B785 (14 page)

Stupid overprotective cyborg males.

Once again, Bonnie was left behind to watch as others went off on an adventure, but this time, she at least had Einstein at her side because as Aramus stated, “I need someone to keep PITA in line.”

Ha, as if her prince charming could stop her from acting if she chose. Actually, he was the one person who probably could—if he asked nicely.

Using the same shuttle they’d used to visit the asteroid, the chosen four left quickly once the decision to investigate was made. It didn’t take them long to land and make their way to the vessel, a beached metal whale on an alien moon, or so her imagination compared it. Via cameras mounted to the helmets of those chosen to go, she and the others watched as the cyborg boarding party entered through a hull breach on the downed ship. Having watched many an alien movie during her teenage years, Bonnie bit her lip, visions of attacking aliens shooting electrical sparks and zombielike human crewman lurking in the darkness vivid in her mind. The reality was much more boring. The downed craft showed not a sign of life. A layer of silt already covered the interior, the insides basically space junk—torn metal, hanging wires, and bodies caught in the wreckage. Despite the fact they’d tried to kill her, she still winced at the sight. Death was always ugly.

A whistle came from Seth. “What a mess. I don’t know if we’ll be able to find anything useful in this.”

“You’re currently seeing the worst of the damage,” Einstein noted via communicator to the landing party. “That’s where the missile impacted and sliced through their hull. It’s also the side that hit the asteroid first. Lucky for us, this area of the ship belonged to crew’s quarters and storage.”

Lucky for them perhaps, not to so much for the crew. Although, most of them were probably at their work stations doing their best to kill the cyborg menace, Bonnie did her best to squash her sympathy. The humans would have had none for her.

Einstein continued. “The engines themselves, which are a level down, while impacted during the crash, should be more or less intact. Nova and Bolt, head to your left and see if you can get to the engine room. What we want is probably attached to their main power reactor. Or so I assume. Logic says any technology that could hide a vessel of that size would require lots of energy to power it. So it should be around there somewhere. The problem with assumptions, though, is I don’t want us to blind ourselves to what they really should be looking for. It could be anything. Or anywhere.”

“Too late to worry about that now,” Bonnie said softly. “Relying on common sense is all we have for the moment.”

“What about us?” asked Astro. “Where do you want us to go?”

“Seth and Astro, you guys
—
”

“Will go the other way,” Seth interrupted. “I know, dude. Just chill and watch for weird shit. We know what we’re doing.”

And they probably did, under normal circumstances. Problem was, Einstein and the others didn’t know what they were looking for. Big machine. Little one. Her poor geek. Bonnie could see a part of him wished he’d fought harder to go with the group.

Splitting his attention between the search parties, her lover tried to give them equal attention as they delved deeper, wending their way through dark halls. Bonnie had to wonder at their decision to send so few. Then again, if the military unexpectedly showed up, more hands on deck meant a greater chance they could prevail and rescue the small party on the ground.

Despite what Hollywood led her to expect, no slavering green Martians with big teeth and an appetite for human flesh jumped out at any of them. A good thing, and yet at the same time, kind of disappointing.

Not long into their journey, Bolt and Nova encountered a shut door in their path, one which refused to budge no matter how they strained, the metal bent from impact. Since they had to stop and pull out a blowtorch to try and cut their way through, Einstein switched most of his attention to Seth and Astro.

The pair encountered no obstacles they couldn’t clamber around in their trek; however, at a split in the corridor, they needed to make a decision. “Dude, which way should we go first? According to schematics, left is the captain’s quarters, while right is the command center.”

“Captain’s rooms.”

“Command center.”

Einstein and Aramus both spoke at the same time. Aramus thumped his fist on his armrest. “I’m fucking in charge of this mission and I say they go to the command area.”

Meeting his glare, Einstein’s lip thinned as he stood up to him. “I’m ship’s intelligence officer and strategist. I say they go to the captain’s rooms for logs and communication.”

In an attempt to lighten the tense mood, Bonnie bounced up from her seat, placing herself between them and breaking their staring match. “Yay. I get to be the tie breaker.”

