Icarus (Interstellar Cargo Book 1) (28 page)

~

T
he map on Lin’s Ocunet lens indicated she approach and take the lift. Maneuvering throughout the facility had proven effortless with unlimited clearance. No one had any cause to so much as glance in her direction. Regardless of her freedom, Lin steered clear of people. She was slightly concerned that she would come into contact with former colleagues. Saras no longer worked in the low-ranking labs where her career began, and she could count on one hand the number of people with whom she regularly associated. As a preventative measure, she unbound her bun, and allowed her hair to cascade over her shoulders. The act almost felt a scandalous affront to her modesty. Outside of Saras, no one would immediately recognize her, even with so simple a makeover.

As the lift carried her up to her next destination, Lin studied the map, checking to make sure Saras was not in her vicinity. An executive of his stature would be confined to boardrooms and offices. The locations of every other employee was indicated as pinpoints on her map as well; a quick focus of her retina would provide her with information of said targets. Having access to this vital intelligence added to her ease.

The lift door slid open, and she stepped into the narrow hallway which led to a single door. This was the level for manual access to the exterior portion of the main dish. As indicated on her lenses, there was no activity where she was headed. Nearly all maintenance was performed by AI-piloted drones, but there were occasions where EVA suits were fitted to address unexpected issues where human assistance was needed. Other than the routine materials inspection, Lin would be left to her own devices.

She entered the dressing room and nearly collapsed. Her ears were buzzing madly, stars and darkness filling her vision from subconsciously holding her breath on her trip through the station. She was not trained for stealthy infiltration. She was an engineer—radicalized, yes—but hardly the government spook Forester had paraded as. Dismantling the System’s top security hub was child’s play, but if one questioning glance was to come her way, her knees would wither like wheat after an ice storm.

The voice acknowledged her a third time, and Lin managed to stand and face the digital assistant. A hologram of a woman in a space suit holding a helmet was standing in the center of the room. It spoke a fourth time, and the words finally registered.

“Please step forward for body scan measurement.”

Lin did as was asked, though her knees struggled to cooperate. When she reached the appropriate spot, laser scanners from either side came to life and began collecting data for suit preparation. Each step she took led her toward an assembly line of waiting layers and equipment which were coaxed onto her body with the assistance of a series of “smart arms”. These smart arms were controlled by a computer attuned to her body specifications to quicken the suiting process. What would normally take over an hour—and several other people’s assistance—now took less than ten minutes. It was time well saved.

There was a door at the end of the assembly line, and she knew what awaited her. All during the process of suiting up, she had kept in contact with CAIN, who in turn kept her up to date with the status of the mission. There had been a small video feed of the ICV-71 aligning with the antenna feed beneath the electronics hood for the satellite dish. Safety was only a short jetpack ride away. Finally, she tucked her Rook into one of the suit’s many deep pockets.

As she stepped into the airlock, her world began to darken once more. For the first time in her life, she was about to step out into the merciless vacuum that was outer space. The room depressurized, and the final protective barrier unlocked, opened, and cleared her path to the stars. She stood on the threshold for a moment to gather her bearings, making sure to first sight her destination. The ICV-71 was visible, though much farther away than she thought.

Her trembling hands released the doorway, and she stepped out onto the platform leading to the dish. Her magnetic boots secured her to the metal surface, keeping her from accidentally drifting off into the abyss. It was not until she reached the edge of the platform that she gripped the two control sticks used to steer the manual jetpack. Once she lifted off, there would be no remote assistance from CAIN, no training from which she could benefit; she would be on her own.

Switching off her magnetic boots, Lin leaned forward and stood on the tips of her toes. She could not will herself to leap forward, so she fired her first thrust and hoped for the best.

She instantly regretted her decision.

~

“A
re you sure we’re not being monitored this very second?”

Cole shrugged. He was getting tired of Emmerich’s nagging questions. “No. No, I can’t be entirely certain.” He pointed at the viewport screen to where it showed the loading arm guiding the cargo into place on the antenna feed on the satellite dish. “But seeing as Cain has been slowly aligning that thing into place for the past ten minutes while we are stationed in full view of any security cameras, I’d say we’ve yet to be spotted. But go ahead, keep asking. Maybe your wish’ll come true.”

Rig chortled.

Emmerich glowered at the mechanic. “And what exactly do we know about the cargo we were politely asked to deliver.”

Again, Cole shrugged. “It’s big.”

“It’s metal,” Rig added.

“And I honestly couldn’t care less what it is or does,” Cole finished. “All that matters is we secure it according to my brother’s specifications, we collect Lin, and get the ever-loving f—”

CAIN interrupted. The AI waited until all were quiet and listening.

Cole watched in shocked silence as the loading arm retracted into the ICV-71. The cargo had been attached as CAIN indicated, though nothing appeared to be happening. “Um... Is it live? Because if it isn’t, we should probably take it off.”

“Take it off?” Emmerich was beside herself. “Are you crazy? After everything we went through to bring it here?
Now
you’re going to grow a conscience?”

“We?” Cole asked. “Last I checked, Lin was the one risking her neck. Aren’t you even the slightest bit concerned with what we just did?” He was also aware that CAIN had not made an attempt to retract the Smasher.

“Sounds like we leveled the playin’ field,” said Rig in Emmerich’s stead. His grin was telling. “If what your computer friend says is true, it’ll be a hacker’s dream come true. The whole System’ll be ripe for the pickin’.”

