Soon the climb gradually stopped, but the path for our unlucky travelers did not get any easier - the next section of the road was clearly invented by the devil himself if you look at the fact that the path kept turning in different directions; in some places, the cave became so narrow that the couple could only crawl. However, thanks to such wonders of local nature, Katya was able to overcome moments of despair, focusing on not getting into the wrong place.
Neither Leo nor Katya knew where they were going - they were only driven by a longing to leave Hascosay. Besides, they are running out of supplies – another reason to leave this place before they die or stare at each other with predator's eyes. Anything to stay alive. Leo once wondered what he would do if the question arose between starving to death or killing a human, but the Order commander threw such thoughts away – he will never do anything like this and find another solution at any cost. Leo thought there should be a colony where they could get everything they needed. Somewhere on Hascosay.
After a while, the cave widened again and led the guys to another underground lake, but there were no luminous walls, so flashlights were their only source of light here. Finally, Leo said:
- The lake is quiet. I didn't even know there was water here. Stay on the shore and walk carefully.
His words make sense - the shore rested against the cave wall, making the path very narrow. Cautiously, meter by meter, Leo and Katya moved along the lake. The girl wanted to hold the guy's hand as he led them forward.
- Leo, are you sure we are surrounded by Nomads? I can’t remember they could ever settle planets, so what makes you think they are here?
- Maybe you don’t know, but the case already happened. Two years ago we knew Nomads settled on a planet in the remote Omicron system, but never could able to discover what the local hive would look like because of much more severe conditions, but believe me, Katya, Nomads have the capability to occupy planets and I would be surprised if they couldn’t do it, - Leo answered, trying to move carefully along the wall.
A little later he saw the edge of the lake in the light of both flashlights and rejoiced. What could go wrong? The answer is simple - Katya. Turning back, our girl didn't notice that her foot slipped over the edge of the trail and she squealed and fell into the water. When Leo heard a squeal and a splash of water, he cursed everyone in the world, threw down his backpack, and helped her out of the lake, where fortunately it was not too deep. Katya's clothes were soaked through, forcing them to make a halt, and she was shivering from the cold, but first, they had to walk quickly to the end of the lake, where there was already a wide coast.
- Take off your clothes, we need to dry them off. We're not going anywhere else today, - Leo said, quickly building a fire. They had one last cell left for this, but the guys had no other option. Katya looked at him with a mix of incomprehension and embarrassment, - What are you waiting for? Undress, I don't want you to get sick.
- Ok-kay… - she didn't know what to say or how to act, but the growing cold under the suit won out and Katya undressed, leaving only her underwear. - Sit closer to the fire and warm up, I'll take care of the rest, - trying not to look at the girl, he took off his outer garment and threw it over her shoulders to keep her warm and covered.
The flame burst into full force, giving them a saving light and warmth, and Katya stopped shivering from the cold. Meanwhile, Leo has set up an overnight placement for them, since the underground trip is hard for them. They could only hope that the exit to the surface was not far away, no matter what awaited them there. The girl lay down, trying to cover herself with what the pilot gave her, and carefully looked at him.
- I am sorry for what I have done, Leo, - she made an apology. - Do not worry about it, better try to sleep, - Leo answered, looking at the slightly smiling girl, who closed her eyes in mental fatigue.
Order agent stared into the cheerful playing flames of the fire, enjoying the spectacle and not thinking about anything else, and soon he did not understand how he fell asleep. And he did not see how the artifact lying on the backpack began to glow bright red.
This time their dream was much more conscious, and more surprisingly, the two of them were alone in the middle of it. In the middle of nowhere, trapped in a thick purple fog. “Am I dreaming? Where am I?”
“Leo, why the hell can I see you in my dream?”