“Stay out of this, PITA.”

“Her name is Bonnie.”

“Whatever. It’s not her call. I say we arm wrestle for it,” Aramus growled.

“Ha. Like I’ll fall for that. I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t we solve an equation?” Einstein countered.

“Why don’t you just have them split up?” Bonnie suggested, unable to keep quiet.

“Already done, princess,” Seth said over the intercom. “I’m heading to the captain’s quarters while Astro heads to the main controls.”

Clapping her hands, she beamed. “Solution found.”

Einstein almost laughed at Aramus’ sour look. “So it seems. Aramus, why don’t you keep an eye on Astro while I watch Seth?” At his grunt of assent, Einstein tuned into his screen and Bonnie, earpiece firmly attached, listened for any sign of hostiles as she leaned over his shoulder to take a peek.

“This place is spooky,” Seth muttered.

“Are you worried about the captain’s ghost popping out?” Bonnie teased.

“Hey, don’t laugh. Last time the boys and I thought we might have run into a ghost, we ended up finding F814.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup. She was haunting the mines on this asteroid we were checking out. So don’t laugh. Who knows what could pop out?”

“You don’t think they had any cyborgs aboard, do you?” Einstein asked.

Seth shrugged, or so she assumed given the jiggle of the camera. “You never know. The soldiers we encountered on the asteroid said something about reprogramming us. Who knows what the military has been doing. Maybe we’ll find out. I’m here.” Stopping before a door identical to the others except for the military fleet emblem, Seth yanked off the control panel. Without power, the usual mechanics didn’t respond to touch. He yanked on the manual lever, releasing the latch. A click sounded. Slipping his fingers into a groove along the edge, Seth slid the door open and stepped in.

Chaos reigned, but less because of the crash and more because the captain was a slob. Clothes lay strewn about, along with dirty dishes and other detritus.

“What a pig,” Seth exclaimed.

“Perhaps he was too busy to clean up,” Einstein said.

“Too busy to throw it down a chute for someone else to clean? Whatever, dude. Where should I begin looking? I warn you, though, I ain’t going anywhere near his underwear drawer without gloves.”

Bonnie stifled a giggle.

“See if you can locate his desk. There should be a console built into it. Even with the power out, it should be a simple matter to pop the hard drive with the files I’m looking for.”

“On it. Anything else?”

“Put your camera on rotation while you get it and I’ll tell you what else to grab if I see anything.”

“What are you looking for?” Bonnie asked.

“A lot of military captains keep a separate journal, usually a paper notebook or an electronic storage device not connected to the mainframe. A safety net just in case something bad happens and the military wipes certain missives in an attempt to screw them over.”

“How sad. Even their own soldiers don’t trust them.”

“Would you?”

Of course not, but she had valid reason. Then again, having seen how the military acted during her tenure with them, was it any surprise their own officers would want backup in case shit hit the fan? She watched intently with Einstein as the camera panned the room. Clothes, boots, magazines with naked boobies, more clothes, dirty dishes, a few picture frames, which Einstein zoomed in on. They depicted a rather boring-looking man in a uniform with an older couple. The same man with a bunch of guys in uniform hoisting drinks. Him on a beach. Parachuting. Einstein kept panning the room as Seth grumbled about tiny screws and big thumbs. Bonnie almost looked away when she saw it.

“Stop the camera,” Bonnie demanded.

Einstein fiddled with the buttons. “What did you see?”

“Back it up.”

He rewound.

“There. Do you see it?”

Apparently he didn’t because he shook his head.

“The ugly paperweight that looks like it was made by a six-year-old.”

“What about it? Lots of guys bring mementos from their kids.”

“But that’s just it. This guy doesn’t seem to have kids.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“None of his pictures show him with a family. They’re all images of a single guy, not a dad. I’ll betcha that paperweight thing is a decoy.”

“Seth, grab it, will you?”

“Sure thing.” Pocketing the hard drive, which he’d finally popped free, Seth picked up the homemade-looking hunk and slid it into another pocket. “Anything else?”

“Nothing that really stands out. Take a look around, though. Maybe we missed something.”

