the story.
But he wasn’t that easily distracted.
“No way of telling. We’ll find out when we get there, or it’ll lead nowhere and we’ll turn around and call it our exercise for the day.”
I swallowed hard as we moved on again, the threads of light in the stone seeming to grow brighter the further we went. “Desyk Consolidated Systems and ExaTek had formed a treaty, back in my grandmother’s time. Not a merger, but enough of an alliance that together we swept up scores of smaller corps, absorbed their assets, became even stronger. The partnership was working so well for everyone that we didn’t consider them a threat any longer.”
“That’s never a good thing,” was all he said. “But understandable.”
“Yeah, I guess everybody was tired of fighting, willing to trust a little too much.” My breath caught in my throat, remembering my father’s gentle smile. He’d hated the wars between the corps. Hated conflict of any kind.
“My mom died when my brother and I were pretty young. My father threw himself into raising us and running the company with his brother. When he started dating again, we were so excited for him, and we teased him about staying out too late.”
For a moment, I didn’t see the walls pressing around us, didn’t feel the rock under my fingers.
Just the messy living room my brother and I had taken as our domain, and Father’s beaming smile as he told us about the wonderful woman he’d met.
Who he had convinced to have dinner with him.
“We thought it was past time he had a life of his own, maybe even hoped it would make things easier for us when we left to go finish our final exams. He’d have someone there with him, wouldn’t be comming us constantly for our test scores.”
A bitter taste filled my mouth. We’d nearly pushed him into her arms.
“But it was all a lie.”
“Hold on,” Hakon said softly. “It looks like we’re about to find where this comes out.”
Good. I didn’t want to think about this anymore, anyway.
And together we stepped into a wonderland.
The cavern before us was covered with faintly glowing lines, the luminous streaks on the ceiling making a strange collection of constellations wherever they crossed.
Around softly shining stalagmites and darker hued boulders, clusters of golden and purple iridescent fungi grew, sprouting from thick beds of moss.
And strangely enough, I realized I could breathe just as easily as I ever had back on the station.
My eyes fixed on the cavern, unable to look away from each new discovery, I swung the bag off my shoulder and blindly felt for the pieced-together analyzer.
“Do me a favor? Can you test the oxygen levels here?” I handed it to Hakon. “Either we’ve stumbled into a pocket of air, or I’m in really bad shape and hallucinating.” He growled softly, but took the device. “I’d like to know sooner rather than later.”
I sat down, just in case.
Hakon scowled at me, and stomped off, muttering darkly. But he was back in moments, a clump of light blue moss clenched in his hand, the delicate tendrils seeming to wave in the air.
“You’re not in trouble,” he said. That wicked grin flashed again. “Or at least, not about the oxygen. If anything, it’s a tiny bit higher than standard. And that’s due to these little guys, I suspect.”
He held the plant close to my face, and it was like a jolt of kaf hit my system.
“How is it doing that?” I asked. “Even after you uprooted it?”
“No idea, must be some sort of specialized photosynthesis or something.” He frowned at the little plant, as if by glaring he could decipher all its secrets. “Biology shouldn’t be that much different than engineering. But how living things work is just weird.”
I agreed with him on that. Everything would be easier if life was more like mechanics.
Feeling better than I had since we’d crashed, hell, since I first stepped foot on Station 112, we explored the rest of the cavern.
Long hanging tendrils of pale vines wove themselves into delicate living curtains that pulled back when I brushed too close to them. Moon white flowers flickered open and closed randomly, their petals emitting a chiming sound with every movement.
As we rounded another corner, I cocked my head, puzzled. “Am I hearing water?” I asked.
Hakon nodded. “Have been for a while now.”
As we wove through the maze of curtains, suddenly we found ourselves on a rocky shore.
In the silvery ambient light, the dark lake rippled like something alive, the