If he could get inside. The cover was not large. It was iffy - his shoulders might not fit through it.
But there was only one way to find out. Pulling up the hatch cover and laying it aside, he looked at the hole. In the dim light of the overheads, there wasn’t much to see. But he thought he might be able to fit through it.
Jim laid his pack to one side, where he could reach it once he was inside the sewer pipe. He slid his feet into the hole. It wasn’t deep - no more than two feet. Turning his feet to move along the length of the pipe, he slid farther into the hole, trying to ignore the smell and the thought of what he was touching in the sewer. Working his way farther down, he reached the point where he was forced to extend his arms above his head if he chose to go any farther.
It was a tight fit. Jim realized that if he got stuck with his arms over his head, he would never get out. The guards would find him still stuck in that position when the day shift came on. His life expectancy after that would be short.
He repositioned, managed to get his right arm and shoulder down into the hole. He put his left arm up, over his head, and tried to slide down into the pipe, moving his legs farther into the pipe as he did so.
And then he was stuck. The manhole was too small.
But at least he was able to reverse and get his left arm and shoulder out of the hole again. Rethinking, he changed his tactics. He twisted his body, trying to minimize the overall width of his shoulders. Once more he slid down into the hole. The edges of the manhole bit into his shoulders, and he was wedged into the hole. But he felt that this time, it wasn’t as tight. Twisting back and forth, he felt a little movement downward. The pain was intense as the edge of the hatch opening cut into his shoulders - but he felt some more movement.
Then, with a “plop”, he was through. He was lying on his back in the narrow sewer pipe. The stench was intense. His eyes watered. There was only a couple of inches of space on either side of his shoulders. He wasn’t sure he could even crawl forward in such a narrow space.
But he had to try. He rolled over in the pipe until he was lying on his stomach. Reaching up, he pulled his pack into the hole and put it in front of him. He took a headlamp out of the pack and mounted it on his forehead. Then he reached for the hatch cover and pulled it back over the hole, centering it and letting it drop quietly into place. Flicking on the headlamp, he looked ahead of him.
The pipe appeared to go straight for several dozen meters. Beyond that, he could see nothing.
Pushing the pack in front of him, he inched his way forward, slowly, knowing he had a long way to go.
***
On the other side of the station, Helen and her minder had reached their destination as well. Now she felt a sway and then a thump as the Ashkelon pushing the food cart stopped. Light suddenly bloomed bright as her minder cracked open the door beneath the cart. Helen unfolded herself from the space and stood.
As expected, she was in a small office. It was dark. Her companion stood back, waiting for her to get her bearings.
Helen reached down and pulled her pack from the bottom of the cart.
“Showtime,” she said in Nidarian. The female Ashkelon nodded as Helen moved to the door of the room, cracked it open, and peeked out.
In front of her she could see a large, dimly lit room. She knew this was the office space outside the fusion reactor compartment. There was now only one additional room between her and the actual reactor room - the control room. Turning back to the Ashkelon behind her, she held out her hand. The Ashkelon placed a security badge in her palm. Glancing at it, she was amused to see a picture of a female Ashkelon - tawny hair, upright ears, and abbreviated muzzle.
“Doesn’t really capture my essence,” she quipped.
The Ashkelon looked puzzled. Helen shrugged and turned back to the door. Peeking outside, she ensured the coast was clear. Turning one last time to the Ashkelon minder, she bade her goodbye.
“Thank you for everything. I hope you make it,” she said. Helen knew the Ashkelon female would attempt to take the now-empty cart back to the cargo bay. There she would hide with the other minder until later. They would attempt to flee on the first shuttle leaving for the surface.
But Helen also knew - as the Ashkelon did - that it was unlikely she would succeed. It was far more likely she would be dead by noon.
The Ashkelon pushed the cart out the opposite door, back into the hallway, and started on her trip back to the cargo bay. Helen settled in. She was due to wait for an hour. That would give time for her Ashkelon minder to get fully clear, and for Jim to get into position.
Stalingrad System
Packet Boat Donkey
Rachel and Paco were escorted back to their packet boat. Tika boarded the little ship with them. Rachel and Paco watched as Tika opened the hatch to one of the tiny cabins, entered, lay down on the bunk, and closed her eyes. Then they heard her voice - but this time coming from the boat’s AI. Tika had transferred her consciousness back to Donkey.
Rachel gently shut the door to the cabin. Tika’s android body would stay inert on the trip to Dekanna. Rachel looked at Paco.
“Don’t get any ideas about going in there, Lieutenant.”
“What? Me?” exclaimed Paco. “What do you think I am?”
“A male,” said Rachel. “One that hasn’t been with a female in a long time.”
“She’s an android!” protested Paco.
“And that would stop you?” asked Rachel.
