IK STEELED HIMSELF to remain calm, even after watching his friend glide out into a dark emptiness which almost immediately came alive with bizarre glimmerings and twists of light. Bandicut had appeared to tumble, then fall feet-first into a ghostly whirlpool. Soon after he'd vanished from view, Ik felt his rope go slack. When he gave it an experimental tug, the other end sailed out of the darkness back to him, and the rope contracted into a coil in his hand. He could only curse in silence.
The strange lighting effects did not go away, but kept mutating, like a living thing. The Neri floating with Ik looked extremely agitated, and were no doubt terrified. One of them fled. Even S'Cali and L'Kell looked as if they wanted to. L'Kell was gazing somberly into the room, probably convinced that their friend was gone. For Ik, though, the continued play of light signified hope for Bandicut's survival. John Bandicut was a difficult person to kill. If something in there was still reacting to his presence, then perhaps Bandicut was still alive.
Ik kept silent, reminding himself to take the long view. And that meant not just faith in Bandicut, but a willingness to accept it if Bandicut were really gone. It was a good and useful exercise. And it was a damnably hard viewpoint to keep up.
It seemed he had been waiting a lifetime. He waited a few more lifetimes—and then he saw movement. He lost his composure and shouted madly at the Neri to move, move, move!
The madness room flickered and went dark, and John Bandicut came tumbling out of the darkness like a bouncing ball, head over heels. Ik was too clumsy in the water to assist, but the Neri flashed into position like fish, catching Bandicut with ease— Bandicut, and the lander he held in his arms.
The lander!
Ik made rapid arm strokes, moving slowly toward them. "John Bandicut!" His voice wasn't getting through. But now he could see Bandicut's eyes fluttering inside his helmet. Obviously he was disoriented, and possibly he was hurt. As Ik reached out to catch the human's arm, he got a look at the lander, limp in its diving gear. Was it alive? Ik couldn't see its eyes. He touched it, felt for movement or warmth, but couldn't feel a thing.
The Neri were crowding around them, L'Kell saying, "Let's get out of here. Let's get to the transport, before something else happens." L'Kell's voice was thin and metallic, but vibrating with urgency. He waved to the other Neri, and Ik felt two of them grab his straps, and they all began moving. He kept a tight grip on Bandicut and the lander, and counted the moments until they could get back to open air.
*
Bandicut was conscious but woozy as the Neri towed them down one corridor after another, toward . . . no, it didn't look as if they were returning to the chamber they had come from. He hadn't heard the plans. Maybe they were going to another air chamber. He wanted very badly to get this helmet off and stop trying to be a fish. He wanted to get his breath and rest. He could hear the Neri talking among themselves, but he didn't bother straining to hear what they were saying. They would tell him soon enough.
He kept a viselike grip on the lander's gear straps, dimly aware that he and it and Ik were all being towed together like a harpooned whale. He caught momentary glimpses through the creature's faceplate, as the lantern light came and went with the swimmers' movements. He could just tell that the lander's eyes were open, though it looked more dead than alive. Probably it was deep in some equivalent of shock. Was it suffering from air starvation? Or from the effects of the stardrive room? He wondered if there was anything he could do to help it.
/// I'm, uh, feeling a little better.
Maybe I could take a look— ///
/If you do,/ Bandicut muttered, /be damned careful./ One of these days, the quarx was going to reach out to make contact with someone, and they would regret it.
". . . okay? . . . let us take him? . . . try to relax . . ."
Who was that? He finally realized that it was L'Kell, talking to him. "Um—what did you say?" he grunted, probably not loudly enough to be heard.
"John Bandicut, are you all right?" L'Kell's voice was clearer and more urgent now.
"I think so . . ."
"Can you let go of the lander?"
"I—"
/// Don't. This is difficult. ///
His breath caught, and he realized that Charlie was already trying to make contact across the suit, water, and skin boundary. "Uh, no—" he said hoarsely to L'Kell "—let me carry him. He's hurt, I think. Needs help."
