Traveller - [TNE 02], page 28
![Traveller - [TNE 02]](https://picture.readfrom.net/img/to-dream-of-chaos-paul-brunette-epub/traveller_-_tne_02.jpg "Traveller - [TNE 02]")
"Well, let's see, "Blanco said, moving to sit at the single table in his hut, and, coincidentally, attracting a gaggle of children who clustered around for a look. 'Going straight away is right out. owing to this cut in the rocks—see how it just drops off into a sheer cliff here?"
"Right, "Coeur answered.
'That's a path for gabas, sure, but not for people. No, Captain, I'd cut through this side passage here to the east—If that's really where you aim to go."
"It is. Thank you."
"Well, good luck. Do you want your map back?"
"No, you keep it."
"Why, thank you."
"One other thing. That land out there where we landed looks as dose to your hut as anybody else's. Do you mind if we camp there?"
"It's not really my land any more than anybody else's, Captain, but sure, I suppose it's okay—just as long as you let me know when you plan to blast off again. Your air-ship spooked the gabas something fierce when you landed—not to mention all the people in the village."
"All right, "Coeur said with a smile, making a note of that in her computer before putting it away. "I'll do that."
***
Out of courtesy, Coeur and Anthony visited several other Pesta huts before turning back toward the G-carrier. All told, Coeur doubted there could be more than 100 people in the entire village—a far extreme from populous Soledad. But the inhabitants were generally polite enough when Anthony made their introductions, and Coeur found it difficult to resist the urge to give them a few Kruytercorp gold coins—specially laid in at Aubaine as widely acceptable currency—for confirming the wisdom of Blanco's course.
Brother Anthony explained, "As I said. Captain, that would be considered impolite here. The mountain folk don't like to be paid unless they render some tangible service."
"But what about the map I gave Blanco? Wasn't that payment?"
"Well, that's different. None of the people up here really need maps, so it was probably more for the children."
"Oh."
"At any rate, Blanco couldn't trade it for anything valuable, so it has no tangible value."
"All the same, "Coeur said, "I'd say he gave us a tangible service by pointing us toward the depot, but I'm glad you told me about the focal money custom. I'd hate to follow up Zero's first impression with a worse one."
"That is wise."
The sudden beeping of Coeur's pocket communicator interrupted the conversation, and they stopped so she could answer it. Having passed all the way to the far side of the village, they were now over a kilometer from the G-carrier, hidden behind the village huts.
"Red Sun here. What's up?"
"Captain, something has... happened to... Fubar and Gremlin..."
"What's that? "Coeur asked, trying to clean up the sudden static between herself and Newton. "Newton, repeat your message, over."
Newton's second attempt at communication was even more garbled than the first, however, and Coeur was ultimately left with static on her end.
"Damn!" she said, shoving the communicator back in her pocket and starting toward the G-carrier at a run—mist and darkness disregarded for the moment. " Captain, wait! "Anthony yelled, shuffling along as best he could in his robes. "Remember the danger from nightjacks!"
"Damn the nightjacks! "Coeur called back to him. "Come on!"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!"
Anthony's warning did slow Coeur down a bit, less out of concern for her own safety than Anthony's. With gauss pistol drawn, Coeur slowed enough to escort Anthony, though both got back to the G-carrier within less than 10 minutes.
There they found every Marine except Fubar and Gremlin— namely, the sergeants Gaff er and Red Eye, the medic Widget, and Whiz Bang sons battle dress—arrayed in a tight group around the aft hatch with their heaviest available weapons.
'Thank God, "Whiz Bang said; "at least you're safe."
"Sure, we're safe, "Coeur said. "Now tell me what happened."
"We can't be certain, "Red Eye said through his suit speakers, "but the bottom line is that Fubar and Gremlin disappeared a few minutes ago while they were setting out the last two perimeter sensors."
"It's my fault, sir, "Gaffer said. "I let them go out individually in opposite directions instead of as a pair."
"Well, we can worry about whose fault it is later, "Coeur said, hauling out her radio and finding the static diminished. The Marine troopers' channel remained silent.
