Point of Origin (War Eternal Book 4) (23 page)

"No, that at least makes sense. I'm going for it."

Germaine gave the Lanning maximum thrust, sending it rocketing towards the cube. Steven leaned over to look at the HUD in front of the pilot, where a three-dimensional grid of the space around the ship was visible. The drones were giving chase, taking potshots as the superior thrust of their starship helped them pull away.

"Let's hope you're right about this," Germaine said.

The Lanning skirted low along the length of the cube, climbing one side and making a sharp vector to reach over the top. The hangar became visible ahead of them, a narrow beam of white light that widened as they approached. Steven checked the HUD. The drones had fallen behind but began to catch up as Germaine slowed to enter the object.

"Here we go," Germaine said, pointing the nose of the Lanning downward and into the cube.
 

A familiar, human-style hangar waited within, the docking clamps for the drones visible along the floor. As soon as the ship was over the threshold one set of clamps began repositioning itself to hold the starship, and the hangar door began to slide closed.

The drones reached the hangar door too late, pausing in front of it as it shut.
 

"Down there," Steven said.
 

"I see it," Germaine replied, angling the ship down to the floor. "I'm extending the grip."
 

The Lanning's landing grip touched the bottom of the hangar. The ship shuddered as the clamps locked it into place.

"The hangar is being pressurized," Germaine said, watching the readings on the control panel. "It looks like you were right about the drones."

"Alleluia," Cormac said. "I think I wet myself."

"Grab your gear and get ready," Steven said. "Just because we're in doesn't mean we're safe yet. For all we know this place has already been compromised, and we're walking right into a trap."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Cormac said. "Let me get my grenades."

"Standard serpentine formation," Steven said as they reached the hatch out of the hangar. "Germaine, take the rear."

"Yes, sir," Germaine said, turning back to cover their tails.

The hatch slid open at their approach, revealing an intersection.

"If I didn't know I was in a cube built by an advanced artificial intelligence, I would say I was on an Alliance starship," John said, taking in the simple metal walls and floor, and the ductwork hanging above them.

"This is more narrow than an Alliance starship," Steven replied. "It reminds me of the Beatty. Remember her?"

"The Beatty?" Cormac asked.

"Yeah," John said. "She was a third generation battleship. Survived over two-hundred missions before she was decommissioned and turned into a museum."

"What does it mean?"

"It means this place is old and was based on old human technology," Steven said. "The question is, why?"

"More importantly," Germaine said, "which way do we go?"

"I don't think it matters that much," Steven said. He turned to the right and started walking, the others keeping formation behind him.

"What do you think this place is?" Cormac asked, keeping his voice low. "A museum?" He laughed at himself.

"I doubt it. I'm sure it has something to do with that massive ring out there. The whole thing was tethered to the star, probably to draw power from it."

"Whatever it is, it seems to be deserted," John said.

"We've barely scratched the surface of it," Steven said. "There could be someone here."

"It might take days to find them."

"Then it's a good thing we still have a decent supply of nutri-bars."

"Yum," Germaine said sarcastically.

They walked to the end of the first corridor, turning left at the next intersection. The corridor continued for some distance, both sides of it identical in appearance to the first hallway.

"It's going to be real easy to get lost in here without a p-rat or mapping drones," Germaine said.

"Yeah, we should mark our path," Steven said.

"I got it," Cormac said. He pulled a knife from his boot and scraped it along the wall, leaving an 'x' etched into it.

They walked for a while longer, taking two more intersections before finding a stairwell. They descended a level, emptying out onto the floor and finding it matched the first. More walking revealed more of the same.

They paused at one of the intersections, sitting with their backs against the wall, resting and eating.

"What would be the point of making something so big if there's nothing in it?" John said. "No hatches, no windows. Just lots of long hallways that don't go anywhere."

"There has to be a hatch that goes somewhere, somewhere," Steven said. "The hangar for instance. This station has a purpose."

"Do you think there's a crapper in here?" Cormac asked.

"You should have gone before we left the jumpship," Germaine replied.

"I, for one, am thankful that you didn't," John said. "Those nutri-bars do not process well in your intestines."

"It doesn't help that the Lanning's filters needed to be changed before we left," Germaine said. "I was just about ready to die twice daily."

"Who shits twice a day, anyway?" John said. "Especially on a diet of these things." He waved his bar before taking another bite.

Cormac laughed. "I'm in prime condition, my friends, as evidenced by my regular bowel movements. So frig off."

"Okay, okay," Steven said, smiling. "It's hard to eat this thing with you guys talking about feces, especially considering the similarity."

Germaine dropped his bar in response to the statement. Cormac laughed harder.

"In all seriousness, Admiral," John said. "Whatever we're supposed to find here, if it has to do with that ring, we can't exactly bring it back to Mitch."

Steven nodded. He had been thinking along the same lines. "It could be that this station has a jump engine. Maybe the whole thing is portable."

"What if it isn't?"

"Then we need to send a message back-"

Steven stopped talking when he felt the vibration along the floor. There was a constant hum in the station from the power source, but this was different.

