Traveler in the Dark

43

Alice floated through the lock and opened the far door. Captain Al Jahi was still shouting at Liu and Martham. She slid past the bridge without a word. There was no reason to alert them. This had to be done, but it needn't cause them anxiety. She made her way into the biology lab. It was untouched, a small bulge in the far wall the only indication of the explosion in her own lab. Alice hovered over the specimen tanks. Spixworth's bugs skittered through most of them, but Spike had also been brought along. Its corpse was frozen on the dissection board, waiting for Martham. A sudden, painful memory of Spixworth swept her as she looked at it. She shook it off. Everything aboard would be dead in a matter of days anyhow, without Blick to manage feedings. The lids were easily removed. She didn't wait to watch the insects escape. They'd spread over the Wolfinger in time. She had a half-hope that they'd breed and the Keseburg would find their crew lying under an inch of alien bugs. Rebecca would have hated it. Alice closed her eyes. It's for the good of all, she told herself again, and pulled the dead rodent from the cryo tray. It took a pair of pliers and several patient minutes to remove a few spines. She placed them in the pocket of her suit and released the small corpse. It floated slowly across the lab and bumped into another tank, its remaining spikes rasping against the glass. Alice ignored it and moved on to Blick's station. She eyed the seed pods that Issk'ath had identified. What had it called them? Something with a hiss. Or a click. She couldn't remember. Just that it was supposed to be a deadly neurotoxin if burst. Blick had put large red warnings on all sides of the tank. She pulled a filtration mask from the wall. Alice unplugged the filters and unsealed the terrariums. A last resort. In case she couldn't do it painlessly. The pod broke off easily from the stem. Its skin was leathery and dimpled, like an underinflated ball. She slid it gently into the pocket at her knee and continued opening tanks. She wanted the samples to be dead by the time the Wolfinger was found so they wouldn't tempt the Keseburg to risk another attempt at the planet. Martham's tool set glittered in tidy lines above her sink. Alice unclipped several dissection probes and stuffed them beside the bony spines in her jacket pocket. They were roughly the correct shape and size to match Issk'ath's tarsus. Especially if the only thing the Keseburg had to compare it to was feed video of the robot. She wondered if Rebecca had persuaded it to let go yet. One thing at a time, she told herself.

Leroux was checking Dr. Cardiff's blood toxicity. Blick snored in the bunk above her head. "How is she?" Alice asked. She closed the door behind her and slid closer.

Leroux frowned. "I think she's improving, but without the feed— these hand tools are ancient. I'm not even certain they are calibrated correctly. I hope the robot is gone soon and we can—" she stopped, realizing what she'd said. "Flaming Core, Oxwell, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I just— I forgot Emery was out there too."

Alice sighed and rubbed her eyes with one hand. "I understand. We're all exhausted. I just— want to put all of this behind us. I want to get home safe. I know I'm in shock. We all are. Eventually, it'll hit me, who we've lost, how much this mission has cost."

"It seems cold to say, but when Peter Titov and Captain Al Jahi's kids and all the rest are running around down there, their deaths will be worth it."

"Yes. Our people's safety. That's what this is all for, isn't it?" Alice palmed one of the dissection probes in her pocket.

Leroux nodded and tapped a number into the lab pad from her tool. She floated over to her medical kit anchored in the corner of the room. "You have anyone waiting for you?" she asked, turning back to Alice, who seized her chance. Alice shoved her feet against the wall behind her and shot across the small space, slamming into Leroux. The medic was flung backward into the wall and Alice grabbed the heating duct beside Leroux's head, using her momentum to jam her elbow just below Leroux's chin. Leroux gasped and raked her hands over Alice's arm, leaving light scratches but doing little to free her. Alice pulled the dissection probe from her pocket with the other hand and reared back. She overshot, accidentally loosening her hold on Leroux. She hadn't been prepared for the lack of gravity, but Leroux was still in shock and Alice slammed the probe into the center of her forehead before the medic could move. She swore as it sank in half an inch and stopped cold. Leroux was trying to scream, but Alice's elbow was still thrust against her voicebox. Alice let go of the probe only to slam the heel of her hand against the silver end. She felt it grind and then pop farther in. She let go of Leroux, using both hands to twist the probe. She had to break an artery, Leroux didn't need to suffer. Leroux grappled with her, trying desperately to push her away, but Alice clung on.