“Not a hint. I think he’s hoping for an epiphany.”

  “Fine by me. I’ll tag along with Yusef. He’ll find something for me to do.”

  Kara saw it in her eyes.

  “You’re moving fast.”

  “Fast for …? Oh, no. It’s nothing like that. OK, well. Maybe a little like that. I can’t explain it, Kara. Yusef opened up to me.”

  “I noticed the connection at dinner.”

  “It’s strange. He’s the only off-worlder I’ve ever known except Ham and Ryllen.”

  “Know is a strong word when it comes to those two. I’d keep my options. As for Yusef, he’s very charismatic. His speech was …”

  “Enthralling, wasn’t it? He’s taught me so much, Kara. It was nothing personal when I volunteered for Horn. I just felt like I had to be there. Understand?”

  Kara sensed how liberated Chi-Qua must have felt after years living in the shadow of a best friend/superior.

  “I never took it the wrong way, Chi. Fact is, I’ve gotten off on the right foot with this pilot.” She nodded toward Cando, who focused squarely on his landing protocols. “Just … be careful. We’re not in control here. Life in Pinchon was all but scripted for us.”

  Chi-Qua took Kara by the hand.

  “And it was misery. Out here, we don’t know what tomorrow will be like, let alone an hour from now. It’s a dream.”

  “I’d just prefer both of us be alive when we wake up.”

  “Deal.”

  Chi-Qua looked over her shoulder toward the deeper regions of the cabin and nodded.

  “I don’t think Lucas and June are taking this well,” she said. “Don’t turn around. Too obvious.”

  She was referring to Lucas Gil and June Serrano, the only Talons other than Cando assigned to wait in orbit while the station was secured. Kara saw their dour glares when Ryllen made his choice. Ryllen insisted he wanted protection for the Hokkis in case trouble arose and a fast getaway became necessary.

  “June is not the most pleasant,” Kara said. “I haven’t spoken to Lucas. Aren’t they both from Catalan?”

  “Yes. I heard they used to be lovers. As in mad, passionate, over-the-top. Then something happened. Dunno what. Not sure if they’re mad because they were left with us or because they were left with each other.”

  “Let’s decide not to care one way or the other. You’re making me feel like we’re back at Vox School. I do not miss the hallway gossip.”

  Cando announced final approach. The largest window showed the docking port and Horn connected by transition tube. Signal lights sprinted across Ram’s designated landing area.

  “It’s all starting to feel like another lifetime,” Chi-Qua said. “Vox School. Nantou. The wedding. I know it’s only been three days …”

  “Only is the operative word, Chi. And no. It’s all fresh to me. You weren’t on the stage. You didn’t see the worst of it.”

  “I’m sorry. I only meant …”

  “I keep everything fresh. It’s my motivation, Chi. I still remember Sanhae three years ago like it happened last night. I remember what Lang was wearing when he warned me about the future. I remember his cologne. I’ll never let the present drown the past.”

  The conversation went no further.

  The Scramjet landed and docked with ease, the automated systems controlling the procedure from C&C. Exeter Woolsey greeted them. To Kara’s surprise, he was unaccompanied.

  “OK, everyone, I’ll keep it brief. We have a lot of ground to cover, and we don’t know how long we can stay here. When you enter the transition room, keep moving. Ignore the posting about Y-14’s high gravity ratio. It’s a scam we used to force our clients to medicate. If anything, you’ll probably have a spring in your step. I’ll lead you directly to C&C. The Colonel will split us into search teams.”

  He focused on the Admiral. “Sir, the Colonel said he’ll agree to whatever roster adjustments you see fit.” Then, to the full crew: “Also, it’s cold. The thermal inductors are off-line. We’ve rounded up emergency jackets with hoods for you Hokkis. They’ll keep you warm, even to subzero. Follow me.”

  Ham took point, followed by team Hokki. Kara noticed the three Talons sharing whispers under the nav matrix before catching up.

  Exeter did not understate the conditions. The icy air hit them with a blast. Kara wrapped her arms against her chest; her breaths turned into misty clouds. She was startled; winter never came to The Lagos.

