10. BOARDING PARTY

Red light crested the bow of the Hippogryph like a volcanic crack ripped in the seams of space. The brown dwarf Draupnir rose into view, casting its dim glow across the hull of the Hippogryph. Its fiery surface swirled with red and maroon, like the glowing corpse of what had once been a star. 

I have to paint this before we leave.

Nell’s seat harness tugged on her shoulders as their shuttle changed course, sending them away from the Hippogryph. A looming shadow passed over the cockpit window: the silhouette of the Archimedes.

The research vessel was a single ring with a short cylindrical central body suspended by large structural spokes. It was built for a much smaller crew, so the entire ship was roughly the size of the Hippogryph’s smallest ring.

One hundred-fifty crew.

“Still no contact,” Fabian said as he scrolled through comm channels, hoping to pick up a radio signal.

The first mate and captain sat in the shuttle’s front two seats, with Alvarez piloting. Daniel Ho sat to Nell’s right. His face drooped; his eyes glazed over. She had seen that look before. It was the face of someone who knew they were walking into a tomb.

As they drew closer to the Archimedes, the red light of Draupnir dimmed. They slipped into deeper shadows, and the blue cabin lights blinked on.

The shuttle's spotlights illuminated the grey hull of the approaching ship. It looked incredibly normal from the outside. There were no obvious signs of exterior damage or distress, but they had no way of knowing what it would be like on the inside.

Alvarez interrupted the silence. “Boarding in five.”

Back in the cargo bay, three seats had been pulled down from the wall, occupied by two marines - Hughes and Fleischer - and the andromech. The robotic man fit in well with the marines. He was dressed in their fatigues, and he wore the same blank expression on his face.

Nell was of two minds, looking at the trio. She couldn’t tell if the andromech was perfectly emulating being a human, or if the marines had become stiff enough to look like machines. Both thoughts perturbed her.

The marines drew their sidearms, switching on their magshot systems.

Brutes.

She had seen what they could do with one of those pistols. Even using nonlethal rounds, a couple magshot pistols could put down a rioting mob in seconds. She doubted they would have any reason to use them, but military types always went into a situation anticipating violence.

Nell lurched forward in her seat as the shuttle came to a stop, caught in the ship’s docking sequence. They had synchronized with the Archimedes’ rotation, so there was a sudden sensation of gravity pulling Nell down into her chair.

“The ship’s computer is online. Docking sequence initiated,” Fabian called from his seat.

Good, Nell thought, hopefully their life support system is still online.

Fabian scanned his monitor as a safety report scrolled across the screen. “O2 levels and air pressure look good.”

A less experienced Nell would have taken this information as good news at face value, but over the years she had learned that there is rarely good news in a situation like this. On one hand, conditions had remained liveable on the ship, so there could be survivors. On the other hand, the crew being dead would have also resulted in oxygen being conserved.

Fabian continued, “Temperature and humidity are high. Thirty-three degrees at eighty-five percent RH.”

So they’re either saving energy by reducing the load on the air quality system or they’re all dead.

In her mind, Nell could hear Odie telling her to stay positive. She couldn’t afford to do that. It would drive her crazy. Finding the worst case scenario is what had kept her alive on Kepler Prime. 

Alvarez unclipped his harness and rose to his feet. “Get ready to board.”

Fleischer pulled open the hatchway leading down into the Archimedes. A ladder extended into pitch black shadows. Nell couldn’t see the bottom. For a moment she was a teenager again, standing on the precipice of a mineshaft, preparing to descend. A pit formed in her stomach. She held her breath as she remembered jagged stone closing in around her. Her fingertips began to burn, anticipating the edge of razor sharp salt rock as she searched in the darkness for bodies.

There was a hand on her shoulder, and Nell was back on the ship again. Daniel patted her on the back, a knowing look in his eyes. Then, he mounted the ladder and lowered himself into the darkness. Nell followed suit, awkwardly climbing onto the ladder as her bulky medical pack made it difficult to slide down into the tight port tube.

Hand over hand, she lowered herself into the dark. Despite her fear, the thing that kept her going deeper was the thought of the crew aboard that ship, and making sure they were safe. They needed her. She wasn’t searching for bodies anymore. She was searching for a lost child, a starving mother, a crying baby who needed to be held. The darkness made it easier to imagine their faces. She could almost hear them calling for help. But as she strained her ears, searching for their voices, she heard nothing.

Reaching the end of the ladder, Nell found herself in a dimly illuminated corridor. Hughes had been the first one down, and had set up a few lights around the perimeter of their entrance. Fabian, Daniel, and Alvarez stood to the side. Nell joined them in silence.

They stood in a small bubble of light, their bastion from whatever waited for them in the shadows. The air was hot and muggy, which only served to worsen the constricting feeling of the five-foot wide corridor. The hall extended out of sight into the darkness in either direction.

