5. Talia

The worst thing was Jules's knowing grin. Okay, no, the worst was that I was standing in front of her naked, blushing, hair in disarray, but I ignored that. If I didn't, I'd die of embarrassment.

"So, you survived your encounter with an Ancient, and established friendly relations?" Her eyes sparkled. "A pity the encounter ruined your gear, but that still sounds like a coup."

"I, uh, what did you…?" My question trailed off. I didn't really want to know what she'd seen. Jules, of course, only grinned wider and raised an eyebrow, making me wait for her to say something or for the ground to swallow me. I wasn't sure which I'd prefer.

"Nothing," she said after I'd waited approximately ten thousand years. "Nothing at all. I mean, obviously we sent a drone in to check on you, but in the rush, someone must have fucked with the visual settings and we couldn't see a thing."

Oh, thank god. My legs trembled and Jules had her arms around me in an instant, steadying me. As she did so, she whispered into my ear. "Of course, I heard quite a bit. You were very enthusiastic."

In that moment, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to die, kill her, or both. Instead of murder-suicide, I settled for groaning. "I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"What are friends for?" She stood back, checked that I was supporting my own weight, and let go. "You know you're going to be talking about this for the rest of your life, right? It's just something you'll need to get used to, because unless you become a hermit on an island somewhere, people are going to be bugging you about your ‘first contact experience' forever. You kinda made history."

My heart fell and cheeks burned. "I honestly hadn't thought that far ahead."

"I figured as much. You were distracted, after all." She reached into a bag at her feet and pulled out a fresh jumpsuit for me. "That's why I'm here alone. I had to hold off Waterman with a baseball bat and threats to fill his boots with scorpions. You need a chance to adjust before he buries you under his questions and tries to figure out how he can take the credit."

Stuffing myself into the jumpsuit with unseemly haste, I snorted a laugh at that. "Thanks, Jules. I owe you one."

"Which puts me, what, thirteen favors up?" Her grin flashed again. "Just you wait till I cash them all in."

Sighing dramatically, I looked up at the ceiling and declared, "I am doomed."

Jules was smug,but she was also right. The rest of the expedition swarmed us as soon as we made it back up into the more explored layers. To be fair, most of them wanted to check I was okay, which I appreciated. Others, though, started interrogating me as soon as they saw me. Dr. Waterman had no compunctions about quizzing me for details about my sex life.

What followed was the most painfully embarrassing week of my life. First, I had to record everything that happened between me and Kal'va. In minute detail. It left me feeling like I was in the running for a ‘most pornographic research paper' award.

After that came the battery of medical tests, to check if I'd picked up some Ancient nano-virus or something. Next to useless, as our medic Cho admitted while he administered them. If the Ancients wanted to hide something from us, human technology wouldn't find it.

Still, I appeared to be in fine health. Cho checked me out twice a day, annoying but thorough, and meanwhile I sat through interviews that felt more like interrogations. Everyone had their own spin on their questions, but the one thing everyone agreed on was keeping me from going back into the crypt. Intellectually, I understood. I wasn't objective, I might be compromised, and I couldn't be trusted to act professionally.

On a personal level, it wasn't so simple. I longed to see Kal'va again, to be with him, to feel his touch. I wanted to study him, of course, but that was a distant second behind the intimacy I craved, which made me a terrible researcher. Reluctantly, I stayed away, and tried to keep my mind off the magnificent alien monster by studying other finds.

Futile, obviously. Not only was he all anyone wanted to talk about, and I couldn't get my mind off him. Every spare moment, he was on my mind. Every night, he was in my dreams.

At least I got to watch some footage of Kal'va, collected by drone. All it did was whet my appetite for more—the alien who'd so effectively ravished me sat unmoving at the far end of his crypt from the breach. Light playing through his crystals was the only sign of life, shifting colors illuminating him and the surrounding stone. I dove into those, wringing every bit of meaning I could from the scans.

"What's he doing?"Jules asked one morning over breakfast. Her main holoscreen displayed Kal'va, still motionless, and the side displays showed the energy fields around him. Those were active, pulsing and changing, from radio waves to x-rays. If the drone got too close, the displays melted into static, so Jules kept it well away.

"How would I know?" I grumbled into my coffee cup. I hadn't slept well, which always left me grouchy. "It's not like Waterman lets me talk to him or anything. I know less about him than you do, and I'm supposed to be your boss."

"Oh, stop it." Juliette threw a roll at me to emphasize her words. "Don't mope just because you can't visit your boyfriend and get the dick you need. The rest of us left our partners behind, you've had more action than we've seen in months! You'll have plenty of chances to learn more soon. It's not like he's responded to anything else yet, just you. Your career's set for life, even aside from the…other benefits."

Blood rushed to my cheeks, and I fought the urge to hide my face. I tried to make a joke out of it. "If I don't get arrested for fucking with Ancient tech, you mean?"

