The Caverns of Mare Cetus (23 page)

   "I notice you said—should stop it. That's hardly reassuring."

   "Listen. Don't go analyzing my choice of words. It will stop it."

   "We're in a cave, girl, not above ground. Did you forget? And what about our com problems? What good is your death program if they can't reliably communicate with each other?"

   "Coms don't matter. They'll be using Data-Packet-Neutrino Magnetic Field Capture. Neutrinos don't give a damn if this is a cave—they go through everything."

   "You mean those things will be shooting neutrinos at each other?" asked Edison. He crossed his arms in front of him. "I've heard about that. Impressive. How does that actually work?"

   Renata puffed out a long breath of air. What was Edison thinking? This wasn't the time to be impressed with anything. She didn't need to be the Answer Woman now—especially with something that might give Hunter more ammunition. Still, she felt compelled to answer him. The brainy Renata always did. She directed her response only toward Edison. "The logic game was an offshoot of DPN military research. The NMA wanted to see if it could stop an enemy machine by introducing destructive data packets into it using neutrinos—it didn't work. It only worked when MFC was added to the target machine—Kalo came up with the idea. In other words, the target had to be set up to receive a DPN. And it doesn't actually capture the neutrino, it only strips off the data packet as the neutrino comes through the magnetic field. Obviously, enemy machines wouldn't be so accommodating. Kalo incorporated the MFC hardware and DPN software and generators on all his nuclear-powered machines. I don't know why he did it…"

   "Did it occur to you both units could go bad at once?" interrupted Hunter.

   "Yes," answered Renata, relieved Hunter wasn't cross-examining her on the DPN technology. "I've thought of that. It is a possibility."

   "Well, what about it? Do you have a plan for that?"

   "No. I don't."

   "Come on now. You mean to tell me you don't have a plan?"

   "I said—I don't. Besides, you're grasping at straws. You know the chance of that happening is almost negligible."

   "Oh, is it? Seems like I've heard that before."

   "You're damn right you have."

   "Well, for your sake I hope you're right. Because if it does happen, who knows where that's going to leave us, especially without a contingency…"

   "I'll tell you where that leaves us," she said, cutting him off. "If your pessimistic scenario comes true, and maybe you want it to come true, then we're fucked. You hear that—we're fucked!" All of a sudden Renata noticed Arielle giving her an intense, vindictive stare.

   "Now that
is
a nice
choice of words
," said Arielle. "But just who is fucking whom?"

Chapter Seven

Renata Victoria Stone

Explora Profile

Born: Deruptus Montis, Altus Valles, Novia Cetus, 43.9/(2128.3)*

Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 178 cm (5' 10")
Weight: 63.5 kg/140 lbs (Novia weight)

Genoclass: XX3A7B12-S99.6 SGM-P22 (Symbiotic Genetics—Natural
Birth)

Education: AI/Systems Science-BS,MS; Cave Exploration Science-PhD

Work History: Explora Corporation 93-present/(2159.9-pres.)
Computer Analytics, Inc. 91.3-93.0/(2158.8-2159.9)
Explora Corporation 85.1-91.3/(2154.8-2158.8)
Turquoise Ltd. 83.7-85.1/(2153.9-2154.8)

3rd Generation CryoDynamics 81.2-83.7/(2152.3-2153.9)

Notes: Highly intelligent and resourceful. Leadership skills

untested. Adheres rigidly to policies, but has

tendency to become consumed in her efforts.

*
Dates in (Novian Year/Earth Year Decimal) (Novian Year = .644 Earth
Years)

   Renata suddenly felt alone, extremely alone. She looked away from Arielle and Hunter, and spoke into her com. "Trent. You know I'm wary of the Kalos. I think we can minimize malfunction possibilities by having Three and Four play the Kalo Diagnostic Death Game, haze mode."

   "Smart thinking," replied Trent without hesitation."

   "You agree with me then?" asked Renata.

   "Yes," answered Trent. "As for Number One, I'm shutting it down."

   Renata punched some commands into her Vimap. "Arielle. Check out this screen. It tells you how to initialize the logic game."

   Arielle stood up. "Huh? I've never done that."

   "Just do it," said Renata. She shoved the Vimap in Arielle's hand, then turned toward Hunter. "See if you can get in touch with the BAT. With the distance we have to cover now, the BAT has a good chance of beating us there."

   "Yes, sir," said Hunter, giving her a salute.

   "Edison. Help Hunter sort out the supplies. And see if you can salvage my Vimap—the one that was attached to the Kalo."

   "Right on it," said Edison. "But don't hold your breath with that thing. It's pretty beat up. Here. Take mine." He held out his Vimap.

   "Don't bother," said Arielle. "She can have mine back when I'm done."

   "What about your geological analyses?" asked Edison.

   "Who cares anymore," said Arielle as she began working with the Vimap.

