The Caverns of Mare Cetus (44 page)

   "And I know very well what you're doing." Renata watched his face to see if he reacted to what she had just said, but he didn't.

   "On top of that, it'll be a secured frequency. How does that grab you?"

   "It just ties me up," she replied. "What do you think about that?"

   He glanced at her, then returned his attention to the Vimap.

   "You know, I think my socks are wet. They feel like they're full of spit."

   Trent looked at her again. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

   "No. I actually need to change my socks." She spit on the ground, then gave him a sheepish grin.

   She went to her pack and took out a pair of light blue socks. She sat down and removed her boots and socks, then looked at her tired feet for a moment, wiggling her toes several times. After she put on her socks and boots, she returned to Trent. "Well?"

   "We're calling for a mission abandonment, right?" asked Arielle who was now standing beside Trent.

   "It's already happened as far as I'm concerned," said Renata. "Only I don't know how they're going to take it."

   "I'm betting it won't be pretty," said Trent. "Well, got it now. Give me a few more secs, and I'll have the connection. Use the screen on the Bug. We're going visual." Trent punched several buttons on an open panel on the RT, and a compartment opened on the top of the robotic, a wide, thin rectangular screen folding out of it.

   Renata stepped toward the screen, stopping as it positioned itself in front of her face.

   "I'm punching in now," said Trent. "Stand by. Just plain old lightspeed signals. There's going to be roughly a ten minute delay in transmissions—round trip."

   As she waited, Renata wondered why she was contacting Explora at all. For her this was just a formality she had to perform to abandon the mission and to let them know what happened. If anything, she was hoping more for the company to inadvertently tell her some things she was certain they were hiding.

   
Ready for Transmission
flashed on the screen, seizing her attention.

   "Open transmission," said Renata. "This is the MC-101C Expedition. R. V. Stone, Second in Command. Expecting communications clearance." She touched her left-hand fingertips to the screen, then stepped back and placed her arms behind her.

   "The expedition's current status is emergency condition A-1. Two of our Kalos have gone rogue—confirmed. One party member dead, four others missing—presumed dead. Hunter Larson—Commander; Ramon Ramirez—Engineer; Garrett Jansen—Security Officer; and Devon Snow—Internal Observer—are missing in the caverns. Larson, Ramirez, and Snow fell down a shaft to their apparent deaths. We have marked the passage with a locator and expect Explora to recover their bodies and provide for their burial. Jansen went after one of the rogues and has not returned nor been in contact for at least six hours, probably longer, God only knows. Isis Sandalo, biochemist subcontractor, was accidentally killed during an encounter with one of the rogue Kalos. Other party members were also injured in an attack by that same unit."

   She turned toward Trent. "What are the identifiers for One and Two?"

   "EDV7-250117 and EDV7-250147," said Trent, stepping up beside her.

   "I gather you heard the numbers. The sequence of events is as follows. DENAR 250147 fazzed, turned rogue, and broke communications with the party. It was, from what we could ascertain, in full sync operation. Yes. I know. Sync from async can't happen, but since it's sync to begin with, that transition doesn't really make any sense. Frankly, I think it was in H-Think, but you're not likely to believe that either. Subsequently, three party members went after the rogue to immobilize it. In an attack by the rogue, Sandalo was killed. Jansen continued pursuit of the rogue and has not been heard from since. The rest of our party encountered the rogue during…"

   When she had finished the narrative of Kalo Two's attack, she added her opinion on its nature. "Kalo Two displayed AI reprogramming capabilities and logic not indicated by the design of its series. That's H-Think again—don't you think? In addition, the robotic's hardware configuration was not set up for voice comprehension, yet its attack suggested voice comprehension had been acquired. Also, because of a likely fazz on Kalo Four and a definite fazz on Kalo One—oh, by the way, why do we have a landscaping robotic on this mission? They're aren't any trees on this planet, are there?" She hesitated briefly, then continued. "…anyway, we request immediate communication with Dr. Arthur Kalo. Our situation is currently stable, but precarious."

   "Tell them what happened to Richelle," whispered Edison who had stepped beside Renata and was holding Richelle by his side, her eyes intently focused on Renata.

