Krigara guided the transport as close as he could get without the stronger gusts slamming them into the mountainside.
Unfastening his harness, Janwar rose and stepped into the back where the rest of the seats hugged one wall.
Wedged between Soval and Elchan, Simone unclasped her harness and joined him near the hatch. “Time to go?”
He nodded, unable to quell a nervous flutter in his stomach. “Helmet up. We’ll be able to talk over comms, but the storm may make it harder to hear each other.”
“That’s okay. I remember the plan.” Smiling, she slipped her katanas onto her back and activated her helmet.
Janwar donned his own and slid the visor into place. The feed instantly lit up, enhancing visuals. Cameras embedded in the back of the helmet gave him a view of everything behind him. A running display on one side kept him apprised of his vitals and oxygen supply and could provide further information on command.
While the rest of the crew donned their helmets, Janwar looped an osdulium rifle over one shoulder. Next, he drew the strap of a bag over his head and the other shoulder, settling its bulk against his back. He didn’t know what they might find inside that base, so he’d packed the bag with decontamination suits for anyone they found who might be infected with the Gathendiens’ viral concoctions. He’d also added several lekadis that could serve as both stretchers and decon tubes for those too ill to walk. Or to transport the bodies of any who might have been killed before the rescue attempt.
He hadn’t mentioned the latter to Simone.
Once everything was adjusted to his liking, he reached into one of the many pockets magnetized to his armor and withdrew a kada.
“What’s that?” she asked, her voice emerging from the speakers in his helmet as she peered at the kada.
Janwar snapped one corner off the small rectangular device and dropped the rest. As it fell, the tech expanded into a board about the length of his arm that was just wide enough to accommodate his feet if he stood with them braced a shoulder’s width apart.
The kada halted without hitting the deck and floated a hand’s span above it.
Her eyes lit with delight. “Is that a hoverboard?”
He nodded and held up the corner piece. “We call it a kada. I control it with this.”
Judging by the excitement that brightened her pretty features, she would want one of her own once they returned to the Tangata and would no doubt spend hours using it to fly through the corridors.
“What other cool goodies are you carrying?”
He patted his pockets. “Emergency medic supplies in this one. Bex-7 stun grenades in this one. And Z-12 e-grenades in this one.”
She smiled up at him. “I am so turned on right now.”
The other men chuckled.
Laughing, Janwar stepped onto the kada. Since the winds were so fierce, he took the added precaution of activating the magnets in his boots to ensure the kada wouldn’t be swept out from under them, then held out a hand.
Simone eagerly clasped it and held on while she stepped up and positioned her feet between his. Her balance was perfect as she slid an arm around his waist to anchor herself to him.
He should have known it would be. Everything about her was perfect. “Ready?”
A wide grin lit her features as she nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Reaching over, he hit the release button beside the hatch.
Wind rushed inside as it opened but failed to tear Simone from his arms. Little taps sounded as ice pellets struck his armor.
“Wow,” she said over the comm. “That wind is really blowing. Are you sure we can fly through it on the kada?”
“Yes. There are small jets strategically positioned on my armor that I can use to keep us on course.” Janwar glanced over her head at his men. “No casualties.”
“No casualties,” they repeated.
“Happy hunting!” Simone called, then squealed and clutched him tighter as they shot out of the transport.
Janwar immediately had to employ the rockets on his armor to keep them from slamming into the mountain. His heart jumped into his throat, pulse spiking, as he fought the constant barrage and navigated them over to the outcropping he’d targeted.
A sigh of relief carried over the comm in his helmet once they ducked behind its jagged edges.
“Whew! That was close. Good flying,” Simone praised with a smile.
“Careful,” he murmured as he helped her step off the kada. “The ice is slick.” He showed her how to access the control panel on her wrist and call spikes forth from the soles of her boots.
“That’s handy.”
“We’re good,” Janwar told Krigara.
The transport’s hatch closed, hiding the interior and rendering the craft virtually invisible once more.
Janwar tucked the kada under his arm, then he and Simone settled in to wait for the transport to land outside the officers’ escape tunnel.
The wind wasn’t as bad here. The icy ridges blocked more than he’d expected.
“Boots on the ground,” Krigara muttered over the comm. “Soval, T, and Elchan are cutting their way in.”
“Any indications the Gathendiens know you’re there?”
“None.”
Good.
Janwar glanced at Simone.
A wide smile lit her features as she peered over the chunks of ice that hid them and studied the frigid surface below.
He shook his head as affection welled up within him, dampening some of his worry. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely,” she answered, her voice full of enthusiasm. “I have now visited an alien planet and an alien moon. I’ve become an honest-to-goodness space explorer.”
He loved this sweet, innocent side of her. If she weren’t wearing a helmet, he would smooth a hand over her hair and lean in for a kiss. “What are you thinking?” he asked, curious to know what thoughts tumbled through her sharp mind as she studied the landscape.
“Right now? Part of me is imagining you naked inside that armor.”
Surprised, he laughed. Perhaps innocent wasn’t the right word. “And the other part?”
“I wondered if there might be any Dotharian-sized creatures lurking in the ocean beneath the ice.”
Still smiling, he nudged her. “Already looking for a new challenge?”
“Perhaps,” she admitted with an impish grin. “Some of my immortal brethren can communicate with animals and coax them into doing their bidding. I was thinking how cool it would be if I could raise an army of giant sea creatures and sick them on the base.”
He grinned. “That would be one srul of a distraction.” And vastly entertaining.
“I bet we’d be able to get in and out without anyone noticing us.”
“And have quite a story to tell afterward.”
Her laughter filled his helmet and soothed his nerves.
“We’re in,” Krigara announced. “Elchan was right. There’s a transport in here, outdated but still functional by the looks of it. There’s also a tunnel leading toward the base. We’re entering it now.”
Janwar and Simone shared a somber look.
A few minutes passed.
“Found the door,” Krigara said. “T and I are trying to override the access code.” A beep sounded in the background. “Done.” What sounded like metal grinding against metal carried over the comm. If that door hadn’t been opened since the base’s construction, the cold could have adversely affected the hardware, robbing them of the quiet entrance they’d hoped for.