   "Richelle," said Renata. "I need you to keep in contact with Trent. Ramon—assist Richelle if she needs help hiking. Help her with the coms."

   "Hey. She's not the only one who's hurt." He raised his right leg, which was bandaged from the calf to the ankle.

   "Just do it," said Renata.

   "Oh, just shut up and do it," added Arielle, without looking up.

   "Grab your gear," said Renata. "Let's go." After they had collected their gear, she began leading the group down the passage.

   Devon came to her side. "Rene, what can I do to help?"

   Renata sighed. "Lo he estropeado todo, tiene no yo?"

   "No, you haven't," said Devon. "It's not your fault."

"So you do speak Spanish, just like I thought."

"No. I don't know Spanish."

"What do you mean you don't speak Spanish?"

"Did I answer you in Spanish?"

"You responded as if you understood."

"Did I answer you in Spanish?" repeated Devon.

   "Are you trying to tell me you understand Spanish, but you can't speak it?"

   "No. I don't know Spanish at all."

   Renata chuckled. "I get it now. You're using a Universal Language Translator. That makes sense. Damn. Must be a good one."

   "I'm not using a ULT," said Devon.

   "You don't have a ULT in your ear?"

   "Of course not. All I'm wearing are earrings." She tilted her head and pulled back her hair. She had a double set of emerald earrings dangling from her ear, nothing more. "I promise you, the other ear looks exactly the same."

   "If you don't have a ULT, then how are you able to understand Spanish? You clearly understood Ramon, and you clearly understand me. Pruebas me poner en ridículo?"

   "I'm telling you, I don't understand Spanish, and I would never make a fool of you, Sister."

   Renata was flustered. Devon answered her again as if Renata had spoken everything in English. She had to have a ULT. But where was it? "Why do you keep calling me your sister?"

   "Because you are. You have to realize that by now."

   Renata bit her lip. "You're not making any sense. I'm not your sister."

   "Rene. Listen to me. I'm a Mendrax. You
are
my Sister. I've already chosen you. You've accepted me."

   "What? Didn't you say you said that just to scare Ramon?"

   "I never denied I was a Mendrax, did I?"

   "Whoa. Whoa. Hold on. You really think you're a Mendrax?"

   "I don't think—I am."

   "But Mendrax aren't real," said Renata.

   "I think I'm real. Don't you think so too? I'm a Mendrax."

   "Look, Devon, if you don't stop calling yourself that, they're going to lock you away."

"Rene. You surprise me. Can't you feel it? We've connected."

"I don't feel anything. I don't know what you're talking about."

   Devon sighed. "Boy they were right when they called you headstrong."

   "Who? Who are you talking about?"

   "None of that matters. What does matter is this. Think about what Garrett's told you about the Mendrax and what you know about me, then come to your own conclusions." Devon abruptly stopped, falling back with the others behind her.

   Renata glanced back at her. What Devon had just said sounded like nonsense. She looked back again, this time focusing on Hunter and Ramon who were hiking side-by-side, Hunter pointing out something to Ramon that was on the passage wall. Renata frowned. She couldn't figure out their love-hate relationship no matter how hard she tried. Before—they were ready to tear each other's throats out. Now—they appeared as if they were the best of friends.

   But why not be Ramon's friend now? When she took command from Hunter, it had to have been the ultimate treachery. Still, she was surprised he hadn't put up more of a fight. He had every right to call on several STEPS directives to try to override the group's decision, but he didn't. Though she had gone by the books, what she did was unprecedented, and she realized she was going to get torn apart by Abby Kensington and two VPs who regarded Hunter as the quintessential explorer. Because of that, she needed total backing from the others, including Devon
.
She groaned in despair. She was doomed.

   "Almost done," said Arielle, interrupting Renata's thoughts.

   Renata glanced back at Arielle who was inputting code into the Vimap.

   "Here," she said as she handed the Vimap to Renata. "Three and Four are playing your game." She began mumbling. "I'd like to know what other games are being played."

   Renata glanced back at Hunter. "The BAT. What is its status?"

   "I'm working on it," he said. "Give me a chance, will you?"

   Renata's eyes were drawn to the walls of the passage, which were patterned with a distinctive series of elongated, S-shaped, nearly parallel, shallow grooves that looked like a succession of slides piled one on top of another. High-energy transcurrent cross-bedding— that's how Arielle would describe them. An interesting rock feature to find in the caverns, they were indicative of water currents that often dominated the shallow seas of Mare millions of years prior, when many of its ocean rocks were formed.

   As Renata continued to admire the beauty of the cross-beds, which stretched the entire length of the wall, she was reminded of the pebbles she had found near the spring the previous day. She anxiously put her hand in her pocket and felt the rock. She wondered if she'd ever get the courage now to tell Arielle about her experience in the passage and show her the analysis on the Vimap, which she realized she hadn't yet reviewed herself. She began turning the pebble around repeatedly with her fingers. As she contemplated the lies she'd have to concoct to cover her power lust and stupidity, she could think of every reason imaginable not to bring the pebbles up to Arielle—ever! Renata let go of the pebble and took her hand out of her pocket.

