Nicolas smiled and turned to the Marines in the rear of the pod. “Are we ready back there?”
Major Ripken, the team leader, checked over his men and gave Nicolas a nod to the affirmative.
“Well then, let’s go, Doctor.”
Susan put her hands on the controls, and the pod lifted off. With a push of a button, the landing struts retracted. She fired the rear maneuvering thrusters and launched the small vessel out of the hangar deck’s large external door. She strafed the pod over the dorsal hull of the Vanguard and descended gently toward the planet.
The dark-gray clouds lining the atmosphere below caused Nicolas to shiver and the lightning made him want to reconsider why he was going there in the first place. Luckily for the team on the pod, the weather appeared clear toward the mining facility, which was just north of Orion V’s equator.
Susan skillfully controlled the pod’s drop. Breaking through the upper atmosphere, a slight vibration reverberated through the hull while the planet fought against them. A deep-red warmth emerged on the ventral heat shield, taking the brunt of the descent. After smashing through the worst of it, Susan leveled off, dropping the pod through the cloud cover.
The main rectangular-shaped building of the facility rose from the ground in the middle of a broad valley. It was only three stories tall, but it branched out like a spider beneath the ground, with an extensive network of subterranean rail joining up several worksites to the central location. It was an incredible feat of construction so far from civilization.
The landing pad on the roof of the complex became apparent the closer they got and the retractable ceiling opened welcoming them in. Susan slowed the pod’s descent and aimed for the guidance markers. She fired the ventral thrusters and extended the landing struts. With a gentle thud, the pod landed without even a scratch.
“You’ve still got it,” Nicolas said to her, impressed.
She did her best to hide her smile, waiting for the retractable ceiling to close above them. “It helps to have a good teacher.”
With a hiss, the atmosphere recirculated, and a green light gave them the go-ahead to depart. Susan flicked the switch on the airlock, and it burst open. The Marines got out of their seats first, unlocking the container from its harness and walking it out onto the landing pad with the help of a hover lifter. Nicolas and Susan followed, a chill hitting them before the facility’s climate-control pumped the landing pad with warmer air.
A door opened at the side of the building and a man dressed in olive-green coveralls stepped out. “Captain Marquez, welcome to Orion V,” he said. “I’m Erik Koeman.”
They shook hands.
“This is Doctor Tai.” Nicolas gestured toward her, adjusting his collar.
“Welcome, Doctor. I hope the trip down wasn’t too uncomfortable. Orion V can be a navigational nightmare.”
“It helps to have a skillful pilot.” Nicolas glanced over at Susan.
“Excellent.” Koeman motioned toward the door. “Would you follow me, please?”
The Marines, led by Ripken, took the container inside the facility on the hover lifter and Koeman directed them toward the elevator at the end of the corridor.
Susan stopped while the others went on without her. “Well, I guess this is it.”
“I guess it is.” Nicolas frowned. Koeman stepped back, seemingly wondering what was going on. “I didn’t think this would be so difficult.”
She chuckled. “You wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The Marines waited in the elevator, but all turned their heads the other way when Nicolas glared at them.
“Well, Doctor, it’s been a pleasure having you aboard the Vanguard,” Nicolas said in his most official tone.
“Thank you for the safe journey,” Susan countered, equally as formal.
“Perhaps when the stars align, we’ll see each other again.”
“It’ll be your turn to bring the McKinley Oak.”
“I’ll make sure I stock up.” Nicolas pulled Susan in, and the two hugged. “Goodbye, Susan.”
“Goodbye, Nicolas.”
They shared one last glance before Susan walked into the elevator, the doors closing behind her.
“Well, Captain,” Koeman said. “It’s not normal for us to get visitors, especially from the CDF. I’d offer you a tour of the entire facility, but unfortunately we’re a little stretched for time due to some production issues.”
“That’s all right,” Nicolas said.
“You’re welcome to stay for lunch. One of my assistants could give you a tour of our operations center if you’d like.”
“Well, I’ve come this far. Lead the way.”
Fourteen
Cargo Ship Argo
Jason stacked his fifth coffee cup. The top of the operations console was beginning to resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He checked the monitor and sighed. Not a single scrap of evidence Iota particles had existed anywhere in the region.
He picked up the guitar Tyler had left and ran his fingers over the strings. After their two-hour poker marathon, where Tyler had done surprisingly well, his brother had shown him some basic chords. He’d even taught him how to play the chorus to Black River Sky. Jason twanged a few notes and imagined he was Hunter Ellis, rocking out on vocals.
Wow. That was terrible.
Footsteps sounded outside the bridge and Tyler appeared at the hatchway. “It’s time,” he whispered.
The chronometer had just ticked over the forty-eight-hour mark. Jason understood how fickle the cargo business was and knew the crew of the Argo hadn’t had the best run of luck for a while. Who was he to ask for more time for something that was nothing more than a wild goose chase?
Althaus and Kevin walked in behind his brother. Althaus didn’t even glance at Jason and took his seat at the systems station, while Kevin put a solemn hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry we didn’t find anything.”
“It’s fine.”
Kevin took the helm as Jason stood and walked to the hatchway while Tyler took his seat at the center of the bridge. No one uttered another word.
Jason stepped onto the elevator, and