"Damn, "she swore. "Where were they, exactly?"
"At last report, "Gaffer said, pointing with the barrel of his fusion rifle, "Fubar was over there, and..."
He turned to point in the other direction.
"... Gremlin was over there, both about 100 meters off."
"But" Coeur said, "that's in plain sight of the G-carrier! Didn't the sensors spot anything?"
"No, sir, "Whiz Bang said, ‘and Newton was manning them."
"Fikk!" Coeur snapped. "Gaffer, did you look their last locations over?"
"A quick look, yes. We didn't see anything."
"Well, look again. You and Whiz Bang, go after Fubar. Red Eye, you and Widget look for Gremlin."
"Yes, sir, "the sergeants answered.
"All of you keep an eye on the carrier homing signal, though. If it fades, you come back here."
"Understood."
"Is there anything I can do? "Anthony asked.
"Yes. Get inside."
Anthony accepted the order without argument However, as the armored rear door opened to admit him, and the Marines moved off, two other figures came out of the G-carrier Physic and Zorn.
'Any word on the men? "Physic asked. " Negative, "Coeur answered, sweeping her PRIS binoculars around to cover each team alternately, then lowering them. "Really, I suppose all of us should get under cover, but with everyone under cover when Fubar and Gremlin disappeared, nobody saw what happened to them. Tell you what; Zorn, do you have your PRIS?"
"Right here, "she said, patting her own parka's pocket. " Good. Then tell you what—you keep an eye on Gaffer and Whiz Bang while I watch Red Eye and Widget Physic, you watch all the other directions."
"Gotcha, "Physic said, drawing her personal defense laser and popping a chemical cartridge into its magazine slot Some minutes later, Coeur called off the search when the team found not so much as footsteps leading away from Fubar and Gremlin's deactivated remote EMS sensors. They did, however, find disturbing evidence that something very violent had happened to both troopers.
'Take a look at this, "Red Eye said, showing Coeur a weighty, curved slab of superdense metal. "That's the shoulder guard from a suit of heavy battle dress, tom clean off at the welds."
"Gaia! "Physic exclaimed.
"It gets worse, "Gaffer said, returning with Whiz Bang from the other direction. "Have a look at this."
"Good lord, "Coeur said, running her gloved left hand across a sickeningly familiar chunk of equipment in Gaffer's hands—the forearm and right hand from a suit of heavy battle dress. Probably weighing over 20 kilograms by itself, the armor didn't appear to contain a severed limb, though pieces of the elbow servo did hang by rings of twisted metal from its open end.
"This left a pretty deep furrow where it landed, "Whiz Bang observed, "which means it might have been dropped from a great height."
"Which means, "Gaffer said, "that whatever grabbed this trooper probably flew off with him before he ripped the arm off— a good reason we didn't hear anything."
"Just as a wild guess, ” Physic said, "that's not the kind of thing one trooper in battle dress could do to another trooper. Is it?"
"Not damn likely, "Gaffer said, shaking the forearm at Physic, "this is heavy battle dress!"
"Take it easy, sergeant, "Coeur ordered.
"Sir. ”
"All right, "Coeur went on, "It clearly isn't safe out here. Everybody, get in the G-carrier double-quick."
***
It took Coeur just a few seconds of contemplation to realize what her next course must be, but it wasn't immediately well received by her mates.
"All right, "Coeur announced, "here's Wie plan. Physic, Gaffer and I are going out to investigate. Red Eye, you’ll keep everybody else here."
"Yes, sir, ” the gunnery sergeant said, saluting. "But how long will you want us to wait before we come after you?"
"You will not come after us, "Coeur said, pulling a gauss rifle from the G-carrier's gun rack and beginning to load HEAP grenades into its under-barrel launcher. "You will wait here for 12 hours. If you haven't heard from us by then, you will get the hell out of here and report to Drop Kick."
"Yes, sir."
Zorn, however, was not so accepting of the situation.
"Red, look, this is crazy! If you go out there, you'll be killed."
