Page 14 of Dark Survivor (The Qaldreth Warriors #2)

Chapter Eight

“What do you mean we have found one?” Nenn asked, looking up from his hand of teyor cards. This was his fifth attempt to complete a round successfully. And every damn fail, it was either the blues or the greens that snagged him.

He tossed in his hand and arched a brow at Vaen, who slid onto the bench beside him with a plate of roasted kurrula. Its wings were a little undercooked to Nenn’s liking. Giniiri preferred banaari or vibuy to be charred.

“Using calculations, Aehort Uz located one of those capsules that exploded the Senate.” Vaen sucked on his thumb before turning the cooked bird to bite into its breast. He crunched through the tiny bones, almost making Nenn wince in empathy.

“Incredible. I assume we are tracking it?”

“It landed on an uninhabited planet.” Vaen pulled a jar of water closer. “Drafe’s directing Caah to power up the shuttle. He sent me to find you.”

Nenn jerked back. “Me?” With a grunt, he gathered his cards, stacked them, and shoved them inside their leather sleeve.

“Yes. If there is a body inside, we will need a maed to analyze it.”

“Logical,” Nenn said, except he knew nothing about the species that had been in the explosive pod.

“No rush. There is still time.” Vaen lowered his gaze to his plate, saying no more.

Nenn rose, intent on finding Drafe. Vaen’s ‘uninhabited planet’ didn’t say much about what awaited them. A jog took him to the bridge. Displayed on the forevids was a pretty blue planet, coated in white swirling clouds.

“We head out soon.” Drafe glanced at Nenn, his lips thin.

“What is wrong?” Nenn shifted his focus between him and the planet.

“The reading of the pod is not clear. We could be descending into danger. Cliffs surround—”

Nenn gasped. “How high?”

Drafe shook his head. “Now is not the time to—”

“An hour at the most. Please, Drafe, we have not been on solid ground in weeks.”

“Let him be,” Aehort said from the doorway. “I fear what awaits us is disappointment.”

Drafe grimaced. “Very well. We find the pod, and only then can you do your climbing.”

Nenn grinned and bowed his head at Aehort in thanks. As he’d known, an uz was far smarter than most Qaldreth gave them credit.

“Wear your boots, Maed. You will need them.”

“Again, thank you, Aehort Uz.” Nenn stepped back to allow Aehort access to the console.

“Disappointment?” Drafe muttered.

“You shall see.” Aehort left, his gait graceful as his long legs carried him from the bridge.

Drafe pressed a button on the console. “Vaen and Ulvus, head to the bay.” He straightened. “Caah, travel with or remain behind?”

“With,” Caah said, rising. “I shall place the Aroagni on auto.”

“Glad to have you,” Drafe said with a small smile.

Nenn hesitated. The male was under much pressure to succeed for them all. “I can skip the climb if—”

“No, Aehort is right, Nenn. An hour is not much of a delay. And if it is for your well-being, then I insist you do what brings your heart joy.”

“And you are right,” Caah said. “I look forward to ground beneath my feet.”

Drafe strode from the bridge. Nenn followed.

“Why do I get to go?” Ulvus whined.

“I am hoping a giant snow beast swallows you whole,” Drafe said by way of greeting. “Vaen, is everything prepped?”

“It is, Arrak,” Vaen said, placing emphasis on Drafe’s title, no doubt as a reminder to Ulvus.

Nothing any of them said changed Ulvus’s bitterness. Nenn had once asked the male what the source was and received a glare for his efforts. Should any danger befall him, he doubted the sava would come to his rescue.

He smothered a smile. Perhaps Drafe spoke the truth about the snow—

Nenn swiveled on a heel to hang out the door. “Did you say snow?”

“Yes, with cliffs made of ice.” Caah strode past him to settle at the console.

Nenn gaped at the male as he powered up the shuttle amid flicks of his fingers across buttons. “Ice?” Excitement formed a grin he couldn’t shake. He glanced at his boots and nodded. Aehort had been right. His bare toes on the cold surface would make for a hazardous climb.

“Get in,” Drafe said, snapping Nenn from his daze.

He did, then paused at finding everyone seated.

The only chair available was to the right of Aehort.

He took it and strapped himself in. Caah reversed the shuttle and shot off, veering and dipping toward the planet.

The shields endured the breaching of the atmosphere amid flames and sparks with barely a bump registering.

Blue skies then thick clouds filled the forevids.

Vaen released a sigh. His soft smile hinted at longing.

Nenn expected the Riermus male to miss mountains, not air.

“It is the mist-like appearance,” Aehort whispered, dipping his head to Nenn’s to do so.

“My thanks,” Nenn said, trying not to reveal his shock. How had Aehort known what he was thinking?

“Probables,” he said, jerking Nenn to the side.

“Am I that predictable?” he asked, twisting to meet Aehort’s solid-black gaze.

“Yes, but do not be offended. We find comfort in the familiar.”

There was wisdom in that even when the habit was harmful or dangerous like pock jumping.

Not for the last time did Nenn think about Tugo and how his friend was doing.

The symbiotes would flood him with knowledge the moment he stepped foot on Qaldreth.

Until then, he had to remain in the dark.

That alone had been hard to deal with as if he’d been severed from everything he knew and cast into silence.

Caah skimmed the shuttle along flat fields of white.

In the distance, a hazy silver-blue marked mountains.

The sight was breathtaking. Having seen only Erasril and Ivoy, this landscape was beyond Nenn’s ability to imagine.

Beauty was in the shades of white and blues, in the crevices slicing across the ice sheets, in the deep blue of the cliffs descending into the abysses.

