Free Rusch, Kristine Kathryn - Diving Universe SS3 by The Spires Of Denon (v5.0) Page A

area here, and that's about it. If we're going to find anything, it'll be here .
    She turned on the lights above her helmet and in her fingertips. She directed the beams toward the walls. More little niches, but they appeared empty.
    She would have to get closer to make sure.
    Sediment flowed around her, like snow in a harsh breeze. The water was hard to walk through, but she didn't want to swim. She wasn't sure it would be easier—the water seemed more viscous here than it had on the surface.
    What the hell is this stuff?  she asked.
    Taking a sample now,  he said.  It's got some chemical composition that wasn't present above, but if we want a better reading we're going to need the ship's equipment.
    Just great , she said, but she kept walking.
    Finally, she reached the wall. Niches stacked on top of each other like cubbyholes. Gingerly she eased her left hand inside, and found nothing. The edges of the niche were waterworn, and the walls themselves seemed furry.
    Mold maybe, or some kind of algae. She took a sample of that and placed it in her own kit. Whatever that stuff was, it meant that this part of the cavern had been underwater for a very long time.
    This seems a little weird to be a museum , Roye said.
    Let's not jump to conclusions , she said.  We're just getting started.
    Then she shivered again. They were just getting started. They had planned their route the night before: This series of large caverns, then two passageways down, another bigger cave. If they didn't find anything there, they'd use scanning equipment to see if they could find the water's source. And if they didn't find that, then they would work their way back.
    She was ready to go back now. She was so tense that she had been grinding her teeth—at least, she thought she had. They ached, even though her jaw didn't.
    You finding anything?  she asked Roye.
    A whole lotta nothing , he said.
    Me too.  But she dutifully felt and walked and recorded, going over the giant cavern bit by furry bit.
    * * * *

19
    The divers disappeared under the water. Gabrielle watched for several minutes, until the bubbles faded and she couldn't see shadows moving under the surface.
    The cold had numbed her hands—she hadn't worn gloves or added protection because she knew she wouldn't be down here long. Besides, she liked to carry the chill to the surface and let the sun burn it off her. She was about to leave when something rustled behind her. She turned.
    Meklos was kneeling in front of the divers’ packs. He had opened one and was taking the pieces out.
    “I thought you'd already inspected those,” she said.
    “I did,” he said. “I wanted to see if they'd added anything.”
    “You still don't trust them,” she said.
    “You pay me not to trust anyone.”
    She shook her head. She was glad he would be gone soon. Who knew that security guards could be so thorough? She watched him take items out—things she couldn't quite identify. And then he stopped as he removed an extra suit.
    “You got someone who can use this?” he asked.
    She shook her head. She had no idea. He had asked something similar before, and she hadn't known the answer then, either. She wasn't sure why he cared.
    “So they have a back-up,” she said. “So what?”
    “Back-up,” he muttered. “Hmmm.”
    He set the suit aside and continued his search.
    “If you don't need me any longer,” she said, “I'm heading to the surface where it's warm.”
    Without waiting for his answer, she walked around him to the stairs. She glanced at Yusef. He was bundled in three extra layers of clothing beneath his heavy coat.
    “You'll be all right?” she asked.
    He held up a reading pad and pointed to his lunch. “I'm here for the long haul.”
    She smiled at him. Then she took one last look at the water. It seemed completely undisturbed now, as if there weren't two humans beneath it.
    A chill ran down her spine. She certainly wouldn't go down there. But then, she wasn't being paid to.
    * * *