Rogue Angel - Polar Quest Part 23

"I get the distinct impression you aren't much into that part of the mission, though," Zach said.

"I'm not."

"You mind me asking why? It's really not like you."

Annja sighed. "It's nothing personal, Zach. And I'm flattered you thought of me when you were asked about help. But there's something else going on here, something bigger, and it's occupying most of my thoughts. I can't put my finger on it yet but I will soon enough. And when I do, I think that will be the time we need each other the most."

"Okay, well, whatever you need, Annja. You know that."

Annja smiled. "Thanks, Zach."

"So. What's your next step, then?"

"I think I need to see a copy of that lab report. I need to figure out for myself if those relics really are something special or just a bunch of trinkets thrown into the ground."

"Just a bunch of trinkets?" Zach sounded shocked.

"I know," Annja said. "It seems crazy, right?"

"Kinda."

"Just wait. If I find what I think I'm going to find, we'll have a lot more to deal with than just a bunch of crazy extraterrestrials."

Zach flopped back down on his pillow. "Great."

Annja turned over and it was only then that she realized Dave had stopped snoring. Had he heard everything she'd said to Zach?

23.

By the time Annja woke the next morning, she knew she had to get a copy of that laboratory a.n.a.lysis report and read it over. Both the metallurgic results and carbon dating seemed simply too bizarre to be fact, and she was surprised that none of the other scientists had requested to look it over.

This made her wonder exactly who the rest of the team was, and it was only then that she realized she'd been so obsessed with her own happenings that she hadn't properly met anyone else yet.

In the mess hall, Annja made a point of walking around and introducing herself to the other men and women. With each person she met, however, Annja found herself wondering exactly how they'd all been recruited for this particular mission.

"It doesn't make sense," she said to Zach and Dave over her eggs. "Who are these people? Have you ever heard of any of them before?"

Dave sighed. "Annja, are you saying it's necessary for you to personally know everyone in order for them to be valid researchers?"

"You know that's not what I'm saying, Dave." Annja frowned. "It's just that in our field, a lot of us know each other."

"But not everyone," he suggested.

"No. Not everyone," Annja admitted.

Dave shrugged. "Well, maybe these people have been hiding under rocks for the past couple of years. Or maybe they've been working on cla.s.sified projects and haven't had a chance to broadcast their work in the usual journals."

"I suppose."

Zach sighed. "He's right, Annja. I think you're getting paranoid. And I'm honestly wondering if it's good for you to be here any longer."

"What?" Annja was horrified.

"I'm serious. I don't know what you were thinking last night, waking me up like that and broaching the questions that you did, but I sure as h.e.l.l couldn't get back to sleep afterward."

"Well, sorry, but-"

"The idea that someone has gone through all of this to create some sort of subterfuge, which I believe is what you've been driving at, is really just out of the ballpark. I can't buy into it."

Annja ate a forkful of eggs. She was fairly certain Dave had heard the entire conversation so she didn't see any point in keeping it secret. "And what about the lab report?"

Zach shook his head. "Listen, go visit the colonel and see if he'll let you see a copy of it. If he does and you read it over, won't that allay your fears?"

"Possibly."

"Then do it. He should be at his office now, anyway. I'm sure he won't mind letting you have a peek at it."

"What if he does?"

Dave shrugged. "Maybe he's got a good reason. The report could have other details about stuff that we don't need to know. Once you start working with the government, this kind of thing comes with the territory. And as long as their checks clear in my bank account, I can't say that I'm all that concerned about it."

"That's certainly taking the easy approach to the situation," Annja said.

"Maybe," Dave replied. "But at least I'm not losing sleep at night thanks to my crazy thoughts. Who says it's better to take the difficult approach to a situation anyway?"

Annja put her fork down. "And if it turns out there really is something strange going on here?"

"I'll apologize," Dave said.

"Me, too," Zach said. "And I'll stand up on the table here and publicly tell everyone what a royal p.r.i.c.k I've been. How's that sound?"

"Pretty good," Annja said. "And I'll hold you to that." She picked up her tray. "See you guys down at the dig site later."

Annja put her tray back by the entrance and then zipped herself up. Outside, the weather seemed a little warmer today, but it was still brilliantly cold. Maybe she was starting to adjust to the harsh environment. She wondered how penguins endured this kind of weather when they marched deep into the interior to shelter their young.

Colonel Thomson's administration center lay ahead of her, and Annja headed straight for it. As she walked through the snow, she rehea.r.s.ed what she intended to say to Thomson when she saw him.

She reached for the door and pulled it open.

"Colonel Thomson."