I said tried, right? Not my fault if my sense of humor wasn't at its best. Jules snickered anyway, toasting my poor joke with her mug.

"You've got access to all the same data as we do," she pointed out. "Plus a little extra from fucking with Ancient technology. If you've got any insights, I'd love to hear them."

I sighed and nodded. My only hypothesis was crazy, but maybe Jules would talk some sense into me.

"The weird thing is, I can't see any evidence he's breathing. Or has a heartbeat. And he hasn't eaten or drunk anything, right? It's like some of his biological processes are happening somewhere else."

Jules opened her mouth, shut it with a snap, and tried again. "I want to say that's a stupid idea, but I don't have a better explanation."

"Fuck, I kind of hoped you'd talk me out of this idea." I sighed, rubbed my face, and then pushed ahead. "The hyperwave fields link him to those jars on the wall behind him. I think his heart is in one."

Scrunching up her face, Jules started to object, but whatever she was about to say got drowned out by a burst of static from both of our comms. I winced at the noise and answered as fast as I could so it would shut up.

"This had better be a goddamn emergency," I snapped. "That hurt."

"Boss, yeah, uh, you'd better get up here?" Paulo. Of course, I'd picked the youngest and most sensitive undergrad to shout at. Fortunately, he didn't seem to notice. Unfortunately, that meant whatever was on his mind probably was a goddamn emergency. I didn't waste any time on asking more questions, I just put down my coffee and ran.

Something about the tomb interfered with radio, so our comms tent was the one part of our camp we had to leave on the surface, tucked between the ruins of cyclopean buildings to shelter it from passing storms. Most of the team had gathered there by the time I arrived, and I shoved my way through to see the hologram display showing a yellow dot moving toward our location.

"They're about five minutes out," Paulo said. "No ID codes, no communication, nothing."

"Definitely headed here." Doctor Marcus Waterman, stating the obvious as usual. With literally nothing else for hundreds of miles, where else could they be going? I sighed. If we didn't need an accredited doctor of xenoarchaeology to sign our paperwork, he wouldn't be here.

"I don't like that they're not talking," Paulo said. "I've been trying them for the last ten minutes."

"Stuff and nonsense. Their comms equipment is malfunctioning, that's all, and they obviously have news for us."

"Then why didn't anyone call to tell us they're coming?" I asked. Behind his scraggly beard, Marcus's cheeks reddened, and I tried to crush a brief flash of vindictive glee at the sight. He was happy to dismiss someone else's theories, but woe to anyone who suggested he might be mistaken about a single thing.

"That just…" he paused, looked around, and started over. "The equipment failure must be on our end, not theirs. We're not receiving calls because we can't."

Paulo muttered something under his breath. I didn't speak Portuguese, but I recognized swearing in any language. Putting a steadying hand on his shoulder, I met Marcus's gaze.

"We've kept on top of maintenance. There are no error messages. Everything else is working fine. I don't appreciate your insinuation about Paulo's competence, Marcus."

Again, his face darkened, and this time, his eyes narrowed to slits. His attention laser-focused on me, he stepped closer.

"That's Doctor Waterman," he said, or snarled. "Remember who's in charge of this expedition."

Sure. You didn't find this site or put together the expedition. I did all of that. You're just here to make it legal.It was frustrating as hell, but what could I do?

At least I got him off Paulo's back. That tiny victory would have to do. Sighing, I turned to look for the approaching craft. It wasn't visible yet, but it would be soon.

"I don't have time for this," I said. "We need to find out who's coming and what they want."

A small spot appeared on the horizon, growing swiftly as it approached. They were coming in low, hard, and fast, and that wasn't normal at all. Nor legal, given how close we were to Ancient ruins.

"I have a bad feeling about this," someone said to mutters of agreement.

The ship turned its thrusters forward as it approached, killing its speed at the cost of kicking up a cloud of sand at us. We all had enough experience with sandstorms to cover our faces, but that was, at the very best, rude. I looked around, checking that the rest of the expedition members were okay.

While I was busy with that, Marcus marched forward, and he was halfway to the ship before I noticed. I wasn't about to run after him, so I settled for glaring at his back so intensely he should have caught fire. Fine, if it means that much to you, you can be the one who greets these idiots.

The black sand cloud kept me from getting a good look at the ship, but what I saw wasn't reassuring. This wasn't a transport ship like we'd arrived on. It looked military, with turrets under each wing and heavy thrusters. Worse, it had no identifying marks at all. No name, no serial number, nothing.

That didn't seem right at all. Before I could say anything, the ship announced itself.

"Hello, folks. I'm Hector Rush, and I'm here to rescue you." A man's voice boomed from speakers mounted on the hull, loud enough to make everyone wince. "There's a rough storm coming, and Taverner couldn't get through to your comms, so they sent me to drag you all to safety."

A hatch opened and a man in a hardsuit stepped out, waving to us. Again, that wasn't right. Armored spacesuits had two uses—industrial work in a vacuum, and combat.

