by Erica Rue
“Can’t hurt,” he replied, slipping it into the belt of his suit. He wished he had brought a gun with him, but there had been no time. If they hadn’t stolen that Flyer when the Aratians were packing it with supplies, he never would have gotten the chance to come here.
Dione kept picking at her piecemeal outfit, then looking at Brian. “I look ridiculous,” she said, tucking the gloves into her pocket. “You look like those coveralls were made for you.”
“Yep, completely ridiculous,” he said.
Dione rolled her eyes. She slipped her hand into his before leading him away to their next stop, the medical bay. The med bay had been cleared out, too, except for a small cabinet that Jameson had left stocked with a spray to treat burns.
“Lucky for us,” Dione said. “I guess he kept this here in case he got a few burns on his way in.”
“I don’t see anything here that can slice through a dragon, though,” Brian said.
“Nothing chemical either.” Dione seemed disappointed. “And fire won’t do any good against them. I don’t think we can focus on trying to kill them. We need to keep them away from us altogether, but I’m hesitant to rely solely on the dragon song.”
“What if we adjust the temperature controls on the last section? Freeze them out?” Brian suggested. “If they’re ectotherms, it will definitely slow them down. Maybe even stop them.”
“That’s… actually a great idea,” Dione said. “I bet we can do that from the main bridge.”
As they were leaving, a fire extinguisher caught Dione’s eye. It was wearable and not too bulky, with a short hose. “We should grab that, too,” she said, removing her pack so the extinguisher could take its place.
Brian dutifully put her pack on his free shoulder, removed the extinguisher from the wall, and strapped it to her back. Though compact, it was still quite heavy, and he watched her shift her weight from one leg to the other.
Once they reached the bridge, Dione went immediately to the console to adjust the temperature in the colonizer’s last segment.
“Can I borrow your manumed?” Brian asked. “I want to update my dad.”
When his father picked up, he filled him in on all they’d learned. “They’re focused on that last segment,” he said. “You should be able to safely come on board.”
“No, you still need someone to keep an eye out. I’ll bet that once you start poking around, the dragons out here might try something. If they do, I’ll be able to warn you.”
“It’s safer inside the ship,” Brian replied.
“I’ve found a good spot, son. I’m well hidden, but I can still see them.”
“Dad, please,” Brian begged.
“I’ve avoided these dragons for a long time. I can manage one more morning. Just don’t leave me behind once you get the ship running.”
He could hear the smile in his father’s voice. “There’s no danger of that,” Brian replied.
He relented in the end , but he still wished his father would come inside the safety of the ship.
By the end of their conversation, Dione was still trying to access the climate controls. Brian took a look, but he also came up with nothing.
“Time to call someone?” he asked.
“I can’t call the professor,” she replied.
He nodded. “Sorry, that’s my fault.”
Dione scoffed. “Hardly. I made this choice. I came here with you of my own free will. Maybe Zane can help.”
Brian returned her manumed to her outstretched hand and waited as she spoke with Zane.
“Zane, do you have a minute?”
“Uh, sure. But be quick.”
“Why, what’s going on?” Dione asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Bel and Oberon are with me. We’re on our way back to the Vale Temple now. Lithia’s doing well, considering the broken ribs.”
“What?!”
“She didn’t tell you?” Zane sounded surprised.
“No, she—we—have mostly been doing check-ins. Last night’s was the usual message: ‘alive.’”
“So I’m guessing you didn’t hear about the coup?”
“Are you messing with me right now?”
“Nope. That’s why we’re headed to the Vale Temple. Elijah and the Green Cloaks have taken over.”
“Who’s Elijah?” Dione asked.
“The bad guy. Look, I don’t have much time before I need to go silent. If you want help, ask now.”
There it was again. Brian wondered what Dione had done to this guy to make him treat her this way.
Dione explained the problem. “So how do I access the environmental controls?” she asked.
“You won’t be able to do it,” Zane said.
“Why didn’t it have a problem when I tried to detach the last segment then?”
“It can detect it’s damaged, so the safety protocols allow anyone to detach it so it doesn’t compromise the other segments,” he said. “But environmental controls are finicky and vital. I’m not surprised they’re one of the restricted systems.”
“So if we were in space, I could jettison the entire compartment, but not adjust the AC?”
“Yep.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Welcome to Systems Design 101. Check your logic at the door.”
Dione groaned. “What now?”
“You can adjust the environmental controls from within the compartment.”
“With no access code?”
“Yep. If it’s ‘in distress,’ anyone can fix it,” Zane said.
“What if I was a saboteur?”
“There are a few other safeguards, like a lockout from someone with access codes, but I’m guessing there’s no one there to lock you out. In case there’s an emergency, like a fire, the people who are closest and best poised to help don’t have to worry about getting access. They can just fix the problem.”
“Still seems weird to me,” Dione said.
“Yeah, it was just a style of ship back then,” Zane said. “Colonizers, where there was some degree of trust and community, were more likely to have this setup.”
