The Collection, Vol. 1

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  Stopped, studying a hand-drawn map carved into the corridor wall, Celix cursed. This part of the ship was like a maze. He was closer to the east vallu compartment, but it was going to take forever if he needed to stop at every junction to check the maps.

  He wished Boron was still with him. Despite the other drawbacks for Boron, it was one benefit of his genetic manipulations was that he was effortlessly able to remember maps and layouts. Presumably the Manger Keepers didn’t want their miners getting lost in the tunnels.

  Finally able to make out a lightly scratched word, Celix saw that he was already in the east vallu compartment. Giddy with more excitement than was warranted, he did a victory dance. Abruptly, he realized what he was doing and stopped. Composing himself, he glanced around to see if anyone had seen him. There was no one was in sight. Comprised mostly of empty storage rooms at the moment, the compartment was desolate. Taking a deep breath, he let it out and strode away from the map, searching for section seven.

  Section three, section four, section five, he was getting closer. Just as he was about to reach a junction leading to section six, he heard running footsteps clanging against the metal decking. Rounding the corner, he only had enough time to see a flash of blue in his face before something bounced off of his chest.

  It was Selarr. She fell backward and he tried to catch her, but was too slow. A dull metallic thud echoed in the corridor as her head hit the floor.

  “Here, grab my hand.” She looked up at him, dazed. After a moment, she focused on his outstretched hand. Reaching for it, she missed by a foot.

  He reached for her hand but at the same time, she tried for his again, aiming for where it had been. Both of their hands circled each other for a second before Celix firmly clasped her’s. Pulling her up, he wrapped his arm around her back, holding her up while her knees wobbled.

  Feeling something warm on his arm, he looked and saw blood dripping down the back of her head. It was showing through her, turning it a red-purple. “I think you had better see Doc.” Celix reached down and scooped up her skinny frame. With a human-sized head, her body was not much wider. This made her feel like a twig and he worried he might break her.

  “No,” she mumbled, protesting lightly, trying to push him away, “...engine...” She trailed off, unconscious.

  Celix began running in the direction he thought the medical module was. “Great. Just great.” He muttered. Dead in space with the Chief Engineer unconscious and a possible time crunch to get through the minefield...What else will go wrong today?