Corruption_Age Of Expansion_A Kurtherian Gambit Series

by Sarah Noffke

  She didn’t remember ever feeling claustrophobic before, but stuffed inside a space suit and tightly encapsulated in the narrow tunnel, she could feel the world closing in on her. She took a deep breath and backed up, her spine scratching up against the curve in the tunnel. There was no room to negotiate.

  She pushed her feet back behind her and moved them around, trying to find the toolbox. Her left foot knocked into it, sending it back an inch.

  Dog biscuits. She clenched her eyes closed momentarily.

  Shimmying backwards, Dejoure pressed closely to the right side of the tunnel. If she could slide back beside the toolbox, she could grab it.

  This part of the shaft was slightly larger than the first, but only because there were no rungs. She hoped that the horizontal tunnel would give her enough room to clear the toolbox.

  The corner of the box caught on her suit, dragging back several inches. Dejoure reached down to unhook it, and caught the edge with her hand. She encouraged it up, pulling it in front of her, then pressed back behind it until her feet came out over a clearing.

  She was there. At the final drop that led into the source room.

  “I’m almost there,” she said into the comm.

  She didn’t know if she wanted a response. Bailey had put her at ease with her fat joke earlier, and Lewis’s protective manner made her feel good—and Dejoure couldn’t remember the last time someone really cared about her, and wasn’t just keeping her alive because her death would be a major inconvenience. So she wanted to hear Lewis’s and Bailey’s voices, but she also needed silence to concentrate.

  “Good, we’re here,” Lewis said, keeping it brief.

  Dejoure angled her legs down, trying to find the rungs. It was supposedly a short ladder, but she still didn’t want to fall. Unlike on the surface, there was gravity inside of Alpha Tari L. Hatch had explained why, but Dejoure didn’t understand half of what he said.

  She pulled the toolbox out of the shaft, and its weight pulled her right shoulder down, nearly making her fall. She climbed down the rest of the way, scanning the dark compartment. It was a round room with a high ceiling and smooth walls. On the far side was a series of units, one of which housed the power supply.

  She opened the toolbox, pushing various instruments out of her way. The fall had put everything in disarray. She found the power supply and turned it over in her hand.

  Letting out a breath, she said, “The power supply appears to be undamaged.”

  “That’s good news,” Lewis said over the comm.

  “Can you see the unit it goes into?” Bailey asked.

  Dejoure was comforted that Bailey had been paying attention to Hatch’s instructions, and that she wasn’t in this alone.

  She scanned the far wall, reading the different coding on the front of the boxes. The power supply unit was where Hatch said it would be, in the center of a row of five. “Yes.”

  “Good, get that puppy replaced and get out of there,” Bailey ordered, her voice light.

  Dejoure lifted up on her tiptoes. “Yeah, about that,” she said, completely bewildered as she tried to hop but found herself hindered by the gravity boots. “I can’t reach the unit.”

  “What?” Lewis asked. “You have to be small enough to get in there, but then you’re too short to fix the power supply?”

  “Droids are usually fixing them,” Bailey reminded him.

  What I wouldn’t give for a droid’s help right now. Dejoure pulled a few implements from the toolbox as she listened to her teammates. Maybe I can still make the fix blind…

  She didn’t like using that word, since her eyesight was exactly what was at stake, but blind is exactly what she was at the moment.

  She held a flathead over her head, trying to wedge it into the side of the unit to open the case. It reached, but standing on her tiptoes and extending her arms affected her precision. She couldn’t imagine actually installing the power supply without seeing what she was doing.

  “Dejoure, try standing on the toolbox,” Lewis suggested.

  She dropped her head to look at the box sitting on the floor. It was roughly a foot tall. That might be enough.

  “Okay.” She slid it into place and stepped up on the narrow object, nearly losing her balance while holding the power supply in her hand.

  “Did it work?” Lewis asked.

  She managed to find her footing, and looked up to see that she was eye level with the unit. “Yes, but it’s a bit awkward.”

  “Awkward will have to do,” he said. “Let us know when the power supply is in place, and we’ll start the timer.”

