Page 82 of Fallen from the Stars

“Yes,” Kane replied, “and it does not list the part we’re looking for.”

“So why are we searching here?” asked Vasil.

“Due to the nature of this facility, I suspect that a number of the records were falsified to divert suspicions. Many of the files contain evidence of tampering, even mundane ones like inventory requisitions and releases. Though the activities here were undoubtedly approved by certain commanding officers within the IDC, it is very likely this was carried out without the knowledge of most ranking officials.”

“Can you explain that in a way I will understand?” Vasil asked.

“They were breaking the rules here,” Theo said distractedly, “so they lied about the materials they kept in stock.”

“I understand… But why would the part we need have been involved in that? Is it not essential to this place’s function?”

“Not even I can understand the inner workings of military bureaucracy,” Kane said. “They often reclass items based on cost to manipulate budgets and make the numbers line up properly. I’ve already found several parts on these shelves that are not listed in official documents.”

Theo extended her right arm and picked up a small box from a nearby shelf — simple, ten-millimeter bolts — and hefted its weight on her palm appreciatively before setting it down. “Could be that they had another base elsewhere. Another place they could move materials through without leaving a trail directly to this facility — once it’s planet-side, the IDC doesn’t usually bother tracking the movement of goods like that. They leave it to the commanders on-world.”

“The Watch was an IDC base long ago,” said Vasil.

Kane’s orb brightened. “The name makes sense now. I assume you’re talking about Watch Point Echo, which is listed as the nearest military outpost to this facility. There are a great many trips logged between here and there for all three of the submarines.”

“Yes, that is what the Computer said it was once called.”

Theo continued to scan the shelves, frowning. “I’m mostly seeing common components. Some replacement parts for the subs, too. Any luck yet, Kane?”

“No,” Kane replied. “This place was built with state-of-the-art parts and technology for its time.”

“Which means they intended it to last. Cocky bastards.”

“Yes. They were on a regular supply schedule, with equipment and parts being dropped every few months while this planet was an active IDC colony. It’s likely that key components like our valve would have eventually been dropped, but this place was abandoned before then.”

They moved down the final row of shelves; Kane had identified no matches by the time they reached its end.

Theo crossed her arms over her chest. “So our only option is now to find that sub.”

“It would seem so,” said Kane.

“How are we to do that?” Vasil asked.

Theo turned to face him; he was frowning, and she guessed that he was thinking of all the potential dangers they’d face out in the sea.

“We begin at its last recorded location,” replied Kane. “I can guide us there based on the extensive maps I’ve downloaded from this facility’s database. The expanded scanning capabilities of the diving suits should help from there.”

Vasil nodded, though his expression didn’t ease. “Very well. We should inform Dracchus that we will require a hunting party for the search.”

Chapter 16

“The sub’s last reported location is sixty meters ahead,” Kane said through the diving suit’s comms, “right in the middle of that trench.”

Theo frowned; they were deep enough already that the sunlight from overhead was diffused and everything was a deep, oppressive blue, her range of vision limited to a thirty-meter radius. The trench they were swimming over was an impossibly black gash cutting across the ocean floor, a place where no light touched.

“It’s so strange not hearing Sam,” Larkin said, her voice also transmitting through the comm system.

Theo turned her head and glanced at the woman swimming alongside her. She’d been introduced to Larkin soon after she and Vasil had left the maintenance tunnels, and she’d taken an immediate liking to the woman. Larkin had a sense of humor akin to Theo’s and seemed prone to lapse into the sort of colorful language to which Theo had grown accustomed after a lifetime aboard interstellar ships. But Larkin was also capable of focus, solemnity, and a certain professionalism when the situation called for it — as news of the failing control valve had demonstrated.

With no concern for her own safety — or for Dracchus’s immensely disapproving look — Larkin had volunteered to accompany the search party. Her mate had offered no argument, which had told Theo as much about Larkin as it had about Dracchus.

“I can make myself sound like Sam, if you’d like,” Kane replied, “though I don’t see why you’d want to hear such a one-dimensional voice.”

“No, you’re good,” Larkin said. “I prefer yours. It’s nice not having to ask twenty questions to get Sam along to the one answer I need. This is like talking to an actual person.”

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