He found Ara and Yuri below, fixing the evening meal for their group, and explained what was happening. Both women immediately agreed to guide them into the light side, and hurried back to their quarters to pack up a few things for the journey.

Commander Ellis secured them a mobile unit that had been emptied of its supply load and reattached the seats while Ethan fired up the com system and scanners. When Yuri and Ara arrived fifteen minutes later, they stowed the gear and started for the lightside gate.

Ethan took the front seat to drive, while Ara sat beside him, amazed and delighted to be inside the mobile unit that promised to cut their travel time by half.

"A thing such as this would greatly aid in delivery of the harvest," she said as she looked at all the lights and screens, her hands carefully tucked in her lap for fear of touching something important.

"Maybe one day soon they can," Ethan replied. He glanced over his shoulder where Ellis and Yuri were sitting in two of the additional four seats. "I set the transmitter on automatic. If Sentinel is just out of range, it should respond when we get closer."

Commander Ellis nodded as he adjusted a screen in front of him. "That thing has long range, but I suppose there could be sun spots." He shook his head. "What I wouldn't give for just one satellite up there."

"There is a satellite up there," Ethan quipped. "Somewhere."

They drove through the gate and made good time to the hills, where they had to slow down a bit to take the switchback path up the loose dirt to the pass at the top. Yuri and Ara were amazed, and a little nervous, at the mobile's ability to climb the steep path without toppling over. Commander Ellis passed the time by explaining how the all-terrain wheels functioned, and various aspects of physics and mobilization while Ethan concentrated on the path Ara had indicated, and tried not to think about all the things that could have gone wrong.

He was so focused, it was several hours before he realized he was looking at a sun in the sky for the first time in a month.

Or twenty years and one month, technically, since he'd gone into cryosleep after a full night's binge drinking and had already landed on the dark side of the world when he'd woken up.

"That's a sight for sore eyes, eh?" Ellis said as he and Ara switched seats for a moment. "Look at all the color. I was starting to think this world was pretty monochromatic."

Ethan glanced around. They were crossing a grassland now, of mostly green and tan strands, but trees dotted the horizon sporting bright orange leaves that would have appeared black on the dark side of the world. On their left, they were passing a distant herd of harumf, and even from several yards away, Ethan could see a more iridescent color to their skin, not the slate gray he'd seen before.

"It's different," he nodded. "I was getting used to the gray, though. This seems almost too bright." He glanced over his shoulder at Ara and Yuri, who were watching a screen showing them their landscape in wire frame HUD mode. "It's amazing what you can get used to in a short time."

Commander Ellis glanced at the two women, then raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I suppose so."

They drove on, through what was considered the sleep period, even though there was no sunset or darkness. Yuri and Commander Ellis folded down the four seats into two makeshift beds while Ethan and Ara took the first shift driving.

"The first village is there, just beyond that crop of trees," Ara said in a quiet voice. "But John Patterson said that he was in the second, did he not?"

Ethan nodded. "He did. They were harvesting fruit on a hill, and he was going to move out beyond that point." He adjusted their direction and aimed the mobile for the hills beyond. "I'd like to start there, since that's the last point we had contact."

"We will arrive soon," she replied. "If this mobile can drive through water, we could arrive sooner."

Ethan looked at her. "How deep? We can forge shallows, and some rivers, as long as the wheels can find purchase."

Ara pointed, then remembered what Ethan had shown her about the scanner in the dash, and used the joystick to move the camera's image. "There, to the right. If we were to walk, we would travel further north, around this section, because to go near the river is to come too close to the place of beasts. But if we can move over the river, we will remain safe inside, yes?"

"The place of beasts?" Ethan glanced at her even as he turned the mobile to the right. "What's that?"

"It is why we cross to the hills the other direction," Ara replied. "To go near the river is to get too close. The place of beasts is a very large place. A hill, much longer than those ahead of us, but filled with open places."

"You mean caves?"

Ara nodded. "Caves, yes. The beasts take refuge in caves, so it is very dangerous to go near any caves that you cannot see all the way."

"We took refuge in a cave on the dark side, just outside the forest," he said. "But it was tall and wide and very open.

