Outward Borne (12 page)

Zep picked up one of the lights and went off
to look around the conduit exterior. She found two large wide doors
to the right of the shuttle that were much too heavy to budge.
There was a smaller access door just beyond, a regular entry, not
locked, Zep opened it and stepped onto a small landing. She could
make out a platform some way below and climbed down a supporting
pillar to get to it. Each step shot a sharp pain up her injured
leg. It hurt, she thought, much more than it should.

Zep walked onto a flat five-sided
platform that was around ten paces across. The contraption was
attached to four heavy cables that ran the length of the module and
off into the darkness. To the side, a dim light glowed inside a
small hut on what looked like a simple control panel. The
self-propelled heavy-duty lift sat just below the medical deck and,
using the control rod, she was able to slowly raise the platform to
the floor level. As soon as she stopped the lift, a switch lit up
on the conduit wall, and Zep was able to open those vast doors. Pok
and Til were waiting there and wheeled their cart with its restless
cargo onto the platform. Up, they decided, and with Zep at the
controls, they set off.

The conduit contained all if the
air, water and vacuum pipes, power and communications cables,
anything that might need repair or could not withstand the harsh
cold of the uninsulated arm itself. All of that complexity
disappeared when Til switched these off the lamps to keep their
position hidden. They passed the anti-mod decks, one after another,
into the darkness until the lift came to the top of the module. The
lift slowed by itself as it approached the barrier. The bulkhead
door opened automatically. A rush of the heavy hot air accompanied
them as the lift moved up into a small space and the lower door
slid shut behind them. Zep, momentarily chilled with fright, felt
trapped within the air lock, but soon the upper bulkhead door slid
open. This time the warm air left with a whoosh and was immediately
replaced by cold, very cold, very thin air of that long dark
shaft.

Outside the conduit, the arm was
near the vacuum of outer space and held only enough inert gas,
mostly helium, to preserve the metal fame and keep the internal
temperature high enough to prevent damage to the bots or any
materials that need enter. The interior of the conduit was better
protected, warmer, but still cold, and it now contained a thin ObLa
atmosphere that had built up over the centuries as a little
anti-mod air seeped in each time the bulkhead opened. No Da could
enter that space without a protective suit. It was the world of the
bots.

The Cathians runched their skin to
withstand the cold, and huddled together in the control hut. The
lift moved slowly up through the cluttered conduit, LePan, unused
to the freezing temperature, began to suffer. The lower portion was
quite dark, but as they moved farther along, they came upon
isolated lights, like a train passing a lone farm in the night. Zep
took hope that they had found a way to pursue the ObLaDas, but Pok
grew increasingly concerned. In spite of the cold, she went and
poked around the empty platform. She had to hold on to the floor
slats and metal tracks as the simulated gravity decreased. She
viewed the platform as one large platter serving them up for the
carving. The lift could be a one-way trip into an ambush. The Hags
or their robots would be prepared for them, she thought, they would
not just allow them to move all the way through the ship
unopposed.

They passed by a
shelf stacked with spare construction materials. Pok called for Zep
to stop and go even with the storage shelf. Large wall panels,
beams, premade boxes and used bins were piled up and held in place
by large nets. Pok went to the edge on the platform and leapt onto
the storage shelf, she was surprised at how far she traveled.
Cathians could not jump on Cathia. The lift had taken them more
than half way through the rotating arm where only the low gravity
made it possible for the Cathians to drag the massive beams onto
the platform and stack them up like logs. They placed wall panels
in layers over the hut to make a sturdy roof. It might afford some
protection in case of an attack. Pok collected rods, poles and some
solid looking connection clamps, whatever might serve as a weapon.
Til cut off a large section of the net and fixed it across the
width of the pallet, tying it down where she could. It should hold
things in place and might tangle up some bots if they were
attacked.

