Pirate's Gold - S.J. Sanders Page 0,40

from somewhere that he could not source. That alone pricked at his systems as he struggled to identify it. Even his vibrissae could not find any source for it in the electric currents running through the air.

“I am telling you, this place is haunted,” a Blaithari male muttered to the male nodding at his side.

Interesting.

Terri had made an offhand comment about cursed gold once in jest. The Argurma had complicated belief systems regarding ancestors but did not believe that the dead remained in the living world.

Yet he could not dismiss the fact that there was something peculiar about the broken-away section of the Evandra. Not spirits of the dead… but something of the people remained. Something that deterred even wild animals from attempting to make it their home.

“There is nothing here,” the other male whispered to his companion. “Not even a table or a handheld device. Nothing. It is unnerving. What if the rest of the ship’s remains are just like this?”

“I do not like that we are risking our lives for possibly nothing,” the first male returned with a vexed hiss.

“Do not be speaking ill of the Evandra,” Egbor snapped as he came up behind them.

Veral cocked an ear in his direction, his systems always in some part locked on the captain, as the male continued to speak tersely.

“We have no understanding of how their tech worked, but I have no doubt that when wealth is spoken of, it is tangible, for the legends to speak so freely of it in our stories as much as in those of our Yil’anip neighbors. This is but a small, inconsequential part of the ship. It will serve our purpose well enough by doing nothing more than providing our shelter for the night.”

“I still say it is haunted,” muttered the first male the moment the captain moved away. “Even for an ancient, advanced race… this is unnatural.”

Veral chuffed silently to himself in amusement. There was nothing supernatural about it, just currently unidentifiable. The whispers brought to mind all the ridiculous things the crew had been spouting about him earlier that same morning.

The unknown inspired fear. This was nothing new.

He did not fear it, but now he was deeply curious about the Evandra. If he could manage to retrieve anything at all before leaving the planet, it could be an opportunity to learn something about their technology. Possessing knowledge not held by his brethren could give him an edge when it came to avoiding them and keeping his mate safe.

Arriving at the end of the wreckage, he spied the area that was segmented off from the rest by two partial walls with an open passageway. There was an impression in the center of the room that appeared as if something was designed to lift up from the floor, and many more of the outlines of storage units on the walls.

This time, however, there was an obvious outline of what appeared to be a data unit fixed to the wall. He skimmed his fingers over it. At his touch, something foreign linked to his systems.

His natural instinct was to recoil at the touch of the unfamiliar tech, but was distracted when the screen suddenly blinked on, glowing faintly. He cocked his head and peered at it. It seemed to be a basic medical diagram, from what he could tell. Three images were side by side showing the species’ skeletal, muscular, and vascular systems. Curious, he dropped his hand away and leaned forward, only to have the screen go dark.

Very interesting.

Veral touched it again, the tech once more flooding through his system as it uplinked. The path was strange. The moment he released contact, he was unable to maintain it. It unraveled rapidly. Like all channels, it would require considerable practice building a path with it. If he had the time. He would need to salvage something small, preferably from the primary wreckage, to explore it further.

Eyes leaving the screen, he focused again on the indention in the floor. He walked forward and tapped his foot on it.

Nothing.

Pacing around it, his eyes fell on a lighter plate on the dark material. He stepped there but this time did not lift his foot. The uplink, as before, was instantaneous. The flooring within the impression parted, and a large metal pad lifted up before fully extending into an obvious med-bed, the sensors along the side lighting up in anticipation of a patient. He stepped away, testing how long he could maintain the connection. It lasted for several