ADEM

Two weeks out of Imbeleko

The survey ship was older than the Hajj, and it hadn’t been built for comfort or beauty. Adem lifted his eyes from his reader and checked the controls for warning lights and alarms. The console was all grays and hard edges, like the rest of the little ship. The mass-grav systems were not as well-tuned as those on the Hajj, and the weeks at near c were making his joints ache. Still, the ship was Imbeleko’s pride and joy, and the planetary government hadn’t let it go cheaply. The load of foodstuff and building materials from Gaul went right into the hole with Creighton’s finder fee.

Lucy dropped into the seat beside him and put her feet up on the control panel. “This is the worst trip ever.”

“Good thing I have that panel locked down. You might have just killed us all.”

She rolled her eyes. “Better than this. I’m so bored!”

“You’re supposed to be sleeping.” Adem’s eyes drifted to a projection of the debris field they were approaching. “It looks pretty wild in there.”

Lucy winced. “It looks worse to the sensors. Be glad we don’t have to fly into it.”

“It’s hard to believe it used to be a planet.”

History called it the Two-Day War, but, really, more than a standard month had passed between the attacks that had destroyed two cultures.

“What the hell was Creighton looking for out here?” Adem said.

“The Chin.” Lucy tugged at her lower lip. “Mom told me about him. He thinks they’re, like, a super civilization that can save us from ourselves.”

“We could use it.” Adem pointed to the projection. “We must have had family there.”

“Probably. And if great-grandma hadn’t won the draw and assumed ownership of the Hajj… Pow!”

The colony on Makkah had been less than fifty years old when the Two-Day War ended.

“Who do you think shot first?” Adem said.

There wasn’t much more than academic value in pointing fingers. The war had come to an end more than nine hundred standard years before. A suicide pilot in a small scout ship had turned the United Americas settlement on Freedom into a crater. The UA had either responded with or had already been on its way to a planet-crushing assault on Makkah.

“The Americans never liked us,” Lucy said. “I think it was them.”

“But it could have been the Caliphate,” Adem said. “It happened before.”

“It doesn’t matter now.”

The siblings looked out the cockpit window for a time. Lucy checked the readouts on the control panel. “Go back and bunk for a while.”

“It’s your turn.” Adem’s words turned into a mumble as he smothered a yawn.

“Mateo is snoring. There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep.”

The towheaded engineer was easy to get along with when he was awake but hard to live with asleep. Adem stretched. “Alright, I’ll take you up on it.”

“We’ll either make contact with the Hadfield in eight hours, or we’ve been suckered. Either way, I’ll make sure you’re awake for it.”

Adem kissed the top of her head. “Catching that thing isn’t going to be easy.”

“Not in this ship. But I didn’t become a pilot because it was easy.” She swatted him on the hip. “Sleep.”

The hallway between the cockpit and the crew’s bunkroom was broken only by the door to a small refresher unit. Adem stopped to wash his face and hands.

Mateo Rojas wasn’t the only one snoring, but he was by far the loudest of the three. Adem crawled into the open bunk and lay on his back, his head resting on his hands. The room was humid with exhalations and sour with body odor. The survey ship’s hygiene resources were overtaxed with a crew of five, and the quarters were starting to show it.

Good thing it’s only three weeks back. Adem closed his eyes against the sight of the upper bunk forty-five centimeters above his face. A boot thudding into the side of his bunk woke him up sometime later.

Mateo rubbed his hands together. “Your sister says there’s something on the scope.”

Adem nearly brained himself trying to sit up but caught himself in time and rolled off the bunk to the floor. “The Hadfield?”

The Hadfield’s orbit was erratic and decaying, Creighton’s data showed. It didn’t emerge from the debris cloud often.

“She said it’s the right size. Wants us to get ready.”

“How long do we have?”

“She said you have enough time to eat something and take a piss, but that’s about it.”

Adem pulled on his boots and woke the comm on his collar. “What can you tell me?”

“Resolution isn’t good enough, yet,” Lucy answered. “We’ll start with Plan A and see what happens.”

