by M. D. Cooper
Yes, finally!
She held on tight, and a fresh agony spiraled down from her injured hand. Erin fixed her focus on her next move. She pulled herself up, her legs swinging, and got first one elbow and then the other over the pipes. The clearance above them was so narrow, the top of her head brushed the ceiling. She paused a moment while she rested. She was facing the door, only a short distance from it, and her legs were dangling. She had to get her entire body up to keep the element of surprise.
Pulling her legs up proved difficult, so she pushed against the door with her feet and walked them upward.
In a few moments, she was entirely above the pipes. The metal ran under her back, buttocks, and thighs, but she knew she had to be facing downward when Reiko arrived.
In the shallow clearance, it wasn’t easy to turn over and then maneuver herself around, but she managed it. Now the pipes were supporting her shoulders and hips, and she was looking down at the top of Leif’s bowed head.
Next, she pulled the two makeshift wands from the back of her pants and gripped one in each hand. The minute Reiko came through the door, Erin would drop down onto her and kill her. All she had to do was wait.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
STELLAR DATE: 05.14.8942 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: PETER (Planetary Exo-Thermic Extraction Ring)
REGION: Athens, New Canaan System
Isa sat on Erin’s bunk, waiting, tense with impatience. She didn’t know when the engineers would go to bed, and she had no way of finding out, so she’d decided to wait several hours before venturing out. If Lark saw her, she would only think Isa was a little crazy, but Isa didn’t trust anyone else on the PETER.
Not that she needed more evidence, but Reiko’s strange behavior that evening had confirmed the engineer was involved in Erin’s disappearance. Isa was worried about the content of whatever message the woman had received; it hadn’t looked good. Isa hoped it was news of Erin’s escape.
Leif hadn’t returned, and Reiko had explained his absence by saying that he’d decided to spend the evening working in the other section of the PETER, and would sleep there when he finished. Neither Lark nor Hal had appeared to think this was odd. Isa guessed the engineers had probably spent the last several weeks working on different areas of the structure.
Jere had returned from Attica a short while before Isa had announced she was going to bed. He’d told them about the crowds at the spaceport, waiting to be evacuated. While he’d been helping Fazir to his priority place on a shuttle, the earthquake Lark mentioned earlier had struck. Some panic had ensued, but the Marines had gotten everyone under control again.
Usef had his hands full. She hoped he would be able to gather the company he needed to help find Erin.
At least Martin and Jude must have been far away from Athens, en route to Carthage, when the earthquake struck. She would have hated for them to be caught up in the mayhem. With that thought, she remembered she hadn’t yet replied to Martin’s message.
Martin, thanks for sending the vid. It’s so good to see you and Jude, safe and a long way from here. I wish I could tell you I’d found Erin and she’s okay, but that isn’t the case. I’ve searched her last known location and she isn’t there—no body, not a single sign of her—which tells me something weird is going on.
I have an idea where she might be, so I’m going to look for her there. I’ll explain everything later. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. And you needn’t worry about earthquakes or volcanic eruptions while I’m here. I’m on the PETER, far away from all that.
I hope that in my next message I will be able to send you news that I’ve found Erin and we’re coming home. I’m more convinced than ever that she’s alive, and if she is, you know how hard she’ll be fighting to return to us. I’m going to help her do that.
I don’t have much more to say at the moment. Please hug Jude for me and tell him his Mommy Isa loves him.
Love you too.
Isa sent the message. She wrapped her arms around her knees, and counted the passing minutes. Though it had been late when she’d left the living area, the engineers had remained, continuing their technical discussion. She’d been all but invisible to them, which was fine. She hoped to remain invisible until she found Erin.
* * * * *
In the early morning hours, Isa finally judged it safe to leave and go to find Erin. Along with the plans for the PETER, Phaedra had granted her access to the entire structure, no doubt on Tanis’s instruction, so no door would be closed to her in her search.