The Neri looked at him in puzzlement, but allowed him to maintain his grip on the lander. "We're going to try to get you all out of here," L'Kell said, and they glided down the gloomy, curving corridors like spirits in the night, or bats in a haunted house.
*
/// Hold on.
The stones are picking up
some radiation. ///
He was startled. /Radiation? What kind of radiation?/
/// I'll ask, but let's call a stop.
The biggest danger is to the Neri.
And the lander. ///
Bandicut blinked, and shouted to the Neri, "Stop, please! Radiation!" The Neri halted, alarmed, as he turned slowly, trying to look around. "Where are we? What is this passageway?" Was that a blue glow he saw ahead? Cerenkov radiation?
L'Kell moved closer. "We are making our way to another part of the wreck. There is a large—" kkriiikk "—cargo submarine, which we will use to transport the wounded and the captive. We believe this may be a good time to get out. It will soon be daylight outside. But there are not many landers around right now."
Bandicut was surprised. "You have a cargo sub here?"
"It is docked inside, on the other side of the ship. It is used to transport machinery, but it has been unable to get away. Until now, we hope."
Used to transport machinery? Bandicut suddenly recalled an image he had glimpsed during his contact with the stardrive: a view of the ship's passengers leaving the wreck after the crash and going ashore—and later, much later, returning to begin removing pieces of the ship. But there were different kinds of beings who came, and who took away pieces. Landers. Neri.
He suddenly realized that L'Kell had spoken again.
"John Bandicut—the radiation?"
The radiation! /Charlie?/
/// It seems to be primarily in the gamma wavelength.
Probably emanating from a fixed source,
not radionuclides being carried in the water. ///
Bandicut tried to think that through. If radioactive materials weren't physically being dispersed through the water, then they must have strayed close to the reactor itself. "L'Kell, we need to back up. Are we near anything like a cracked bulkhead—or any other indication of the reactor that I warned you about?"
L'Kell waved the others into retreat. "Something that we think might be the reactor is nearby, yes—but we've stayed upcurrent of it. We thought as long as we were upcurrent, and the water was cold . . ."
"Yeah, that's what I thought, too. But maybe there's a shield missing from the reactor area."
/// The radiation is falling off, ///
Char said, as they retreated around a bend in the corridor.
"We're safe here," Bandicut said to L'Kell. "But we have to find another way around."
They began backtracking, searching for a new route. This was clearly a part of the ship that the Neri did not know well. The corridors seemed to Bandicut to curve around like coils of rope unwinding. He wasn't sure if it was the layout of the ship, or a change in his perceptions resulting from the encounter with the stardrive.
/// A little of both, maybe.
This is very intriguing, John. ///
/Glad you're enjoying it. Have you made any progress—any contact?/ The lander was starting to stir in his grip.
/// Of a sort, though not verbal.
I believe he is aware of my presence,
without comprehending it. ///
/That's probably a good way to leave it for now,/ Bandicut thought. The last thing he needed at the moment was an internal alien encounter.
It took him a while to work it out, but the passages were apparently laid out in helical patterns that corkscrewed through the ship like worms tunneling through an apple. Possibly drunken worms. There were frequent openings and intersections, many of them set at odd and awkward angles. Several times, they passed through wider chambers in which strange-looking machines hugged the walls. Science labs? Control rooms? Cafeterias? It all looked, in the glow of the lanterns, like the remains of civilization from some mythical Atlantis, completely transformed from its original function.
"Do you know where this ship came from?" Bandicut asked L'Kell. He wanted to bite his tongue the instant the words were out. Not now, he thought.
L'Kell seemed puzzled by the question. "You know we don't. The sea is full of sunken vessels. This one is different, but—"
"As though built by someone else?"
L'Kell swam closer, then away, almost as if pacing in a Neri conference. "Yes," he said. "It's different, not just in machines, but in shape. We have often wondered what offshoot of our ancestors built it."
