'Sir?'Argen's voice came to him.
'Nothing. Be as quick as you can.'
He stepped back and watched the ramp retract and close up. The Resolve's lift jets flared and it rose smoothly into the sky and in a moment it was gone. Tane made his way over to the tripod- mounted emergency communications reflector and picked up the sending key. The battery-powered bulb began to pulse.
HATCHWAY HEAVIER THAN ANTICIPATED, he sent in code.
PREPARE MUNITIONS PACKS 7 AND 10B FOR TRANSFER TO
RESOLVE.
***
Vega ensured the explosives Tane had requested were ready and waiting when theResolve glided through the faintly glowing pressure curtain of the hangar bay five minutes later. On the bay monitors he watched it set down and open up to receive its cargo. As the packs were loaded he conversed over the command circuit to the Indomitable's first pilot and temporary shuttle jockey.
'How are the modifications holding up, Del?'
'Fine, sir,'Argen reported. 'Handles well as long as we keep her top V
down.'There was a pause and Vega saw him frown.'But I'll be glad when Hentle takes his spell.'
'Why? You said the flying was easy.'
'It's not that, sir... it's that place. It makes you jumpy.The engineer and I both noticed it on the way back up. You want to keep looking over your shoulder, even when you've left it. And the cold stays with you.'
It wasn't like Argen to talk like that,Vega thought. Conditions on the derelict must be stranger than they had anticipated. Perhaps he should -
'Commander!' the landing-party observer said urgently, looking up from the scope relay screen.'Multiple energy discharges on surface of derelict in the vicinity of MrTane's team. I think it's gunfire, sir.'
The communications monitor said, 'Partial signal from surface, sir.
Emergency code followed by SHADOWS OUT OF - That's all, sir.'
'Marine second squad, to hangar deck at the doublel'Vega ordered, the words spilling out quickly but clearly even as ice gripped his heart.'Flight Control, hold launch of Resolve until they are on board. Helm, take us in to four kilometres over target. Observers, report immediately any activity in landing zone.'
He felt the Indomitable begin to drop down towards the derelict.
'Sir,' Val Fayle, his second in command, spoke up, his face stony and set.'Shall I activate main batteries and target the Emindian vessel?'
'What?'
'Their party must be responsible for this attack, sir.'
Fayle had personal reasons for disliking the Emindians more than most, Vega recalled. Occasionally it coloured his thinking.
'Not until we have more information, Mr Fayle.'
'But who else could it be, sir?'
Who indeed? 'Shadows out of - what? Had the sender, presumably Tane, meant something was coming out of the shadows? What was happening down there? If only they had two modified shuttles operational...
He reopened the channel to the Resolve .
'Del, as soon as the marines are loaded get down there at maximum safe speed.We'll have the area illuminated with the main beams again. Make one low pass over the landing area to assess the situation, then pull up out of the interference zone so you can report to me. Do not make a landing until ordered, understood?'
Argen nodded.'Understood, sir.'
The scope observer said,'Gunfire has ceased, sir.'
'Anything else?'
There was a pause.'I think there are two bodies, sir.'
Vega transferred the scope image to his own command-chair screen. The image was less distinct than it should have been at this distance due to the interference effect distorting the light waves, but he could see the dark strip of flat ground beside the tower. And two blurred smudges that might indeed have been bodies.
'ShuttleResolve loaded and away' came the announcement from the hangar.
The external screen showed the shuttle dart out of the hangar bay and bank sharply towards the derelict. As it powered away Vega was once again assailed by those doubts that all commanders lived with. Should he have waited until they had two modified shuttles in operation? If one had remained on the derelict then perhaps the landing party could have been evacuated when they came under attack. But then the Emindians would have reached the derelict hours before them. His eyes fixed on the image of the alien ship. Its secrets had better be worth all this.
On the screen he watched the Resolve make its low pass, then climb back up towards them. With the decreasing distance the comlink cleared sufficiently for Argen to make his report.
