The Ascendant Stars - Michael Cobley [43]
Most of the colonists were crowded around the hatches leading to the ship’s main spinal corridor, but Kao Chih was still at the oval window, fairly certain that he was in no immediate danger. Even though the Suneye ship was rushing side-on towards him. As he watched, shimmering, tapering beams sprang out from glints spaced along its smooth hull, maybe grappler fields of some kind, he guessed.
‘This is First Officer Rosario – all crew and passengers brace for impact.’
The shock threw him off his chair to land on his shoulder, the impetus carrying him further, flipping him over. Dazed, he struggled to his feet. The lounge was a chaos of overturned furniture, fallen people and the cries of the wounded. As he watched, some chairs floated free of the floor and glided along for a few feet before banging back down again.
Deck gravity is losing coherence, he thought. Is the enemy already aboard?
Someone grabbed his arm. He was startled to see that it was Admiral Zhylinsky.
‘Come with me,’ he said. ‘There’s a security station above on Deck 7 midsection – we can pick up weapons and supplies there.’
‘But sir, why not head for the bridge?’
‘That’s now the riskiest place to be – they’ll shut it down before they subdue the colonists.’ The admiral straightened suddenly, head cocked as if listening. ‘It’s gone quiet along the dorsal corridor. Quick, this way.’
The older man seemed possessed of an intense energy as he practically dragged Kao Chih to the other end of the lounge. Almost concealed by the low lighting and the textured, dark brown decor was a recess with a partially camouflaged door that opened to the admiral’s thumbprint. Bead lamps winked on as they sidled along a narrow access passage. The air was warm and dry and smelled of oil and plastics and the admiral seemed to be quite familiar with the place. When Kao Chih asked about this, the admiral shrugged.
‘I was captain of the Viteazul before my promotion to admiral. Relations with Earthsphere were still tense back then and we had to be ready if their agents attempted a hijacking or some kind of sabotage. So I got to know the less obvious ways around the ship, especially ones like this which allow access between the decks.’
Kao Chih smiled, jabbing his thumb upwards. ‘To Deck 7.’
Zhylinsky nodded, clearly pleased at being able to show off his clandestine knowledge. ‘I even had this maintenance passage extended and modified. It now has a ladder that comes up in the storage closet of Deck 7 security station!’
Several minutes later they were climbing out of a square hatch in the floor of a small room with box-stacked shelves. Kao Chih was helped up by a middle-aged female security officer, then a skinny youth in a grubby yellow onepiece handed him a paper cup of water.
‘Good to see you, Sergeant,’ said the admiral. ‘Where’s the rest of your team?’
‘Sdanek and Iklos got shot by enemy drones deploying narcoleptics, sir,’ said the woman. ‘Combination of needle-darts and dispersal pellets. I was lucky to escape.’
‘I see – and are we secure?’
‘Sealed tight, sir, now that hatch is locked. Monitor network is still up and as far as I can tell the enemy is in control of both engineering and the bridge.’
‘Good. Sergeant Miczek, this is Kao Chih, our liaison with the Pyre colonists and now a comrade in this time of need.’ Zhylinsky gazed at the yellow-garbed youth. ‘And who is this young man?’
‘Erm … Marko Degellis, sir, uh, Captain, um, assistant stores monitor.’
The admiral sternly shook his head. ‘Marko, have you ever used a gun?’
‘Only on a glowset, sir … ’
Zhylinsky smiled. ‘Good reactions, then? I used to be pretty sharp in Biokrysis, you know, but that was a few years ago, of course. So, yes, we’ll find you something useful in the arms locker, along with the body armour. Not going anywhere without that!’
The security station comprised two small rooms, one with heavy cabinets lining two of its facing walls, the other equipped with consoles and screens. The admiral led them in, seated himself in one of the two swivel chairs and brought the screens