  Dejoure felt sweat beading above her lip. She wished she could swipe it away, but the helmet prevented that. Her hands were shaking when she pulled out the drawer for the power supply unit. She tried to wrap her gloved hands around the burnt-out piece, but they were too big. Instead, she used the flathead in her right hand to pry the supply out of its spot.

  It snapped and broke into pieces.

  “No, no, no,” she whispered, a tightness that usually accompanied tears springing to her throat.

  “What is it?” Bailey asked.

  “I broke the old supply getting it out,” Dejoure admitted feebly.

  “That’s okay, just clear out all the pieces,” Bailey instructed, her voice calm. “There’s an instrument you can use in the tool…” Her voice trailed away, as she remembered that the girl was standing precariously on the top of the toolbox. “You know, it should be fine as long as the connections are clean,” she continued. “Just wipe out the tray as best you can.”

  Dejoure didn’t respond, but nodded to herself. She almost blew to clear the small, thin pieces of glass before she remembered she was wearing the space helmet. With her gloved hands, she checked the connector parts. They seemed clear.

  “I’m about to install the new power supply,” she told them.

  “Okay,” Lewis said, a sharp tension in his voice.

  The power supply nearly popped out of Dejoure’s hands from nervousness as she lowered it into the case. Hatch said to slide the anterior end in first, to protect the filaments, and then snap it into place. Easy, right?

  Maybe if she wasn’t vibrating with fear, and hyperventilating.

  “One big breath,” Bailey said over the comm.

  “I’m trying,” she sputtered.

  “You don’t have to try to breathe, you’ve been doing it automatically all your life,” the lieutenant said, her voice taking the edge from her words. “Even if you hold your breath, you’ll only pass out, and your body will reset and resume breathing again.”

  Dejoure didn’t understand what the woman meant. Her breath was ragged, making her pulse beat louder in her head.

  “Trust yourself, DJ,” Bailey encouraged. “Your body knows what to do, and so do you. Quit overthinking it, and allow yourself to get the job done.”

  Dejoure had been so focused on controlling her breath that she was holding it.

  She let out the air in her lungs, and the next breath came automatically, full and deep, sending a warmth to her chest. Her hand suddenly steadied as it held the power supply above the case.

  “I’m ready,” she said, and to her surprise, her voice was sturdy.

  “And we’re up here, ready to fly you away,” Bailey said gently.

  Dejoure closed her eyes and lowered the power supply, feeling for the right alignment. When it seemed correct, she opened her eyes and slid the front of the power supply into the docking station, and then snapped the backside in, breaking off the casing at the bottom, the way Hatch had told her to. A light on the side of the unit blinked red several times, and Dejoure found herself holding her breath again, wondering if she had done it right.

  Maybe the power supply is broken.

  A loud beep emanated from the unit, and the light flashed twice more before turning a solid green.

  “I did it!” Dejoure exclaimed, thrusting the drawer back into the compartment and sliding off the toolbox.

 
; “The timer has started,” Lewis informed her.

  She reached down and picked up the toolbox, lumbering forward.

  “Leave the toolbox,” the detective ordered.

  “But—”

  “No! Leave it. You don’t have a lot of time, and it caused you too much trouble on the way down,” he reasoned.

  Dejoure didn’t argue with him. She dropped the toolbox and climbed up the ladder two rungs at a time, making it into the tunnel in only seconds.

  “What about the access door?” she asked, shimmying forward, her knees and hands pushing against the side of the tube.

  “Someone—something—else can return to close it,” Lewis said, his tone calm, but words adamant.

  “I’m almost to the ladder,” she told him.

  “You have to pick up the speed,” he urged her. “You’ve only got forty seconds.”

  I thought I was making good time! How did it go by so fast?

  The ladder was thirty feet long.

  I’m never gonna make it!

  “Remember that the way you talk to yourself affects you,” Bailey’s voice chimed over the comm. “You always have a choice between ‘I can’ and ‘I can’t’.”

