Chapter 25

We docked without a problem, and I entered the cold wreckage, leaving Eva to monitor my progress from the cabin. She seemed nervous as I left, but I assumed it was her normal reaction to stress. It fitted my data with 89% accuracy.

My only concern was the structural integrity of the ship. I wished I could access the ship's computer to check it, but it was unresponsive, which didn’t surprise me considering the damage the ship suffered. At least I had the ship's schematics so that I could find my way around. I called them on the radio. Now, when I was inside, I should be able to pick up their transmitters.

“… Can you hear me…?”

A weak female voice broke through the static. My computer matched her transmitter with her PLB, identifying her as Tanvi Sigh, Captain of the Pony Express.

“I hear you clearly, Tanvi”, I said, checking her location on my pad. “Confirm you are in the pilot’s cabin.”

“Yes, but… Abedi… He was in the engine room… He… hasn’t responded in hours….”, Tanvi’s voice cracked through the radio.

That’s where the decompression happened, I thought, but according to his PLB, he was alive. If I could trust that data, that is. At least, there was a chance… The ship still had a breathable atmosphere, so the emergency valves must have shut off the damaged compartments. I sighed.

“I will get you first, okay… How do you feel?”

“… Cold… and dizzy…”

I walked through the dark corridors towards the pilot's cabin. The light from my headlamp pierced through the darkness, revealing a heavy metal door in front of me. A faint green light shone above the frame, indicating that the pressure in the other room was equal, and it would be safe to open the door. I knew, though, that there was a 3% chance that the system had failed during the accident. I really wished that Ceres would be equipped with proper instruments, but she was never designed to be a rescue vessel.

“Tanvi…Tanvi…”, I called her on the radio.

“Rea?...” Her voice drifted away into the static.

“Yes, it’s me... Tanvi, what is the pressure on your side?”, I asked.

“...1 atmosphere…”

I looked at the door and opened the panel to the emergency release, which didn’t need any external power to work.

“Eva, I am going in”, I said, pulling the lever.

“Be careful”, her voice echoed in my headset as the door opened with a hiss.

Tanvi sat in one of the seats, holding her left arm.

“You came…”, she said quietly, and I could see through her visor that she tried to smile.

I knelt next to her and pulled the med-scanner from the holster.

“Don’t move, okay?”

“Abedi…?”

She whispered her friend's name and looked at me.

“Alive…according to his PLB.”

I put my hand on her shoulder and turned on the scan.

“So…what’s wrong with me?”, she tried to smile.

“Nothing too serious”, I reassured her as I immobilised her hand with a splint. “Can you walk?”

“I can try…” she said quietly.

I helped her to her feet and supported her as we walked back to the shuttle. Her injuries weren't grave, she was lucky to get away with only a broken wrist and a few bruises. But I would be happy to have her checked by our medical unit in the shuttle.

Eva met us in the airlock and gave me a worried look.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded, and we moved Tanvi to the auto doc. She smiled as the machine closed around her and whispered,

“Thank you.”

I smiled at her and pressed my hand against the blue glass that separated us, wishing her the best, before turning away and walking towards the airlock.

Eva followed me and put her hand on my shoulder.

“Be careful, Rea”, she said softly, and I took her hand in mine and smiled.

“I will be fine, don’t worry.”

My systems were so overloaded with the upcoming tasks that I didn’t have any capacity left to analyse either her or my anomalous behaviour.

I walked through the dark corridors towards the engine room, pushing away the wave of emotions that the cold and empty ship brought in me. A part of my systems still lingered on the fact that it could have been us, not them, who met this fate. It could have been Eva who was trapped somewhere, cold and alone.

Cold and alone

Not knowing where

My harbour lies

I sighed. If it were to happen, I would find her and bring her back to the safe harbour, I promised myself as I made my way through the wreckage.

My progress was slow, as I tried to avoid the sharp shards of metal sticking from the corridor’s walls, bent by the forces that had damaged the ship. But at least I didn't need to worry about oxygen, and I managed to keep my fears away as I cut through the last door. It was too deformed to be opened with the emergency release, and I had no way of knowing what I would find on the other side. But if Abedi was alive, and according to his PLB, he was, there must be an atmosphere on the other side. If I were wrong, I still had a 79% chance of surviving the sudden decompression. A chance much bigger than any human would have in my place.

My systems worked at full capacity as my cutter burned a hole through the door. There was no sudden hiss that would indicate a difference in pressure, and I relaxed.

“All clear, Eva. I’ve gained access to the engine”, I told her through the radio.

“Rea…”, she whispered into the static.

I cut through the locks and forced the door open. My headlamp revealed broken machinery scattered over the floor, and I looked around the control room and spotted a shape lying under one of the consoles. I must have made a sound when I saw it, because Eva’s voice appeared on the radio.

“Rea, Rea, are you okay?”

“I am fine”, I said. “I found Abedi.”

“Is he…?”, Eva asked quietly.

“I don’t know.”

I took a few steps and knelt beside him, pulling out my med-scanner.

“He is alive… But I will need your help to get him out.”