Plan A was an attempted docking at the derelict’s forward airlock. Plan B involved attaching to the warship like a leech and cutting through its armored hull. Plan C hadn’t been written yet, but any version relied on Lucy getting the survey ship very close to the Christopher Hadfield. “How fast is it moving?” he said.

Lucy snorted. “Speed isn’t the problem. It’s tumbling every way it can. Shut up and let me figure this out.”

Adem grabbed a meal bar from the ship’s little galley and washed it down with cold water. He waited in line for his turn at the refresher and came out in time to see Mateo again.

“Do you think this is going to work?” he said.

“What part?”

“Any of it. Docking. Salvaging the derelict.” Mateo shrugged. “It seems like a big risk. The captain doesn’t like big risks.”

Adem tried to remember how long Mateo had been on the Hajj. “She doesn’t like them, but that doesn’t mean she won’t take them.”

“It just seems like a long way to go for some old records.”

The cover story within the secret mission. News traveled fast on the Hajj, and the captain wanted to keep knowledge of the worm-drive out of Rakin’s hands as long as possible.

“People will pay good money for anything we can pull off the ship,” Adem said. “You might be able to retire early.” Adem wasn’t much older than Mateo, but interacting with him now made him feel ancient.

Mateo grinned. “Sun, sand, and girls on Freedom.”

“Think about those later. Survive the operation now.”

The ship lurched. Mateo already looked a little green. The little ship’s mass-grav system was fine in a straight line, but it was having trouble keeping up with Lucy’s twisting, turning course.

“It’s going to be worse on the derelict,” Adem said. “Remember not to puke in your helmet.”

Mateo was a good kid; he’d get the job done and build a nice life off the proceeds. The ship wobbled again, and Adem reached out a hand to steady himself on the wall. He tapped his comm. “We crashing?”

“Just about,” Lucy said. “Next maneuver should do it. Make sure you’re hanging onto something.”

The ship’s overhead lights changed to red, letting the rest of the crew know to hang on, too. Adem braced his back against the hallway wall and wedged his feet against the junction of floor and wall on the other side. Mass-grav strained to keep up with a ninety-eight-degree twist.

“We’re in position,” Lucy announced. “About twenty minutes until we dock. Plan A looks good.”

Adem forced himself to take his time but still made it to the airlock before the rest of the excursion crew. Once in his pressure suit, he checked the salvaging gear as the rest of the crew filed in and got ready. He sealed the airlock behind them.

Adem hit the comm switch in his helmet with his chin. “We’re in place.”

“If I pull this off without killing us, I expect a lifetime supply of booze and great sex,” Lucy said.

“I’ll talk to Mateo.”

“Don’t you dare!” She opened the comm channel to the entire crew. “Hold on everyone. This is where it gets interesting.”

Adem wondered if he would feel more or less tense if he was in the copilot seat, watching his sister try to make contact with the tumbling warship. The survey vessel was more mobile than the Hajj, but Lucy’s link with the little ship’s nearsmart wasn’t nearly as comprehensive. She was moving mostly on instinct and talent. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing like his mother had taught him in martial arts class. With breath there can be no fear.

The survey ship dropped like a dead bird and twisted sharply to the left. Adem tightened his grip on one of the handholds along the wall. A sharp impact threw everyone in the airlock to their knees.

“Made it.” Lucy’s voice sounded small and sweaty. “Let’s not do that again.”

“No promises,” Adem said. He performed a spot check of the salvage team and pronounced them shaken but ready. “Let’s see if we can get the door open.”

His fingers cramped as he forced them off the handhold, and he struggled past Mateo to get to the airlock’s outer door. He slid it open to inspect the docking ring. “Seal looks tight. Are you picking up any leakage?”

“Nearsmart says it’s holding,” Lucy said.

“You getting anything from the Hadfield?”

“There was no handshake. It’s not saying ‘hello’ nor telling us to get lost. I’m getting limited power readings.”

Adem scanned the derelict’s outer door with his multi-tool, hoping to get a sense of whether the ship’s mechanical security measures were still in place. “I got nothing, either.”

