Aboard the Eliza

  The Providence docks without incident onto the Eliza. The airlock of the freighter opens into a dark, icy hall with the tell-tale signs of destruction. Domitia steps into the hull, her armor detects the lack of gravity and mag-locks as soon as she's out of the Providence's artificial gravity.

  Domitia scans the hall, switching her helmet to heat, looking for any signs of life. She finds cold blotches of blood bobbing through the vessel, ice coating the red spheres. Her visor then cycles to rads, looking for any energy sources. She finds the usual suspects of light sources, though their signals indicate they've long since bled their backups dry. She switches to low light and begins to take in her surroundings.

  The ion strikes are seen across the grey slab walls like craters on a moon. Blood spatter paints grizzly mosaics across the floors and the walls. Bits and pieces of armor, bone, and void steel float aimlessly through the empty halls. Yet, for whatever reason, no bodies float among the rubble. Clearly, people died here; the frozen puddles of blood render vague outlines where corpses' had been. Dell floats up to Domitia's shoulder, grabbing hold of the pauldron; he scans the hallway, his light shining over the rubble.

  "Well, I guess we missed the party." He concludes, finding a sign above the airlock: "Okay, Doc, we just stepped out of airlock ten-c; we close by?"

  "Close enough," Hyaline's vexation hasn't left his words. Head to the aft, follow the outer doorway. The lockdown has closed most of the main entry ways into security."

  "Alrighty, and how are we gonna disable it?" Dell asks.

  "Should be an override in the chief's office." Hyaline answers, "If not, a manual power reset would reset the system. But that would mean going toward engineering, which I'd advise against."

  "Care to elaborate?" Domitia asks as she begins to head aft-way, following the signs towards security.

  "It'd put you away from the dish and would cost us time, and I'm done waiting." Hyaline expresses, "The hull suffered damage at some point, I don't know exactly what occurred, but I am concerned this ship--" A sound akin to great hands ripping steel like paper radiates through the Eliza"--Doesn't have enough time left."

  "We got room aboard our own," Dell offers, "We can give--"

  "That will not be necessary," Hyaline is quick to cut Dell off. "Fixing the beacon will be enough."

  "Was there a rescue ship nearby?" Domitia asks.

  "Yes... I believe our captain had been attempting to contact a nearby tender ship," Hyaline says, his words far calmer than before. "We were due for a resupply, after all."

  "That's how the captain got tricked?" Dell asks.

  "Yes! Sul thought the Memento Mori was a tender vessel of our fleet," Hyaline exclaims, "Senile old bastard, it should've been verified before it was ever allowed to board."

  The two bounty hunters venture deeper into the Eliza, its halls bending occasionally, the doors all having been blasted or cut open. Clearly, Domitia thinks, the boarders were a determined bunch of bastards. They pass through a hall, finding the first corpse of note - a machine. Most of the security drones inners were ripped out, wires and servos spilling out like viscera. Its arm cannon is attached only by a single shred of steel that looks ready to give in. The head is completely gone, an ion strike vaporizing it. Domitia's HUD automatically searches and finds it to be a Webster Security Automaton. The bulky giant has been reduced to a floating blob of melted steel.

  "Those things don't go down easy," Dell observes, "Rare to see them in the void, too bulky."

  "Might be the idea," Domitia muses, "Big and tanky, fills up a hallway easily, and if it dies, it turns into a barricade."

  "Smart," Dell observes.

  "Oh. You found one of those drones?" Hyaline asks, "Clumsy things, was on the brink of throwing them off the ship. Sul said otherwise."

  "Sul the security chief?" Domitia asks.

  "And captain." Hyaline goes on, "Old veteran. He was the right fit for the job, that I won't dispute. Our previous captain couldn't cut it. Wouldn't fly the ship as told."

  They push through the ruins of the Webster drone and press through a partly collapsed bulkhead. There, they find a wide loading dock, a swirling red light acting as a red sun for what had been a bloody battlefield. The wide airlock leading into the black ship had anti-breach foam bleeding from the edges and other smaller cracks that had begun to form. The airlock itself is closed, and the door warps awkwardly.

