“Again, your call.” Shimodi frowned. “But I guess my advice at this point is: What for? We’re at two hundred and seventy-seven meters. All of it through the richest metal-bearing rock formations ever recorded. We can mine this open pit with a strip ratio of zero to one. The only limitation is how far this formation extends laterally. From surface sampling I’ve done in the forest and the seismic imaging, I’m thinking you’ve got at least a couple of kilometers in every direction. And that’s not counting the dip. No telling how far it might extend underground. The other unknown is how thick the strata is. Given that we’re already at two-seventy-seven, anything deeper is gravy. We can determine that by additional drilling and mapping the formation.”

“How long would that take?”

Lea chuckled. “That’s the bottleneck. You’ve got this one rig, which we’re going to have to overhaul before you start the next hole. Soon as we tear this rig down, it’s got to be packed back to Port Authority for a rebuild.” She shrugged. “The good news is that the geology is not going anywhere.”

“Lawson and Montoya will be so delighted.” Kalico told her. “So, that’s what? A couple of weeks?”

“Probably.” Shimodi frowned. “Once we get off the hilltop and out onto colluvial soils, you’ll have to fight forest after you build a pad. And there’s a nasty species of invertebrates down in the deep forest. They bite. And it’s poisonous. Won’t kill you, but it will make you really sick while your system fights it off. And then there’s the bigger stuff.” She made a face. “I’ve only worked in the forest around here when I’m wearing armor. Still scares the geewhilies right out of me, and the roots are really vicious and aggressive.”

Kalico considered, heard Damien mutter, “Holy shit,” where he was working on the section of core. “That’s some of the strangest stuff I’ve seen yet.”

“What have you got?” Lea asked.

“A fricking fortune,” the boy replied. “Must have been the way the metal was forced through the rock, but it’s all interwoven strands of gold, platinum, copper, and rhodium with streaks of chromium.”

Kalico ran fingers down the thin scar on her jaw as she considered. “Then, my call is that we shut it down. Pack the rig back to PA and let Lawson and Montoya work their magic on the machinery.” She smiled. “Like you said, it’s not going anywhere.”

Kalico narrowed her laser-blue eyes. Besides, God alone knows what kind of trouble is coming in on Turalon.

Inspector General Suto Soukup? For all Kalico knew, there might be some order from the Board stripping her of position and authority. Maybe even an order for her arrest.