From there, Kalico had ordered the search to carry them south to Mundo, then back north on transects that would allow the lateral sensors to search for any sign of her missing A-7.

“Should have traded it out first thing,” Kalico muttered under her breath. “It was way over on hours. I could have ordered Abibi to put my A-7 in maintenance, used one of hers.”

“Thought you had Ashanti give it a refit,” Talina told her, leaned back in the reclined seat, eyes closed, fingers laced on her stomach.

Kalico stared out at the topography. “That was three years ago.”

She’d never spent much time in the north. From this altitude, she could see snow fields in the distance. Other than that, the land looked cracked, irregular with mesas, the occasional volcanic neck sticking up like a spike—and fascinating, long volcanic dikes that ran like lines across the planet’s surface where the overburden had eroded away over the eons. All of Donovan reeked of geological wonders. But for a few small areas, the immensity of it beckoned, unexplored and awaiting a survey, reconnaissance team, and thorough mapping.

To the south was the uplifted strata where the asteroid’s impact had thrust deep layers of bedrock upward at a dip of almost ninety degrees. And behind them, the northern arc of the Winds.

Over his shoulder, Ensign Schulyer called, “Anywhere out here, Supervisor, as flat as it is, we should get a hit. We’re taking out a fifty-kilometer swath with each transect.”

“Roger that.” She looked up at the indigo-black vault of the night sky. “Wish we had Vixen. Their instrumentation is so much better.”

“Figures,” Talina said, eyes closed, looking too peaceful. “Vixen’s in dry dock for maintenance alongside Turalon just because it was available, and your old A-7, which was in need of repairs, is crashed somewhere on Donovan.”

“I just hope we got the right ‘west,’” Dek said. “It’d be a real pisser if Makarov meant ‘To the west’ of Southern Diggings. That’s the sort of place Soukup’s going to want to see. Dr. Shimodi says it’s the richest couple of square kilometers known to humanity.”

Kalico took a deep breath, trying to still the tension in her breast. “If Soukup is dead, killed when my shuttle went down, it’s political fodder for anyone on the Board. It looks too convenient. As soon as they hear the news, I will be hauled back to Transluna to stand before a Board of Inquiry. They’ll send along another detachment of marines to ensure my ‘cooperation.’

“And if Soukup survives, it will be the nail in my coffin. I sent him out on a malfunctioning shuttle. Can’t get much more negligent than that. He’ll immediately order me relieved and escorted up to Turalon.”