He takes me on a tour of theGladiux. As I expected, a tour of a warship like this is not all that interesting and I don’t learn much. It’s all alien machinery, flashing panels, and strange gizmos. I mostly don’t understand what I’m looking at, and Caret’ax also can’t explain how the ship works. Even the artificial gravity is a riddle to him. I get the impression he’s not a man for theoretical stuff. He’s a hands-on kind of caveman alien.
Still I’m pretty sure he’s avoiding several areas, such as more hangars and weapons and things that might be of interest to Space Force and to me.
“Wait,” I say when we pass a door filled with alien warning symbols “Can we go in there?”
Caret’ax doesn’t even slow down. “This is a warship. There are many secrets aboard it, and many places that are very dangerous to seek out. I will show you what I can without killing us both.”
“Great,” I mutter. But I stay alert, and I take several mental notes about the layout of the ship.
“Thank you very much for the wonderful tour,” I say when we’re back outside the room where we started. “I think I’ll rest for a while. It’s been a long day.”
“Very well, Umbra.” He nods and walks towards the control room.
Inside the cabin, I sit down on the high bed and dangle my feet. “Did you keep track of everything that happened on that tour, Vera?”
“Of course. Do you want a recording?”
“No. But were you able to gather enough information so we can get out of this room and maybe use the elevators?”
“I assume so. Are you going to escape again?”
I look around, trying to spot any microphones. “Are they listening to what we say in here? I don’t trust that sword AI.”
“I’ve made friends with the sensors in here, so no. They won’t snitch.”
“I don’t like what I’m hearing about the Empire. Okay, they don’t do slavery. Fine. But they are losing a war, it sounds like. Do we know that Mareliux will be able to help Earth in the way he said? What if he can’t? What if this doesn’t work at all? There are too many unknowns about this whole scheme. I think I have enough information right now to make a real difference for Space Force. Maybe the geniuses on Earth can figure out how it all works from your recordings.”
“They can’t,”Vera says immediately. “There’s not enough to go on. Caret’ax didn’t show you any of the really important parts. And that Syntrix thing sounds pretty important. There is every chance their space travel is based on that.”
“Damn.” I sigh, deflated. “It’d be a hell of a homecoming if I could explain how this ship travels without thrusters, jumps between stars, or generates gravity. Right now, all I’ve got is a party trick with a glass. And apparently, that won’t even work on Earth. So I got nothing.”
“Well, if you’re going to try something, this is the time,”Vera says. “I paid enough attention and made enough friends among the systems on that tour that I can now open most doors andsweetly boss around most of the elevators. This ship was never designed with internal security in mind.”
I put my ear to the door and listen. Nothing. “I guess they figured that anyone who was aboard a warship was supposed to be there and should be able to get around easily to do their duties. Or maybe they just trust people more. Shall we go?”
“Sure. The door is open. Caret’ax never locked it.”
“Then Caret’ax is on my ‘good guys’ list.” I open the door and sneak out into the deserted corridor. “Do you remember where that armory was?”
“Yes. But that’s one of the doors that won’t give me access.”
I walk fast down the hallway. “Makes sense. I actually don’t think I can shoot Mareliux, so it’s fine.”
“Do you like him?”she asks, like an inquisitive four-year-old.
I make my way down the corridor, tension coiling in my chest. If they catch me, I can just say I lost my way. “Well… I didn’t like the slavery thing. But that was a lie, so yeah, I guess I like him. Even if he more or less forced me into his scheme. He was good at showing me how to move that glass. His instructions worked, and he was patient with me. But he still got me into this mess. Hey, can we go to the engine room?”
An elevator opens, and I walk in.
“I can try,”Very says and then adds something in the Khavgrese language. “But this is mostly guessing. We could end up in their laundry room, for all I know.”
The doors close and a light on the wall moves. I can just barely sense that we’re moving.
“They have some fast elevators,” I comment, impressed.
When it stops, the doors don’t open.
“This is a restricted area,” Vera says. “Maybe we should find somewhere else to go.”