A new pair of legs poked from the hatch in the ceiling as the andromech lowered himself down the ladder. He was closely followed by Fleischer.

“Hey, you got any V?” Daniel whispered to Nell, quiet enough to not draw anyone else’s attention.

“Hm?” Nell had been focused on the andromech as it lowered itself to the floor.

“Sorry, just getting a little anxious,” Daniel admitted.

Nell gently grabbed Daniel’s hand. He was trembling. She reached into a side pocket in her pack. “Yeah hold on a second.”

She retrieved a small tin from the pack and popped the lid open. Varenicline.

“Why didn’t you take it before we left?” She asked.

Daniel shrugged. “There was a lot going on. I forgot.”

Nell handed Daniel two small white pills. “Let me know if you need to sit down for a minute. You may start feeling-”

“Yeah I know the drill,” Daniel said as he popped the pills into his mouth. He drew a swig of water through a rubber tube at his shoulder.

As Fleischer dismounted the ladder, Captain Alvarez motioned for the team’s attention. “Considering the lack of communication with the crew, our first priority will be to take control of the ship and assess the situation from the bridge. From there, we can get a better idea of what’s going on, and where to go next.”

“Captain,” Nell spoke up, “the original plan was for me to take a team to med bay. There could be crew members who need immediate medical attention. I don’t want to waste any time getting there.”

“I understand how dire the circumstances are, Dr. Adamus,” Alvarez said firmly, “but right now we’re going in blind. There may not even be anyone in the medical bay. Someone had to be on the bridge to activate the distress signal, so that’s where we look first. From there, we can use the ship’s security and comms systems to locate the rest of the crew. ”

Nell conceded. It made sense, but she wasn’t happy about it. There was an urge inside her to immediately start scouring the ship. There were people who needed her help, and they were so close. But they would need a full medical team on board to really thoroughly search the ship.

“Alright, let’s head out,” Alvarez said in a manner meant not to invite any more discussion. “Fabian, you have navigation.”

The first mate nodded, retrieving his comm pad which contained a map of the ship. Hughes passed out head lamps for everyone to put on.

There was a pause. An uncomfortable question still hung like a spider over their heads.

Alvarez broke the silence. “If anyone comes across any bodies… leave them. They will be collected later when the second boarding party does a full sweep of the ship. Our priority right now is to help the survivors.”

Nell could tell everyone had glanced at Jakob after the captain said that. Finding survivors wasn’t the only reason they were there. Nell imagined Fabian was probably scowling at the thought of the andromech coming along.

“Lead on,” Alvarez commanded, and they began their march into the darkness.

As they left, Nell noted that Fleischer had again opted to take the rear with the andromech, likely to keep an eye on it. She had to admit, it made her uncomfortable having her back turned to the thing. But the andromech had its own reason for being there. Perhaps it felt just as strongly about finding its missing counterpart as she did about finding the crew. Or perhaps it didn’t feel anything at all, and this was just an objective to complete. Thinking about it only reminded Nell that there was an unaccounted for andromech somewhere on the ship. A chill ran down her spine at that thought.

The group pattered down the hall, their head lamps casting wide shadows against the wall. All was silent, except for the distant hum of pumps which pushed water through vein-like pipes in the walls.

Though she was aware of the heat when they first exited the shuttle, Nell now felt the oppressive humidity, which only seemed to worsen as they delved deeper into the ship. The air clung to her skin like wet cement. Sweat was dripping into her eyes, so she periodically removed her head lamp to dab her forehead with her sleeve.

The halls seemed to go on and on, with no visual clues as to where they were going. The distant light of their home base had long disappeared as they wove through the ship’s labyrinthal passages. There was only darkness behind them, and ahead was no different. Fabian guided them onward, following the ship’s layout displayed on his comm pad.

They peeked through open doorways and side corridors as they passed by, hoping to catch some glimpse of the Archimedes crew. But they found nothing. Occasionally as they would pass long intersecting hallways, someone would call out into the darkness. The only response was impenetrable silence.

Nell hoped they would come across something which gave the ship a feeling of life. A tool box which hadn’t been put back in its place, a dirty mug sitting on a desk, a discarded article of clothing hanging off the back of a chair. Anything would have comforted her. But it felt truly empty, with only the sound of the ship’s hum echoing through the walls, and each room they passed looked as if nobody had ever inhabited it.

The shadows began to lighten, and shortly afterwards they came to a stairway which brought them down to the next level. The corridor below was thrice as wide as where they had been before, dimly lit by a long observation window which ran the length of it. Starlight shone through the window, offering a bit of relief from the pitch blackness. Otherwise, it was as plain as the previous parts of the ship they had passed through.

