If you’re just joining us, jump back to part 1.
Juniper shoved the artefact into the crack, no longer caring about how she’d discovered it, as Vera’s steps became audible.
“You’re sure this is where you found it?” Phil asked. She pulled out her tablet.
She gave a half shrug, half nod. “Pretty.”
“Okay, let’s discover this thing.”
Juniper turned back to the crevice, realizing her arm was still stuck inside, her fingers clutching the artefact. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a green light blink on, indicating Phil was recording.
She racked her brain, trying to think of what she’d say if this were her first time finding it.
“I swear I saw something.” She moved her arm around, fingers still wrapped around the cube, praying she didn’t disturb anything living in there.
“Are you sure you should be sticking your arm into that hole?” Phil asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Juniper started to make a face, then remembered the camera would capture it for posterity.
“No, so I should grab it quickly. Ah, I’ve got it.” Even to her ears, her words sounded fake.
“Hey, what’s up?” Vera came up beside Phil just as Juniper pulled out the cube.
“Juniper’s found something in that hole.”
“Let’s see.” Vera shoved past Phil and crouched in front of Juniper.
Juniper held the artefact up to the light, turning it back and forth, as she tried to remember what it had felt like to see it for the first time. But she didn’t have to remember — she was still stuck speechless with a quiet awe.
“A hunk of stone.” Vera plucked it from her fingers, causing Juniper to emit a quiet yelp. Vera cast an odd look at her then wrinkled her nose as she examined the thing. “I was expecting jewellery or something.”
Juniper peered at her with wide eyes. Even unflappable Phil turned to stare at the student.
Vera handed it back. Either unaware of their horror or not caring, she continued. “I’m heading into town if anyone wants to join me. We’re invited to a party. The captain of that fancy ship that brought Fennick in.”
“Um, no.” Juniper stood, dusting off her pants with her free hand. “We need to catalogue this find.”
Phil shot her a look. “You can do that, can’t you? Do the basic logging. Work with Betty.” She enunciated each word in the last sentence.
Juniper squinted at Phil, wondering why she’d stressed that last part: work with Betty. Who already knew about the artefact and couldn’t keep a secret to save her CPU … unless she had specific instructions to stay mum. “You’re right. I can.”
The camp was eerily quiet except for Betty’s occasional questions regarding what she could and could not tell people about. Even Fennick had gone to the party, despite being an introvert, After she’d whispered to him that the ship’s fancy computers could analyze the writing.
She sat at the table under the canopy. At first, she’d enjoyed the golden sunset and the chirps and rustles of the desert creatures. But now the sun had fled, and the crepuscular animals had finished their hunt. The nocturnal ones were either still in bed or were being very quiet.
“Can I talk about Fennick and his case?” Betty’s faceplate lights flashed yellow.
“No, not that either,” Juniper answered automatically, then blinked. “Actually, yes. That you can talk about.” She returned to the 3D scan, checking that it reflected the actual object. The lines swam on the screen, but it wasn’t because of the cube’s unusual behaviour when wet. Her tired eyes couldn’t focus.
She rubbed her face and stifled a yawn. “I think I’m done.”
“You should eat.” Betty leaned closer. “You haven’t yet. Dr. Keys said I should make sure you eat.” Her lights faded. “Oh, right, maybe I don’t need to do that anymore.”
Juniper’s stomach rumbled, and she smiled at Betty. “No, thanks for the reminder. I forgot.” She picked up the artefact and turned it around. She decided to wait until morning to capture video of what happened when it got wet.
She tried to boot up their comms so she could at least report the find with the information she had. But it had also decided it was done for the day — the pyramid on screen spun in a slow circle, never connecting. “Probably another ansible attack. I guess that’s a problem for tomorrow.”
Standing, she craned her neck and then arched her back, eliciting a cascade of pops, as she peered out into the darkness. Despite the quiet, she swore a pair of eyes glowed for a second, catching the light from the camp.
She swallowed. Usually she was fine being alone, but every once in a while, shivers crawled up her spine.
“Hey Betty,” she said as she turned away from the night.
“Hmm…yes?” Betty’s hum changed into a question.
She grabbed the artefact. “Can you store this somewhere on yourself tonight? Keep it safe?”
The lights on Betty’s faceplate flickered and brightened. “Of course, Dr. Juniper.”
With the artefact safely stowed, Juniper went to the kitchen and made a mug of tea. After staring at the ready packs, she stuffed some meal bars into her pockets instead and headed into the night again.
She paused on her way to the sleeping pod, her breath catching in her throat as she craned her neck to look at the sky. The stars were out in full force, the moon not yet risen. The sparks of the Wall were lost in the lights of the Desolation. Somewhere out in the desert, an animal hooted, reminding her she wasn’t truly alone. Glancing around, she hurried to the pod and shut the door between her and the creature.
Juniper sat bolt upright in bed. Half of her hair flopped over her face as she blinked and tried to figure out what had woken her.
