Denton woke up with a start when his body was thrown forward against the dashboard. He let out a groan as his nose and forehead took the brunt of the impact and then slid back into his chair, his hand on his head. Gently, he rubbed his nose. It seemed ok. At least, there was no nosebleed.
He shot an angry look at his partner. "What are you doing, Tanner? I could have hurt myself."
"There's this thing called a seatbelt" Tanner replied with a quick sideways glance. If it wasn't for the robotic face, Denton knew there would have been a smirk on Tanner's face. "I highly recommend the use of all available safety devices," Tanner continued.
"I don't see you using it," Denton objected and grimaced as he opened and closed his mouth and moved his jaw around.
"My current physical configuration is unlikely to be impacted by sudden slowdowns."
"Right. You tell yourself that."
"You will find that all other passengers are using the appropriate safety restraints."
Denton glanced over his shoulder and sighed. Tanner was right, of course. He usually was. The seatbelt should have been on from the moment he sat down. It was a sloppy omission on his end, one that could have cost him his life if the circumstances had been different. He couldn't help himself and sent one last jab Tanner's way.
"If you drove more careful, we wouldn't need it."
Tanner's head turned, and the bright blue orbs that were his eyes stared directly at Denton. Not a word was uttered. Denton returned the stare but moments later averted his eyes. There was no point in continuing the standoff.
"How long have I've been out?" Denton said instead, changing the topic of the conversation as he strained his neck to get a better view of the landscape outside. He grimaced as pain shot through the back of his neck. It was likely a result of his awkward sleeping position.
"23 minutes and 45 seconds," Tanner replied immediately.
Denton glanced at his partner. "Keeping track, huh?"
"I can't help that. My system is designed to keep track of all the significant events around me. You know that."
"Falling asleep is that significant?"
"Maybe not normally but under our current circumstances, yes."
"Are you alright?" Gabi asked from the seat behind him. Denton sighed, thankful that another combative with his partner had been interrupted. He had to learn how to restrain himself better. Tanner was, after all, not human and logic was supposed to drive his decision making. Or, that was the thought at least. Sometimes, Tanner just drove him nuts.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," he said over his shoulder and smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you guys and not help with the search."
Gabi returned the smile. "It's ok. We found him." She nodded towards the front window.
"Oh yeah?" he said and turned his attention to the outside. She was right. Barely visible in the swirling snow in front of them was the missing snowtrekker. Denton couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he leaned over the dashboard to get a closer view through the front window. They had indeed found it, thanks to Tanner's abilities. Just the fact that Tanner had been able to locate the snowtrekker at all was a miracle. There was just no way he could have done it by himself, not considering how the conditions outside had deteriorated since they boarded the transporter.
It was hard to tell through the deteriorating conditions outside whether anyone was still in the snowtrekker. The canopy appeared closed, but that didn't mean Jarell was still inside.
"Can we get more lights on it?" he asked as he squinted through the front window. Next to him, he heard Tanner flip a switch, and a couple of spotlights were pointed directly at the snowtrekker. Even though the extra lights also illuminated the snow more than before and made it more difficult to see through the curtain of snow, they did give him enough visibility to be able to tell that the cockpit was indeed empty.
"Where's Jarell? The cockpit's empty."
"His location is currently unknown. I am picking up no trace of him," Tanner said.
"Why would he leave the snowtrekker? It's suicide in these conditions."
"Also unknown, although I suspect the leak I mentioned earlier may have caused a malfunction. I will need to run a full set of diagnostics on the snowtrekker to determine the actual reason."
"Ok, let's go," Denton said and reached for his facemask. "You better bundle up, it looks bad out there," he said to the three behind him.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Tanner said and put his metal hand on Denton's shoulder. "Look at the outside temperature. You'll freeze to death in no time out there with the wrong equipment."
"That's no different than before."
"That is technically correct, Denton, but we've traveled even further away from the sun, to the more extreme temperature areas of the Shadowlands. This is not a place for humans."
"What do you suggest?"
"I'm more likely to be able to find him and survive than you are."
"Metal and extreme colds don't get along last I checked."
"Even so. I'm a machine. I have infrared vision capabilities and a variety of other tools I can use to find him. If he's alive, I'll find him. I'm confident I'll be fine."
"If you say so. What can we do to help?"
"Retrieve the snowtrekker and stow it in the back. We'll need it for further analysis when we get back to base."
Denton turned to the others. They nodded and began to zip up their jackets.
Tanner was the first one to leave. When the rear ramp was lowered, he wasted little time and disappeared around the side of the transport without even a good-bye. By the time Denton made it down the ramp and to the front of the transporter, Tanner had already disappeared into the snow, his rapidly disappearing footprints the only evidence of the direction he went.
Denton and the others got to work on the snowtrekker. It was already partially buried in the drifting snow, which forced them first to dig it out and then try to move it to the rear of the transporter. Even after clearing the drifts around it, it didn't take them long to realize that the frozen trekker would be difficult to move very far without a working engine. Denton decided that it would be more efficient to just turn the transporter around than to wear themselves out.
They all returned to the warmth of the cabin, and after fiddling with the controls for a few minutes, Denton was able to turn the transporter around and back the rear ramp all the way up to the snowtrekker. From there, they were able to push and lift it onto the ramp and into the transporter. As soon as they were all inside the cargo area, he closed the ramp, and they regrouped in the cabin.
