To The Stars

  The alien reached for its utility belt and moved toward Kathleen. Fagen stepped in front of the woman. The creature whipped its front leg and knocked the mission commander off his feet.

  Blane stirred. "What's happening?"

  The creature took another step forward.

  Fagen was injured. Blood stained his tunic where the pointed leg had scraped across his chest.

  Harry was pretty sure he knew what the thing intended. It was there to dispose of the pests infesting its ship. Kathleen kneeled beside Blane. Fagen attempted to get to his feet but the creature turned on him, stabbing him with its stiletto front leg through the abdomen. He grunted as the silvery leg impaled him and lifted him from the floor. The alien tossed Fagen to the side like a used toy. Fagen hit the wall and fell unmoving to the floor.

  It turned back to face Kathleen. There was no time for contemplation. With only the metallic orb in his hand, Harry launched himself at the back of the alien and began hammering at its rounded top.

  It responded by reaching behind with one robotic hand and clasping itself around Harry's ankle. Harry continued to pound at the rounded metal back even as the monster tried to jerk him away. It succeeded in pulling him to the front and Harry found himself looking into the alien's viewplate. Behind the plate, mere inches away, the living alien stared with dark, bulging eyes. The free metallic hand slapped again and this time caught Harry with a glancing blow to the side of his head and Harry was knocked to the floor.

  The alien stood over him, straddling the linguist. On his back, Harry watched as the thing reached for its belt and withdrew a syringe with a ridiculously long needle. Its point was aimed at Harry's head.

  In a last act of defiance, Harry hurled the ball directly at the alien's viewplate. His aim was immaculate, if not lucky. The ball found its mark in the center of the plate. Both the ball and the plate shattered. Harry heard the sound of escaping gas as the pieces fell to the floor. The creature raised its metal hands to its face and staggered backwards.

  Harry jumped to his feet as the alien fled. It ran headlong into the bulkhead first, rebounded, and then scampered out.

  Harry looked at Fagen.

  He wasn't dead, but he was close to it. He was bleeding profusely and had lost consciousness. Harry knelt beside the mission commander as Kathleen helped strip Blane out of the cocoon.

  He pressed his hand against Fagen's wound and felt the extent of the damage. If they could get him back to the Magellan, Parker might be able to save him. But, as he reflected on what he'd seen on the viewscreen, those aboard the Magellan had problems of their own.

  *

  Parker's foot bothered him. As he feared, an infection had set in. That's why he had his foot in the bag of hot, circulating water. Making a fuss about his wound had afforded him the opportunity to remain in his compartment or the lab almost exclusively.

  Earlier, Nadine lost her temper and chewed him out for not trying harder to get around.

  "Frankly, I'm tired of bringing you food," she said. "We're up here in zero gravity, and you can't even float down to the mess deck. What's the matter with you?"

  "There's nothing wrong with me other than my foot. I'm a doctor. Remember? And I'm presently irrigating my wound."

  Nadine left the container spinning in front of Parker's face.

  "Well, Doctor Parker, Bill and I could use some help. When your doctorship is done, put a band-aid on it and come up to the bridge."

  "Is this a racial thing?"

  "What!? What do you mean by that?"

  "Oh, well, it's just that I can't think of anything else I've done that would put you in such a foul mood."

  The navigator pointed menacingly at him. "You're the problem here."

  Parker could tell when he was getting to her and he enjoyed it. Nadine was mad. Her eyes blazed and she looked like she wanted to hit him.

  "It is a black/white thing, isn't it?"

  Nadine glowered. She set her jaw, spun about, and headed to the control room. Behind, Parker chuckled just loud enough so she could hear. He'd seen enough; he felt he'd barely escaped with his life. If the others wanted to keep flying in the face of danger, well then let them. But he'd had his fill and he planned on keeping a low profile until they returned to Earth. He'd be a doctor, but he wouldn't run errands.

  He relaxed and let the hot water massage his foot.