“There’s a lot of blood in here,” Seth observed. “Especially around his computer. Almost like someone died here.”

“Maybe he did. Or was injured during the crash.”

“Maybe.”

Bonnie noted what Seth did, the copious amounts of black and reddish-brown fluid flooding the desk area. Perhaps the captain managed to stagger out into the hall in the hopes of finding aid. Judging by the large stain, she highly doubted he made it far.

A further search of the room, that involved the turning over of dirty clothing to Seth’s disgust, didn’t turn anything up and Seth left to join Astro in the command area. The other cyborg wasn’t having an easy time, the room having sustained more damage than expected, but not from the crash.

“They shot the fucking place to hell so we couldn’t get our hands on whatever it is they’re hiding,” Aramus growled, thumping his fist down on his armrest. “Bastards. We won’t find anything useful there.”

An avid watcher of conspiracy movies, Bonnie, however, saw a different scenario. “I don’t think that’s what happened. If you look at the blast marks and the way the bodies are positioned, it looks more like they were attacked.”

“By their own crew?” Aramus couldn’t hide the note of incredulity.

“It wouldn’t be the first mutiny the military has suffered. It could also be a case of the ship went down and a soldier sensing their impending doom went a little nuts with his sidearm.”

“Captain.” Bolt’s voice cut into their conjecture. “We’ve made it in to the engine room, but I don’t think we’re going to find anything useful. Looks like there was a massacre in here.”

“Another suicidal soldier?” Aramus’ skepticism rose another notch.

Or the same one.
Bonnie gnawed her lower lip, the unfolding scene and evidence nagging at her. Given the extensive damage and loss of pressurization, not to mention oxygen, what human would have survived long enough to do that kind of damage? And again, why?

Flipping his screen to Bolt’s camera frequency, Einstein rubbed his chin, his telltale tic for entering thinking mode. It seemed she wasn’t the only one to jump to the conclusion they were dealing with a single entity. “The chances of two soldiers going rogue seem unlikely. Stay on high alert. We could have a possible hostile roaming.”

“Bring it,” Nova replied. “I’m more than willing to put down a rabid human.”

Again, the sense of something not right nagged at her.
Why did they assume the killer and destroyer of the evidence was human?
Most environmental suits c
an
only carry a limited supply of oxygen. What if
we
are
dealing with someone non human?
Could the military ship have a cyborg aboard, an ally who s
eeks to help us
?
Not wanting to sound foolish, she kept her non fact based theory to herself.

Einstein leaned in and stared intently at his screen, as if a closer view would show him what he wanted. “Bolt, do you see anything unusual about the energy core? Any equipment you’re not familiar with?”

“Hard to tell with all the friggin’ blast marks. Give me a second to clear some of the shit away.” Bolt’s gloved hands came into view, tugging at exposed wiring and bent metal. He grunted as he heaved a large chunk of fallen paneling away from the unit. “Huh. Will you look at this? Is that what you mean by strange-looking?” Bolt held up a small box with a single blinking green light, and Einstein let out a hissing breath.

“Shit.” The expletive from Einstein sent a chill down her spine. “Bolt, put that thing down, nice and slow, then get the hell out of there. Quick. All of you evacuate the ship.”

To his credit, Bolt did as he was told, but not without question. “What is it?”

“Bomb. And set on a short timer. Everyone needs to retreat and keep an eye open for a hostile. I’d say there’s a ninety percent probability that you’re not alone.”

As a conversation stopper, it worked. Jaws dropped all over.

“But the life support is off. The ship depressurized. Human space suits aren’t designed to last without an atmosphere for more than a few hours. No way is anyone still alive,” Aramus blustered, his drumming fingers stilling.

“No one human, perhaps. But a cyborg could.” Einstein spoke aloud what Bonnie, up until now, only suspected.

“A cyborg wouldn’t hurt us,” Nova huffed. “We’re the good guys.”

“A cyber unit still under military control might.”

The suggestion put a grim expression on everyone’s face. One human in a spacesuit, wandering around with a gun, was easily killed. A cyborg however? Now that could cause some serious damage.