Grumbling, Paco turned and headed for the cockpit. “Can you believe this, Tika?” he asked the empty air.
Rachel shook her head and heaved a sigh. “I don’t know. It just makes me uncomfortable to think about him touching your body while your consciousness is not in it.”
“It’s hard to explain, Tika. But no. I’m the commander, and I don’t want it. So that’s the way it must be.”
Rachel entered the cockpit to find Paco buckling up, still grumbling. She sat in the copilot seat. They completed their pre-departure checklist and Paco looked over at her.
“Ready, mum?” he said, his irritation evident.
“Ready.”
“OK, Tika. Take us out.”
With a slight thump, Donkey uncoupled from the Dyson structure. The boat turned, taking a course for the outer system. It began to move, slowly at first, then with increasing acceleration as it cleared the area of the massive structure. In ten minutes, they were accelerating through 300g. But still it continued. They passed through 310g, and the accel continued to build, with no apparent effects on their bodies. The accel was fully compensated inside the ship.
“What?” asked Rachel in dismay. “Tika, what is happening?”
Paco’s face went pale as they passed 325g and the accel still continued to rise.
“You’ll tear us apart, Tika!” he yelled. “The boat isn’t stressed for this kind of accel!”
Rachel heard Paco speaking quietly under his breath again. It was a prayer that was becoming more familiar to Rachel these days.
Ave Maria.
“Tika, what is our ETA to Dekanna?”
“Eighteen days? How the hell is that possible? It’s 853 lights to Dekanna!”
Rachel leaned back in her s
eat and shook her head.
“Tika, I think there’s a lot our two species can teach each other. If we live long enough.”
Ashkelon System - Planet Ridendo
Naval Spacedock
It took Jim most of an hour to traverse the sewer pipe to his first destination. He had been concerned there would be cameras or motion detectors in the pipe; but he had not found any so far.
After some thought, he realized it would be impossible for an adult Ashkelon to fit into the sewer pipe; perhaps for that reason they had not thought to put detectors in it.
Whatever the reason for the omission, he was now definitely near the medical facility. He estimated he had crawled about three hundred meters. By his estimation, in another few meters, he would be under another maintenance room just inside medical. And in the diagrams their AI had found, there should be a maintenance hatch…just…
There. The final maintenance hatch. His way out.
Angel. Time?
<0114 hours>
He was on schedule. Carefully, slowly, he pushed the hatch cover from below, lifted it a bit, and peered out.
He hadn’t been sure if the diagrams found by their AI had been accurate. But they appeared to be. There was the maintenance room. It was filled with dirty mops, buckets, tool chests and trash cans.
Slowly, moving a bit at a time, he let the hatch cover fall back into place, turned, and lifted the other side. There was more of the same. He slowly moved the hatch cover, circling his gaze around until he had scanned a full circle.
The room was empty, just a small maintenance room filled with the detritus of daily life on a space station.
Jim slowly and carefully pushed the hatch cover aside, until the hole was clear for his exit. Then he pushed his pack out, pushing it to one side out of the way. Reversing the method that had got him into the pipe in the first place, he pushed his left arm and shoulder out, followed by his head. He rotated his body and tried to bring his right arm and shoulder out. He became wedged again; but this time he had the knowledge that it should work. Sure enough, as he worked his shoulder, twisting and turning, it slid through and his shoulders were out.
He paused, sweating, stinking, looking around in every direction. Nothing moved. He saw no threats, and no alarms were sounding. Of course, that meant nothing. He could be pinpointed on a screen somewhere, with alarms sounding in the security room, guards collecting their weapons to come swarming out to meet him.
He quickly pulled the rest of his body out and put the manhole cover back in place. Stripping off his stinking clothes, he took a clean cloth from his bag, took water from the utility sink in the corner of the room, and wiped the thin layer of sewage off his body. Taking a small vial of artificial scent from his pack, he wiped it over his body. Then, pulling fresh clothes out of his bag, he re-dressed.
At least now they won’t smell me coming from a hundred meters.
Hush.
How much longer?
Jim moved to the door leading into the medical facility.
Now came the moment of truth.
If the stars were with him…
He turned the knob. The door wasn’t locked. He pushed outward on the door. It opened with a squeak. He froze, waiting. Nothing happened.
Carefully, moving inch by inch, he opened it. A long hallway loomed, leading down the center of the medical bay.
A little voice in his head started speaking again. It was a voice he had heard frequently since he launched on this mission.
This is stupid, the little voice said. All this just for her body? Why?
Because I loved her, he answered.
***
Helen had waited the agreed one hour. Now she carefully cracked open the door to the next room. This was an anteroom. The next door led directly to the control room for the fusion reactor.
