The Amelioration Expedition
Chapter 12
For a moment, Lori stared at Chandler in stunned silence. Finally, they advanced to what they hoped was a safe distance from the gaping hole and called to the couple. The only thing they could hear was rushing water. There was no response.
Chandler's expression was grim when he turned to Lori. "Run back and get help. I'll stay here and keep trying to call them."
Lori removed her back pack with shaking hands and dropped it on the ground beside Chandler. She felt weak and nauseous.
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
She turned and raced back toward the permanent camp, careful to stay away from the area that looked like a river bed. Their only method of communicating with the base camp was the medallion Donte was wearing. They all should have been wearing them.
She ran as fast as she could. The rush of adrenalin gave her extra speed and energy. Her mind was still so numb that the trip back actually seemed to take little time. She arrived at the camp gasping for breath and went straight to the lab to find Dr. Oriana.
****
Dr. Oriana was busy setting up the new lab when Lori burst into the room. She was gasping for air and her face was flushed.
"Donte and Marlin," she gasped. "Fell into a hole. We can't find them!"
Dr. Oriana stared at her. "What hole?"
"The ground caved in under them. They fell together. Donte tried to help her but he fell in too. We called and called. We need help…fast! Chandler is waiting for us."
Dr. Oriana's mouth went dry and her face felt drawn. "Calm down," she said as she headed for the door. "Let's get a shuttle down there and see what we can do." She tapped on her medallion. "Donte, can you hear me?"
There was no response. It might be difficult to get a signal. She motioned to the pilot and he walked over to her.
"We have an emergency. We need to get all the rope we can find, some hooks and anything we can use for climbing tools. We have two team members trapped under ground. I want that shuttle ready within fifteen minutes."
She went back inside and gathered all the medical equipment they might need to treat the two if they found them. Her heart skipped a beat. IF they found them? They'd better find them. Fontalo and Purlieu would have to be notified if they didn't find them immediately.
Chandler directed the shuttle to land in a safe place and met Dr. Oriana as soon as the door opened. His face was pale and his expression distressed.
"I've been calling them, but I haven't had an answer. Did you try reaching them on your medallion?"
Dr. Oriana nodded and tried again. There was still no response.
"Maybe the water destroyed it," Lori suggested.
Dr. Oriana directed them to get ropes ready. "Not likely. They are water and shatter resistant."
They had no shortage of people willing to go down into the hole and look for the two. They decided on Chandler, mostly because he insisted on going. He made a harness of rope and attached it to a long rope that they anchored on the shuttle. They handed him a light and everyone took a place gripping the rope as they lowered him down into the hole.
Chandler was scared and angry at the same time. Donte was with them to prevent this sort of thing, but Marlin felt it necessary to challenge him once again. Because of her rebellious actions, they had lost two people.
They didn't have the proper equipment for climbing, but this was the best they were going to get. He anchored the rope to the shuttle and did his best to make a harness that would prevent him from joining Marlin and Donte in an uncontrolled fall. Gripping the flashlight someone handed him, he slid over the edge into the hole. He hung from the rope in a large cavern. Below him was a river with a wicked looking whirlpool at the end where it sank into the ground.
Chandler's mouth was too dry to whistle, so he yelled for Marlin and Donte. He shined the flashlight around the edges. He saw ledges where the two could have crawled to safety, but they weren't there. He called again, louder. His voice echoed in the chamber. Other than that, the only sound was the ugly sucking of the whirlpool.
He hung there for a few minutes, sickened with the realization that Donte and Marlin had been sucked into that whirlpool. They were gone…drowned.
He finally jerked on the rope; a signal to pull him out of the hole. Slowly they dragged him to the opening and helped him to the safety of solid ground. His face felt drawn and cold as he stood and looked at the team members surrounding him. He shook his head and grimaced.
"I didn't see them anywhere and no one responded to my calls." He hesitated, not wanting to tell them the rest, but knowing he had no choice. "There was a huge whirlpool sucking water down below."
Dr. Oriana looked pale and sick. Her voice was hollow as she voiced what they were all thinking. "They drowned."
It was bad enough that they had lost the two, but they might never retrieve their bodies. Where did the whirlpool go and would their bodies end up in the ocean? Everyone looked at Dr. Oriana for direction. This wasn't something anyone could have anticipated and they had no idea what to do next.
She turned and slowly walked back to the shuttle, obviously stunned to silence.
Dr. Oriana tapped her medallion and asked for Captain McKillum. When he answered, she finally found her voice.
"I have some tragic news," she said. "There has been a terrible accident and…Donte and Marlin have drowned."
Captain McKillum was silent a moment. "Say again?"
"Donte and Marlin fell into a cavern and drowned."
Again, there was silence. "Did you retrieve their bodies?"
"No. There was a whirlpool." She described what had happened and what they had done to search.
Captain McKillum was silent for a few minutes before responding in a hushed voice. "Are you sure?"
"We lowered Chandler into the hole to investigate. He called and searched. I didn't get any response on Donte's medallion. They are…gone."
Captain McKillum groaned. "This can't be happening. Of all the people to lose – Donte and Marlin – there will be serious repercussions from both Oriel and Purlieu. This could end the expedition." He hesitated. "Not that the expedition is more important than the people, but there is nothing we can do about the loss of life at this point." Again, he was silent.
