The Amelioration Expedition
Chapter 13
At first Marlin was certain they would be rescued. They wouldn't dare walk away and leave her to die. Her father would keep them searching. Donte kept trying different methods with the fire in an attempt to make smoke, but what little he could produce dissipated before it reached the crevice above them. All he succeeded in doing was making their eyes burn. When that happened, he put out the fire. At least they had water.
He was successful in spearing some fish, which Marlin refused to eat at first. She hated the taste and texture of fish and never ate it, but after a few days of going hungry and still no rescue, it didn't taste so bad.
Donte was resourceful. She had to give him credit for that. He had a laser weapon and a knife. He used the knife to carve the spear and even made a bow and arrows. At her urging, he taught her to use all of them. Her reflexes weren't as good as his, but she did manage to spear a fish a few times.
She found some clay and managed to make a few small bowls to cook with. Donte carved some spoons and collected rocks to form a fire pit.
Donte was confident they would be rescued and was continually urging her to reserve her strength by resting as much as possible. He also asked her to do something that no one had ever suggested. He tried to get her to focus on someone – anyone – and try to connect with them so that they would know they were alive.
"The only people who are close enough to pick up on it already know we are missing."
Donte frowned. "What does distance have to do with it?"
She rolled her eyes. "Do you honestly think anyone on Oriel – or even Purlieu, for that matter – is going to pick up on your vibes here on Opus?"
For a moment he looked at her – not as if he were considering her words, but more like he was waiting for her to think of the obvious on her own."
She frowned at him. "Well?"
"Do you think God exists only on Oriel?"
Actually, she had never thought about it before. God was simply God; available to whomever sought him. She shrugged. "I suppose those who believed in God on Oriel brought their religion with them to Purlieu." She shrugged again, "Or anywhere else they went."
"Exactly. So why would Opus be any different?"
"I didn't say you couldn't reach God from Opus. I said psychics like us couldn't reach over that distance."
It was the first time she had consciously thought of Donte as a psychic, but he was. At least he was something similar.
Donte folded his arms over his chest and looked at her as though she had made a point. When she continued to stare at him, he shook his head. "Where do you think psychics get their power?"
She had never thought about that part either. Psychics were simply people with special powers. She didn't know why she saw things in the future. They simply happened. She had never been all that religious, either. She believed in God, but had no affiliation with an organized religion. Did she get her power from God? Well, in a sense. Didn't God create everything?
She shook her head. "I don't know the source of my power, but…." She shrugged. "What can it hurt to try?"
Donte never said who he was focusing on, but she heard him call out Rianne's name several times in his sleep. How could anyone remain so addicted to someone who obviously was no longer interested in them?
The only people in her life who had ever shown much interest in her welfare, besides Donte, were Reyse and Dr. Oriana. Since Dr. Oriana was the closest, she concentrated on her first. The idea was to let someone know they had survived.
For the first few days, they were optimistic about rescue, but by the third day, Donte could no longer detect the presence of a rescue team. They had been abandoned – left for dead. That was when she shifted her focus to Reyse. Maybe she couldn't reach him either, but thinking about him was comforting. He would have been informed by now. Whether he still loved her or not, he would be concerned. That was how Reyse was put together.
***
Rianne woke from a dream and looked around her moonlit room. The dream was so real that for a moment she expected to see Donte in her room. He wasn't in her room in the dream. In fact, she wasn't sure where he was. The lighting was dim and she could hear water running – like a river. He only spoke her name, but his voice was anguished.
It wasn't unusual for her to have dreams about him, but this one was different. Usually the dreams were pleasant; revolving around time they had spent together. This dream was disturbing to the point that she found it difficult to go back to sleep.
When she finally did fall asleep, Donte called her again. This time she focused on his face. He turned his head and looked at someone sleeping on the ground near him. It was a woman…a pregnant woman. He looked around and she saw through his eyes. He was in a cavern with a debris pile at one end. A river began as a waterfall, divided the cavern, and ended in a whirlpool. Near the center of the river, the current looked strong.
The dream ended abruptly and Rianne woke again. It was starting to get light outside, so she got up and made the bed. What did the dreams mean? As far as she knew, Donte had never tried to connect with anyone the way he did with Celyn. Was it possible that he was trying to do so now? Was something wrong?
After she did her chores, she went to the message center to let Gerritt know about the dreams. He could check with the expedition leader and find out if something was wrong.
When she arrived at the tram station, there were people gathered around talking. Something had happened. She stopped a group of weeping women and asked one of them what had happened.
