The Ruins of Karzelek (The Mandrake Company series Book 4) (37 page)

“
You look worried.” Kalish grabbed his hand again.

“
Just contemplative,” Sedge said. And worried. But he accepted the handhold and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. “I hope we find everything you want and it’s enough to get your father back.”

The clangs of hatches shutting came from the corridor, as well as people talking as they donned gear, so he didn’t let his lips linger on her cheek. But worries or not, he appreciated her closeness and that she kept choosing to hold his hand rather than her sister’s or mother’s. He smiled, his cheeks warming slightly, as he remembered what she had done with that hand the night before.

“
Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes bright. Apparently not feeling as restrained by the noises in the corridor, she lifted both hands to his cheeks and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips.

Before he could truly enjoy the moment, footsteps sounded in the cargo hold. Sedge stepped back, wanting to avoid more frosty stares from her mother, but Tick was the first one out. He strolled over, and Sedge thought he might pretend not to have seen anything, but he smirked and elbowed Sedge in the ribs.

Striker walked out next, followed by the mother. She had added some grenades to her regular armament as well, and Sedge was not certain who carried more weapons. As they came to a stop by the hatch, Striker gave her a speculative look. Whether that was a this-older-woman-is-sexy-and-I-wouldn’t-mind-getting-some-of-that look or an I-like-a-woman-with-such-big-weapons look, Sedge was not sure. He doubted there was much of a difference in Striker’s mind.

“
Air still looks good,” Tia called back, “and nothing’s moving out there, robotic or otherwise. You’re free to go.” The hatch popped open, the landing ramp unfurling. “Bring me back a souvenir.”

* * *

Kalish barely kept herself from sprinting up the rocky island to the first of the hangars. Only the memory of those robots kept her walking calmly, scanning their surroundings. Striker and Tick had taken the lead, with Sedge at her side, and her mother trailing behind, just as alert as the men. Even though Kalish had always known Mom was tough and had been a soldier, she had been working in an office since Kalish had been born, so it was strange seeing her stalking along with a rifle in her arms like a Fleet scout. Strange, but comforting. Kalish was glad she was along, even if she did keep giving Sedge icy stares.

“
Did you bring your laser cutter along?” Tick asked as they approached the massive doors to the first hangar.

The size of those doors and of the buildings in general made Kalish want to jump with excitement. What else could these be except facilities for constructing ships?

“
A couple of them,” Kalish said.

She hunted for signs or controls on either side of the entrance before pulling the laser cutter out. If they found a ship, squeezing it out through a little square cut in the door would not be too feasible. As at the refinery, the dripping of water had left its mark over the centuries. Grime covered the walls, and if runes or the alien equivalent of a doorknob existed, she could not find them.

“
Here.” Kalish tossed Striker one of her cutting tools. “I’ll open this one. Why don’t you two check the next one over?”

“
I hope that’s not an expensive tool,” Tick said. “He might find a way to blow it up.”

“
Cuts, explosions, either will open a door.” Striker jogged to the next hangar.

“
Be careful,” Kalish called, but she was already slicing into the door in front of her and imagining what they might find inside.

“
What was it that triggered those robots yesterday?” Sedge asked. “They were already attacking you when we came out.”

“
I’m guessing it was that creature flying through the roof, or maybe the racket you all were making to attack it.”

“
Hm. Let’s try to avoid racket this time.”

“
So long as hungry predators don’t jump out at us, I’m game.” Kalish struggled for patience as the laser tool cut an opening. She was tempted to stand back and kick the square open as soon as she had three sides cut, but she made herself finish the task cautiously. Whatever lay inside had waited thousands of years. A few more minutes would not matter.

Sedge crouched next to her, helping her pull out the square. The material was surprisingly thin and light, more like paper than some wedge of metal. Behind them, Mom paced, shining her flashlight into the darkness and watching the ship and the lake.

As soon as the square had been removed, Kalish thrust her own flashlight through the hole. The beam swept into deep shadows, deep
empty
shadows. She did not spot so much as a forgotten bolt lying on the flat cement-like floor. From the door, she could not see all the way to the far corners, so she stepped inside for a better look. She wouldn’t yet let herself feel disappointed—after all, this was only the first of ten or twelve buildings on the island—but the first trickle of fear crept into her heart, the fear that they would not find anything.

Sedge did not say anything as he followed her inside. They split up and walked the perimeter of the building, probing with their flashlights, searching for nooks that might hide tools or parts that had been left behind. But when they met on the far side, neither had discovered anything.

“
Let’s see if the others found anything in their building,” Kalish said, trying to keep the enthusiasm for exploration in her voice. It was too early to think about defeat.

Sedge nodded, but that worry he had been wearing on his face earlier was there again. Contemplation, he had called it. Kalish hadn’t believed him then, and she didn’t now, either.

Striker and Tick had disappeared into their own hole in the next hangar.

“
Find anything?” Kalish called in after them, glimpsing the beams from their flashlights swinging around another empty building.

“
Not so much as a piece of gum smashed into the floor,” Tick said.

Striker thumped him between the shoulder blades. Tick made a gagging sound, and his gum flew out.

“
Now there is,” Striker said.

“
You have the maturity of a ferret on amphetamines,” Tick said.