"Yes, those caves are good shelter," Ara replied. "But these caves are forbidden. Our fathers, and their fathers before them, all told us of the dangers in these caves, so we do not go near them."

Ethan took a breath, then set the mobile on a direct path to the river. "Sounds like the kind of place that could ruin radio transmissions."

"We cannot go inside," Ara insisted. "It is dangerous. No one of my peoples has ever gone passed the river."

"If it's beasts you're afraid of, don't worry," Ethan said. "They can't get us inside this mobile. But if Colonel Patterson went anywhere near there, I have to check it out."

Ara gave a nod and sat back. "Then I will take you there."

They drove for another four hours before seeing the river. It was shallow and slow moving, but cut a wide path as it wound through the hills. Ara pointed to a taller hill a half mile away.

"That is the place of beasts," she said.

Ethan brought the mobile to a halt, then climbed out along with Commander Ellis and the women. He climbed to the top of the unit and used his HUD lens to get a closer look at the large hill Ara didn't want to approach. It was about two hundred feet high, and at least six hundred feet long. The wire frame depiction on his small screen also indicated more than one oddly shaped opening, and several hollow areas inside.

He climbed down to where Commander Ellis was examining the readout on a small portable computer.

"I can see where it would be an ideal breeding area for wild animals," Ellis said, pointing at the screen. "Assuming those beasts we've encountered are cave dwellers." He looked at Ethan. "You don't suppose these are other beasts, do you? I've noticed Yuri tends to lump all animals into named creatures, or beasts."

"Well, we can ask." Ethan moved to open the door to the mobile, but something caught his eye up ahead. He turned to look, squinting in the light, and caught the unmistakable glint of sunlight off metal.

"What is it?" Commander Ellis looked around, startled.

Ethan pointed. "There."

Without waiting for confirmation, he started toward the area of tall grass, rifle at the ready. The weapon's sensors weren't detecting movement, but he approached cautiously. Behind him, he heard Commander Ellis charge his weapon, then the mobile's door opened and both Ara and Yuri followed.

As Ethan drew closer, he could see red stains in the green grass, and matted down sections where the tall strands had been broken. He swallowed and slowed his approach, bracing himself for the discovery.

There wasn't much. A few bones, red stains spread out through a large swatch of trampled grass, and some bits of clothing were all that was left of at least one Marine.

"Oh my God!" Commander Ellis came to a halt a few feet away, holding his arm over his nose. "Who? Who was it?"

Ethan moved closer. There was a rifle on the ground nearby, and the broken hilt of a knife, stained in red.

"What is Patterson? Is there more than one?" Ellis moved around, staying a few feet away from the general carnage.

Ethan found the metal dog tags that were reflecting the sun and lifted them.

"It was the beasts," Ara said quietly. "They consume all."

"Pyro," Ethan said. He sighed, then stuffed the dog tags into a vest pocket and looked around the grass. "Just him, no one else."

"They attacked in many numbers." Ara pointed around at the grass, and the animal prints in the moist ground. "What they cannot consume, they return to their caves."

"You mean, the others could have been killed and taken back there?" Ellis pointed toward the caves. "To be eaten later?"

Ethan shook his head and stood. "No," he said. "There's only one set of footprints here. The rest are animal tracks." He picked up the blood-stained rifle.

"This man was alone," Yuri said. "And came to close to the place of beasts."

Ethan nodded. "So where are the others?" He looked around, squinting in the bright light. "The colonel left Pyro in the village while he was checking out what's beyond those hills. What brought him here?"

Ellis stepped closer, away from the carnage. "Maybe he couldn't raise the colonel on the com either, and came this way to investigate."

"But why this way?" Ethan asked. "It's an easier walk around the other way."

Ellis shrugged. "We'd be safe in the mobile, should we--?"

"Let's go," Ethan ordered.

They hurried back to the mobile, and Ethan had Commander Ellis take the stick while he stood at the scanner aimed at the long hill. They pulled forward until they reached the edge of the wide river, then Ellis eased the mobile into the water.

Ara and Yuri were sitting, but Ethan had to hold a rail along he roof to keep from falling sideways as the vehicle dipped over the bank and found purchase in the rocks and sand lining the bottom.