"Maybe, "Coeur said, "or maybe not. There's some kind of relic material up in that Cutter of Blood—Hornet's scan tells us that much—and I can't let fear of these nightjacks keep us from investigating it."
"But why? Why is it so important?"
"Because it might be part of the depot, Vega, or contain a clue to its location. In case you've forgotten, the Royal Vengeance escaped this system, and is probably on her way to Solee right now to pick up reinforcements. If those arrive, and the Solee get their hands on the depot instead of us, then the Coalition's screwed.
"And besides, "Coeur went on, checking her rifle's magazine and then slinging the weapon over her shoulder, "we make a promise to all our people when they enlist—that they won't be left behind in the field. I don't intend to break that promise to Gremlin and Fubar. ”
"With respect, sir, "Gaffer said, "I think Zorn's right—at least to a degree. I think you're too important to risk in an operation like this, so why don't you let me just take out a team of Marines instead?"
Coeur shook her head. "Negative, sergeant I'm the only person here who knows the specs on Zero's black globe generator and can positively identify it And finding that generator will be good evidence that we've found the depot itself."
"Yes, sir."
"Besides, we've already lost two Marines in battle dress, so I don't know how much protection a large group of troopers would give us from the nightjacks. Better to take the minimum— myself. Physic to treat any casualties, and one experienced soldier as an escort."
Gaffer accepted the complement with a slight nod.
"Hmm, "Physic said, "you put it that way, and I almost feel safe."
Coeur smiled, glancing at the friend she would soon be taking into mortal danger.
It's funny, Coeur thought, I con still remember how excited she was when I ottered her a chance to get off Aubaine on the Hornet. "it’s a fair bet she wasn't expecting this.
Yet Coeur had been an officer long enough not to second guess herself. It was always the hardest duty of any officer to order her friends into danger—but Coeur had chosen the minimum necessary force to accomplish her mission, and would do her best to see that all of her people returned safe and intact.
"Well, I guess that's it, then, "Zorn said a few minutes later, coming to sharp attention and delivering Coeur a crisp salute as her team assembled at the rear hatch. "Good luck, Captain."
"Thanks, "Coeur said.
"Funny, "Zorn said, leaning in close to Coeur, "you notice how everybody's back here to watch you go except Newton?"
Coeur had indeed noticed, but didn't comment. " Probably afraid you'd take him along, "Zorn offered, "If he didn't hide in the cockpit."
"I'd probably hide too if I were him. Take it easy, Zorn."
Brother Anthony interrupted Coeur, however, before she could open the hatch.
"Captain, would you wait a minute?"
"Now, Brother Anthony, don't tell me you want to go."
"Er—no. I would like your permission in a slight indulgence, though. Would you let me bless you before you go? ”
Coeur exchanged shrugs with Physic. "Sure."
Quickly, then, Anthony removed his vial of holy water from his vestment—the same one he had used to bless Coeur and Zorn before their first flight to meet the rebels—and doused Coeur and Physic with it Gaffer raised a hand to decline the offer.
"It would just make me superstitious, "he said. "I'd rather rely on my reflexes."
"If only that were enough against nightjacks, "Anthony said.
"We'll be all right, "Coeur said to Anthony, opening the rear hatch into the chill of the black night; "now come on, guys, we've got work to do."
Chapter Eighteen
Although the air at Pesta was relatively still that night, Coeur knew from Hornet's analysis of the area that she could not count on the same condition in the Cutter of Blood. Almost as if by design, the kilometer-long gutter channeled air from the higher peaks through its length like a giant wind tunnel, so any approach by a craft as light as a broomstick was ruled out from the start.
Fortunately, the wind was fairly light on the floor of the chasm—the area Coeur, Physic and Gaffer entered after passing through t he side channel pointed out by Blanco. Further, wearing their wide-spectrum goggles, Coeur and Physic had little difficulty following Gaffer, so the party reached the gutter in only three hours—less than the four Coeur expected.
"But there's nothing here, "Physic signed in Anslan, when at last they stepped into the high-walled stone channel, "Just rock."