'I can confirm there are two bodies down there, Commander. No sign of the rest of the party nor any hostiles. Request permission to land and make ground search:
There was no choice and Vega knew it, but he hated giving the order.
'Request approved, Del. But take all possible precautions. At the slightest sign of danger you are to lift off at once, understand?'
'Understood, sir.Argen out.'
***
Argen set the Resolve down less than thirty metres from the bodies, now lit by the stark illumination of the Indomitable ' searchlights. He could see the toppled tripod of the emergency sender and the cutting equipment still lying by the hatchway, but apart from the two twisted bodies they had seen on their first pass nothing else seemed out of place. He felt the familiar taste of fear, but oddly none of that crawling of the skin on the back of his neck he had sensed on the first trip back from the derelict.
As they touched ground the Resolve's rear ramp dropped flat, disgorging the reserve squad of marines that had been packed into the airlock with weapons powered and ready. Above them the turret gun whirred as it swung round to cover the looming mass of the derelict's tower. In seconds the soldiers had fanned out in a broad arc, running in a half-crouch. As soon as their line had encompassed the bodies the leaders dropped flat, facing out into the darkness beyond the spotlights' glare, while a medic and his assistant knelt by the fallen. Argen saw them make a rapid examination, then the voice of the corporal commanding the squad came over the cracking link.
'It's Detter, from Sho's squad.'he said quickly.'Leastways, what's left of him.'
'Was he shot?'Argen asked.
There -was a long pause, then, 'No. There are no blast marks. It looks... it looks like he was torn to pieces by some kind of animal.'
Chapter 8
Family
The Cirrandaria's chief purser, social hostess and manager of entertainments were all unnecessary to the mechanical operation or safety of the ship, but they were indispensable to the contentment and wellbeing of its passengers and crew. Therefore Lanchard had arranged additional meetings with them until the emergency was over. For the moment the liner's complement were bearing up reasonably well, but she wanted to be ready for any eventuality. Extra diversions were being planned should they be needed.
'We'll keep them busy for you, Captain,' Oscar Castillo, the chief purser, promised.
'If need be, revive that gambling club of yours that I'm not supposed to know about, Oscar,' she told him.
'Gambling club, Captain?' he replied with perfect innocence.
The conference over, Lanchard returned to the bridge. Evan Arcovian was still there.
The little man had talked his way on to the bridge using his famous clients'
names as leverage, and now there seemed no way of removing him except by force. At least he kept out of the way, however, and, apart from a few whispered calls on his pocket phone to Emindar relayed through the ship's transmitter and an almost absent-minded request for a cup of coffee, he remained largely silent. He spent his time staring at the screens showing the alien ship and, beyond it, the Indomitable , which had moved round to hold station over the area the Nimosian landing party had set down upon.
At first Lanchard had thought Arcovian was merely troubled by the possibility of losing two valuable clients, and was putting on a show of concern.Then she suggested he wait in the officers' lounge, which was only a lit
tle way down the corridor, and promised to inform him as soon as anything happened. His response caused her to modify her opinion.
'No thanks. Captain,' he said with a slight smile. 'I've gotta be here. This is the nerve centre, right? Anything that happens, you'll know it here first. I promised I'd watch out for them, you see. They're two really great people...'
And Lanchard found herself listening, half mesmerised by his enthusiasm, to the story of how he met them, of Delray's rise to vid stardom, of Lyset's exhibitions, of how Don had said this really funny thing, and the fact that Lyset had once been so determined to record a certain story she had shaved her head to pass for a Kleckt native trader. There was something touching and a little sad about his evident concern for them, his watching the screens intently for any sign of movement even as he spoke to her, nervously chewing his lower lip.
The sudden approach of the Indomitable to the derelict caught them all by surprise. Without interrupting the monitoring of their own party's landing site, Lanchard had the Cirrandaria manoeuvre to keep the Indomitable in view.They saw it take up a new station point only four kilometres from the derelict and watched as its shuttle dropped down to the surface for a second time.
