CHAPTER ONE
Dr. Cassandra Winters sat at her pristine white desk in the former GenCon lab complex and frowned at the monitor flickering erratically on her desk. The readings were scrambled—a problem in and of itself—but there were definite indications of seismic anomalies from Station 12, the unmanned station on the ridge to the north of Border Town.
“Any luck?” Alina asked from her side of their shared space.
Unlike Cass, Alina was a firm believer in out of sight, out of mind, and her desk, not to mention most of the surrounding area, was covered with stacks of papers, equipment, and samples. The apparent chaos was as deceptive as Alina’s soft, fluffy appearance. Dr. Alina Falkner was a brilliant geochemist and, although the two women couldn’t be more different, she’d been Cass’s friend and mentor since Cass had first arrived on Mars a year ago.
She shook her head, still frowning at the screen. “No. I can’t get a consistent reading, but I’m sure it’s just a glitch.”
“You’ve been saying that for the last three hours, but you’re still worrying about it,” Alina said, her tone half-amused, half-concerned. “Have you looked at the other stations?”
She sat back, rubbing the bridge of her nose and trying to shake the creeping feeling of unease that prickled the back of her neck.
“The other readings are all normal, which means if there is anything, it’s extremely localized.” Her fingers flew across the keys as she rechecked the data yet again. “It’s almost as if there is something moving beneath the surface. It’s subtle, but it’s there.”
Alina sighed and came to join her. She studied the screen for a moment, then shrugged.
“It might be something, but it could just as easily be a faulty monitor?—”
“Which means the only way to be sure is to check it in person,” she concluded, but Alina gave her a worried look.
“You shouldn’t go alone.”
“I won’t be alone. Roland will be with me.”
Alina looked over her shoulder at Roland, who was curled up on a corner chair, the armored plates of his exoskeleton catching the light. The cybernetic armadillo’s large, golden eyes blinked curiously as he watched the two of them. Specifically designed for exploration, he’d accompanied her from Earth and he’d been her constant companion ever since. However he was about the size of a small house cat and his mechanical claws were designed for digging rather than defense.
“It’s not the same and you know it,” Alina said.
“I don’t have a choice.”
Alina sighed. “It’s almost time for Z-542 to stop by. You could ask him to go with you.”
“Absolutely not,” she said quickly, looking back at the screen to avoid her friend’s knowing look. “I can’t bother a ranger with what is probably a false alarm. Besides, I’m sure he’s got more important things to do.”
“I wonder ifhethinks other things are more important.”
The teasing note in her friend’s voice sent color rushing to her cheeks. Z-542 was the primary ranger assigned to the territory around Border Town. She’d met him the first day she landed on Mars when, in her hurry to reach the lab, she’d set out from New Arcadia without checking the power level in her rover. If it hadn’t been for his unexpected rescue, she would have spent the night out on the trail. She wouldn’t have died, but it would have been a long, cold night.
Her initial relief at seeing the black-clad figure of the huge cyborg ranger had turned to irritation when he proceeded to lecture her about her foolishness, even as he quickly and competently recharged the rover’s power cells. By the time he had finished, she’d managed to convince herself that her initial attraction had been a temporary lapse in judgment, a result of years surrounded by male scientists. No matter how brilliant, none of them had come close to the sheer masculine appeal of that big, hard body.
But as the months passed and he began to stop by the lab every couple of weeks, her interest in him became harder to deny. Ostensibly his visits were to check on the entire research team, but she’d noticed his visits were always timed to coincide withher schedule. Even though he was never anything other than brusquely efficient, she couldn’t completely ignore the way her heart started to beat a little faster whenever the door opened and his broad shoulders filled the frame.
“He is very… thorough,” she admitted.
Alina laughed. “That’s a good word for it. And he’s got a fine ass. Not to mention the rest of him.”
She couldn’t quite suppress a quick flare of jealousy, even though she knew her friend had no interest in the big cyborg. But Alina was also short and blonde and curvy, and she could have any male in Border Town at the twitch of a finger.
Unlike me, she thought wistfully. Despite her brilliant mind, Alina looked like an old-fashioned pinup model, whereas Cass looked like the scientist she was—thin and studious and practical.
“Don’t worry,” Alina teased. “I’m not making a move on your man.”
“He’s not my man,” she said, blushing. “He barely even tolerates me. But that’s neither here nor there. Right now I’m more concerned about these readings. If I leave now, I can be back by nightfall.”
“Unless you need to make some repairs?—”
“Repairs? What repairs?”