"No, "Gaffer signed back, assisted by the magnifying power of his synthetic vision. "I see something of the end of the chasm, 600 meters ahead."
"All right, " Coeur signed. "Let's move out."
All too conscious of their luck so far—the party hadn't encountered so much as an insect in the rocks, let atone a nightjack— Coeur pressed on with the firm resolution of a woman with a higher purpose than the mere evasion of her own fear.
Though her prime purpose must be the pursuit of her lost men, that concern held only slightly more weigh t than the driving need to find the depot. Almost lost to the others as their original reason for coming here, it nevertheless remained foremost in the mind of the remnant Coeur—a woman who had seen at firsthand the horrific effects of the super-weapons the Last imperium unleashed before its downfall.
There's just too much at stake, Coeur thought. I must not be afraid. Do you hear me, nightjacks? I am not afraid of you!
That thought found expression in Coeur's mind through her recognition of the outside possibility that the nightjacks—whatever they were—might have psionic abilities. Some Droyne, she knew, had the ability to appear invisible as well as the ability to read minds, so why might such an ability not exist in wild creatures as well...?
Little by little, then, the trio advanced on the curious sliver of infrared light Gaffer had identified at the end of the chasm, where its floor suddenly sloped up sharply into the surrounding rock.
Oh my god, Coeur thought, there is something there...
That something was a rectangular patch of rock—strewn with pebbles like the rest of the floor, but slightly hotter in infrared. About as wide as the gutter at that point, perhaps 50 meters, it was certainly nothing anybody with normal vision would ever notice.
"What is it? "Gaffer signed, when at last they stood atop the area.
"Unknown, "Coeur replied. "Physic and I will look around. Cover us."
"Roger."
"What are we looking for? "Physic whispered.
"Shh. Sign language."
"What are we looking for?"
"Unknown. Anything unusual."
"Roger."
Amazingly, something unusual wasn't long in coming. Shuffling through the pebbles, Physic tripped over what seemed to be a long bar of metal. Bending down to pick it up, she found it was rooted firmly in the earth.
"What the hell? "Coeur muttered, coming over to help examine the bar.
"I thought you said to use sign language."
"The order's revoked. Look, I found a comer here...."
"Yeah, "Physic said, kicking granular pebbles away from the other end of the bar with her boot, "here too. Do you suppose it could be some kind of hatch?"
"Don't know. Keep brushing."
Two minutes later, the women cleared away enough pebbles to see that Physic was correct: The metal was the fluted edge of a door set right in the floor of the gutter. Attempts to budge the door met only with back strain, however, and the pair went on to brush the earth back several meters in every direction, looking for some sort of control panel. Though fruitless, this effort in turn led to another discovery.
"Wow, "Physic said, "It's all metal."
"Yeah, "Coeur answered, "this must be the area Snapper saw from orbit."
"A lot of good that does us; there's no door handle. ”
"Well, we shouldn't leap to conclusions—It might not even be a door. But I'll get Gaffer, anyway and see if he can make it budge."
True to his mission as their escort, Gaffer had avoided paying too much attention to what the women were doing, so he was naturally amazed when he saw the seeming trap door set in the middle of the cleared-off area.
"We could try to burn through, "he suggested. "My fusion gun will cut through 13 millimeters of bonded superdense alloy."
"That might not be such a good idea, "Coeur said, "especially if it's booby trapped. I was thinking you might just try to pry it loose."
"All right."
Strangely enough, that simple expedient actually worked. After jamming his bayonet into the seam at the edge of the square and exerting the force of his suit's strength enhancing servomotors, the door suddenly sunk and slid backward under the surrounding metal. Caught off guard, Gaffer almost fell into the black space he now knelt before, but caught his 500 kg mass and pushed himself back from the brink.
"Well, I guess that's it, ” he gasped. "It's a door all right."
"Sure is, "Coeur said, shining a flashlight down into the hole, "and with stairs, too."