"Donte and a woman fell into a cavern on Opus and they both drowned."
Rianne stared at the woman, a cold feeling washing over her. "When?"
The woman dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. "I'm not sure. Yesterday, or the day before."
"Did they retrieve the bodies?"
The woman looked at her as if she was being gruesome. "They couldn't find them," the woman said and moved on with the group.
It was a good thing her mouth was dry, because it would have been difficult to swallow with her heart in her throat that way. Had Donte's spirit visited her last night – or was he alive…trapped somewhere underground? She started back toward her apartment, numb with shock. Pride had kept her away from him too long and now it was too late.
She stopped. Bergen wouldn't accept the information without going there to find his body. They would send a spaceship and she wanted to be on it. She turned back toward the tram station to send a message.
She was writing a message to Gerritt when the tram arrived on its way to Bergen. She left the message center and boarded the tram. She wanted to talk to Gerritt in person. He probably didn't want to see her and he might not allow her to go on the spaceship, but she was going to try.
***
Gerritt was making the final arrangements for the departure of the Lyra when Rianne arrived. He didn't even stand when Mai brought her to his office. He leaned his chair back on two legs and kept his voice professional. That was about all she could expect. If she hadn't left Donte, he probably wouldn't have gone to Opus.
Rianne didn't appear concerned about his reception. He didn't offer a chair and she didn't sit. Instead, she came immediately to the reason for her visit.
"I think Donte is alive."
He stared at her. "What makes you think that?"
"He's been trying to contact me. He's trapped in a cavern or something with a pregnant woman."
Gerritt dropped the chair down on all four legs and stared at Rianne. By now she would have heard about the accident and known that Donte fell into a cavern with a woman. Gerritt had seen Marlin and thought she looked pregnant, but he hadn't said anything to anyone.
He turned and pressed the communications button, asking for relay to the Spero. When Captain McKillum answered he identified himself.
"I understand that Donte fell into the cavern with a woman. Was she pregnant?"
"Yes." Captain McKillum responded, "but that fact isn't generally known except on the Spero. What made you ask?"
"I have Donte's…mate…here in my office. She says Donte has been trying to contact her. She says he is trapped in a cavern with a pregnant woman."
"Does she have any idea where?"
Gerritt looked up at Rianne, but she shook her head. He turned back to the microphone. "She doesn't know. We have a ship leaving here in a few hours with equipment. It will take about 3 weeks – maybe less. They may be able to last that long."
"I want to go," Rianne said.
Ordinarily Gerritt might have refused, but if Donte was able to reach her on Purlieu, she might be valuable in finding him when they got to Opus. He nodded. "Get your things together and I'll arrange for a shuttle to take you to the Lyra."
Mai came to the door and asked Rianne what was happening. She gave her a brief account before saying that she needed to get some things that were still stored at the Groot Thuis. The two women left the room together.
After Rianne and Mai left his office, Gerritt felt more hopeful than he had since he received the news of the accident. Donte had defied death on more than one occasion. Gerritt had no reason to doubt that Donte was trying to contact Rianne – much like he and Celyn could contact each other. It was difficult to imagine that he could do it from so far away, but Rianne's visit indicated it was possible.
The cabinet had not blamed him for the loss of Donte. In fact, they had assured him that Donte would likely have resigned and gone without his approval. They were probably right, but he still felt responsible – and vulnerable. Ruling Bergen without the backing of Donte was a little like trying to fly without wings. As long as his feet didn't leave the ground, he felt safe. What would he do if something happened while Donte was unavailable? Mai had assured him that he simply lacked confidence. That much was certainly true. Donte was the greatest ruler Purlieu ever had. Everyone agreed on that point. Walking in his footsteps would be difficult, if not impossible.
One other person requested to go with the ship and Gerritt was shocked that Commander Adriaan permitted it. Andras insisted on going. When Commander Adriaan explained why he wanted to go, Gerritt was taken totally by surprise. Of course, Donte was Andras' father and that would be reason enough for Andras to want to go, but Andras said he had inherited his father's ability to sense things around him. It was a surprise to Commander Adriaan as well. Donte had never said anything about it, yet when Gerritt thought about it, he was certain that Donte had known for a long time. The biggest indicator of that was the fact that Rianne was not surprised. She didn't say she had known, but she didn't deny it either.
They had all kept quiet about it for some reason, so Gerritt didn't tell anyone. It wasn't something that anyone needed to know except the rescue team. He wasn't going to think of it in any way except rescue.
