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  There was little point in denying it now, but Lake didn’t admit it, either. ‘You seem so convinced there’s a killer in the Base.’

  ‘Are you kidding me? Four have died much the same way. I saw one of the suits. No damn bug slashed that suit that way.’

  Lake sat quietly, waiting for more.

  Miller said, ‘Look. I’m on your side. I’ve said nothing about you being a cop. I just wanted you to know I know, ok?’

  ‘Fair enough.’ Lake extended a hand. ‘If you don’t mind, I’m still Professor Victor Lake. People will hopefully talk more freely to a bug man than, as you say, a cop.’

  Miller took the hand. It was a grip that could have cracked walnuts open. ‘I want to help, if I can. Those people were friends of mine.’

  Lake got up and picked up the ripped bio-suit and took it out of the black cover then laid it on the bed. There were three separate pairs of slashes, one on the front, one on the back and one on the left leg.

  ‘Hmm,’ snorted Miller. ‘Bugs. I don’t think so. Odd that it’s a double bladed weapon, though?’

  ‘I thought so, too,’ said Lake. ‘Does anything come to mind that could have done this?’

  ‘Not really. Perhaps somebody made a thing just for the job. It wouldn’t be hard.’

  Lake unzipped the suit and opened it up to examine the inside. ‘I noticed there’s no blood stains. The weapon didn’t kill the victim. It was used just to allow access into the suit for the troglonite bugs to do their work.’

  ‘Somebody working with the bugs to let them do the dirty work. That would need specialist knowledge of the bugs, right?’

  Lake folded the bio-suit back up and placed it inside the black cover. ‘It’s one hypothesis. I’ve plenty of work to do before I make my conclusions.’

  ‘Ok. Look. If I can help, you just let me know. But I got a hunch somebody high up, not on this planet, could be behind this. Somebody has an agenda to close this place down and it wouldn’t take much more to give them the reason to do so.’

  Lake said, ‘I’ll keep an open mind about that.’

  ‘I have to go. Remember. I’m on your side…Professor.’

  Chapter 10

  Miller looked at the figures on the screen and agreed with the technician, Mervin Hanson.

  ‘For helium three, that’s about as rich a concentration I’ve ever seen,’ said Miller.

  ‘I triple checked the numbers. It comes from samples over a ten square mile area. Access is pretty good, too.’

  Miller shrugged. ‘If we get the chance to work it.’

  ‘I don’t get it. Why would anyone want to close this planet down? What could they possibly gain from doing that?’

  Miller got up and picked up his helmet. ‘Maybe I got it all wrong, but that’s what Carver told me. I saw the communications. No real reasons, just that they weren’t about to risk lives out here any more than usual. But we run a tight outfit here. Sure we have the occasional accident, even the odd death. It goes with the turf. Our safety record is one of the best in the game.’

  ‘Ralph. You might as well know. Some of us have been approached by Thorn Enterprises. Offering good money.’

  Miller nodded. ‘I heard the rumours. Look. Merv, I wouldn’t blame you if you left the crew with all this uncertainty, but stay away from Thorn. People are just numbers to that outfit. They don’t give a crap what conditions their people work in, as long as they produce. You think it’s rough out here? Work for them, you’ll realise just how cosy you have it here.’

  ‘I’ve not accepted yet, Ralph. But if they shut this place down…I gotta think of my family.’

  ‘I know. We all do. Merv. Send those figures. Let me know what they come back with.’

  Miller fitted his helmet and went out into the freezing wastelands of Nyzon Five.

  Chapter 11

  Lake got a call from Vickers to meet with him in his office, which was next to Carver’s office. John Nightly told him to go straight in.

  ‘Professor,’ said Vickers. ‘This is Joy Dainty. We needed a volunteer to work with you in the jungle, and she drew the short straw.’

  Dainty lived up to her name. She looked almost delicate but she was no kid. Lake guessed her to be in her late twenties. She was also pretty.

  ‘Nice to meet you, Joy. You have a science background?’

  ‘Botany. The jungle is my office. Not that I’ve been in there much lately. My assistant totally refuses to go in the jungle until the bug problem is resolved.’