"Ladies first? "Gaffer asked, getting back to his feet. " I wouldn't think of it, "Coeur said. "You first"
***
The stairwell illuminated under Coeur's flashlight descended 10 meters to a landing, but beyond that her party members could not see, so they began to descend the stairs to investigate first hand. Before going too far, though, they stopped to examine the door from the other side—deriving some comfort from a familiar electronic control pad.
"Right, "Coeur answered.
'That's a path for gabas, sure, but not for people. No, Captain, I'd cut through this side passage here to the east—If that's really where you aim to go."
"It is. Thank you."
"Well, good luck. Do you want your map back?"
"No, you keep it."
"Why, thank you."
"One other thing. That land out there where we landed looks as dose to your hut as anybody else's. Do you mind if we camp there?"
"It's not really my land any more than anybody else's, Captain, but sure, I suppose it's okay—just as long as you let me know when you plan to blast off again. Your air-ship spooked the gabas something fierce when you landed—not to mention all the people in the village."
"All right, "Coeur said with a smile, making a note of that in her computer before putting it away. "I'll do that."
***
Out of courtesy, Coeur and Anthony visited several other Pesta huts before turning back toward the G-carrier. All told, Coeur doubted there could be more than 100 people in the entire village—a far extreme from populous Soledad. But the inhabitants were generally polite enough when Anthony made their introductions, and Coeur found it difficult to resist the urge to give them a few Kruytercorp gold coins—specially laid in at Aubaine as widely acceptable currency—for confirming the wisdom of Blanco's course.
Brother Anthony explained, "As I said. Captain, that would be considered impolite here. The mountain folk don't like to be paid unless they render some tangible service."
"But what about the map I gave Blanco? Wasn't that payment?"
"Well, that's different. None of the people up here really need maps, so it was probably more for the children."
"Oh."
"At any rate, Blanco couldn't trade it for anything valuable, so it has no tangible value."
"All the same, "Coeur said, "I'd say he gave us a tangible service by pointing us toward the depot, but I'm glad you told me about the focal money custom. I'd hate to follow up Zero's first impression with a worse one."
"That is wise."
The sudden beeping of Coeur's pocket communicator interrupted the conversation, and they stopped so she could answer it. Having passed all the way to the far side of the village, they were now over a kilometer from the G-carrier, hidden behind the village huts.
"Red Sun here. What's up?"
"Captain, something has... happened to... Fubar and Gremlin..."
"What's that? "Coeur asked, trying to clean up the sudden static between herself and Newton. "Newton, repeat your message, over."
Newton's second attempt at communication was even more garbled than the first, however, and Coeur was ultimately left with static on her end.
"Damn!" she said, shoving the communicator back in her pocket and starting toward the G-carrier at a run—mist and darkness disregarded for the moment. " Captain, wait! "Anthony yelled, shuffling along as best he could in his robes. "Remember the danger from nightjacks!"
"Damn the nightjacks! "Coeur called back to him. "Come on!"
"I'm coming! I'm coming!"
Anthony's warning did slow Coeur down a bit, less out of concern for her own safety than Anthony's. With gauss pistol drawn, Coeur slowed enough to escort Anthony, though both got back to the G-carrier within less than 10 minutes.
There they found every Marine except Fubar and Gremlin— namely, the sergeants Gaff er and Red Eye, the medic Widget, and Whiz Bang sons battle dress—arrayed in a tight group around the aft hatch with their heaviest available weapons.
'Thank God, "Whiz Bang said; "at least you're safe."
"Sure, we're safe, "Coeur said. "Now tell me what happened."
"We can't be certain, "Red Eye said through his suit speakers, "but the bottom line is that Fubar and Gremlin disappeared a few minutes ago while they were setting out the last two perimeter sensors."
"It's my fault, sir, "Gaffer said. "I let them go out individually in opposite directions instead of as a pair."
"Well, we can worry about whose fault it is later, "Coeur said, hauling out her radio and finding the static diminished. The Marine troopers' channel remained silent.
"Damn, "she swore. "Where were they, exactly?"
"At last report, "Gaffer said, pointing with the barrel of his fusion rifle, "Fubar was over there, and..."
He turned to point in the other direction.
