The Lost Generation: Issue #2

The Artemis.

Launched in 2232, it was a generational ship of five thousand souls in cryostasis pushing toward GJ 667Cc with Janus, an AI Core, at the helm. It was humanity’s first expedition to the stars. Shortly after passing from our solar system into unknown space, we lost contact.

So much had changed since that day; jump points, First Contacts, towering achievements and tragedy in almost equal measure. Despite the hundreds of expeditions, studies and simulations conducted over the centuries, no one ever found anything. Many came to assume that it crashed, flew into a star or dropped into a jump-point. The Artemis slipped into legend.

Until now …


* * * *


Tonya stared at a piece of history. Here, surrounded by lava, was the holy grail of explorers across the galaxy. A piece of it, anyway. Her mind was barely able to keep up with the torrent of thoughts, hopes and ideas that assaulted her the second she saw it. She glanced around.

Everyone else was just as stunned as she was. Senzen’s face twitched like he was resetting himself to comprehend what he was looking at. The sight of the Artemis even seeped through Squig’s alcohol-soaked brain.

“No way,” was all he could muster.

Gavin Arlington gave everyone a few moments to let it sink in. Finally, he cleared his throat. The CEO obviously had places to be.

“Now you know why I called you all here.” An assistant handed him a MiniGlas which he read while he spoke. “What we have here is a delicate situation –“

“What’s delicate? You have to tell people,” Deke Johnson interrupted. All of Arlington’s assistants’ eyes widened, incensed at the notion that this dreg would dare interrupt their boss.

“No, Mr. Johnson, that is precisely what I’m not going to do,” Arlington replied, hardly missing a step. “Should any of you disagree with that sentiment, allow me to remind you that based on the agreements you all signed, if you breathe a word of this to anyone without my express authorization, you, your family and your friends will be eviscerated legally, professionally, financially, socially” – he glanced at his lawyer – “physically?”

The lawyer nodded.

“Physically,” Arlington continued.

“Telling the UEE would shut this world down, and … eviscerate … your mining operation,” Tonya chimed in.

Arlington glanced over and smiled. The utter lack of emotion behind the simple human gesture chilled her. “There’s no sense in notifying the authorities or the scientific community until we know what we’ve found. That’s why you’re here. I want the crash site of the Artemis found. My facility’s mining scanners and personnel will be at your disposal. Whoever finds the rest will share in the credit for the discovery as well as a handsome compensation package.”

Everyone looked at each other, sizing up their competition. Arlington waited expectantly.

“You can start now,” he finally said.


* * * *


Tonya scrambled onto the Beacon II. She raced around the hold of the Freelancer, grabbing excavation tools, scanners, VidCaptures, her MiniGlas of books … she stopped for a second to catch her breath. Every fiber of her being was on fire, charged with the possibility of being the one to unlock the fate of the Artemis. It was all so unbelievable. She gave herself a moment to bask in the thrill of it.

She ran back to the dig-site. When she got there, Tonya realized that she was not the only one energized by the prospective discovery.

Senzen had already deputized the mining crews into excavating the Artemis fragment. They gently chipped away the black lava rock, trying to see how much more of the ancient metal lay buried.

Deke Johnson’s Cutlass swooped overhead, kicking up a storm of loose rock. The bottom was lit up from its scanners surveying the surrounding landscape.

On a nearby hillside, Squig drank from his flask while swinging a homemade scanner.

Arthur Morrow walked past carrying surveying gear and deep-rock scanners. He barely acknowledged them or the artifact.

“Not interested in analyzing this, Art?” Tonya unpacked her camera and tools. Arthur looked at her and snorted.

“The money ain’t in that. The money’s out there somewhere.” He motioned to the sea of solidified lava that surrounded them and moved on.

“Some people lack vision,” Senzen said to her with a smirk.

Tonya snapped a series of pictures of the Artemis fragment and stitched them together into a composite. Once the image was reconciled, she applied it to a database of Artemis imagery, trying to isolate which part of the ship it could have come from.

Tonya realized Senzen was standing behind her.

“That’s a good idea,” he grinned mischievously and went back to directing workers.

“Someone needs to tell Deke to stop scanning so close. The gravel could damage the metal.” Her MiniGlas hummed. Based on the stenciling and faded markings, there was a good chance that what they were looking at was part of the starboard thruster paneling.

It was helpful but not conclusive. The panel could have come off during a crash or in space.