Isa exited her room and walked quietly to the common living area before peeking inside. The place was empty and silent. The engineers had all finally gone to bed. She passed by the open door and walked onward, toward the landing bay. When she arrived, she counted the skiffs; she’d counted them when she’d first landed too.
One was missing.
Leif would have taken one to fly to the other section of the PETER, but Jere had arrived since then. They were definitely one skiff down, which to Isa only meant that Reiko had taken it and gone to Erin.
It didn’t matter. Isa had expected she would have to deal with the Transcend kidnapper at some time or another.
Isa climbed into her skiff and retrieved her weapon from where she’d hidden it behind the passenger seat. Feeling safer with the weight of it on her lap, she flew the vessel out from the bay and into the darkness.
Phaedra had given her the location of the section of the PETER that Reiko and Leif had flown to after leaving the eruption site. It was halfway around the planet, where it was currently daylight on the surface.
As she flew, a visual of Athens came up on her display. Even without magnification, the planet’s turmoil was evident: a smoky haze permeated the atmosphere, occasionally illuminated by lightning bursts below. Isa recalled the lava field where she’d first met Lark and Fazir. Athens was reverting to a hot, angry place, and no one could do anything about it.
Canaan Prime swiftly rose, and Athens’ ashy atmosphere glowed in the sun’s approach. The massive circle of the PETER loomed overhead.
Isa finally arrived at the correct section and flew into the bay. Two skiffs sat there already, Leif’s and Reiko’s. Both were empty.
Isa grabbed her weapon and climbed out of her vessel. No one seemed to be around. She walked across the empty bay.
If Reiko had suspected that Isa would be going there, she hadn’t waited to confront Isa upon her arrival. Either the woman had believed Isa’s story about why she was there, or she did suspect her, but something more urgent had drawn her away.
While she’d been waiting for the right moment to make her move, Isa had plenty of time to look over the ring’s plans in detail. Each section was basically identical. They all contained a node, the supporting machinery, service access passageways and tunnels, and general-purpose rooms that could be converted for storage, workshops, parts manufacturing, or habitation.
Or somewhere to confine a kidnapping victim.
If Reiko and Leif were keeping Erin captive here, it would be in one of these all-purpose rooms, somewhere deep within the structure where none of the other engineers would be likely to go.
Other than that, Isa had no clues to guide her as to where to begin her search. She had no choice; she would have to search everywhere.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
STELLAR DATE: 05.14.8942 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: PETER (Planetary Exo-Thermic Extraction Ring)
REGION: Athens, New Canaan System
Erin didn’t know how much longer she could hold on. The pipes she was lying across didn’t support her weight comfortably, and she had to expend muscle strength to remain in place or else she would fall. If that happened, she didn’t know if she would ever make it up there again.
When she’d stepped on Leif’s head to push herself upward, the body had fallen to one side and she would have to haul it upright again. Erin guessed that the corpse would also be properly stiff by now, and more difficult than e
ver to maneuver into position.
The sight of the dead body—with its grey skin, glazed, fixed eyes and gaping, blood-stained mouth—was gross, yet Erin couldn’t avoid looking at it. If she were to close her eyes, it would be the first step to becoming drowsy and losing the tension that was keeping her up there.
Where the hell is Reiko? Erin had expected her to arrive earlier, immediately after she realized that Leif was dead. Maybe she doesn’t want to act suspiciously.
Erin rested her forehead on the crook of her arm and shifted her position slightly. It was as much as she could manage without risking falling down. The movement brought her a small respite. The pipes must have worn grooves into her shoulders. She had hooked her ankles over the pipes as well, and they ground painfully into her hips and her calves. She was flexing her feet and toes regularly to keep her blood moving.
She didn’t want to jump down onto Reiko only to collapse in a heap on the floor because she’d lost all feeling in her feet.
If Walter were still with her, he would have taken care of everything. Erin had so much to thank him for, and now she would never get the chance. Nearly all her present life was thanks to him; if he hadn’t pushed her to be more proactive about her love life, she would never have met Isa.
