Defy the Worlds (Constellation #2)(81)
Concentrate on relevant facts, he reminds himself. At the time, this was Remedy-held territory. But Remedy no longer has the workforce to control so much space. This location should be safe.
“How far are we from a communications station we could use to contact Virginia?”
“Given the depleted energy reserves within the ship, we would probably have to get very near the bridge to find a working comms console. While possible, this course of action would also bring us into likely contact with Remedy members.” Who will, of course, be desperate to capture Abel and turn him over to Gillian in exchange for the medicine that would save their surviving friends.
She nods. “And the docking bay?” As they slowly work their way within, it becomes clear that even the emergency lighting has begun to falter. Abel adjusts his vision to infrared so Noemi will remain a warm glow by his side.
“Nearly half the length of the ship away—but closer than the bridge.”
She groans. “Let’s just start walking.”
One corridor proves to be by far the safest and best lit, so they’re able to make good time. They walk instead of run, both to be as quiet as possible and to avoid overtaxing Noemi. Or so Abel thinks, until he realizes that for once Noemi’s the one slowing down to his pace. Perhaps she’s worried about his ankle. It’s strangely pleasant, being worried about.
Yet some of his capacities remain at full strength—including his mech vision. Within fifteen meters of the docking bay, he halts midstep, putting his arm out to block Noemi. When she turns to him, confused, he says in a low voice, “Pressurized explosive device, point four one meters ahead.”
“How are you—”
“I’m on infrared frequencies right now. Otherwise I would’ve missed it. Apparently a wire’s been fed through the floor of the corridor.”
“Remedy mined the floor?” Noemi steps backward, a movement Abel copies. They came far too close to activating this device. If he’s accurately measuring its explosive content, the resulting blast would’ve shredded them both. “It has to be Remedy—there’s no way the passengers have the know-how for this, or Simon either.”
“Agreed. They must’ve done this when their people began falling ill. Since Remedy no longer had members available for patrols, they went for mines.”
“Well, let’s find a corridor they didn’t mine.”
But such a corridor isn’t easy to find. Now that Abel knows how to look for the devices, he’s able to adjust his vision to search areas human sight could never reach. Remedy’s mines are planted deep in the ship’s framework, making it impossible to cross from one part of the ship to another. “There must remain at least one route to the docking bay,” he says, as much to himself as to her, when they find the fifth blocked passage. “It’s the most tactically significant section of the Osiris. They wouldn’t cut themselves off from it.”
“But we’d have to go through whatever remains of Remedy to reach it, which means they’d target you.” Noemi leans against one wall. “You see what this is, don’t you?”
“A trap.” He should have expected as much.
“No. At least, not for us. Even if every member of Remedy dropped dead, the passengers wouldn’t be able to leave the surface of this planet. Not now, not ever. Fouda knows he’s lost. So he’s making sure the passengers die with them, even if it means they starve.”
History contains many examples of humanity’s capacity for spite, so this shouldn’t shock Abel. But he still can’t comprehend how a person comes to such a calculation.
He can, however, perform some calculations of his own. “Fouda may have wired the docking bay, too.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Noemi agrees.
“Perhaps we should try to approach the bridge after all. Remedy’s forces are weakened. We stand a chance of reaching a communications console.”
“No.” Noemi squares her shoulders. “We have to set the passengers free.”
“I don’t intend to abandon them. We should send for help once we’ve reached the Earth system.” Some of the patrol ships circling Neptune and its moons no doubt know of the Osiris and would be able to mount a rescue mission. “As for Simon, I’ll reach out to him once we have comms.”
Noemi folds her arms across her chest. “What makes you think he’s going to listen?”
“I’ve been considering what would motivate him. He is, at his core, a little boy. So I thought I would offer him a ride in a new spaceship. One where he can sit in the captain’s chair. That would work, wouldn’t it?”
Her tone gentles. “Maybe. But if he goes haywire up there—”
“I can install safeguards.” Abel’s already considered this. “There’s no way I’d ever let him endanger you. Or Virginia.” He hopes Virginia never hears how he had to add on that last.
“Okay. I trust you.” She says it more like she’s convincing herself than him.
“We must of course do something for the passengers and Remedy members before we go. Their lives are endangered.”
Noemi hesitates. At first, their escape seemed like no more than leaving a dangerous situation; however, Abel’s programming is at work within him, urging him to protect human life if he can… absent instructions to the contrary from Burton Mansfield, who is no longer a factor. He suspects Noemi’s religious belief operates much the same way within her, reminding her of others who need protection.