Ethan checked the transmitter, but it showed no indication of a signal coming in. He adjusted the gain and watched some lines scatter over the small screen.

"Captain Marshall, this is Major Griff, do you copy?"

Static filled the speakers.

"Captain Marshall, this is Major Griff, come in." Ethan adjusted some knobs, but no one replied. "There has to be something interfering."

"We weren’t detecting anything back in the gray city," Ellis offered. "So I doubt it's the same signal that interfered with the Solaria. Could just be sun spot activity."

Ethan stopped trying, set the com system back on remote transmission, and walked to the front of the mobile. They were nearly to the other side of the river now, and could see a gap between the hill of caves and the rise to their left.

"We can pass through here and go to where John Patterson was to be," Ara said. "I do not believe he would have gone into the caves. The guides would have spoken of the dangers."

"Let's angle that way," Ethan ordered. "And scan these hills for mineral deposits." He went back to turn on one of the other computers lining the sides of the mobile. "If they're full of iron ore, they could be the cause of the transmission issues."

"Good call," Commander Ellis replied. "I hadn't thought of that."

As they moved out of the river's far bank and closer to the hills, Ethan scanned the area but found no large deposits of iron. He did get some odd chemical readings from the cave system, but the signal was bouncing too much to clarify.

"I'm getting something on the right, but it's not what I expected," he said, adjusting the sensors. "There's titanium scattered around in there."

"Titanium?" Ellis glanced over his shoulder at Ethan. "That could do it."

"And what is this, titanium?" Yuri asked.

"A metal," Ethan replied. "Well, it turns into a metal when it's extracted from the minerals it's bound to." He glanced through the windows at the front of the mobile. "If these hills are laced with it, it could be interfering with our transmissions."

"So if we continue on, we will be beyond the hills, and you can speak with John Patterson again," Ara concluded with a reassuring smile. "I hoped it would be this simple."

Ethan nodded and flipped off the scanner. "Maybe."

They drove closer, and Commander Ellis steered for the pass between the two hills. Ethan studied the ground as they moved closer for any signs of footprints or beast paw prints crushing the grasses. He saw neither, but called a halt to their forward motion before they'd come through the pass.

"I want to climb up there and get a good scan of what's ahead," he explained as he grabbed his HUD gear and started for the door. "You can stay in here and watch for beasts if you feel safer."

Ara and Yuri stood immediately, arming their crossbows.

"We have promised to guide you," Ara said. "Not sit and wait where we believe to be safe."

Ethan smiled, then opened the door and stepped out, scanning quickly for any movement in the tall grasses. Ara and Yuri jumped out after him, followed by Commander Ellis. He started toward the point where the steep rock met the grass below, and slid his rifle around to his back. Reaching out for a handful of stems from a bush on the upward slope, Ethan found some footing and pulled himself up, repeating the action with the other bushes, vines and rocks dotting the steep incline. When he reached the top, he looked around quickly for any sign of movement, then turned and gave Ara, then Yuri and hand up to the top.

Commander Ellis pulled himself up last. "Maybe these creatures like caves because they don't climb."

"They have no difficultly climbing," Ara informed him. "These beasts are not the beasts that you have seen in the darkside."

Ethan looked at her. "What kind are they?"

Yuri shrugged. "They are different."

He blinked, suddenly more than a little nervous. "Different in what way?"

Ara held up both arms. "They are tall, with arms like this. They stand up high to seek their prey, but run very low, like the other beasts."

Ethan glanced at Commander Ellis. "Like apes?"

"I do not know apes," Ara said. "But these beasts will climb hills, and they will climb into trees. There is no where safe from them, so we stay away from this place."

Ethan hefted his rifle. "Great. Well let's get a look around and get out of here, then." He followed Ellis across the spine of the long hill, aiming for a spot where they could see the horizon and the open valley beyond. He was putting on the headgear to let the HUD take a reading when Ellis stopped suddenly and pointed.

"Look, there," he said. "Is that smoke? Or just a cloud?"