Over the course of the next few hours, Tonya, Senzen and the workers successfully extracted the piece and placed it carefully on the ground. Tonya slowly circled the metal and captured it from every angle.

In its entirety, the piece was roughly two meters by four. The edges had been melted away by the lava bath. Fortunately, its thermal shielding managed to protect this part of it long enough for the lava to cool.

When she was done, she sat down and looked at it.

“Pretty unbelievable, right?” Senzen slumped down in the gravel beside her. He sipped from some water.

“I can’t stop looking at it,” she replied. “After all this time, we might actually know …”

“Yeah,” he nodded and held the water out to her. Tonya eyed the bottle hesitantly.

“Calm down, Tonya. We’re competing but that doesn’t mean we can’t be civil.”

Tonya took the water and drank. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she’d been and ended up finishing the bottle.

“You’re welcome,” Senzen said with a chuckle.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry. I got some more coming through.” Senzen glanced around. One of Arlington’s assistants hurried out of the corporate headquarters with more bottles.

“You already have his assistants fetching you stuff?”

“I work fast,” Senzen replied with a shrug. He took the bottles. “Cheers. Thanks.” The assistant hustled off. Senzen turned to Tonya. “Shall we?”

They pored over every inch of the Artemis metal, front and back. Tonya cleaned it the best she could, then searched for any kind of clue to indicate what happened. There was nothing. The edges were melted to the point where it was impossible to determine whether the panel was ripped off or not. She ran tests on micro-samples of the metal. Another dead end.

She sat back and tried to disconnect from the puzzle. Hoping a few moments away would give her some perspective, she looked at Deke still scanning the landscape from his ship.

Squig was slumped on the hillside trying to fix his scanner. He pulled an entire scanning module off and tossed it down the slope.

Then inspiration hit her. Quelling her impulse to run, she attempted a casual stroll back to the artifact. She rescanned the edges of the panel. Senzen approached.

“Got something?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Tonya ran her fingers along the edge of the metal. “But it’s not like I’ll tell you if I do.”

“Fair enough,” he stood over her and watched.

Tonya grabbed the metal and tested the weight. She could flip it on her own but not with control or without damaging it.

“Give me a hand,” she said to the workers. They didn’t move, only looked at each other then Senzen.

“Yeah, I’ve already made arrangements with them so they’re only really helping me out.” Senzen shrugged innocently.

Tonya glared at him then flipped it herself. The metal face slammed down on its other side. It hurt her spiritually to do it, but she wasn’t going to give Senzen an inch.

The interior side of the plate was much like the exterior. Metal. Melted. There was a patch less warped than the rest. Tonya examined every millimeter with her zoom optics. Finally, she found an edge. A clean edge.

That was it. She had to suppress the swell of elation inside her to not tip her hand. She looked around but Senzen had disappeared.


* * * *


Five minutes later, Tonya was outside Arlington’s temporary office. The assistant ushered her inside. Tonya again resisted the urge to sprint those final steps. Arlington was at his desk, sifting through datafeeds of company assets.

“You’ve found something?” he asked without looking up.

“I don’t think this is a crash site, Mr. Arlington.”

Arlington finally gave her his attention. Tonya brought up photos and zoomed in on the patch until she focused on the clean edge.

“See that? That edge wasn’t ripped or bent. It was cut.” Tonya brought up additional datascreens of her findings. “My analysis says it was made with a precision laser that, while clumsy compared to today’s standards, is period-accurate to the type of tech included on the Artemis.”

“Go on.”

“I think it set down here to make repairs,” Tonya said, that thrill bubbling up again. “It’s still out there.”

“Quiet a discovery indeed, Mr. Turov,” Arlington said to a side door. Tonya looked around, confused. Senzen stepped out.

“I told you we found something big.” Senzen stepped up beside Tonya.

“We?” She stammered. Her confusion quickly turned to fiery indignation. “Mr. Arlington, I don’t know what he told -”

“Miss Oriel, please.” Arlington waved his hand. “You’ve sold me.”

Tonya glared at Senzen, suddenly wishing for pyrokinetic powers.

“The offers still stands,” Arlington said as he turned back to his feeds. “Now, you two go find it.”

. . . to be continued

Die Artemis.

