The Trilisk Ruins by Michael McCloskey

Author:Michael McCloskey [McCloskey, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, alien planet, smugglers, alien artifacts
ISBN: 9780983843009
Publisher: CreateSpace
Published: 2011-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Telisa resolved herself to a wait that she estimated at about ten minutes, given the speed with which Shiny buzzed along. Everything had happened so quickly with the alien. Telisa could hardly believe that she had seen a live alien—even spoken with one, if you counted a lifting of its leg to say “yes” or “no”.

She still held the small digging device that Shiny had given her. She rolled it in her hand, examining the faintly visible metal lace patterns around and inside the cubes. A real alien artifact. What fascinating things would she learn about Shiny’s race by analyzing it? And once she had learned all she could from it, could it be sold? Such a piece might command a hefty price on the black market for alien technology. She could use the money to finance other expeditions.

But first, they would have to escape this place. She listened but didn’t hear any sign of Magnus’s return. Her gaze settled on Shiny’s cache of objects in the center of the large cavern. It looked like a piece of art, made of hundreds of cubes laced together with delicate strands of molten silver. Yet whenever Shiny manipulated it, the cubes seemed almost malleable. Everything turned and glittered at his lightest touch, almost too fast for the eye to follow. What else was in that trove before her?

Telisa wanted to walk over and investigate it, but she realized that it would be dangerous to do that. A wrong move with some unknown device could kill. Or she might somehow disturb Shiny’s plan, which she desperately hoped involved escape.

The minutes dragged on. She checked her link chronometer. Ten minutes came and went. Crazy thoughts of a fight in the caves ran through her head. What if Shiny had decided to separate the humans and kill them one by one? Telisa told herself that nothing had happened. She hadn’t heard any shots or explosions.

At last Magnus jogged into the cavern.

“Oh, good. I was starting to go paranoid!” Telisa said

“Hi,” he said. “Everything’s going fine. Let’s go this way,” he said.

Telisa fell in after him. They moved through to the other side of the large cave and out a tunnel.

“When we separate, how long should I wait?”

“We can talk about that later, over the link,” he said. “We should just concentrate on remembering the direction of the cache room. Since this place is unpredictable, we need to pay attention to that so we can find each other again.”

Okay, Telisa said over the link. Just checking to see if it works.

I hear you, Magnus returned.

They moved for about fifty meters as straight as they could manage through the caves. Directly ahead, Telisa saw a smooth white corridor stretching straight away. Bright lights flooded down onto the passage and out into the caves towards them.

“Okay, you wait here. I’ll move ahead until I’m well out of sight and contact you.”

“Okay. Good luck,” she said and patted Magnus on the back before he strode away.

Telisa turned back to look the way they had come and took out her stunner.

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