The Amelioration Expedition
Chapter 18
Marlin was running out of milk. Gezant fussed most of the time unless Donte was holding her. Increasingly, he was the one who carried her in the shirt pouch he had made.
Donte was giving most of the food he found to Marlin, eating only enough to stay alive. They had even been eating grubs and once a creature that looked like a primitive rat. That was a feast. In the last two days, between the two of them, they had managed to spear three small fish.
One day Gezant began to whine and Marlin opened her blouse to offer a breast. There probably wasn't any milk in it, but Gezant began to eagerly suckle. Marlin stroked her cheek and began singing a lullaby to her. It was one of the few she knew and it always seemed to comfort Gezant.
Donte sat next to her, dozing. After a few minutes he began to sing the lullaby with her. His deep voice blended with hers in harmony. She smiled at him as they sang. When she finished the lullaby, she sighed. "I didn't know you could sing."
He met her gaze. "Everyone can sing."
"True, but not everyone can do it well. You have a beautiful voice and you have good control."
He shrugged. "Your voice is soothing. Singing gives me hope."
He frowned and stood, listening for a moment before turning to her.
"They're here."
She frowned. "The apes?"
"No…." He was silent a moment. "Dad and…I'm not sure who the others are." Again, he was silent for a few minutes. "The Premier Infantry," he decided, "and Andres." He smiled. "They will find us."
"Where are they?"
"I don't know…not far." He pointed toward the falls. "That way."
"How can we let them know where we are? They'll see the hole and think we drowned."
He shook his head. "No. They know we are alive."
She had no idea how he knew that, but she was certain he did know. She struggled to her feet, looking toward the falls.
A scraping noise was followed by a thump and then a splash.
"Stay here," Donte said and dived into the water.
She spotted it then – a metal case floating on the water. Donte swam to it and turned back to her, a smile on his face as he swam to the edge and climbed out of the water holding the case. Adrenalin was giving him a last surge of strength.
He popped the latches on the front of the case and opened it. Reaching inside, he pulled out a medallion. He tapped it and spoke into it.
"This is Donte."
Immediately they heard cheering. Someone hushed them. "Donte, this is Quade. Are you with Marlin?"
"Yes. We're alive, but we're starving, and the baby needs milk."
Dr. Oriana held her breath. No one spoke or moved. They barely breathed. What was in the case that made Andras so certain that they would find his father and Marlin?
Dr. Oriana could imagine the case immediately being sucked into the first whirlpool and falling into the second chamber. How many chambers were there? Did they expect Donte to see the case? What if he was asleep or unconscious and it floated by him?
At the point that Dr. Oriana was beginning to think that nothing was going to happen, both Andras and Quade's medallions were activated by a voice they all recognized without the vocal identification.
"This is Donte."
Their relief was immediately released in a loud cheer. Andras held up a hand for silence and Quade responded to Donte.
"Donte, this is Quade. Are you with Marlin?"
Donte immediately responded. "Yes. We're alive, but we're starving, and the baby needs milk."
Dr. Oriana let out a deep sigh of relief. Not only were they alive, but Marlin had given birth to the baby.
"Hang on son, we're coming after you," Quade responded. "How many chambers are there before we get to you from where you fell?"
"It doesn't matter," Donte responded. "There is an open fissure above us but it's too high for us to reach. All you need to do is hover above it and drop a rescue basket down through it. I'll swim out to get it and we can get Marlin and the baby in it first."
Dr. Oriana knew her face was getting red. She could feel it. They had been all over the area. Why hadn't they seen the fissure?
Andras finally spoke. "Dad, this is Andras. Turn the homing mechanism on and we'll get a shuttle over you." He motioned to one of the shuttles and it lifted off the ground, moving slowly forward. It turned, moving toward a butte. Finally, it stopped, hovering above the ground. A voice from the shuttle addressed Andras.
"Monomi, we have spotted a fissure, but there is a rock formation blocking us from lowering a basket into it. Our sensors indicate solid rock around the fissure."
"Is there room to land the shuttle?" Andras asked
"Yes Monomi, several." For a moment there was silence. "Monomi, something is up here."
Andras and Quade had started toward one of the shuttles, but they stopped. Andras frowned. "Animals?"
"Yes Monomi, but…" There was silence for a moment. "Monomi, it looks like…some kind of people…not like us. They are watching us."
Andras looked at one of the shuttles. "Get some Premier Infantry troops up there and secure the area."
"Andras," Donte's voice interrupted. "Don't harm them. We have made contact with them and they haven't been hostile toward us."
Andras nodded, looking at the shuttle that was lifting from the ground. "Set your lasers on stun and don't fire unless you or the operation is in danger."
"Yes Monomi."
Andras motioned to Quade, Akira and Dr. Oriana as he started for the third shuttle. "Let's go."
Dr. Oriana turned to Traci and the other expedition members. She made no attempt to hide her excitement. "Follow and bring my things. This is going to be a rescue mission!"
Dr. Oriana was somewhat relieved to discover that the fissure wasn't visible unless approached from a certain angle and even then, it looked like a shadow. They had been searching along what they thought was the riverbed, but apparently the whirlpool took it off the general path. Why hadn't they thought of putting a communication medallion in a case that would float? It was embarrassing that Andras had been on Opus less than an hour before he located them. Come to think of it, they had been on the planet less than an hour before they located the creatures that Donte had been sensing. The man said they were like people, but not like "us." What were they? Donte had said they had made contact.
***
Rianne and Captain McKillum listened to the ground crew from Purlieu as they made contact with Donte. Rianne closed her eyes and let out a long deep sigh. He had been contacting her.
Captain McKillum sank into his chair. "Maybe they should have sent a different commander. My crew has searched for nearly three weeks, certain that the two were dead. Andras' crew has searched for one hour, certain that they were alive. Maybe that was why they were so successful." He shrugged. "Of course, the Lyra has resources that the Spero doesn't – and it has Andras."
Rianne smiled. "Don't blame yourself. This is something the Premier Infantry has been specifically trained to do, and Andras has the same advantage that Donte has."
Captain McKillum turned to the communications clerk. "Contact the ruler of Bergen for me."
Seconds later Gerritt answered.
"They've found them – alive," Captain McKillum said triumphantly.
"Captain McKillum?" Gerritt responded.
Captain McKillum's neck turned red. "Yes sir. This is Captain McKillum of the Spero. Andras and his crew have located Donte and Marlin and they are in the process of a rescue."
"That's amazing," Gerritt replied. "What kind of condition are they in?"
Captain McKillum groaned. "Donte said they were starving."
"Well," Gerritt said. "Have Donte contact me as soon as he feels up to it – no rush. Thanks for letting me know. We will have a lot of happy people here when the word gets out."
Rianne thought of the weeping women. It was a good thing she hadn't been the one trapped in the cavern. They probably would have been relieved at the loss.
***
Gerritt disconnected the call and lurched to his feet, a smile on his face. He walked around his desk and out of his office.
"Mai?"
She came from the kitchen. "What is it?"
He grinned. "They found them and both of them are alive. Donte said they were starving, but they should have them out of there and getting nourishment shortly."
Mai frowned. "If Donte said they were starving, they must have found them barely in time. Donte normally says he's fine no matter how bad he feels."
Gerritt sobered. "That's true, but Quade, Akira and Dr. Oriana are there. They'll have the best medical care."
Mai nodded absently. "I suppose you're right."
Soft Science Fiction