Es war ein Generationenschiff von fünftausend Seelen in Kryostase, das 2232 gestartet wurde und sich in Richtung GJ 667Cc bewegte, mit Janus, einem KI-Kern, am Steuer. Es war die erste Expedition der Menschheit zu den Sternen. Kurz nachdem wir von unserem Sonnensystem in den unbekannten Raum gelangt waren, verloren wir den Kontakt.

Seit diesem Tag hatte sich so viel verändert: Sprungbretter, Erstkontakte, überragende Leistungen und Tragödie in fast gleichem Maße. Trotz der Hunderte von Expeditionen, Studien und Simulationen, die im Laufe der Jahrhunderte durchgeführt wurden, fand niemand etwas. Viele kamen zu der Annahme, dass es abstürzte, in einen Stern flog oder in einen Startpunkt fiel. Die Artemis schlüpften in eine Legende.

Bis jetzt.....


* * * *


Tonya starrte auf ein Stück Geschichte. Hier, umgeben von Lava, befand sich der heilige Gral der Entdecker durch die Galaxie. Jedenfalls ein Stück davon. Ihr Verstand war kaum in der Lage, mit dem Strom von Gedanken, Hoffnungen und Ideen Schritt zu halten, der sie angriff, als sie es sah. Sie blickte sich um.

Alle anderen waren genauso fassungslos wie sie. Senzens Gesicht zuckte, als würde er sich zurücksetzen, um zu verstehen, was er sah. Der Anblick der Artemis sickerte sogar durch das alkoholgetränkte Gehirn von Squig.

"Auf keinen Fall", war alles, was er auftreiben konnte.

Gavin Arlington gab allen ein paar Augenblicke Zeit, um es auf sich wirken zu lassen. Schließlich räusperte er sich. Der CEO hatte offensichtlich Orte, an denen er sein musste.

"Jetzt wisst ihr, warum ich euch alle hierher gerufen habe." Ein Assistent gab ihm ein MiniGlas, das er las, während er sprach. "Was wir hier haben, ist eine heikle Situation -"

"Was ist heikel? Du musst es den Leuten sagen", unterbrach Deke Johnson. Alle Augen von Arlingtons Assistenten weiteten sich, verärgert über die Vorstellung, dass dieser Dreg es wagen würde, ihren Chef zu unterbrechen.

"Nein, Mr. Johnson, genau das werde ich nicht tun", antwortete Arlington und verpasste kaum einen Schritt. "Sollte einer von Ihnen mit diesem Gefühl nicht einverstanden sein, gestatten Sie mir, Sie daran zu erinnern, dass Sie, Ihre Familie und Ihre Freunde auf der Grundlage der von Ihnen allen unterzeichneten Vereinbarungen, wenn Sie jemandem ohne meine ausdrückliche Genehmigung ein Wort davon sagen, rechtlich, beruflich, finanziell, finanziell und sozial ausgeweidet werden" - er blickte auf seinen Anwalt - "physisch"?

Der Anwalt nickte.

"Körperlich", fuhr Arlington fort.

"Der UEE zu sagen, würde diese Welt abschalten und... Ihre Minenoperation ausweiden", läutete Tonya ein.

Arlington blickte hinüber und lächelte. Der völlige Mangel an Emotionen hinter der einfachen menschlichen Geste kühlte sie ab. "Es macht keinen Sinn, die Behörden oder die wissenschaftliche Gemeinschaft zu informieren, bis wir wissen, was wir gefunden haben. Deshalb bist du hier. Ich will, dass die Absturzstelle der Artemis gefunden wird. Die Mining-Scanner und das Personal meiner Einrichtung stehen Ihnen zur Verfügung. Wer den Rest findet, wird sich an der Anerkennung für die Entdeckung sowie an einer stattlichen Vergütung beteiligen."

Alle sahen sich an und schätzten ihre Konkurrenz. Arlington wartete erwartungsvoll.

"Du kannst jetzt anfangen", sagte er schließlich.


* * * *


Tonya kletterte auf das Leuchtfeuer II. Sie raste um den Griff des Freelancers herum und schnappte sich Ausgrabungswerkzeuge, Scanner, VidCaptures, ihren MiniGlas an Büchern.... sie hielt eine Sekunde lang an, um Luft zu holen. Jede Faser ihres Seins stand in Flammen, angeklagt mit der Möglichkeit, derjenige zu sein, der das Schicksal der Artemis freigibt. Es war alles so unglaublich. Sie gab sich einen Moment Zeit, um sich im Nervenkitzel zu sonnen.