And the control room was manned day and night. If her information was correct, there would be two to three Ashkelon inside. She would have only seconds to neutralize them before they could hit the alarm.
Stepping into the anteroom, she double-checked her pulse pistol. It was armed. The safety was off. She was as ready as she would ever be. She waved the security card at the reader beside the door. The door clicked. She pushed through rapidly and scanned the room.
There were three Ashkelon inside. One of them was on the far side of the room, noting something in her tablet. She had not heard Helen come in.
But the other two were closer and heard the door open. They both turned to stare at the apparition. Their minds couldn’t quite comprehend what they were seeing. They knew what a Human was - they had seen vids of them on the news. But to see one in the flesh…with a pistol in her hand…
That was their last thought. Helen punched two holes neatly into each one, double-tapping them perfectly. The pistol was silenced - it made only a loud thump. The control room was well isolated from the rest of the station. No one outside this room would hear.
The last Ashkelon - a female - spun at the sound, disbelief in her eyes. Helen put two shots into her chest, and she crumpled to the floor, her tablet falling beside her.
Turning to the cameras mounted in the corners of the room, Helen methodically shot each one, leaving them melted, crumpled masses of plastic and metal. She moved quickly to the last door she would have to pass - the door directly to the fusion reactor. She waved the security card at the reader on the door.
It didn’t work.
She waved it again.
It still didn’t work. The door buzzed, but the light turned red and the door remained immovable.
Behind her, she heard the control room door open. Spinning around, she saw a squad of Ashkelon pour into the room, rifles raised.
She got off three shots before they killed her.
Behind the squad, as they lowered their rifles, an Ashkelon commander entered. Ignoring the smoke curling from the rifle barrels, he walked over to the body of the Human female and poked it with his foot, making sure she was dead. He smiled.
The information we got from Orma was spot-on. So much for the Humans and their grand plans!
***
Jim was now outside the room that - according to Helen’s Resistance sources - contained Rita’s body.
Jim tried the knob. It was not locked.
Keeping his pistol raised in front of him, he went through the door, slowly, closing it behind him.
He saw an outer office of some kind. There was a nurse’s station on his left, extending the length of the wall, with many instruments on it. Then a door, directly in front of him. To the right of the door was a desk. Over the desk was a large window. Through the window he could see a hospital bed.
On the hospital bed he could see Rita. She appeared to be intubated and on a ventilator. Other tubes led from drips overhead into her arms.
What the hell? Angel, what is this? Is she dead? Or is she alive?
Jim, hardly daring to believe, moved to the window, and peered through. There was no doubt about it - it was Rita.
Moving to the door, Jim entered the room where she lay and stopped, staring at the figure on the bed. Her chest rose and fell as the ventilator pushed air into her lungs with a rhythmic monotony. Struck dumb, he didn’t know what to do next.
I had expected a body. Not…not to find her like this. What went wrong? The poison was supposed to kill her within six hours.
Jim moved closer to the bed and stared down at her. Her face was partially covered by the ventilator mask and the intubation tube. But it was Rita. There was no doubt.
How can I get her out of here? I can’t remove her from the ventilator. But…
The thought that came across him then was unthinkable.
…but I can’t leave her here for Zukra.
Chapter Eighteen
Ashkelon System - Planet Ridendo
Naval Spacedock
Yet he couldn’t leave her for Zukra - she knew too much.
I can’t kill her. I can’t. I can’t kill the woman I love.
His AI disagreed.
Jim sank into a chair by the side of the bed, staring at Rita.
I can’t do it.
His pistol hanging limply in his hands over his knee, Jim closed his eyes.
I can’t.
Suddenly a sound. Jim jumped, stood, turned, raised the pistol. A door in the back of the room had opened; a figure stood there in white. Jim started squeezing the trigger of the silenced pistol.
Something caught his attention.
He held his fire.
The figure was small, much smaller than an Ashkelon. In the dim light, Jim saw dark black hair. A color he had never seen on an Ashkelon. The figure stood, silent, staring at him, wide-eyed.
A Human. A woman. She spoke.
“Who are you?” she asked.
Jim looked at her for a second, then responded.
“I’m her husband. Who are you?”
The woman took a step forward to see him more clearly in the dim light.
“I’m her doctor.”
Slowly, Jim lowered the pistol, letting it hang at the end of his arm. They stared at each other silently for a long moment. Finally, Jim spoke again.
“How is she alive?”
The woman took another step forward to the bed, stopping beside it and staring down at Rita. She laid down her tablet, adjusted the placement of the ventilator tube, then looked across the bed at Jim.
“It was a good plan. The poison should have killed her outright. But somehow Zukra managed to get her stabilized. I’m not sure how; but they had some pretty good medics, for Ashkelon.”
The Short End: Broken Galaxy Book Four Page 19
