That finally penetrated his fog, and he carefully began to pick his way down the shifting scree of stone. At the same time, his expression had grown confused. He slowly shook his head, flicked it, as if at something buzzing by his ear. His worried brown gaze fixed on hers. “You need to call down everyone. We have to get her out.”

Kalico watched his eyes; they kept shifting, as if a flurry of conflicting thoughts filled his head. “Call them,” he insisted. “Access com. We have to get her out. She’s in there. Just behind that rock. She’s pregnant. I told you that, right?”

Kalico raised a soothing hand. “Easy, Tadeki. I’m stunned by this as well. Stana wasn’t as close to me as she was to you, and I’m so sorry. For you. For her. For the baby, too. I didn’t know she was pregnant.”

“Our secret,” he whispered miserably. “Going to be a family. That’s why we’ve got to get her out.”

“Tadeki, you’re not even supposed to be here. Does Stryski know you’re down here? Did he give you permission?”

“I have to save Stana,” he continued to plead. “She’s all I’ve got. Do you understand? She’s my life. We’re going to have a baby.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “I have to get her out of there.”

“Come on. Let’s get you outside. We’ll figure out what to do with Stana and Alia when we can determine why the shoring let go.”

Tadeki’s cheek twitched, his gaze thinning. “You’re not going to save her, are you?”

“Did you hear a word I said? She and Alia are dead, Tadeki. There’s nothing to save. They’re back there under tons of rock. Like you’re going to be if you go back to destabilizing that roof fall. Now, come on. Something tells me you’re absent without leave.”

He turned, staring back at the slope of tumbled rock. “I have to save her.”

“Yeah, I know. And I share your loss. Stana and Alia, both of them, were remarkable women. So, listen. Go back to work. I’ll tell Stryski to cut you a break. Hell, I might have done the same thing if it was someone I loved. Come on.”

Tadeki was sniffing, a trembling in his hands, his shoulders bowed. Head down, he kept knotting and unknotting his fingers. The man looked completely undone. Kept repeating, “You’re not going to dig her out. Just leave her there to rot.”

“Nothing we can do.” Kalico tried to keep her voice even. “Just had to come down and take one last look.”

In the gleam of the lights, she could see his lips quivering, how his eyes were blinking.

“Pick up your stuff. Come on.”