A/N. Thanks for the comments! and my apologies for the delay on this chapter. I've been traveling; in fact, will be for the next month, but I plan to keep editing the story, much of which is done.
This is for Kevin who asked for the latest.
Thanks to NiciMac for her help with this chapter, and the whole tale for that matter.
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A half an hour later, the Colonel found an alcove on a ledge a hundred feet above the wash that he was happy with as a fall back. After inspecting the cave, and leaving most of their pack's contents and the water, but retaining the climbing gear and weapons, he gestured and they headed back down to the wash and towards the GPS coordinates of the emissions.
She couldn't shake a sense of foreboding, of impending danger, yet again, as they headed toward the emissions site. She wished he'd decided to wait until morning, but that was just avoiding the inevitable. They needed to complete the trek; complete this part of the mission as soon as possible.
It was twilight now, but the Colonel had been right; there was enough moonlight to see, barely. She shivered against the sudden cold, as the darkness encased the canyon, bringing with it the chill of desert evenings in late fall. The air was crisp, suddenly cold. She could see her breath in the moonlight and now the starlight.
The silence settled around them as they headed through the wash, their footfalls the only sound. She picked a trail through the rocks and iced over pools, over dry fall and boulders, following the meandering canyon bottom on its path. There was no one. Nothing. No desert animals around. They were alone in two hundred miles of wilderness.
She kept focus on the GPS, barely able to see it in the fading light. Finally, they were there. She grabbed the Colonel's arm, unable to break the silence of the canyon when they reached the coordinates.
He put his hand on hers, still holding his arm, and looked down at the connection. Then he stared at the wall in front of them and raised his eyebrows.
He turned back to her. "Really?"
She shook her head in the affirmative.
"I knew this was going to be fun."
He grimaced, looked up at the cliff again and then released her. He began to climb, his boots keeping careful purchase on the angled slickrock.
She followed, watching her steps, making sure to follow the steep, almost vertical path he'd identified, patterns in the rock face, the strata changes creating miniature ledges. The slickrock was treacherous, slippery in places and sheer in others. There was nothing to hold onto, nothing to help keep balance. The Colonel switch-backed and forth, picking out the least dangerous angles as they climbed.
Finally, 150 feet up they reached a ledge of sorts, an enclave in the sandstone. Bushes hung perilously onto the outcropping, creating an oasis in the dark and the desert. A small cedar was struggling for life, its roots firmly dug into the stone, creating cracks in the ledge. Its only soil the sand and debris from 500 feet above on the mesa when washed down in rain or snow for food. Bushes grew along side the cedar, creating a hiding spot of sorts, a safe space.
The Colonel gestured for her to stop.
She sat down, breathing heavily, and looked down into the canyon and at the path they'd taken to reach the ledge. If she hadn't known they'd just scaled it, she would never believe it was possible.
And then she looked up.
There was no way up without climbing. Ropes most likely, but free climbing if they could manage it. And they had to go up, unless she was wrong about the coordinates.
She checked again. She was sure. The GPS coordinates were correct, they were in the right place, but this alcove wasn't the site. It had to be higher up. They had to climb.
This time finding the location of the emissions wasn't about depth, and going down; it was about scaling up the walls of an unrelenting, sheer canyon wall towering above them.
She swallowed, and finally commented on the obvious. "It's not here. It must be higher up."
The Colonel shrugged, calmly, took a drink and then handed her his liquid, staring at the shadows, the shapes of the night.
"Yeah, I figured. Should be an interesting climb." He stood up, and then looked down at her. He started to gesture a hand to get her up, but pulled back almost immediately, his hand to his side.
"Ready, Major?"
He looked out at the sky, the stars and moonlight, clearly assessing whether there was enough light needed for the climb.
She grimaced, accepting the inevitable. Of course they'd do it. The climb would be difficult and dangerous, especially at night, but it could be done - if they were really careful. If they'd been off world, she wouldn't even have considered that she had a choice. It was an easy answer to the Colonel's question there. She'd be ready.
On Earth- she stopped the thought. It didn't matter. Earth was the same as off world. She had to remember that. They were on a mission, no matter what world. And it was literally her mission this time, her choice, her recommendations had taken them here.
And she knew she was right; they needed to see this through. But she couldn't shake …
"Carter? Are you ready?"
The Colonel looked back at her in concern at her lack of answer. She got a grip, shook her head in the affirmative, and then knelt, pulling out the necessary climbing gear from her pack.
She stood, starting to put her backpack back on, and then stopped suddenly, staring at the far back of the ledge.