If Marcus noticed that, he ignored it. Shooting a see-I-told-you-so look at me over his shoulder, he straightened up and advanced in plain view. The speaker nodded to him and continued. "If you'd all gather right here in an orderly fashion, we'll get everyone out in plenty of time."

"Now, hang on a minute," Marcus said, loud enough that Rush's microphone picked him up as well. "You don't understand the value of this find. We'll need to secure the site before we go anywhere."

Rush started to say something. True to form, Marcus spoke over him. "You've come a long way to give us this warning, and we appreciate it, but we don't need any further assistance. We're professionals, we've coped with harsh weather before, and here we have a shelter that's stood up to local conditions for at least ten thousand years, and probably a lot longer. We'll be fine."

Which was the nicest thing he'd said about us in months. He might be an ass, but he wasn't about to make us look bad in front of outsiders. If for no other reason than his reputation would suffer by association.

"Friend, I have my orders." The false warmth in Rush's voice revealed his annoyance. "We're all going to leave, and we'll bring you straight back once the weather's better. If everyone would just get over here, we'll?—"

"Oh, no," Marcus interrupted. "You aren't in charge here, Mr. Rush. Do you even know who I am?"

I snorted. He wasn't some celebrity scientist, the odds of a random spaceship captain having so much as heard his name were roughly zero. Rush stood still as a statue, and I guessed he wasn't used to being told ‘no' by anyone, let alone an anonymous academic with delusions of grandeur.

"I'd better go smooth this out," I said to no one in particular. I'd made it two steps before Rush spoke again.

"It's Colonel Rush, Doctor, and I don't give a shit who you are." Now his voice was a cold hiss, and I drew a breath to say something, anything, to defuse the situation.

I never got the chance to speak. With a smooth, practiced motion, the colonel drew a pistol and raised it. With a loud snap-CRACK, the stun beam's charge hit Marcus Waterman right between the eyes and dropped him like a sack of potatoes.

Everyone froze. My heart thumped, my fingers trembled, and as hard as I tried, I couldn't move or even speak.

Rush turned toward us, pistol still raised. "So much for doing this neatly," he said. Behind him, the ship's turrets came to life, tracking in on us. More soldiers ran out of the hold, stunners raised and ready to fire.

That was enough to break my paralysis. Grabbing Paulo by the shoulder, I shoved him ahead of me across the black sands. "Run!" I shouted back, though no one needed me to tell them. Behind me, stunners cracked, and bodies hit the ground. Unconscious bodies, I hoped. Shooting someone with a military stun-gun wasn't safe.

I didn't turn back to check. Keeping my head down and sprinting between the ruined buildings, I did my best to put the heavy stone between me and the weapons. A tingling numbness made me stumble, but I recovered and kept going—stunners are effective, but short-ranged, and I must have caught the edge of a charge. For a heady moment, I thought I'd escaped.

Then the ship's laser turrets stuttered into life, blasting the sand behind me into fused glass. Not wanting to find out what lasers designed for space combat would do to a human body, I dove for the tomb entrance, tackling Paulo and tumbling down just in time to dodge a burst that would have vaporized us both. Instead, it hit the black stone above us. The Ancient stonework held up better than I expected—rather than burying us alive, it came down in a partial collapse that blocked the opening behind us. Paulo grabbed my arm, pulled me to my feet, and we ran into the maze of tunnels.

We took turns at random, risking Ancient deathtraps to put more distance between us and any pursuers. Luckily, we triggered nothing before we exhausted ourselves and had to slow to a walk, panting. With no sounds of pursuit, I dared hope we were safe for a while.

No sooner had the thought entered my mind than something cracked off the dark, marbled wall inches from my head. I yelped and jumped back, tangling with Paulo and taking us both down in a tumble. Flailing around, I shone my flashlight in all directions until it caught a figure crouched in the next junction.

"What the actual fuck, Talia?" Juliette's shout held panic and confusion, and her face was white as snow. In her shaking hands she held heavy tools, one raised to throw. My arm steadied, and the flashlight beam caught one of the route markers we'd placed at junctions to guide people to the explored and safe areas.

I wanted to scream. For once, I'd tried to get lost, and my subconscious navigator had brought me right back to the dig.

Juliette wasn't waiting for me to catch my breath. "What's happening up there? I heard gunfire, then the comms shut down."

Paulo whimpered something, then steadied. "I don't know, raiders or something. They were going to kill us all. Talia saved me, got me down here, but I don't know about the others. "

"Fuck." Juliette slumped, and her resigned tone was heartbreaking. "So, we're dead."

"They used stunners," I said, giving Paulo a glarefor skipping that vital detail. "I mean, yes, I agree they're going to kill everyone, but I think they want to make it seem like an accident if they can. No one's dead yet."

"But they will be, as soon as they've rounded us all up."

"Well, yeah. But I've got a plan." More like an idea. That would have to do.

Juliette frowned, following my gaze, face paling when she understood. "You cannot be serious."