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"All over the sky a sacred voice is calling your name." — Black Elk, Ogala Lakota
The cave was superficially similar to the others, but the roof was higher, stretching out a good fifty meters in all directions. A rock slope led to the bottom of a hollow, but unlike the natural formations, this one was smooth, as though cut or ground into a level surface.
That wasn't what had surprised Logan though. The flattened area continued through the hollow, then rose again, forming a ramp leading to the far side. There, half hidden in the gloom, was a shape: a giant circle, split at the top, with two spires lofting into the darkness. The lower edge was partly buried in fallen rock, but it had to be at least forty meters across.
"What is it?" He started down the ramp to get a better look.
Aurore followed. "You tell me."
He examined the structure as they approached. At first, he'd thought it had been carved out of the rock itself, but the closer he got, the more he realized it wasn't, or didn't seem to be. The surface had a strange metallic sheen, and yet it seemed to have emerged from the bedrock.
The surface wasn't entirely flat, with several protrusions around its edge, and the ring itself was segmented, or possibly carved into deliberate shapes. Whether they served a purpose or were meant as decoration was unclear.
"This is artificial," he whispered. "How old do you think it is?"
"Without equipment it's impossible to say." Aurore moved up next to him. "Judging by its appearance, I'd have to say thousands of years. But it may be much older. Touch it."
He reached out, pressing his palm against the surface. The ring was cool, but not in the way metal would have been. An odd sensation encompassed his hand, wrapping around his fingers, then appeared to slide part way up his arm, as though the ring's material had enveloped him. Yet his eyes told him his palm was simply pressed across its surface.
Then he felt it. At first he wasn't sure. Was it his imagination running wild? Then it grew more distinct. A throbbing sensation, like the thrum of an engine. Except it wasn't. It almost seemed like the heartbeat of some giant creature, one that had waited in the darkness since the dawn of time. An image flashed through his mind, as though planted there by something external.
He snatched his hand back. "What the hell?"
Aurore nodded. "Weird, huh?"
"I saw something." He stepped away from the giant ring.
Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Are you okay?"
"Something like a memory." Logan tried to slow his breathing. "But different."
Aurore reached out to him. "You're worrying me. No one else has sensed that. Only the vibration. What did you see?"
He tried to recapture the moment, but it was fading fast. Then it came to him. "There was a ring. Another one, I mean. Like this, only much bigger. They must be connected in some way."
"Another?"
A wave of dizziness hit him, and he wiped prickles of sweat from his brow. "We saw it. It was incomplete, or maybe broken. Hundreds of kilometers across."
Aurore stared at him open-mouthed. "That's imposs— Where was this?"
"At the edge of the system. We picked it up on a sensor ball."
"If that's true, it makes it even more important that we stay here and fight to keep it." Aurore's eyes twinkled in the lamplight. "Think about it. This must be an artifact of some non-human civilization that lived, or visited here millennia before we built our first cities. The scientific knowledge we could acquire would be priceless. It could open doors to..."
"So we have to study it? In the middle of a war zone?"
"Don't make fun of me. I'm serious. We have no idea what this is, or what it might mean. It could open up completely new areas of scientific study, and—"
"I understand that. But will Rourke?"
"We can't simply abandon it to them." Aurore crossed her arms.
He was getting nowhere and decided to change his approach. "How is this connected with the fungus?"
"Hard to say. Perhaps the ring people brought it with them. It may have evolved from bacteria they carried. There's some link though, because it appears in the nearest caves."
"Let's get back," Logan said. "I want to see how Malette is doing."
Aurore took his hand as they walked back up the ramp.
"You see now why we can't leave?" she said.
He didn't reply, his mind still reeling. He understood Aurore's drive and curiosity—the fascination something like this would have for her.
"I'm not sure it changes anything," he finally said. "Whether or not they're alien, you're not equipped to study them."
"You said you have a Nomad?" Aurore led him back through the manna patch. "We could dismantle the sensors and bring them down here and run scans. At least start collecting information."
"That's possible." He sensed her excitement and didn't want to quash it, but there were other considerations. "What would the Corporates be doing during this scientific diversion?"
"I'd forgotten. You always have to be Mr. Practical." Aurore frowned.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Sometimes." She brushed a loose curl of hair back from her eyes. "Let's check on the voting."
They started the long climb to the higher levels, the incline stretching his Achilles tendons and making the one in his bad leg protest.
"Logan?" Aurore's voice was a whisper. "What happens if I decide I'm not leaving?"
He stopped, glad of the chance to rest his leg momentarily. "You mean between us?"
She avoided his gaze.
"I didn't go through all this only to lose you again."
"You mean..."
He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "If you're staying, we both are."
*
Aurore led Logan to a cave slightly bigger than her office. Price and Marsha were huddled around a small table holding a battered military laptop.
"What's the response?" Aurore moved behind them to see the screen.
"Sixty-seven percent in favor of staying." Marsha's voice quivered.