“I can ask you the same, Katya”
They stood here in their usual clothes in the midst of a flurry of silent voices, but a weird red aura surrounded their bodies - everything became silent. But the dream had not ceased, and the guys couldn’t escape the feeling that something else, much more powerful, was looking at them, their every step. It looked like they were in a cage and pinned to the ground. “What now? I can’t wake up, it's like I'm being held by force” “Intruders.”
Suddenly they were thrown out of the dream back into reality, where Leo and Katya sat and looked at each other frightened, not understanding what had just happened. They found another problem.
- How the hell am I supposed to understand that now?! - Katya surely panicked, using curses from the arsenal of her native language.
Leo sat next to her in a worried mood because he did not expect such tricks, but there was no more doubt - the planet is inhabited by Nomads and the guys need to get out of this damned place. It is possible that they are now being hunted by both the Nomads and those who live here. An encounter in orbit demonstrated that the Order's ship is not welcome here, and the underground trip only increased suspicions. The girl was so disturbed that she even forgot that she had almost no clothes on - the fire was still burning, keeping the warmth around her. Katya noticed it when she put her head down and frantically tightened the edges of the jacket Leo gave her.
- Hmph…Your clothes are still wet in places, I'm going to turn them over and they will dry on the fire, be patient for a little while longer, - Leo actually did what he promised and continued to warm himself by the fire next to Katya.
The rumbling in her stomach told the guy to use up the leftovers and he pulled the last nutritious briquette out of his backpack. Divided in two, Leo gave the larger piece to her and ate the smaller one himself:
- This should be enough for the next several hours, but then left with no food.
The situation looked very pessimistic, but neither Katya nor Leo wanted to remain buried in the depths of the cold world somewhere on the edge of the Tau sector. However, they found entertainment while the clothes were drying - Katya tried to teach him some russian words and played various children's games. Some would say they're crazy to be adults and dabble in catch-up games, but you can’t judge somebody who lost in the middle of nowhere. Running barefoot on the rocks wasn't good for them, though it was more fun that way. Katya and Leo were alone for miles around and no one could stop them from having as much fun as they wanted.
Having laughed enough, our travelers decided to go on, when Katya's clothes dried enough not to get sick from the cold. This time the road was relatively flat, and the cave was wide enough for vehicles to pass through, but not only made feels Leo relieved – there was a stream of fresh wind from somewhere ahead, signifying that a way out awaited them. After walking a little more, Katya noticed that the walls had outlines of symbols unknown to her, which had almost been erased over time.
- Do you see what I see, Serre? – she asked him looking around. - Yes, but I don't understand anything. This place looks…abandoned and too old, - the guy tried to point the flashlight beam onto rock carvings, - I have never seen something like this before, even in Order science division or xenoarcheologist labs. Everything looks almost done except this one large crescent.
- What crescent? What are you?... - she turned around and saw the rock crescent too, which looked much clearer than the other symbols. Katya felt her artifact vibrate strangely and she pulled out the crystal - it flashed with tremendous frequency.
The girl twirled it in her hand and suddenly a bright red beam hit the wall of the cave, just in the center of the symbol. The outline of the crescent began to glow yellow, gradually becoming brighter and brighter. Serre and Rogozina covered their eyes with their hands when the light became enormously bright and everything fell into darkness again. Leo opened his eyes and looked at that wall again – there were no symbols, but pure rock. Only something small glowing lay at the guy's feet, he picked it up and looked closely - it was the same crescent, only now it was the same size as Katya's artifact.
- Looks like we found what Sally and William were looking for, - Katya came close to Leo and looked at their new find. - Show me your artifact, Katya, - Leo asked her to compare them. The girl took the crystal out of her pocket and gave it to the agent, - Yes, they are similar. Both artifacts radiate the same light and same warmth, just different colors.
A sharp gust of wind shook the hair and made the guys shudder.
- Let’s go on, my friend, we have no reason to stay here any longer, - Leo gave an artifact back to Katya and they continued their trip.
The guy and the girl didn't yet know that something ahead ran with a chirp.