  The cold felt less intimidating than the station itself. It was a tired and ugly facility, with narrow corridors revealing decades of neglect and degradation. The ceiling lights cast a bluish glow; Kara thought they seemed at half power. Perhaps the issue disabling the thermal inductors affected other systems.

  Deep into the facility, Exeter slid his hand over a printlock.

  “We’re in here.”

  C&C was a spacious room, with panels along three walls, and cushioned swivels and data plates at each station. A light table occupied the center; a three-dimensional schematic of the surface and sublevel floated above. Eight men and women in black armor greeted the new arrivals. Three handed out jackets, which were accepted with grateful smiles. The temperature did not bother the Talons. Kara figured their suits maintained a perfect internal climate.

  Ham and Ryllen spoke briefly before the Admiral faced the full crew.

  “Colonel Jee has developed a good plan. It will allow us to maximize our resources and minimize risk. Our overriding objective is to determine where Amayas Knight fled as well as every actionable detail about his so-called Alliance. If by some outstanding oversight, he left any data regarding the Splinter, all the better.

  “The key to success lies in every team being disciplined and thorough. We may have to rely on piecemeal evidence rather than a motherlode. I doubt the Inventor left a diary telling us where to meet him.” Anxious laughter filled the room. “But it’s also possible he planted false data to throw us off. We’ll do our best to decipher. Colonel.”

  Ryllen pointed to the station schematics. They were color-coded in geographic sectors.

  “I assigned teams of four to investigate the surface station and the sublevels. The Admiral will supervise his team from C&C. He knows these Chancellor systems better than anyone. X was only given access to security, weapons, and docking. We think the hardcore science data will be buried much deeper, if at all. The other two surface teams will scour the demonstration lab, residence hall, and executive offices.”

  Ham spoke. “We don’t yet know when Artemis was abandoned. Was it planned or rushed? We might find critical answers where the staff lived. You’ll search every habitat and office as if you were trying to solve a crime. The most inconsequential evidence might help us form a pattern. I believe Amayas Knight is far more intelligent than anyone in this room. He would not leave crumbs for us to follow, but his staff might – intentionally or otherwise.”

  Ryllen continued. “X will lead the teams down below. He knows the layout and where our searches have the best chance to score. Those three teams will focus on the yellow, red, and orange sectors. The yellow sector will be critical. Tell them, X.”

  Exeter’s jaw tightened, his rage on display.

  “That’s where he introduced me to the Splinter. It’s where he did his most classified work. It’s also where he cast me out.”

  Yusef raised his hand. “So that’s where he created his cubes?”

  “No. I think he had them in his possession before he restarted the station. When we first arrived, he said, ‘I already own the future. Now I need to map it.’ He told me stories about traveling the galaxy alone; he was never specific. But I always thought I’d be part of his plans. Then he threw me away.”

  “X has more reason than anyone to find this asshole,” Ryllen said. “He says the orange and red sectors were also active, while the rest was never touched in four years. In fact, this forty percent in the southeast quadrant was destroyed in the explosion.”

  Yusef made a point. “Colonel, that leaves thirty percent of the facility unchecked. Should we ignore so much real estate?”

  “No, but we’re going where we have the best odds. If we find nothing, and we think it’s worth the risk, we’ll look into it.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Any other questions?”

  Po Wynn raised his hand but pulled it back as soon as Ryllen acknowledged him.

  “Never mind. It’s not important.”

  “Remember what the Admiral said. Hold nothing back.”

  “It’s embarrassing. I should have said something before we landed. I need to take a shit.”

  A stubborn silence held for about three seconds then smiles morphed into breakout laughter. The absurdity of the moment gripped Kara, who felt lighter on her feet than she had in many days.

  Ham and Ryllen feigned a smile and nodded in agreement.

  “Kohlna does move through the system at a considerable pace,” Ham said. “It’s hard to search for evidence that might save the universe when nature insists on performing its duty. Yes?”

  Po nodded with urgency. “Where’s the closest bowl?”

