The Void (20 page)

“It's rare, Captain. But I'd say if there is anywhere it is a danger, it's here, especially after what happened with Cyrus. Black holes are powerful things, and the gravitational upheaval often causes physical illness. That, everyone knows. Some in my profession point to subtler effects.

“Gravity does more than bend light and distort space—it may slow your very thoughts, cause you to see and hear things that are not there. I’m not trying to cause a panic and I don't want to alarm the other passengers. I just thought you should know. We will be at the very doorstep of one of these monstrosities and better to be prepared than not.”

“Of course,” Captain Gravely said with a sigh. “Of course. Keep an eye out for any problems, Doctor. That's the last thing we need.”

“Always.” Ridley bowed slightly.

“And, Dr. Ridley,” Gravely said as she turned and walked to the door, “let's keep this between us. People are liable to see ghosts even if we don't give them a reason.”

Ridley hesitated, but before he could say anything, Gravely turned and was gone. As the door closed behind her, he could almost hear the sound of his mother's laughter.

Chapter 14

The
Singularity
floated alone in space, drifting inexorably toward its end, swathed in total darkness. It had every reason to think—if it had a mind to think on it—that this was its destiny. That its descent into the abyss would pass unseen and unnoticed.

Then the floodlights of the
Chronos
exploded in a flash that split the darkness, sweeping the surface of the
Singularity
and bathing it in the warmth of their glow. Two silent explosions erupted from ports in the side of the
Chronos
and a pair of metal spheres raced through the void toward the derelict ship. At the last second, eight metal legs sprang from each, grabbing hold of the
Singularity
and then racing across its surface to the side that those within the
Chronos
could not see.

“The Charlotte’s scanners coming on-line now, Captain.”

The
Chronos
was now virtually on top of the
Singularity.
The laser array had been firing constantly and Aidan was sure they had at least twenty-four hours before they were in any danger. But the captain wasn't taking any chances. The first order of business, however, was to ascertain if the
Singularity
had suffered any hull damage during whatever befell her.

Without circling the ship, their scanners could only analyze the side facing them. The two Charlottes would have to do the rest. It only took them a few seconds. As the data poured in, the hazy image cleared, and they had a clear picture of the entire ship.

“She looks to be intact, Captain. Whatever happened, it didn't breach the hull.”

“That's one thing then. What else?”

“No electrical activity detected. She's definitely dead in the water. Impossible to tell what the life-support situation is without going over there.”

“Then I guess that is what we will have to do.”

“Wait,” Dr. Ridley interrupted. Gravely had given to allowing them all access to the bridge. This was not a military ship and they had not signed up for this. They would make their decisions together or not at all. “Are you planning on going over there?”

“I don't see why not, Doctor. We should be able to figure this out pretty quickly once we get a look inside.”

“You should let me go, Captain,” Aidan said. “No reason to risk your life over there.”

“While I appreciate the sentiment, you are the only one that can get these folks home if anything goes wrong. No, Mr. Connor, you are staying here.”

“You mean to go alone then?”

“No, not alone.”

Gravely turned and looked at Dr. Ridley. It took him a moment to realize what she meant. Aidan wondered if he would protest, but he did not. Instead, he frowned and said, “And then we leave?”

“Then we leave.”

“Okay. Let's do it.”

Aidan maneuvered the ship to its side, flipping on the airlock cameras as he did. What he saw surprised him.

“Come look at this, Captain.”

Gravely leaned over Aidan and peered at the screen, but nothing she saw looked out of place.

“It's the airlock,” Aidan said. “It's not a universal. Every ship built in the last decade has a universal lock.”

“Maybe she's older?”

“A ship like that? I just can't believe it could be that old. Surely we would have seen something about it? Anyway, it's not a problem; I can still engage her. It's just strange is all.”

“Actually, Mr. Connor, don't engage.”

Aidan looked up at the captain, not sure what she meant. Then the obvious answer came to him.

“You mean to grapple her, then?”

