Chapter 1
I sighed and wished the meeting would end—my two co-workers seemed stuck in a loop of endlessly reiterating what the other said. Not for the first time, I stifled a yawn. The only option was to let my mind wander.
“We need to go in,” Jake Reed said a while later, pulling my thoughts back to the tiny meeting room squeezed into the back room of our office in Hamber’s Hole.
A holographic image of Una Hamber, Hamber’s Mining Consortium’s (HMC) current head, shimmered on the other side of the table. Her willow-like physique and short white hair made her seem unworldly. She was the granddaughter of the famous Syon Hamber. Almost fifty years ago now, he found enough minerals here on this asteroid to make plundering a solid business plan—it didn’t take long for the HMC to become shockingly wealthy.
Others flocked to the system to survey the asteroids nearby—but only at Hamber’s Hole was mining worthwhile. The scientist in me found that weird, really weird—weird enough that I went to university specifically to study minerals found in asteroids. And now I was stuck in this stupid meeting.
“In your latest report, you noted that the last three drones sent in all failed within 28 seconds,” Una said with an expression like she was sucking a lemon (disdain was her usual state—at least around us).
I shifted in my seat next to Jake. Entry into the geode presented a considerable risk—I wasn’t sure it was worth it.
The centre geode remained an enigma—and had been since the original Hamber found it. For years, we sent drones inside to learn more. Most died within minutes of entering the geode. To make matters worse, some sent back corrupted data that fried our computers. Occasionally, a drone lasted over ten minutes and sent back hints of what might be inside—hints that kept me at my desk late into my assigned sleep cycle. A different world existed inside.
“The last one captured this.” Jake flicked a three-dimensional image into the air between the three of us.
This represented a laser scan of a cavern section near our entry point. The projected tones were artificially assigned, but the shapes of massive crystals would have been evident in any colour scheme. Some were big enough to contain our entire community—but weirdest of all, rounder objects floated away from the walls, apparently untethered. This was the first time we’d imaged floating bits of any kind.
Una pursed her lips together. “Yes, I saw that in your report. We’ve captured similar images before.”
Earlier images of the floating spheres didn’t exist, but I didn’t have the nerve to say anything. Two things I knew for sure were that Una didn’t like interruptions, and I didn’t enjoy facing her wrath.
She continued, “It’s probably just a scanning glitch, not something worth examining.”
“Oh, they are real,” Jake said. Weirdly, Una didn’t seem phased by his contradiction. “It remains unclear why they float. Or even if the floating things are crystals like the other structures.” Jake could be insistent, but I also feared he was just pushing for an adventure.
Una turned to me. “Dr. Wren, do you have a hypothesis?”
As soon as her attention shifted to me, my mouth became dry. I resisted an urge to bite my lip and sink deeper into my seat—she never asked me for my opinion, despite the fact that I had actual science credentials and Jake did not. This was turning into an odd meeting.
“A particle has been found on New Venus that can alter its buoyancy,” I said.
“Did you test for it?” Una continued, focusing on me.
I wanted to just slide under the table, but instead, I forced myself to stay put and even sat up taller. “We haven’t managed to get a sample back.”
Jake jumped in. “And that’s why we need to go in there.” He pointed at me. “Dr. Wren needs samples to analyze.”
Una cocked her head. “If it is indeed this exotic particle, what is the commercial application?” Knowledge for the sake of knowledge was a foreign concept for her.
“This particle is what keeps the islands of Seven Soaring Swans on New Venus floating in the clouds,” I said. “At least that’s the theory.”
Jake jumped in yet again. “Think of the options! How floating cities could become common. People will come clambering to HMC for these particles.”
I didn’t point out that the floating particles were readily available on New Venus. Actually, I said nothing at all.
Una’s face remained unreadable as she sifted her gaze back and forth between the two of us.
Jake set his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “A mission into the geode is the only way to know for sure what’s in there.”
Una pursed her lips. “And who will go?”
“I would lead, of course.” Then Jake pointed to me. “Dr. Iris Wren and Dr. Zeke Chambers would make up the rest of the team. The three of us are very capable of making the first foray into the geode.” What he didn’t mention was that the three of us made up the full complement of our office.
