You’re changing, Liv. Whatever you were, that’s not you anymore. Looks like you’ve leveled up. And that means putting on your big girl panties and getting on with it. Harper needs you.
“Let’s go,” she said with a confidence she didn’t quite feel yet but hoped she would grow into.
“As you wish,” he replied, once more leading the way.
They walked for hours, but unlike the prior day, no unexpected terrain cropped up in their path and they reached the second downed compartment well before noon. Unfortunately, it was a bust.
“This isn’t it,” Olivia said as they approached. “This is definitely not the one I landed in.”
Arkness didn’t question her recollection. “I will check for survivors. Wait here.”
Once again he made a quick survey of the perimeter before boarding the craft. And once more he came out empty-handed. “No one aboard. I am beginning to wonder how full the Raxxian ship was.”
“How many of these compartments do they usually have?”
“It can be dozens, depending on the model. Regardless, there is no one here. We should get back, regroup, and decide our next steps.”
He plotted a course that would be more direct for their return to their ship, then they turned and headed out. Arkness informed Rykker that both ships had been a bust. So far, Rykker’s had been the same.
“I’m heading to the next landing site now,” the man commed. “I will be there shortly.”
“We should be back at our ship in short order,” Arkness replied.
“Very well. Is Olivia well?”
Arkness kept his mirth to himself as best he could. “She is quite well. Do not worry, she is in good hands.”
“Keep her safe. See you both soon,” Rykker replied, then cut his comms link.
“Oh, I will,” his rival quietly said to himself. “And more.”
It was a short while later that Rykker commed once more, but there was something urgent in his tone that set Arkness on edge. “Say again,” he asked.
“I said, the container was empty, but I found tracks. Raxxians, by the look of them, and fresh.”
Arkness saw the concern on Olivia’s face. “Could you tell how many?”
“Unsure, but several. And by the depth of the imprints, it looks as though one was carrying something heavy.”
“A survivor?”
“I can’t say. Sending an image of the ship now.”
A floating display popped up in the air showing an image of the craft.”
“Holy shit. That’s it! That’s the one I landed in,” Olivia gasped, smacking Arkness’s arm. “And why didn’t you tell me you could video stream?”
“I thought you knew.”
She rolled her eyes with annoyance. “Ugh. How far away is he?”
Arkness looked at his map, quickly adding Rykker’s coordinates to his own location and determining a new course. “At his pace and direction, we are perhaps two hours away from intersecting his path if we hurry and his course does not change.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
“We are not. What we are doing, however, is taking a moment to properly study the readings before we move in a new direction. There are Raxxians out there, we have now confirmed. But there are other things besides them in the wild.”
Olivia wanted to ask what he meant by that but didn’t want to interrupt as he did his work. The sooner he was done, the sooner they could get on their way and meet up with Rykker. From there it would be a whole different kind of operation. This was no longer a simple recovery mission. This had just become a rescue.
