Astronomicon: Behemoth

Chapter 32 - Assault

Aron could still see their E.V.A. suit lights sparkling but the commander and accompanying L.E.O.s had almost disappeared into the darkness of the corridor ahead. He realised that it was only a matter of time before he lost radio contact in this place and he did not much like the idea of being along away from the Arcadian anyway. More than that, the buggy was their best hope of escape if they met a superior force.

He reactivated the buggy's motors and set off after them. Within twenty metres, he reached the cat people trolley-buggy, parked in the middle of the corridor. At first, he wondered about climbing off his own buggy and finding out if he could move the cat one out of the way but then he had a different and more appealing idea.

The alien vehicle was slightly right of centre, so he aimed his buggy for the left side of the corridor and slowed a little. The buggy's driver-side wheel scrabbled for a moment against the nearest wing of the alien vehicle's wide platform then climbed the twenty or so centimetres off the ground and mounted the platform, depressing the alien vehicle very slightly.

Aron drove carefully forwards with his buggy canted heavily to the left. Moments later, the rear wheel made the same climb, tilting his buggy a little further. He kept his speed low until the front wheel dropped off the rear of the alien vehicle's platform, bouncing a little on the soft suspension. Not waiting for the rear wheel to drop too, he accelerated hard.

In less than a minute, he had caught up with his crewmates again. They turned and watched him approach. He slowed to less than a walking pace and all three men set about climbing back on board.

"Where do you reckon we'll find these cat people, Mr Nowak?" asked the commander.

"I thought we were searching for Bettino?" Aron replied.

"He'll no doubt be heading for where the cat people are. Find them and we find him."

"I have no definite information on their whereabouts, but it seems like a sensible assumption that they would be in another hangar like ours. All the doors we've found, apart from our airlock, are on that side of the corridor." He gestured to the right side of the corridor. "There may be just hangar doors on the other side. If the next hangar is the same size as ours, it's going to be about half a kilometre along this left wall."

"Five hundred metres? How big is this place?"

"Our hangar is over a kilometre in diameter," Aron chuckled. "If they are touching circles, the airlock doors should be one diameter apart. Based on how far we've travelled already, there should be something like 450 to 550 metres left until the next hangar entrance."

"This place is huge!" exclaimed one of the L.E.O.s. Aron still was not sure which.

"Is Mr Pastore aware of this theory?" asked the commander.

"He should be. He was there when we discussed it. If he planned to attack the cat people, seems like the obvious place to go."

"Damn it, and with the amount of time he's been out here alone, he could easily have walked that far."

"Yes, Commander," Aron replied. "If he exerts himself, he'll use up his oxygen quicker."

"So, either he ran there and may have run out by now, or he took an easy walk there and he's probably still got oxygen?"

"Assuming he hasn't got himself shot," added one of the L.E.O.s.

"I'm hoping he hasn't," Aron sighed.

"Mr Nowak, put your foot down. I want to get to that hangar door as soon as is possible."

"Yes, Commander," smiled Aron. "Just don't forget that it's only an educated guess, at best, that it's there."