Ethan looked where Ellis was pointing. It was hard to tell in the bright sunlight, but in the distance, against the clear blue sky, a dark mass seemed to be arching up from the ground into the sky. He pulled down the HUD and scanned the area, but it was too distant to tell.

"Could be either," he said.

"We do not have clouds like this," Yuri said with a frown. "The sky would have more than one."

Ethan pulled off the headgear so he could adjust the sensitivity to allow for the bright sunlight, but as he looked down, he saw something next to his foot that caught his attention. He toed the dirt, then kicked a clump of dead grass away.

Absently, he handed the headgear to Ellis. "See if you can adjust this."

"What are you looking at?"

Ethan shook his head and knelt down, touching the dirt and pushing more of it away. "I'm not sure."

"If you step here, you can see more clearly," Ara said as she pointed to a spot a few yards away. "The strange cloud is moving, I believe."

The others moved to where Ara was standing, but Ethan was intent on his new find. He brushed more dirt and dried grasses away, then kicked the ground with the heel of one foot. The sound that echoed back was decidedly unnatural.

"Ellis, I think I found--"

Ethan dropped so fast, he didn't realized his fingers were clinging to the edge until Commander Ellis stepped on two of them.

"Hang on!" Commander Ellis knelt down and reached out for Ethan's arm.

The unmistakable sound of weakening metal emanated from all around the hole.

"Stay away from the edge," Ethan urged. "It's giving way." He glanced down, trying to see the ground by the light of the newly opened hole.

"Just give me your hand!" Ellis insisted.

Suddenly another piece of metal failed, sending a thin, rusted shard down behind Ethan.

"No, it's not stable." He looked down, then realized he was seeing dirt not too far below. His fingers were about to lose their tenuous purchase on the dirt-encrusted torn metal edge. "Look, I can see the bottom. It can't be more than ten or fifteen feet. I'm gonna go down." He glanced up at Ellis, Ara and Yuri who were all kneeling down around the crumbling edge of the hole. "You can get some rope from the mobile and pull me out, or I can find another exit." He shifted a little to get a better view of the dirt floor below.

"You don't know what's down there!" Ellis reached down for Ethan's arm again and more metal began bending inward.

Ethan let go. He hit the bottom and felt his knees absorb the shock easily enough, then the floor sagged and he was falling again, through a new hole and down another ten feet. He landed on his back, his vest absorbing the worst of the impact, and laid there, stunned, looking up at Ellis through two holes.

"Major! Are you all right?" Ellis was nearly hanging down through the upper hole, squinting into the darkness. "Major, answer me!"

Ethan blinked, then coughed, then felt a twinge in his right side and blinked again.

"I'm okay," he said feebly, then again with a little more confidence. "I'm all right."

"Just stay there, don't move."

Ethan saw Commander Ellis, high above him, stand up and peer back down the hole.

"I'll go to the mobile for some rope."

Ethan nodded, then swallowed and pulled himself up to a sitting position. "I'll be here," he said. He glanced around, but the light from the hole two levels up only illuminated the spot where he'd landed. The light on his rifle cut through the darkness easily enough, so he stood up slowly and turned it on.

The corridor was dulled by hundreds of years of burial, and dust covered every surface so thickly he couldn't even identify the metal comprising the ship he was in, but it was clearly a ship. He glanced at the floor he was standing on, then bounced a little bit up and down, testing it for weakness.

"Ethan, where have you gone?"

He moved back underneath the hole and looked up at Ara. "I'm right here. I was just looking around. Don't worry, just stay away from that edge, in case it gives way more."

"It is not safe there," Ara insisted. "The beasts live in those caves."

"These aren't caves, Ara." Ethan glanced down the dark corridor and wondered just how likely it was that there were beasts living in the old relic. He took a breath and nodded. "Don't worry, I'll just stay right here."

Satisfied, she moved further away from the opening, but continued to peer down as best as she could.

Ethan aimed his light at a wall, then reached out to rub away some of the thick dust. He could see words there in the paint, but it had chipped away so much with the caked-on filth, it was difficult to read. He looked down the corridor, and saw a closed door no more than ten feet away. In the other direction, the hallway continued passed the distance his light could show.

He was itching to explore, but if he vanished again, Ara would move closer to the weakening metal above and risk falling down with him.