"... Gremlin was over there, both about 100 meters off."
"But" Coeur said, "that's in plain sight of the G-carrier! Didn't the sensors spot anything?"
"No, sir, "Whiz Bang said, ‘and Newton was manning them."
"Fikk!" Coeur snapped. "Gaffer, did you look their last locations over?"
"A quick look, yes. We didn't see anything."
"Well, look again. You and Whiz Bang, go after Fubar. Red Eye, you and Widget look for Gremlin."
"Yes, sir, "the sergeants answered.
"All of you keep an eye on the carrier homing signal, though. If it fades, you come back here."
"Understood."
"Is there anything I can do? "Anthony asked.
"Yes. Get inside."
Anthony accepted the order without argument However, as the armored rear door opened to admit him, and the Marines moved off, two other figures came out of the G-carrier Physic and Zorn.
'Any word on the men? "Physic asked. " Negative, "Coeur answered, sweeping her PRIS binoculars around to cover each team alternately, then lowering them. "Really, I suppose all of us should get under cover, but with everyone under cover when Fubar and Gremlin disappeared, nobody saw what happened to them. Tell you what; Zorn, do you have your PRIS?"
"Right here, "she said, patting her own parka's pocket. " Good. Then tell you what—you keep an eye on Gaffer and Whiz Bang while I watch Red Eye and Widget Physic, you watch all the other directions."
"Gotcha, "Physic said, drawing her personal defense laser and popping a chemical cartridge into its magazine slot Some minutes later, Coeur called off the search when the team found not so much as footsteps leading away from Fubar and Gremlin's deactivated remote EMS sensors. They did, however, find disturbing evidence that something very violent had happened to both troopers.
'Take a look at this, "Red Eye said, showing Coeur a weighty, curved slab of superdense metal. "That's the shoulder guard from a suit of heavy battle dress, tom clean off at the welds."
"Gaia! "Physic exclaimed.
"It gets worse, "Gaffer said, returning with Whiz Bang from the other direction. "Have a look at this."
"Good lord, "Coeur said, running her gloved left hand across a sickeningly familiar chunk of equipment in Gaffer's hands—the forearm and right hand from a suit of heavy battle dress. Probably weighing over 20 kilograms by itself, the armor didn't appear to contain a severed limb, though pieces of the elbow servo did hang by rings of twisted metal from its open end.
"This left a pretty deep furrow where it landed, "Whiz Bang observed, "which means it might have been dropped from a great height."
"Which means, "Gaffer said, "that whatever grabbed this trooper probably flew off with him before he ripped the arm off— a good reason we didn't hear anything."
"Just as a wild guess, ” Physic said, "that's not the kind of thing one trooper in battle dress could do to another trooper. Is it?"
"Not damn likely, "Gaffer said, shaking the forearm at Physic, "this is heavy battle dress!"
"Take it easy, sergeant, "Coeur ordered.
"Sir. ”
"All right, "Coeur went on, "It clearly isn't safe out here. Everybody, get in the G-carrier double-quick."
***
It took Coeur just a few seconds of contemplation to realize what her next course must be, but it wasn't immediately well received by her mates.
"All right, "Coeur announced, "here's Wie plan. Physic, Gaffer and I are going out to investigate. Red Eye, you’ll keep everybody else here."
"Yes, sir, ” the gunnery sergeant said, saluting. "But how long will you want us to wait before we come after you?"
"You will not come after us, "Coeur said, pulling a gauss rifle from the G-carrier's gun rack and beginning to load HEAP grenades into its under-barrel launcher. "You will wait here for 12 hours. If you haven't heard from us by then, you will get the hell out of here and report to Drop Kick."
"Yes, sir."
Zorn, however, was not so accepting of the situation.
"Red, look, this is crazy! If you go out there, you'll be killed."
"Maybe, "Coeur said, "or maybe not. There's some kind of relic material up in that Cutter of Blood—Hornet's scan tells us that much—and I can't let fear of these nightjacks keep us from investigating it."
"But why? Why is it so important?"