He put his hand near the big door, waiting for the arcing spark that would prove the security system was still awake and lethal. The spark failed to appear, and Adem reached for the door handle. “It’s not locked.” He twisted the handle. “I’m opening it.”

The door opened into a dark corridor. “I’m still alive,” Adem said.

“Good to hear it,” Lucy said. “You have about thirteen hours before this thing slips back into the debris field.”

Adem activated his helmet light and peered into the ink beyond the door. The illumination didn’t penetrate far, but Adem could make out the walls and floor panels of the passageway beyond.

“How many were on board?” Mateo said.

“Seventy-two according to the history books.” Adem stepped over the threshold, the first human to do so in nine centuries. “And a dozen androids.”

Mateo stepped up behind Adem, crowding him. “Do you think we’ll find bodies?”

“Depends how they died. If mass-grav failed, they were all crushed to jelly. If life support went out…” Adem nodded even though he knew Mateo couldn’t see it through his helmet. “Yeah, we’ll see bodies.” He cleared his throat. “Split up. Mateo and me to the engine room. Charlie and Odessa to the bridge. If we can get some lights on it will make this whole thing a lot easier.” Adem shone his helmet lamp up the hallway toward the bridge access then back to the airlock. “Check in every ten minutes or so.”

The mass-grav systems were still working well enough to define the corridor’s floor as down. Adem lightly magnetized his boots and headed in the opposite direction of the bridge, knowing Mateo would be right behind him. Their footsteps echoed dully. “There’s air or something in here. Enough to carry sound. Get a sample and send the data to Lucy. Maybe she can tell us what we’re walking through.”

“I’ve played stim games like this,” Mateo said. “This would be about the time the aliens spring out and attack.”

“We’d better hope not. We won’t last long defending ourselves with toolboxes.”

“It’s a warship.” Mateo twisted his body to shine his headlamp down a corridor they passed. “There must be weapons here.”

“Lots of them. And they’re staying here. Captain says we’re not bringing anything back that shoots or explodes.”

“Bet your Uncle Rakin was happy about that.”

“We’re not here to make Rakin happy.” Adem opened the group channel. “Check. Mateo and I are alive and well, about two hundred meters along the ship’s axis toward engineering.

“Check,” Odessa said. “Charlie and I are on the bridge. It’s in pretty good shape.” She paused. “There are bodies here.”

“Try not to wake them up. You’ll be okay. Out.”

“How much further?” Mateo said.

Adem looked at the map on his reader. “Another fifty meters or so, then up. Engine room access is two levels above this one.”

The comm beeped. “Adem, we’re going to try something,” Odessa said. “Stop moving for a couple of minutes.”

“Acknowledged.” Adem and Mateo stopped moving forward.

“What do you think–?” Mateo said.

Adem held up his hand. “Wait for it.”

The lighting bars embedded in the ceiling flickered, died, and then came to a steady glow at about three-quarter strength.

“Did it work?” Odessa said.

“We got lights. Good work. Emergency power?”

“We just reset the cutouts. The reactor must still be working.”

Adem whistled. “They weren’t screwing around when they built these things.”

“It’s going to be a few hours on the nearsmart. The interface is just like the one on the Hajj, but I don’t want to start it up too fast.”

“Once you get it, start dumping every piece of information you see into portable storage. We’re about twenty minutes from the engine room. Maybe we can get a little thruster power and slow the tumble. Out.”

The hatch to the engine room access tube was stuck. “Come up the other side of this ladder and help me move this.” Adem shuffled to the left to make room.

Mateo set down the equipment he was carrying and climbed the opposite side of the ladder. “I don’t have a lot of space to work.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to do much. It feels like it’s catching on something.”

Mateo climbed a little higher and got one hand on the hatch. He held onto the ladder with the other.

“Push!” The hatch resisted then came free. Adem followed it into the crawlspace. “Lights are not working in here.” He inhaled sharply. “And we got bodies. At least three or four of them.”

“Are they dead? Let me see.”