"They are returning," she declared suddenly.

Ethan looked up as she vanished from view. "Ellis?" He heard voices above, and more dirt was kicked down from the original opening, forcing him back a few steps. "What's going on up there?"

Suddenly Commander Ellis's face popped into view.

"Major, Colonel Patterson just checked in."

"What? Where is he?"

Ellis held up a hand. "The transmission was spotty, there's a lot of interference, but he needs us out there. He's further out, toward that smoke we saw on the horizon."

"Get me out of here."

Ellis shook his head. "There's not enough rope," he said even as he started snaking it down through the opening. "I can only get to that first level."

Ethan waved him off. "Okay, fine, just toss me a few supplies and get out to the Colonel. You can come back for me later."

"I can't just leave you down there, Griff," Ellis protested.

"I'm fine," Ethan replied. "There's probably a hundred other ways out of here. Just toss me some water, a light and a scanner if you have one. If I can't find another way out, I'll just sit here and wait for you."

Ellis moved out of sight and the rope was pulled back up. Ethan heard voices, then more dirt was kicked down toward him, forcing him to move away from the opening again.

He was about to complain about it when he saw the light blocked, then noticed shadows moving. He stepped back and looked up to find Ara being lowered down, wearing a pack.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"I will not leave you here alone," Ara called down. "They will go and return for us both."

"Ellis, pull her back up!" Ethan ordered.

"She insisted, Major," he replied.

Before Ethan could argue further, Ara removed the pack from her shoulders and held it out.

"Catch this," she said as she released it.

Ethan scrambled, catching the pack before it could hit the floor. The impact made him stumble backwards a bit and run into the far wall. He set the equipment down quickly and looked back up just as Ara let go of the rope. She came through the second hole, and would have landed gracefully on the floor if Ethan hadn't attempted to catch her.

His clumsy effort sent them both tumbling, landing up against the wall, where Ethan found himself wedged between the pack and Ara, who'd landed mostly on top of him.

Ara pushed herself off Ethan and looked up through the opening. "I have arrived, Commander Ellis. You may go now."

"We'll come back as soon as we can," Ellis called down. "Keep your com on, Major. If we can get them to work, I'll keep you apprised."

Ethan coughed, then groaned as he pushed himself back up to his feet. "Wonderful," he said. He looked at Ara, who was smiling at him. "You could have warned me."

She shrugged. "I did not expect you would be in the way." She glanced up at the opening above them. "I was in no danger."

Ethan made a face, then coughed again from all the dust in the air and winced as his side grabbed a bit.

"You are injured?" Ara moved closer, reaching for him.

Ethan shook his head. "I'm fine. Maybe just a bruised rib, nothing serious." He looked around for the pack and knelt down, opening it. "Here, you'll want this." He pulled out a hand light and turned it on, handing it up to her. Inside the pack he found rations, water, and the scanner he'd requested, along with more ammo.

"You are sure there are no beasts here?" Ara asked as she moved the hand light around.

"No," Ethan replied. "I'm not sure."

She moved the light up and down the wall beside them and squinted. "It is not easy to see in the darkness."

"Give it a second, your eyes will--" Ethan suddenly realized Ara's eyes weren't going to adjust to the dark. "Here, try this." He pulled the headgear off a clip on his vest and slipped it on her, pulling the night vision lenses down. "Is that better?"

Ara blinked, moving her head around. "It is different."

"Turn this off, it'll help." He took her hand light and shut it off, then clipped it to his belt.

"Ah," she nodded. "I can see now."

"Good." Ethan glanced back up at the opening, but Commander Ellis and Yuri were gone now. "We might as well look around. No telling how long they'll be gone."

Ara turned toward him and Ethan started toward the closed door a few feet away. He aimed his rifle's light at the top of the door and reached up to wipe away some grime. When he found no signs of wording or indication of what was behind the door, he tried again opposite the handle.

With the layers of grime and dust were pushed away, the writing next to the handle was clear.

DANGER: VACCUME.

"What is this place?" Ara asked as she peered around with her night vision.

Ethan sighed. "This," He aimed his light down the other direction. "Is your past."