The Ruins of Karzelek (The Mandrake Company series Book 4) (25 page)

“
Excellent,” Thatcher said. “I see it. Yes, that helps. Shoot a couple more.”

“
You’re not cheating, are you, sir?” Sedge asked.

“
Merely using the provided evidence to verify a hypothesis.”

“
You already have a hypothesis?”

“
You don’t?”

“
Bastard,” Sedge grumbled and returned his focus to the display, though there wasn’t much he could do except wait for the program to run. He had always done well at math in school, but solving problems like this in his head was too much to ask from his brain cells. Not that he would admit it to anyone. Especially Kalish. Not that she probably cared a whit about his brain cells now.

His tablet beeped, and the display flashed a “pattern found” at him and invited him to enter the message to be decoded. Not quite what he needed, but they might be able to figure a safe route in with this information.

“
Got something,” Sedge announced, trying not to sound too triumphant as he sent the file to Thatcher.

“
Yes, that’s what I came up with too,” Thatcher said. “Good work, Thomlin.”

Sedge propped a fist on his hip. “Striker, you’re the witness over there. Did he really find it before I did?”

“
Yeah, sorry, Sniffles. He tossed the pencil aside a few minutes ago, and he’s programming a route into navigation now.”

“
Transmitting the route,” Thatcher said. “We can go in with the shuttles, if you wish to stay back, Ms. Blackwell. Your vessel is approximately 7.75 times larger than our shuttles, so there will be less margin for error from your pilot.”

Kalish’s eyes narrowed to slits, and Sedge winced, guessing what she was thinking. That her mercenary allies wanted to loot that platform of valuable ore and perhaps relics as well, while leaving her behind. Sedge knew Thatcher’s only interest in those valuables would be to peek at the alien technology, perhaps poking around in that derelict mining ship, but he was the last person Kalish would believe right now.

“
Unless you’re certain we’ll be perforated with those disks,” Kalish said, her eyes still slits, “we’ll come with you. Should we find anything worth salvaging, the
Divining Rod
has a much larger cargo area than your shuttles.”

“
A valid point, Ms. Blackwell,” Thatcher said. “Give me a few minutes, and I’ll send you a program to upload to your autopilot. Given the precision required to survive this route, it would be better to allow the computer to navigate. Lieutenant Calendula, I will transmit an autopilot program for you as well.”

Val made a noise somewhere between a snort and a throat clearing. “Is this because of the bat, Gregor?”

“
This is not a condemnation of your piloting skills, Val,” Thatcher said, an atypical gentleness in his usually arrogant voice. Sedge couldn’t remember a time when he had used her first name, even if Val called him Gregor all the time. “I only wish to ensure that you will make it through unscathed,” Thatcher added.

“
Something we appreciate over here,” Tick drawled. “I’m not so married to the idea of looting riches that I’m looking to get sawn in half by some ancient alien throwing stars.”

“
And will
you
be relying on the autopilot?” Val asked, though she did not sound annoyed, not truly.

Sedge would be happy to let a computer guide him through a minefield, but he knew pilots sometimes had issues with their egos.

Indeed, Thatcher hesitated before answering. “Would that please you?”

“
Yes,” Val said. “I know it’s nearly impossible for you to imagine, but a bat could bounce off your view screen and startle
you,
too.”

“
I don’t think any bats would be stupid enough to be flying through this,” Tick said.

“
I will use the autopilot,” Thatcher said. “Sending the program now.”

Sedge closed his tablet, pocketed it, and tried not to feel superfluous. He told himself it did not matter who ultimately solved the problem, so long as it was solved.

“
Got it,” Tia said a minute later.

“
Will it interface with our navigation computer?” Kalish asked.

“
Uhm.” Tia tapped a few buttons. “Looks like it will. He must have known which operating system the
Divining
Rod
runs and adapted it in advance.”

“
Thank you, Commander Thatcher,” Kalish said. “You’re just as good as my astrophysicist was.”

“
Yes,” was all Thatcher said.

Kalish snorted and whispered, “Just as arrogant too,” to her sister.

Sedge stuck his hands in his pockets, wishing
he
had won that praise. He hoped something would come of the message he had sent to the company, fearing that it would take a joyous family reunion, one that he had arranged, for Kalish ever to talk to him again.

“
I will lead the way,” Thatcher said. “Your computers will inform you when the next cycle of safety has begun. Let them do the piloting.”

“
Yes, sweetie, we understand,” Val said.

“
Sweetie?” Striker snickered.

“
What do you call people you care about?” Val asked.

“
Uh.”

“
Striker hasn’t found anyone to care about yet,” Tick said.

“
That’s not true.”

“
Then he hasn’t found anyone to care about him yet.”

“
That... might be more true.”

“
Can’t imagine why,” Val muttered.