“This coming from the guy who’s still at large and probably has no financial stability to speak of,” Cole said. “Aren’t you being a little shortsighted? Our entire economy could collapse and put us back five hundred years.”

Rig shrugged.

Emmerich sighed. She stared long and hard at Cole. “What the hell is your brother hoping to accomplish?”

Cole sat forward and assumed the controls. “I don’t know, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to add another catastrophe to my criminal resume.”

The ship shuddered, the thrusters coming to life.

“Um...Cain? What’re you doing?” Cole asked as they began distancing themselves from the smasher. “You forgot to take our cargo back with us.”

CAIN said.

“What? Where?” The AI switched the camera view on the screen to display a solitary figure drifting aimlessly through open space. She looked like little more than a meteoroid to him, and it was apparent she had no idea how to control the jetpack on her space suit. He knew from his own basic emergency training just how difficult it was to fly in a straight line, let alone make for a fixed. She could quickly burn out her fuel supply, float off into nothingness, or even crash and tear open her suit. They would have to pluck her out of mid-flight before any of those outcomes came to a head.

“Get us close, Cain,” Cole ordered. “I’m going out on the tether.”

“That’s more like it, Nugget!” Rig said.

“Yeah, who’s the pussy now?” Cole asked as he stood. “You’re with me, Rig. Emmerich!” He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “You’re in charge of the bridge until I get back with the Doc.”

Emmerich seemed surprised by his order. “As if Dartmouth’s creation will ever listen to me.”

“Cain!” Cole shouted as he and Rig headed for the lift. “Chrysanthemum’s in charge until I get back. She’s my friend, and I trust her.”

Cole grinned at Emmerich gave her a thumbs up, and winked just as the lift door closed.

~

Q
uit panicking!

Lin was sucking up the limited supply of oxygen at an alarming rate, and she had lost control of the jetpack...if she had ever had control of it to begin with. The view of the world outside her visor spun at a sickening speed, and it only seemed to be going faster. There was probably a simple solution, but fear had a way of making one stupid. She had to take control of her situation if she was to be reunited with the others. She closed her eyes and took a costly deep breath.

I did not come this far and give up everything only to suffocate in a stolen space suit.

Reopening her eyes, Lin did a quick summation of her rotation and activated the opposite thruster in hopes of counteracting the spinning. She slowed a little, though her true motion was more gyroscopic than circular. A few quick, calculated bursts helped to rectify the issue. Her world no longer spun, but a new problem had arisen, and it was approaching fast.

CAIN said through text inside her Ocunet lenses.

Cole?
Lin thought, momentarily forgetting that she was on a collision course with the satellite dish. A quick burst positioned her to face away from the dish, and she could see the approach of the ICV-71. The ship’s underside was exposed, the payload bay door slowly opening. They were coming to save her, but seeing the dish in her peripheral vision was more than enough motivation to act before collision. All she had to do was make it inside the bay.

Taking what limited experience she had gained in correcting her uncontrollable spin, Lin gripped the jetpack controls. Another collision warning from CAIN flashed in her vision and broke her calm. As a result, she fired her thrusters too strongly. The good news: she was headed straight for her intended target. The bad news: she had a new collision concern.

Panic seized her once more as she rocketed toward the bay opening. Her breathing came in short, desperate gasps, and her oxygen level meter flashed red. CAIN’s warning scrolled by in bold caps, warning her of her high speed approach. The words registered, though her hands resisted her plea to react accordingly.

And then Cole was there. At least she assumed the person floating in the bulky hard-shell space suit was him. He was slowly working his way out of the bay toward her, but he was ill-prepared for her hurtling velocity. In a last ditch effort to intercept her before impact, he thrusted to race over in time and cut her off.

He missed.

Lin could only watch in horror at his helpless expression and outstretched arms as she sped by. She collided head-first into something solid, and her world went black.

~

“C
lose the bay door, Cain!”

Cole had watched Lin’s helmet collide with the steel platform. There were spider web cracks in the glass, and her body had gone limp. Her vicious impact caused her to ricochet back in the direction from which she had come. If he did not secure her before she drifted back out into space, she was as good as dead.

Looking down at the bay door, it was obvious CAIN would be unable to close it in time to stop her from slipping away. He was already attempting a second retrieval, though he feared grabbing her outside of the ship and the door severing the tether. He had to chance it. He flew in front of Lin and allowed her to slam directly into him. He had not anticipated the force of the impact, and without her assistance, her unconscious body slipped through his bulky fingers.

Collecting his wits, Cole saw Lin’s tumbling body had passed the ship’s threshold and was close to being lost forever. At the same moment he accelerated toward her, the entire ship followed his lead. He had never considered that CAIN could assist in so delicate an operation. The ship swallowed her whole and even tilted enough so she couldn’t pass through the diminishing opening.

Thanks, Cain,
Cole thought, though he knew Lin was not out of danger yet. This time he aimed for her leg on his approach and grabbed her foot. Collecting some of his slack tether, he pulled her close and looped it around her torso a couple of times before igniting the reverse thrusters. He took his first breath in what seemed like minutes when they slowed to a stop.

“Musgrave,” Emmerich yelled into Cole’s earpiece.

“A little busy right now,” he said, frustrated at her timing. “You’re in charge until I get back, remember?”

“Get your ass back up here,” she said, a tremor in her voice. “We’ve got big trouble.”

Cole gave the signal for Rig to reel them back to safety. “More trouble than a dying engineer?”

There was an unsettling pause. “Terracom is here.”