“Where would the controls be?”
“Probably right at the entrance to the segment. Look for an access point when you go to the second segment, and the final segment should have one in about the same place.”
“Got it. Thanks,” Dione said.
“Anything else? I’ll be out of contact soon.”
“Nothing except for good luck, Zane. Bel and Oberon, too.”
“Thanks,” Zane replied. He hesitated for a few seconds. “You, too.”
Brian cocked his head as she closed out the call. “Why does he hate you?”
Dione shrugged. “He doesn’t hate me, but he doesn’t like me either. In fact, since we’ve been on Kepos, he’s warmed up to me.”
“That was warmed-up?”
“Yeah, it’s a long story. Part of it is my fault, but part of the reason he dislikes me is something I have no control over.”
Brian nodded. He could relate. Victoria had always taken her anger at his father’s departure out on him.
They reached the door to the final section. “You ready?” he asked.
Dione took a deep breath. “Yeah, let’s do this.”
35. DIONE
So much had happened since that first Ven attack on the Calypso, and Dione had defied the odds time and again. When she and Lithia had crashed on the planet, she had defied her own expectations. She had learned so much, had grown so much, but this fear she felt was becoming her new normal. In fact, the line between fear and exhilaration was beginning to blur a little.
Zane had left her with so many questions. No one had filled her in on the problems they were facing. She couldn’t help from where she was, but they still should have told her. Lithia especially. A coup. She could hardly believe it.
She looked at Lithia’s message from last night. Alive.
Not good enough, she thought, and sent a reply to her best friend:
Be careful. Stay more than alive. Stay safe.
“You can leave my pack here,” she told Brian. “I’m leaving the stun rifle, too. It won’t do any good against the dragons and might get damaged in the heat.”
She had her knife and the fire extinguisher. Brian had his nail gun and machete. She nodded. From here on out, they would have to be quiet. Brian opened the door, and a wave of heat washed over her, stinging her eyes. She blinked and tried not to cough from the smoky air. The ship’s environmental systems had filtered out most of the smoke, but the scent remained strong, like the smell of clothes after a bonfire.
The two segments were like night and day, and she and Brian stepped out of their safe, well-lit hallway into the final segment’s dark corridor. The main lights were out, and the red emergency lighting gave the illusion of unseen fires glowing against the walls.
Dione was heartened, however, by the lack of blackened and melted materials. She suspected that the dragons didn’t spend much time near the door they had just come through. She quickly identified the access panel, located just inside the door. They would only have to take a few steps into the dragon-infested section in order to crank the environmental controls and freeze out the reptilian pests. The corridor was dragon-free, so Dione went immediately to the panel. It would take some time for the environmental controls to cool such a large ship, especially if there were breaches.
“That should do it,” she said. “I’m dropping this section to five degrees Celsius. That’s enough to immobilize most cold-blooded creatures. The dragons are so large we’ll have to wait a bit for the cold to take effect. Let’s wait where it’s safe.” She eyed the next set of closed doors down the corridor, wondering what lay behind them.
The two went back into the middle segment to wait for the final segment to cool down.
Brian sat against the wall, eyes fixed on the door they would soon head back through.
“If this works, and we manage to get this ship flying, what will happen?” he asked.
Dione sat next to him, close enough that their shoulders touched. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll take the fabricator to the Field Temple, so you can rebuild. I don’t think there’s enough room at the Mountain Base.”
“But what about after that? Will this ship really get you home?”
Dione turned to look at him. She had been trying not to think about the “after” very hard.
She would go home. That hope filled her a sense of purpose that made her feel like she could face down any obstacle, even dragons. But so much had happened in the past couple of weeks that she felt a connection to this place. More importantly, she felt a connection to him.
“I’m sure Zane and Lithia and Oberon will want to do a bunch of checks on the colonizer before we leave,” she said.
“Before you go home,” he said.
Dione nodded. His former anger was gone, and he didn’t say what they were both thinking. She would be leaving. Whatever was going on between them would end. Her heart ached a little as she realized something for the first time.
She would never return to Kepos. This planet was outside the Bubble. It didn’t exist, according to Alliance records, and she imagined there was a reason for that. She suspected that no private citizens would be making trips here. No colonizers bringing supplies. No trade, no infusion of genetic diversity. Her earlier thoughts on the matter had been wishful thinking.
She would find a way to protect Kepos. To provide for it. She’d talk to her father.
Dione shivered. Though the temperature of the middle section remained constant, the thought of what they were about to face unnerved her. Brian put an arm around her, and she rested her head against his shoulder. He was warm and comfortable. She would miss him.
The sentiment suddenly seemed silly to her. “I may be leaving, but I’m not gone yet. Let’s make the most of our time without worrying about that for now.” It was something Lithia might say.
Brian smiled. “You’re right. Who knows? We might not survive the dragons anyway.”
Dione rolled her eyes and returned his grin. Without further warning, he kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her, and she felt like she belonged in his embrace. His kisses were familiar and comforting.