Sie rannte zurück zur Ausgrabungsstätte. Als sie dort ankam, erkannte Tonya, dass sie nicht die Einzige war, die durch die zukünftige Entdeckung angeregt wurde.

Senzen hatte die Bergleute bereits bei der Ausgrabung des Artemis-Fragments eingesetzt. Sie zerhackten sanft den schwarzen Lavagestein und versuchten zu sehen, wie viel mehr von dem alten Metall vergraben lag.

Deke Johnsons Entermesser stürzte nach oben und löste einen Sturm aus losem Gestein aus. Der Boden wurde von seinen Scannern beleuchtet, die die umgebende Landschaft beobachteten.

Auf einem nahegelegenen Hang trank Squig aus seiner Flasche, während er einen selbstgebauten Scanner schwang.

Arthur Morrow ging an der Vermessungsausrüstung und den Tiefenscannern vorbei. Er erkannte sie oder das Artefakt kaum an.

"Nicht daran interessiert, das zu analysieren, Art?" Tonya packte ihre Kamera und ihr Werkzeug aus. Arthur sah sie an und schnaubte.

"Das Geld steckt nicht dahinter. Das Geld ist irgendwo da draußen." Er bewegte sich zum Meer der erstarrten Lava, das sie umgab und weiterführte.

"Manche Menschen haben keine Sehkraft", sagte Senzen mit einem Grinsen zu ihr.

Tonya schoss eine Reihe von Bildern des Artemis-Fragments und fügte sie zu einem Komposit zusammen. Nachdem das Bild abgestimmt war, wandte sie es auf eine Datenbank mit Artemis-Bildern an und versuchte zu isolieren, von welchem Teil des Schiffes es stammen könnte.

Tonya erkannte, dass Senzen hinter ihr stand.

"Das ist eine gute Idee", grinste er schelmisch und ging zurück zur Leitung der Arbeiter.

"Jemand muss Deke sagen, dass er aufhören soll, so nah zu scannen. Der Kies könnte das Metall beschädigen." Ihr MiniGlas brummte. Basierend auf den Schablonen und verblassten Markierungen bestand eine gute Chance, dass das, was sie betrachteten, Teil der Steuerbord-Triebwerksverkleidung war.

Es war hilfreich, aber nicht schlüssig. Das Panel hätte sich bei einem Unfall oder im Weltraum lösen können.

Im Laufe der nächsten Stunden gelang es Tonya, Senzen und den Arbeitern, das Stück zu gewinnen und vorsichtig auf den Boden zu legen. Tonya umkreiste langsam das Metall und fing es aus jedem Winkel ein.

In seiner Gesamtheit war das Stück etwa zwei mal vier Meter groß. Die Kanten waren durch das Lavabad weggeschmolzen. Glücklicherweise gelang es ihm durch seine Hitzeschildung, diesen Teil lange genug zu schützen, damit die Lava abkühlen konnte.

Als sie fertig war, setzte sie sich hin und sah es sich an.

"Ziemlich unglaublich, oder?" Senzen stürzte in den Kies neben ihr hinab. Er trank aus etwas Wasser.

"Ich kann nicht aufhören, es mir anzusehen", antwortete sie. "Nach all der Zeit könnten wir es tatsächlich wissen...."

"Ja," nickte er und hielt ihr das Wasser entgegen. Tonya sah die Flasche zögernd an.

"Beruhige dich, Tonya. Wir konkurrieren, aber das bedeutet nicht, dass wir nicht zivilisiert sein können."

Tonya nahm das Wasser und trank. Sie hatte nicht bemerkt, wie durstig sie war und beendete die Flasche.

"Gern geschehen", sagte Senzen mit einem Lächeln.

" Tut mir leid."

"Keine Sorge. Ich habe noch mehr zu erledigen." Senzen blickte sich um. Einer von Arlingtons Assistenten eilte mit mehr Flaschen aus der Konzernzentrale.

"Du hast bereits seine Assistenten, die dir Sachen holen?"

"Ich arbeite schnell", antwortete Senzen mit einem Achselzucken. Er nahm die Flaschen. "Prost. Danke." Die Assistentin eilte davon. Senzen wandte sich an Tonya. "Sollen wir?"