Una nodded. “You have my permission to go. However, this entire venture is to remain a secret. No one can know the three of you stepped out of your cushy office and are dealing with anything more than corrupted data.” The projector switched off, and she vanished into a cloud of pixels.
I turned to Jake. “This is insane. We can’t go in there.”
“Sure we can,” Jake said. “It’s only electronics that get destroyed in that place.”
Slumping forward, I let out a sigh. A lock of my dark hair escaped my ponytail and fell into my face. “The air in there is toxic.”
Jake smiled. “We can mitigate that.”
I took a deep breath. “Right, we’ll need to wear environmental suits.” I ran a hand over my head. “And all our environmental suits rely on electronics to keep us safe—those systems are the same as the sensors that fail.”
Jake nodded and stood. “Come with me. New suits just came in.” He headed out of the meeting room.
I followed him into our main office, which comprised three workstations in front of a bank of displays, most of which were now blank because the sensors inside the geode had died—yet again. We should be planning a quick maintenance trip, not a major foray into the geode.
Jake opened up a massive box that sat beside his desk. “Check this out.” Inside were new environmental suits, shiny green with retroreflectors circling the forearms and calves. “I ordered us suits with shielded electronics.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “You just randomly ordered new suits.”
He nodded. “Quite the coincidence.”
“Sure.” I glanced down at my workstation. I’d printed out a photo of Stella after her recent adventure on New Venus. She gazed out at me with her usual intense expression. Despite what she said every time we spoke, she still needed a mother. “I still think this trip is too dangerous.”
“Aren’t you curious about what’s in there?” He sat on his desk, clearly trying to use his boyish charm to sway me. “You’ve been here for over five years and only ever caught a glimpse.”
“Sure, I’m curious, but I also don’t want to be dead. And I’m sure Zeke will feel the same.” Zeke had three small children, after all.
Jake scratched the back of his head. He kept his hair short, in the style typical among military officers (which I understood he once was). He was an intelligent man and had been a good boss, but I always got the impression he was yearning for an adventure—and now that adventure was going into the geode.
“Where did you say Zeke was today?” Jake asked.
I pursed my lips—I’d told Jake earlier, so it was most likely he was only bringing it up now to make a point. “His youngest son has a dance recital today.”
Jake nodded. “Right.” His tone was dismissive—a common tactic he used with Zeke. He gestured to our small, well-worn workspace. “Is this really where you want to spend your career?”
I shrugged and pushed the hair out of my face.
“I meant to tell you earlier. HMC plans to open an office on Seven Soaring Swans, and they need a science liaison officer there.”
I froze. A position on New Venus would bring me closer to Stella. Perhaps we could mend our relationship. I swallowed. Jake knew the right carrot to dangle in front of me. His manipulation was going to work—a fact I hated. Was I really this easy to sway?
“Do you promise we will not take any unnecessary risk?” I asked.
“My job is to keep you and Zeke safe, and that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
I nodded. There were too many pieces to this mission that didn’t quite fit—but Jake valued being competent, so he could be trusted to do his job.
“I have one demand,” I said. Una wanted to keep this trip a secret, but I hated the idea of that—there was no good reason to keep our expedition secret.
Jake cocked his head.
“We let someone here know where we’ve gone and when we’ll be back. I’d feel more comfortable knowing someone nearby will stand by to send help if we need it.”
“Makes sense. I’ll make security aware of our itinerary.”
“Thank you.” I still wasn’t comfortable about this trip, but knowing it might get me closer to Stella again made it worth the risk.
Jake smiled, showing off his dimples. I had to admit Jake was a good-looking man—a trait he often used to his advantage. Definitely not my type. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? I’ve got some admin to do, and then I’ll take care of packing our gear. We’ll head out in the morning.”
“I’ll help with the gear,” I said.
“No worries, I can take care of it. Why don’t you go call your daughter? Or maybe just relax?”
“Okay.” I headed out the door. There were still a couple of hours of this work cycle to go, but Jake clearly wanted me out of the office. A knot in my gut told me that something was not quite right, but I told myself I was just being paranoid.
To be continued…