"I think," Bandicut said, "it is far more different than you know."
L'Kell, without answering, seemed thoughtful as he swam on.
*
Eventually the passageway opened into a very wide and high space, relatively well lit by a large number of Neri lanterns. Occupying the floor of the space were several small, alien-looking vessels—spacecraft?—plus a submarine of considerable size. They swam closer. As they approached the sub, the space lit up with a burst of dazzling light—sunlight, Bandicut realized, squinting. The far wall of the great room was being opened, tilted outward, by Neri swimmers. Hangar doors! It must be morning outside, and even the pale sunlight that reached this depth was dazzling after the interminable gloom of the ship's interior.
L'Kell led them to the sub, where long doors were propped open, revealing flooded cargo compartments. Bandicut noted plenty of salvaged machinery littering the floor of the hangar, while the sub's cargo bay was filled with the outstretched forms of disabled Neri—including, he thought, some of the individuals he and Ik had attempted to heal. "Medical express to the city, on track one," he murmured.
"This is the only working sub left here, except the one you and I came in," L'Kell said. "We're going to leave the small one for those staying behind." Bandicut said nothing, but wondered why they were leaving Neri swimmers here. To maintain their claim on the ship? Or to guard and repair the damaged sub? "We can lock you through into the dry compartment," L'Kell said.
Bandicut felt a sudden jerk, as the lander started twitching in his grip. He caught a glimpse of the being's eyes, and thought he saw consciousness—and fear. Perhaps he couldn't accurately identify fear in the gaze of a lander, but he was sure of one thing: the being was in distress. "Can you lock the lander through, too?"
L'Kell hesitated. "We should secure him in back, I think."
"He won't survive there," Bandicut said sharply. "He should ride with us." The lander was struggling weakly as they spoke.
L'Kell opened his webbed hands. "I don't see how we can—"
"You can secure him up front, for God's sake! I doubt his diving gear can tolerate the depth of your city. For all we know, he could be running out of air right now!"
"But—"
"His diving gear might not pull air out of the water the way yours does! Trust me! We can guard him inside!"
"Very well," said L'Kell, looking genuinely puzzled. "He will be inside." Bandicut heard mutterings of complaint from some of the other Neri; but having decided, L'Kell held firm.
They floated into the forward cargo compartment, and Bandicut and Ik maneuvered into position beneath the airlock. They held the lander between them, and Ik gave his rope a couple of turns around the being. When the airlock membrane shimmered grey, L'Kell gestured, and they hoisted the lander up into the airlock, where Neri hands from above took hold and pulled him inside.
Bandicut went next. It was an awkward business, getting through the airlock with the breathing gear. By the time he was in the sub, he was panting from the exertion. The lander was slumped against a bulkhead. Bandicut squinted through his foggy visor, trying to see whether it was still breathing; it looked motionless. Damn, he thought. It's dying. "Get it out of its helmet!" he shouted, through his own hood. The attending Neri jumped at the shout, and began removing his helmet. "No, no!" he protested. But it was hopeless; he let them finish, and as soon as the thing came off his head, he shouted, "Get his helmet off!" and pointed urgently at the lander.
The Neri looked puzzled—and reluctant. Bandicut struggled to clamber over on his hands and knees, still wearing the awkward gear on his own back, to where he could get at the lander's helmet and mask. He fought to pull it off, but it wouldn't budge. Where was the clasp? He clawed at the thing, but was too exhausted to think straight, and with sweat and salt water in his eyes, he couldn't see very well, either.
The Neri finally moved in to help. They hissed and squawked at each other, but quickly removed the helmet. When the lander's head was exposed, they murmured excitedly. Obviously they were all seeing a lander for the first time.
Bandicut's first thought was that it looked a little like a short-nosed fox. It had the triangularity of face, and the tufted ears, and the short brown fur. Or perhaps it was not fur, after all, but a coarsely textured skin. Its two eyes were closed to thin slits, and Bandicut feared that they really had been too late.
