think the buried structure was more than just a simple pod. It could, in fact, be a much larger remnant of the original ship that brought the original exploration party here so many years ago from Alvia Prime.

Nobody was really sure what had happened to Hara’s original team. None of the old records from Alvia Prime stated where he’d perished, or even from what planet he’d last reported. It was a big mystery that had just been solved. Hara and his team had ended their days here.

Cormac 7 had been so engrossed in the project that he’d spent most of the day down in the crevasse, which the team had dug into to create something like an ice cave. There were engineers aplenty in the group now, to make sure nobody removed anything that might compromise the integrity of the space they were creating. Cormac 7 trusted his team to do their jobs to the best of their ability around him while he concentrated on the puzzle of the portal.

Around the time scheduled for evening meal in their small bivouac, Cormac 7 heard a commotion as a new crawler roared into camp. He’d been expecting an emissary from the Council since making his report.

What he hadn’t expected was the beautiful woman who stepped down out of the crawler draped in fur. Or the Breed.

The native word had been adopted to describe the surviving inhabitants of the planet. Cormac also knew they called themselves humans, but for some reason, the scientists had taken to using the other word. Curious, and able to tap into certain databases without being detected, Cormac had seen enough data to surmise that the word Breed was a shortened version of the native term, half-breed.

Translating that term into Alvian led him to wonder just what the other part of the human DNA code contained. They were half human and half…? Cormac had his suspicions. Especially when looking at the man coming out of the crawler toward him.

It was quite obvious the man was a Breed, even if he did look more Alvian than most natives Cormac 7 had seen. He was solicitous of the woman and the crew. His manners were more Alvian than Breed, and from that observation Cormac 7 made an educated guess as to his identity.

The deduction was confirmed when the young man approached and introduced himself. The soldiers who had accompanied him stood behind on either side, almost like an honor guard. The pose was not lost on Cormac 7. The soldiers respected this young man for some reason. Either that or they had been ordered to show respect in such a manner.

The woman came with him, to his right and slightly behind. She seemed a shy young thing and her vulnerability appealed to Cormac 7’s protective instincts.

“Greetings. I am called Hara.” The Breed man held out his hand in the manner of human greetings Cormac 7 had observed. He held no disgust for the natives of this planet. In fact, his studies of the remains of their culture had given him a respect for what they had accomplished with their more primitive power sources and materials.

Cormac 7 clasped hands with the newcomer and received a smile in return. He didn’t quite understand the nuances of human expression, but he thought the smile was meant as some form of approval.

“I am Cormac 7, leader of this expedition. I had heard rumors of your existence and am glad to have them confirmed.” He looked from the male to the female expectantly.

“I am Roshin 72, assistant to Councilor Markus,” she said in a light, lilting tone that appealed to him as much as her beautiful face. “I’ve been sent to document whatever happens next.”

It was clear to Cormac 7 that she had little knowledge of the mission.

“There is a dead spot here where electromagnetic interference has been a problem. My chain of command ordered me to put together a team of battle engineers, cold-weather experts, a climbing team and other assorted personnel to find the reason why our technology does not work properly in this region. We climbed into the crevasse over there.” He paused to point to the excavation area. It looked vastly different than it had when he’d first climbed down there. “We found the source of the disturbance, but we are still unsure of its true nature. Whatever is interfering with our instruments is locked behind a portal we have been unable to open.”

The woman was taking notes using a stylus and paper. Old fashioned as they were, such tools would not be affected adversely by the electromagnetic distortion field. She looked up at him expectantly when he paused, and he realized he had been distracted by watching her. Definitely an odd occurrence.

“So why did they send me out here?” Hara asked, prompting Cormac 7 to continue.

“It seems only you may be able to access the portal we discovered. Please come this way. I will show you the inscription.”

Cormac 7 signaled to the soldiers to fall back. He would take their guests from here. He led them quickly down the path that had been carved, toward the gleaming portal. Lights had been set up to combat the increasing darkness. Night was almost upon them, but work would not cease now. Not when the answer to opening the portal might have just arrived.

The walk downward was accomplished in silence. The workers around them stopped to stare in a most unprofessional manner as their small party passed. There was a tension in the air that even an unemotional Alvian could feel. Something was about to happen and everyone collectively paused to see what it might be.

Having a Breed roaming free in their midst was probably enough to make most Alvians take a second look. Having him in the company of the mission commander and a strange female—the only one in this harsh environment—was worthy of a third and fourth.

“As you can see, the portal is plain but well defended. There is no handle or visible locking mechanism, yet it remains firmly sealed. The design is reminiscent of ancient Alvian exploration vessels and I theorize this may be part of the ship that brought Hara the Explorer and his team to this planet.”

Cormac 7 halted a few feet from the portal. Roshin 72 stopped beside him. But the young Breed called Hara walked right up to the door and touched the surface with one open palm. The look on his face was indecipherable, but it made Cormac 7 yearn once more for something that could never be. As a student of history, he’d read all the accounts of ancient Alvia. The wars started by hatred and love. The concepts had always fascinated him, though he could never fully understand them.

In his secret heart of hearts, he wanted to. He wanted to know what it felt like to feel, treasonous as such thoughts were. He kept the desire to himself, but it was there. It always had been, and all ways would be.

At length, Hara stepped back. He didn’t look at Cormac 7 when he spoke, concentrating on the inscription.

“Can you tell me what it says?” he asked.

Cormac 7 read out the ancient runes, watching the man’s face. It was a face with many expressions, so unlike the usual Alvian mask.

“So I’m supposed to know how to open this, huh?” Hara said after Cormac 7 had finished reading. “I am Hara’s genetic heir. His DNA bred true in my father as it does in me.”