An annoying chime sounded, signaling that it was time to go, and they broke apart. Brian gave her one final kiss on the cheek before getting up and offering her a hand. She took it and held on, even after she was on her feet.
“There are some warmer spots, but most of the segment is at or near five degrees.”
“Then let’s get this over with,” Brian replied.
She squeezed his hand in earnest. “Be careful,” she said.
Brian squeezed hers back before releasing it. “Tired of saving me?”
Dione didn’t laugh, the lightness of the previous moment already gone. “Yes. I’ve got your back, so don’t do something reckless.”
Brian nodded. “Understood. Let my dad know we’re headed in. If he notices anything outside, he can tell us.”
“Got it.” Dione sent Oliver a quick message.
The pair reviewed their plan one last time. Go down the corridor, cross the ship at the cut-through, then go back up the other side. Enter the maintenance tunnel near the starboard door and manually override the mechanism locking the two segments together. Avoid dragons. They would avoid the first level, which the dragons had completely claimed. They would also avoid the maintenance tunnels, except to repair the separation mechanism. The second level was their only way in and out of this segment.
They reentered the final segment, now much colder, and proceeded down the corridor to the first set of doors. Brian paused in front of them, looking to Dione. She nodded her assent and readied her fire extinguisher. Brian brandished the machete.
When the doors opened, they saw two dragons just on the other side. They had rolled onto their sides like dogs, sleeping. Or comatose. The frigid air had done its work.
But what were these two doing here? Dione glanced down the corridor and realized she could see all the way down. None of the other doors were closed.
“I think these were on guard duty. What if they heard us when we came in to adjust environmental controls, but got stopped by this door?”
“Doesn’t matter now,” he replied.
“I guess you’re right. Should we… take care of them?” Dione knew the answer. Yes, they should kill them. It would be foolish to leave threats at their back; she had learned that lesson already. But killing a dragon, an intelligent creature whose ferocity was born of protective instinct, felt much different than killing a Ven. Dione and Brian were intruders, invading their nest. Threatening their offspring. The choice to kill in this case was more difficult to make, but no less necessary.
Get a grip. Kill or be killed, she thought.
“I’ll do it,” Brian said. He probably sensed her turmoil. “They may be sleeping, but we don’t want to deal with them if they wake up.”
She expected him to raise the machete, but instead he pulled the nail gun from his belt loop. He put it to the dragon’s head and pulled the trigger, quick and painless. Brian dispatched the other dragon in the same way, and they continued on down the corridor.
As they neared the cut-through that would take them to the other side of the ship, Dione felt the air around them grow warmer.
She put a hand on Brian’s shoulder to stop him.
“The fire,” she said. “It’s probably enough to keep the ones near it mobile. If we can sneak by unnoticed…”
She got a call from Oliver.
“What is it?” she whispered, cuing him into the need for quiet.
“The dragons out here are acting strange,” he said. Dione strained to make out his words. “They’ve stopped patrolling, and are piling sticks and other kindling at the entrance they’ve been using. It’s a dragon-sized hole in the side of the ship. Others are taking the sticks inside.”
“More fires,” Brian whispered. “Trying to raise the temperatu
res.”
“A few that came out of the ship looked off, stumbling a bit, but they’ve recovered,” Oliver said.
“Must have gotten out before the cold got them,” Brian said.
“I think they’re trying to heat a path back to the nest inside. They’re working double time.”
“Then we need to get over to the other side of the ship and detach the segment before we get swarmed,” Dione said.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” Brian said.
“Of course. Let me know if you need a distraction.”
“Got it,” he replied.
Dione ended the call, and they forged ahead, pausing only at the entrance to the cut-through. It was markedly warmer here, and she could hear the crackle of twigs in the fire. A glance around the corner told her only that the fire was large. A trough of dirt formed a ring around the blaze. She could make out eggs packed into that dirt. There was also a bulkhead halfway across the space that looked like it had once been part of a kiosk.
She whispered what she had seen to Brian. He took his own look, then spoke so quietly that she could barely hear him. “There are five that I see. Two are adjusting the dirt on the eggs, and the other three are on the far side.”
Only five? It seemed too easy. Were the others frozen in place in some other part of the ship? Had they miscounted?
After one more check, Dione came up with the same number of dragons, as well as a plan.
“That bulkhead in the middle,” she whispered. “If we get there, we can use it to block ourselves from view, at least for a little bit. But then we’ll be a lot closer to the other side.”
Brian nodded in agreement. “Those dragons by the eggs may move soon. Let’s go before they’re facing us.”
No more waffling. Time to act, ready or not. Brian looked at her, waiting for her to take the lead. She carefully made her way to the cover of the bulkhead. Her ill-fitting protective suit made it difficult, but she and Brian reached the bulkhead.
She couldn’t even sigh in relief for fear of making noise. The crackling of the fire and roar of the environmental system working overtime to cool the room provided some cover, but Dione wouldn’t push it.