Page 28 of Escape from Nova Nine
The bot ran into the door and bounced back. The airlock’s door frame lit up, and the control panel bezel began a steady blink, but the iris leaves of the door itself stayed closed.
Zade scooped up the bot and tucked into his arm and against his chest, its gimbal treads facing out. He pulled his front exosuit strap around its flat bottom to help secure it. The treads stopped wiggling after a bit.
The bot had probably expected the door to open for it like all mine airlocks did. She eyed the blinking control panel again. The security office changed the universal emergency access code so often that the staff had taken to writing the new one down in places they thought were secret.
Priorities pulled at her. They’d gotten what they came for, but now she was reluctant to leave. A crazy idea formed in her mind.
He pointed toward the door, then made the sign for griffins.
“This tunnel” — he said, shining his light on the door’s intricate filigree decoration— “looks old enough to have been made by the Central League Armed Forces.”
“Workgroup 17-C. The bot has stopped moving. Do you have it?”
“Close,” Julke replied. The Admin tech’s peevish tone meant they’d run out of patience soon, but instinct was pushing her. “Let’s try this.”
She took off her left glove and put her palm on the flat control panel. Cold seeped into her fingers and joints. Just as she was about to give up, the full display finally woke up. Mandarin words invited her to supply the code. She entered the oldest universal one from her inherited memories, then hurriedly pulled her glove back on and sealed it. Her whole arm ached.
The bezel turned solid dark red.
Zade stepped closer to look at the panel.
The bezel flashed blue for a moment, then alternated between blue and red, like it couldn’t make up its mind.
Inspired, she pulled him and the bot closer to the threshold. The bezel stayed blue. The airlock’s door irised open.
A forceful intake of wind pulled both her and Zade forward a couple of steps before she caught her balance. Lights blazed on, revealing a gridded platform surrounded by loose mesh walls. It took her a moment to realize it was a lift cage, and she’d seen it before in her memories.
* * *
Zade watched Julke closely for what she wanted to do. Not being able to talk freely seriously torqued his jets.
His curiosity was in overdrive, but he also liked living. And he felt obligated to get the stolen holomaps to the other prisoners. She knew Nova Nine far better than he did, and carrying the bot hindered his ability to run or handle trouble.
“Workgroup 17-C. Did you damage the map bot? It’s offline.”
“No,” answered Julke. “It’s gone behind an old rockfall with xeronium tracings. We’re trying to get it out.” She waved him forward, then signed to stop after he’d only taken two steps. “I’ll go around.”
“Workgroup 17-C, where are you? Your comms are breaking up.”
Julke stepped around him and back into the tunnel to the rubble. She wrestled a large rock free. “We’re in the tunnel where you told us to go. I don’t see any identifiers.” She half-rolled, half-dragged the rock to rest on the threshold of the open airlock.
“Workgroup 17-C. If you can’t get the bot within five minutes, return to the assigned work area without it.”
“Okay.” She stepped closer to him and drew his attention to her oxy readout, which showed the air quality was now in acceptable range. When she opened her helmet, he did the same. Cold air smacked him in the face, but he didn’t care.
“Five minutes, then we go back.” She spoke soft and fast. “This is a lift. Nova Nine’s ship hangar has one just like it. I think this lift, or maybe whatever this space is, blocks the mine’s comms and trackers.” She pointed to what looked like the lift’s control. “Instincts are pushing me hard to go up one level and take a look. I can’t tell you why, or what we’ll find. Just that it’s important.”
He knew the feeling. Moreover, he trusted her. “Then let’s look.” He touched the cable between them. “I know I’m not usually the voice of caution, but this is our only way back out if we get lost. Can we make the airlock stay open while we’re exploring?”
“No time to experiment. The rock should keep the door from closing. I think your bot’s universal codes helped make it open in the first place.”
Her intensity sparked his sense of adventure. He hitched the bot up higher on his hip. “Then I’m green go.”
She did something at the control panel. As the lift rose quickly and smoothly. he watched to make sure the cable came with them. It had plenty of length, but it wasn’t the tough monofibre line they’d had when exploring the Abyss.
When the lift cage stopped, she touched another control. The back wall of the cage lifted like a gate, revealing a narrow metal platform with a gold-encrusted filigree railing.
The second she stepped onto the platform, lights blazed on. A mellifluous synth voice welcomed her in Mandarin as High Lord Warden Nimasang Jinzuh, invited her to behold the glory of her unparalleled collection, and asked which chariot she would like to fly this auspicious day.