Sie blickten über jeden Zentimeter des Artemis-Metalls, vorne und hinten. Tonya reinigte es so gut sie konnte, dann suchte sie nach jeder Art von Hinweis, um anzuzeigen, was passiert war. Da war nichts. Die Kanten wurden bis zu dem Punkt geschmolzen, an dem es unmöglich war, festzustellen, ob die Platte abgerissen wurde oder nicht. Sie führte Tests an Mikroproben des Metalls durch. Eine weitere Sackgasse.

Sie lehnte sich zurück und versuchte, sich vom Puzzle zu lösen. In der Hoffnung, dass ein paar Augenblicke weiter weg ihr eine Perspektive geben würde, sah sie Deke an, der von seinem Schiff aus immer noch die Landschaft scannte.

Squig wurde auf dem Hang versenkt, als er versuchte, seinen Scanner zu reparieren. Er zog ein ganzes Scan-Modul ab und warf es den Hang hinunter.

Dann traf sie die Inspiration. Sie drängte ihren Impuls zum Laufen und versuchte einen lockeren Spaziergang zurück zum Artefakt. Sie hat die Kanten des Panels neu gescannt. Senzen näherte sich.

"Hast du etwas?"

"Ich weiß nicht. Vielleicht." Tonya fuhr mit den Fingern über den Rand des Metalls. "Aber es ist nicht so, dass ich es dir sagen würde, wenn ich es tue."

"In Ordnung", stand er über ihr und sah zu.

Tonya packte das Metall und testete das Gewicht. Sie konnte es alleine umdrehen, aber nicht mit Kontrolle oder ohne es zu beschädigen.

"Hilf mir", sagte sie zu den Arbeitern. Sie bewegten sich nicht, sondern sahen sich nur an, dann Senzen.

"Ja, ich habe bereits Vereinbarungen mit ihnen getroffen, also helfen sie mir nur wirklich." Senzen zuckte unschuldig mit den Schultern.

Tonya starrte ihn an und drehte es dann selbst um. Die Metallfläche schlug auf der anderen Seite nach unten. Es tat ihr geistig weh, es zu tun, aber sie wollte Senzen nicht einen Zentimeter geben.

Die Innenseite der Platte war ähnlich wie die Außenseite. Metall. Geschmolzen. Es gab eine Stelle, die weniger verzogen war als der Rest. Tonya untersuchte jeden Millimeter mit ihrer Zoom-Optik. Schließlich fand sie einen Vorteil. Eine saubere Kante.

Das war's dann. Sie musste die Welle der Freude in ihr unterdrücken, um ihre Hand nicht zu kippen. Sie sah sich um, aber Senzen war verschwunden.


* * * *


Fünf Minuten später stand Tonya vor Arlingtons provisorischem Büro. Die Assistentin führte sie hinein. Tonya widersetzte sich erneut dem Drang, die letzten Schritte zu sprinten. Arlington war an seinem Schreibtisch und durchsuchte Datafeeds von Unternehmenswerten.

"Du hast etwas gefunden?" fragte er, ohne nach oben zu schauen.

"Ich glaube nicht, dass das eine Unfallstelle ist, Mr. Arlington."

Arlington schenkte ihr schließlich seine Aufmerksamkeit. Tonya brachte Fotos hoch und zoomte in den Patch, bis sie sich auf die saubere Kante konzentrierte.

"Siehst du das? Diese Kante war nicht zerrissen oder gebogen. Es wurde geschnitten." Tonya brachte zusätzliche Datascreens ihrer Ergebnisse hervor. "Meine Analyse sagt, dass es mit einem Präzisionslaser gemacht wurde, der zwar ungeschickt im Vergleich zu den heutigen Standards ist, aber periodengenau zu der Art von Technologie, die auf dem Artemis enthalten ist."

" Nur zu."

"Ich denke, es hat sich hier niedergelassen, um Reparaturen durchzuführen", sagte Tonya, dieser Nervenkitzel, der wieder auftauchte. "Es ist immer noch da draußen."

"Eine Entdeckung in der Tat, Mr. Turov", sagte Arlington zu einer Seitentür. Tonya sah sich verwirrt um. Senzen trat heraus.

"Ich habe dir gesagt, dass wir etwas Großes gefunden haben." Senzen trat neben Tonya auf.

" Wir?" stammelte sie. Ihre Verwirrung verwandelte sich schnell in feurige Empörung. "Mr. Arlington, ich weiß nicht, was er gesagt hat -"

"Miss Oriel, bitte." Arlington winkte mit der Hand. "Du hast mich verkauft."