  "Fuck, now it makes sense?" Dell says, looking over the destruction.

  "What?" Domitia asks.

  "See the cracks," Dell points out the numerous places dark yellow foam oozes out of the hull. "The hull breach was caused by our friend trying to leave before disconnecting. That's probably what's causing the ship to fall apart. A big enough gravity wave hits us, and that might be it."

  "Does that mean..." Hyaline picks his words, "They could still be onboard."

  "Good chance of that; how long have you been floating out here?" Domitia asks.

  "I don't know! The clocks have been off since our last Liminal Jump. No one had bothered to reset them." Hyaline squawks.

  "Right..." Domitia detects that Hyaline is obfuscating, but she doesn't understand why.

  Putting herself in the doctor's shoes leaves her with more questions than answers. Imagine being left alone aboard a ship, recently assaulted by pirates, and with failing life support. You have no access to a Liminal Array, another thing she will mull over later, but you have access to traditional radio waves. So you throw your voice out into the void, hoping someone will come along and save you.

  That comes to pass; a pair of bounty hunters come to your aid. Putting aside her own feelings regarding saving those trapped in the void, Hyaline doesn't ask for a rescue; he asks for a repair job. Why would he choose to stay if he's running out of air and on a ship that might still have pirates roving around? Possibilities run through her head, but none calm her suspicions. As she passes through the loading dock, she decides to check native O2 levels, something she hadn't even thought to do when coming aboard. She then realizes that the CO2 levels are beyond bad; they're lethal.

  "Dell, mind doing a chem sweep for me?" Domitia asks her partner.

  "Sure..." Dell complies, his confusion evaporating with a whistle, "Airs polluted. Is the life support even working?"

  "Of course, it's not! I'm running low in my cabin! So tick-tock, I need to send that SOS!"

  Domitia and Dell look at each other, and while both their faces where hidden behind void-steel helmets, disdain could still be felt. They press on, following the signs toward security. As they do so, they see other safety and sanitation posters reminding the crew to call out any signs of infection and keep samples in their containment fields.

  "So..." Dell is the one to ask, "What research were y'all doing?"

  "Deep void lifeforms," Hyaline says slowly and carefully. "Our research mainly concerned spores and other micro organisms found on asteroids and comets."

  "Right," Dell lets the word hang momentarily as he sees another torn-apart drone. "And that required a full complement of security drones?"

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  "My research is important—" Hyaline pauses, his speech slowing. "Our research is important! My employer wished to ensure we were protected."

  "Right." Dell then mutes the call, "This guy is a dick."

  "And a liar," Domitia adds.

  "My vote is we do not stay any longer than we must. Leave him a routing number so we can collect, but we don't stay. I'd rather not meet this guy's boss."

  "Agreed," Domitia says.

  They pass through another ion-blasted hall, through another half-melted-away door, and into security. The entrance is a long hall, with two counters flanking the door into it, each protected by a layer of reinforced glass that has long since shattered, its pieces floating in the void. The door inside has been breached, and Dell shines his lamp into the entryway. At the very edge of that light, something moves.

  "You see that?" Dell asks.

  Domitia did, but she was unsure what was ahead. Switching to thermal she finds no heat signature. She warms up her ion lance and begins to advance once more.

  "Stay on me," Domitia says to Dell.

  "Don't have to tell me twice."

  Entering the hall, they are met with a lobby. A bench built into the wall lines one wall, while the other has chairs and furniture floating gently, congregating in the corner. Ahead, a large partition of glass, now shattered, lines the wall, with a door leading inside, already blown open by a breaching charge. To the left, the door had been cut through and then wrenched open like a can. The signs were obscured here, most likely by security as they fought a fighting retreat into their miniature fortress.

  "Okay, doc," Dell asks over the comm, "Where, too?"

  "If you entered through the correct way, the lock-up is to your left, while the main offices are straight ahead." Hyaline lays out, "Go through the offices and find your way to the chiefs' primary terminal. Once there, I can give you my override."

  "Why do you have an override?" Domitia asks.