   Renata waved Edison off with her hand. "We need to know all the Series Seven capabilities. What exactly are we dealing with? The Series Seven actions even go beyond Logan's expertise with the systems. How can we safely immobilize the robotics but continue to use them to assist our exit from the caverns…" She snorted. "Hell, right now they're immobilizing themselves, so actually ignore that last question." She looked at Trent. "Trent. You ready?"

   He stepped forward. "T. A. Logan, Third in Command. We need risk analysis data and optimal decision data for managing our robotics. In addition to our Kalos, we appear to have lost at least two carriers and the BAT. The rate of malfunction of our units is unprecedented in all exploration on this planet. Also, do you have any knowledge of the term
being centered
? I picked it up on my KDM. No analysis available. I also received information on an unknown data influx. What would that mean? Why would I be getting that message on a KDM?"

   Trent motioned to Renata, and she began rattling off the remainder of what had happened, mentioning details of how Hunter, Ramon, and Devon had perished and the bizarre loss of all power prior to their fall into the pit.

   When she felt she had said all she could remember, she stepped out of view of the screen and whispered to Edison. "Edison, I don't think it's wise to tell them everything about Richelle. I don't want to make this worse than it is. For her safety, limit anything you say about her. Please don't tell them she stabbed you, and please don't tell them what she did to me."

   Edison winked at her. "You're one fine commander, you know that. I just need to tell them about what attacked her in the passage. That's okay, right?"

   She winked at him. "That's all we need to say."

   Edison stepped in front of the screen and proceeded to rehash what had happened to Richelle in the passage. When he had finished, Renata stepped up to the screen. "We need advice—now. You have the data from our Vimaps and all the facts we know. Apparently there are some we don't. There will be no further transmissions from us. Oh, and before I forget, we happened to come across the body of Danielle Ambrose in a flooded passage. Remember her? MC-100J? Don't you think her parents and husband ought to know she's still here with us?" Renata put her face right up to the screen, her eyebrows narrowing. "Just what the fuck is going on back there?"

   "Oh, shit, Rene," said Trent. He put his hand to his mouth to suppress a laugh. Arielle and Edison shook their heads, but Richelle continued to stare indignantly at Renata, as she had the entire transmission.

   "We expect a prompt, thorough response," continued Renata, stepping back from the screen. "I'm ordering an abandonment status for the mission and the evacuation of the party from the caves. A search and recovery team is requested. God only knows what else or who else is down here. Recommend all party members for valor honors. And I mean all party members. Close transmission."

   "Nice job," said Trent. "More sarcastic than they're going to like, but too bad for them."

   "Just what the fuck is going on back there?" laughed Arielle. "That ought to go over well. You crack me up. You made me piss my pants with that one." She mussed up Renata's hair with her hand.

   Edison nudged Renata's arm. "I appreciate what you're doing for Richelle. I know there's still good in her."

   Renata looked in his eyes. They looked pained. "I know you do. And for some strange reason, I think so too."

   Richelle stepped up to Renata. "I just wanted to tell you what a fine job you did. You're really a smooth talker, aren't you? But have you felt the holes in your head yet? You will soon. And when the holes get big enough, they're going to blow. I can promise you that." She held up her cuffed hands. "Thanks for nothing—bitch." She spit in Renata's face.

   Edison immediately apologized to Renata, then pushed Richelle back against a wall and began yelling at her.

   Renata swept away the spit with her fingers, Arielle coming to her side. "What brought that on? What did I do to deserve that?" Renata pulled a cloth out of her pocket and began to wipe down her face.

   After a short, stress-filled wait,
Receiving Transmission
flashed on the screen, and a picture formed. The group gathered around. Renata immediately recognized the face on the screen—Thomas Keyes. She groaned.

   "Security," he said, looking up. "Keyes here."

   "Great picture," said Trent, moving beside Renata. "Must be quite a punch on their part."

   "Clearance granted," said Keyes. "What can we do for you?"

   "Idiot," said Renata. "Why doesn't he cut his transmission?"