'Are they up to something?'Arcovian asked anxiously.
'I don't know,' Lanchard admitted.
For almost ten minutes nothing further appeared to happen.Then a call came through from Vega.
'Yes, Commander,' Lanchard acknowledged, noticing as she did so that Vega looked drawn and hollow-eyed.
'Some unidentified force attacked my landing party within the last half-hour,'
he said bluntly. 'At least two have been killed and the rest are missing.
Could your people have been responsible?'
The accusation was delivered so flatly that she found herself responding in the same controlled manner. 'No. They are armed, but they'd have no reason to attack your people unless they were provoked.'
Vega studied her face intently for a moment, then nodded fractionally.'No, I didn't really think they would be stupid enough. In that case there's something very dangerous down on that ship.That's all the warning I'll give you, take it or leave it. If you can, I suggest you remove your party for their own safety. Vega out.'
The screen went blank.
'We must get them out right now!' Arcovian said, his eyes wide.
'It's not as simple as that, Mr Arcovian.' It was easy to forget that, though the Cirrandaria carried a transmitter capable of signalling across several light years, they were not in direct contact with a group of people only a few kilometres away. 'We arranged that they should call us every hour from the time they entered the alien ship,' she reminded him.'We can't tell them anything until then.' She consulted her watch. 'And they won't be calling us again for another twenty minutes at least.'
'Well, haven't you got another shuttle you can use?'
'The engineers worked for almost fourteen hours straight to modify the one they're using. They need a rest before starting on another.'
Arcovian looked despairing and clutched at a slender reed of comfort.
'Maybe Vega's message was just a bluff to get us to leave the alien ship to the Nimosians. Perhaps it's all a trick,' he suggested hopefully.
'Perhaps,' Lanchard said. But privately she thought the look on Vega's face had been very convincing.
Watching the small man's troubled expression she was reminded just how much Arcovian genuinely cared for Delray and Wynter. Despite her own preoccupations she found herself wondering if he treated all his clients like his family. Suddenly it occurred to her that he might have no close relations of his own. People like Delray and Wynter could be all the family he had.
Chapter 9
The Experiment
The chamber beneath the surface hatch was clearly a shuttle bay of some sort, though Sam could detect no indication as to what type of craft normally used it. Jenez set them down in its centre and they examined their surroundings.
The bay was circular, perhaps a hundred metres across, illuminated by a score of large softly glowing, pale-blue discs set in the ceiling. About its perimeter the floor curved smoothly upward to become the wall, with several recessed doorways spaced along it. Beside one of these were a wheel and a key panel identical to the ones they had seen on the surface.
On seeing this Rexton said,'Our first priority is to close the external hatch before the Nimosians follow us in here. Jenez, stay with the shuttle and keep it locked and tight. If the Nimosians get in use the jets to keep them clear. If we don't return in three hours, use your own initiative. Otherwise stay put. I'm relying on you to be ready to lift us out of here if we need to make a rapid withdrawal.'
'Yes, sir,'Jenez said solemnly.
They sealed their suits and disembarked.
Sam noticed, when they got beyond the shuttle's stabilising field, that the interference on the suit radios was less pronounced than it had been on the outside of the hull.That, at least, was reassuring.
With Dessel and Bendix beside him, Rexton crossed the marbled floor to the wall panel and tried the wheel. It moved freely. He spun it vigorously and Sam watched the circle of stardusted sky contract and disappear. Had they shut the enemy out, she wondered, or trapped themselves inside with something worse? She shivered and tried to get a grip on herself. Why should an innocent bare chamber suddenly fill her with such a sense of disquiet?
Rexton was looking at the hatch with a frown.'Can we stop it being opened again from outside? It would cover our line of escape and prevent the Nimosians following us in.'
'If you must,' the Doctor said. 'I suspect this will do the trick.'And he pressed four keys in quick succession. Rexton's frown deepened and he tried the wheel. It would not budge. 'How did you do that?' Rexton demanded.