  ‘Understandable.’

  ‘Professor,’ said Vickers. ‘I have a bio-suit for you to keep for as long as you need it. Perhaps you could put it on and go with Miss Dainty into the jungle. Take a proper look around.’

  Lake took the bio-suit from Vickers, resisting the temptation to say he thought the garment to be a waste of time. ‘Thanks. Are you ready to go, Joy?’

  ‘Yes. I’ve hated not being allowed in there on my own.’

  Vickers said, ‘We’ve a total ban on solo trips into the jungle for the time being. I’d like to emphasise to both of you, stay in visible contact of each other at all time and keep well covered up.’

  ‘Sound advice,’ said Lake. ‘After you, Joy.’

  Outside, they pulled on the bio-suits. Joy said, ‘I’d like to see if any more troglonite beetle nests have sprung up.’

  ‘My priority, also. After you.’

  Joy led the way into the jungle. They came to the clearing of the last attack. ‘Here’s the nest. It looks pretty dead.’

  The earth mound was about three feet tall and cone shaped. Lake got down on one knee to examine it closely. Around the Base were the remains of several of the large blue beetles.

  ‘The insecticide did a good job, by the look of things. It would be good to dig up the nest and take a look inside. See if we can find the queen’s chamber.’

  Joy said, ‘I’ll bring a spade with us next time.’

  Lake stood up, towering above the small woman. ‘Let’s move on.’

  There were two paths at the edge of the clearing and Joy went down one. They stopped several times to part the foliage to look for nests. They had gone about five hundred yards when Joy halted, signalling for Lake to do the same.

  ‘A fresh nest,’ she whispered.

  Lake could see it clearly, the troglonite bugs going in and out of the entrance. Lake knew the soldier bugs were the dark blue larger ones, their pincers on either side of their mouths longer than those of the forager bugs, which were dark brown. The foragers were in a line going into the nest, and another line coming out again. They were carrying something inside; food for the queens.

  None of the beetles were interested in the Humans. Joy recorded the nest and logged the position. Then she called him on and they followed the line of beetles into the jungle. Forty yards further on, they came to a dead rabbit, soldiers had killed it and the foragers were efficiently dissecting it, others carrying bits away. Lake knew that animals like rabbits were a source of protein for people. Joy recorded the beetles at work.

  ‘The sooner we get this sprayed, the better,’ Joy said.

  ‘I agree,’ said Lake. ‘We’ll go and eat then come back in an hour or so.’

  ‘Ok. Anything but rabbit, though.’

  Chapter 12

  Without their bio-suits, they entered the communal dining area and took food to a table. Without making it too obvious, Lake admired the woman as they ate. He found himself even more attracted to her than the first time he had seen her. Hair and eyes were brown, her mouth small, the upper lip turned up at the corners, so she always seemed to be smiling.

  ‘What brought you to this out-of-the-way place, Joy?’

  ‘The opportunity to run my own department. Basically, if it’s a plant, I’m responsible for it.’

  Lake said, ‘And how long have you been on Nyzon?’

  ‘Nearly two years. I had just ended a relationship and this was far enough away from him.’

  ‘I don’t expect a good l
ooking woman like you would be on your own too long.’

  Joy stared at him. ‘You think I’m good looking?’

  ‘Hell, yes. Sorry. Unprofessional of me.’

  ‘You’re a man as well as a professor. Not married?’

  Lake said, ‘I came close. Now I’m married to my work.’

  ‘Not all the time, I hope.’

  Lake tried to read her eyes and between the lines of what she’d said. ‘No. Not all the time. Changing the subject. When were the troglonite beetles first noticed. Have they always been around?’

  ‘No. They weren’t here two years ago. It was only a few months ago we found the first nest.’

  ‘In the jungle?’

  ‘Yes. We assume they got brought in by accident on a delivery of plants. At first we weren’t overly concerned. Sure, they’re poisonous, but Humans aren’t usually on their menu. They’re useful for cleaning up dead animal matter. It was only on the first Human death we started trying to get rid of them.’