  *

  On the bridge, Bonner leaned his head against the backrest and closed his eyes. When he thought he'd rested for two minutes, he opened his eyes again, glancing at the clock. Fifteen minutes had passed.

  Nadine entered. "Were you asleep?"

  "No," Bonner said, rubbing his eyes, "why?"

  "You look sleepy, that's all. Everything all right? Any word?"

  "Nope. Same as before."

  "Figures."

  "How's the doctor?"

  "Fine. He's not hurt badly enough to merit the kind of treatment he's been getting. He could be helping us."

  "Do what? Sit here and wait?"

  Nadine lowered her voice. "We don't have to wait. We've already waited an hour longer than we agreed. We haven't received a message, we haven't seen anything. Come on, Bill, it's time we did something."

  Bonner didn't argue; he'd been thinking the same thing. He looked at the monitor. Although Mia Culpa blocked the sun and the alien ship was in darkness, he could still see the light from the hanger bay. He sat up straight.

  "Hey! I can see the hanger bay!"

  "So?"

  "So the lights weren't on the last time I looked."

  "What does that mean?"

  "I don't know, maybe nothing. I wish I could see better."

  "Why? Do you think they're on their way back?"

  "If they are, why haven't they contacted us by radio?"

  Nadine shook her head, then an idea occurred to her. "Maybe it's not Fagen. Maybe it's one of them!"

  "Now calm down, Nadine. The lights are on in the hanger bay, nothing else. Nothing to get excited about."

  But it was too late, the black woman allowed her paranoia to carry her along. "The exterior panels aren't protected. Anyone, anything, could get inside. Maybe they have already!" In sudden panic, she looked quickly about the room.

  "Take it easy, Nadine. Look, if you're really that concerned, keep an eye on the monitor while I check the computer log for the last twenty minutes."

  Nadine didn't watch the monitor. Instead, she floated around the cabin until Bonner punched up the logs.

  "Uh-oh."

  From behind, Nadine said, "What does 'uh-oh' mean?"

  He turned and soberly looked at her. "You'd better have a look," he said.

  With wide eyes, she stared at the screen.

  "No activity anywhere. No airlocks, no doors, nothing. Satisfied?"

  The navigator took a deep breath. "Yes. I'm sorry, Bill. I get carried away sometimes. At least I know that we're secure."

  "No harm done. We're all stressed-out. It's understandable." He saw something on the report and leaned closer.

  "Hm. This report doesn't include the updates. Let's take a look at those." He punched his keyboard and a new set of numbers filled the screen. Bonner squinted and read the display. He read the line three times before it sunk in.

  "Shit," he muttered.

  "Now what is it?"

  He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned across his console and punched a button that told the computer to secure all hatches in the ship, including the airlocks. Alarms began to ring.

  Nadine demanded to know what was wrong.

  Bonner paused. "You were right," he said, "the airlock was accessed six minutes ago."

  The woman's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God!"

  Bonner punched the intercom. "Doctor? Are you there?"

  "Yes," came the reply. "What's going on?"

  "Something accessed the airlock about six minutes ago. I was busy and missed it. I've secured all hatches."

  There was a pause as the doctor consider
ed what he was told. After a moment, his calm voice floated from the speaker.

  "Perhaps you're over-reacting, Bill. Maybe it's Fagen, or Irons. They may be injured, unable to communicate. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet."

  Nadine leaped to the intercom. "All right, Doctor High and Mighty, why don't you go down to the auxiliary airlock and check it out?"

  There was a pause.

  "What's the matter, Doc? Foot bothering you?"

  "I hear you. I can't get to the airlock. The hatches are sealed."

  "I can open 'em up from here. You know that."

  "Oh, all right, especially to prove a point. In any case, it should be me. Whoever it is must be hurt, otherwise you'd have heard something by now. It's going to take me a few minutes to get out of this bag, you know."

  "Right. Let us know what's going on, like, asap. Okay?"

  "Okay!" The circuit clicked as Parker switched off the intercom. The doctor frowned and reached for the water bag. He knew what he was doing and it only took a minute to get it off without releasing the water. In two minutes, he floated in the corridor outside his cabin, medical bag in hand, barefoot, and headed for the airlock.