/// May I? ///
/Uh? Of course./ Bandicut reached out a shaky hand and touched the lander on the side of the head, just a light brush of the fingertips. Its skin felt rough, and cool to the touch. Bandicut drew back slightly at the sensation.
/// It's alive, John.
Returning to consciousness. ///
Bandicut muttered in silent gratitude, and wished he could speak to the lander.
/// I'm trying to do just that. ///
The creature's eyes fluttered momentarily, then closed again. There was a noise behind Bandicut. Ik staggered from the airlock, followed a moment later by L'Kell. The Neri hastened to take Ik's helmet off, and the Hraachee'an leaned close to Bandicut. "You were in time!" he rasped.
The lander's eyes were open, staring at Bandicut. Its eyes had round pupils like a human's, surrounded by concentric rings of iris, and no white at all. The iris rings were colored in shades of brown, yellow, and orange, giving it an intense-looking gaze. It stared at Bandicut for a long time, then finally flicked its eyes around the compartment, taking in the Neri, and pausing for a moment on Ik. Then its gaze returned to Bandicut. Was it aware that Bandicut had saved it, or that he was the source of the quarx's inner touch? It had seen Neri before, no doubt, but what did it make of a human face, or the bony, sculpted features of a Hraachee'an?
Bandicut placed a finger to his lips, then his ear. "Can you hear me?" The lander's pointed ears perked slightly. "My name—" he pressed a hand to his chest "—is John. John."
Clearly the lander heard him, because its ears twitched and moved like small antennas. But it made no sound in reply. Did it have a voice? Bandicut wondered. Perhaps it was in too much shock to speak.
"We do not mean to harm you," he said, resting his hands in his lap, with palms open. He glanced up at the Neri crowded around in the cramped passenger compartment, and hoped that they would honor his statement of reassurance, even if they personally desired retribution for their ill and wounded.
/// He does not understand you. ///
/I didn't expect he would. But I want him to know that we're at least trying to communicate with him. I thought, if nothing else, he might sense the tone. It was a long shot./
/// I have inquired of the stones,
whether they would like to offer
daughters to the lander. ///
/And?/
/// It's not an option.
They need a much longer period of regeneration
before they can divide again. ///
/Too bad,/ Bandicut thought, cocking his head to study the lander.
"We should be underway shortly," L'Kell said. He urged the other Neri forward to the cockpit. "The last of the wounded are aboard, and we're draining the holds. Do you want to get your gear off?"
Bandicut had almost forgotten the encumbering Neri diving suit. With L'Kell's help, he shrugged out of it; then they helped Ik out of his. Finally, with care, they removed what they could of the lander's gear. The being made no effort to resist. "Gonna be a crowded trip back," Bandicut murmured. The compartment already stank from the closeted bodies of four different species from various worlds. But he was grateful they were all still alive to be making the trip at all.
"How are the wounded?" Ik inquired.
"Some better, some worse," L'Kell answered. He stowed the gear and called forward to see if they were ready to move. He was answered by a lurch, as the Neri pilot applied thrust.
Bandicut could just see out a small side window. He glimpsed the walls of the wreck's hangar, then felt the brightening as they passed out into the sunlight. After the tomblike darkness of the wreck's interior, even this attenuated sunlight was like having a curtain of gloom stripped away.
"Guuh."
He blinked, turning his head. The lander had just spoken. It was craning its neck to try to see outside. Bandicut sat back to give it a clearer view of the window. Probably that burst of sunlight was like a breath of fresh air to it; probably it was hoping against hope that they would, somehow, be heading surfaceward.
Bandicut closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, feeling for the captive. It was only a few seconds later that he felt the sub angle downward, beginning its descent. If there were any lander divers in pursuit, they would soon be left behind.
The lander probably thought he was deep in the ocean now. You don't even know what deep is, Bandicut thought pityingly. Get your last view of sunlight while you can. It could be the last view you'll have for a long, long time.