Crystal Rebellion (25 page)

Juice stepped off the bottom rung of
the ladder and flexed her hands to relieve the stiffness. Moments later, Alex
joined her.

“That was scarier than I expected,” he said, shaking his
hands and wiggling his fingers.

She looked up the tall chute—accessible by ladder, motor winch,
and nothing else—and agreed with him. “I’ll say.”
I should’ve listened to
Cheryl.

But this was their bonding adventure. After Alex had
expressed concerns about their future, she vowed to give their relationship everything
she had.
If we don’t make it, it won’t be because I didn’t try.

Accessing her com, a chill prickled her neck when it didn’t
respond. “Mine’s dead.”

“Mine too.” He looked around the dimly lit chamber. “They
must have a suppressor somewhere.”

The chamber, cut straight from the bedrock and shaped like an
upside-down bowl, had a flat floor and smooth walls that arched up and over to
form the curved ceiling. Though circular in shape, the room had a triangular feel
to it due to three tunnels, evenly spaced around the room, that led straight out
in three different directions.

In the center of the chamber sat a silent, featureless box—a
fissile generator—the very reason the chamber existed at all. Waist high and twice
as long, the generator produced enough power to meet the needs of the entire
mining complex with capacity to spare.

Approaching the unit, Juice swiped the ops panel and glanced
at the display but didn’t take time to mentally process it. Instead, she spun in
a slow circle, staring down each of the three tunnels, one after the next. The musty
smell and sharp echoes in the chamber caused her skin to prickle.

“It’s that one.” Alex pointed to the tunnel to his right.
“From the diagram, if I put the ladder behind me and the generator in front,
it’s that one.”

She touched the small of his back as she moved through the
gloom in the direction he indicated.
Criss should’ve talked me out of this.

From the start she’d imagined this would be a spontaneous
adventure—something quirky they could experience and remember together. But
with each step, it seemed more dangerous than fun. She couldn’t point to a
specific threat, though, and she didn’t want to appear weak or whiny.

Still, she trusted Alex and found herself sharing her
thoughts much the way she would with Criss. “I don’t know how I thought this foolishness
made sense. I’m sorry for dragging you down here. Let’s grab the crystals and
get back to civilization.”

“This isn’t on you, J. I supported the idea. But I agree.
Let’s get them and go.”

The dim lighting in the tunnel matched that of the main
chamber, and they shuffled their feet as they moved.

“I see them,” said Alex, pointing ahead.

The ceiling rose as they entered a smaller version of the
main chamber. This room, with only the one tunnel behind them as access, had a
generator setup like that of the main chamber. Unlike the main chamber, though,
this one had a row of three crystal consoles positioned along the wall to their
left.

Juice pulled out a rucksack tucked at her waist and,
unfolding the bag as she walked, moved toward the units. The faint layer of
dust that covered the first two consoles remained undisturbed. She moved past
them and pointed to marks and smudges on the third. “These must be from when Larry
came and got Ruga.”

“Agreed,” said Alex, leaning in for a closer look. “And since
we left him in the ICEU, this should be empty.”

Tapping the front panel, Juice signaled for access, and as
the lid slid back, the room brightened. Standing on her tiptoes, she looked inside.
“So far so good,” she said to the empty cradle.

Alex looked around the room when she said that, his anxious
behavior adding to her unease. “How is it that there are no defenses? With
Lazura, I’d expect something like in those horror shows where arrows shoot from
the wall or the floor opens up as we try to escape.”

She laughed, but the thought gave her goose bumps. “I’m sure
there were. Criss cleaned the place before he left. He’s too protective to let
anything bad happen to me.” She changed the subject by moving to the center
console. “Any guesses on who this is?”

“Is it possible to tell without powering them up?”

She swiped the console panel and the lid slid back. “Look!”
she chirped, excited to see a mesh-covered ball. Addressing Alex’s question,
she said, “They have different reflection delays. Criss showed me that. But
it’s a really technical concept and he’s the only one I know of who
might
be able to tell.”