“
Just thought you might want to leave your mark.”

By the time the men climbed out empty-handed, Kalish had moved on to the next hangar. It too was empty. The group systematically checked the rest of the buildings on the island. Kalish’s resolve not to give in to disappointment waned with each passing moment. When they rejoined the others, they had made their way back to the hangar with the smashed-in ceiling. It was the last building they had to check.

Kalish stood in front of the door, her laser tool at her side, hesitating before cutting into it. “‘Hope is the only universal liar who never loses his reputation for veracity.’”

“
I don’t know the source on that one,” Sedge said.

“
No? It’s depressing anyway.” Shaking her head, she aimed the laser at the door.

Sedge rested a hand on her shoulder. “‘Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope.’”

“
We’ll see,” she said skeptically, but she did appreciate his desire to comfort her. Having him at her side was heartening, and it was something to which she could easily grow accustomed.

Kalish cut into the door, aware of the men standing silently behind her, of the drips of water in the distance, of the battle that might be going on back in the cavern they had left. Were Thatcher and Val even now risking their lives for what might turn out to be a waste of time and effort? Or had they already been shot down by Fleet pilots? And what of Dad? Was he in a cell on that pirate ship, waiting for a release that could never come?

When the square started to fall inward, Kalish did not bother to stop it. She let it thump to the floor inside. Dust arose along with the scent of mold, the promise that this building had been breached long ago.

Sedge sneezed and turned away.

Kalish peered into the interior, her flashlight playing against hundreds of tons of boulders that had fallen, pounding through the roof. They took up much of the center of the hangar. She did not see a spaceship or anything else crushed beneath them, but she stepped inside anyway, hoping something might be hidden behind them. She walked slowly, not with the excited eagerness of before, probing every divot and crack with her light.

Smaller rocks scattered the floor all around the towering pile in the middle. Shadows on the nearest wall caught her eye. What looked like a giant articulating arm was folded against it. The walls in the other buildings had been empty, so she allowed a hint of hope to stir in her breast again. If the rockfall had happened during the shipyard’s heyday, maybe the aliens hadn’t bothered to come in and pack it up so thoroughly when the time had come to leave.

Sedge had continued when she paused, and he knelt between a couple of head-sized rocks. He picked something up.

“
Find something?” Kalish jogged up to join him, though she was disappointed by the smallness of the item he held. It definitely wasn’t a spaceship.

“
I believe this might be a trypitarium plug nozzle.” He sounded faintly amused.

Kalish remembered it from the list on the lid, but it did not appear interestingly alien or otherwise impressive, so she couldn’t muster much excitement about it. She pressed onward, though she had already walked far enough around the rubble pile to see that there were not any ships hiding behind it. She found a couple more small objects on the ground, the equivalent of nuts and bolts, and slipped them into a pocket, though she didn’t think they would prove valuable. They certainly would not impress a kidnapping pirate.

“
This is about as exciting as listening to Thatcher talk about his models,” Striker announced from the other side of the hangar.

“
Can’t argue with you there,” Tick said, “though I’m feeling content so long as we’re not dodging man-hating robots.”

“
I wouldn’t mind finding a robot or two. I haven’t blown up anything today.”

“
A disappointment, I’m certain.”

Sedge had stopped in front of the wall near a corner, and Kalish walked over on the chance that he might have found a sign or some other clue as to why the aliens had abandoned this facility and where they might have gone. He dusted off the wall with his handkerchief.

“
Did you find something in need of sanitizing?” she asked.

He sneezed. “This entire hangar.”

“
Oh,” Kalish said, disappointment rearing its head again.

Then Sedge touched something, a faint rune etched in the wall. Light flooded the hangar.

“
Control panel, apparently,” he said.

“
I can’t believe those still work after all this time.”

“
I doubt any kids have been running around, leaving the lights on in the buildings.”

“
Is there anything else there?” Kalish stepped closer, squinting at the faded runes. Several more dotted the wall.

Sedge touched another one.

“
Flying zero-grav shit,” Striker barked.

“
Kalish,” came her mother’s voice, equally alarmed,

Kalish turned and gaped. Dozens of people filled the building, along with countless machines and tools, some on the ground and others floating in the air. They were all working around a sleek, triangular craft that had popped into existence in the middle of the hangar, towering several stories in height. It had formed right around the rock debris.

“
A holo display,” Sedge said. “Except everything looks so solid. And
everyone
.” He pointed at a worker walking past them in a protective suit. The figure did not glance over. None of the holo-workers showed any awareness toward the outsiders in their midst—or the rock pile in the middle of the craft they were working on.

Even though finding a ship had been Kalish’s quest, she found herself staring at the people—at the
aliens
.

They had hair that ranged from white to silver, though some had much more vibrant colors such as pinks and greens, making her wonder if these people had experimented with dyes, the same as humans. Their skin ranged from bronze to black, with the pores more evident than on a normal person. On those workers with sleeveless shirts, a thin layer of fur was visible, running up the backs of their arms. There were men and women, with figures not unlike humans’, though the aliens were taller and leaner on average, with ropy muscles and barrel chests. Some of them were more ambiguous with androgynous features. A third gender? Or simply a blurring of the lines?