Their guide had landed so close to the mountain that it was only a five-minute walk to reach the cave entrance. But those five minutes had been enough for Val to feel the strength of the winds and the chilling kiss of its embrace.

The roar became muffled as soon as they were inside, and they could hear each other’s voices again.

“What the heck is this place?” she heard Kaine ask from behind her.

Rodger turned his smile toward them.

“This, my friends, is what our ancestors found and what made them wet their pants.”

Val frowned. “Excuse me?”

“Pardon my language. But you’ll see what I mean. Come on.”

He led them through a narrow tunnel that sloped slightly downward.

There was snow even here, likely blown in by the wind. The stone walls were a greenish-gray. But, surprisingly, it was not dark.

Val looked around, trying to understand what was lighting their way. The rock itself seemed to glow.

As they moved further, the brightness surrounding them increased.

She heard Kaine whistle in awe as they reached a huge pit on the ground before them. Within, as far as the eye could see, the surfaces glinted in a myriad of colors.

“What is this?” she asked.

Rodger was staring down with as much fascination as they were.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Val frowned as she glanced at the man.

“What do you mean? This colony was settled over a hundred years ago. You came for this, and you don’t know what it is? I mean, it’s pretty, but that hardly seems enough to warrant settling on a planet with such harsh weather.”

“Ah.”

Rodger smiled. He leaned down and grabbed a small rock from the ground, which he then tossed into the pit.

What happened next made Val jump back in astonishment.

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The small rock veered suddenly toward one of the surfaces. As soon as it hit it, it bounced back at full speed toward the opposite surface. It kept doing this dance, back and forth, all the while going down further.

“Damn... what is that thing?” cried out Kaine.

Rodger shrugged. “They say it’s a magnetic field doubled with some sort of repellent.”

Val walked back to the edge and looked down.

Though now invisible, she could tell the rock was still bouncing back and forth, because each time it hit a surface, there would be a spark of colored light.

“Why is this place not crawling with scientists?”

“It was, once upon a time. But they never could figure it out, so they gave up after a few decades. Besides, it lost most of its appeal when they took out the Gandoran Drill.”

“The what now?”

The man gestured toward the pit.

“That thing wasn’t always empty. There was something there. To be honest, that was what drew everyone here. This used to be a much larger colony. But once they took out the Gandoran Drill, a lot of folks left with it.”

Glancing down, and despite all the lights, Val could not see the bottom.

“That thing must have been enormous. How the heck did they get it out of here?”

Rodger made a face. “They played with powers best left alone.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Kaine.

“There is alien technology that allows displacing mass without actually moving it. It’s there one minute, gone the next. I hear it’s quite tricky to master even today, which is why the Imperium keeps it under wraps.”

“Huh.”

Val had heard rumors of something like that, though she had always thought it was fake. It just sounded too unreal. She still had her doubts now.

“That’s probably how they brought it in here to begin with,” mused Kaine.

“Why, though? I mean...” She looked around the cave, then back down. “Whatever that thing was, why place it here, of all places?”

Rodger shrugged. “Some say the weather wasn’t so severe back then and that the Gandoran Drill may have been some sort of climate-controlling device. But there’s no evidence either way.”

“Where is it now?”

“Likely locked up in some secret Imperial laboratory.”

Kaine, who had remained some distance away from the edge, now approached it with caution. He glanced down and winced.

“How deep is it?”

“As far as we know, it’s bottomless.”

Val clicked her tongue. “That’s impossible!”

“I suppose it is, but that’s the official story. My guess is that it goes all the way to the core of the planet.”

“Which could feed into the climate control theory,” remarked Kaine as he stepped away again.

“Why maintain this colony if this thing is gone and everyone has lost interest in the pit?” asked Val.

Rodger shrugged as he turned and started back toward the ship. Val gave the colored walls one last glance before she followed him.

“Habit, I guess. I mean, by the time the scientists moved on to other matters, several generations had passed. Those who were born here thought of it as home and had no reason to leave. Except for those who dreamed of a better future, that is. And there have been many who did. Leave, I mean. Over the years, our colony has shrunk quite a bit.”

“What about you? Plan on staying?”

“Not if I can help it,” he laughed. “I’ll get off this rock if it’s the last thing I do.”

As he said this, a rumble echoed in the distance.

They all froze.

“What was that?” asked Kaine.

Rodger’s face had gone very pale.

“That,” he said in a trembling voice, “is the sound of death.”