She stopped. The shelter was empty.

Annja frowned. She could see the bank of computers sitting on the back table. Each one of them had a screen saver blipping across the screen in random order.

Annja glanced back outside. All it would take was a few quick keystrokes to see if the report was on there. And if she could get access to it and a printout, that might be all the proof she needed that something was going on here.

It was worth a shot, wasn't it?

She moved around the receptionist desk and toward the back of the shelter. She glanced back at the door and then turned toward the screen. As soon as she touched the first key, the screen blossomed into light.

A single prompt asked for a pa.s.sword.

Annja frowned. Great. Security even down here.

She paused and tried a number of entries. Each one produced no results. Worse, the prompt told her she had only two more tries before it locked itself down.

Annja thought and then typed "Thomson" into the computer and hit Enter.

The screen flashed and asked for another pa.s.sword. Annja typed the same string in and hit Enter.

The screen flashed red and then informed Annja that she was being frozen out of the system.

"d.a.m.n."

She heard a noise outside the door and hustled back around the table. The door opened and the young soldier she'd spoken with yesterday came in.

He took a look at Annja, then at the computer in the back, and then back at her. "Can I help you with something, Miss Creed?"

Annja smiled. "Sorry, I was just trying to access my e-mail."

The soldier typed a few keys and rebooted the computer Annja had frozen. He frowned at her. "Computers are off-limits to nonmilitary personnel."

"I didn't know," she said as innocently as she could manage.

"Some things we shouldn't have to tell you guys, for crying out loud. If the colonel gets wind of this, he's going to be p.i.s.sed," the soldier said.

Annja flashed a smile again. "We don't have to bother him with that, do we? I'm sure he's busy and all, and that kind of thing would probably just put him in a bad mood."

"You're d.a.m.ned right it would. He doesn't like anyone messing around with the system. It's not like we've got a tech unit to come in here and fix things if we get buggy. We need these things running in top condition all the time."

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I promise."

He looked at her and then grinned. "Yeah, all right. Don't worry about it. I get lonely for some e-mail myself. Stinks not being able to talk to my friends back home."

"You've been with the colonel for a long time?" Annja asked.

"Only a couple of months, actually. I graduated tech school and got a.s.signed to him once I pa.s.sed the security background check. That took the longest time."

"Must be nice working for him. I'll bet you know all his behavioral patterns and stuff like that."

He grinned. "I can tell when he's not happy. Like yesterday, he wasn't too nice to be around."

Annja leaned against the desk. "Oh? Why do you think that was?"

"I don't know. I thought I heard him saying something about incompetence, but I can't be sure. He spends a lot of his time in his shelter. He and Major Braden seem to have a lot to talk about."

Annja looked around the shelter. "So is this it for you? You just sit here all day and do nothing?"

"I file reports, take in reports, get stuff signed and send it on out. That kind of thing. It gets boring sometimes, but I like the job."

"How's the communication system? You're set up for satellite relays, right?" Annja asked.

"Yep. We've got times when we can get a clear stream of communication back to the States and other times we have to bounce stuff around. That's when things are good. But during the blackout times, it sucks."

"Blackout?"

"When we don't have any satellite coverage. We're totally alone then. h.e.l.l, someone could come down here and wipe us out. If it's during that blackout window, no one would know anything about what had happened to us."

Annja frowned. "That's a bit scary."

"Tell me about it. I get the shakes just thinking about it."

"How often do you have blackout periods?" Annja asked, alarmed.

The solider shrugged. "Every day. One in the early morning and one toward the end of the day. They're like clockwork."

"And there's no way to get a message out during those times?"

"Well, if you've got a landline, sure you could. But there ain't no landlines down here. So you'd need your own sat phone on a different network-something that doesn't use a defense satellite to send through."

"That would take some doing," Annja said.

"Yep. Sure would."

Annja leaned closer to the soldier and smiled warmly at him. "I was hoping to see the colonel and ask him a few questions."

"About what?"

"The report from the laboratory about the nature of the artifacts that were found."

The soldier frowned. "What do you want to see that for?"

"I've got some questions about the carbon dating exact.i.tude algorithm that I need cleared up." She smiled and hoped the line of techn.o.babble would suffice. "It's pretty complicated stuff, but if I can see the report, it'll help me understand a little better about what it is we've got down here."

The soldier leaned closer to her. "I hear they're from outer s.p.a.ce."

"Could be," Annja said. "But I won't know until I see the report. Is there any way you could see your way to helping me get a copy of it?"

"I would, sure, but I don't have access to it," he said.

Annja sighed. "Why not? I thought you were in charge of everything here."