A second wave of the storm pummeled the canyons on Rheindic Co, but Margaret was too amazed by the new Klikiss city to notice the sounds at all.

Wind and driving rain pelted the cliff face. Another surging gurgle of water crashed along the canyon floor, scouring the rocks and stripping piled sediment and dust from where the three black robots had been.

Inside, the abandoned ruins were dry and sheltered. And fascinating.

DD directed a glowing light panel into the dark tunnels as Louis and Arcas ventured deeper into the strange echoing buildings. The two men shared a boyish, fascinated grin, and Margaret joined her joy with theirs. The place was like a tomb, hushed and undisturbed.

Margaret touched the smooth walls, feeling a film of dust laid down by incomprehensible age. She feared she might damage these brittle artifacts just by breathing, but the Klikiss ruins had been built to withstand eons. Sealed inside the canyon walls, this city had remained undisturbed by intruders, weather, or time. Just waiting for them.

“This construction is similar to what we found on Llaro,” Louis said. “Look at the walls, the arches.”

“Yes, but these are much better preserved.” Margaret looked triumphantly at Arcas. “In fact, these are the most perfectly intact set of Klikiss ruins ever found in the Spiral Arm.”

The green priest looked proud of his role in the discovery, pleasantly surprised by Margaret’s praise. DD said, “I wish Sirix, Ilkot, and Dekyk could be here to see them. Such details might spark their memories. Do you think there is a possibility they survived intact? An ancient Klikiss robot is irreplaceable.”

“A possibility, certainly, DD,” Louis said with forced optimism. “Keep your chin up.” The compy tilted his head upward, taking the instruction literally.

For hours the archaeologists explored the labyrinth of buildings and rooms. The Klikiss builders had extended their smooth-walled tunnels deep into the mesa, but the outer face of this alien settlement had been walled up … as if intentionally hidden from view.

“I wonder if the Klikiss were afraid of something,” Margaret mused, looking at the remnants of the camouflaged cliff wall. “Were these outer walls meant as defenses?”

“We’ve never understood why the Klikiss race disappeared,” Louis said, speaking more for the green priest’s benefit than for Margaret’s.

“Do we know what the Klikiss looked like?” Arcas asked.

Louis shook his head. “Nope. Even at the apparent battle site on Corribus where we discovered the Klikiss Torch, we didn’t find so much as a single alien cadaver.”

“And the writings and hieroglyphics on the walls contain no drawings of the Klikiss people,” Margaret said.

“Perhaps we will find something here, Louis,” DD said, always optimistic. “I will help you look.”