Traveler in the Dark

45

Martham slipped carefully out the bridge door. Al Jahi was just ahead. She tried to be calm as Liu let it glide closed behind them. It wasn't far to the equipment lock, just a few feet. She could practically touch the door frame. But cycling the lock would mean getting into a suit. And that would mean releasing her sweaty grip on the gun. Martham didn't like being vulnerable. It never worked out well for her. Think it through, she told herself, plan ahead. A simple series of steps. She could only assume that Oxwell was unhinged, illogical. Prone to making a mistake. Or many. If she did mean to attack them, the best thing to do was stay calm and follow the plan. She peered down the hallway. It seemed still. "Let's go," whispered Al Jahi. They didn't waste time, shoving off the wall to shoot down the corridor. Martham caught herself on the equipment lock door and swung herself to face it as Al Jahi opened the door.

Still no sign of Oxwell. The lock was empty, a lone communication pad tumbling slowly across the space. Martham caught it and hung it back in its place. Al Jahi was still staring nervously down the hall. Martham crossed to the outer door and stared out the window, looking for Emery. All she saw was unbroken dark. She tried to twist enough to see the side of the ship, but the window was too small.

"I can't see her," she said.

"Maybe she moved to another section of the ship."

"Maybe she let go," said Martham.

"We need to turn the feed back on. I need the cameras."

"If we have the cameras, then Oxwell has them too."

"She already knows where we are—" Al Jahi stopped as a loud clang echoed through the corridor. Martham turned from the window and Al Jahi held one finger up to her lips. They moved down the corridor together. The noise did not repeat and they were forced to check each room.

"Should we split?" asked Martham as they hung undecided between their own quarters and the quarters where Cardiff and Leroux's bodies floated silently.

"No," said Al Jahi. "I'm not going to make it easy for her to pick us off."

"We could ignore her. We've only got another thirty hours before we reach the Keseburg. We could get Emery and hole up in the bridge. No sense in taking unnecessary chances."

"We have to find out why she's doing this. Does she mean for us all to die? Or has she already killed her targets?"

"Does it matter?" spat Martham. "She's already killed plenty of good people. You want to sit down and have a friendly chat about who should go next?"

"I want to find out if any of us are meant to survive. Because if we aren't, she could just repeat what happened in the infirmary. The bridge isn't contained like the labs. An explosion nearby would cause extensive damage to the ship, even if the blast didn't kill us immediately. We have to find her. Waiting it out isn't an option."

"Okay," breathed Martham. "Let's find her then. And after, we turn on the feed and grab Emery."

"This one first," said Al Jahi, pointing to the quarters where their dead crew members waited.

Martham followed her in.

Four left, thought Alice, Three if I got lucky with Blick. I hope they put him out. The idea of Blick suffering was distressing. The botanist had always been kind. More. He'd been good. Blick had been in charge of the Agriculture deck for over thirty years. He and his wife had been able to revive Earth species that hadn't been grown in a thousand years. If anyone could have understood the danger the Keseburg posed to the new planet, it would have been him. Perhaps I should have tried harder to persuade him, she thought, but then dismissed it. It was kinder, not forcing him to make that decision. Just as it had been kinder not to involve Emery. This was Alice's burden. She'd be strong for them all. If there was something after, they would thank her. When all was resolved, they'd see her actions were worth saving a whole world. It was a small cost, thirteen people in exchange for all the lives it would save. Not only on the planet, but on their own ship as well. Alice continued sharpening a stripped sapling from Blick's specimens. It was fitting, she told herself, spinning the small pointed stick, the planet's life rising up to defend itself from invasion. She was only helping it succeed. A loud clang outside the lab made her head jerk up and stare at the door. Time to whittle it down to three. Or two. She peeled herself from the velcro of her seat and gathered up her tools. The biology lab was a maze of brightly lit tanks and work stations and she wove through them, listening. But the space outside the lab door was silent. She let the door slide open and held herself against the corner of the doorframe. The flash of a suit in the doorway of one of the sleeping quarters and then the corridor was empty.