A Planet Called Eden
Chapter 8: A Climb

Jack steered the rover along the base ofan almost perfectly vertical wall of cliffs. The sheer, rocky face stretchedhigh and extended in both directions as far as their instruments could scan. Thenext climate zone waited on the other side. They hadn’t found a way through oraround. Jack sighed. They were off course, and getting more so by the mile.

“The Collinswon’t know where to replace us,” he said for the tenth time. No one answered thistime, either.

Jack squeezed a tube of coffee to heatit. He was getting tired. No, more than tired, he was getting pretty damn closeto exhausted. It was long past someone else’s turn to take the controls, but hehadn’t spoken up. At least driving gave him something to do while thescientists did their work. Even if, at present, that work involved getting themwell and thoroughly lost.

Behind him, he heard Kim shuffling in herseat. Jack glanced in his mirror and saw her look up from her station and turnto Dominic. “Anything?”

Dominic shook his head without lookingback. “My scopes are useless in this light. If there’s a way through, around,or even under this cliff, we’re not going to replace it till tomorrow.”

Kim frowned. “The nexus is that way.Through the wall. So if we want to go home—”

Dominic shrugged. “We have to get to the nexus.I know, I know. Maybe we should just fly the lander over. Oh, that’s right.Jack crashed it.”

“Uh, again, saved us. Hel-lo?” Jack shifted his grip on the wheel.An idea flitted through his brain. He knew he should probably think it throughbefore he acted, but then, why start now? Dominicwants to fly? Let’s frickin’ fly.

“Okay,” he said aloud. “Can’t go through,can’t go around. That leaves one choice.” He reached for a control, made a fastadjustment, and thumbed a trigger.

Two grappling hooks attached to cables firedfrom the rover and fixed themselves high in the cliff’s sheer wall. Hiddencranks begin to turn, pulling the rover to the wall.

“Jack—!” Dominic began. Jack didn’t lookback.

The rover reached the wall. The cranksturned. The motors whined and the cables strained. And then the rover began toclimb almost straight up the sheer wall of stone.

“Yeah, baby,” said Jack. “TotalSpider-man here.”

Kim held on to her seat with whiteknuckles. “You are insane,” she said. “You are certifiably, certifiably insane.”

Jack nodded. “I get that a lot.”

“This isn’t how these cables weredesigned to work,” said Dominic. “I’m not sure they can handle this kind of stress—”

“What’s your idea?” Jack returned.

Dominic shrugged. He had no answer.

Jack nodded. Thought so. Looks like the fancy-ass scientist needs good ol’ Jackafter all.

The Rover reached the grappling hooks.Jack hit another control and fired and fired a second set, higher up. Thesecond hooks caught. Jack reeled the first set back in and the rover continuedits assent. When they reached the second set of grappling hooks, Jack fired thefirst set again. The rover climbed higher.

At last, the rover reached a narrow ledgenear the very top of the wall. For the moment, at least, they were horizontalagain. Jack grinned. One more climb would put them on top, or very close to it.He reached down and hit his control. The hooks fired again … but came crashing backwhen they hit … something. Something Jack couldn’t see.

Dominic and Kim scrambled at theirstations, adjusting their instruments.

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head.“What the hell was that?”

Dominic frowned. “Another energy field?”

Kim didn’t look up from her instruments.“I can’t read anything….” Her fingers flew across her instrument panel frantically,making more adjustments.

“It must be the same energy bubble thatcrashed the Armstrong,” said Dominic.“Of course. Damn! We’re at about the same altitude, or close, I think….”

Kim shook her head. “We won’t be able topush through that.”

“Nice one, Jack,” Dominic muttered.

Jack closed his eyes and remindedhimself, again, that hitting Dominic wouldn’t solve anything. It’d feel damn good, though.

“I’m open to ideas,” Jack said.

Dominic leaned back in his chair andcrossed his arms across his chest. “At least this ledge is stable. We can spendthe night here and figure something out tomorrow.”

Jack shrugged as he considered. “I guessso. And we’re probably safer up here than we would be below.” He checked thecountdown clock on his wristband. Time was bleeding.

Kim nodded reluctantly.

Jack looked down through the windshieldat the narrow ledge and the jungle far below. “Just don’t step out to pee inthe middle of the night,” he suggested.

# # #

In the deep shadows beneath the junglecanopy, Skye Nayal shook the reins and urged her horse to take a couple ofsteps forward. She felt exposed this high up, but she needed a better view ofthe tall mountain face on the far side of the river valley. She pulled off herbronze helmet and let her dark hair fall free over her armored shoulders. Themoving metal … thing she’d beenfollowing had stopped — near the very top of the great barrier cliffs. Higherthan she’d ever climbed. Higher than anyonehad ever climbed, anyone human, at least.

She frowned and chewed her lower lipthoughtfully. Whatever it was, it contained more iron than she could see in athousand lifetimes, more wealth than all the clans together could ever hope togather. Her eyes narrowed and she shook her head.

What wasthat thing?

She heard a noise — something shufflingin the trees on the hillside, below. She pulled her mount back into the shadowof the canopy.

Far below, she saw dark figures creepingforward. They, too, watched the metal thing. Skye could see the setting sunflashing off the bronze of their telescopes. More rustling, and the shadowsemerged from the trees. Now, Skye could see them clearly — three creatures,scaled with a few tufts of brightly colored feathers. Their teeth were likedaggers and their claws were swords. They wore bronze armor and blades on theirlimbs and nimble tails that make their natural predatory skills even morelethal. Their reptilian eyes gleamed with cold intelligence. They rode greatbeasts, also armored, that looked, to Skye’s eye at least, much like themselves,only much larger and with smaller, feathered forearms.

Not that Skye had to see them to knowwhat they were.

The creatures were Skareiki. The enemy.

They watched for a moment, and then turnedtheir terrible, killing mounts back into the trees and rode away. Skye listenedcarefully for a moment to be sure they hadn’t turned her way, and then relaxed.They were moving with speed, and away — to report, no doubt. That meant they’dbe back, and with numbers.

But not for a while, most likely.

The night was still. Even the wind wassilent, a rare thing on this side of the mountain wall. She turned her attentionback to the metal thing.

Its mystery troubled her. And called toher.

She heard a rustle behind her and turned.Two of her riders, the brothers Lasair and Tac, approached, returning fromtheir scout. Before either of them could speak, Skye held a finger to her lips.

Lasair raised his eyebrows and mouthed asingle word: “Skareiki?”

Skye nodded once and whispered. “A momentago, down below. They’re gone now, but best to be cautious.”

Tac kept his voice low. “What were theyafter way out here?”

Skye pointed to the cliff face and sawLasair’s eyes widen with surprise. “What is that … thing?”

“I don’t know,” Skye said, shaking herhead and frowning. “But there are humans inside. I saw them.”

Lasair’s jaw dropped. He shook his head. “Humans!Here? Who?”

Skye shook her head. “None I’ve seenbefore.”

“Where did the come from?” asked Tac.

“I don’t know,” said Skye. “They’restrange. They’re not like us. Even their clothing is strange. They’re like …like the pictures of angels in the churches of the English.”

Skye saw Laisar’s brow furrow. “Are theymaking for the Fallen City? If they’re with the Skareiki—”

Skye shook her head. “I don’t know. Idon’t think so. I think they might be … lost.” She pursed lips for a second. “Keepscouting. I’m going to take some riders and follow them. I’ll meet you at theboats.”

Tac nodded.

After a moment, Skye added, almost toherself, “I want to know where they came from.”