Adem climbed the rest of the way up the ladder and tried to find room for his boots among the bones and fabric scraps.

Mateo’s waist came even with the hatchway. “I thought they’d be better preserved.”

Adem turned his helmet lamp on again and panned it up and down the sides of the narrow space. “What were they doing in here?”

“Maybe they were using the crawlspace after the power cut out.”

“Maybe.” Adem bent and fumbled in the debris. He held up a long bone and squinted at it through his faceplate. “That look gnawed to you?” He held the bone in front of Mateo’s helmet.

“Someone ate him?”

“I think we’re in someone’s trashcan. A nice long tunnel to get rid of the garbage.” Adem let go of the bone. It fell lazily, drawn down by mass-grav and sideways by the centripetal force generated by the ship’s tumble. “Let’s go up.” He put his boot on the first step of the ladder and began to climb.

The slight tug downward wasn’t enough to slow them much. It had barely been enough to make the remains collect in the bottom of the crawlspace. About halfway up they encountered another body, its arm hooked on the ladder. Adem looked it over carefully. “It’s a woman. This one didn’t get chewed on.”

“Maybe they weren’t hungry enough yet,” Mateo said.

Adem freed the corpse’s arm and let her drift down toward her crewmates. They had a lot of catching up to do. “Let’s keep going.” He opened the all-channel. “Check. Mateo and I are fine, about halfway up the access shaft to the engine room. We’ve found some bodies.”

Mateo cut in. “Somebody ate them!”

Adem twisted his body to frown at him. “Looks like they lived for a while after the planet went to pieces. What’s going on up there?”

“Reactor’s at eleven percent,” Charlie said. “Can’t see from here if it’s a malfunction or if someone dialed it down on purpose. We found an android that Odessa’s trying to reboot with the codes the captain gave her. She thinks it might be able to help us wake the nearsmart.”

“Be careful,” Adem said. “It will probably demand a clearance code or something before it does you any favors.”

“Odessa says she wasn’t born yesterday, oh Great Leader, but thanks for the advice. Out.”

Mateo and Adem climbed in silence until they reached the hatch to the engine room. “Climb back down a couple of steps,” Adem said. “There might be a pressure difference on the other side.”

Adem waited for Mateo to move then slid the hatch open. The equalizing air pressure hit Adem at gale force. He rocked back, clutching for the ladder with his free hand. He felt Mateo come up behind to keep him on the ladder.

“Looks like there was a pressure difference,” Mateo said.

Adem got his breathing and heart rate back under control and climbed the last few steps of the ladder and into the engineering section.

He woke his comm. “Lucy, how’s it coming on that gas analysis Mateo sent you?”

“It’s air,” she said. “But nothing you want to breathe. It’s full of toxins, probably just from outgassing. If you got the power back on, it might filter clean in a couple of days.”

“Is it touch toxic or only a problem if you breathe it?”

“There’s a good chance it would give you a bad rash and burn your eyes out of your head. It’s real cold in there anyway. No way could you warm it up in time.”

“Looks like we’re stuck in the suits. Out.” He turned in time to see Mateo pull himself out of the crawlspace. “I’ll check the thrusters. You check mass-grav.”

The engine room layout was similar to the one in the Hajj, so Adem had little trouble finding the thruster controls. The control board lit up with a little prodding. “Check,” he said. “Mateo and I are in engineering. Looks like we might have thruster control.”

“Mass-grav is at minimum,” Mateo said. “If you do anything, do it slow and careful.”

“Odessa says the android is in love with her,” Charlie said. “I think they’re getting married, but first it’s helping us get the nearsmart online. Thirty minutes.”

“Ten-four. The automatic controls look okay. I’m going to wake them up and let them do their thing on the tumble. You still secure over there, Lucy?”

“Tight as a tick,” she said. “Just don’t get crazy.”

Adem activated the thruster system’s automatic controls. The floor underneath his feet vibrated as the warship worked to steady itself.

“The tumble is slowing, little brother,” Lucy said. “I can almost look out the window without puking.”

