Engagement Criteria - Chapter Three

Chapter Three

What I'd felt outside grew stronger as the lift descended. Harko read off the meters without cracking a joke. Nev kept her eyes on the readout, worried or just unwilling to talk to me. I could have used the conversation. The call from below felt like it was waiting for a reply. The rift had been waves of energy crashing on an unseen sea. This was sharp and solid.

"Are you okay?" I finally asked.

"I'm great," Harko answered. "How are you two doing? You just passed twelve hundred meters."

I used the controller on my forearm to kill the transmission for topside comms, then motioned for Nev to do the same.

She did. "What?"…