As the lift began to move again,
there was a pronounced scratching, scraping sound. Zep went to the
edge of the platform to see if anything was hanging over the side.
Turning back toward the others, she stopped with a start. Three
Sticks were arranged before her, in a typically straight line, with
identical postures, all oriented in her direction. Zep had not seen
them follow her onto the lift. Smiling in spirit, she waved them
onto the platform, but the Sticks did not follow. Instead, they
pointed their tubular bodies in different directions, rocking
themselves along that line. Til knew enough by now to realize they
had something else in mind, so she gestured them on their way. The
Sticks went off, each in a different direction, scampering over the
nets, inspecting the barriers and weapon stashes. After a thorough
look, they returned and lined up in front of Til. Again she invited
them to come further. They declined. Two of the Sticks turned to
point away from the opening, while the third could not resist
stepping toward LePan and giving her a poke. All three went off and
disappeared over the edge of the pallet. They did not seem to mind
the cold or the air, what little there was of it.

The scrapping stopped as the lift
continued its slow climb through the conduit. It could travel a lot
faster. The lever that she was using was intended for fine
adjustments, not long distance travel, but Zep did not know this
and she was not inclined to randomly push buttons to see what might
happen. With all of their lights off again, Pok lay down, cold but
comfortable in the net. The long cylinder with its shuttle tubes,
supply lines and large pipes and cables disappeared into the
distance. Far ahead, she could see more lights. She wondered if
they would be entirely weightless by the time they got that far. As
the lift moved closer to the lights, Pok could see that the cables
and everything else came to an abrupt end. Something like a wall
lay across the width of the conduit, but the barrier was actually
another bulkhead. The door sprung aside as the truck lift went
through and the vast expanse of the hub appeared before
them.

Buth NuTet had not expected the
Cathians to get out of the anti-mod. He did not know much about
them, the new aliens, only that they were not well regarded. Now he
had a decision to make. The truck lift was approaching the hub
bulkhead. Should he open the door? He could leave the Cathians
there, stuck in the dark cold conduit with its sparse oxygen and no
food. Their air tanks, lights, and water would not last for long
and the problem would be solved, except for some clean
up.

He was being advised to do just
that, but he decided otherwise. Locked out, frustrated and angry,
the Cathians might take what vengeance they could. The fact that
they could do considerable violence stayed the ObLaDas’ hand. The
Cathians had only to nudge the massive beams and wall panels off
the lift platform. They would glide slowly away in the slight
gravity near the hub, but would begin to fall with increasing speed
down through the long arm, crashing against the side as they went.
They could possibly damage air, power, communication lines, or the
shuttle tubes, finally bashing into, and perhaps through, the
anti-mod bulkhead to do even more harm.

Buth was almost certain that the
aliens would not know how to cut the suspension cables, which would
be even worse. The thick strands ran through the conduit and held
much of the weight of the anti-module as it rotated around the hub.
If the cables were cut, the arm and anti-module would not hold
together. Bolts would start popping and the anti-module would tear
away and spin off into space. The out-of-balance Filim arm would
twist and strain until it bent in half, its supporting lines would
probably not break, but would hold the module as it smashed it way
toward the hub or into the hull. Buth NuTet was almost certain that
would not happen, but considering the consequences, he decided to
fight it out on the flat, weightless floor of the transit
hub.

Once the truck lift moved past the
containment barrier, the curved conduit walls ended and they
entered the vast expanse of the hub. This normally busy,
well-lighted place had been cleared of activity. The lift cables,
shuttle tubes, power lines, pipes and vents all continued into this
wide complex space that was larger by far than any place the
Cathians had even been. The Filim hub was the connecting point
between the arms and the bridge, the axle about which the Filim and
Farside vanes rotated. Transit corridors from the arms, the bridge,
and the ship’s hull converged within the hub. It was the terminal
for shuttle cars, truck lifts, supply lines and services, as well
as being a huge material depot.

