by Jon Sauve
Ten minutes went by with no response.
“Captain speaking,” a voice said above them. “Communication has failed. Upping speed for identification and interception. Azaleena and Russ, move to the cockpit for the next mission phase.”
They set down their receivers and glanced at each other. Identification. It was a harmless word, but what it really meant was to assess danger. The Apollonia wasn’t meant for fighting, but she still had some defenses.
Max finally got his first visual of the object. It was just as described, a long, flat rectangle with five large protrusions. Most of it was a dull gray color. It definitely could have been part of the outer hull of a large ship. Not something as huge as the Cathedral, but large nonetheless.
It grew in their vision, more features jumping out at them. No one seemed ready or able to identify. The protrusions were irregular and jagged. Max drew back their speed, inching them toward it.
“Is that…” Russ pointed, then dropped his hand and shook his head.
They were within five hundred yards of it now. Max scanned across it with eyes, taking it all in but not truly seeing.
“What?” Leena said.
“Is that…” Russ tried again to tell them what he saw, but failed.
At first the object had been too foreign to comprehend, and now it suddenly became too familiar. What Russ pointed at, and what the GEP had said was house-sized, was in fact a house. Windows, a roof, even a yard scoured down to flat stone. Beyond it was an ordinary street cracked in several places. And four more houses.
“Are those houses?” Russ said. “What the hell are we seeing?”
Leena forgot discretion and threw her arms around him.
Max nodded to himself. He picked up the receiver for the intercom and said, “Attention, Augie and Carlene. Identification success. The object appears to be a residential area. Five houses along a stretch of road. Cut cleanly at either end.”
“Fire hydrant,” Leena said, her teeth chattering.
“And a fire hydrant,” Max said, and set down the receiver. The hydrant had exploded, and the water from inside had pooled in solid white ice around it. “I’m going for that end, the one that’s clear of houses,” he went on. “Any advice for me?”
Russ shook his head.
“Captain, you’re going to land?” Leena asked. “Right there?”
“It’s certainly wide enough.”
Nothing more was said. They all knew the Apollonia could pull off just about any maneuver, but this was something different.
Max turned the ship and swept it along in an arc, using the computer to line up perfectly. He dropped the speed further, and the ship self-adjusted to the object’s own trajectory; the screen showed him it was moving in a strange pattern, evident of self-propulsion.
“What if,” Russ said quietly, “it’s a decoy? Some aliens who might not know a whole lot about us, and they used this to lure us in? Maybe those houses are like the cockpits, or the chambers…”
It was worth speculating on, but they were learning nothing. Max took the ship lower. The houses ahead, three on the left and two on the right, loomed over. Being on any ship out here made you feel small, but now this place was putting things into perspective; the Apollonia was barely big enough for its five-person crew.
The touchdown was gentle, as always. For a moment the three in the cockpit were as still as the houses, staring out the screen. At the other end, the road cut off as cleanly and abruptly as it did down here. Past it, nothing but stars and infinity.
The houses were ghostly shells; even the asphalt road had gone from black to almost white.
“If this is an alien craft in disguise,” Max said, “they have had their chance, assuming they are hostile. One of you two, volunteer to go to the airlock and relieve Carlene of her duty. I need her here. Looks like we’ll have to start our report right away.”
Leena held to Russ even tighter, and he nodded at the captain, his lips white. “Aye, sir,” he said, and gave Leena’s back a quick rub before breaking away.
Ever since the captain had said the words “residential area,” Carlene’s imagination had run wild away from her. Augie seemed as quiet as always, in mind and body. He had suited up ahead of her, and was now standing near the outer door, his hands by his sides.
While she was still getting her arms in, Russ came through the door and said, “Carlene, captain needs you with him.”
It was a good thing she was hardly dressed.
“So, we’re down?” she asked, pulling her gloves off.
“Uh-huh.”
“Well then, have fun,” she said, slapping her gloves down on the floor. She was out of the airlock before Russ even had a chance to look confused.
Russ watched Carlene vanish before turning to his suit. It was no secret she was using this job on the Apollonia to propel herself to greater heights – she had an ambition to be a freighter pilot for the projects on Pluto and Charon.
“If she wants to be a pilot,” Augie said, “she better get used to politics.”
Russ hadn’t noticed the man had taken his helmet off. Augie was dark all the way around, in hair and eye and skin. He looked like he was about to fall asleep most of the time, but he slept less than anyone else on the ship. And except during jobs like this he hardly ever talked, and even then it was almost always directly to the captain regarding various issues around the ship.
Russ turned back to start getting suited up. “Ah, we’ll be here a long time, I can guarantee that. GEP won’t let us leave until they have samples and pictures of every little particle here. She’ll get her chance.” He spoke fast; that was the best way to keep the shiver out of his voice.
Augie, however, made it seem like he landed on streets in the middle of space once a week. He got his helmet back on, and waited patiently for Russ.
When they were suited up and situated at either side of the outer door, Max spoke to them over their in-suit radios.
