Chapter 7

Ian gave up trying to see through the purple haze surrounding the ship and turned his attention back to the scanners. There he could see their progress as Mari eased Finder's Keeper down through the cloudy disturbance to the surface of the small planet below. Slowly the clouds gave way to a clearer atmosphere and an impressive view from several miles above a large, rocky landmass.

"Look at that!" Mari pointed, then angled the ship slightly to their left.

Ian glanced up and nodded once. "That's it. What's left of it, anyway." He looked at his Keeper. "That's the source of the anomaly, all right, but it might have been destroyed in the crash."

"We'll see." Mari's eyes were gleaming as she gazed down at the massive destruction below. The huge alien ship they'd been tracking had obviously come down against its will, but judging by the original size and spread of debris, it had to have been a relatively controlled crash. Not one likely to have left a survivor of any kind, but the damage to the planet's surface had been kept to a relative minimum. "All I need to retire with is right below us, alive or dead."

Ian felt his face flush and turned his attention back to the scene. He'd hoped deep down inside that this trip would last a few years, as some of their other more difficult jobs had. In the past few months, she'd brought up the topic of his sale more and more. It was obvious she was intent on retiring, and he would play no further part in her life.

The lessons and lectures of his childhood echoed faintly in the back of his mind as he prepared for the landing, but he took no comfort in their teachings. He'd lived a spoiled life for a Sha'erah. He knew that. One Keeper since the time of his birth, then passed quietly on to that man's second wife, whom he'd already known for years. This would technically be his third Keeper, but his first real sale. It felt like a rejection. Like he was no longer something to be desired and kept, but to be sold while he still had some monetary value. He wished he'd had more time to spend with Evan alone. Just talking to another Sha'erah had been a rare treat. And Evan's history seemed so dramatic - what he'd learned of it - Ian was sure he could have gained some insight if given the chance.

"We might just be done in time to look up Marcase for a ride home after all." Mari eased the ship around, setting down on the soft ground with expert smoothness.

"Do you really think he'll give us a ride back once he finds out you found something he failed to discover himself?" He started the control shutdown procedures while his Keeper began unstrapping her safety harness.

"We're not obligated to tell him exactly what's in our hold, Ian," Mari chastised.

"We're set." Ian got out of his co-pilot seat and followed his Keeper down to the lower level. They'd already scanned the atmosphere and surrounding area and found no immediate hazards to human life. Alex's last words of advice echoed through his mind -- Take your time -- Nice theory, but when your talent is locating, it doesn't work to stall. No matter how much he might want to. No, Mari was going to find her samples, pack them up and start looking for a ride back to Scotian and a buyer for him.

"You ready?" Mari hefted a sample case and smiled. "This should be interesting."

"Yeah." Ian nodded in return and followed her to the door.

It was a pleasant little planet, warm and brightly colored by the odd shades of blue and purple clouds courtesy of the nebula surrounding it. The sky was almost surreal, blending colors in a soft, moving pattern, a delicate contrast to the chaos of the charged gasses slamming into the upper atmosphere. Ian found an odd sort of comfort in the bizarre display, as if the planet understood his current emotional struggle and was sympathizing.

In sharp contrast to the brightly colored sky, the ground stretching out before them in a forty-mile radius was scorched, blackened and scarred. In the center stood what was left of the bulk of a ship, alien in appearance, that had struck the surface of the planet hard enough to cause the nearly complete collapse of its infrastructure. Littered about the area for miles were pieces, large and small, of what had once been an impressive space-faring vessel. Now it wasn't much more than twisted chunks of strange metal and charred debris.

Scattered here and there along the path Mari had chosen were bits of crystals, catching the sunlight on smooth surfaces and shining it back at the sky in voiceless defiance of a tragic end. Ian knelt down and retrieved one large crystal, turning it over in his hand.

"Here's your proof, I suppose." He handed it to his Keeper and glanced around at the multitude of scattered pieces. "Silicone based life. It looks like they broke apart on impact."

"Humans would have burned, but they're not flammable, apparently." Mari examined the specimen. "I hope death was just as quick, for their sakes." She put the crystal in her case and continued toward the larger bulk of the wreck. "Wonder what caused the crash."

Ian suppressed a shudder as he stepped over a rather large conglomerate of shards. He glanced to his right and saw another wide swath of chard ground littered with crystals. "Look at that. They're all mixed up with each other."

Mari paused and looked in the direction Ian was pointing. She sighed heavily and shook her head. "Even if you wanted to give them a proper burial, you wouldn't know what went where."

Ian looked at her and swallowed, then turned away from the sight. "Aliens or not, it's tragic."

"Yes," Mari nodded slowly. "Yes it is." She turned to Ian, then waved him forward. "Come on, we can't help them, let's not torture ourselves about it."

Ian sighed and walked forward. When he was beside Mari, she put an arm around his shoulder to steady herself against the uneven ground and continued toward the larger, main bulk of the ship. It appeared partially intact, probably due to the sheer size of the original. Even from their angle, it was clear some compartments had most likely escaped complete destruction.

Ian stopped at the base of the hulk and looked for the safest route inside.

"I hope for our sakes, they kept their valuables and sensitive technology in the strongest part of the ship." Mari set her case on the ground and searched the area right around their feet, picking up a few more crystals.

The tingling in Ian's fingers changed intensity. He looked at his hands, puzzled by the feeling. "There's something here."

"Something alive?" Mari jumped up, startled.

Ian shook his head. "No, nothing alive." He turned on the scanner to confirm that assumption. "Nothing bigger than an insect, at least."