'It's obvious,' the Doctor said gravely, 'as long as you look without preconceptions. I could explain it, but then you'd probably think it was a joke, which would be dangerous because that's the last thing I think it is.'
They were all looking at him in puzzlement. Sam was as baffled as the rest but tried not show it.
'I don't have any time for riddles, Doctor,' Rexton said. 'As long as something functions reliably I don't care why.' 'That's what I'm afraid of,' the Doctor said. Rexton ignored him. 'Show me the release sequence again.'
The Doctor pressed the same keys he had used on the surface panel.The manual wheel turned freely once again. Sam could still not see what had caused the Doctor to choose the keys he had.
'Jenez,' Rexton said, alerting the shuttle pilot, 'take a note of this in case you need to use it.To release the bay hatch press the keys on the panel in this order, working down the rows and counting in from the left: three, four, two, five, three and six. To seal it press four, five, four and one.'
'Got that, sir!' Jenez said.
The doorway beside the key panel was another smaller version of the irising surface hatch, but this time mounted vertically. There must have been a simple sensor built into the floor because it opened as Rexton stepped up to it.At the end of the small chamber beyond was an identical hatch. Rexton stepped inside confidently and the others followed.The hatch closed automatically behind them and a moment later the one in front opened. There was another identical chamber beyond that. As they passed through Manders looked at the gauge on the arm of her suit.
'Pressure's building up,' she observed.
Again the door ahead opened a few seconds after the one behind had shut.
They stepped through this to find themselves in the ship proper. Sam saw Rexton looking about him with eager, hungry eyes.
They were at the junction of three corridors, each circular in section, about four metres across and dimly lit by more of the blue ceiling discs. The curving lower halves of the corridors were floored with some dark rubber-like material moulded with a heavy transverse rippling tread. A pair of handrails carried by close-set stanchions ran continuously along them, dividing the floor into three lanes and breaking only at the junc
tion itself. To the left and right the corridors appeared perfectly level, but the corridor in front of them arched slightly, following the curve of the hull, so that the ceiling lights seemed to dip towards the floor in the distance.
'Corridors with abundant railings and a high-traction floor,' observed the Doctor. 'No doubt provision for shifts in the centre of gravity when the ship's functioning.'
'Of course,' Sam heard Rexton mutter to himself under his breath.
"They're rather high,' Sam pointed out.
'Yes,' the Doctor agreed. 'Perhaps the users are taller than the humanoid average. The diameter of the rail is also rather large, suggesting -'
'That they had big hands,' Sam concluded with a smile.
Manders had been using a direct-reading radiation counter on their surroundings. Now she was holding up a chemical sampler. She examined the reagent patches carefully, then said, 'The air is OK. Oxygen low but within the limits. No paniculate or biohazard indicators showing.' She checked the thermostrip on the back of her glove. 'Temperature four degrees above zero. Fine for suit work. If we can breathe in here that'll extend our EVA endurance by hours. I'm going to test it.'
'I think I should do that first; the Doctor said quickly.'! have a nose for subtle toxins.'
He released his visor, raised it cautiously and sniffed. Apparently t satisfied, he took a deeper breath, then another.
'A little musty and rather thin,' he declared, 'but otherwise quite acceptable.'
He opened his visor fully, and the others followed his example.
Sam thought she could taste dust and a tang of ozone, combined with faint chemical odours she could not identify. But as the Doctor had said, it was breathable.
'Now, where shall we go from here?' the Doctor mused, facing the radiating corridors in turn. 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo -' "This way,' Rexton said, pointing down the middle corridor. 'As you wish,' the Doctor said easily.
Simmons, one of Manders's assistants, undipped a small can from his belt and sprayed a luminous orange arrow on the corridor wall pointing in the direction they were taking. 'I thought we'd better not get lost,' Manders explained. 'I didn't think of that,' the Doctor admitted. 'Of course I was intending to rely on my own sense of direction.' He turned suddenly to Rexton. 'But what were you going to use?'
Vanderdeken's Children Page 8