Adem felt the tumble’s effect on the ship diminish. In minutes, the strongest pull was the weakened mass-grav system. He hopped experimentally. “Feels like ten percent gees. Probably as good as we’re going to get it. Mateo, start looking for spare parts. Pack up anything we can pull off without blowing anything up. Lucy, lock the survey ship down and start working on Mom’s laundry list. I’m going to check the engines.”

“Before you do that,” Mateo said, “I think I found the cannibal.”

The cannibal had made its nest in the pressure-suit locker right off mass-grav control.

“I was just checking to see if there was anything in there worth packing up,” Mateo said. “Scared the hell out of me to see him looking out at me like that.”

There were two bodies in the locker, but the one who had propped himself against the wall and shot himself in the head had been male. The corpse stared balefully through slitted eyelids, its brain matter and blood signing the suicide all over the wall behind it. Adem prodded the second body with the toe of his boot. “You think she was dinner or a girlfriend?”

“I’m betting girlfriend.”

“I wonder how long they lived.”

“The whole story is probably on here.” He handed an ancient reader to Adem. “This was beside him.”

Adem slipped the reader into his thigh pocket for later. “I’m guessing these guys weren’t techs. Everything is in good enough shape down here that they could have kept things going for a good long time. Reactor went into emergency mode, stopping everything non-essential. Most of the system failures seem to be due to automatic cutoffs.”

“Maybe the squeezer caused an EM pulse. Fried or tripped all the circuits.”

“We’ll know more when we’ve downloaded everything.” Adem checked the time. “We have about twelve hours left. Focus on anything small and expensive. I’ll wake the reactor up a little more so we can use the lifts.”

“We bringing the bodies back?”

“Maybe we’ll try to get them all in one place so they can rest together, but that’s a low priority.”

“Might be some hard feelings there if this guy ate some of them.”

“We’ll let them work it out.” Adem opened the group channel. “Check. Mateo and I are fine. He’s starting salvage down here. I’m going to play with the reactor a little then head up your way.”

“Ten-four,” Charlie said. “The nearsmart is rebooting. Odessa is babysitting it. This thing is in pretty good shape. If the engines work, we could probably fly it back to Imbeleko and sell it.”

“I’ll let you know when I check the engines.” Adem chewed his lip. “My vote is to cherry-pick the thing and use the thrusters to crash it into the cloud’s center of mass. It’s too haunted.”

Mateo feigned a salute. “There’s a cargo scooter over there. I’ll charge it and load it up.”

“Keep an eye out for androids. They’re probably the biggest bang for the buck. Don’t try to activate them.” Adem left Mateo to scavenge and ducked into the corridor that led to the engine control. The big room beneath it was full of shadows, but there was more than enough light to see that the Hadfield would never fly again. He triggered his comm. “She’s open to vacuum down here, and the engines are twisted off their mounts. Nothing we could fix.”

“Anything in there worth packing up?”

“Not in the time we have left. I’ll poke around the control room for a minute, then we’ll steer clear.” Adem activated the overseer’s control panel. The telltales and screens flickered half-heartedly before coming to attention. A light blinked on the message panel, and Adem stroked the activation button. The message screen lit up to show a young woman. He synced his comm to the message output so he could hear her.

“Unless blowback happens soon, we’re not going to make it, captain. The engines are starting to run hot and the gravity fluctuations are pulling them out of alignment.” Something on the left side of the control console caught the woman’s attention. “Hold on to somethin–!” The screen went dark. Adem wondered what had scared her. Blowback, maybe, whatever that was. He downloaded the message to his reader to study later.

“Mateo, I’m through down here,” he announced. “I’m going forward to help Lucy.”

“Ten-four. Hey, do you have a schematic of the ship’s systems and locations? It would make scavenging a lot easier.”

The captain had deliberately kept that sort of thing scarce to lessen the chance of side missions to the Hadfield’s armory. Rakin was three weeks away and by the time he learned anything useful, the Hadfield would be back in the cloud. “I’ll send you what I have. Call me before you go anywhere dangerous.”