Artifact (Saturn's Legacy Book 1) by Joshua James

Author:Joshua James [James, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-09T16:00:00+00:00

25

“Hellcat, do you copy?”

Lance Corporal Helena ‘Hellcat’ Moore stared at the wreckage of the American pod as she said, “I copy, Lieutenant.”

“What have you got for me?”

“A wreck from another vessel.” Helena’s eyes swept over the rubble. “Two bodies, sir. I think it’s Pearce and Gretlo, but it’s hard to tell. I didn’t see which ship they took, and there’s not much left to ID them by.”

“No sign of Lowell or Chang?”

“Nothing that I can find. No sign of the tablet, either.” The landscape of Enceladus was desolate and bleak, a flat white world with no distinguishing features and nowhere for the eye to land. She had yet to visit the dark side of the moon, but even in broad, eternal daylight, just staring out at all that ice was depressing. What a miserable place to die, she thought. It’s like the Ninth Circle of Hell out here.

“I knew the Chinese were lying,” Munroe grumbled.

“Maybe these guys got blown off-world by the plumes, like Tamsin’s pod?” she suggested. “It’s pretty miserable out here, sir. I don’t know where else they could be. Not a lot of places to hide, unless you think the Tiān Zhuānjiā captured them.”

Munroe chuckle darkly. “No, they didn’t get them, or the general would have tried to bargain. I know Lowell. He’s the kind of man who doesn’t know when to quit. Trust me, Hellcat, he’s out there. I’d bet my last dollar he’s found his way through the ice. He’s a petty man, and he’d do anything to make my life difficult.” His voice sank lower, as if he was speaking to himself and not to her. “Four years later and he’s still kicking up dust. I thought they’d buried him. Instead, some idiot sent him out here, the one place in the galaxy where he’d be guaranteed to be a thorn in my side.”

Helena cocked her head, focusing on the important part of what he’d said. “You think he went underwater to try to sabotage the mission? No offense, sir, but that sounds extreme. Borderline treasonous.”

“I’m well aware.”

Helena glanced over her shoulder at her team. “I can’t tell you where he is now, sir. Do you have the coordinates for the Anomaly?”

“Dr. Hansen’s team had it all on record. I bet you can figure out which ship he took using their log—you might be able to track him.”

“Then my team and I will head back to the research station and gear up, then use their entry point. If Chang and Lowell make it to the Anomaly, we’ll be waiting. You’re off-world already, right?”

“Everyone’s out of there but your team.”

“Works for me.” Helena grinned. “I assume I’m authorized to terminate the targets?”

“With extreme prejudice. I never want to have to hear the name Carpenter Lowell again. But you’ll need to watch the clock.” Munroe chuckled. “And mind the fish.”

“I think I can handle a few guppies.” Helena approached the wreck, prodding one of the frozen bodies with the toe of her boot. “What about Pearce and Gretlo?”

“Leave them,” said Munroe.

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