During the next Satamia day, as the Manessa Kwi searched for the second ship along the course the first ship had most likely taken, many more pictures and memories were shared. Rini became very diligent, vowing to Ilika, Mati, M’palta’s mate, and everyone else, that rocks larger than grains of sand were never again going to get anywhere near the ship without him knowing.
The bandaged male spider thanked him.
Tizoromulia mentioned that as soon as his mate, Timoradalia, examined the hull of the second ship, he could calculate the distance to the hive’s home planet.
Sata became interested and begged to learn how.
The only tricky part, the Ti’ia explained, was measuring the asteroid pits per square meter on the two hulls. He would work from photographs, and Manessa would help.
With Sata watching, the little mathematician entered the basic formula into a knowledge pad, pointed out that Distance 1 would be known when they found the second ship, and began touching keys until the formula was solved for Distance 2.
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Sata took the knowledge pad and gazed at the steps until she understood.
It wasn’t long before Boro moved his seat close and started asking questions.
The second ship, seventeen light-hours behind the first, was much easier to find because it was still slightly warm. On nearly the same course, Manessa spotted it in a region of space sprinkled with cold gas and dust, but little else.
K’storpo speculated that the voyagers had a destination in mind, and put Sata to work examining the star charts in the direction the course would take the two ships.
At Ilika’s command, Mati stopped a hundred kilometers from the second mystery ship.
Rini quickly announced that it was not all the same temperature.
“Manessa sees a little room, deep in the ship, that’s cold by our standards, but very hot compared to space. About four hundred degrees absolute, twenty-one below freezing.”
“And look at this!” Sata announced excitedly. “From here, the stars ahead on their course aren’t too exciting. But when I shifted the point of view back
NEBADOR Book Seven: The Local Universe 27
along their course, look what I found five light-years from here!”
The crew switched channels and Kibi routed the image to the passengers’
screen.
“Oooo!” Timoratamia the artist began. “That’s a constellation to stir the heart of any winged creature!”
“I think there were some crystallized wing structures in the remains on the first ship,” M’palta said thoughtfully while gazing at the screen.
“Please identify those stars,” K’storpo requested.
Sata turned back to her console.
“Ready ion seven,” Ilika began, “full emergency responses. Take us to eight kilometers, Mati.”
The pilot nodded and reached for her flight control.
“Rini, I want to know if that ship reacts to us in any way.”
The slender lad turned to his console and made a new selection.
The slightly-warm ship remained still and quiet, moving through space as it had been for a century or more, on the same course as its cold, dead sister ship.
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As the little deep-space response ship approached, the slender monkey mammal at the watch station could make out dozens of small points of heat in the one warm room on the big ship, and those points were arranged in perfect rows.
K’storpo, the mantid mission leader, gazed at the infra-red image on the large screen over the steward’s station. “That inner-most chamber must be highly insulated from the rest of the ship, judging by the extreme temperature difference. It probably contains the most important members of the hive.”
“And the only ones left alive on the ship,” M’palta added.
“The rest of the ship,” T’shlix began, “may give us some usable knowledge records, since it’s still at a hundred and thirty-five degrees absolute.”
K’storpo nodded. “Let’s go see what we can learn.”
Timoradalia the chemist hovered over the pitted hull and took pictures so her mate, back on the Manessa Kwi, could begin his distance calculations.
Timorafilia the linguist floated in space near some painted words, almost readable. After a minute, she shook her tiny head in frustration, and turned, just in time to see T’shlix inserting his prying tool on the edge of a hatch. Her tiny eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she realized what the symbols on the hatch said. “No! Not that . . .”
Before she could complete her sentence, a bright flash blinded everyone, metal fragments flew in all directions, and T’shlix screamed for a brief moment as his space suit and body were torn to shreds by the silent explosion.
K’storpo’s mind raced. “Manessa, emergency pickup! I can’t see . . .”
“Suit breach!” M’palta yelled. “Can’t see either!”
“I’m blind too,” Timorafilia said. “I should have . . .”
“Later,” K’storpo commanded. “Dalia?”
“I’m okay. I was farthest away, looking at the hull. I’m heading for M’palta now. She’s losing consciousness.”
Just as Timoradalia reached the drifting spider, both were scooped up by Manessa’s open airlock.
“Pressurize!” the little Ti’ia screamed.
Kibi had air filling the room the instant the outer door closed. She opened the inner door to find the Ti’ia trying to get the spider’s suit off, but having
NEBADOR Book Seven: The Local Universe 29
little luck with her tiny hands. Kibi’s strong mammal muscles did the trick.
Ilika and Timorasimia were quickly on the lower deck to help, and at Ilika’s command, the ship raised the air pressure and temperature. Kibi cycled the airlock, and Mati maneuvered toward Timorafilia.
As the arachnid began to wake up, the helpless and sad Ti’ia in the airlock let Kibi carry her out and set her on the floor.
Mati scooped up the mission leader, and finally the body of the technologist.
At first, M’palta’s mate wanted to go down to the lower deck, and started to carefully move his bandaged legs toward the lift. Then he realized that someone else needed him even more. He found the female beetle in the back of the passenger area, with her head in a corner and her wings quivering.
Even though it caused him pain, he touched her trembling legs with his to share her grief as best he could.