"Because it might be part of the depot, Vega, or contain a clue to its location. In case you've forgotten, the Royal Vengeance escaped this system, and is probably on her way to Solee right now to pick up reinforcements. If those arrive, and the Solee get their hands on the depot instead of us, then the Coalition's screwed.
"And besides, "Coeur went on, checking her rifle's magazine and then slinging the weapon over her shoulder, "we make a promise to all our people when they enlist—that they won't be left behind in the field. I don't intend to break that promise to Gremlin and Fubar. ”
"With respect, sir, "Gaffer said, "I think Zorn's right—at least to a degree. I think you're too important to risk in an operation like this, so why don't you let me just take out a team of Marines instead?"
Coeur shook her head. "Negative, sergeant I'm the only person here who knows the specs on Zero's black globe generator and can positively identify it And finding that generator will be good evidence that we've found the depot itself."
"Yes, sir."
"Besides, we've already lost two Marines in battle dress, so I don't know how much protection a large group of troopers would give us from the nightjacks. Better to take the minimum— myself. Physic to treat any casualties, and one experienced soldier as an escort."
Gaffer accepted the complement with a slight nod.
"Hmm, "Physic said, "you put it that way, and I almost feel safe."
Coeur smiled, glancing at the friend she would soon be taking into mortal danger.
It's funny, Coeur thought, I con still remember how excited she was when I ottered her a chance to get off Aubaine on the Hornet. "it’s a fair bet she wasn't expecting this.
Yet Coeur had been an officer long enough not to second guess herself. It was always the hardest duty of any officer to order her friends into danger—but Coeur had chosen the minimum necessary force to accomplish her mission, and would do her best to see that all of her people returned safe and intact.
"Well, I guess that's it, then, "Zorn said a few minutes later, coming to sharp attention and delivering Coeur a crisp salute as her team assembled at the rear hatch. "Good luck, Captain."
"Thanks, "Coeur said.
"Funny, "Zorn said, leaning in close to Coeur, "you notice how everybody's back here to watch you go except Newton?"
Coeur had indeed noticed, but didn't comment. " Probably afraid you'd take him along, "Zorn offered, "If he didn't hide in the cockpit."
"I'd probably hide too if I were him. Take it easy, Zorn."
Brother Anthony interrupted Coeur, however, before she could open the hatch.
"Captain, would you wait a minute?"
"Now, Brother Anthony, don't tell me you want to go."
"Er—no. I would like your permission in a slight indulgence, though. Would you let me bless you before you go? ”
Coeur exchanged shrugs with Physic. "Sure."
Quickly, then, Anthony removed his vial of holy water from his vestment—the same one he had used to bless Coeur and Zorn before their first flight to meet the rebels—and doused Coeur and Physic with it Gaffer raised a hand to decline the offer.
"It would just make me superstitious, "he said. "I'd rather rely on my reflexes."
"If only that were enough against nightjacks, "Anthony said.
"We'll be all right, "Coeur said to Anthony, opening the rear hatch into the chill of the black night; "now come on, guys, we've got work to do."
Chapter Eighteen
Although the air at Pesta was relatively still that night, Coeur knew from Hornet's analysis of the area that she could not count on the same condition in the Cutter of Blood. Almost as if by design, the kilometer-long gutter channeled air from the higher peaks through its length like a giant wind tunnel, so any approach by a craft as light as a broomstick was ruled out from the start.
Fortunately, the wind was fairly light on the floor of the chasm—the area Coeur, Physic and Gaffer entered after passing through t he side channel pointed out by Blanco. Further, wearing their wide-spectrum goggles, Coeur and Physic had little difficulty following Gaffer, so the party reached the gutter in only three hours—less than the four Coeur expected.
"But there's nothing here, "Physic signed in Anslan, when at last they stepped into the high-walled stone channel, "Just rock."
"No, "Gaffer signed back, assisted by the magnifying power of his synthetic vision. "I see something of the end of the chasm, 600 meters ahead."
"All right, " Coeur signed. "Let's move out."
