Gateways 07_ What Lay Beyond - Diane Carey [11]
“You’re obviously not meant to be with these people.” It was a habit now for him to try to flatter her. “Why don’t you leave here? Surely there are other Petraw who would appreciate your talents.”
Luz frowned thoughtfully. “I thought about that. Petraw territory is far-flung. There are birthing worlds far removed from here.”
“You think you could get a ship out of this complex?” Kirk asked with deceptive lightness.
“Possibly.” She seemed wary of telling him more. “The shield generators on top would have to be disabled.”
Kirk felt a leap of eagerness. “Disabling shield generators is my line of work.”
Anything would be better than skulking around in the dark. But what if he did get off this planet? Then what? Stranded far from Earth, possibly never seeing another human being again…
Not if he could help it.
Luz was shaking her head. “But even if I was allowed to stay on another birthing world, I’d be relegated to cleaning waste tubes for the rest of my life. Only those born in the complex are accepted into the birthing chamber.”
“Didn’t Tasm earn that by giving the matriarchs the gateway?” At her sudden interest, Kirk added, “Valuable technology like the interstellar transporter is worth something.”
“But our matriarchs would spread the word against me,” Luz protested.
“Do you really think anyone in their right mind would give up the gateway? They’ll want to back-engineer it for themselves.” She searched his face. “That’s true. I could take it to one of the distant worlds where it would take time for the feed to spread. And once I was made a matriarch, it would be too late to change it.”
“I’ll make a deal with you, Luz. I want out of this place. I can’t stand it anymore.” He give a realistic shudder, hoping she would think his human sensibilities were overwhelmed by the alien culture.
“I’ll help you get the cylinder for the gateway if you get me out of here. Once we’re off this planet, we’re both free to go our separate ways.”
“You said your orders are to keep the transporter from falling into enemy hands,” Luz pointed out. “Why would you let me take it?”
His grin twisted. “If you help me get out of here, then that makes you my ally.”
Luz hesitated, then shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
Kirk almost sighed. It had been worth a shot.
“But,” she added, “I think you’re right that taking the gateway is the only way I’ll earn my proper place among the Petraw. I’ve got to get it back.”
Hiding his elation was not easy, but Kirk simply nodded. “Then we can both get out of here.”
Her shallow eyes and smooth skin were like a mask, hiding her true feelings. “I know where it may be.”
Kirk didn’t want to risk upsetting his tenuous agreement with Luz, so he contained his anticipation as he followed her through the tubes. They kept going down, and were heading toward the side of the complex adjacent to the cliffs.
They descended lower than Kirk had ever been, when they reached a long tube that slanted downward. “This is different.”
“It’s one of the access tubes for the conduits supplying the experimental stations.” Her voice was muffled, facing downhill in front of him. He could only see her rounded behind and her feet pointing back at him. “That’s where we work with technology we don’t understand. It’s safer that way.”
“Safer? Why?”
She paused to look back. “The cliff has been rigged with charges so that in an emergency, each experimental station can be dropped into the chasm. It’s molten rock at the bottom, so anything dangerous is swallowed up before it can damage the rest of the complex.”
Kirk could appreciate their caution. He would have taken care to protect his ship before attempting to crack open that neutronium cylinder. It would take an incredible amount of energy to penetrate the seal on the gateway’s secrets.
The search began. There was a long row of chambers that held experimental stations, and Kirk doggedly crawled through each tube after Luz. There were Petraw workers in these access tubes, but Kirk just kept his head down and