  "It was my request." Hyaline explains, "As lead researcher, I have a level of responsibility to the ship that outstrips even Sul. I needed full access so I could initiate a lockdown if there was an outbreak."

  "Of spores?" Dell asks a nervous chuckle making its way in at the end.

  "You would be surprised how dangerous these little bastards are." Hyaline ominously warns.

  They press on, although Dell slips further onto Domitia's back, mostly to avoid hitting his head on the door frames. As Domitia advances, she finds the spaces tighter than before, having to take care of how she rounds corners to avoid leaving herself open to being struck. The narrow hall then opens into an office; rows of cubicles flank her advance, the terminals fixed into each have black screens, and the desks contain small mementos of the people who worked there. Family photos float right above-framed awards, paperwork, and data pads floating around one another, awaiting to be completed. In the mix of all that, a corpse is finally seen.

  Domitia carefully advances toward it; the blue and black armor is stained with blood and burnt by ion strikes. Her helmet identifies the body as a male human, a part of the Blue Arms Solutions, or BAS. They're a common outfit in these parts, well-armed but not as well-trained. BAS often picked up convicts and debtors who needed a good paycheck to get by. The cause of death is a well-placed ion shot through the chest, melting the ferro-ceramic plates of his armor, although Domitia can't determine how extensive the trauma was.

  "BAS merc," Domitia observes his armor, "Reinforced void suit with exoskeleton."

  "Blue asshole service, huh?" Dell looks over the cadaver, "Still armed," He points to the ion repeater connected by a cord leading to his wrist.

  "They were serviceable." Hyaline remarks. "I knew they weren't the best; I even tried to petition for better mercenaries, even Werewolves--"

  "Like you could get a Werewolf here." Dell chuckles at that, "Wild to think your science project is important enough to get the attention of those guys."

  "It was! Do not interrupt me, you simpleton!" Hyaline is quick to reply, "And still is! Hence why I need that beacon on yesterday!"

  "Keep your helmet on, alright," Dell tries to soothe Hyaline.

  "Hard to do, Mr. Dell," Hyaline goes on, "And your partner. Some sort of merc?"

  "A Bellator, sir," Dell says rather smugly.

  "Ah, that is..." The mood shifts almost instantly, "I didn't know there where Bellators in this sector."

  "Bellator only in augments," Domitia explains, "I'm no longer a part of the Corps."

  "I see; well, uh, that will be helpful if there are any pirates left aboard." Hyaline's words come out nervously.

  This is normal, at least in Domitia's experience; most people do not like Bellators for a variety of reasons. She doesn't appreciate the prejudice she goes through and would rather have people treat her normally, but she's well aware of the reputation Bellators have. It's often useful when dealing with bounties; the smart ones will surrender rather than tangle with a two-point-two-meter giant, and that's considering Domitia is on the short side of Bellators. So if Hyaline becomes a lot quieter out of worry about being the subject of her wrath, she'll go with it, even if it bothers her more human side.

  They pass through one office and into another, although it's clear this one is for higher-ups. A row of screens dominates one side, although they are offline, Dell's lamp shining off them, revealing cracks in some of them. Desks built into the floor line the hall, mag-locked chairs are still positioned in front of them, and papers float above them. Clearly, this had been the nerve center and the last stand of the security team. Above her, floating in the rafters, corpses of BAS higher-ups can be seen. Their armor is warpped by ion strikes, weapons still dangling with cords. At the end of the hall, one office has its lights still on, faintly glowing into the inky blackness.

  "Gonna go out on a limb and presume that's our objective." Dell thinks aloud.

  "Might be," Domitia says.

  "Don't like it," Dell's headshake can be heard as he speaks, "I've seen enough horror reels to know that's a trap."

  "Reels aren't real life, Dell." Domitia retorts.

  "Well, as they say, life imitates art."

