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  Nerves settled like a lump in Matt's stomach, but she led the group onward, hoping she was making the right decision in capitalizing on the current interest. This was her last offering, the final attempt at making them part with their cash to help the Adamanta research projects she cared about.

  Chapter 4

  It felt like it took forever to reach the sensor array, and both he and Drew were panting and sweaty by the time they had. Darka seemed to be unbothered by the exercise, although his bulk lumbered along at the same pace it always did.

  Xander threw himself onto the grass beside the small sensor as his techie pulled yet another device from his bag along with several extra wires and got to work hooking up to the system. It took several minutes of tapping away while Xander and Darka waited before Drew had any information he could use.

  “What time did you say the sensor threw up an alarm?” Drew asked. Xander felt his eyebrows rise at the tone used.

  “Yesterday, not long after sunlight,” Darka replied. This only made his techie frown.

  “The most recent one is saying about four hours ago, not long before we arrived. And another yesterday evening. The same craft detected. A small scouting ship. One that's...”

  Drew trailed off, studying the readings.

  “What is it?” Xander got up, looking at the information on the device despite not understanding it.

  “Well, it's rather puzzling. No wonder Darka and his people couldn't figure out what it was. It seems to be like the Beltine's most basic scout, but, well, smaller, more... I don't know, really. It's strange, but still somehow familiar.”

  Drew appeared to stare off into space, putting pressure on Xander's already frustrated nerves, but he knew better than to vent. Drew was trying to remember something, and it could be something important. He would just have to be patient.

  Suddenly a light filled Drew's eyes.

  “Do you remember how the Kyraos and hive on Phoenix were different to normal?”

  Xander nodded, not liking the leading question.

  “I think this might be one of those. Something older, or a different faction, tribe, thing, in the Beltine race.”

  “Matt said they were harder to defeat. That they had a stronger, more efficient grasp on Adamanta.”

  “Yeah... but it's just a scout ship. They've not come that close. And they've not moved in any way to appear like they know there's anything here.”

  This was only a small comfort. The Beltine had been investigating the area. They were possibly looking for the cause of the demise of the hives he'd helped blow up a whole year earlier. It didn't bode well.

  “Okay, I want to hurry Matt up and get everyone back to the ship. Darka, I suggest you warn your people and get them somewhere safer. You're all welcome on the Contessa if you wish.”

  Darka blinked before bowing gently at him.

  “Your concern is appreciated, mighty Xander. We're confident in our ability to hide, however, and would like to stay. There is still much to learn here.”

  Xander nodded.

  “I think I should keep an eye on this, too. See if I can get more data.” Drew said the words with confidence but he looked questioningly enough at Xander that it was obvious he'd follow an order to leave without much protest.

  “Any sign of immediate trouble and get back to base camp, or get Darka to take you to the nearest safe place, understood?”

  Drew nodded.

  “I'm not going to stick around if the Beltine show up. You know me, I'm curious but pretty much a coward.” Drew laughed as if he was cracking a joke at his own expense. The amount of times the techie had helped his team fight the Beltine made it clear he was anything but a coward. His humor was his way of diffusing the tension in a situation, however, so Xander merely gave him a nod.”

  “Radio every hour until you're done then head back to the shuttle,” Xander added before he set off at a jog for the cave network.

  More sweating on this planet, he thought. If only the military had seen fit to allocate a small amount of resources to the planet, he'd have some kind of buggy or transport to ride, but nope, here he was running from place to place.

  While on his way he tried to radio the others in the cave, but he could only get static, his own radio out of range of the others with the interference the metal-rich rock around the caves added. He gave up for now, focusing on getting to the caves.

  He was only a few minutes into his journey when he got a message ping through on the long-range communicator from Tyra.

  “Colonel, come in,” she said, her voice sounding a little quiet for the normally bubbly Lentarin.

  “What is it?” he replied, concerned by her use of his formal title. When everything was okay she called him boss, not Colonel. He slowed slightly so he could listen more easily.

  “I'm picking up multiple small ships on the scanner. They won't have detected me yet. Do you want me to move the Contessa somewhere they won't?”

  He let out a growl of frustration. I should never have split the team, he thought, more cross at himself than anyone else.

  “Yes, keep Contessa safe, but keep this channel open. Do the ships look familiar at all?”

  “Hmmm, maybe a little like Beltine scouts, but not entirely.”

  He swore.

  “Keep an eye out for a hive. If one shows up, send an immediate request to Netera for backup with all the details you have.”

  “Yes, sir.” The concern was evident in Tyra's voice, but she remained professional, knowing what she needed to do. It wouldn't be the first time she'd been in orbit while her companions were in danger on a planet. He trusted her to do what was best.

  Before he could pick up the pace, Drew radioed him to confirm detecting the same.

  “I don't suppose Darka forgot to let us know the shuttle camo bay we were planning by the caves was finished, did he?”

  “No, sir, sadly not.”

  “Right, get back to the shuttle and get ready to take off. You're going to be our getaway driver.”