  Right. Okay. Dejoure took a breath as she arrived at the ladder. She funneled her way up, using the rungs to help her straighten out her body. She began the climb, but it was so much harder going up than it was coming down, even without the toolbox. The suit was bulky and heavy and brushed against the sides of the shaft, slowing her momentum.

  I can. I can. I can, she told herself stubbornly, skipping rungs and pulling her body up using her arms.

  She could hear a loud ticking start up below her; Alpha Tari L was activating, getting ready to turn on. Hatch had told her that it would be dim at first, but after sixty seconds, it would be bright enough to blind. After ninety seconds, it would fry the cornea.

  I can. I can. I can, she repeated, seeing the light at the top of the access door. Light was no good. Never before had she wished for darkness. Usually she tried to sleep with the light on, but never again if she made it out of this, if her life didn’t plunge into complete darkness.

  “I can. I can. I can,” Dejoure said aloud. Only five more feet. So close.

  “You have twenty seconds,” Lewis advised over the comm.

  Dejoure pulled herself up, reaching for the last rung, skipping three to get there. She threw herself up and over the side, scrambling, kicking, doing everything she could to clear the tunnel. The ship wasn’t far. The hatch door was open, and Lewis was peering through the viewing window next to the airlock.

  She set off at a sprint, but in the suit and low gravity, it translated to more of a slow jog. Under her, the sun was starting to glow, the intensity growing insanely fast.

  “Ten seconds,” Lewis said, his voice urgent.

  Dejoure pushed her shoulders forward, her body weight propelling her onward. The brightness of the sun under her feet was almost too much. She squinted her eyes and sped on, leaping when the ship was only a few feet away.

  She worried that the weight of the suit would make her come up short, but she caught the edge of the ship with her foot, and slid forward. She landed hard on her back, but didn’t stop, rolling farther into the ship as it rose off the surface, the hatch door closing behind her, casting her in beautiful darkness. She blinked up at the ceiling, enjoying every single detail her eyes could see.

  “Good job, super-secret agent,” Bailey’s voice rang over the comm. “You did it.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Hatch’s Lab, Ricky Bobby, Davida System

  “So she saved a planet, what’s the big deal?” Hatch asked, waddling to a table and picking up a socket wrench before returning to the tracker lying on his main workstation.

  “I’ve never saved a planet before,” Bailey said. She looked at Lewis. “How about you?”

  He shook his head. “Not once.”

  “I have,” Pip announced. “Have you heard of Nexus?”

  “Oh yeah, that’s supposed to be a really peaceful planet,” Lewis stated.

  “Yeah, well, thanks to me, it still exists,” Pip said.

  “Okay, besides Pip, most of us can’t say we’ve saved a planet,” Bailey qualified.

  Hatch turned, giving her a half-irritated, half-amused look. “That’s exactly what Ghost Squadron does. We recently saved the planet of Savern, after a long-standing revolution went bad. Your orphan isn’t that special.”

  Lewis gave Bailey an entertained smile. “I think we’re the only ones who aren’t that big of a deal. Everyone here has saved a planet.”

  “I’m putting it on my list of things to accomplish,” she joked.

  Hatch angled his tentacle at her. “You were flying the ship, so I think you can take partial credit for saving Berosia.”

  “What about me?” Lewis asked.

  “What about you?" Hatch looked at him for a long moment. “Honestly, I’m not sure what you’re even doing here in the first place.”

  “I’m the brains,” he answered with a laugh.

  Hatch shook his head. “Oh, save us all, we’re in trouble.”

  Bailey gave Lewis a commiserate expression. “Actually, Lewis thinks he’s finally found the link between Starboards Corp and Monstre.”

  Hatch doubled back, grabbing a different socket for his wrench. “Yes, Jack told me you were skeptical about Solomon Vance being behind this.”

  “I was, but not so much anymore. It’s all about evidence,” Lewis related. “I don’t make false assumptions based on hunches, or allow gut feelings or grudges to color my impressions.”

  Hatch studied the wrench in his hands, not really seeing it. “You know, detective, maybe I’ve misjudged you. You’re not a pure idiot.”