  “Nearby,” Ryllen said. “You’ll have your chance. First, we want the teams to assemble. Here are the rosters.” Names overlaid the graphics. “The Admiral, Yusef, and I will command the topside teams. X, June, and Lin take lead down below. Every team has two Talons. If trouble comes to play, we’ll be ready. OK? Let’s assemble, set priorities, and then,” he concluded, turning to Po, “take a massive shit.”

  For the first clumsy moment, the rearrangement felt like school days, when the teacher assigned students into project groups. Like those days, Kara felt both relief and irritation in the assignments. She remained with Cando and didn’t mind Jai Zaan’s inclusion, although she wondered about the wisdom in breaking up the twins. Moreover, Chi-Qua remained on the surface while Kara was heading down below. The uncomfortable surprise was her team leader: Exeter Woolsey.

  He hesitated to strike up the conversation; his gray, joyless eyes revealed this was likely the first team he ever commanded. Exeter’s braids, tightly woven against his skull, made him seem like Ryllen’s pale imitator. Up close, Kara saw a new feature: A long, faded scar ran from his right temple to the base of his ear lobe like a crooked river on a topographical map. That he had a scar at all surprised Kara. Wasn’t he an engineered immortal like Ryllen? If so, weren’t his wounds supposed to heal and disappear?

  “First,” Exeter said, his voice hesitant, “I want you to know I requested this team. Kara, I was told you’re a good engineer. Cando, you’re a master with algorithmics. And Jai … well, I didn’t care which Hokki; I asked for someone who was nasty.”

  Jai took the compliment by unsheathing her collider pistols.

  “Three coits for the price of one,” she said.

  Exeter nodded, as if speechless. He turned to Kara.

  “Do you want a weapon?”

  Kara didn’t hesitate. “I’ve seen what your turbo rifles do. Throw in Jai’s pistols, and I think I’ll be fine.”

  “This woman right here,” Cando said, wrapping an arm around Kara, “we’re bonded.”

  “Really?” Kara said, stifling a laugh. “Is this how fast things move on Yaniff?”

  “Faster.”

  “How do I slow it down? Stop talking to you?”

  He grimaced as if in dire pain. “Straight to the gut.”

  Exeter’s tone turned in a blink.

  “Stop playing, Cando. I hate when you’re like this.”

  Cando took his arm off Kara and backed away.

  “I’m keeping it human, X.”

  “How about you keep to the mission? This is important. I spent five years living a nightmare to make it back. You aren’t prepared for what’s down there. None of you are.”

  Exeter never said a word about a toilet stop as he led them to the lift.

  7

  K ARA GREW UP IN A CITY of curvaceous glass towers, estates like castles, and an UpWay where vehicles crowded narrow straits far above the tree line. Yet the sheer scope of Pinchon did not prepare her for what lay beneath Artemis Station. The lift opened into a cavern wide as a small city and taller than most. Industrial towers, tanks, and a network of pipes and conduits dominated on either side of a wide avenue. High above, lighting arrays cast dim beams and created a strange collaboration of shadow and geometry. She cast an eye to a quadrant where light disappeared into the twisted, black remains of a long-ago explosion. It was also cold here; to Kara’s considerable relief, no worse than the surface.

  Exeter pulled his team away from the lift and made room as the other eight arrived behind them. When he had their attention, Exeter offered reassurance, saying he inspected atmospheric controls before Scramjet Ram arrived.

  “It’s running on the same matrix the Inventor used for four years. The system is powered independent of the surface. The generators are a kilometer to the northwest. That includes orange sector,” he told Lin Soogan, one of three Hokki Talons. “When you reach the control station, use the access codes I shared to your R20. Once you’re inside, review the logs. I sent you the data points we’ll need.”

  Lin led the only all-Hokki team. His Talon companion, Meena Yoo, said few words since leaving Hokkaido. Joining them: Green Sun agents Myra Faun and Shoan Gui.

  “You wish us to be data analysts?” Lin asked.

  “That’s the job. Yes.”

  Exeter turned to June Serrano, whose glare suggested she’d rather be anywhere else.