  Chapter 42

  There were two routes to the auxiliary airlock. One wound its way through the storage areas and connected with a rear area work corridor that ended at the airlock anteroom. The anteroom could also be entered via the hanger bay access corridor, the very passageway Parker used and the shorter of the two routes.

  He didn't really have a choice: Bonner opened the hatches along the most direct passage.

  The doctor pushed off a bulkhead and floated through the corridor that ran outside the hanger bay. He looked through the window in the access door and saw the shuttle sitting inside. All was quiet.

  The anteroom for the auxiliary airlock was straight ahead. Parker saw Bonner had already opened the hatch for him. Nobody was in the anteroom. Parker scratched his head and floated to the closed airlock door where he peered through the thick window. The airlock was empty.

  He turned to the intercom and punched the transmit switch.

  "Mr. Bonner?"

  "Yes?" The reply came back instantly. "What have you found?"

  "Nothing. There's no one here. Are you sure about your information?"

  "Computers don't lie."

  "Yes, well, in any case, there's no one here."

  "I don't understand. Stay there. I'll join you."

  Parker switched off the intercom without replying. He turned away and started to push himself out of the anteroom, but something on the floor caught his attention. He stopped and took a closer look.

  Fine scratches formed lines on the deck. Parker wondered how they got there. The lines stopped at the closed hatch that led to the storage spaces. The hatch didn't have a window, so he couldn't see through to the opposite side.

  The access switch was on the bulkhead next to the closed hatch. Parker pushed the button and the door slid up. The hall beyond was empty. The doctor spotted more scratches along the floor and walls. Out of curiosity, he stepped into the passageway.

  The marks clearly led into the storage spaces. For the first time, Parker seriously weighed the possibility that an alien may have entered the ship. A sound drifted up the corridor, a sound of metal scratching on metal. A chill went up the doctor's spine and he backed his way into the airlock anteroom. He hit the access switch and the hatch slid down.

  Something touched him on the shoulder and his heart leapt to his throat. He drew back and pivoted. Bonner stood inside the anteroom.

  "A little jumpy, aren't you?"

  "Don't sneak up on me like that again!"

  "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

  "Just don't do it again."

  "Okay, okay. So. What have we got here?"

  Parker pointed to the marks on the floor. "They lead into the passage on the other side of the door."

  "You already took a look?"

  Parker nodded.

  "See anything?"

  Parker knew what Bonner meant. "I didn't see any aliens, if that's what you mean." The doctor saw the weapon the engineer held.

  "What do you plan on doing with that?"

  Bonner looked at the pistol. "Just a little insurance."

  "You know, you could punch a hole in the hull with that."

  "Not too likely."

  Parker, realizing the engineer knew more about such things, merely shrugged. "Just be careful with it."

  "You can count on it. There're more guns, you know. I suggest before we search the storage spaces you get one of these for yourself."

  "I don't like guns."

  "You may need one. We don't know what we're up against yet."

  "We're up against scratches on the deck. They were probably made when we moved the equipment through. Don't you think you might be over-reacting?"

  "Maybe so," the easy-going engineer said, "but I'd feel better if we made sure."

  "All right, if that's what it's going to take. But I'm still not going to carry a gun."

  "I'd feel better if you did."

  "No. They were practically useless against the aliens anyway."

  Bonner shrugged. "Okay by me." He crossed to the intercom and pushed the transmit button.

  "Nadine?"

  "Right here," came the reply.

  "Uh, there's nothing down here, but the doctor and I are going to have a look around just to be sure. Everything all right up there?"

  "I guess so. Nothing's moving except the radiation readings. They just keep going up."

  "Okay. Don't worry about that now. When I'm done we can start getting ourselves together to get out of here."

  "Now you're talking!"

  "Later," said Bonner into the intercom. He switched it off and faced Parker. "Let's go."

  "Where?"

  "Through there." Bonner pointed at the closed hatch. The engineer pressed the access button and door again slid open. "Come on," he said as he stepped through the open hatch.