  “Always wanted to be in some kind of heist,” Drew replied, once more finding the humor in what was a ballsed-up situation.

  With nothing else to do but warn Matt and get the civilians to safety, Xander sped up again, trying to reach them on his radio. This time he heard a broken-up reply, evidence he was close to being able to reach them. It only made him run faster. He needed to warn Matt. If it was the Beltine and they were here for the Adamanta again, she was in the worst possible place. Even she couldn't hold that cave network alone.

  ***

  Although Major Paton had been feeling bored, he could see what Captain Adair, Adamanta herself, was doing, and he couldn't help but admire her ruthless dedication to everything related to the metal and what it could do to help the human race.

  It wasn't the first time he'd been assigned under Colonel Finlay and had the privilege of seeing her in action, but it was the first time he'd really seen her passion and drive. The way she pushed herself to overcome and do better and better was admirable.

  In the last week he'd seen her fight and train again and again. And on top of that, he'd seen her interact with her crew. It was no wonder the colonel was falling for her and the military was holding her up as some sort of beacon for humanity. He doubted anyone who spent more than a few hours with her, having her attention and focus, could do anything but be inspired. She was that sort of person.

  Of course, when he'd first been assigned to protect her little bunch of would-be investors, he'd been more than a little angry. It was glorified babysitting, and the wealthy civilians could be as whiny and annoying as humans came. But then he remembered why he was doing it, mostly thanks to Captain Adair, and he felt a small sense of pride in her.

  Since the colonel's first frustrated attempt at communicating with them he'd been on edge, however. His glorified babysitting duty might be about to turn ugly, and Colonel Finlay hadn't needed to explain it wasn't really the civilians he was meant to get out of there alive. It
was Adamanta, Captain Matilda Adair, and all the hope, inspiration and refusal to give up in the face of overwhelming odds that she stood for.

  Whatever happened, he and his men had to make sure she lived and returned to Netera to fight another day.

  As she pushed ahead to her final destination, he felt his concern only grow worse. She was moving herself into more danger, and he couldn't yet pull rank and stop her. The colonel's command had been clear. Until he knew for sure she was in life-threatening danger he had to let her call the shots and do what she could to inspire the rich, snobby and hard to please people along with them.

  When the colonel's words started to come through a little clearer, Paton was fairly sure he made the words “possible threat” out. Immediately he called a halt and went to Matt's side. Trey also came in close.

  “I think we could be in trouble here,” he said, hoping she'd be sensible. For a moment she merely looked thoughtfully off into the distance.

  “We're not far from the planet's hub. And I've lost my connection with the cameras I left at the entrance. Our best way of determining what the potential threat is is to go forward. There's camera feeds from all over the planet there.”

  Paton's mouth fell open briefly in surprise. Even he hadn't known what amazing destination was meant to be last on the tour.

  “Adamanta-powered surveillance planet-wide?” he asked as his brain caught up with the only possible explanation. She nodded, a slight smugness to her grin.

  “I'm still concerned, but you're right, that would be the best place to assess a potential threat while we can't properly communicate.”

  “I could go back to the entrance and make sure our friends the Vel are ready to take us back to the shuttle if need be?” Trey offered. Immediately both Paton and Captain Adair nodded. It seemed for now everyone was in agreement—until they knew more they'd ensure a swift exit was possible, but push on regardless. He didn't doubt there'd be no way to dissuade Captain Adair at this point either way. She wanted these investors on board, and this was the ace up her sleeve.

  Reluctantly, Paton slipped to the back of the group again and tried quietly to continue getting through to the colonel. He needed further information. Or orders.

  The next few minutes felt like they took hours, but eventually they all filed into a circular room. In the center was a hub of different screens, a bit like port holes on a ship. From the few he could see from near the door, it was obvious they were showing scenes from different parts of the planet. Some within the cave network, others on land, and even a few underwater. One he recognized as inside the underwater cave in the lake, watching the mine slowly gather up Adamanta.

  Once more the group was awed, and even he felt impressed with the race who must have put this in place. Whoever they were, they'd had a mastery of the technology even the Beltine didn't.

  “This room is entirely Adamanta-provided,” Matt said, the pride evident in her face. “In a similar fashion to the small camera devices we already power, the race here have stationed Adamanta devices transmitting visuals all over the planet. The Adamanta in this room picks up on it all and displays it on these screens.”

  “That's...” Kepernick trailed off, evidently lost for words.

  “Impressive,” Margaret eventually finished for him. He merely nodded as the group spread around the room, looking through the holes and chattering in small groups of two or three. Even Paton's own soldiers joined in.

  “Are there any more rooms like this on the planet?” Katrina asked a moment later.

  “We don't think so, but it's possible that someone with enough understanding could control this better,” Captain Adair replied, her words slower, deliberate as if she was being very careful how she phrased things.

  “We've barely begun to scratch the surface of what this room could do, but it's obvious the race that built it was very smart.”

  “We found some more cameras recently,” Henton said, breaking his long silence. Even Captain Adair reacted to this, her eyes widening for half a second before she hid her surprise. “Not all feeds are displayed here.”