“The bridge isn’t far ahead,” Fabian said. His voice cut through the dense air like a knife, shocking Nell out of a daze which had been induced by the silent trudge through the heat.

The rest of the group nodded to Fabian. He recognized the look on their faces which silently urged him to carry on. So he continued down the hall without a word, and the troupe trailed close behind him.

Dim blue light from the window cast fuzzy striped shadows against the wall in the spaces where their lamps left room for darkness. As the ship turned towards Draupnir, the light in the corridor changed hue, turning purple and then maroon, and the shadows from the gaps in the window became more defined. At last, the glowing red orb rose into view, and a burst of light illuminated the entire corridor. That was when Nell saw something in the distance, just before the passage curved out of view.

There was a dark form against the wall opposite the window, sitting in one of the shadowed regions. Before Nell could even make it out, her fingertips began to burn, and she felt the familiar pit in her stomach. Fabian turned his light to illuminate the figure, but Nell didn’t need the light to recognize the silhouette of a body slumped against the wall.

Before anyone else could react, Nell had pushed past the rest of the group. She had her pack open before she reached the body, and she was already on her knees in front of it before she even had time to process what it even was. The moment her brain caught up with her instincts, she pulled away from the figure.

It was a body, from the waist down.

Brown boots. Green pants. Black belt.

From there up, it looked like a ball of yarn had been violently torn to shreds. There was no blood - only long thin wires which were strewn in every direction, with a hole in the middle where a torso would have been.

Silver, copper, and red cords.

Some were bundled together, while others shot off in random directions. From the sides of the pile protruded arms, and from the top a head. The face was gaunt, mouth agape, eyes wide open and fixed on the window across the hall.

The rest of the group caught up with Nell only a few seconds after she had reached the body. They stood back several paces from where Nell knelt. She could hear a few sharp breaths and curses.

“Holy hell,” Fleischer’s voice rose from the back of the group. He pushed Hughes and Daniel out of the way as he stepped in front of them to get a better look. “What… is this?”

Nell nearly jumped out of her skin as Jakob quietly stepped in front of her. The andromech just stood over the body. Silent.

“You know what this is, don’t you?” Fabian’s voice was sharp. He was ready to start a fight.

She wanted to fall back with the rest of the group, but was frozen in place, unable to move. She was trapped in the gaze of those lifeless eyes. They held her there, crouching on the ground between Fabian and the andromech.

“Yes,” Jakob responded. His flat voice wavered slightly. His back remained turned to the group. “I knew him well. His name was Michaíl.”

Jakob bent down and put a hand inside the chest cavity of the other andromech. He quickly recoiled, withdrawing his hand. Then he stood and turned to leave. “He did not deserve this.”

Without making another sound, the andromech continued his march down the hall towards the bridge.

Alvarez bent down next to Nell. He put his hands on her shoulders, prompting her to rise to her feet, and then guided her back to the group with him.

“You okay?” He asked in a hushed tone.

Nell nodded. “Yeah.” She forced a slight smile. “Should have packed a change of britches.”

It was her attempt at banter. She wasn’t great at it, but she knew Odie would have said something like that, so in a way it made it feel like he was there with her.

“Hold on!” Fabian called after Jakob, who was now a few yards down the corridor. “That’s it?”

Jakob didn’t respond.

The rest of the group followed Fabian, who hurried to catch up with the andromech.

“What the hell happened?” Fabian asked, his tone accusatory.

Jakob pivoted to face Fabian. For the first time, Nell saw emotion on the andromech’s face. His brow was furrowed and lips curled up slightly like a dog about to snap.

Alvarez attempted to diffuse the situation. “Fabian, now isn’t the time to-”

“No, now is the time,” Fabian said, “I can’t continue to ignore the blatantly obvious fact that wherever an andromech shows up, people die. It happened on Xia IX, and it happened here. And then, conveniently, they can claim they lost people too, so they can divert blame. But I’m not buying it. What happened to this ship?”

There was no response. Everyone held their breath as Fabian faced down the andromech. The first mate looked like a wolf ready to pounce at the slightest movement. Nell heard one of the marines unclip their holster.

“Answer me!” Fabian yelled.

“I don’t know!” Jakob roared. His voice reverberated off the walls like a shotgun blast. Nell jumped at the sound. Something had snapped, and for the first time, the machine had broken out of its calm, monotone cadence.

Jakob took a deep breath, as a human would to regain composure. “He was my friend,” he continued calmly, “and he came here to help. Beyond that, I know nothing. He thought you people were worth saving. I have yet to be convinced.”

The andromech had resumed his typical flat expression, but Nell could tell there was something different about his eyes. A spark.

So which is the ruse? Nell thought to herself. The emotionless machine or the man who lost a friend?

Jakob turned and continued his march down the hall, his ominous words echoing in Nell’s head.