“Bluff?” Speaker says.
“Lie,” I say. “Convince them we’re more dangerous than we actually are.”
“This is possible,” Speaker says. “Would you like for me to try?”
“Hey,” Jamie says, “it’s kind of do-or-die time here, Mickey. One of them just tried to get a grip on our flank.”
“Slow down,” I say. “Speaker’s getting off.”
“You sure about that? Once they’re on top of us, I’m not sure we’ll be able to get moving again.”
“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it. Right now I think we’re out of options.”
“To be clear, I am not certain they will speak to me,” Speaker says. “They may simply disassemble me.”
“If they do,” Nasha says, “then I guess we’ve got our answer, right?”
With a shudder, we roll to a stop.
“Rebreathers on,” I say. “Jamie—pop the hatch.”
We’re all on our feet now. Speaker waits at the back hatch, forelegs tapping against the decking. Cat and Lucas stand to either side of him, explosive rounds locked and loaded, accelerators trained on the first crack of daylight that’s just appeared at the top edge of the hatch. I’m standing behind Speaker with Nasha beside me. She’s holding her weapon across her chest, her finger nervously stroking the safety. I’m staring straight ahead, jaw set, one of Nasha’s burners held at the ready.
I’m desperately trying not to wet myself.
The hatch swings open.
The plain behind us is swarmed with spiders.
With a final glance back at us, Speaker descends.
“NOT FOR NOTHING,” Cat says, “but I’m really liking Take Charge Mickey. I don’t think I’ve seen this side of you before.”
“It’s always been in there,” Nasha says. “It only comes out for special occasions, though.”
“Yeah,” Lucas says. “I bet.”
Nasha rolls her eyes and mutters, “A child. An actual goddamned child.”
I’d love to jump into this discussion, but I’m apparently the only one in the cabin who’s still focused on the fact that Speaker is negotiating for our lives right now.
“Berto,” I say over the comm. “What’s going on out there?”
“Well,” he says, “they haven’t eaten him yet. That’s gotta be a plus, right?”
“Okay, yeah. That’s good, I guess—but what are they actually doing?”
“Dancing.”
“Dancing?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Speaker is up on his rear segments, prancing around and waving his legs in the air. One of the spiders is circling around him, basically doing the same.”
“Are they fighting? Is this some kind of ritual combat thing?”
“No,” he says. “I don’t think so, anyway. They’re not touching each other.”
“Huh. Maybe this is how they talk? Speaker said they don’t communicate using sound waves. Maybe they have a visual language?”
“Maybe. Not sure how long you were expecting this to go on, but if it doesn’t wrap up soon we’re gonna need to make a decision about what I’m doing. These drive units have a limited charge, you know. I can’t stay up here much longer if you want me to make it back to the dome in one piece.”
“Understood. If it comes to that, just go. Come back with an armed lifter if you can. If not, I guess you need to assume we’re dead.”
“And?”
“See if Marshall can pull together another expedition.”
“Right. To go where, exactly? Without Speaker, we have no idea where these ‘friends to the south’ are, let alone any idea of how to communicate with them.”
“Go back to the creepers. Maybe they’ll give you another Speaker?”
“Tell you what,” Berto says. “How about you guys just don’t get killed here, okay? Seems like that’s our best option all around.”
“Duly noted,” I say. “I’ll see what we can do.”
THE HATCH SWINGS open. Speaker returns.
“Well?” I say. “What’s the story?”
“Negotiations have not concluded,” Speaker says. “They ask for a demonstration.”
I glance around the cabin. All eyes are on me. “A demonstration? Of what?”
A ripple runs the length of Speaker’s body. “I have argued that they should not simply dismantle this rover, and you with it, because you are extraordinarily dangerous. As Lucas suggested, I have tried to bluff them. They do not entirely believe me. They require a demonstration.”
“Okay, but what kind? What do they want us to do?”
“They did not specify,” Speaker says, and settles back down onto the deck. “However, it needs to happen now, before any further discussions. If it cannot be provided, they intend to begin the dismantling.”
Nasha drops her rebreather over her face. “Jamie,” she says. “Open the hatch.”
“Mickey?” Jamie says.
After a few seconds of silence, I sigh and say, “Do it, Jamie.”
“You got it,” he says.
The hatch swings open.
Nasha strides out onto the ramp, takes aim, and fires. The nearest spider—a big one, probably three meters across the legs—bursts like an overripe melon. The rest scuttle madly, some toward the rover, some away. Nasha turns and ducks back through the hatch.
“Okay,” she says. “Seal it up.”
A spider charges her from behind. The hatch slams. The spider clangs off the armor with a sound like a hammer blow.
“There’s your demonstration,” Nasha says. “Now get back out there and tell them to leave us alone.”
“MICKEY,” BERTO SAYS. “Time’s up. I’m counting on a tailwind if I leave now. If I wait any longer, there’s no way I’m making it back to the dome.”
“Okay. Good luck, I guess—and don’t worry. I’ll tell Nasha you were under strict orders to get the hell out of here.”
“Tell him I knew it,” Nasha says from across the cabin. “Tell him if we die out here I’m one hundred percent gonna haunt his ass.”
“Nasha says—”
“Yeah,” Berto says. “I heard. Thanks.”
“I guess it’s up to you to make sure the next expedition is less stupid than this one. See if you can get more Security, or at least heavier weapons. See if you can get a lifter. And hey—if Marshall pulls a new me out of the tank, he should be able to communicate with the creepers every bit as well as I could. Go see them. See if they’ll give us another Speaker.”
“Oh no,” he says. “Don’t start with that shit. I gave you up for dead once, remember? It didn’t work out. This time, I’m assuming you’re gonna find a way to weasel out of this right up until I actually see your mangled corpse—and even then, I’m checking for a pulse.”
“Thanks, Berto. Hey, how’s it going out there?”
“Still dancing,” he says. “They haven’t killed him yet.”
“I guess that’s all we can ask at this point.”
“Guess so. Anyway, I’m going. Good luck, buddy.”
“Thanks, Berto. You too.”
“YOU KNOW,” NASHA says, “we’re putting a hell of a lot of trust in Wormy.”
I roll my eyes. “Please don’t call him Wormy. It’s bad enough coming from Lucas. I don’t need that crap from you too.”
“Sorry,” she says. “Seriously, though—he’s been gone for over an hour now. What the hell is taking so long?”
I shrug. “You remember how they negotiated with us in the labyrinth. Apparently creepers don’t rush this kind of thing.”
“For all we know, he’s out there telling them how to cook us.”
“You’re right,” I say. “He might be—but what’s our other option?”
“Three of us up on the roof with explosive rounds, and Jamie going hard with the burner. That’s our other option.”
I shake my head. “I thought about that before Speaker went out the first time. The math doesn’t work. There are too many of them.”
“Disagree,” Cat says. “We’ve got three LAs and two handheld burners, plus the turret. That’s a hell of a lot of firepower when the things we’re fighting don’t even have crossbows. You really think our odds are better sitting here waiting for Speaker to talk our way out of this?”