There was a glint of light, like moonlight shining on metal. She grabbed her flashlight and shone the light on the back of the ledge.
"Oh god..."
"What?"
The Colonel was next to her in an instant, his weapon pointed in the direction of her gaze.
Then he saw it too.
He focused in all directions, turning, weapon pointed. Finally seeing nothing threatening and convinced of their safety, he stood up and walked over to the body.
She was a second behind him. She'd seen corpses, even been responsible for their deaths, but this was unlike anything she'd seen before. The scavengers had gouged out the eyes and tore into the stomach. Instead of bloat, the corpse was mummified, a shell of a human, desiccated by the dry heat of the desert, the lack of humidity.
She swallowed back bile and then bent over the body along with him, examining the remains, her EMT training kicking in. "Skull's bashed in, and his… I think it's a he… his legs and arms are broken."
The Colonel checked for identification, turning over the body. She glanced at his expression, which was at its stoic best; his jaw was firm, his eyes black, his hands steady as he examined the remains.
"Nothing here."
He stared at the corpse, his hand rubbing against his leg. "Clearly been here a while."
She saw another flash of light, and then understood. The light she'd seen initially, and now, was the moonlight shining on the silver belt buckle still attached to the body.
She turned away, looking at anything besides the death beside them, looking for an answer to how the man had died. She scoped the scene and then saw something on the rock wall toward the west.
At the far edge she could see ropes, still dangling, swaying in the wind.
"There. Ropes. He must have tried to climb up and then fallen. He must have managed to crawl this far before he died."
"Not likely." The Colonel's tone was hard, cold, and ice calm.
She turned back to the Colonel, who was still examining the body. "What?"
He glanced at her, then back to the body. "The head wound is a killing blow. The rest… someone really didn't like him."
He shook his head, and then stood up and walked to the ropes she'd identified, assessing them by pulling, then leaning his full weight onto them.
"They're secure. We can use them for purchase."
He stared at the side of the cliff they had to climb, next to where the ropes were. "Daniel's…uhh… Moki steps are along the side - straight up."
He pulled out his flashlight so she could see them; they were slight indentations carved into the rock, enough for purchase, going up as far as she could see in the darkness that covered everything now.
The Colonel continued, thinking, "The… dead guy… must have free climbed and then belayed." He glanced back at the corpse.
"Looks like we're not the first to reach the site, Carter. And what happened to the first climber doesn't look like fun. Watch your back."
He walked back to the main part of the ledge and started to put his pack back on.
She followed, stopping him, her hand on his arm, and gestured to the corpse.
"We can't just leave him like this, sir."
He stared her down. " There's nothing we can do for him. And we need to move, now. We don't know what's watching, or who did this."
"Sir, it's Earth." They couldn't. She couldn't. Not here. Not Earth.
Something in her expression must have convinced him.
"Alright."
He pulled a tarp out of his pack and covered the body, securing it with rocks. "We'll deal with the local authorities when we're done here, assuming he's not part of the problem.
"Let's move."
The Colonel took point and grabbed the ropes, heading up sheer side of the cliff. She waited below, watching as he climbed into the darkness and out of sight. It seemed like forever. She checked her watch - not that long, not that long for a climb, even in darkness.
"Clear." The Colonel's voice sounded from above.
The rope dropped back down to her.
"Fifty foot up, Carter. There's another ledge."
The Colonel shined his flashlight onto the rock wall as she climbed.
"Not the greatest idea, but its nasty climbing in the dark. If anything is out there, they know we're here now."
She looked around her, barely able to make out the ledge where he was waiting even with the moonlight and his flashlight.
The cliff side was sheer, with little purchase. She slipped, her ankle giving way, but the friction of her boots against the rock slowed down her decent. She caught herself, re-ascended and finished the climb.
The Colonel was silent when she reached purchase, his grasp solid, literally pulling her up the wall and onto the ledge.
She broke into the silence. "What's here?"
He gestured behind them. "Cave, one exactly like Powell. I think we're at your site, Carter." He pulled her away from the entrance to the far edge of the ledge, re-conning the space.
Suddenly, green light shimmered from the entrance of the alcove, highlighting his features. They turned, and both stared at the cave.
The entities were here. And that was a game changer. There was no way she was staying back. Not now. She was going to watch his six, no matter what the orders.
The Colonel stared at her, seeming to read her thoughts. "OK, we both go."
He turned away. "Dump the pack and the gear - all of it, except weapons. And I take first."
She nodded her head and waited in the darkness, weapon ready, a green glaze covering everything around her, as they headed in to the cave.
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