by Gun Brooke
Chapter Two
Korrian gripped the laser pen and began working. Using the old draft as a template, she tried to remember all the things Meija had said that she had blown off as utter nonsense. Had she been so blinded by her own ambition to succeed and the desire to prove herself to her superior officers? As she’d told Barr and Meija, she’d lived and breathed this project for years on end, and at the rate the population changed and spread in some parts, they couldn’t complete it fast enough. Physicians and geneticists had declared they’d lose control of the situation if the planet-wide evacuation didn’t take place within two decades.
Now, for the first time in ages, she found herself reenergized and motivated to look at the project from a new angle. She couldn’t quite pinpoint why she’d resisted even trying a new concept, other than that she’d been stuck—and fatigued after working with hardly any days off for too long.
Meija Solimar had blasted into the space-dock, a strange and rare bird among the homogenous group of engineers and ships’ mechanics. Dressed in her very new Oconodian uniform adorned with insignia rank of provisional non-commissioned officer, she’d looked fresh-faced and idealistic. Korrian wondered if Meija’s ethereal beauty, which made her look younger and unseasoned, had made her not listen to her opinions.
“So this is where the magic happens.” As if conjured from Korrian’s thoughts, Meija showed up to her left, smiling carefully. “I don’t pretend to know anything about blueprints or technical drawings, but even I can understand that this is top-of-the-line technology. Our leaders spare no expense.”
“Nor should they if they want to save the Oconodians.”
“Some of the Oconodians.” Meija’s light-green eyes darkened. “The changed ones are still Oconodians.” Something, a catch, in Meija’s voice made Korrian stop what she was doing and put her laser pen down.
“These changes they’re going through, whether called the plague or the curse, puts them on a collision course with the rest of us. As they’re growing in numbers and the incidents where normal—”
“Normal.” Meija’s lips tensed. “An interesting word. Especially when wielded against something we don’t understand and which is much bigger than us.”
“Are you saying I’m prejudiced? Or merely uneducated?”
“No. There have been far too many incidents where Changed individuals have used their superior strength or mental powers to injure unchanged Oconodians. I just don’t want to believe that all those instances happened deliberately or with malice.”
“I see. Evidently someone close to you has Changed.” Korrian pushed a tall stool closer to the work area. “You don’t have to respond to that. It’s really none of my business. Take a seat. We have work to do.” Looking up at Meija, she could see that her words had struck a nerve. Meija, paling slightly, merely nodded and climbed onto the stool.
“Very well. You seem to have altered the original plans a bit already.” She pointed at the images on the sheet. “This looks like a strange sort of bicycle wheel.”
“Just a rough sketch. Something you said about the ships becoming the passengers’ home. I suddenly saw the design in my mind. Twenty ships altogether. Average one hundred thousand individuals on each vessel. Two in the center, eighteen others in a circle around them, all connected with the center ones by roads in the shape of spokes on a wheel, so to speak. Magnetic locks will keep the ships together in this shape, and the two in the middle will hold the propulsion system. By constructing the ship this way, I can make the other vessels in the outer ring much larger without compromising speed or wasting resources. In fact, it will actually be beneficial in the long run.” Korrian again watched Meija’s expression change—from grave to curious to excited.
“You’re serious?” Meija leaned forward and her unruly ponytail landed on the drawings. “Oh. Sorry.” Smiling broadly, she tucked the strawberry-blond tresses into her cap. “So, what am I looking at here?” She pointed at the part of the drawing Korrian had just changed.
“That’s the addition. I can add about twenty-five percent of space to each ship without compromising speed or structural integrity. The bridge will be located here, in the middle, directly connected to both of the center ships.”
“And this?” Meija tapped with a perfectly manicured blunt nail on the sheet. “These areas running along—”
Ear-splitting thunder rolled through the dock toward them. Korrian looked up and went cold at the sight of loose objects being hurled through the air. “Down!” She tugged frantically at Meija and pulled her onto the floor. Covering the slighter body with her own, she closed her eyes and held on to Meija, who in turn hid her face against Korrian’s shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Meija called out, then coughed as dust whipped at them. “What the hell was that?”
