Traveler in the Dark

34

Issk'ath's massive pincers closed around Rebecca's wrist and yanked her back. She heard a swift whir as Issk'ath's wings opened and beat against the air, and they hovered over the slumping ramp as several feet dissolved away in a sudden rumble. She dangled, clutching Spixworth's case out of pure instinct to grab anything. She sucked at the slow air in her suit and squeezed her eyes shut.

"You need to drop the case. You are denser than my people, Emery," said Issk'ath.

"Sorry," said Rebecca. She forced her hand open. The lack of a thud made her reluctant to open her eyes. Her body swung forward with sudden movement.

After a few seconds there was a scrabbling sound and the deep whir of Issk'ath's wings cut off. "You do not need to iterate over your density," it said.

Rebecca's feet scraped across ground and she laughed as she opened her eyes. Issk'ath was slowly lowering its pincer to help her stand.

"Dorothy says you find that humorous. I lack context for this."

Rebecca laughed harder, bending over her knees, her fingers brushing the loose dirt at the edge of the nest. Issk'ath waited for her to catch her breath. "It wasn't really that funny," she said at last, "but we laugh for many reasons. Relief after intense terror being one of those reasons." She puffed out a shaky breath and unhooked her helmet. The breeze was soft and warm. She wondered, idly if it was mild the whole year or if this area had extreme seasonal fluctuation. Something to ask Issk'ath later. "Thank you, Issk'ath. That could have been very bad." She took another slow breath, hoping her legs would stop shaking. "Come on, we don't want them to leave us behind." She glanced back. "Too bad about Spixworth's samples."

"I could retrieve them, if you wish."

Rebecca considered. She tried the feed again. "Captain Al Jahi, are you there?"

"Emery? Where have you been?"

Issk'ath's wings snapped open again and the breezy gust they made fluttered Rebecca's hair as it took off, circling the nest, looking for the fallen samples.

"Didn't Oxwell and Spixworth tell you? They should have returned by now."

"Oxwell is back. She says Issk'ath shut down. You and Spixworth need to get back to the Wolfinger before it reactivates. We're going home while we have the chance. We'll let the Admiral decide how to handle the robot when we return."

"Didn't you hear me? Spixworth isn't with me. He followed Alice out of the nest. Besides, Issk'ath is with me. The colony it holds wishes to help with our colonization efforts. It will save years of research."

There was a long silence on the feed. "Captain?"

"Sorry, Emery. Liu and I were— never mind."

"You were aborting preflight," said Rebecca flatly. "Were you even going to send someone out to let us know?"

"I'm sorry, Rebecca," said Al Jahi. "Oxwell was convinced that you'd already made a decision to stay. And I was uncertain how much time we had. Not enough, as it turns out. I had to protect my kids."

"Stars, Chione, this is supposed to be a research mission. You were considering leaving two healthy, sane people to starve? Do you really think Issk'ath would risk its own existence for some strange idea of vengeance for something that caused it zero actual harm?"

"This wasn't the plan for me either!" shouted Al Jahi. Rebecca could hear her ragged breathing. "Find Spixworth and get back to the Wolfinger," she snapped, though a little quieter. "I'll send Blick and Titov to cover the area between us and the nest. You check the interior. We're going home. Let someone else decide the entire fate of the human species. I never wanted to."