"Then what?"

He shook his head and shrugged apologetically. "I don't know."

"Well, let's get inside and have a look, then." Mari shoved her samples into the case and hefted the strap over one shoulder.

To their right was a gap of torn metal leading into a darkened corridor, shaded by the bulk of the levels above. Sunlight filtered in through various cracks and chips here and there, but several yards in, the corridor angled around a corner, and all outside light faded into obscurity. Ian flipped on a hand light and scanned the walls, pointing out alien symbols seemingly painted there. It was amazing, even in a state of virtual destruction. Just knowing they were walking through corridors built by an undiscovered sentient race was enough to boggle anyone's mind. Ian found he had to concentrate to keep his attention focused on their goal and the dangers awaiting them.

"What a sight!" Mari stopped at a crossing hallway and stared around her in wonder. "I could spend years just learning how to read this language and finding out what these creatures knew. Imagine it, Ian! Where are they from? Where have they been in this vast universe that we haven't even thought to go yet?"

"We could always come back." Ian kept his voice casual, trying hard not to sound as hopeful as he felt. Speaking your mind when it came to desires wasn't a luxury Sha'erah were allowed. Just having desires wasn't allowed, but he was having a hard time with that one lately.

Mari laughed lightly. "I just might have to." She glanced at him and smiled. "Your new Keeper might have his hands full, searching out sources of these specimens for clients if the Consortiums can find the funding."

Mari chose left, so Ian followed quietly behind, cursing himself for having allowed a moment of hope to clutter his dejected attempts to accept the inevitable.

It took three hours to find a route to the level above them, where Ian was certain something waited, then another hour to locate what looked to be a massive hold area, filled with specimens held in state inside individual cases. They were awestruck by the sheer immensity of what they found. Even in the ship's current state of destruction, the hold remained mostly intact, with sunlight streaming through the occasional crack in the high ceiling or fissure in the walls. With the added light, Ian and Mari could see rows and rows of specimen cases, reaching up as far as the eye could see. No larger than a closet, each one held a different and fascinating creature, plant or unidentifiable being. They seemed to be dead, and held in place by a clear, extremely solid substance filling the case and holding them in place.

"My God, look at this." Mari's voice was barely a whisper. "Incredible."

Ian forced his eyes away from the thousands of cases and cleared his throat, trying to focus on their task. "We'll need better lighting, and climbing gear. Unless we can reach it from above." Ian took it out and flipped the machine on, scrolling around until he located their position. "Whatever I'm sensing is coming from up above, on that highest level."

"We might fit through that crack over there, near the far wall." Mari craned her neck, looking up at the sunlight filtering back down. "If we can get the ship settled safely enough on top, we wouldn't even have to climb the outside."

"I'm not sure how stable this thing is."

"It's a little too big of a chunk to be swaying in the breeze, Ian." Mari looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"But how stable is this planet?" Ian pointed to some of the bits and pieces of ship and crystals strewn about the floor. "If there's quakes, we could be dislodged and end up in smaller pieces than these guys."

"I don't suppose we have enough geological data to make that determination?" Mari pulled a probe sheet out of one pocket and looked it over. "No, not really." She sighed and shrugged, stuffing the sheet back into the pocket. "Well, we can fly up there and deposit our gear, then climb up that side there, near the corner, and set up a camp of sorts on the top level. With our gear and supplies on the roof, we can lower them down instead of hauling them up and save some time and effort. If you're sensing something, I wanna know what it is."

Ian nodded and put the scanner away. It was routine, them working a locate like this, and it felt good. They could work for hours without having to explain to each other what they were thinking or planning, like a well-tuned machine performing tasks and assignments without pause. Even meals were taken in stride, and rarely interrupted the flow of work or excited discovery.

They fell into that routine and worked through the rest of the day. Finder's Keeper found an easy and stable landing area on top of the massive section of wreckage that had both Ian and Mari convinced only the most violent of ground quakes would dislodge it. Once the decision was made to keep their ship on top of the alien hulk, unloading and setting up camp was easier, and completed in a few short hours.

After a rest and their evening meal, Mari's anticipation grew too strong to contain, and she insisted they make a late-night tour of the specimen cases to locate her prize. Armed with portable lights and protective eyewear, they climbed down into the hold.

Ian's palms had been tingling strongly since dinner, reflecting Mari's growing desire to find the proof and samples she would need. He secured a portable light to one shoulder then opened his hands, palms out, and concentrated on his Keeper's goal. Almost instantly the tingling changed to an intense itch. He rubbed his hands together to relieve some of the feeling, then started walking forward along the walkway. Beside him, glowing eerily in the shadow of their portable lights, rested bizarre creatures and strange specimens the likes of which Ian had never seen. He tried not to notice them, but now and again he couldn't help glancing over at one. The idea that these things had been going about their own business, then happened to be snatched and preserved in some hideous alien trophy case was nothing short of nauseating.

"It's close, whatever it is."

When they reached the end of the walkway, Ian attached a safety line to the edge and slid down one level. After Mari had joined him, he continued back up the row of specimen cases. Near the center, the tingling grew unbearable. Ian was almost afraid of what he was going to find, but he couldn't ignore it any longer. He stopped when the feelings turned into the painful burning of discovery, and turned toward the case. With a shaking hand, he directed his light on the shimmering surface, and froze in horrified surprise.

"My God," Mari whispered. She moved closer to Ian and moved her light up and down the entire length of the specimen case. "I think we'd better call Marcase."

Next Chapter