“I do. Smarter, don't you think?”

It was. All ships, even the oldest ones, had titanium metal bars jutting from the hull above the airlock. They had been most useful in the days before the universals, but now were used only when a ship was damaged or in need of a tow.

“This way,” she continued, “we keep a little distance between us and that ship. And while I trust your calculations, should they be wrong, I'd like to have the option of making a quick getaway. If she starts to go, I'd rather not be air-locked to her. We can release the hooks in an instant. Airlock might be more difficult.”

“Agreed.”

“Captain,” Jack said, “Couldn't we use the grappling hooks to tow the ship away from the black hole? Seems like that would make things a lot easier.”

“Not a bad idea, Mr. Crawford. But the fact is, a ship that size drifting like she is—there's a lot of momentum there. We'd strip the engines and probably end up following her over the edge. Even if we didn't, our grappling lines aren't strong enough to handle the stress. No, Mr. Crawford, if we can't get her engines going, there's no saving her.”

Crawford frowned and glanced at Rebecca. She simply nodded. That was her job and she could handle it. She didn't appreciate the doubt in his eyes.

Twenty minutes later, Gravely was pulling on the full body suit that she would need for the short trip from the
Chronos
to the
Singularity.
It clung tight to her skin, so thin and elastic that she almost felt naked. The suits were designed to give maximum protection while providing maximum mobility. They were not flattering. There was no hiding in them. Ridley joined her in the air lock, holding the glass dome that would fit over his head under his arm.

“Just for the record, I want to say I am still opposed to this.”

“Noted.”

“Also, Captain,” Ridley said as he fitted the helmet over his head. When he spoke again, it had the electric tinge of the comm system. “You should know that as we approach the event horizon the danger of gravitational effects will increase. If you start to see things, or if the crew starts to act strangely, then we have to leave as soon as possible.”

“Understood.” Gravely slipped the helmet over her head and looked out the narrow slat on the airlock door to the ship beyond. She touched the wall and an image of Aidan appeared.

“Captain, I'm ready at fire control whenever you are.”

“Alright, Mr. Connor. You may proceed.”

Aidan let the computer do the work. It adjusted and aimed the grappling hooks and when the target was acquired, awaited a final command. Aidan gave it and the grappling guns fired. The hooks flew through space, wrapping themselves around their targets. A perfect shot.

“Got it, Captain,” Aidan said.

Gravely turned to Ridley. He nodded once. She tapped a computer screen and the room sealed itself. In a few seconds, ventilation shafts removed the air from the room, leaving it as complete a vacuum as the emptiness of space without. Gravely spun the wheel on the airlock door and pushed it open. The steel line of the grappling hook hung above her, floating in the weightlessness of space.

Gravely removed a clip attached to a cord that ran to her midsection and attached it to the line above. Then it was just a matter of taking a leap of faith. For a moment, long enough to take one breath, she hesitated. Then she jumped. Her momentum carried her, and she felt an almost childlike exhilaration as she slid down to the open airlock below.

When her feet met solid metal, she removed the clip from the line and attached it to the wall of the ship. Ridley arrived few seconds later. From the bridge, Aidan, Rebecca and Jack watched the video feed from Gravely and Ridley's cameras on the two great screens above them. The cameras were mounted on the top of their helmets, allowing those who remained on the bridge to see everything they saw.

Gravely stuck a field generator to the wall of the ship and a solid—if invisible—wall appeared behind them, sealing the room from space. She tapped a computer console that sat next to the airlock doorway. To no one's surprise, nothing happened.

“Power's dead. Attaching battery.”

Gravely slipped the battery cable into the ship's auxiliary unit. The battery console lit up, but the ship's computer terminal remained as black as space behind them.

“Dammit. Nothing.”

“If we can't get the doors open,” Ridley murmured, “this'll be a short trip.”

“You seeing this, Aidan?” Gravely said, ignoring Ridley.

“We are, Captain. Check below the auxiliary node. Do you see a panel with a handle depressed into its center?”