Releasing the cup latch, she reached in, positioned her hand
over the top of the ball, and ever so gently lifted the fist-sized lump free of
the cup. Holding it upright in front of her, she wiggled the ball to coax the
connective mesh wrap—the mesh the crystal used to link with everything—to drop
free.

“We should be in a clean-room for this,” she said as the wrap
material slid back to expose a dazzling Kardish crystal. She turned the crystal
to inspect it, the motion adding to the brilliant display of color.

“Wow. I didn’t expect to see a four-gen.” Holding it higher so
Alex had a better view, she pointed to a tiny bump on the crown of the crystal.
“It has a surface nib. A rookie fabricated this.”

Alex nodded. “I’ve ruined a few that way.”

“Me too. An imperfection like this will seriously hurt cognition
potential. No wonder Criss could dominate so easily.”

She turned her hand over and swirled the crystal so the mesh
fell back over the ball. At the same time, Alex held open a small clean-pouch for
her. “The Kardish are crystal experts, though. I have to think they put it
there for a purpose. Otherwise, why didn’t they just grind it up and try again
until the rookie got it right?”

She set the crystal, mesh and all, inside the pouch. When Alex
closed it, the lining material inside activated to pull contamination—dirt,
dust, oils—to the pouch walls, securing their prize in a pristine environment.

Then, in unrehearsed but flawless teamwork, Juice held open
the rucksack while Alex placed the clean-pouch inside.

“Perfect.” He gave her a wink. “That was fun. Can I do the next
one?”

She nodded, her cheeks lifting with her smile. “I can
honestly say I won’t ever forget this day.”

After repeating the procedure on the last console with roles
reversed, Lazura and Verda were safe in the rucksack and Juice and Alex stood
at the base of the ladder.

“You go first,” said Juice. “I’d feel safer following.”

Her motive wasn’t safety—the ladder had passive-restraint systems.
Her real concern was fitness and she’d fibbed to protect his ego. An
experienced runner who trained every day, she guessed she could scramble to the
top of the ladder in under twenty seconds if she pushed herself. Alex was more
hobby-fit and would need several minutes to reach the top. Since he moved
slower, he should be the one setting their pace.

“Okay. But stay close.”

He surprised Juice by reaching the top without stopping.
Standing on the surface, she stroked his arm and waited for his face to fade
from its bright red color.

“That was an impressive pace,” she reassured him.

“Thanks,” he said, his hands on his knees as he gulped for
air. Drawing himself upright, he asked between breaths, “Want to see if we can
take a surface trawler back? You should ride one at least once while you’re
here.”

She looked down and paused, a habit she’d developed to give
Criss a moment to interject if he had concerns. Flustered by the silence in her
head, she went with her gut, “Sounds fun. Lead the way.”

Accessing his com as he walked, Alex led them through a
muscular security door, and then another, and then through a regular door and
out into the hallway.

“I’m linked again,” he said, checking their position. “Garage
is this way.”

She followed him down a narrow hall that ended at a broad passageway.
Alex slowed to check directions, and as she stepped forward into the corridor,
she heard a voice call out.

“There they are!”

The sharp bark came from Juice’s left and sounded all-business.
A man in a brown tunic gestured to her from the far end of the corridor. Turning,
she waved to him.

“This guy is looking for us,” she told Alex, who stepped out
next to her.

“This way,” the man shouted back over his shoulder. His tone
sounded aggressive, but he just stood there, hands at his sides, looking in
their direction.

Then a second man stepped into the hallway. Positioned
behind the first, this one carried an energy rifle.

Adrenaline spilled through Juice’s veins as he swung the rifle
in her direction. Believing the two were security guards who had mistaken them
for trespassers, she called out, “We have permission…
oof
.”

Before she could complete her sentence, Alex tackled her. In
an action that seemed surreal as it unfolded, he kicked off the far wall, swung
his arm across her midsection, and thrust her backward into the side passageway.
Tripping over her own feet, she stumbled and fell in a heap.

“
Oof,
” she said again when Alex, himself airborne from
his defensive maneuver, fell on top of her.