She would give anything to brush her hair again.
Erin jerked her eyes open and tightened her muscles. She’d relaxed too much and almost fallen.
Dammit. How much longer?
As if in answer to her question, above the all-pervading hum of the PETER, Erin heard a small snick. Someone had unlocked the door.
Instantly, her pain and fatigue melted away, and she was a tense ball of potential energy, waiting for a trigger. Seething hatred rose up in her. Reiko had about one more minute of life…. Erin hoped it was going to be a painful one.
The door opened inward a crack, but Leif’s body still lay against it, pressing it closed. Erin peered through the gap in the top, but she could see little of the person trying to enter. It didn’t matter. No one else would come except Reiko.
No doubt surprised to discover an impediment to her entrance, the visitor paused. Reiko didn’t call Leif’s name, of course—she knew he was dead. But did she know Leif was the reason she couldn’t open the door? She was about to find out.
Greater force was applied to the door, and Leif’s body began to slide. Erin had been right about rigor mortis setting in; the corpse was stiff as a board, barely bending as it moved, though the smell of death that had been gradually growing in the room puffed upward strongly.
Erin swallowed, fighting the urge to gag. She could now see the top of Reiko’s head and the center parting in her hair.
Don’t look up.
Reiko saw the disturbed pool of blood where Leif’s body had lain. She paused again.
Erin’s heart rose into her mouth as a possibility she hadn’t considered suddenly occurred to her. Reiko could simply choose to shut the door, lock it, and leave Erin to die. Leif would never be found, and neither would she. If she dropped down now, Reiko might have time to do exactly that. Erin needed her to come inside the room.
Erin’s gaze bore into Reiko’s black hair, willing her to take just one more step. One more step, and she would drop down and crush the bitch, then two stabs above the woman’s collarbone would turn her into a dead woman standing.
Reiko pushed the door hard, sending Leif’s body sliding further, and leapt into the room. She turned to face the rear of the door, as if expecting Erin to be standing there.
Instead, Erin dropped from above.
She landed awkwardly on Reiko, her chest thudding onto one of the woman’s shoulders. The blow forced the air from her lungs, but she managed not to entirely collapse. Reiko failed to do the same. She crumpled under Erin’s impact.
Erin was on her in an instant. The blunt spears of the torture wands flew downward, but the angle was wrong. She cut two gashes across Reiko’s collarbone, but the improvised knives didn’t penetrate her skin. Erin stabbed again, gouging troughs across Reiko’s throat. The woman yelled and struggled, throwing Erin off. She turned onto her stomach and ran, rising, heading for the open doorway.
She was trying to escape and shut Erin inside.
Too late.
Erin propelled herself into the woman’s back and crushed Reiko against the floor. A whoof of expelled air erupted from the other woman as her stomach and chest hit the ground. Erin was astride the TSF engineer, and lifting the wands to stab her in the back, but Reiko twisted violently, sending Erin tumbling again.
This time, Reiko didn’t attempt to escape. She lunged at Erin, her eyes narrowed by hatred, and made a grab for one of the torture wands. Erin kicked her in the face. Reiko’s head snapped to the side, and blood ran from her nose, but still she came on, trying to snatch up a wand.
“Bitch!” Erin spat. “You’re not using one of these on me again.”
“Think you can stop me? You killed Leif, and I’m going to make you pay for that. Did you know you can die of pain? You can…. Only it takes a long, long time.”
Reiko threw herself at Erin again. Erin thrust out her boot to push Reiko away, but the woman grabbed her ankle and used it to drag Erin closer. Erin kicked at the other engineer’s head, her toes meeting bone and bursting with pain. Reiko grunted as she pulled her head back, but she didn’t let go. She forced Erin down so that she couldn’t kick again.
Reiko’s hand clamped down in an unmovable grip on the wrist of Erin’s injured hand, and she was twisting it, trying to make Erin drop the wand. Erin slashed the other wand at Reiko’s neck, tearing through the skin, but she couldn’t penetrate deep enough with the blunt instrument to cause serious damage.
