Alec's Dream
Page 55
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“Ahhh” Jessie sighed while sitting in the ALEC’S DREAM's open side door, sipping yet another cup of coffee while enjoying the fact that the ship was now safely in the maintenance bay. “I wonder why I like coffee so much.” Finishing it, she stepped back to the galley to rinse out her cup and collect a few things from her backpack. It was going to be a long, difficult and dangerous journey to the holding cells and her backpack would be too much of a burden.
With the ALEC’S DREAM buttoned up behind her, she pried open a small grate on the back wall that gave her access to the hundreds of miles of maintenance corridors spider-webbing throughout the ship. She could see them mapped out in her mind, and before long she was working her way upwards towards the main axles transport tubes. The gravity quickly grew less as she neared the axle where she finally opened the last hatch to the maintenance channel she was looking for. It was a metal tube about 10 feet around. There was no walkway in it, probably because there was no gravity. Its walls were lined with pipes, cables and wires. It went on forever, in both directions lit only by small light bulbs spaced every fifty feet or so. It was hot and musty. She took a drink and ate some of the Cheorgh fruit before pointing herself in the right direction. Pushing off she was glad for the lack of gravity as she remembered Phyllis saying the ship section was ten miles across. She easily made the distance; happy she didn’t encounter any Kan-ji. Climbing out of the never ending corridor, she found a secluded spot to settle down and rest before starting the next part of her journey.
“What have we here?” a Kan-ji voice made her freeze. Two Kan-ji, dressed in dark green jump suits floated in her direction. One of them pointed a flashlight at a control box mounted on the wall halfway between her and them. She squeezed closer to the wall as they wrestled with the box’s insides. After nearly an hour they finally closed it and left in the direction they came. As she watched them float away, she realized that navigating this section of the ship was not going to be easy. It was the Kan-ji living area, filled with corridors, shops, manufacturing and everything they need to live normal lives. All-in-all, there were nearly 400 levels extending from the center axis to the outside edge. She was glad for the maintenance shafts as she closed her eyes to review her route to the holding cells.
Chapter 26 ~ Escape