***
Dr. Oriana had never been around a psychic before, but she had always found the concept intriguing. When she began having dreams about Marlin, she wondered if they were coming from the other side – if she was being visited by a lost spirit. Marlin was unhappy and, though the dreams were vague, she appeared to be trapped in another world. There were disconnected things like fish and clay pots that seemed to have nothing to do with anything. Someone was with Marlin, and though Dr. Oriana never saw that person, she was certain it was Donte.
According to Chandler and Lori, Donte had warned Marlin not to approach an unusual rock pile, but Marlin had ignored his warning. When the ground began to tremble, Donte stepped forward to grab Marlin's hand. His added weight probably caused the collapse of the cavern surface. No doubt Marlin blamed him for that. Was that his presence in the dreams?
Dr. Oriana suffered her own form of guilt. She should have insisted both Donte and Marlin stay on Purlieu. It was a decision she would probably regret for the rest of her life. She had lost interest in the project. She spent equal time at the base camp and the lab on the Spero. She had taken the job and she was going to finish it, whether her heart was in it or not.
She was in the dining area eating lunch when Captain McKillum approached her. He sank into the chair across the table from her and gave her a perplexed look.
"I received a call from Gerritt a little while ago. He said that Donte's mate told him Donte was alive and contacting her."
Dr. Oriana paused with the fork half way to her mouth and stared at him. "How?"
"I don't know. Maybe there is an underground cavern."
"No, I mean how is he contacting her?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say. He did say she told him Donte was trapped in a cavern with a pregnant woman."
Dr. Oriana dropped her fork and gasped. "She wouldn't have any way of knowing Marlin is pregnant. I never told anyone. Marlin told her father, but Rianne would have no way of knowing unless…" She frowned. "I've been having dreams about Marlin. I thought maybe it was her spirit, but…." She studied Captain McKillum's face. He looked hopeful. "Do you think she is trying to contact me?"
"I don't know. Can psychics do that kind of thing?"
"I guess."
Captain McKillum shook his head. I want to believe they are both alive, but even knowing they are psychics, I find it hard to believe they are contacting people. And yet, I have no trouble believing their spirits are floating around. What kind of logic is that?"
Dr. Oriana pushed away her tray. "If they are trapped in a cavern, it could be another underground cavern. Maybe that's where the whirlpool leads."
How could they get through the whirlpool without risking more lives? She looked at Captain McKillum. "What if we dropped a rope down through the whirlpool with a camera attached. Do we have an underwater digital camera?"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Arlo is sending another spaceship with divers and equipment, but it will be months before that arrives. Gerritt said Purlieu is sending a spaceship. It has probably already left Purlieu. I doubt they have that kind of equipment, though."
"Three weeks is a long time. I'm afraid Marlin is going to give birth before then – especially after this trauma."
Captain McKillum ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. "What do you want to do? I'm willing to try almost anything at this point."
"Why don't we try dropping a rope through there with something on it? Do we have anything like a medallion that we could amplify? We could call them and see if we get an answer."
Captain McKillum thought about it for a few minutes. "We might be able to rig something. If they are in a chamber, maybe we could pull them up through the whirlpool."
It was something and it beat sitting around doing nothing.
Captain McKillum joined the team early the next morning. By daylight they were at the scene of the accident. They combined ropes to make one long rope and connected a communications medallion and light at the end of the rope. This time they lowered David into the hole and then the coiled rope with the light on the end. Hanging in the cavern, David tossed the coiled rope into the whirlpool. It was immediately sucked into the hole. They fed as much rope as they had through the hole and Captain McKillum connected earphones to another medallion. He turned it up and listened, but all he said he heard was water roaring. He looked up at Dr. Oriana.
"It sounds like a waterfall."
He put the microphone to his mouth and called for Marlin and Donte. He said there was an echo, as if it was an empty chamber, but heard no response. It was possible that they couldn't hear over the roaring of the water.
He stood. "Do we have more rope?"
They found more rope and fed it down the whirlpool. Eventually the roar of the water dissipated, but the medallion was obviously under water.
Captain McKillum sighed. "They might be asleep or haven't noticed the light yet. Pull the rope back up until we can hear the waterfall and leave it there. Have someone monitor it constantly at base camp. If we hear anything, we'll try a rescue through a whirlpool. In the meantime, keep scouting the country for an opening. Maybe there is another entrance."
After Captain McKillum returned to the Spero, they returned to the base camp. They were all certain that Marlin and Donte were no longer alive. It was a tragic loss, but they needed to focus on the reason they were on Opus – colonization. Loss of life was inevitable.
Soft Science Fiction