Reiko was like a wild thing, savage with anger, and she had the advantage of having an AI that could immediately wash away whatever pain Erin inflicted. Reiko’s AI was fixing her wounds from within as soon as Erin created them.
Erin couldn’t stand it any longer, the agony from her wrist was too much. The wand tumbled from her opening fingers.
Reiko snatched it up, but to do so, she had to release Erin’s wrist. In her triumph, her hold on Erin’s ankle also loosened.
Erin kicked herself free, turned, and dove at Reiko, her new angle giving her a better line of attack. She plunged her wand toward the engineer’s neck, but Reiko dodged at the last second, and the wand gouged a furrow across her face. Erin darted backward. Reiko’s features were arranged in a mask of dripping, red fury as she lunged at Erin, her torture device in her outstretched hand.
Agony detonated in Erin’s midriff, and she couldn’t prevent herself from screaming. She raised her wand again and ran in for another attack. Reiko fought to get away, but Erin had her cornered. She drove her wand toward Reiko, but the woman leaned in and touched Erin’s thigh with the torture device. When Erin bellowed, her blow missed its mark, but she didn’t give up her attack. Again she stabbed. Reiko’s eyes widened, and she ducked just as the wand passed over her head.
Erin grabbed the woman’s shirt with her injured hand, glaring into her blood-soaked face. She shoved Reiko against the wall, trying to keep her still long enough to kill her.
Reiko squirmed and fought and pressed the torture wand against Erin. The two women grappled some more. Erin stumbled over Leif’s corpse and fell to the floor, but she didn’t let go of her opponent. She dragged Reiko down, shrieking when the torture device touched her again.
Reiko bucked, arching her body to unbalance Erin. A split second later, she turned over onto all fours and got up. Then she raced for the door.
Just as quickly, Erin was after her. Reiko ran out, and Erin launched herself at Reiko’s ankle. She snatched…and found herself on the ground, holding empty air.
Erin jumped to her feet and ran down the passageway.
Reiko’s footsteps were echoing as she sped away, dripping blood.
Gripping her remaining wand in her uninjured hand, Erin ran after her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
STELLAR DATE: 05.14.8942 (Adjusted Years)
LOCATION: PETER (Planetary Exo-Thermic Extraction Ring)
REGION: Athens, New Canaan System
Reiko fled for her life. The ferocity with which Erin had attacked her had shocked her to her core. Leif’s death should have warned her what to expect when she opened the door.
How did Erin kill him?
It hardly seemed possible. Perhaps he had released her from her restraints, though Reiko couldn’t believe he would do something so stupid. It certainly wasn’t anything they had agreed to. At least he had put up a fight before he died, judging by the mess he’d made of Erin’s hand.
Reiko suppressed a sob. She could still hardly believe he was gone. She blamed herself for not having gone to help him as soon as she’d received his terrified message that Erin was attacking him. She would never have made it in time to prevent Erin from killing him, but perhaps she might have been able to bring him back using the PETER’s medical facilities.
But that would have meant revealing everything to the others. They would have discovered that Erin wasn’t dead, and that herself and Leif had committed kidnapping and murder. It would have meant the end of all she was working toward, all she still needed to do. She’d been forced to sacrifice Leif to a higher cause.
Reiko shook her head and briefly squeezed her eyes closed to rid them of the tears clouding her vision. She had no time to think. She had to get away from Erin, the woman had gone berserk.
She knew the layout of the PETER well, which would work to her advantage. Her footsteps would soon be inaudible too, and with the damage to Erin’s mind augmentation, she would have no mental map to follow. She would be running blind.
Reiko dashed down a narrow passageway, barely as wide as her shoulders. She checked behind her. Her AI had clotted the blood that had been flowing from her many wounds, so she no longer left a trail. She would quickly lose Erin.