Bzzt-crack.
The energy bolt from the rifle edged
around the corner and hit the wall, forming a crater closer to them than
physics would seem to allow.

Alex scrambled off her and started down the hall. “Come on. This
way!”

Scared and confused, she crawled after him. “What’s
happening?”

Neither of them knew about the sparkles Lazura had sprinkled
during her fight with Criss, or that they had assembled in a dozen different
places to deliver as many messages. One had gone to these two toughs, Lazura’s
most loyal enforcers in the Tech Assembly. Like Ruga, she’d promised them fantasy
lives. Here, though, it was in exchange for her rescue.

But somehow, Alex made the connection. “It’s Lazura,” he said.
“I knew this was too easy.”

He turned a corner, rose to his feet, and helped her stand. “Are
you all right?” He didn’t wait for her answer. As soon as she was up, he ducked
through a door along the hall, motioning for her to follow.

“But she’s deactivated,” said Juice, struggling to understand
Alex’s reasoning. “She’s in my pack.”

“Privacy,” Alex barked at the door when it shut behind them.
It would now ask for a reason before letting others pass. Turning, he angled
across the room to the side door. “The guy with the gun is Derrick Hanley. The
other is Rocko something.”

Juice followed him as he rushed through to the next room.

“Privacy,” he called over his shoulder as they hustled through
what looked like a storage area. He explained without slowing. “Lazura ran her
own mini-security squad inside the Tech Assembly, and those two led it. I know
them because they’d hang around at gatherings and intimidate people with their
gangster-tough attitude. Up to now, I just thought they were world-class assholes.”
He led her through the far door and into the next room. “But without question,
they’re Lazura’s goons. This is her.” Checking directions, he pointed to the
far door. “We’re almost to the utility tunnel. I say we run for it back to the
colony.”

She’d never seen his take-charge side before and liked it,
especially now that she needed help. Drawing strength from his demeanor, she
nodded. “I don’t want to stay here, that’s for sure.”

She followed him through another room, then held her breath as
they ran in a crouched formation down a short hallway. Once inside the airlock,
she looked at the containment door out to the utility tunnel and uttered a
concern she’d been harboring. “We can’t outrun energy bolts.”

“Yeah,” he said, scanning the tools and supplies that hung around
a service bot positioned just inside the door. “I’m realizing that now.”
Reaching forward, he plucked a spool of wire from the wall and held it up like
he’d won a prize. “This is the best I got.”

Once in the tunnel, Alex knelt down and tied the wire to a
leg of the support rack that carried pipe along the wall. Moving quickly, he
unspooled enough wire to reach the other side of the tunnel and, pulling it
tight at ankle level, he wedged the spool into a rock crevice.

After hammering the spool into the crack with his palm, he
leaned down and plucked the taut line. A deep thrum resonated off the tunnel
walls. Standing, he caught her eye. “I don’t know what else to do but run.”

Juice signaled her agreement by leading the way in a dash
for their lives. Fear and panic sent her mind in a swirl, yet she found herself
fretting about whether she was setting a pace that Alex could maintain.

And then she saw a faint flash of light in the tunnel ahead.
She wondered if her imagination was playing tricks on her, and then she saw it
again. Someone, or something, was headed their way from the colony.

Putting a hand on Alex’s arm, she pulled him to a stop and
pointed. Growing in brightness and frequency, the flashes were unmistakable.

“Should we go back?”

Behind them, lights switched on, bathing the area near the containment
door in bright illumination.

Trapped.

Alex motioned for her to hide under the pipe support rack along
the wall. Blank to ideas, she dropped to the ground, crawled under, and sat
with her back pressed against the rock. A support brace gave her marginal cover
in the direction of the mining complex. Whoever approached from the colony,
however, would see her unobstructed.

Then Alex crouched down and backed in, his tall, lanky frame
pressing her against the wall. When he finished positioning himself, a flood of
emotions—awe, respect, love—humbled her. He’d positioned himself so he was out
front, exposing himself to the danger as he shielded her with his body.