  *

  When Blane gathered his wits, the first thing he asked for was a terminal. "Hello Kath, is there a plug nearby?"

  "Bart, you've got a one track mind."

  "Actually, that's not altogether true. With my implants, I can process information on several tracks simultaneously."

  Kathleen glanced at Fagen and grimaced at the sight of so much blood. To Harry she said, "Is he going to be all right?"

  Harry shook his head. "I don't think so."

  Blane raised himself up and, for the first time, noticed Fagen's prone and bleeding body. "What happened?"

  "One of the aliens stabbed him. He's already lost a lot of blood."

  "Help me up," Blane said, grasping Kathleen by the arm. She helped the wirehead to his feet. Blane looked around the compartment.

  "Where are we?"

  "In a storage room." Harry answered.

  "Can you get me back to the control room?"

  Kathleen snapped, "Bart! Can't you see Fagen's bleeding to death?"

  "Well, sure."

  "And all you want to do is plug in?"

  "At the moment, it's all I can think of."

  "That's pitiful, Bart. Fagen needs medical treatment. He's bleeding to death and all you can think of is yourself."

  "That's not entirely true. There is a medical facility aboard this ship. If I can access the computer, I think we may be able to save him."

  "You can do something for him?"

  "Yes, I'm pretty sure. I'll have to ask her, but I'm sure she'll help."

  "She?"

  Blane blushed. "Yeah, well, I mean the computer."

  Kathleen and Harry exchanged a glance. Kathleen rolled her eyes.

  "I can get you to the control room," said Harry, "but it's probably not a good idea to move Fagen."

  "I'll stay with him," volunteered Kathleen.

  "All right, come on Bart, there's no time to lose."

  Kathleen took Harry's place and knelt beside Fagen. Blane, still sh
aking off the effects of induced sleep, followed Harry out of the compartment. In the equipment room, they found the damaged battlesuit lying sprawled on the floor, its underside exposed. The small access cover hung open, offering evidence that the alien had abandoned its vehicle and fled the scene.

  Harry crossed to the wall from which they'd exited earlier. He searched but couldn't find the slightest indication of a seam. In vain, he ran his hands over the wall, hoping to trip the mechanism that controlled the opening. It was as though the passageway had never been there in the first place.

  "What's the matter?" asked Blane.

  "Can't find the way out."

  Blane watched Harry searching, then said, "They've locked us in here."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean there's no way out other than..." Blane looked around the compartment. "Ah-hah!"

  "What is it?"

  "A plug. I can access the computer from here." Blane went to the counter that held the control panels. From his pocket, he withdrew a length of cable and held it up for Harry to see.

  "Like a scout, always prepared."

  Blane plugged one end into a terminal plug and the other into a socket on the back of his head. The end that went to the control panel was a poor fit, but he managed to make the cable remain in place. As soon as the connection was made, his eyes glazed over and Harry could see his body relax.

  Harry waited for him to establish communications with the computer. "Well? How about it?"

  "How about what?"

  "Getting out of here! Is the computer going to help us?"

  Blane didn't bat an eye. "Of course. She's preparing things now. The aliens manually locked the door without giving her any instructions about our disposition."

  On the wall, the seam appeared and opened. "See?" She says to put Fagen in the tunnel and she'll do the rest."

  "Do you trust her, Bart? The computer, I mean."

  "Of course, don't you?"

  "I'm not sure."

  "What have you got to lose?"

  Blane made his point. There seemed to be no choice but to rely on the alien computer. They returned to the storage compartment and gently lifted the wounded man and carried him to the open tunnel.

  "I don't think he's breathing anymore," said Kathleen.

  "It doesn't matter," replied Blane, straining from the weight. "Put him in the tunnel."

  Harry hefted the mission commander's body into the tunnel. Immediately, the rounded walls began to undulate in an upward motion. The motion carried Fagen up the tunnel as if on a living escalator. One by one, the others climbed inside and followed Fagen's body upward.