  “The red sector was a medical hub when this place was a refinery,” he told her team. “Amayas used it for some of his experiments, but he always worked alone. Your R20 has the rest.”

  He pointed to a set of rifters which awaited in docks.

  “These are stable enough to hold four passengers, but don’t test their nav limits. We had six working vehicles when we arrived. Three broke down – well, one flat-out exploded. Questions?”

  June grunted. “If we lose anyone, we’ll blame you,” she said without a hint of irony. “You already scanned for humans?”

  “There’s no one here.”

  “Hmm. Too bad. I was hoping this might be interesting.”

  “Be thorough, June. You heard the Admiral. We need to search carefully. The Admiral is right about Amayas – he’s smarter than the rest of us. But the man I knew was obsessed. On my last day, he was emotional. I think he was sloppy and left crumbs behind.”

  “We’ll manage our best,” June said, motioning to her team. “But my resources are limited.”

  Kara caught a wry smile from Lucas Gil, as if the Talons were in on the joke at the expense of their Green Sun teammates. For their part, neither Joa Zaan nor Rain Pai appeared concerned. Their eyes cast long, intimidated stares at the vast cavern.

  “Before we separate, all Talons set your UniCon to IR channel 5.”

  They manipulated their forearm comm stack. Instantly, a holographic interface rose. They heard voices from above.

  “If you run into trouble, open the channel,” Exeter said.

  “OK then,” June said. “Let’s finish our business here. This place smells like death to me.”

  June looked past Exeter and motioned her team to follow. She chose a rifter, and they hopped on.

  Kara hoped she imagined the tension between Exeter and the other team leaders. Were Lin and June simply disappointed in the monotony of their assignment? Something in their tone did not set right.

  She pushed it aside to join her team, which was the last to leave on a rifter. Exeter took the controls.

  “What I said about the explosion wasn’t true,” he told them with a shrug. “But Lin and June take insane chances with people’s lives. The last thing we need is to clean up a mess.”

  Cando pumped his fist. “My man, X! Nice one.”

  Exeter triggered the nacelles. “Hang on to the brace. Yellow sector is half a kilometer and two levels up.”

  As they ascended, Kara marveled at the engineering feat of installing a refinery so far beneath a dead world. It also reinforced the notion that common indigos like her never understood the extent of the Chancellory’s technological largesse. They built cities inside starships miles long and must have used similar principles here. She’d have hundreds of questions upon meeting the builders, the first of which might be: Why here? Why not on the surface? This was, after all, an uncharted system. Was the cavern a natural formation? How did they construct a ceiling of unrefined brontinium across such a distance?

  Her sense of wonder must have shone on her face, for Cando draped that arm across her again and leaned close.

  “They have very large cocks,” he said.

  “Wait, what?”

  “The Chancellors. They have the biggest cocks. This is how they show off their cocks. A reasonable man – I would suggest five inches – he will build topside.” Cando pointed to the surface. “The Chancellor must carve out the planet and build here to show his cock is eight inches. They are even worse across the divide. Anything less than ten inches would be a disgrace to the family name.”

  Jai Zaan twisted about, her grin suggesting she liked the analogy.

  “How big is yours?” She asked.

  “That will depend. Inside or out?”

  “You have room to get hard in there?”

  “Space is limited.”

  She lowered her eyes for a closer look, sprouted a long, slow whistle, and turned back around. Cando chuckled until he saw Kara.

  “What?” He asked. “Every culture has cock jokes. Did I violate some sort of Hokki social code?”

  “No. I heard worse many times – when I was a Year 7.”

  “Ah. I see. I’ll try to be less immature.”

  “It’s not … Cando, I’m glad you’re trying to lighten the load. But I’m … this is serious, what we’re doing.”

  “Not to worry, Kara. I’ll bottle the cock analogies for now. You let me know when it’s safe to resume.”

  He sounded sarcastic, but Cando never let go of Kara. He developed a twinkle in those dark eyes, and his unibrow softened.

  “Here,” Exeter said, pointing ahead. “When I pull up alongside, jump off.”