"I expected that," Aurore said.
Marsha nodded. "The vote isn't complete yet, but the message is clear."
"What's the head count?" Logan's voice was hard.
"One hundred and forty-five." Price tossed a half-chewed stylus on the table. "Assuming the pattern we've seen follows, it's going to be a clear majority in favor of staying."
Logan leaned against the rock, cushioning his forehead with his arm. "This makes no sense."
"Everyone said they'd fight. No matter what." Aurore squeezed his shoulder. "It's not a reflection on you."
Logan's sharp breathing seemed to fill the cave. After a few minutes, he lifted his head and faced the others.
"Seems you were right." He looked at Aurore. "I don't understand why though."
"There's no shame in fighting for what you have," she said.
Logan had hoped once the group realized there was a way out, they'd take it. "But we can't win."
"What now?" Price stood. "If we're staying, there's a lot to organize."
Logan reached for Aurore's hand. "How many are here in total?"
"Two hundred and twenty-seven."
"We'll have to get the ones leaving to the ship as fast as possible. We can't force them to stay."
"What about those creatures?" Marsha wrapped her arms around herself. "Won't they be waiting?"
"If we're lucky, they'll have lost interest and moved on," he said. "But it would be better to use my team to get the Nomad. The armored suits will give us a much greater chance of making it through."
"One of your people was brought in dead," Price said. "Could someone else use that suit?"
Logan thought about the training he and the others had been through in the sim tank and the close fit of the suits. "Not unless they're almost physically identical and experienced with the TACS armor."
"Not me." Price shrugged, as though embarrassed. "The logistics corps doesn't get to play with such toys."
"Perhaps one of our other soldiers has the right qualities," Aurore said.
Logan took a deep breath. "Where are the people who arrived with me?"
"At the hospital, I think," Marsha said.
*
The "hospital" was located in another of the wider caves and reminded Logan a little of where he'd first met Havji, though this was smaller and considerably less engineered for its role. There were six beds, two of which had curtains around them, but they were simple folding cots—not the modern care stations commonly in use. As they approached, Aguado appeared from behind one of the curtained beds. Logan greeted him, but the soldier didn't look happy. Through a gap in the curtains, Logan spied a fragile-looking Yakuta and a man in a lab coat checking her pulse.
"How is she?"
"They're keeping her under." Aguado scratched at his palm. "The doc says she'll be okay. But we'd both be dead if you hadn't been armored."
"That’s Corporal Cha," Aurore said. "Nearest we've had to a doctor for the last few months."
Logan recognized Cha. He'd been one of Manners' soldiers, though he didn't remember anything else about him. "Corporal?"
Aurore took Logan to one side. "He's not qualified. He was working as a medical assistant under Doctor Penaherre."
Logan frowned."Let me guess—Penaherre didn't make it?"
"Cha and a civilian nurse have been our sole medical support since—"
Logan sighed. "I know. Since we abandoned you..."
"I was going to say—since the invasion."
"Thanks. Doctor Havji works wonders. She pulled me through a lot."
Aurore's eyebrows lifted a fraction. "She seems competent."
Malette occupied the last bed. His curtain was open, and he was sitting up with Samara on a stool next to him. He grinned as Aurore and Logan approached.
"You found her. Fantastic." He gestured to Samara. "Sam said there are quite a few survivors."
Aurore looked at Samara. "I understand you were key to this operation. Thank you. Especially for taking care of Logan."
Samara nodded curtly. "It was mutual. We helped each other."
Logan looked at Malette. "How are you feeling?"
"Honestly? As though I just rassled King Kong. But I'm okay. I've completed ops with worse than this. Only reason I'm here is because Havji said—"
"Because Doctor Havji examined you," Havji said from behind them. "And found multiple fractures and contusions, along with possible whiplash-related spinal trauma."
"We need to recover the Nomad," Logan said.
"Are you asking permission?" Havji lowered the medical scanner she was holding.
He shrugged. "With those creatures out there, I need every person I can get in a TACS suit. But you're the doctor."
Havji paused as if considering. "I'd prefer to keep him under observation for twenty-four hours."
"Doc, that ain't— "
Havji cut Malette off with a raised hand. "But we don't have enough time. So, the decision rests with the patient."
"Give me a handful of stim pills and I'll be fine." Malette threw off his blanket and rolled his legs over the edge of the bed.
"I knew you were goldbricking." Samara punched Malette in the shoulder, the impact loud enough to reverberate around the cave.
"Even with the doctor's agreement, it may not be possible." Logan frowned. "Your suit was damaged."
Malette cursed. "Forgot about that."
"I'd like to check him again before you head out," Havji said. "Make sure there are no signs of anything serious."
"I'll look at his suit." Logan turned to Aurore. "Where would our gear be?"
"There's a cave near the entrance we use for general storage. I'll show you."
"Has anyone seen Ogawa? I could use her help. And we'll need her to recover the Nomad."
Samara and Malette shook their heads.