“Damn if I know.” Korrian struggled to get up; the floor was still trembling because as the inertial dampeners had not yet recovered. “I have no one working on anything remotely explosive or combustible. Stay here.” She pushed away from the table and began walking on the still-unsteady floor toward the door leading to the space-dock.
“No way. I’m going with you.” Meija caught up with her. “Your temple is bleeding.” She reached into her pockets and pulled out a tissue. “Here.”
Grudgingly, Korrian accepted it and pressed it to the side of her head, which throbbed badly. Examining the tissue, she saw that the cut was worse than she’d expected. “Guess I might need repairing.”
“You’re not dizzy, are you?” Meija placed a gentle hand at the small of Korrian’s back.
The touch elicited a shudder that traveled up her spine and down the back of her legs. Korrian sucked in her lower lip between her teeth. “I’m fine. Let’s go.”
They moved carefully between tipped-over cabinets, tables, and chairs. In the distance the alarm klaxons blared consistently. Finally they reached the tall doors leading into the vast hall that contained all the equipment, tools, and doors to the different airlocks. The doors leading out to open space, where they were building the prototype while outfitted with space suits and mini tool-shuttles, had several backup systems. As long as the reason for the explosion was unknown, she couldn’t assume the safety systems hadn’t been compromised.
“I see two guys over there, on all fours, but moving at least.” Meija pointed to the left. “And one more behind them. How many were working in here?”
“Six, unless they were fetching something from storage or”—Korrian motioned with her head toward the airlocks—“or outside. I have to reach the comm system over there by the main computer console. Do you think you can help the guys and look for the missing ones? I’ll be right there to help you.”
“Sure.” Meija narrowed her eyes and focused on Korrian’s temple. “The bleeding’s stopped for now. Just keep that tissue handy. You’re going to need to see a doctor.”
“Later.” Korrian nodded briefly and turned to make her way through the rubble. She walked a few paces then turned. “Meija? Be careful.”
“You too.”
Shuffling through the mess of tools and other equipment toward the computer, she saw increasing activity outside the view ports and hoped nobody had to pay with their life for whatever had caused the mayhem around them. Reaching the console, she opened the emergency communication channel. “Emergency, emergency, this is Chief Engineer Korrian Heigel. What’s going on?”
A female voice replied. “Dispatch here. What’s your status, Commander Heigel?”
“So far no fatalities. I have Meija Solimar here and she’s searching our facility looking for my staff. I’ve seen three of them move but don’t know the extent of their injuries. Any idea what caused the explosion?”
“Not yet, ma’am. We’ve deployed rescue teams as one of the airlocks on the lower decks disengaged. We think that was the origin of the explosion.”
“Is Colonel Rayginnia there?”
“Ma’am, the colonel is among the injured. She was conducting a tour
of the space-dock for some members of the Main Ministry.”
“Oh, damn. We have ministers roaming around the facility and this happens?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“All right. Dispatch emergency personnel to my location. I’ll help Ms. Solimar conduct a search-and-rescue until they get here. Heigel out.” Hurrying back to where she’d left Meija, she found the first man, one of her engineers, sitting on the floor with a makeshift tourniquet around his thigh. A metal bar had perforated his calf and now he was grayish and pale.
“Belonder, how are you doing?” Korrian knelt next to the young man.
“Not too bad, Commander. Ms. Solimar is very capable.”
“Help’s on the way. Just stay put and they’ll take care of you.” Korrian moved to the other two. A woman was cradling the head of a man lying on the floor next to her. Korrian recognized two junior engineers, fresh out of a prestigious university in Conos, the capital. The man’s head was a bloody mess.