He doubted magma sat at the bottom. Only freezing water, more ice, or the depths of hell awaited the unfortunate.

Still, he’d descend one of those if given the chance.

“The good news is that the…pod is at the base of a mountain,” Caah called across his shoulder. “You need not go far to find something to climb, Nenn.”

“You are not serious,” Ulvus spat, settling his yellow gaze on Nenn.

“Sava, you will guard the shuttle,” Drafe said, his tone calm.

Ulvus scowled. His eyes darkened to amber. He opened his mouth to speak, but Caah touched the shuttle down. It skidded for a bit, scraping the underbelly.

“Sorry,” he said. “The heat from the re-entry caused a slick landing.”

They jerked to a halt with a sickening crunch.

He slapped the console, and as the door opened, he leaped to his feet. “The air is breathable,” he said, winced, then hurried out. “And cold,” he called.

Nenn shivered at the blast of frigid winds swirling through the shuttle.

He double-tapped the nodule in his neck to form a shield that would last for two hours.

When it covered his body, heat flowed over his skin and summoned a moan.

He unstrapped and trailed Aehort who glided across the snow without leaving more than his footprints behind.

Drafe crunched beside them. Not even ten meters away sat a red object.

Drafe stared at it, then squatted to examine it. “It does resemble the pod in the Senate.” He scanned their surroundings. “It splintered upon impact. Spread out, Vaen, Caah, Nenn; find the other pieces.”

Nenn headed toward the mountain, his calls merging with the others when they located anything red. Until he found a body.

“Drafe, over here.” Nenn removed his med-dev and ran it over the crumpled and stiff corpse. “The readings are as per the archives. This one is male. It appears he was dead before the pod crashed.”

“How would you know that?” Vaen asked, leaning over Nenn’s shoulder.

“No blood around his body. Had he died after impact, he would have bled out from his injuries.” Nenn withdrew his ceremonial dagger and sliced the body’s arm. “They bleed red.” He parted the flesh to show anyone curious. Then with a nod, he sheathed his dagger.

“Interesting.” Aehort hummed. “Once you have gathered the information, you may attempt to climb.”

Nenn stilled. Attempt? He raised his chin to study the summit of ice towering before him.

From left to right, he searched for footholds, any ridge he could crimp.

A few shone through in a solid black stone he couldn’t name.

But to reach those, he had to get through a meter or two of icicles formed along the bottom.

Excitement charged his heartbeat. He splayed his fingers across the ice and felt nothing, no cold, no texture. With a scowl, he double-tapped his nodule, dismissing the shield. The cold seeped into him within seconds. Under his touch, the chill stung his fingertips.

“Summon your armor.” Vaen asked, “Want a step up?”

Nenn did as instructed and urged his symbiotes to solidify across his skin.

They kept a little of the wind at bay and still allowed him to register the textures beneath his touch.

With his dagger in hand, he stabbed the ice at knee-height to form a toe-hold.

Up he climbed, slower than he would’ve liked.

Worse, what lay ahead was an overhang of icicles he couldn’t see a path over.

On either side were thinner, sharper spires he doubted would bear his weight.

His arms burned, and his armor flickered like his symbiotes were failing. Exhaustion shot along his back and settled at the base of his spine. He glanced down and frowned. His males and Aehort had returned to the shuttle to await him. The door was shut, too.

He’d need more than an hour, and perhaps an ax or a pick would be beneficial. Spikes on the tip of his boots would also speed this up. Failure bowed his shoulders. Yet another climb he couldn’t complete.

This time because of lack of preparation.

He hung by one hand to return the dagger to his belt, then he shoved off the rock, planning on using his power boots.

Aehort had said to wear them. How much did that male discern?

Probables, he’d said. Didn’t that mean statistics?

And Nenn didn’t know anyone else who climbed like he did. So what data was out there on this?

In midair, his boots remained deactivated.

He shouted, flailing as he plummeted. In a panic, he slammed his heels together.

One spluttered then shot him upward in an uncontrolled spiral.

He spun; his vision was white-blue-snow-sky.

If he didn’t learn how to fly with one boot, he’d crash land beside the corpse.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed his heels together to center the propulsion.

Then he threw out his arms until he stabilized.

Once he had that stabilized, he tilted to the left and rolled.

Again, he settled himself, praying to Osnir that his power boot would last. With a gentler tilt, he veered toward the shuttle, a dark speck on the horizon.

He was coming in too fast. If he switched off the blast too soon, he’d hit the ground hard. He swooped and dipped until he was a meter above the snow. Preparing for the worst, he tapped his heels and dropped the moment the thrust ended.

The shuttle loomed. He threw up his arms to shield his face and hit…nothing.

Drafe and Vaen caught him on either side and skidded alongside to slow his speed. He stopped an inch from the shuttle’s side.

“Thank you,” he said, sucking in deep gulps of air.

“Now, that was brilliant.” Vaen laughed. “I have never seen anything more foolish.”

“Indeed,” Nenn muttered when he entered the compartment on shaky knees. “I did not anticipate—”

“We know,” Caah said, tossing a grin at him.

Ulvus folded his arms across his chest and glowered. Nenn was just grateful the male hadn’t said something, as well.

“Juunn will be upset he missed this,” Vaen was saying.

“I filmed it,” Caah said, closed the shuttle door, and powered up.

“You could have warned me,” Nenn whispered to Aehort when he sank into his previous seat.

“A lesson you needed to learn.”

Nenn swallowed a snort. Well, he’d learned many: how to climb ice, how to fly with one boot, and how not to try any of this with his males watching. And more than that was the importance of paying attention when Aehort spoke.