They’d have to discuss that further. But Leia was distracted as their group stumbled from a thick patch of fog to a clearing that revealed the cliffs they’d climb that day. They weren’t nearly as tall or as steep as the rock faces they’d dealt with so far, but every stone shone wetly with condensation or algae.
“Does it look slippery?” said Chief Pangie, with her usual fierce glee. “That’s because it is! Fillithar boy, you’ve had it easy up until now, but you’ve got one hell of a slog ahead of you.”
Sssamm’s tongue flickered out nervously, but he didn’t protest, only nodded.
The chief continued, “That’s another thing you should be learning through pathfinding. Every single one of you has unique skills and weaknesses. Each of you is going to run across tasks you can do better than anybody else, and you’re also going to run into a few at which you are, let’s just say it, pathetic.”
Leia looked down toward the mud plastering her pale gray climbing suit all the way to mid-thigh. Well, if I had to be pathetic at one thing, at least it’s this and not something dangerous.
“I’m splitting you up into teams of two,” Chief Pangie continued, “and taking you around to different bases from which to climb. You won’t be that far apart, but good luck catching a glimpse of anybody else. Coordinates for our meeting place have been auto-downloaded into your equipment. You have to figure out how to meet in the middle. Oh, and be sure to activate those anti-impact fields! If you don’t have those on, your first slip on those cliffs will be the last of your lifetime.”
“As though we needed reminding about that,” Chassellon said. He was already surrounded by the faint, telltale shimmer of his field.
Amilyn peered at him down her long nose. “For someone who grew up in a skyscraper, you’re awfully scared of heights.” Leia stifled a giggle as Chassellon sullenly folded his arms across his chest.
To Leia’s satisfaction, she and Kier were paired for the climb. It seemed like a good time for them to talk on their own, but she hadn’t counted on what difference a little slipperiness would make. Although the grade of their ascent was low enough that they could’ve walked on other terrain, the slick surface required them to go up on all fours, and it was hard going. Talking about anything other than the essentials of climbing proved impossible.
“All right,” she panted. “Looks like there’s a kind of ravine or something coming up. Not very wide, but we’ll want to use ropes.”
From his place below her, Kier said, “Don’t be afraid. We’ve got this.”
She hadn’t been especially worried until he said that, because it meant he had to be worried too.
As they moved along the diagonal ascent that brought them closer to the ravine, Leia got a better look at what they’d have to deal with. It was a solid three meters to the other side; they’d have to use ropes and swing across. Challenging, and more than a bit scary, but fun.
“I always like this part,” she confessed as they anchored their tethers to the stone.
“Really? I hate it. Usually I have to close my eyes.”
“Come on. The anti-impact field protects you.”
Kier shook his head. “Doesn’t make that fall any less terrifying.”
“Then don’t think about it.” After a couple of hours skyfaring with Amilyn, Leia had gained more experience in tumbling down. “Just think about your first handholds on the other side.”
She spotted her own potential holds, double-checked her rope, and pushed off as hard as she could. For one second she could have been flying—swinging sideways through midair, hardly even able to feel the tether’s pull at her harness. But that momentary exhilaration had to give way as the other side came close. Leia hit it with her arms and legs braced properly to give a bit, and instantly found purchase. She shoved a new bolt anchor into a crack in the stone until she felt secure enough to tether herself to that.
Breathing heavily and smiling, she called to Kier. “Come on! Try it!”
The way he smiled at her then made her feel as if she’d just performed a magic trick and offered to teach him how. He shoved off—
—in the same moment Leia saw grains of rock dust falling from his anchor. Before she could even shout in alarm, it gave way, and he dropped from her sight.
“Kier? Kier?” Twisting around as best she could, she saw to her relief that he’d managed to make the other side, barely. He clung to the inner lip of the gorge, his handholds precarious. The useless anchor and rope dangled from his belt.
“I’m all right,” Kier said. “Sort of.”
“What do you mean, ‘sort of’?”
“I hit the other side hard. I think—I’m pretty sure it took out my field generator.”
Leia went from mere fright to near-paralyzing horror. If Kier’s generator was broken and he fell, he would be killed. He was completely untethered to the rock face, and in a poor position to climb. It was too easy to imagine him tumbling down, broken against the stones long before he ever hit the ground.
Yet after that first rush of terror, her mind cleared. Resolve focused her better than anything else. “I’m coming down for you.”
“Don’t. Your rope might not support two.”
“It could,” she protested, though she knew their weights together would be near the limit of the hold she’d prepared.
But she hadn’t yet unclipped herself from the rope on the other side. Quickly she spooled out more length on her newer tether, hopefully enough to reach her and Kier.
He still didn’t want her to risk herself; she knew that because she could see him trying to angle himself for a better foothold. There wasn’t one to be found, and he was only endangering himself in the process. “Will you just hold still?” she shouted. “Hang on!”
Leia pushed off yet again, swinging back to the other side of the gorge—a far longer and steeper arc this time, which gave her the full effect of falling. She didn’t love that part. Yet again, she made a solid landing, and instantly she shoved off again, this time going straight toward Kier.
He flattened himself against the rock as she made impact just next to him. Grabbing the edge of the gorge was harder than she’d thought it would be; Kier had done well not to fall immediately. Still, she had it.
Up close, she could see how pale Kier was, but somehow he managed to smile. “My hero.”
“Not yet.” She craned her neck around and realized just how tough it would be to get out of the gorge, with its many sharp, jutting stones. Any outcropping could easily slice their ropes, or Leia and Kier themselves. In fact, swinging back over to the other side—her original plan—looked extremely likely to do just that. Okay, we need a new plan. “We’re going to have to—somersault, throw ourselves, however you want to put it—around the lip of this gorge. That’s the only way we’re going to get over.”
“We shouldn’t try a maneuver like that blind. The chief told us a hundred times.”