“Commander…” The woman looked up, wide-eyed and pale. “The cabinet fell, and, and, Toimi, he, the tools just—”
“Shh. Just stay with him. Help’s on the way. Do you hear me, Reeva? Emergency personnel are coming.” Korrian knelt and felt for Toimi’s pulse. Fast and thin, but it was there against her fingertips, and he was breathing. “Call out for me if you need me. I have to check for the others. Were all six of you in here?”
“No. Just Chassine. The others went off duty an hour ago.” Reeva kept caressing Toimi’s cheek. “That new woman, she went over there. Chassine’s station.” Sobbing quietly, Reeva pointed to the far left of the hall.
“I’ll go and check on them. Hang in there.” Korrian made her way, not without difficulty, as this was where they kept the large disks for the mainframe computers. Made of metal-infused glass, they had shattered and left sharp edges everywhere. She hoped some had survived with the backup plans and blueprints intact, but that wasn’t her main concern right now. Rounding two overturned desks, she gasped as she saw two uniformed legs sticking out from under a third desk, which in turn was buried under a large shelf.
“Meija?” Korrian bent down and tried to see what was going on.
“Korrian! Chassine’s in here. She’s stuck.”
“Vital signs?”
“Pulse is very weak and her breathing is shallow. I’ve managed to support her head enough to help her breathe every now and then. I think she has bruised or broken ribs. We’re going to need the portable crane.”
“Got it. Help’s on the way. I’ll go see if the ceiling crane is working. Will you be all right?”
“Sure, I will. I just ho—” Another explosion, this time farther away, shook the facility. The bookcase slid toward Korrian, who realized it would end up on Meija’s legs if she didn’t stop it. Throwing herself at the shelf with all her might, Korrian looked around for something to prop up against it. Anything. Her eyes fell upon a canister of metal bars, but there was no way she’d be able to reach it. “Meija, you need to back out as fast as you can.”
“I can’t leave Chassine.”
“And I can’t hold the shelf up away from your legs much longer. You have to get out. Now!” Did this woman argue about absolutely everything?
“All right.” Meija shimmied out from under the desk and jumped to her feet. “Oh, hell, what do you need?”
“Grab some of the metal bars over there.” Grunting, Korrian braced herself against the slipping shelf. “Hurry!”
Pushing through the rubble, Meija reached the canister and took several of the heavy bars, which she carried back and pushed against the shelf and wedged against the floor. Korrian had to admit she was impressed, a feeling that didn’t decrease when Meija dived back under the desk as soon as the last metal bar was in place.
“Korrian, she’s not breathing!”
“Will I fit in there?”
“I…don’t think…so.” Meija was clearly breathing with Chassine. “Just get help.”
Korrian glanced over her shoulder. “They’re here. I’ll go find the damn hoist.”
Korrian worked tirelessly for the next two hours. The emergency personnel had taken care of the wounded, with the exception of Chassine, right away. Meija, of course, refused to surrender her spot under the desk. She didn’t emerge until Korrian and Gessley managed to lift the shelf and then the desk away from the unconscious woman. The emergency personal had given her equipment to help keep breathing for Chassine when the young woman stopped, which she did every four or five minutes.
“You all right?” Korrian said, and quickly steadied Meija when she wobbled. “Easy.”
“Just a bit light-headed.”
“Hardly surprising since you’ve been cramped in there for so long.”
“Chassine is so young. She’ll be all right, won’t she?” Meija wiped at her wet lashes.
“No matter what, she has you to thank for stabilizing her.” Korrian pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Now that we’ve evacuated everybody, we need to get cleaned up before LEO wants to interview us. Crime scene investigators are waiting to take over as well.” Korrian had dealt with Law Enforcement Orbit before and knew they wouldn’t leave anything to chance.
“So we’re sure this was manmade and not an accident?” Meija rubbed at her lower back and frowned.
“No, not sure, but two explosions in totally unrelated places, nearly at the same time?” Shrugging, Korrian guided Meija through the rubble. “You hurt your back, didn’t you?”
“No, I’m fine. Just need to clean up a bit, like you said.”
“My, or should I say our, quarters are on deck ten. Come on.” Not quite thinking, she wrapped her arm around Meija’s shoulders. “We need a break.”
