“What is it? What can you see?” Irons asked.
“I’m in a room very similar to the one at the other end of the tunnel. But it isn’t empty.”
“What do you mean?” Irons asked urgently. “Talk, Corporal!”
“There’s furniture here. Tables, chairs… some of them knocked over. There’s a shelf that’s been half tipped over in the corner. In front of it on the floor are silver containers and metallic objects. It looks like a workshop that’s been hit by a hurricane.”
Jeff’s eyes met Irons’. “We’ve actually found something,” Jeff murmured.
“There are papers on the table,” Fields continued. “With those alien characters on them. Judging by the furniture and things in here, these extraterrestrials must be very similar to humans. There’s an overturned table in front of me. The drawers have handles, just like our desks. In the corner there’s a metal plate with a two-pronged silver fork.”
“The computer did say the aliens were very similar to us,” Irons said.
Jeff felt uneasy. “But the computer also said there was nothing for us to find on the ship.”
“Maybe some areas were forgotten when they converted the ship,” Joanne suggested. “After all, it is huge.”
Irons grunted. “I don’t like any of this,” he said quietly.
“The room has a door. I’ll see what’s behind it. I reckon it must lead to the corridor on the other side of the gate. Maybe there’s a control panel around here.”
Irons leaned over his handheld. “OK, but contact us immediately.”
“Understood, Sir.”
They waited with baited breath.
If the aliens had left something behind, Jeff wanted to check it out as soon as possible. But why had the computer lied to them? Or did it simply not know about these rooms? Perhaps it was just a small area that had been overlooked during the conversion of the ship, as Joanne suspected. Or was it the other way round? Had the computer purposefully taken them to the only part of the ship that was empty? And how would the computer react if it found out they had gotten to the other side of the gate?
“I’m now on the other side of the gate.” It was Fields. “Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear,” Irons said. “What do you see?”
“There’s another huge corridor, which seems to lead further into the interior of the ship. Even if I turn my flashlight on full power, I can’t see the end. There’s stuff lying around everywhere. Boxes, fallen shelves, machines. Something with four tires is tipped over. It must have been some means of transport. There are some burn marks on the walls. I get the feeling a fight took place here.”
Jeff gulped. A fight?
“And what makes you think that?” Irons asked. “Do you see any bodies?”
“No, no bodies. But everything’s a mess. There are bits of broken furniture all over the ground. Even the furniture is made out of metal. And it’s not just the walls, lots of things on the ground are charred, too. It’s possible that some other catastrophe took place here, but it definitely does not look like the area was simply abandoned.”
“Keep searching,” Irons commanded. “We’ll send Owens and Herrmannsson to you as soon as we reach them.” He released the talk button and turned to Jeff. “Where have they got to?”
Jeff looked at his watch. Almost half an hour had passed since they’d last called in. “No idea.”
“There’s a corridor leading from the room with the ventilation shaft,” Fields said. “About a hundred and fifty feet away, a light is shining from a door into the corridor. I’ll go and check it out.”
Irons hit the talk button. “No! You stay right where you are, Corporal. Do you understand?”
There was no reply.
“He’s already switched off,” Jeff said.
Where could the light be coming from?
“I told him not to go too far,” Irons cursed, his voice unusually sharp. “The corporal is all alone there.”
“Typical Fields,” Joanne said.
“It was a mistake,” Irons was clearly angry with himself. “We should have waited for reinforcement before sending someone through that shaft.”
“Owens here. Come in, HQ.”
Finally!
Jeff was about to grab the handheld, but the major was quicker. “Where have you been, damn it?”
“Er, we found a room at the end of the corridor and checked it out. But it was empty. And then we took a break and had something to eat.”
“Go to the gate. Right away!” Irons handed the device to Jeff.
“What happened?” Owl wanted to know. He sounded scared. Clearly he knew he’d made a mistake and was scared of a dressing down by the major.
“Fields found a way to the other side of the gate. Green is there alone. Get yourselves over there as quickly as possible.”
“A way through?” Owl asked, incredulously.
But this was no time for chatting. “Get a move on!”
“Understood.”
“How long will it take them?” Joanne asked.
Jeff shrugged. “Twenty minutes. Maybe thirty.”
“As soon as Fields calls in, order him to come straight back,” Irons said. “We need to plan our next move.”
“What do we tell the computer?” Jeff asked.
“I’ll think about that when—”
“Come in” Fields’ voice was barely more than a whisper. There was something strange about it. Fear? Panic?
“Yes?” Jeff asked quietly.
“There’s someone in the room,” Jeff hissed, barely audibly.
Jeff hoped he had misheard. “What?”
“I said—there’s someone in the room.” The mechanic’s voice was trembling. Irons and Jeff exchanged glances. The major’s eyes were wide.
“Who’s in the room?” Jeff asked, after he’d got over his initial shock.
“A… creature…. It’s about fifty feet away from me. It’s glowing! It seems to be made completely of light. The whole room is lit up with a pale white light. I’ve never seen anything this weird. It’s standing with its back to me and hasn’t noticed me. It’s doing something at a table. I can’t see exactly what.”
Jeff didn’t respond. He was too stunned by what Fields had told him.
“Get him back!” Irons commanded. His voice had never sounded so urgent.
Jeff’s thumb approached the talk button when a loud scream at the other end of the speaker made him jump.
“It heard me. Shit! It’s coming toward me.”
The blood froze in Jeff’s veins.
“No!” Fields screamed in an almost inhuman shrill voice. Then the connection broke off.
Jeff remained rooted to his chair, just staring at the handheld. He felt dizzy and only then did he realize that he had been holding his breath the whole time. He gasped for air.
Irons also had to collect himself. Finally he spoke. “How long do we need to get to the gate?”
Jeff was still staring at his handheld, as if he could use telepathy to get Fields to contact him again. It only gradually dawned on him that his shipmate might never contact him again.
“Captain Austin!” Irons said loudly.
Jeff turned to look at his superior. The major had asked something, but he couldn’t remember what. He swallowed, but couldn’t get the lump out of his throat. “Sorry, Sir?”
“I want to know how long it would take us to walk to the gate.”
It was four miles away. “About three-quarters of an hour.”
“Lieutenant Rutherford,” Irons said.
“Sir?”
“Wake up Short and McGuinness. I need them on standby. Then I need you to take over communication with the handheld. When Owens and Herrmannsson get to the gate, they shouldn’t do anything. They need to wait till we arrive.”
“Understood, Sir.” Joanne answered and disappeared into the private quarters at the back.
“Lieutenant Castle,” the major turned to the WSO, who was standing next to the improvised command table.