Far ahead the Cathians could see
three large platforms that were connected to a cluttered floor, but
it was disorienting. The Cathians had seen themselves traveling
upwards from the deck of the anti-module, but now seemed to be
descending, upside down and weightless, toward the hub floor. The
shuttle tubes seemed to end at that floor, but the Cathians knew
that they must pass through it and go on to the habit
module.

Til thought that she could see
some movement on the nearest platform, but she hoped not. At this
distance she would see something move only if it was large, very
large. As they came closer, it appeared as if the truck lift could
pass through the platforms. Each one had an opening to exactly fit
the lift’s shape. The series of flimsy looking shelves had been
built to hold the massive but weightless materials that were
scheduled for transport to and from the anti-module. Zep slowed the
lift to a stop well below the first of these. There were three
hulking megabots hanging on to that platform waiting for
them.

Buth NuTet had rushed the megabots
to the hub from the construction zone far up the hull. Megabots
were built to grasp and maneuver massive beams and construction
modules using powerful clamps on each forward arm. Their four
maneuverable legs and massive feet gripped built-in hold-downs to
anchor themselves in place as they moved about in weightless space.
The megabots were not fast, but they were massive and strong. They
were built like bulldozers and could do whatever they were told to
do.

Zep slowly brought the lift toward
the nearest platform. She decided to go through opening as fast as
she might and keep going as far as she could. The nearest megabot
hung from the storage platform. As the lift slowly approached, the
big bot straightened and moved toward the ascending lift. Zep
stopped out-of-reach. The Cathians could not fight the heavy
megabots, but they did have one piece of equally heavy equipment.
The big bot let go of the deck holds and clamped two legs onto a
lift cable. It began to craw toward the corner of the truck
platform. The bot got one clamp onto the edge and, as it began to
let go of the cable one methodical one leg at a time, Zep activated
the lift and drove as fast as it would go toward the opening. With
a satisfying crunch, the lift stopped abruptly, wedged in place by
the broken megabot.

Another heavy bot became active
and moved toward the lift, which was now thoroughly stuck. Zep
frantically jerked the control lever up and down to free the
immobilized truck. If she could just get free and move the rest of
the way through, they would get past and away. The megabot was
massive strong, but moved ponderously, clamping one foot after
another onto the thin beams and struts below the shelf as it
lurched toward the lift. Pok could see a scarred, dark brown clamp
slip through the narrow opening and over the edge of the platform.
As the megabot attached its second arm, the lift shook and sprung
away, leaving the smashed bot to drift away into the
hub.

The clamps of the second bot held
tight when the lift backed up the cables. The storage platform did
not. The lift was as rugged as the megabots and the torque
generated by its four traction motors tore the struts away from the
storage platform. The bot’s clamp-like feet still held the
worthless bits of metal as the lift carried it away. Zep reversed
direction and headed back through the platform opening. The megabot
released its hold, not wanting to repeat the mistake of its former
kin, and it drifted off across the hub as if it were a large bit of
fluff.

Zep stopped again. One more bots
was waiting. Retreat back toward the anti-module was possible but
pointless; they had not come so far to hide away or to be trapped.
She watched as the remaining megabot disappeared through the
cutout. It would be waiting for them on the other side. The lift
was moved too slowly to get past it. Zep, frustrated and afraid,
pushed some likely buttons on the control panel. The lift suddenly
bolted through the opening. The dull green megabot could do no more
than grab the net as the lift moved past and through the next
opening. The bot attempted to pull the net away, but it caught on a
corner of the platform, tightened suddenly, and pulled the bot
along with it. Rapidly closing on the terminal floor, Zep could not
stop the truck as it banged into an emergency barrier and crashed
to a stop less than an arm’s length from the end of the cable. The
pillars, planks, beams, panels, and Cathians now crashed into the
thick metal floor and bounded away. Something smashed into the thin
roof of the little cabin and crushed it to half its height. Pok was
slammed into the crumpled metal, opening a cut on her
side.