“Mission moving into third stage. Russ Kallidy, Augie De La Rose, you are to do a cursory search of the street and all five houses. I expect you back here in no more than one hour.”
They both waved behind them, at the camera they knew was watching.
“Depressurization will proceed. Please double check suit integrity.”
They checked and waved again.
“Airlock depressurization will commence in five, four, three, two, one.”
Russ felt nothing, but he was still shifting on his feet. Augie was as still as a rock, even as the outer doors opened.
Not more than ten yards outside the airlock, the street cut off, ending about as totally and absolutely as something could end. Augie headed out, and for once showed something of his own feelings, taking short steps and letting his hand scrape along the wall. When there was no more wall, he turned sharply and moved away from the edge.
Russ came out, untying a link from his belt and handing the other end to Augie. When he was secure, he stepped over to the edge. He had thought years of doing this sort of thing would have turned his nerves to diamond, but he felt that old chill come back as he approached the brink.
Looking over the edge, he quickly gauged that the street, at least at this point, was about twenty feet thick. There were several metal and plastic-like pipes visible, cut cleanly. The rest of the material was hard to tell. It was either dirt, compacted to steel hardness, or something that was designed to look like dirt.
“Record new log, start picture feed,” he said, feeling his own hot breath against his face. There was a little click to tell him his command had been recognized. He described what he saw, then said, “Close recording. Halt pictures. Send to Apollonia.”
Another click, and the message was probably already being listened to up in the cockpit. Augie pulled him back, then returned the link to him.
There were two clicks in the helmet. Max was now watching live through their in-suit cameras.
“Russ, Augie,” said the captain. “Good. Now move on
to the first house on my left.”
The house seemed normal. There was a sidewalk leading up to it, a little porch. But other than the obvious, there was still something strange about it.
“It’s old,” Augie said suddenly. “Looks like something that would have been built centuries ago.”
Through all the gray, and the degeneration the house had gone through during its time in space, it was hard to see. But Augie was right. The architecture and materials were something out of the very early 21st century.
“Noted,” the captain said. “Proceed inside and search the rooms.”
They went up the sidewalk. The doorway was empty; the door itself was long gone. The glass from the window frames had long since vanished as well.
“It’s dark inside,” Augie said, leading the way. “I see some small shapes all over the floor.”
His utility light came on, and the shadows inside swirled and parted. The wood floor had been scoured away to its lighter bottom layers and looked incredibly weak. In Earth gravity, they probably would have gone right through.
Since Russ was a good foot taller than Augie, it was easy to see past him. They simultaneously realized the identity of the objects Augie had seen.
“Balloons,” Russ said. “Latex balloons.”
“Not burst?” the captain asked.
Augie laughed. “Only deflated. Seems impossible. They’re anchored by ordinary strings to… a table it looks like.”
On his way to the table, Augie kicked the balloons; the wrinkled little sacks drifted up as though they were full of helium again.
Russ ran his hand over the table. The wood was in bad shape, but not as bad as the floor. He tried lifting it; there was a slight resistance as it tore away from the floor. Two nails through each leg had been holding it down.
“Seeing this, captain?” he asked.
“Yeah. Whatever happened here, looks like it might have been planned for.”
One of the balloons slapped against Russ’s face shield as he went around the table and into the kitchen area. The tiles looked like they’d been shredded by a massive pair of claws. The sink was dented, and there were parts where the damage had gone straight through, tearing long gashes. The tap was gone, leaving a ragged metal stump behind.
“Sink, highly damaged,” Augie noted. “Tiles, same. Moving to the next room.”
This area, which Russ guessed had been the main entertaining space, was completely empty. The floor was bare cement. At the end, sitting in an open fireplace, Augie found a green glass bottle. It looked like it had held between one and two liters. There was some deformity to it.
There was a bathroom just off this area. The fixtures were gone, the bare pipes sticking out of the walls. Something had been smeared on the floor. Inside the medicine cabinet - the glass of the mirror was bubbled and warped, Russ noted – was a single plastic bottle.
“Looks like a bottle used for medication,” the captain told them. “Is there still… A label! Is it legible?”
The paper label had been covered by a protective plastic, and the writing was mostly clear.
“This was prescribed to a person named Rodolfo De Acosta,” Augie said. “The prescribed drug… hydrocodone acetaminophen.” He struggled over the words. “From a Doctor Karl Ryan. Take one every five or six hours, as needed for pain.” He lifted the bottle, shaking it to see if anything was inside. Russ noticed something in Augie’s face; something had deeply surprised him, even beyond what Russ and the captain were feeling.
“Set those back where they were,” the captain said. “Move on to the next room.”
“Hello?”
“Yes, Augie, Russ, are you still with me?”
“Affirmative, captain,” Russ said.
“What was the hello for?” Max asked. “Have you found something?”
Augie was just closing the cabinet again. “Russ?” he asked.
“One of you said hello,” said Max.
“I heard it, captain,” said Russ. “But it wasn’t me.”
“Me, neither,” Augie replied. “And it didn’t sound like Leena or Carlene.”