Denton turned up the heat while Carter threw his gloves on the floor and vigorously rubbed his fingers together.
"Man, it's cold out there," he said, his cheeks red despite the protective facemask he had worn.
"Yeah, I'm a bit worried about Tanner," Leah said and leaned towards the front window. "Shouldn't he be back by now?"
Denton sat down by the controls. "Maybe we can follow him?" he said and turned the transport around so that it faced the same direction it had when Tanner left.
"I don't see his footprints," Gabi said, a frown on her face.
"That's not surprising," Denton said. "The wind likely covered those up within a minute."
"So how do we find him?"
Denton sighed. "I don't think we can. I have no way of tracking him. We have to rely on him being able to find Jarell and make it back in one piece."
They settled down in the two front rows of the cabin and waited. Leah managed to find a packet of emergency rations, which they all greedily shared.. After disposing of the trash, they waited.
The silence in the cabin was interrupted only by the occasional beep from the dashboard. The lights of the transporter continued to shine brightly in the snowstorm outside, keeping watch as if it also was waiting for Tanner to emerge from the shadows beyond its light beams.
After what seemed like an eternity, there was a loud bang against the hull of the transporter, somewhere on its left side. They all jumped out of their seats and rushed over to the window. Denton cracked a smile and pointed.
"Look, it's Tanner."
"Open up the ramp, Denton, let him in," Leah commanded and rushed to the back of the cabin as she put the facemask on. She disappeared into the rear cargo compartment followed by Gabi and Carter while Denton tapped the controls to lower the ramp. He then followed the others.
The ramp was only partially open when Denton climbed through the door. He rushed down the half-open ramp and slid through the widening gap on the right side, ignoring the cold air that immediately numbed his face. Tanner stood by the front of the transporter, the limp body of Jarell in his hands, frosted over from head to toe. Tanner's metal skin was white from the snow and ice that covered him from top to toe. His left eye was dark, and his right eye was flickering, the once bright blue orb only a shadow of its former brightness.
"Tanner," Denton shouted over the howling wind. "You found him."
Tanner merely made a nodding motion, then shuffled towards the rear ramp, dragging one of his legs behind him while he held the motionless body in his hands.
"Carter, help me out," Denton yelled to Carter, who had just emerged around the back corner of the transport. "They're both in bad shape."
Together they took the body from Tanner's outstretched hands and carried it back inside the transport.
"Get him inside the cabin," he instructed Leah and Gabi, then motioned for Carter to follow him back out. "We need to help Tanner. I don't think he can take a whole lot more."
Carter nodded and followed him back out into the wind. They found Tanner a few feet closer to the rear of the transport, attempting to walk without help. His forward shuffle had slowed to a crawl, his arms remained outstretched as if frozen in place and the remaining light in his eye had dimmed considerably.. Denton and Carter put an arm each around their shoulder and with the combined efforts of all three, they were able to continue Tanner's shuffle, although painstakingly slow.
By the time they rounded the rear of the transport and guided Tanner up the rear ramp, Denton could no longer feel his face or fingers. A glance at Carter revealed frosty eyebrows and a white face and Denton knew Carter must feel as numb as he did.
As soon as Tanner was safely inside, Denton closed the rear hatch and cranked up the temperature as far as he could. He rubbed his fingers together as his eyes met the still flickering lights in Tanner's robotic body. Tanner may not be human, but Denton knew that his artificial partner had made a huge sacrifice by going back out there alone. He regretted letting him go out there by himself.
Although it was likely that the robot body Tanner inhabited at the moment likely was built to handle extremes in one way or another, he had no idea to what extent. Did Tanner even know?. Had he acted with the knowledge that his body may fail or with the confidence that it wouldn't, and it almost had anyway? Could artificial intelligence even have a sense of self-sacrifice? Denton hoped that someday, Tanner would be able to tell him.
With Carter's help, they laid him on the floor, Tanner's arms still outstretched as if they were still holding Jarell's body, now pointing straight up.
"There's nothing more we can do for him right now," Denton said. "He'll need to defrost, and we can only hope his circuitry is functional. Let's check on Jarell."
Carter nodded and led the way through the door into the cabin. They found Jarell on the floor between the seats. An emergency blanket covered him, and Leah was intently studying a portable medical device while Gabi sat in the driver's set. Both looked up when they entered.
"How is he?" Denton asked.
Leah looked up, her lips a thin line, eyebrows furrowed. "Honestly, he's not good."
"Is he going to make it?"
Leah shrugged. "Not sure. He's severely hypothermic, even with his outdoor clothing. He may have a chance if we can get him to a medical facility."
"The resort," Carter said instantly. "The resort has a state of the art medical facility."
"The resort does?" Denton said and looked at Carter over his shoulder.
"Some pay good money to have all the comforts of home, even well-qualified medical staff."
"If you say so. Gabi, can you drive this thing?"
She nodded. "I was just waiting for you two to finish up out there."
"What are we waiting for then?" Denton said and collapsed on one of the chairs. "Let's go."
~~~
Jarell has been located but he's in bad shape. Will he make it, and what about Tanner? Did he push himself too far this time? What do you think?
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