The others felt it, too. They sprang to their feet, raising their rifles and getting into a two-by-two defensive formation. Then they stood in silence.

They remained that way for over a minute.
 

"It may be too soft to feel through our boots," John said.

"Cormac, drop down and give a listen," Steven said.

"Yes, sir," Cormac replied.
 

He lowered himself silently to the floor, putting his ear against it. Another minute had passed before he raised a finger. A minute later, he raised a second finger. Fifty seconds later, he raised a third.
 

"It's getting closer, whatever it is," he said. "Sounds like it's on treads or something. Not footsteps."

"Not repulser powered either," Steven said. It wouldn't be vibrating the floor if it were. "Can you tell which direction?"

"No, sir."

"Okay, let's move back a few meters so it can't catch us by surprise. Hopefully, it will give us some clue what we're dealing with here."

Germaine picked up his dropped bar and stowed it while the others made sure the area was clear of their debris. Then they went back the way they had come, keeping walls on two sides. Cormac crunched down and put his hand on the floor, starting the sequence again. They all counted the seconds with him.

Steven could hear the thing approaching as the count reached ten. It had a rumbling whine to it, along with a squeak that suggested Cormac was correct about the treads. It sounded big, the way it cast echoes off the narrow corridor walls as it grew nearer.

"Get ready," Steven whispered. "It may not be friendly." He adjusted his rifle, ready to shoot at whatever came around the corner. The others did the same.

Steven's heart pounded, his breathing becoming shallow. He had never been much for ground combat. In fact, he had scored the lowest grades in his class at the Academy. Not that it mattered for someone who was destined to command a starship. At least, it didn't usually matter. Now he wished he had worked a little harder on that part of his skill set if only to better keep his nerves under control. As the thing neared their position, he felt like he was only centimeters away from a full panic.

"No worries, Admiral," Cormac whispered from behind him. "This is why I came along for this ride."

Steven glanced back, giving the soldier a short nod. The Private's confidence helped keep him from losing it completely, and he remained in place as the thing edged into view.

It was a machine of some kind. Tall and rectangular, sitting on two squat treads that moved it slowly through the hallway. It was mostly smooth on the outside, the shell made of Tetron alloy, the surface broken only by small ridges of sensors that appeared randomly across its expanse. It wasn't immediately apparent what its purpose was, but as it reached the center of the intersection, it came to an abrupt stop.

Cormac moved up, stepping between it and Steven. He kept his rifle trained on it, ready for it to react to them.

It didn't. It sat there, motionless. There were no lights coming from it. There were no sounds other than the rumble of its reactor. It wasn't apparent it was doing anything, but Steven knew it had to be. Why else would it be sitting there?

"Seems odd, with the squeaky treads instead of a repulser and the Tetron frame," John said.

"It does," Steven agreed. "What do you think it means?"

"They didn't have the parts to fix it right," Cormac said. "Maybe."

They remained in alert status, waiting for it to do something. Minutes passed. It held in place, giving Steven time to overcome his initial anxiety and become curious instead.

"I think if it were going to kill us, it would have already," Cormac said.

"Do you think there are more of them in here?" John asked.

"I bet there are," Cormac said.

"Uh, guys," Germaine said. "Turn around."

Steven turned around. John and Cormac did the same. They had already traversed that corridor, making it more surprising to hear footsteps headed their way. It was enough to raise Steven's anxiety level again.

"It has to be a Tetron, doesn't it?" Cormac said.

"One of Origin's," Steven replied.

They kept their attention on the hallway, listening to the footsteps growing closer. The figure appeared in the distance a few minutes later, the lighting in the passage too dim to make them out.

"Stay on them," Steven said, swallowing his heart. "I'll make introductions." He started walking toward the figure. If it was dangerous, it was better to give the rest of his team some breathing room.

Shadows on the figure's face caused Steven to squint his eyes, trying to get a good look at who was coming. He could see the person was wearing a navy blue flight suit, and by the gait and general shape he guessed male. The closer the man grew, the calmer Steven became. What he wanted most were answers that he could bring back to Mitchell. To know what Origin had left here that would help them win the war.

They were still a hundred meters apart when Steven could clearly see that the incoming person was indeed a male, with short hair and olive skin, a pointed nose and a square jaw. The man appeared unarmed, his expression calm and confident as he approached.

Steven and the man faced one another, stopping two meters apart. Steven's eyes skipped to the embroidered patch over the man's heart. It read "Yousefi."

"Admiral Williams," the man said with a slight accent that Steven didn't recognize.

"You know who I am?" Steve replied.

Yousefi smiled. "Yes. The Node scanned you and passed your genetic sequence up to Control. I've been expecting your brother, but seeing you brings things into greater clarity for me. My name is Yousefi. I was the Commander of the Goliath's first mission."

Steven thought the name had looked familiar. Mitchell had mentioned the names of Goliath's inaugural crew to him. He turned his head, looking back at the box Yousefi had called a Node. At least he knew what it had been doing now. He looked back at the man.