The old man waved him to silence. “If the same thing happened to him, he could be most anywhere. But you’re headed in the right direction for the bridge and crew section. Just keep going till you get to the royal blue doors.”
“Thank you,” Deutsch said, his face flickering with augment activity. He peered up the corridor with his primary eyes, while his cheekbone eyes remained fixed on the man. “Any chance you might come with us? Help us if we get lost?”
“Jesus, that’s weird. Your eyes, I mean. No offense.” The man shook his head. “No, I’d rather just read my book, if that’s okay with you. It’s a happier way to go.”
“All right,” said Legroeder. “Thanks, then.”
They continued quickly on.
It seemed only a dozen heartbeats later when Legroeder suddenly shivered, blinked…
—wave of shadow passing over—
…grabbed for Deutsch, didn’t find him, felt a rush of disorientation, his vision swimming…
He refocused with an effort and found himself in the meeting room with Captain Friedman, Jamal, and Poppy. He struggled for breath as he peered around the room. No Deutsch.
“What the hell are you doing?” Friedman asked.
Legroeder couldn’t tell if the captain was angry or just surprised. “I’m—not sure—” Legroeder gasped. “I think I just got transported to… tonight. At least… some night. There was a passenger lounge, and hardly any people. Most of them couldn’t see me.”
Friedman grunted.
“A passenger told us that things had grown more unstable since our arrival—”
“Told us? Who’s us?”
“Rigger Deutsch. I found him back there, and then we got separated again. Have you seen him since—?”
“I’m right here,” said Deutsch, beside him.
Legroeder jumped, startled.
“I have not seen Rigger Deutsch since—oh, there he is,” Friedman said, squinting. He shook his head. “What were you saying?”
“That the instabilities may be worse as a result of our presence here. May I take a moment to contact my ship?”
“Certainly. Do you need a com-unit?”
Legroeder shook his head. (Connect me to the ship, please?)
// Trying… connecting… //
A moment later, Cantha’s voice squawked from the collar-com: “Legroeder, this is Phoenix. We’ve been trying to reach you for hours. What’s wrong? Do you have a report?”
“Sort of,” Legroeder said, and described briefly what had happened. “Have you been observing anything like this?”
“We certainly have,” said Cantha. “Including the fact that you seem completely out of time synch with us. More importantly, we’ve mapped some movement in the quantum flux, and we have some ideas about what might be causing it.”
“Such as—?”
“We believe that we may be sitting on top of a very large flaw in the quantum structure of the Deep Flux. We suspect its influence is reverberating upward through the layers of the underflux. And by the way, at least three riggers on this ship have reported having dreams—all with a similar thread. Frightening dreams, mostly.”
“Dreams!” Legroeder barked, suddenly remembering the fears he’d felt trying to sleep the night before.
“Yes, have you—?”
“Hold a moment, Cantha.” Legroeder realized that Jamal and Poppy had swung to face him, the word dream on both of their lips. “Does this mean something to you?”
The two Impris riggers looked wide-eyed. Jamal was crouching slightly in his chair, a grimace on his face. “Something coming,” Jamal whispered. “I keep dreaming that it’s coming. Coming to get me. To get all of us.”
“What is? What’s coming to get you?”
Jamal shook his head. “Don’t know. Monstrous thing. It sounds crazy. But it’s like there’s a big serpent or something in the sky…”
Legroeder shifted his gaze. “You, too, Poppy?”
Poppy nodded, biting his lip. “For me, it’s like… the Gates of Hell or something,” he whispered. “Something real bad. I can’t sleep at all when I’ve been dreaming about it. Sully too. Sully’s had it, too.”
“Okay,” Legroeder said. “I want to know everything you can tell me about it. Cantha, did you hear that?”
“Yes, I did,” came the Narseil’s voice. “Get the details, please. We’ve got to piece it together quickly. Palagren thinks we need to get out of here before the instability gets uncontrollable.”
“Do you know yet what’s causing it?”
“We think it’s an entropic effect of the two overlapping flux-reactor fields, in the presence of the quantum fluctuations. There are signs it’s getting progressively worse.”
Legroeder felt faint. “Meaning, if we don’t get out soon, we won’t get out at all?”
“Precisely.”
“And have you come up with a way to do it? To get out?”
“Possibly. That confirmation of the dreams might be an important clue. If there is a deeper structure… and people, riggers, are somehow sensing it subconsciously…”
Legroeder frowned.
“Hold on a moment, Legroeder. Palagren wants to talk to you.”
Legroeder waited, drumming his fingers on the table. Finally he heard Palagren’s voice. “Are you there? Did Cantha tell you that we have to move fast?”
“Yes. But he didn’t say how we were going to do it.”
“We think we have a way. But we nee-e-e-d to-o-o ta-a-a-a-l-l-l-k-k…” Palagren’s answer suddenly stretched out into a long distortion of his voice, then faded away.
“Palagren? Palagren?”
// We have lost the connection. //
(Can you get it back?)
// We are trying, but there is no longer a com-signal. //
“What is it, Legroeder?” Deutsch asked.
Legroeder gestured sharply. “See if you can raise the ship.”
Deutsch became very still, then shook his head.
Friedman reached for his own com-set. “Bridge! Has there been any change in the other ship?”
“Excuse me, sir?” came the answer.
“The other ship. Phoenix. Is there a change in its condition.”
There was a pause. “I’m not sure what you mean, sir. What other ship?”
“The ship that docked with us a few hours ago!” Friedman shouted.
“Sir?” said the voice on the bridge. “We haven’t had contact with another ship in at least a month. Is there… a problem, sir?”
“With me? No.” Friedman snapped off the com in frustration, then snapped it back on. “Bridge, give me a time and date check.”
“Certainly,” said the bridge officer, sounding relieved to have a question that could be answered. “It’s now 1730 hours. And we’re showing, let’s see, day six hundred fifty-two.”
Friedman stiffened. “Thank you.” He snapped off the com.
“What?” Legroeder said.
“The bridge is two days behind us. Your ship hasn’t arrived, as far as they’re concerned.” Friedman’s face was ashen. “This has never happened before. It’s definitely getting worse, isn’t it?”
Legroeder took a deep breath. “Yes,” he whispered. “Yes, it is.”
Chapter 31
Splinters in Time
“I would like to suggest,” Deutsch said, “that we forget about what day it is, or whether our ship happens to be out there right now.”
“Excuse me?” said Jamal. “Are you aware of what’s happening here?” You Kyber, his eyes seemed to say.