Tonya starrte Senzen an und wünschte sich plötzlich pyrokinetische Kräfte.

"Die Angebote stehen noch", sagte Arlington, als er zu seinen Vorschlägen zurückkehrte. "Jetzt geht ihr beide und findet es."




. ... wird fortgesetzt

The Artemis.

Launched in 2232, it was a generational ship of five thousand souls in cryostasis pushing toward GJ 667Cc with Janus, an AI Core, at the helm. It was humanity’s first expedition to the stars. Shortly after passing from our solar system into unknown space, we lost contact.

So much had changed since that day; jump points, First Contacts, towering achievements and tragedy in almost equal measure. Despite the hundreds of expeditions, studies and simulations conducted over the centuries, no one ever found anything. Many came to assume that it crashed, flew into a star or dropped into a jump-point. The Artemis slipped into legend.

Until now …


* * * *


Tonya stared at a piece of history. Here, surrounded by lava, was the holy grail of explorers across the galaxy. A piece of it, anyway. Her mind was barely able to keep up with the torrent of thoughts, hopes and ideas that assaulted her the second she saw it. She glanced around.

Everyone else was just as stunned as she was. Senzen’s face twitched like he was resetting himself to comprehend what he was looking at. The sight of the Artemis even seeped through Squig’s alcohol-soaked brain.

“No way,” was all he could muster.

Gavin Arlington gave everyone a few moments to let it sink in. Finally, he cleared his throat. The CEO obviously had places to be.

“Now you know why I called you all here.” An assistant handed him a MiniGlas which he read while he spoke. “What we have here is a delicate situation –“

“What’s delicate? You have to tell people,” Deke Johnson interrupted. All of Arlington’s assistants’ eyes widened, incensed at the notion that this dreg would dare interrupt their boss.

“No, Mr. Johnson, that is precisely what I’m not going to do,” Arlington replied, hardly missing a step. “Should any of you disagree with that sentiment, allow me to remind you that based on the agreements you all signed, if you breathe a word of this to anyone without my express authorization, you, your family and your friends will be eviscerated legally, professionally, financially, socially” – he glanced at his lawyer – “physically?”

The lawyer nodded.

“Physically,” Arlington continued.

“Telling the UEE would shut this world down, and … eviscerate … your mining operation,” Tonya chimed in.

Arlington glanced over and smiled. The utter lack of emotion behind the simple human gesture chilled her. “There’s no sense in notifying the authorities or the scientific community until we know what we’ve found. That’s why you’re here. I want the crash site of the Artemis found. My facility’s mining scanners and personnel will be at your disposal. Whoever finds the rest will share in the credit for the discovery as well as a handsome compensation package.”

Everyone looked at each other, sizing up their competition. Arlington waited expectantly.

“You can start now,” he finally said.


* * * *


Tonya scrambled onto the Beacon II. She raced around the hold of the Freelancer, grabbing excavation tools, scanners, VidCaptures, her MiniGlas of books … she stopped for a second to catch her breath. Every fiber of her being was on fire, charged with the possibility of being the one to unlock the fate of the Artemis. It was all so unbelievable. She gave herself a moment to bask in the thrill of it.

She ran back to the dig-site. When she got there, Tonya realized that she was not the only one energized by the prospective discovery.

Senzen had already deputized the mining crews into excavating the Artemis fragment. They gently chipped away the black lava rock, trying to see how much more of the ancient metal lay buried.

Deke Johnson’s Cutlass swooped overhead, kicking up a storm of loose rock. The bottom was lit up from its scanners surveying the surrounding landscape.

On a nearby hillside, Squig drank from his flask while swinging a homemade scanner.

Arthur Morrow walked past carrying surveying gear and deep-rock scanners. He barely acknowledged them or the artifact.

“Not interested in analyzing this, Art?” Tonya unpacked her camera and tools. Arthur looked at her and snorted.

“The money ain’t in that. The money’s out there somewhere.” He motioned to the sea of solidified lava that surrounded them and moved on.

“Some people lack vision,” Senzen said to her with a smirk.

Tonya snapped a series of pictures of the Artemis fragment and stitched them together into a composite. Once the image was reconciled, she applied it to a database of Artemis imagery, trying to isolate which part of the ship it could have come from.

Tonya realized Senzen was standing behind her.

“That’s a good idea,” he grinned mischievously and went back to directing workers.

