“What’s a cocoon?”
“A casing that a moth produces.” She lifted her gaze to his.
“Okay. What’s a moth?”
“It’s an insect.” Dek turned back to study the hard casing. “Legend has it they were brought from Earth by the colonists. Most perished, but a small population managed to flourish in the Black Stand, an ancient forest not that far south of this site. The moth colony must be expanding their territory up the coast.”
“It doesn’t look like it’s alive,” Sno muttered.
“No. The moth forms this thick coating around its body to protect it while it’s…”
Dek met Sno’s eyes.
“Dormant,” he finished for her.
“Moth. Thinker,” Dek repeated.
They both craned their necks to study the Juggernaut.
“Cassie, are you telling us that thing is alive?” Dek whispered.
The StarDog bounced with excitement and gave a silent yap.
“It’s alive but cocooned, like this creature?” Sno asked.
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
“I take that as an affirmative,” Dek subvocalized.
“That was a ‘Yes, yes, yes,’” Sno confirmed.
“Holy Hades.” Dek rose slowly to her full height, her gaze locked on the pillar. “But if this thing is some sort of hibernating creature, why didn’t the scientists realize it?”
“Maybe because this team is primarily paleontologists and biologists, not speleologists. They weren’t focused on a rock formation and they couldn’t know it was alive, because they don’t have Cassie’s acute senses.”
“Or a way to intercept her thoughts,” Dek added.
“Right.” Sno’s gaze cut to hers. “We need to take a closer look.”
They froze at the bass rumble above. The lift had gone into motion, bringing a passenger down to Lower Cave.
Probably not the person they were here to find. A spy wouldn’t use the lift and give away his position. Sno shot CaSandra a look, and the little creature lay down inside their refraction pocket, wrapping her tail tightly around her body.
Sergeant Garr stepped out of the lift.
Dek exchanged looks with Sno. Garr ambled around the site seemingly without direction or purpose. Why had he left his post? And what was he doing here in the secure dig?
She watched the sergeant as he slunk past the grid area, glancing around warily before aiming a device down into the test pits and excavated areas. Moving from one grid to the next in a systematic sweep.
Capturing digital images?
Finishing what he’d started the night I was assaulted? Collecting data?
Dek ground her molars. Was it Garr who’d hit her?
When the lift sounded again, Garr turned and made his way back, waiting just outside the exit. It seemed he’d been expecting someone.
An accomplice?
When the doors opened and Major Remm stepped off the lift, Garr’s entire demeanor changed. His hands tightened into fists and he started to shift the pulse rifle slung over his back then seemed to think better of it.
Clearly, that wasn’t who he’d been expecting.
Remm pulled up short when he spied Garr. “Sergeant? Why aren’t you at your post?”
“I thought I saw someone hanging around the lift. Decided I better check that the site is secure after the last incident. Who knows? Maybe Dek is back.”
She stiffened, and Sno reached to grip her arm. “Easy,” he subvocalized.
“You know our procedures,” Major Remm rebuked him. “You’re to alert command of any potential intrusion into Lower Cave. Entering this area without direct orders is a clear violation.”
Garr’s jaw jutted. “I’m paid to protect the site. That’s what I was doing.” A bead of sweat had formed on the sergeant’s forehead and now ran down the side of his face.
Major Remm angled his body, going defensive. “Don’t give me attitude, son.”
“I’m not your son, old man.”
Major Remm made a move for his wristcom.
Garr seized his pulse rifle butt in one hand and ducked out of the strap, brandishing it. “Get your hands away from that com!” he spat.
Dek jolted forward, but Sno pulled her back with a firm hand on her shoulder and a warning in her ear. “Hold up. Don’t give us away.”
“At ease!” Remm thundered, but Garr brought the butt of the weapon down sharply on the major’s head. Remm let out a curse before crumpling to the sand.
Again, Dek made a reflexive move toward the major, but Sno tightened his hold. “Don’t!” His generated voice sounded harsh in her ear receptor. He eased an object from the thigh pocket of his field vest and extracted it from a waterproof covering, flipping it open. A vid!
As Sno filmed, Garr looked around frantically then grabbed the major’s limp arm and dragged him across the sand, depositing him in a heap behind a cluster of lava boulders and scuffing the drag marks with his boots.
Dek tensed to rush him, and Sno seized her arm.
“The major could be hurt!” she protested silently.
“Giving away our presence won’t change that.”
“Let go of me,” she mouthed.
The muscle in his jaw tightened, and he pinned her with a determined glare. “We need proof of why he’s here.”
Dek snapped her head up at the sound of the lift going into motion for a third time. Garr looked up the lava cliff with expectation. Dek traded scowls with Sno but eased back, shrugging his hand off her shoulder, willing to give this new development a moment to unfold.
But only that.
Garr positioned himself in front of the lift exit when the unit went silent. The doors opened, and Garr straightened. Dek and Sno couldn’t see the occupant from their position, but all questions were answered when he stepped off.
Commander Tapp.
Dek sucked in a quiet breath. Beside her, Sno continued to video the scene. Lying at his feet, Cassie watched the two men intently but remained in down/stay.
So…the commander was in cahoots with Garr? If Tapp was part of this, Sno would capture the evidence. But Major Remm…
“Sir,” Garr greeted with a tip of his head.
“Sergeant Garr,” the security task force commander answered. He stepped closer to the man, clearly irritated. “Why the Blue Hades am I here at this ungodly hour?”
“It’s important we talk in private,” Garr growled.
“I have an office, and I don’t recall ever giving you clearance to enter Lower Cave.”
“These are special circumstances.”
“Explain yourself.”
“I’ve found proof that Dek is a traitor. And that she staged her so-called attack.”
“That’s a very damning statement.” Tapp shifted closer. “What proof?”
Sno caught her eye. Dek shook her head. Haley’s Crest, did Commander Tapp actually believe the bastard?
“She’s been vidding the dig, sir. I have reason to suspect she’s collecting intel for the Alliance. She intends to disclose the findings at this site.”
“And why would she do that, Sergeant? Dek and I may not always see eye-to-eye, but I don’t doubt her loyalty for a moment.”
“Because she’s an Alliance spy, Commander.”