Free Return to Dark Earth by Anna Hackett

with
you.”
    She sniffed. “Your brother has delusions of
grandeur. And he’s lost his edge since he got married to an
astro-archeologist. Now he’s donating a good portion of his finds
to museums.”
    “Right. And you only sell your items to the
scummiest black-market dealers or private collectors you can
find.”
    She turned back and raised a brow. “That’s
right.”
    He studied her face. “You know, I dug around
after you stole that Terran necklace out from under us. I couldn’t
find a record of a sale.”
    “Doesn’t mean I didn’t sell it.”
    “What about the Haladian gems you found on
Halad III?”
    She looked over his shoulder. “What about
them?”
    “The transaction was really well hidden, but
I discovered that they are sitting in a pretty little private
museum on Zeta Volantis.”
    She turned her back on him. “We need to keep
moving or we’ll run out of time before our radiation exposure is
up.”
    He watched her as she wandered into the next
room. Nothing was ever as it seemed with Nera Darc.
    “Sleep quarters?” she said, looking out the
waist-high gap that would have been a window.
    “Bedroom, yes.” Nik ran a finger over the
reinforced wall structure. Who had lived here? What had their life
been like? Had they made it off the planet before it was
destroyed?
    A glint of something buried in the layer of
black sand on the floor caught his eye. He grabbed it and gasped,
holding the item up.
    Nera stepped closer. “Pretty.”
    It was a necklace. The chain was broken but
the pendant was still shiny. It was a purple color that reminded
him of one of the colors in Nera’s eyes.
    “It’s small,” he said. “Probably belonged to
a child.”
    Nera studied him. “It saddens you?”
    “Sure. To think of a child caught in the
machinations of governments who were more concerned with power and
pride, rather than with the survival of the young and
innocent.”
    “You think because the child was young, she
was innocent?”
    He regarded her carefully. “Yes. Children
are innocent, regardless of what they are forced to do or see.
Regardless of what others make them do.”
    “There are so many more shades of gray than
you see, Niklas.” She turned away. “Let’s move on.”
    They scoured the next few buildings. More
homes with few artifacts remaining. Nik guessed most things had
either been destroyed in the intense blasts that had taken out the
city center, or had just deteriorated over time.
    In the first shop, they had more luck.
    “I think this was a music shop,” Nik said.
He touched the remains of what he guessed was a Terran guitar.
    “I think you’re right.” Nera turned,
cradling a metal object.
    In perfect condition.
    “God, it’s beautiful.” He touched the metal,
his fingers bumping hers. “A flute, I think.”
    They checked the next few shops, most of
which were disappointingly bare. Nik found a few general items—a
cup, the twisted remains of a precursor to the Sync communicator,
and a shoe—but nothing that would get Avril excited.
    They walked out onto the street. Nera
consulted the mini-Sync attached to her wrist. “Only twenty more
minutes of exposure time left. We need to start heading back.”
    He nodded, eyeing a lump of twisted metal on
the street.
    She followed his gaze. “A transport?”
    He nodded. “I think so. A car.”
    They moved closer.
    “Terran cars are worth a lot of money…but
this is barely recognizable as a car. It wouldn’t be worth moving
it.”
    “Yeah.” He knew a few rusted chassis of old
Earth cars had gone for millions of e-creds. No one had ever found
a Terran car in pristine condition. If they did, it would be worth
a small fortune.
    He noticed Nera tense. She was looking down
the street, past the remains of the buildings.
    “What is it?” He searched where she was
looking, didn’t see anything.
    “I thought I saw movement.”
    He frowned and checked his Sync. “The other
teams are nowhere near us.”
    “It was…furtive