“They’re both right next to me.” There was silence for a moment. “Never mind,” the captain finally said. “Must have been interference from… another ship. Move on to the next room.”
The next room was smaller than the one with the fireplace. There was one window. The floor was wooden here as well. A desk sat against one wall, and Russ could already see the long nails holding it down.
“The drawers are still here,” Augie said, grabbing hold of a handle. “Stuck a little.”
The drawer gave way, and a little roll of yellow paper floated out. Augie snatched it out of suspension and unfurled it.
“Writing is good,” he said.
“Received, Augie,” said the captain. “Please read the text as you see it.”
“Aye, captain. I quote…” He paused for a moment, clearing his throat, as if the text were embarrassing in some way. “I quote, ‘I always see them kissing and holding each other. They think I’m a freak. I think she wants him to kick my ass. I don’t think I can fix this one, not this time. Maybe I should invite them over to a party and show them what’s in my basement.’ End quote. Well, that was odd.”
“A bit,” the captain agreed. “I think we all know where to look next.”
The basement led straight down off the dining room, to the right of where they had come in. The only intact door in the house, as far as they knew, was at the bottom, and it was double locked.
“I can get this open,” Russ said with a smile.
“Don’t,” Max said. “Next party will leave with proper tools for the job. As curious as that note made me, I don’t want anything damaged.”
“Aye, captain. Augie and I will head upstairs.”
The stairs were in worse shape than anything else, with great holes and gaps in them. At the top, they found themselves at one end of a short hallway. The roof was torn open in places, and they saw the stars beyond.
They found two bedrooms and a bathroom. Not much of interest was found in any of the rooms, except for more drugs in the medicine cabinet.
“Not for mister De Acosta this time,” Augie said as he read the label. “And from a different doctor, Abel Pollia. These are for a woman named Tertia Araneta, something called misoprostol. There’s a date. November, 2001. Wow.”
“Good,” Max said. “If you believe you have thoroughly searched the house, you may move on to the second one. I’m going to have to leave you two for a little while, send everything in logs and keep up a picture feed for now.”
“Aye,” they both said, and then they were alone.
They moved out onto the street. The Apollonia looked smaller than ever now. The interior of the cockpit was visible. Leena gave them a little wave, but Carlene and the captain were busy with something.
Russ blew a kiss to Leena and she caught it and held it to her chest. Augie seemed to ignore the exchange, but Russ knew he never missed anything.
“What do you think, Russ?” the man said. “Next house on left or right?”
Russ looked up the street. “Left,” he said. “Seems natural.”
The next house was structurally identical to the first, at least from the outside. Russ began his feed as they approached the doorway. It was darker inside than the first house, and they had to dial up their lights.
Something hit Russ’s face shield. A warning beep sounded. He drew back a few steps, shining his light across the room.
“Why is it so much darker in here?” he said. “What is that?”
There were things floating all around, small whitish objects. Augie reached out to grab one, turning it around inside his own beam of light.
“Teeth,” he announced. “They’re all teeth.”
Russ looked around, performing a rough estimate. “Has to be at least a hundred here, probably more. Record new log. The second house on the left, at least this dining or kitchen area, is full of teeth,
at least a hundred of them.” He reached out to wave the teeth aside. An incisor wheeled off through the front doorway and into the street. “Close recording. Send to Apollonia.”
“This is getting strange,” Augie said.
“Like it wasn’t already.” Russ shined his light at a cabinet that had detached itself from the wall and had now drifted into the corner. “Search through that. I’ll see what’s in the next room.”
“I’d like it if we stayed together,” said Augie. There was no fear in his voice.
“And I’d like it if we got out of this house sooner rather than later,” Russ told him.
They were in agreement. Augie went to his work and Russ to his.
The living area was empty but for a box made of some soft fibrous material on the edge of disintegration. It was closed by four flaps overlapping each other. Russ gave the box a shake, and felt something hit the side. He opened it, carefully, and reached in.
“Found something,” he said. “Looks like a tool of some kind. A drill? Ah, here are the bits. Augie, you get that?”
“Hello?”
“Read you, Augie. Something wrong with your radio? You’re sounding a bit fuzzy.” Russ set the drill back into its place. “Record new log. Still in house two. I found a small drill with a case of bits that look to be made of some sort of carbon based metal, though it’s been degraded considerably. These were found in a small, torn box in the living area, beneath the big window. Close recording. Send to Apollonia.”
He took one last look around the area to be sure he hadn’t missed anything. “Alright. Augie, come in here so we can head deeper. I’m not going back into the tooth room, no matter what you say.”
Augie didn’t answer. Maybe he’d found something that had taken his breath away. Russ turned around. There was no light coming from the kitchen.
“I saw you. Hello?”
“Yeah!” Russ said, already heading for the door. “Augie, I read you. Is something wrong with your suit?”
“Russ!” said another voice. “This is your captain. I’m getting bad signals off Augie. O2 and pressure is down. Get to him. I’m sending Carlene and Leena to help.”