Page 11 of The Lone Cyborg
“You are quite correct, Miss Carson,” he said solemnly, but there was a glint of laughter in his eyes, and this time her smile felt more genuine.
“Have you seen today’s readings?” she asked as she handed him the scanner, deliberately changing the subject. “They don’t make any sense.”
He leaned in closer, his shoulder brushing against hers as he peered at the screen.
“What do you mean?”
“The composition of this mineral is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I thought we’d learn more as we went deeper, but the scanner still can’t identify some of the elements. If this mineral is truly unique to Mars, the implications could be… well, they could be huge.”
He nodded slowly.
“It could change everything,” he agreed. “I wonder if GenCon really does know about it already—and if they do, what they would be prepared to do to get hold of it.”
She bit her lip, her thoughts racing as she considered his words. He was right, of course. The discovery of a new, potentially valuable mineral on Mars could attract all sorts of attention—attention that she, with her fiercely independent streak and her distrust of authority, was not at all sure she wanted.
And yet… the thrill of discovery was like a siren song to her scientific curiosity. Could she really turn her back on something so potentially groundbreaking, just because of the risks involved? She could almost see Professor Harrington peering at her impatiently over his glasses and dismissing her fears. She had no doubt he would have insisted on sharing the discovery.
“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted. “Part of me wants to shout this from the rooftops, to let the whole world know what we’ve found. But another part of me…”
“Wants to keep it a secret,” he finished for her. “Wants to protect it—and yourself—from those who might seek to exploit it.”
She nodded, relief washing over her at his understanding.
“Exactly,” she said, her fingers clenching around the scanner. “I just… I need time to think. To figure out what this means, and what I want to do about it.”
He reached out, the cool weight of his cybernetic hand resting briefly on her shoulders.
“There’s no rush. Take all the time you need. And if you decide you want to announce it, we’ll figure out a way to protect you from GenCon.”
We.There was that word again and in spite of her doubts, she couldn’t deny she liked the sound of it. She thought about the way she’d watched him the previous night, both of them alone in the dark, and decided she was ready to allow him one step closer. Sharing a meal should be harmless enough.
She opened her mouth to invite him to join her for dinner, but before she could get the words out Sylvester came flying towards her, chirping anxiously. He’d been perched in his new favorite place atop Trojan’s back, and she gave the horse a startled glance. Trojan was heading towards them as well, tossing his head, but she couldn’t see anything that might have upset either animal.
“What is it? What’s?—”
A loud crack of thunder interrupted her, making her jump as it echoed across the valley. Dark, ominous clouds were already gathering in the distance—not rain clouds but dust clouds, a sign that one of the devastating sand storms was heading towards them.
“Storm’s coming,” J-418 said, his deep voice calm. “You need to get inside right now. Those storms can be deadly if you’re caught out in the open and you know how quickly they can move.”
She hesitated for a moment, casting a worried look around the claim, but there was nothing valuable outside and she could only hope the storm didn’t reach into the mine.
“What about you and Trojan?” she asked as they hurried towards the shelter.
“We’ll take refuge in the rocks. The storm won’t cause permanent damage to either of us.”
“What about temporary damage?” He didn’t answer her immediately and when she looked up at his face she saw the answer in his eyes. She sighed. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can wait out the storm in the shelter—both of you.”
As they reached the door, another thunderclap sounded, this one even louder than the first. Her heart raced as she fumbled with the lock, her fingers shaking slightly. She could feel his presence behind her, solid and reassuring as he used his big body to block the already increasing wind, but the storm’s approach still filled her with dread.
She’d been through plenty of the destructive dust storms since she’d arrived on Mars, but each one reminded her of her first storm. She’d been completely unprepared for the destructive nature of the storm and had almost died. She’d lived and she’d learned, but the fear remained.
When she finally managed to open the door, he urged her ahead of him as he led Trojan into the small airlock, Sylvester watching anxiously until the horse entered. It was a tight fit but they all managed to squeeze in and he quickly sealed the outer door as she waited for oxygen to fill the space. Outside, the wind was growing stronger, whipping the dust into a frenzy, grains already scratching against the small window.
As soon as the interior door hissed open, she sighed with relief and pulled off her breathing mask. Her pulse still raced as she tried to get a grip on her fear. She stepped through the opening, then realized that J-418 and Trojan hadn’t followed her.
“What’s wrong?”
“We can wait in the airlock,” he said quietly, his expression unreadable. “I know you are… protective of your space.”
