THE COLD WAS PROFOUND.
Hammonside had been in vacuum for quite a long time. Crais and Muukarhi bounced cautiously through the dimly-lit cargo bay and suppressed a shiver. She inadvertently kicked some debris and they watched it bounce silently away.
The place was like a tomb, and Crais thought the comparison apt, now that the great creature through which they moved was dead. Cold and silent in this vacuum, they were all eyes, moving cautiously. It took them more time than they would have liked, but they at last found what they was looking for, cracked the case, peered inside, smiled under their rebreathers.
They were older models, though the pressure suits piled neatly in the crate were Sebacean and functional. Crais checked the backpacks, was gratified to see them charged. Whatever else his people were, they built well. These suits could have been over a hundred cycles old and he'd known they'd work. He found one roughly his size, pulled it on, cinched it up, felt better for it. Taking a deep breath, he peeled off his rebreather, activated the backpack and pulled the helmet on. He coughed at the initial pulse of stale air then breathed deep as it cleared.
Heat began to rise in the suit, would level off to a comfortable level soon enough. Sebaceans didn't mind the cold, true, but there were levels of it even they'd rather not have to tolerate for long.
Muukarhi finished putting her suit on then turned to cracking other cases. Crais rigged his suit for suit-to-suit communication, a limited form that required the suits to be in contact in order to work. It would preclude anyone overhearing. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"We're doing well," he told her and she nodded.
"There's a dorsal exit hatch at the top of this bay," she said, looping a toolkit over a shoulder. "If we can get out, we may be able to cross Elack from the outside and board the Insectoid's ship that way. I don't think the Vigilante will be expecting us to be outside."
He was about to release her and step away when she suddenly yelled and jerked away from him. He looked about hurriedly for an enemy and saw nothing.
After a moment, she came back, put a hand on his arm and said sheepishly,
"I apologize. For someone who has spent her life working on Leviathans, you would think I would be a little less jittery on them."
She pointed to a dim pair of lights on a crate before them, and Crais realized that it was a DRD.
"I must have brushed it and activated it," Muukarhi said. "It startled me."
"I shall not mention it if you do not," He told her, and it prompted a smile, which unexpectedly pleased him, even though that had not been the reaction he had expected. He looked at the DRD.
"It must be the only one left operating, although I had thought they went offline when their Leviathan died."
"They usually do. It may have been that operational instructions were cut off when this side vented into vacuum. This one has been waiting for who knows how long."
The little machine seemed quite animated now that it saw life and movement. Its eyestalks were fully bright and it seemed poised and waiting for orders. Muukarhi looked it over. Still functioning, but she could not guess how long that would last.
"Take us to the dorsal hatch," she told it, putting her hand on it to communicate, loathe to simply shut it down after she'd awakened it. She knew DRDs were mechanical, with usually simple AI, but she'd been around Leviathans her entire life, had even had a DRD as a companion when she'd been a child. She had a special place in her heart for the little servicers. The DRD spun on its crate, rolled down the side and scooted across the floor. They followed.
It arrived at a fork in the corridor, seemed to hesitate. Muukarhi gave it a microt, knew it had probably sat on that crate in standby mode for cycles. It spun in circles for a few more microts and Muukarhi toed it, which stopped it. It looked up at her, seemed to decide and sped left. Crais looked dubious and she just shrugged. So far it was going in the right direction. They followed it for another half-arn, were almost to the top tier when the DRD froze ahead of them as it reached a bend. Muukarhi put her hand on Crais' arm.
"The hatch is around that bend. It seems our little guide is hesitant to go."
He nodded.
"Wait here. There may be a reason for that."
Without waiting for her reply, Crais advanced cautiously up the corridor, until he was almost parallel with the DRD. He jammed himself between the corridor ribs as a light suddenly speared down the corridor, illuminated the DRD and crawled across the ceiling. He looked back to Muukarhi, but she had wisely already hidden herself. To the DRD's credit, it did not look at Crais, but slowly began to slide across the corridor, toward the wall, as if to get out of someone's way. The light followed it. Crais pushed himself as much as he could against the wall, in a very precarious position as the owner of the light came into view – another Invidid.
The DRD waved its eyestalks at the colony creature and it seemed fascinated by the little machine – and Crais took advantage of that. Without hesitation, Crais propelled himself out and past the Invidid, firing as he went. The Invidid whirled and it turned into a strange, silent fight.
In the end, however, it was not Crais who dispatched the Invidid bounty hunter – it was the Peacekeepers. They destroyed it with multiple shots, splattering it across the corridor. Crais was disarmed with little effort and Muukarhi was quickly captured.
As Crais and Muukarhi were marched to holding cells on the Vigilante, Crais apologized to the Kia'Baa'ri who looked at him as if he were deranged.
"This is not your fault," she told him. "You did what you could."
"No, as a former Peacekeeper, I should have anticipated that move. I used to Captain a Carrier, command my own Regiments. They used the Invidid to find us, rather than search on their own. I should have realized."
He looked at her with a satisfied smile, however, which she found perplexing.
"On the positive side, they have no reason to hold you. As an employee of the Ashkelon, you are beyond their jurisdiction. I suggest you use it when they come for interrogation. It will save you."
At the cells they were split up.
"Goodbye." Crais said as he was marched away. "Extend my respects to the others and tell Talyn to be strong and do his duty when he is well. Thank what remains of Elack for me as well, if you would."
Despite his fatalistic tone, it was not the last Muukarhi was to see of him.