   As an oppressive guilt over what she had done to Arielle began to weigh on Renata like a ten ton Sumo wrestler, her thoughts drifted back to Hunter. Had she stepped beyond her bounds? Was she just a clone of the backstabbing Jennifer Astoni? Though her heart was telling her to apologize, even relinquish command to him, her pride wouldn't let her do that. There was compassion and caring in Renata's heart of stone, but it wasn't something she gave away freely anymore. Hunter would have to understand. If he couldn't respect her intelligence and morals—the few she felt she now had left—then she could never accept his friendship—or love—no matter who he was. She had learned that lesson once. She wasn't about to learn it again. "What about the BAT, Hunter?"

   "It's loaded and flying," he answered. "I think. Max speed. Okay?"

   "Well, keep an eye on its progress."

   "Rene," said Arielle, "have you come up with any answers yet?"

   "Answers to what?" snapped Renata, the belligerence in Arielle's voice painfully obvious to her, though she was surprised Arielle was even speaking to her at all.

   "Like are we going to find Trent and the others?"

   "Of course we will," answered Renata. Her eyes were drawn downward to the bright green dot marking the location of Kalo One on the Vimap's screen. "We'll get to them." She glanced back at Richelle. "Richelle. Communications with Trent. Status, please."

   Richelle looked up from her Vimap, appearing startled.

   "Dead," said Ramon who was now hiking beside Richelle. "They went dead about five minutes ago."

   That irked Renata. "Why didn't you tell me?"

   "We, uh, transferred a message to you," said Richelle.

   "I don't get notification of those messages unless they're marked notify," said Renata.

   Richelle looked at Ramon. "Why didn't you t-t-tell me th-th-that?"

   "Do I have to tell you everything?" asked Ramon. "Look, Second. We're working on them, all right? If you're going to hold the strings, then let us do our job already. Right, Hunter?"

   Hunter didn't answer.

   "You know something," said Arielle as she latched onto the left sleeve of Renata's jacket like a child begging for attention.

   Renata glanced at her. "What?"

   "I knew it all along. I had a bad feeling about this mission. I just didn't think that…God, Isis is dying, we can't locate Trent, a damn Kalo nearly kills us. And Garrett, who knows where he is now."

   "He's the least of our worries," said Renata. "He can handle himself." She wished she could put more conviction in her words. She was beginning to wonder if something might have happened to him. Since the moment he had supposedly misfired his rifle, she began to take notice of a disturbing anxiety in him that went against his usual confidence. She started to reminisce…

   
Renata was sitting at a round dark green scalance-wood table in one
of the company's small, elegantly decorated cafeterias, its walls adorned
with beautiful paintings of Novian and Mare Cetan landscapes. She was
eating lunch with Garrett, Trent, and three young, fanatical Explora
security personnel who typically hung around Garrett like flies, trying to
learn something new from The Master. There were only about a dozen
other employees in the cafeteria as it was a bit after the normal lunch
break. Renata had on a lavender lace blouse and an ankle-length black
skirt. Trent was wearing a white lab outfit, and Garrett and the security
guards were dressed in Explora's light gray security uniforms. It was just
another day at the office.

   
"I had that sucker in my sights for only a second," said Garrett, "when
I let loose with a full punch of nitromar. Blam!" He made a fist. "The guy
never knew what hit him."

   
Exclamations of praise burst forth from the guards.

   
"But before I had a chance to breathe," said Garrett, "there's ten more
heavily armed Afaras swarming over the ridge on my right, a Mecon
Howitzer leading their advance."

   
"Then it was a trap," said Thomas Keyes, a tall, muscular, hazel-eyed,
blond-haired guard with a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee.

   
Garrett began pointing out the positions of the enemy troops on the
table. "When I saw those babies coming over the ridge, I set off the drones
and flipped on the E-mag deflector. Then I rolled into a ditch. Just in time,
too. That Mecon started blasting the area with a barrage of shells and MWaves. I could feel the concussion from the explosions."

   
"Holy crap!" exclaimed a lanky, freckle-faced guard. He pointed at
the table. "With M-waves flooding this area…"

   
"The M-waves are the key," said Garrett. "With the Mecon attacking
the drones I released and the ridge running the way it did…" He drew out
its position on the table. "I figured the Afara's transfinder equipment had
to be disrupted for the moment, and they wouldn't be able to cinch me."

   
"Smart," said Keyes, nodding. "They were letting that Mecon put out
too much juice. M-waves are hell on transfinders."

   
"I crawled forward and saw the Mecon closing in." Garrett looked at
Renata who was sitting next to him. "And get this, that damn Mecon
started spilling neurocharges. My meter just about went into a coma."