“Captain Austin?”
Jeff turned round to look at the major. He could only guess at the expression in his eyes behind the visor. “That thing can’t have been built by humans.”
Irons leaned forward to look out of the windows again. Jeff did the same. The outline of the mysterious object had merged back into the darkness of the interstellar void.
“I think you’re right,” Irons said. “Looks like we’ve discovered an alien artifact for the first time in human history.”
“This far inside the known sector?” Joanne retorted.
“It seems to be dead. It’s drifting far beyond our inhabited systems at half the speed of light. It might have been here for thousands of years without a chance of being discovered. In fact, it might have been sneaking its way through space for millions of years.”
“But it’s so damn big,” Green said.
“It’s flying at half the speed of light. Maybe the aliens never discovered hyperdrive technology. It might be a generational spaceship aboard which some catastrophe occurred.”
“What kind of catastrophe?” Green asked.
“We’ll soon find out,” Irons said grimly.
“How?”
“Lieutenant Rutherford. Search for a place to land.”
Joanne gave a desperate laugh. “What do I look for? How should I know where’s a good place to land?”
“Something that looks like a lock or a hangar. Some place from where we can get inside the thing.”
“I don’t know—”
“Make a decision. We don’t have much time.”
“Sir!” Owl piped up.
“Yes? Did you get a reply?”
“No, I sent a greeting via all standard frequencies, but haven’t received an answer.”
“Then it really does appear to be dead. Lieutenant Green, tell your men to prepare to leave the ship!”
“Yes Sir.”
“We’re within range of the landing lights,” Joanne said.
“Activate!”
They were now flying at low speed above the surface of the foreign body. Jeff gawped at the sharp-edged protrusions, pointed antenna, and dome-shaped projections dotting the black surface. Joanne had to change course more than once to avoid colliding with one of them.
“I really haven’t got a clue where to set down,” Joanne said. There was a hint of desperation in her voice.
“Go a little higher so we can see more of the surface,” Irons commanded.
They swerved upward. Jeff shook his head. He couldn’t see anything that looked even remotely like a lock or a hangar door. The whole thing looked so other-worldy.
“Fifteen more minutes,” Green said.
“Right then,” Irons said. “Just set down somewhere. It doesn’t make any sense to look…”
“There! There!” Finni screamed and pointed. His already high voice was almost piercing.
Jeff looked up. “You’re right!” On the horizon, about thirty miles away, part of the surface glowed a dark red.
“What is that?” Joanne sounded worried.
“An invitation, perhaps,” Iron replied.
“Or a warning to get the hell out of here,” Castle speculated.
“Take us there.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
Irons ignored the question.
“Yes, Sir!” Joanne confirmed.
The Charon turned slowly to the right and approached the illuminated spot between several spiky outcrops. Red spotlights on the surface of the artifact illuminated a circular area that was free of any protrusions, but which looked otherwise inconspicuous. Joanne slowed the ship down until they came to a standstill above the circular area.
“Is this the only spot on the surface where there’s any sign of life?” Irons asked.
“Seems so,” Finni said. “At least there’s nothing on my readouts.”
“Can you detect any sources of energy or other evidence of anything else going on down there?”
“No, but it’s a hell of a big beast. If their reactors are deep inside that thing, my instruments won’t be much help.”
“Any reaction to our radio signal?” Irons asked.
“Nope, still nothing.”
“Look, an opening!” Joanne cried.
She was right. A circular hole suddenly opened up below them. Jeff estimated it was about thirty feet in diameter. It appeared to be an airlock, and was filled with red light. They could even see the ground inside.
“Looks like a lock to me,” Castle said.
“Looks like an invitation to me,” Irons retorted.
“Ten more minutes,” Green called out.
“OK, we’ll leave through the emergency lock. Captain Austin?”
Jeff stood up. He knew what the major wanted him for. “Got it.” He was closest to the emergency lock. He walked the two steps to the hatch and pressed the small switch on the door. The remaining air escaped from the cabin. Then a red light went on.
Shit!
Jeff tugged at the silver lever next to the switch, but it didn’t budge.
“Emergency lock can’t be opened. Automatic and manual mechanisms aren’t working.”
“Then we’ll leave through a window,” Irons said.
Jeff took a deep breath and stepped up to the closest of the two big cockpit windows. The HUD of his spacesuit confirmed that the cabin was almost completely evacuated, in any case, so he didn’t need to worry about a difference in pressure. He hung on to his console and thrust his right leg out. He kicked as hard as he could. Even the reinforced glass of the cockpit window couldn’t withstand the diamond-studded tips of his boots. The glass shattered into thousands of pieces, which were pushed out by the remaining atmosphere.
Suddenly, a metal screen began to drop down from above, covering the newly formed opening.
Shit!
He had forgotten about the damn safety screen! It was automatically activated when a window was damaged and sealed the window against the vacuum of space.
Jeff turned around and punched a round knob on his console.
The screen already covered half the window, but it came to a stop. Thankfully, the hole was big enough for them to squeeze through.
Irons gave him a stern look and shook his head. He didn’t give him a dressing down in front of the others.
“Meeting point is at the edge of the opening on the artifact. Lieutenant Rutherford, program a course for the Charon that will take her to a safe distance.”
“Sir!”
“I don’t like this at all. That thing down there is freaky,” Castle said.
“Better than being dead…” Jeff mumbled. But he got goose bumps at the thought of going inside that thing.
“That was an order!” Irons said, unfazed. “And that goes for you, too, Lieutenant Castle!”
Jeff stepped back to let the WSO pass. It was a miracle the artificial gravity was still working.
“Lieutenant Rutherford, hurry up!” Irons commanded. Jeff went over to the navigator, whose fingers were still dancing over her console.
“I’m programming another course to a safe distance. It’s a bit more complicated than I thought, I need to make sure the Charon doesn’t collide with the artifact.”
“Make it quick!”
Castle, Green, Owl, and Finni had already left the bridge. Irons was squeezing himself through the gap under the screen.
“Joanne!” Jeff laid a hand on her shoulder.
She nodded agitatedly, then stood up. “Done.”
“Then get a move on!” Irons ordered.
Jeff followed Joanne to the window. One by one, they squeezed through the opening.
“Hurry up!” Irons ordered. “Meeting point is next to the lock on the artifact. Fields, Short, McGuinness: have you understood?”
“Loud and clear—Sir!” Jeff heard Shorty’s voice.
“How far are you?”
“We’re just leaving our lock,” Mac McGuinness answered.