  ‘Could you be more precise about the first nest? It may be important.’

  ‘I’ll have it on record somewhere. I’ll find it out later for you. Shall we go get rid of that new nest?’

  They suited up and carried the filled up spray units and a spade into the jungle. They decided to spray the fresh nest first, then dig into the old nest afterwards. They ignored the few soldiers and workers on the outside, knowing it was the queens inside they had to kill. Joy rammed the end of the spray hose into the nest entrance, and Lake sealed around it with dirt.

  Joy turned on the spray unit and the fine yellow mist the liquid released, filling the nest and hopefully the tunnels underground that led from the egg chamber. Once the nest had been sprayed inside, Joy aimed it at any beetle outside for good measure. The beetles scurried away to die in the undergrowth.

  ‘This is the strongest mix we can make,’ said Joy. ‘And it still takes a while for them to die.’

  They went to the other clearing where the old nest was. Lake used the spade to dig away one side of the mound. An intricate labyrinth of tunnels filled the mound, which were empty of beetles. From his studies, he knew that the egg chamber would be at the Base of the mound, below the surface of the surrounding ground, and continued to dig deeper.

  ‘Hmm. That’s disturbing.’

  ‘What is?’ Joy asked.

  ‘Empty. There are usually a dozen queens in a chamber, and thousands of eggs. Apart from a few egg husks, there’s nothing left.’

  ‘Maybe the workers carried the eggs to safety and the queens went into the tunnels. If the spray got in here, they’d still die somewhere.’

  ‘A few queens may have survived. I’d like to see if that new nest is linked to this one with a connecting tunnel.’

  ‘That would be a hell of a lot of digging, Professor.’

  Lake said, ‘There must be a small mechanical digger around somewhere?’

  ‘Yes. Ralph Miller uses one. I’ll see what I can organise.’

  ‘A job for tomorrow. We’ll call it a day, ok?’

  ‘Fine by me.’

  They went to the dining hall for refreshment, and Lake was about to chance his luck by asking Joy what passed for entertainment on the Base, when Ralph Miller walked over.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt, Joy. Professor. I wondered if we could have a chat.’

  Joy stood up. She gave Lake a “look” that could have meant a number of things. ‘I’ll catch up with you tomorrow, Professor.’

  ‘Looking forward to it.’

  Lake cursed Miller’s interruption under his breath as Joy walked away, and sighed as Miller took over her chair. He looked about the large room to ensure they were out of general earshot of the other diners, which they were.

  ‘I heard you found another nest, Professor.’

  ‘My. Word gets around fast in this place.’

  Miller said, ‘By order of the Commander. Any sighting of either bugs outside the jungle or new nests in it, needs to be common knowledge. We all got the message. Joy would have sent details to him.’

  ‘I’ll remember to do that myself in future. You have something on your mind?’

  Miller nodded and spoke softly. ‘We’ve found a huge new deposit. This rock keeps on giving.’

  ‘Interesting. And you’re telling me this because…?’

  Miller leaned forward. ‘Just keeping you in the loop. Also, my crew are being head-hunted by an outfit called Thorn Enterprises. If this bug issue isn’t resolved soon, this planet could be closed down, and a team I’ve built up over years will be broken up.’

  ‘So? I’m not being funny, but from what I gather, you could probably retire and live the good life. Why not just do that?’

  Miller said, ‘And do what? This is my life. I love my job. Besides. I’d hate to think of my crew being gobbled up by Thorn. That is one dodgy outfit.’

  ‘Fair enough. Oh. Actually. You may be able to help me. I want to dig up the tunnels between the nests and see what’s going on in there.’

  Miller frowned. ‘Aren’t you forgetting why you are really here?’

  ‘Hey. The bugs and the murders are linked. Who knows where we’ll dig up clues. Which reminds me. Do you have a small mechanical digger, by any chance?’

  Miller got up to leave. ‘I’ll be outside your room at eight in the morning. I’ll work the digger.’

  ‘Thanks. Say. You know Joy, right?’

  Miller grinned. ‘Only as a friend. My wife would have something to say if it were anything more. You like her?’