All too conscious of their luck so far—the party hadn't encountered so much as an insect in the rocks, let atone a nightjack— Coeur pressed on with the firm resolution of a woman with a higher purpose than the mere evasion of her own fear.
Though her prime purpose must be the pursuit of her lost men, that concern held only slightly more weigh t than the driving need to find the depot. Almost lost to the others as their original reason for coming here, it nevertheless remained foremost in the mind of the remnant Coeur—a woman who had seen at firsthand the horrific effects of the super-weapons the Last imperium unleashed before its downfall.
There's just too much at stake, Coeur thought. I must not be afraid. Do you hear me, nightjacks? I am not afraid of you!
That thought found expression in Coeur's mind through her recognition of the outside possibility that the nightjacks—whatever they were—might have psionic abilities. Some Droyne, she knew, had the ability to appear invisible as well as the ability to read minds, so why might such an ability not exist in wild creatures as well...?
Little by little, then, the trio advanced on the curious sliver of infrared light Gaffer had identified at the end of the chasm, where its floor suddenly sloped up sharply into the surrounding rock.
Oh my god, Coeur thought, there is something there...
That something was a rectangular patch of rock—strewn with pebbles like the rest of the floor, but slightly hotter in infrared. About as wide as the gutter at that point, perhaps 50 meters, it was certainly nothing anybody with normal vision would ever notice.
"What is it? "Gaffer signed, when at last they stood atop the area.
"Unknown, "Coeur replied. "Physic and I will look around. Cover us."
"Roger."
"What are we looking for? "Physic whispered.
"Shh. Sign language."
"What are we looking for?"
"Unknown. Anything unusual."
"Roger."
Amazingly, something unusual wasn't long in coming. Shuffling through the pebbles, Physic tripped over what seemed to be a long bar of metal. Bending down to pick it up, she found it was rooted firmly in the earth.
"What the hell? "Coeur muttered, coming over to help examine the bar.
"I thought you said to use sign language."
"The order's revoked. Look, I found a comer here...."
"Yeah, "Physic said, kicking granular pebbles away from the other end of the bar with her boot, "here too. Do you suppose it could be some kind of hatch?"
"Don't know. Keep brushing."
Two minutes later, the women cleared away enough pebbles to see that Physic was correct: The metal was the fluted edge of a door set right in the floor of the gutter. Attempts to budge the door met only with back strain, however, and the pair went on to brush the earth back several meters in every direction, looking for some sort of control panel. Though fruitless, this effort in turn led to another discovery.
"Wow, "Physic said, "It's all metal."
"Yeah, "Coeur answered, "this must be the area Snapper saw from orbit."
"A lot of good that does us; there's no door handle. ”
"Well, we shouldn't leap to conclusions—It might not even be a door. But I'll get Gaffer, anyway and see if he can make it budge."
True to his mission as their escort, Gaffer had avoided paying too much attention to what the women were doing, so he was naturally amazed when he saw the seeming trap door set in the middle of the cleared-off area.
"We could try to burn through, "he suggested. "My fusion gun will cut through 13 millimeters of bonded superdense alloy."
"That might not be such a good idea, "Coeur said, "especially if it's booby trapped. I was thinking you might just try to pry it loose."
"All right."
Strangely enough, that simple expedient actually worked. After jamming his bayonet into the seam at the edge of the square and exerting the force of his suit's strength enhancing servomotors, the door suddenly sunk and slid backward under the surrounding metal. Caught off guard, Gaffer almost fell into the black space he now knelt before, but caught his 500 kg mass and pushed himself back from the brink.
"Well, I guess that's it, ” he gasped. "It's a door all right."
"Sure is, "Coeur said, shining a flashlight down into the hole, "and with stairs, too."
"Ladies first? "Gaffer asked, getting back to his feet. " I wouldn't think of it, "Coeur said. "You first"
***
The stairwell illuminated under Coeur's flashlight descended 10 meters to a landing, but beyond that her party members could not see, so they began to descend the stairs to investigate first hand. Before going too far, though, they stopped to examine the door from the other side—deriving some comfort from a familiar electronic control pad.