Dr. Oriana could imagine the turmoil going through the captain's mind. His job would be on the line - and hers as well.
Captain McKillum's voice was anguished. "Donte can detect so many things. Why couldn't he detect this danger?"
"It wasn't Donte's fault."
"I know, but… I'll contact Purlieu and Fontalo immediately. Continue your work at the base camp until we hear from them." He groaned. "Gerritt will be furious."
***
Gerritt had a bad feeling when he accepted the call from the Spero. Captain McKillum identified himself and paused a moment.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news."
When Gerritt didn't respond, he continued, explaining what had happened and that they had been unable to retrieve the bodies. "I can't begin to tell you how sorry we are that this happened."
For a moment Gerritt sat in stunned silence. Donte killed in a fall? Donte drowned? It didn't seem possible. He slowly revived from the shock.
"Let me contact the other colony leaders and call you back. We'll probably send a ship with a search party."
After he disconnected the call, he contacted Donte's father first. When Quade answered his medallion, Gerritt sputtered around before he finally got the information out.
"I received a call from the Spero a while ago. They said…Captain McKillum said they had an accident…They lost two people…the ground caved in and they fell…into a cavern."
Quade's calm voice responded, "Who were the two people?"
"Marlin was one of them, Captain Pacilio's granddaughter. The other one was…Donte."
Quade was silent a moment. "Define lost."
Gerritt described the circumstances as best he could. "I'm sorry, Monomi."
"Are you sending a spaceship?"
"I haven't contacted Adriaan yet."
"Why not the AZAR? It's faster."
The AZAR was a Libertad spaceship, and Quade was no longer the President of Libertad. Still, he had a lot of influence. Their best trained people, and the most likely to immediately take action, were the members of the Premier Infantry. The Baigh was closest associated with them, but any ship would be honored to transport them. Any commander would jump at the chance to rescue Donte.
"I think the most important factor is which ship is ready to leave on the shortest notice."
Quade agreed. "Why don't you conference with them – and don't leave Dalziel out of this."
"I'll do that and contact you when we have firm plans."
"I want to be on that ship when it leaves," Quade added.
"Yes Monomi."
The term came to his lips automatically. The only person Gerritt respected as much as Donte was Donte's father. Quade had been the president of Libertad for nearly a hundred years. He had only stepped down in the last five years. Quade was almost 120 years old and still an active doctor. His mate, Akira was a nurse and they worked together.
Gerritt contacted Dalziel next and from there on, he had the support of the entire fleet of spaceships. All volunteered for the mission, but they only needed one. They decided on the most modern and well-equipped spaceship, the Lyra, currently commanded by Elimu, a Nyumbani native. It would leave as soon as it was stocked, which was anticipated to happen in two days.
Finally, Gerritt radioed Captain McKillum to let him know what they were doing. He sounded relieved. No objection was voiced about the planned occupation of the Premier Infantry on Opus.
There was nothing more Gerritt could do but wait – and pray. He shouldn't have given Donte permission to go on the expedition. Then again, it would have been difficult stopping him.
***
Reyse was in Arlo's office discussing a project with him when Arlo received a call. His face lost color and he sank into his chair.
"You WHAT?" He roared into the receiver. "This was supposed to be an exploration expedition. What was Marlin doing tramping through that kind of country in her condition anyway? I thought Dr. Oriana wanted Donte on this mission to prevent this kind of thing, not initiate it! What's going on out there? You get someone down there and find them – right now!"
He pressed the speaker so he could share the call with Reyse.
"I assure you sir," Captain McKillum spoke in an apologetic tone. "We are doing everything we can to find them, but we don't have the equipment to go into the whirlpool. I don't think it would be wise to risk more lives."
Arlo groaned. "It sounds like you've already given up on the two. If Fontalo had a ship close enough, I'd send it there and relieve you of command."
"I think Purlieu is sending a ship to investigate."
"That will take another three weeks. What can they do that you can't do?"
"I don't know, sir. I'm waiting for them to call back. They may have some ideas about how to deal with such a primitive environment. Meanwhile, we will continue the search."
Reyse felt the blood drain from his face and his heart skipped a beat. Apparently two of the expedition members had been sucked into some kind of whirlpool. It didn't take much imagination to conclude that one of them was Marlin. It sounded like Captain McKillum was thinking in terms of retrieving bodies instead of rescue.
"Have you tried to contact Donte on his communications medallion?"
"Yes sir. He doesn't respond."
Reyse suppressed a groan. The fact that they couldn't contact Donte on his medallion was ominous. The medallion should work under water, assuming Donte was conscious and capable of activating it. If Donte had perished, there was little chance that Marlin was still alive.
"Call me back the minute you know something." Arlo terminated the call with a stab of his index finger.
He stood and paced his office as he related the accident to Reyse. Finally, he stopped pacing and looked at Reyse. "I've lost a daughter and grandchild in one day."
"Don't give up on them yet, sir. They're both resourceful. Where did the whirlpool lead? Is it possible that they are in another chamber where they can't get a signal?"
Arlo sank into his chair and held his head in his hands. "I don't know, but this isn't the first time Donte has escaped impossible odds. You can bet Purlieu isn't going to give up on Donte, and we're not going to give up on Marlin."
Continue to Chapter 13 or Buy a Copy (eBook only 99 cents.)
Soft Science Fiction