  “Sounds like a research team could really do wonders if they could spend a few weeks here,” Paton replied, deciding to do his bit as he stepped forward.

  It was time to see what was shown and try to figure out what the colonel had meant about a possible threat. The radios weren't working at all anymore, and he wanted to know what all the fuss was about. It wouldn't hurt to encourage the point along and help bring this whole tour to a close as swiftly as possible either.

  Captain Adair gave him a brief nod, evidently grateful for his interjection. He'd said more blatantly what she couldn't.

  As he moved from screen to screen, checking for any signs of danger, he tried to zone out the chatter and let her get on with finishing up.

  What had the colonel spooked? Whatever it was, it wasn't obvious from here.

  Chapter 5

  It took all Matt's effort to keep calm and hide the mix of emotions she felt while watching the potential investors move around the surveillance hub. It was obvious they were all impressed with what they saw, but was it enough? She couldn't tell.

  With the way Major Paton moved about the room, it was obvious he was also still concerned about Xander's warning, but if he saw anything he didn't mention it.

  On top of that she was annoyed at Henton. It was obvious he'd been keeping information about the research to himself, and while she couldn't blame him for not feeling particularly warm to the race of aliens who'd pulled out of what was meant to be a joint project, she also couldn't help but take it a little personally. It felt like he was deliberately trying to upstage her, even if only a little.

  As the conversation slowly died away, Matt found herself wondering how easy it might be to control the Adamanta in the room and to find the extra unconnected cameras he'd mentioned. It didn't pull on her mind the way untapped Adamanta did, but it didn't feel like Adamanta tuned to someone else either. This was simply different.

  She stepped nearer one of the small windows, concentrating on the Adamanta in the system, trying to see if her mind could find the camera it connected to. At first nothing seemed to happen, but she continue to concentrate, the lull in conversation helping her focus.

  Suddenly, it was as if she could see a map of thin bright lines moving from the hub in different directions, each a small invisible cable of connection going almost every direction from the room. A moment later she noticed dull, faint ones intermingled, at least as many again, but she had no idea how to connect them up.

  As she concentrated she felt her head start to ache, not used to this sort of Adamanta usage. It seemed whatever part of her mind she needed for this, it wasn't the same as the way her race had set up cameras and harnessed the visuals. This race had somehow gone about it in a different way. The thought only made her more eager to secure some funding and research this room further.

  Just before giving up, she finally saw something shift, one of the dull lines nearby moving while she watched, until the end was almost attached to the camera in front of her. There it stopped, not quite connected, but not where it had been in the first place. She felt resistance as she tried to pull it closer, where the other one was. It seemed you had to disconnect one before trying to connect another.

  Letting the dull line go, she focused instead on the bright one in the way and pushed at it with her mind. For a moment nothing happened, making Matt wonder if she'd merely got lucky when she'd moved the first line.

  “Are you trying to do something Adamanta-based?” Kepernick's voice piped up, nearer her than she'd anticipated he'd be. It made her jump, but not before she'd succeeded. The map of lines faded from her view as the small screen closest to her went blank. It took all her self-control not to glare at him. Not that he'd have noticed. His mouth was open and he was staring at the blank viewpoint.

  “You actually did do something. You're controlling these cameras.” His exclamation brought the attention of the
whole room, and Henton hurried to her side, his eyes narrowing as he saw what she'd done.

  “I'm attempting to,” Matt replied, noticing the increase in volume as several of the delegation tried to talk at once. “I need to concentrate to do this. It's not easy to do something entirely new with Adamanta.”

  This had the desired effect and quietened them, although Henton still looked less than pleased that she'd played with the system. Matt pushed the thought from her mind, however. She couldn't worry about the politics of the situation right now. It wouldn't help her get the job finished.

  The second time she focused, the map of lines took less time to appear, the station closest to her now unconnected, two dull gray lines floating nearby. With her mind Matt latched on to the new one again and pulled it closer. When nothing happened and it didn't glow or connect to the screen, Matt had to fight to keep her frustration from showing.

  It had been a long time since she'd been learning a brand new technique with Adamanta, and she'd forgotten how maddening it could be to have no idea exactly what to do or how to do it. To have no idea if what you were doing was sensible until it actually did something.

  Gritting her teeth, she willed the thread to connect, thinking all sorts of different instructions until her mind finally seemed to pull on it in the right way. She tried to remember the feeling as the screen came to life, this time showing a whole new scene from the planet somewhere. A swamp-like area was before her, a part of the planet she had no idea existed. Wildlife teemed but everything else was otherwise still.

  “Wow, that's so amazing,” Kepernick said, once again breaking through her concentration. She found herself smiling despite the second interruption. He evidently wasn't the only person who thought so.

  “I reckon we should get moving now,” Paton said before anyone else could comment or question it. This wiped the smile away. It would be prudent to check she could do it again before walking away. To give her brain a chance to learn how to actually do it in a way she'd remember.