She rubbed her eyes and glanced over at Vera’s cot. It was empty, so it wasn’t her pod mate’s snoring. She squinted as if that would help.
The wind rustled against the pod walls, but she was used to that. It wouldn’t have disturbed her sleep.
From the light coming in through the lone window, she guessed it was the early hours of dawn. Not full dark, but the sun hadn’t risen either. Not a sane time to wake up, but she wouldn’t get back to sleep now. Besides, the pod was already hot.
She pulled on her jeans and then shook out her boots. That’s when she heard it. A motor. And not a Cat.
Dropping the boot, she threw open the door and peered outside. Dust rose from the desert on the route towards town. She ran across the sand in bare feet—a part of her brain told her that was a bad idea. She skidded to a halt under the canopy, where Betty crouched, humming some Meropian opera.
Glancing around, everything appeared as she’d left it.
“Betty, who was that?”
The lights on Betty’s faceplate cycled through a computing pattern, and she stood. “Who?”
“In the vehicle.” Juniper pointed towards the disappearing dust trail.
“Oh, Vera.”
She exhaled. The student had just gotten a ride home. She realized she hadn’t talked to Vera yet about her desire to leave.
“Where is she?” she asked, hoping Vera was too hungover to have that conversation, given she was just getting dropped off now.
“She’s not here.” Betty pointed to the dust trail. “She’s in the buggy.”
“She wasn’t getting dropped off?”
“Yes. And then she got picked up again.”
She shook her head. “Why come back just to leave again?” she muttered.
“She wanted to see the artefact.”
A rock dropped in Juniper’s stomach. “And you let her?”
“Of course.”
“And she took it.” She slumped into one of the camp chairs, not even bothering to look if a sand spider had taken up residence on it.
“Yes.” Betty’s tone was chipper. “She was very keen to show it to her friend.”
Juniper groaned as she hung her head between her knees. “No.”
“Oh, was I supposed to keep it safe from her?” Long, low beeping noises emanated from Betty. “I thought you meant strangers.”
Juniper looked at her and sighed. “It’s fine.” She stood and patted the robot’s arm. Then she strode out from under the canopy.
“Phil,” she shouted as she banged on the door of the woman’s pod. “Wake up.”
After a few seconds, the door opened. “I just went to bed.” Her silver and brown hair snaked out from her head, having escaped from the elastic that usually held it. The dark makeup she lined her eyes with had smudged, causing shadows. “Why are you shouting?”
“Vera stole the artefact.” Without waiting for Phil’s response, she spun around to go find Fennick.
“Okay, one more time now that I have coffee.” Phil leaned against the kitchen unit, hair wrangled into an elastic again.
Fennick sat on his cot, rubbing his face. Betty crouched in the doorway, her faceplate dim, seemingly unsure if she should come in or leave.
“Vera stole the artefact.” Juniper put her own coffee down. “Well, I assume she stole it. She asked Betty for it.” She rubbed her cheeks in an attempt to wake up. “But she didn’t do it alone.”
“But how do you know she stole it? You’re assuming.”
“Maybe she was kidnapped?” Fennick added.
Betty emitted a sad beep as she moved forward. “She seemed to get into the buggy willingly.”
“I’m going after her.” She went to the locked cabinet in the corner and placed her palm on the scanner. The door popped open, revealing the contents.
A strangled gasp came from Fennick. “Guns?”
She regarded him with a quirked eyebrow. “We’re in the Badlands.” She pulled out her blaster and checked the charge, then grabbed her holster and a couple more charge cartridges.
Phil came up beside her and took a pulse rifle from the supply along with a handful of charges, laying them on the table. “Do you even know where to start looking? The wind will have erased any tracks.”
“Betty’s records can point us in the right direction.” She snapped the holster onto her belt and tucked the charges into her pockets.
“I—” Fennick stopped and sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I might have an idea.” He stood and pulled his tunic on over his undershirt. “At the party … she was talking to someone.”
“Who?”
“Don’t know. He wore a purple jumpsuit covered in sparkly—”
“Thaddeus Prior.” Phil’s eyes narrowed. “After we paid him for protection.”
Juniper made a face. “I haven’t paid him yet.” She huffed. “At least we know where to find him.”
“Yeah, at his heavily guarded compound.” Phil grabbed her blaster, tucked in its holster, from the cabinet along with a hunting knife. She snapped both onto her belt then grabbed the rifle from the table.
“Why are you going after it then?” Fennick’s voice squeaked. “Get the authorities to go after it.”
Juniper managed to only roll her eyes, but Phil snorted.
“What authorities?” the other woman said. “Badlands, remember?”
“I’m not willing to let this thing fall into Thaddeus Prior’s hands. We’ll never see it again.” Juniper followed Phil’s lead and grabbed the other pulse rifle.
“What she said.” Phil glanced up at him, pausing in attaching the knife to her belt.
Fennick sighed again. “Wait, if you insist on doing this, I know someone who might help. She has experience with criminals … having been a criminal herself.”