  ‘She’s nice. I just wondered if she had a boyfriend at the moment.’

  ‘Nothing serious that I’m aware of. Joy’s great. She deserves to be treated right.’

  Lake nodded. ‘Point taken.’

  Chapter 13

  Back in his rooms, Lake contacted the Boss.

  ‘Professor. Going well?’

  ‘Steady progress. At least one has already seen through my cover. A good sort. Ralph Miller. Head of helium three extraction. He’s willing to help me.’

  ‘Ok.’

  ‘Miller is convinced there’s something dirty going on driving the murders. Somebody high up is trying to close this planet down, even though they are finding helium three all over the place. His crew are also being approached by an outfit called Thorn Enterprises. Miller has quite a low opinion of them. I don’t know what planets they’re working. Can you do some digging for me?’

  ‘I’ll be onto it. What else are you up to?’

  Lake said, ‘I’ll be doing some digging of my own tomorrow. Quite literally. I’m checking out the troglonite beetle tunnels.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because it all links in, somehow. The beetles may have killed the victims, but it was instigated by somebody who wanted them dead.’

  ‘Ok. Digging for beetles will help preserve your cover. But don’t let this bug hunting sidetrack you too much.’

  Lake said, ‘I won’t. I’ll call you again tomorrow. Goodnight.’

  Lake put the equipment away and lay on his bed. His head was full of so many things. Murders, bugs, but most of all, the pretty face of Joy Dainty. It had been some time since he had been so attracted to a woman. He drifted off to sleep with Joy’s face in his mind.

  Chapter 14

  It was eight the next morning when Lake stepped out to find Joy Dainty and Ralph Miller outside waiting for him. Both were already suited up, Joy in her bio-suit, Miller in his working suit. Miller had a mechanical digger with him. It was battered and rough looking, but Lake had no doubt it would do the job. It was small enough to push along the paths of the jungle, which they did until they got to the clearing where the first mound was, half already demolished by Lake’s spade-work.

  ‘What do you have in mind, Professor?’ Miller asked.

  Lake said, ‘We found the fresh mound over there. I’d like to find out if a troglonite tunnel leads from here to there. Did they survive long enough to dig the tunnel to move after being sprayed with the insect
icide, or was it a new colony of beetles that made the other nest.’

  ‘Ok,’ said Miller. ‘Joy. Remind me. The concrete Base is how far down in the jungle?’

  ‘About twenty feet. Enough for the roots of the larger trees.’

  Miller looked at Lake. ‘I sure hope I don’t have to dig down twenty feet, Professor.’

  ‘Unlikely. I’ll work the digger with you, swapping every hour.’

  ‘I’m glad you said that. Stand back.’

  Miller started up the machine and at the base of the mound, facing the approximate direction of the other nest, the heavy gauge blades churned up the soft jungle dirt. After five hours of digging, changing over every hour, they had reached a depth of nine feet with a trench that was thirty feet long, with no sign of any connecting tunnels between the beetle nests. Miller finally turned off the digger.

  Joy said,‘This is looking unlikely, Professor. It could be it was another colony, not the same one.’

  Lake said, ‘I’m beginning to think the same. We should take a break. Could we go a little deeper later?’

  Miller said,‘We could, I guess. Let’s have a feed and we’ll see.’

  They left the digger and went to freshen up and met together in the communal diner to eat. They hadn’t sat long when a woman walked over.

  ‘I heard you were working in here for a change,’ she said to Miller.

  ‘Beats being outside. Professor. This is Melora. My much better half. Mel. This is Professor Lake.’

  Melora shook hands with Lake. ‘The bug man.’

  ‘So everybody tells me. Nice to meet you. Care to join us?’

  Melora said, ‘Can’t stop. What time will you be home, Ralph?’

  ‘Not too late. About six.’

  ‘Good. Hey. Would you two like to come over and have a meal with us? Make a change from the food in here.’

  Miller said, ‘Say yes. Mel’s cooking is as good as it gets.’

  ‘Sounds like an offer too good to refuse,’ said Lake. ‘Thank you.’

  There was a look between Melora and Joy, missed by the men.