Gravely looked down, and as she did Aidan saw what they were looking for.

“Yes, Aidan. I see it.”

“Good. That's the manual release. Grab it and turn it clockwise. A quarter turn and it should lock in place.”

Gravely grasped the handle and pulled. It didn't budge. She grabbed it with her other hand and tried again. Still nothing. On the third time, however, it turned ever so slightly. Then something gave and the handle spun freely until it locked in place just as Aidan said it would.

“Now what?”

“Now push it in. It should sink into the side. When it does, the magnetic locks on the door will release. Or they should, at least.”

Gravely looked up at Ridley. “Ready?” He didn't answer, though she took the look on his face to be a yes. “Here we go.”

Gravely pushed the handle and felt it slide into the wall. There was the sound of grinding metal. Somewhere inside the door, a lock released. It opened in one swift movement. A rush of wind followed as the vacuum in which they stood filled with air from the ship with a force strong enough to almost push Gravely over. Then there was nothing but silence and the deep, impenetrable blackness of the inside of the
Singularity
.

“Alright. So far, so good. Here we go.”

*  *  *

Minutes earlier, as Gravely and Ridley were pulling on their flight suits and preparing to leave the
Chronos
, Cyrus McDonnell, or his body at least, lay on a metal bed in the infirmary, separated from those outside by an invisible force field. One would never know it was there were it not for the occasional crackle of electricity that coursed down from its top to its bottom, rippling its surface.

Not that anyone needed to be protected from Cyrus. The drugs that Dr. Ridley had pumped into his veins were sufficient that he may never wake up. Not until they reached Riley, when the doctor planned on passing him off to the nearest hospital.

Someone else's patient and someone else's problem.

But then Aidan pushed a button on his computer screen, and the grappling hooks were fired from the
Chronos
. As the hooks latched on to the other ship, as the
Singularity
and the
Chronos
went from two separate entities into one being, the lids that covered two pitted eye sockets opened and . . .

. . . Cyrus McDonnell awakened.

Chapter 15

Gravely and Ridley stood on the precipice of the airlock, the cold waste of space behind them and perhaps something even darker ahead. The computer in Gravely's suit sampled the air, reporting the readings on her heads-up display.

“Are you getting this, Mr. Connor?”

“I am, Captain. Oxygen levels are slightly lower than normal but well within the parameters. The temperature is a chilly fifty-two degrees. Obviously the environmental regulators are down.”

“The lower oxygen levels could mean someone is breathing in there, though.”

“Could be anything,” Ridley said. “That's not a lot to go on.”

He peered over Gravely's shoulder into the thick darkness beyond. He shuddered; it reminded him of the shadow walls. He wondered if this was all a trick, a ploy to get them to unwittingly pass beyond it and be sucked down into that dark oblivion. “Thank God for night vision.”

“On that note . . . Alright, Mr. Connor. Switching to night vision.”

No matter how dark, there could be no hiding from the cameras. With them on, even the blackest night would turn to day, the computers recalibrating the image so that the user could hardly tell the difference between the image they saw and a fully lit room. But when Gravely and Ridley engaged their night vision, something went wrong.

They both cried out in pain. On the bridge, Aidan watched as the screen went from pitch black to blinding white and then back to black as the two of them disengaged. “We've got a problem, Mr. Connor,” Gravely said. “I don't know what that was, but it was like staring into the sun.”

“We got nothing on the screens, Captain. Just a flash of light.”

“Same. Give us a moment. I can barely see.”

“I ran a diagnostic. Everything should be fine.”

“Yes, Aidan. I’m beginning to wonder about our computers. We are going to switch to full spectrum. But I think for the good of us both, we'll keep our eyes closed.”

The full spectrum cameras were a poor man's night vision. The cameras flooded the room with infrared light, invisible to the human eye. It then collected it back, converting the data to an image the human eye could see. While not as good as night vision, it was better than walking in the dark. Except when Gravely engaged her infrared, the blinding white light returned.