  Putting the reel discussion to the side, Domitia advances carefully to the door. In a flurry of action, she slides the door aside and floods in, finding the room devoid of life. The office is spartan - most of the effects here are purely for business only. A scanner for documents is in one corner, while a filing cabinet secured to the wall dominates the other. An 'L' shaped desk dominates the rest of the room, and any paper that is not secured has begun to float around it, creating a fog of files that Domitia pushes aside. She finds the light source, a lamp that seems to be battery-powered, has been mag-locked onto the wall, filling the room with an orange glow. On the desk, she finds what she's been looking for, a terminal.

  "Dell, your part."

  "Right," Dell hops off Domitia and lands on the desk, flying off in his wake.

  He pulls out a boxy hand terminal and boots it up. He pulls back the armored visor, revealing a glass one underneath it so he can get a better look at the screen. He pulls a wire from the base of the device and inserts it into the side of the terminal. Both screens light up with a green glow as Dell begins punching keys.

  "I need a second to bypass security." Something shifts outside, interrupting Dell. "Mind checking on that?"

  "Right." Domitia steps out of the office, taking a position in front of the now pushed-aside door.

  There is an eerie feel to this place; not only had a battle been fought in this office, but people's lives had happened as well. The desks, disordered as they were, seemed to inform Domitia of the people who had once called this place home. A caffeine mug was floating in the air, written on its side in bold font, 'Number One Dad, Number Two Employee.' Small as the detail is, Domitia cannot help but wonder who drank from it? Had they even made a cup of caffeine in it? Had it suffered the ill fate so many mugs befall and simply became a holder of pens?

  Something moves.

  Domitia brings her Ion Lance to bear, only for her targeting system to find nothing. She finds only floating debris inside, mixed with the artifacts of lives now lost to the void. She looks back up and realizes that the bodies that had been floating up there have now vanished.

  "We might have trouble," Domitia says over the secure channel. "Bodies are gone. Think we might get jumped."

  Dell clicks his mic silently, indicating he's in the know. She hears a chime buzz over Dell's mic and glances over to see the screen change from green to blue. He's brute-forced his way in.

  "Okay, doc, what's that override?"

  "Override is luna-luna-fox-three-four-five-orange and the word 'mori' all lower case."

  "Copy that." Dell punches it in through the hand terminal, and the screen of the terminal affixed on the desk lights up fully. "Okay. It should be unlocking... now."

  A humming noise rises throughout the ship, and Domitia can feel something rumble to life through the vessel's hull. Some of the lights turn back on, though they glow a faint orange. A chime echoes through the Eliza and an artificial voice speaks,

  "Viral Contamination Lockdown has been concluded. Please exit your panic rooms and return to your normal duties. Thank you!" The voice pauses for a moment, "Warning! Central engines are disabled. Air filtration compromised. Gravity generator disabled."

  "Viral lockdown?" Dell repeats.

  "It's just a result of using my override, I can assure you." Hyaline is quick to say.

  "That so?" Domitia asks.

  "Yes, now, down to the business of getting you two the Liminal Array."

  "Right," Dell begins, "Mind leading the way then doc?"

  "The array is in the aft, on the upper decks." Hyaline begins to explain, "You will need to bypass R&D, the heaviest fighting was there, I'll redirect you through the lower hangerbays."

  "So..." Dell starts to put it together in his head, "We got to go down, across, then up?"

  "A very blue collar view of it," Hyaline says, his annoyed tone bleeding through his words. "But, yes. An elevator in the hall leading into the station; go down it."

  "Is it still functional?" Domitia asks.

  "No, but neither is the gravity, so it'll be a gentle drop down," Hyaline says.

  "Give us a moment," Domitia mutes the feed to Hyaline. There's a good chance we're walking into an ambush. We have to consider that our friend over the comm might be involved."

  "Oh, I already have been," Dell says with a bit of a chuckle, "Something about him ain't right. His voice is off, and he's hiding something, that's for sure."

  "Still, we need a contingency plan in case things go sideways." Domitia points to the terminal. "You have two hand terminals, right?"

  "That's right,"

  "Think you can leave on to crack in security remotely?"

  Domitia can feel the devious smile underneath his helmet, "Oh, partner, you don't even have to ask. Hacking into corpo security is one of my favorite things!"