Free Lacuna: The Sands of Karathi by David Adams Page A

serious matter. If it’s enough to knock her out, she could have a skull fracture, concussion, or intracranial bleeding.”
    A low groan from below, and Summer’s head rolled to one side. “Mmm. I’m a’right.”
    Rowe tried to stand up, but Cheung gently pushed on her chest to keep her laying down.
    “I said I’m a’right!”
    “No, stay right there. You could have a concussion or any number of things. Just hang on, and I’ll check your pupil response.”
    Liao watched as Cheung pulled out a small flashlight, holding it up to Rowe’s eyes. Leaving her to tend to the engineer, Liao motioned to the other Marines.
    “Let’s get down there. I want this structure searched.”
    Saara peered down at the exposed metal, shaking her head. [“It is not a structure, Captain. It is a ship. A buried Telvan ship.”]
    Liao wrinkled her nose, glancing back at the exposed area. “A ship? How do you know?”
    [“I recognize the configuration. See how that corridor there is hexagonal? A terrestrial corridor would be square. The Telvan build their ships according to a different philosophy to their buildings and philosophy matters a great deal. One of the constellations in our homeworld’s sky was named The Great Six. It was an important part of our initial space program and ancient religions, and so we shape the corridors on our starships to pay homage to the space they sail through.”] A slight grin. [“And to take advantage of different decompression characteristics.”]
    “Why would anyone bury a ship here? Could it be the Giralan ?”
    Saara shrugged, glancing down at Summer in concern. [“ThatI do not know, Captain. It’s possible the ship is the Giralan – it is certainly the correct configuration – or it could be another that was abandoned here.”]
    Liao nodded. “All good theories. Let’s find out.”
    She reached for the rope and, with some awkwardness, slowly rappelled down the side. Liao unclipped her harness, nodding up to Saara. “Okay, Saara, I’m sending up the harness.”
    [“Captain, there is no need. One moment.”]
    With a playful growl, Saara leaped off the edge, causing Liao to shout out in alarm. However, the Toralii woman’s claws dug into the opposite wall, and with surprising grace and speed she climbed down the metal bulkhead, dropping to the deck with a loud thunk .
    Summer propped herself on her elbows, blowing a loud raspberry. “Showoff.”
    The Toralii grinned. [“That is why I waited until your cute little Human bodies were all down there, so you could all watch.”]
    Liao put her hands on her hips, shaking her head. “This ‘cute little Human’ doesn’t want you to break your leg proving the superiority of your species, so next time use the rope.”
    The Toralii sighed. [“Yes, Captain.”]
    Liao crouched next to Summer, hands on her knees. “How’re you holding up? Can you walk?”
    Summer gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I can run a fucking marathon. Now, lemme up.”
    Cheung shrugged. “She doesn’t appear too injured, Captain. She must have just gotten the wind knocked out of her. Her head looks fine. Should I have the Broadsword medivac her out, or can she remain with us?”
    With a relieved sigh, Liao motioned for Cheung to let her up. Liao got to her feet then held out her hand, helping Summer stand.
    “If you start to feel dizzy, orfaint, or fall down…”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
    Summer, her foul mood gone, stared wide-eyed at her surroundings. To Liao, she looked like a child in a chocolate store.
    Liao reached out and touched her shoulder. “Easy now. You’ll get a chance to investigate every damn nook and cranny of this place later, but for now we need to make sure it’s safe and see if we can find where that signal’s coming from. This entire place looks shut down, but obviously something’s switched on somewhere. I want to find that it.”
    Liao motioned to the Marines. “Split up into groups of three. Li, Cheung, you’re with me. Let’s