  “Thanks,” he said a bit awkwardly. “I found some interesting stuff while studying Starboards Corp’s files, which leads me to believe they have dealings with a secret organization, but the details are unclear, but it’s all speculative.”

  “And you think it’s Monstre?” Hatch asked.

  “I do,” Lewis confirmed. “There’s definitely something big pulling Starboards’ puppet strings. And it’s an organization farther out than anything I’ve ever seen.”

  “What are you saying? It’s far on the frontier?” Hatch asked.

  Lewis shook his head. “I’m thinking it’s in another galaxy.”

  The Londil looked up, a startled expression on his face. “Are you listening to yourself? Who would have dealings with a corporation in another galaxy? Why would you even want to do that? The cost alone would be astronomical, not to mention the logistics.”

  “Right,” Lewis said, combing his hands through his hair. “Which begs the question what’s in this other galaxy that makes it worth the commute, and what is Starboards’ connection to it?”

  Hatch laughed. “Another galaxy. You aren’t even hearing yourself, kid.”

  The detective shook his head and lowered his eyes with a bit of disappointment. It was far-fetched, but he stood by his theory. The fuel cost. The gating. The strange locations. It was the only plausible conclusion.

  “You know, all great truths begin as blasphemy,” Bailey said, looking at Hatch, rebellion written in her eyes.

  “Don’t think that quoting George Bernard Shaw will grant you any extra credit from me, lieutenant.” Hatch went back to the sockets, peering down at them like he was trying to figure out which one he needed, although he hadn’t used any of them during the conversation.

  “What would get me extra credit?” she joked.

  “Being an aficionado of classic cars,” he answered at once.

  “Oh, well, I’m limited there,” she admitted. “I’ve only ever worked on a 1967 Thunderbird convertible, my father’s pride and joy. It was aqua blue and white, and in pristine condition. That’s where my knowledge of classic cars begins and ends.”

  “A what?” Hatch asked, looking up in awe.

  “And now he’s in love,” Pip c
himed in.

  Liesel bustled into the lab, Dejoure on her heels. The girl looked rested and recovered from her ordeal.

  “Per your request, I’ve brought the lovely DJ for your observations,” the engineer said.

  DJ shrank back a bit. “Observations?”

  Hatch shook his head. “Smooth move, Diesel. How are repairs?”

  Liesel reached her hand above her head, stretching like she just got out of bed. “The engines are nearly ready. I’d say another hour before they’re back up. The shields and cloaks are still down, but that’s not really something I can do anything about.”

  “The monster?” Bailey guessed.

  Liesel nodded. “Some beings have more control over the etheric force than others. Fighting it is futile.”

  Hatch shook his head. “Fighting it is science, and I intend to figure out exactly how to do that.”

  “Do you have a plan?” Bailey asked.

  “I believe it’s sitting right in front of him,” Lewis said, pointing to the device laying on the workstation.

  Hatch raised an eyebrow, regarding the man with a curious glare. “Yes, I might have a plan for the monster, but it’s not completely ready yet.”

  “Well, do you have the equipment we talked about to test that other thing?” Bailey asked, her tone loaded.

  Hatch’s eyes flicked to Dejoure, a sour expression on his face. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “What?” Dejoure said, her eyes widening. “Does this have to do with me?”

  Hatch didn’t answer, only turned and waddled for the back of his lab. “I’ll be right back. I have the lobotomy kit back here somewhere.”

  Lewis rolled his eyes. “He’s joking…I think.”

  Liesel smiled down at Dejoure. “Tell me, how did you sleep last night? Did you have any good dreams?”

  The girl looked to the side, taken aback by the strange questioning. “Uhhh…yeah, I guess so.” Her face changed, crunching up. “Actually no. Now that I think about it, I had a dream that SB came back and attacked Ricky Bobby. It was scary, but not as much as the last time.”

  Liesel nodded knowingly. “It sounds like your subconscious is trying to work through the traumatic event. That’s perfectly normal.”