“Someone needs to tell Deke to stop scanning so close. The gravel could damage the metal.” Her MiniGlas hummed. Based on the stenciling and faded markings, there was a good chance that what they were looking at was part of the starboard thruster paneling.

It was helpful but not conclusive. The panel could have come off during a crash or in space.

Over the course of the next few hours, Tonya, Senzen and the workers successfully extracted the piece and placed it carefully on the ground. Tonya slowly circled the metal and captured it from every angle.

In its entirety, the piece was roughly two meters by four. The edges had been melted away by the lava bath. Fortunately, its thermal shielding managed to protect this part of it long enough for the lava to cool.

When she was done, she sat down and looked at it.

“Pretty unbelievable, right?” Senzen slumped down in the gravel beside her. He sipped from some water.

“I can’t stop looking at it,” she replied. “After all this time, we might actually know …”

“Yeah,” he nodded and held the water out to her. Tonya eyed the bottle hesitantly.

“Calm down, Tonya. We’re competing but that doesn’t mean we can’t be civil.”

Tonya took the water and drank. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she’d been and ended up finishing the bottle.

“You’re welcome,” Senzen said with a chuckle.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry. I got some more coming through.” Senzen glanced around. One of Arlington’s assistants hurried out of the corporate headquarters with more bottles.

“You already have his assistants fetching you stuff?”

“I work fast,” Senzen replied with a shrug. He took the bottles. “Cheers. Thanks.” The assistant hustled off. Senzen turned to Tonya. “Shall we?”

They pored over every inch of the Artemis metal, front and back. Tonya cleaned it the best she could, then searched for any kind of clue to indicate what happened. There was nothing. The edges were melted to the point where it was impossible to determine whether the panel was ripped off or not. She ran tests on micro-samples of the metal. Another dead end.

She sat back and tried to disconnect from the puzzle. Hoping a few moments away would give her some perspective, she looked at Deke still scanning the landscape from his ship.

Squig was slumped on the hillside trying to fix his scanner. He pulled an entire scanning module off and tossed it down the slope.

Then inspiration hit her. Quelling her impulse to run, she attempted a casual stroll back to the artifact. She rescanned the edges of the panel. Senzen approached.

“Got something?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Tonya ran her fingers along the edge of the metal. “But it’s not like I’ll tell you if I do.”

“Fair enough,” he stood over her and watched.

Tonya grabbed the metal and tested the weight. She could flip it on her own but not with control or without damaging it.

“Give me a hand,” she said to the workers. They didn’t move, only looked at each other then Senzen.

“Yeah, I’ve already made arrangements with them so they’re only really helping me out.” Senzen shrugged innocently.

Tonya glared at him then flipped it herself. The metal face slammed down on its other side. It hurt her spiritually to do it, but she wasn’t going to give Senzen an inch.

The interior side of the plate was much like the exterior. Metal. Melted. There was a patch less warped than the rest. Tonya examined every millimeter with her zoom optics. Finally, she found an edge. A clean edge.

That was it. She had to suppress the swell of elation inside her to not tip her hand. She looked around but Senzen had disappeared.


* * * *


Five minutes later, Tonya was outside Arlington’s temporary office. The assistant ushered her inside. Tonya again resisted the urge to sprint those final steps. Arlington was at his desk, sifting through datafeeds of company assets.

“You’ve found something?” he asked without looking up.

“I don’t think this is a crash site, Mr. Arlington.”

Arlington finally gave her his attention. Tonya brought up photos and zoomed in on the patch until she focused on the clean edge.

“See that? That edge wasn’t ripped or bent. It was cut.” Tonya brought up additional datascreens of her findings. “My analysis says it was made with a precision laser that, while clumsy compared to today’s standards, is period-accurate to the type of tech included on the Artemis.”

“Go on.”

“I think it set down here to make repairs,” Tonya said, that thrill bubbling up again. “It’s still out there.”

“Quiet a discovery indeed, Mr. Turov,” Arlington said to a side door. Tonya looked around, confused. Senzen stepped out.

“I told you we found something big.” Senzen stepped up beside Tonya.

“We?” She stammered. Her confusion quickly turned to fiery indignation. “Mr. Arlington, I don’t know what he told -”

“Miss Oriel, please.” Arlington waved his hand. “You’ve sold me.”

Tonya glared at Senzen, suddenly wishing for pyrokinetic powers.

“The offers still stands,” Arlington said as he turned back to his feeds. “Now, you two go find it.”

. . . to be continued