"Not since we got here," Havji said.
"I'll have some people round her up," Aurore said. "And I can help with the suit."
Logan nodded. If anyone could get it working, Aurore could. "Let's take a look."
The suits were stacked along one wall. Logan grabbed the two he needed while Aurore set up a folding table, as though they were about to operate on someone. He laid the suits out to inspect them. Several of the control modules on the back of Malette’s were broken. Without sophisticated diagnostic systems available, it would have to be trial and error using parts cannibalized from Lwao's suit, which looked mostly intact.
"Is Ibtisama Tejal with you? The man who wore this was trying to find her. He was her cousin."
Aurore pulled a component block out and handed it to him, a frown furrowing her smooth forehead. "I haven't seen her since before the invasion."
Logan shuddered slightly as he looked at the dead man’s suit. Lwao had only been with them to find the woman, and he'd hoped recovering her would assuage his own guilt over what happened to her husband.
The TACS suit wasn't too badly damaged physically, but the process of swapping components in and out dragged. By the time it was functional, almost two hours had passed, and an itch of anxiety teased across Logan's shoulders and back.
"I think that's as good as we're going to get." Aurore locked the final piece of armor in place. "Once you're back with the Nomad we can fine-tune the settings if needed."
"It'll take us over an hour to get there," he said. "Round trip about two. I'm hoping by then Manners will be close enough to give us an update on her ETA."
Aurore's cheeks darkened and her eyebrows knitted. "Manners? Are you telling me that lying bitch is part of this?"
He mentally reviewed their conversations since meeting again. They'd been few enough, but he realized he'd missed that detail. Whether he'd subconsciously avoided it, or simply forgotten, was now of little importance. "She's commanding the JumpShip. We'd never have gotten here without her."
"Have you any idea what she did to us and how much hatred there is for her in my group?"
"Yes, and it won't change anything, but she was a neopenth addict and being manipulated. She knows she hurt a lot of people, but she's trying to make amends the best she can."
"Christ, Logan. You believe her?" Aurore sucked in gasps of air. "This is the creature who told me you were dead. Who sent hundreds of us to our deaths in that fake attack. If anyone sees her, she'll be killed on sight."
"I know. She didn't treat us any better. But she was ill. Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance? She didn't drop with us because she was afraid she'd upset the recovery plans."
"She was right." Aurore snapped around, turning her back on him. "Do you think anyone will want to leave once they know Manners is involved?"
"Probably not." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Do they have to?"
She stiffened momentarily, then sighed.
"Not from me. But you better hope no one else on your team lets it slip, or you'll have no one to evacuate."
Logan turned her to face him, his hands at her waist. "Let's get as many as we can to the ship. We'll worry about the rest later."
Samara entered with Malette limping alongside her.
"How's it looking?" He examined the suit.
"You should be back in business"—Logan gestured to Aurore—"thanks to my wife. Has Havji cleared you?"
"She has." Havji strode in behind them. "And herself."
"You can sit this one out, Doctor. You're needed here."
"I'm the medical officer for this team, and I'm a soldier. I go where the rest of you go. Besides"—Havji smiled— "when have you ever won an argument with me?"
"Okay. To be honest we may need all the help we can get out there." He glanced around. "Did you find Ogawa?"
Havji frowned. "I'm not sure she's interested in the mission since losing Granger."
"We could use her help, especially if those things are out there." Logan helped Malette pull his armor on. "But we don't have any more time to search for her."
Ogawa's armor was by the wall, like the others', and Logan doubted she'd venture outside without it, given what they'd seen.
"Too late to worry about it," he said. "I want get the Nomad here well before the Falkirk's return."
"Would her suit fit me?" Aurore moved to get a closer look at it.
Logan didn't need to measure anything to know the answer. Ogawa was well-muscled and bulky due to the Geneering common in the military. But Aurore was a good seven centimeters shorter and lithe as a panther. "Not without a refit. Besides, you need to stay here and get those leaving ready to travel."
Aurore looked down momentarily. "You're right, I'm responsible here." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Sometimes I wish that wasn't the case."
Logan gripped her shoulders gently. "You don't have to be. There's nothing that says you have to stay to the bitter end."
Aurore patted his hand, and he grabbed his TACS suit. In a few minutes, he was ready and joined the others.
"This is the home straight. The job is simple—get to the Nomad and return as fast as possible." He checked the time. "The Falkirk is scheduled to return in around seven hours. Once we're back, people can leave for Earth." Could he persuade Aurore to leave with him in that time?
"There's another exit," Aurore said. "It might be safer."
"Rusty nuts!" Malette locked his helmet closed.
Logan was about to put his helmet on when he caught Aurore's expression. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
Aurore reached up, pulled his head down and kissed him. "I know you will."
There was a yell, and Aguado ran into the cave. "Enemy forces incoming."
"How many?" Aurore tensed.
"Not sure. Too many." He disappeared.
Aurore glared at Logan, fury in her eyes. "They must have tracked you."