   "Isn't that supposed to be Hunter's expedition?" asked Keyes, as if he was speaking directly to her. Then he sat up straight, his eyes opening wide, a ghostly pallor spreading across his youthful face. He leaned forward and put his hands on the edge of the table in front of him. "Garrett's gone? Snow is gone? Hunter, too? That's not possible. You think Snow is dead? Jesus! That can't be. That can't happen. Oh, oh…" He hunched over as if in pain. "Explora's in a world of hurt. We made a deal with them." He looked up. "ARTEC is going to blow its top. We assured them she'd be safe…"

   "ARTEC?" asked Trent. "That's the American-Russian TransEarth Council. Explora's been dealing with ARTEC? I thought ARTEC was off-limits to all Novian companies right now because of mining law infringements. What's the connection to Snow? Do you have any idea?"

"Please call her Devon, will you," said Renata. "She's my Sister."

"Your sister?"

"Shh," said Renata. "Listen."

   "You have to find Garrett," said Keyes emphatically. "It's imperative you find him." He hesitated for a moment, glancing at something out of their view. "With Hunter gone, this falls on you, Renata. Do you realize what's going to come down if the Novies find out about this? And Snow. They can't find out about her. They can't! I hope you made that velandrite claim. Explora has to have that now. If you didn't get it, ARTEC is gonna' be breaking down the doors. This is a fucking catastrophe!"

   "Devon again?" asked Trent. "A catastrophe? What's the connection?"

   Keyes glanced over to his left again, then turned toward the screen and cut his transmission.

   "How is it even this guy knows more than I do?" asked Renata, shaking her head in disgust.

   "Are you sure about that?" asked Trent. "Why is it I think you know more about Devon than you've told me?"

   She turned toward him. "Funny. I was going to ask the same of you."

   "Look. I have no idea why Keyes was so upset. And I have no idea how Devon brings ARTEC into play."

   "Well, I don't know anything about that either. I already told you what I know about her."

   "Did she ever say anything about the Mendrax?" asked Trent abruptly.

   Renata lowered her gaze. "I think she did. Maybe once or twice."

   Trent hesitated for a moment. "Did she ever say she
was
a Mendrax?"

   She looked up. "And if she did?" She turned toward the screen and trailed the tip of her index finger across it, side to side. Then she did it again—and again. "Everything Keyes said. I'll bet it's true."

   Arielle placed a hand on Renata's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

   "I'm fine," said Renata as she started spelling out Mendrax on the screen with her finger.
MENDRAX. MENDRAX. MENDRAX.
MEADOW.
She stepped back from the screen. "Meadow?"

   "Meadow what?" asked Arielle. "What meadow?"

   "The meadow. The Meadow of the Hidden Valley." Renata took out her Vimap and ran a search for anything that had that title. Surprisingly, only two items came back. The first was a book on Tibet. The second was a poem. When she opened the poem, she gaped in astonishment. There wasn't a poem on the screen at all. It was Devon's BIO! She started reading it as Arielle looked on.

   "It's a poem?" asked Arielle.

   As Renata read, she realized it wasn't Devon's Explora BIO but was a BIO of another kind. Mendrax was written all over it.
Devon Victoria
Snow. 5 Generation Mendrax. Born: Baykonyr, Kazakhstan, January
20, 2141. Father: Konstantin Ivanovich. Mother: Arianna Snow.
As Renata scrolled through information about Devon's life, she ran across two entries that seemed to drag her eyes to them.
Classification:
Dissipation Transfix Imager/Empathic. Sister: Renata Victoria Stone.
The Vimap dropped from her hands.

   "Hey," said Arielle. "It's not
that
bad." She picked up the Vimap.

   Renata grabbed it back. "Trent!" she exclaimed. "Look at this. The Mendrax. Devon. You have to see this." She handed him the Vimap, her hands trembling with excitement.

   Trent studied the Vimap for a moment, then looked up. "This poem is some big revelation about Devon? I do see it mentions
snow
."

   "What do you mean it's a poem?" asked Renata. "It's Devon's BIO. It says she's a Mendrax. And it tells you I'm her Sister."

   "Rene?" Arielle placed a hand on Renata's forehead. "Are you okay?

   "What BIO?" asked Trent. "Did you skip to another page?"

   Renata took the Vimap from Trent and looked at it. Devon's BIO was still on the screen. She chuckled. "You're screwing with me, aren't you? You're still going to deny you know anything about Devon."