Claustrophobia

Chapter Five - Crorst - 6

Z9 found herself wandering the shores of Crorst not far away from where Ystrasson had welcomed the day outside The Setting Suns. For the moment, with Helios docked up a few miles away and with almost nobody nearby, she had her eyes half closed as she walked, the sand still warm against her feet in the night. Everything was calm and tranquil. She wasn't sure if she liked it, and she wasn't sure if she ever would like things to be calm, but she tried to enjoy it all the same.

She sat down on the sand, knowing that sand would fall off the dress when she got up to leave not a speck remaining. She sent a silent thank you to Mark23 for this particular feature. Overhead the stars began their dance, the distant outline of Habios, Crorst's twin, in the far distance like a friend sitting down beside her to relax along with her.

What is it that's coming? Z9 asked herself. What is it that is about to begin?

She let her mind wander over everything she had seen since arriving on Helios, running over the blueprints she had infoslept beforehand, watching a little dot of Ser-Serad descend a staircase on the mental map.

'That's down to one of the maintenance bays,' she said to herself. She would have to investigate soon. Now, perhaps?

She thought about it. Helios would undoubtedly be emptier than usual, but the security might be higher. Stowaways would be a nuisance to be eradicated by extra checks and, possibly, armed guards. Z9 hadn't seen any so far, hadn't seen the flash of the barrel of a gun save for the feel of her own in her room, but she suspected there must be some there.

Possibly down below?

Where Ser-Serad had gone?

She double checked the information in her head. Maintenance bay was all the information she had been given, a little silver outline of a room about twice as big as her cabin, and not even any idea about what was in the room.

'What's he got down there?'

For Z9 was convinced that he must have something down there now. Something physical, a weapon of some kind seemed the most likely. She had reflected on this possibility before, but had ruminated on the idea that perhaps he had gone down simply to look the place over.

In her mind she saw herself watching the figure descend those steps, the silent way he seemed to float down into the black, almost merging through the STAFF ONLY sign that had been placed on the rope strung across the entranceway. It seemed eerie, somewhat ghostly and supernatural. Z9 hated the supernatural.

She got up from the beach, going to brush herself down and finding that, as Mark23 had said, not a grain of sand was still on her dress.

'Miracle worker,' Z9 said to herself.

She headed back towards the city and to the ship beyond.