While they were talking, Thatcher’s shuttle led the way, darting quickly out into the field of disk missiles, then stopping abruptly after thirty meters. The craft paused for several seconds, the nose rotating fifteen degrees, then it lurched forward again. Even though he trusted Thatcher’s brain for this, Sedge could not help but feel nervous as he watched. He felt even more nervous about crossing through the field himself. They might have survived having the ship pierced by one disk, but one could slice into the bridge and knock out something vital. Like someone’s skull.

“
Following,” Val said, her voice tense. Yeah, she was worried too.

Sedge hoped they found something on that platform that would make this effort worth it.

“
Our turn,” Tia said a minute later. She wiped her hands on her trousers, then activated the autopilot.

Sedge was glad the computer would be guiding them through that maze, especially as he watched the shuttles pass through the disk field, sometimes hovering in a spot as whirring blades streaked past less than two feet away. Even with that reassurance, he chewed on his knuckle when their ship burst forward. He had to catch himself on the back of Kalish’s seat when it lurched to a stop. She looked up at him, but did not meet his gaze for long.

Clanks came from the cargo hold, Ms. Blackwell working on that hole. She was wise to remain back there, unaware of the nerve-wracking course they took through the disk field.

“
That one almost grazed us,” Tia muttered, alternately watching the view screen and the sensors. “You should get a sleeker treasure-hunting ship from whatever you earn here, Kalish.”

“
I’ll remember that.”

“
Remember to pay your crew a nice bonus too.”

A disk missed cutting the nose of the ship in half by a mere inch, and everyone jumped as it zipped past the view screen. Tia lost her smile and gulped.

By the time the ship escaped the field, sweat dampened Sedge’s brow and dribbled down the sides of his ribs. “That was nerve-wracking,” he murmured, taking out his handkerchief and mopping his face.

“
No kidding.” Kalish stood up. “But now we get to land and explore.”

* * *

The disks stopped zipping all around the cavern soon after the ships landed. Most of the platform was covered in mountains of ore, but four raised docks waited at one end. The shuttles fit perfectly. The
Divining Rod
looked like a saucer balanced on a pencil top, but enough of the craft fit that it was stable. Kalish had tested the air while Tia navigated the landing and while the environment was not pristine, she had let everyone know that it wouldn’t be dangerous in the short term. Now she was walking down the ramp to the platform, her pack of treasure-hunting tools slung over her shoulder and excitement thrumming through her veins.

Her mother was staying aboard, working on the hole, but Tia bounced down the ramp beside her, just as eager to explore. Sedge came as well, but he hung back, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched as he kept his distance. His palpable misery made Kalish want to give him a sympathetic hug rather than glare at him, but he had invaded her privacy. She hadn’t been able to tell which of her records he had accessed, but the hidden camera on the bridge had definitely shown him hacking into the mainframe. He
deserved
to be miserable, damn it.

She and Tia waited in the rubble field below the ships for the other mercenaries to come out. Kalish carried a rifle and her pistol, along with a multitool and a knife on her belt, but she found it reassuring when Striker and Tick strode out, carrying even more arms. It wasn’t that she expected anyone to be waiting for them in this ancient refinery, but one never knew exactly what one would find, and danger was always a possibility.

Tick elbowed Striker. “Do you think you brought enough grenades?”

In addition to the grenades he usually wore on his belt, Striker had donned a bandolier full of them. He also wore a grenade launcher strapped across his back. That did not include the two pistols at his waist, one laser and one projectile, and the rifle cradled in his arms.

“
I’m making up for your lack,” Striker said. “Really, Tick, you’re practically naked.”

Tick patted his rifle. “Bam Bam is all I need.”

Thatcher trotted down the ramp, pausing to peer over the edge. The derelict mining craft was visible down there on the ore pile—Kalish had already recorded footage of it from different angles—but there was a hundred-foot drop to reach it.

“
Val lost the coin toss?” Tick asked when Thatcher joined them, his eyes bright.

“
She agreed that this would be a more titillating treat for me.”

“
She likes giving you titillating treats, does she?” Striker asked.

Ignoring him, Thatcher stooped and touched the grimy rubble they were standing on. The heaps undulated up and down across the platform, with the smokestacks of the refineries just visible over the tops, thanks to the
Divining
Rod’s
lights shining in that direction. Everyone had brought flashlights as well—the mercenaries’ were mounted atop their rifles.

“
The ore is under the limestone deposits,” Thatcher said, then peered into the darkness above them. The ceiling was not visible. “It’s been here a long time, for this to have formed. This part of the cavern doesn’t appear that damp. I ran a sensor sweep, and there aren’t any pools of water at the bottom.”

“
Ten thousand years is long enough for the weather patterns to change,” Kalish said. She had not spotted any of the clouds they had seen the day before, nor were there any ledges full of vegetation. Sedge probably appreciated that. He hadn’t sneezed yet today.

“
Who’s leading?” Tick asked, nodding toward the refineries.

“
You’re the tracker,” Striker said.

“
Am I tracking something?”

“
Yeah, great wealth. Go.”

Tick shrugged and led the way.

“
Isn’t the great wealth under the limestone accretion?” Sedge asked, following Tick and not showing any interest in digging down to find out.