Chapter Three
Meija regarded Korrian’s quarters and knew she couldn’t hide her feeling of utter shock. Every possible surface held drawings, blueprints, models, and literature. She glanced at the en suite bathroom, wondering if she would find as much work-related clutter in there. Her luggage had been delivered and sat just inside Korrian’s outer door, but she didn’t see anywhere to unpack. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I know. It looks pretty bad.” Korrian actually colored, which highlighted her chocolate-colored complexion with a lovely golden-pink hue. “Why don’t you hit the restroom and have a shower, and I’ll clean out some drawers and so on?”
“A shower. I’d kill for a shower, so why not?” Meija grabbed one of her bags and closed the door behind her. Regarding her reflection in the mirror she moaned inwardly in silent horror. Dusty, grimy, her hair stuck out in all directions, half braided and half a total mess. Her eye makeup had smudged and her shirt was shredded all along her left arm. “No wonder she wanted me to clean up. I could scare sensitive individuals or be cast as everyone’s favorite monster bride in a horror flick.” Groaning, Meija removed her torn clothes and stepped into the shower stall. She’d gotten used to the constantly recycled water rarely being more than lukewarm on the space-dock, and this was also true for the showers. Still, it was refreshing to get clean and she reveled in the sensation of soft towels against her skin. Digging through her bag, she pulled out underwear and a new uniform. She doubted her dirty clothes were salvageable and planned to recycle them at the closest recyc-station. This would give her enough points to use in the space-station shops.
She towel-dried her hair and didn’t bother to style it, merely fashioned a loose sort of side braid. After adding some makeup to take away the paleness and dark circles, she felt ready to join Korrian. The poor woman was probably dying to use her own shower by now. Returning to the living area, she saw Korrian had been as efficient in removing the clutter as she was in her work at the drawing board.
“I’ve made room for you here,” Korrian said, and pointed at two open drawers, “and over there.” She pushed open a sliding door to a closet. “Judging from the size of your bags, you’ll be able to fit your things in here.”
“Thank you. Bathroom’s all yours.�
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“All right.” Korrian stood, and only now did Meija see how stiffly the other woman was moving. “Make yourself at home. When I’m done, we can get something from the dispenser to eat.”
“Sure.” Meija watched surreptitiously as Korrian limped to the bathroom. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“I’m fine.” Korrian glanced at Meija over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
Once she was alone, Meija unpacked her things and placed the bag with the destroyed uniform by the door. Looking back at Korrian’s quarters, she realized they were quite large compared to the tiny cubes that junior officers squeezed into. Korrian had two single beds in a bedroom away from the main living area and a small kitchenette that made simple cooking possible if she grew tired of the dispenser. Normally a food dispenser had pretty good selections, but some people still enjoyed old-fashioned cooking. She couldn’t tell if Korrian ever cooked; in fact, the living area was devoid of any of the personal belongings such as photos, art, or knickknacks that most people gathered.
Korrian suddenly stood next to her, also dressed in a fresh uniform. “All settled?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Why hadn’t she noticed until now just how devastatingly beautiful Korrian was? Perhaps because she used to wear a perpetual scowl as soon as she saw Meija? Right now, with her hair in soft, damp curls, her eyes even darker as if shadowed by what had just happened, and a little more off guard, she was stunning. There was still something dangerous, almost wild, about her, sort of simmering under the surface. No doubt, if challenged, or agitated, or heaven forbid, attacked, this woman could explode.
“How about some stew?” Korrian said as she rounded Meija and walked up to the dispenser. “Not even a dispenser can screw up a regular stew.”
“Sounds good. I mean, I’m not really hungry, but—”
“Me either. We have to eat, though. Once we go back, they’ll keep us for quite a while, and then we need to clean up the mess and continue working.” Korrian punched commands into the dispenser. “You acted very selflessly today.” Her voice sank to a low murmur. “In fact, I thought we’d lose both you and Chassine under there.”