that the docking cradle had finished pulling the exopod inside the EVA hangar airlock. ‘Is that Ibu and
Rojas?’
‘What the hell else can they be?’ Ayanna asked. ‘Oh, fuck, what is happening?’ Her mental shielding was cracking open, flooding the EVA hangar with raw fright.
Laura found herself in the centre of swirling shadows. They were growing fangs and teeth, turning from phantom grey spectres to solid black figures. Thousands of people shrieking somewhere far
away were growing closer. She raised her hands in reflex to ward them off, worried that perhaps Ayanna’s telekinesis would give substance to her imagination. ‘Ayanna! For fuck’s
sake get a grip.’
‘I don’t want them in the shuttle,’ Ayanna wailed.
‘Nobody does! We can’t stop the bastards, now. We’ll just have to manage them when they do get in.’
Ayanna looked just as panicked as before, but the outpouring of emotion reduced slightly.
Joey spun round to face the other way. ‘Can we lock the hatch to the silo compartment?’
‘If we can lock it, Rojas can sure as shit unlock it,’ Laura said.
‘Then we break it,’ Joey said. ‘Use telekinesis, wreck the circuits behind the bulkhead.’
Laura glanced at the hatchway herself. It was incredibly tempting. The lights above the exopod airlock turned from purple to green. The malmetal door started to peel open.
‘Oh bollocks,’ Laura muttered. The hatchway to the silo compartment was barely four metres away. She was sure she could get through in a couple of seconds if she powerdived for it
– assuming she aimed right, no guarantee of that given her free-fall skill level. Her ESP started to pry around the bulkhead, reducing it to a translucent blue sheet in her mind. It was
threaded with dozens of cable conduits.
Which ones control the hatch?
The docking cradle trundled into the EVA hangar and placed the exopod on its lockdown clamps. All Laura could do was stare at the alien globe the electromuscle tentacles were clutching. Her ESP
revealed nothing; it was a blank zone inside her perceptive field. And yet . . . She smiled, knowing now that there was no reason to worry. Whatever it contained was absorbing Ayanna’s
malicious phantoms. A temperate sense of relief filled the EVA hangar. And her heart was racing away inside her chest.
‘Fight it!’ Joey’s mental voice told her, a jarring discord to the tranquillity Laura was feeling.
‘Oh no!’ Laura groaned. ‘No no no!’ Her own dread at the realization of what was happening was enough to damp down the emotional balm the alien globe was giving off. She
saw Ayanna had started to move towards the globe, and grabbed her arm. ‘Stop! Ayanna, for crap’s sake! It’s like a narcomeme.’
Ayanna’s head twisted back to stare at Laura, and now she really looked frightened.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ Joey said.
Laura swung round on the handholds, and prepared to push off against the bulkhead. She heard the exopod’s hatch open. There was a brief hiss of pressure equalization. And even though she
knew it was stupid, she paused to glance at what was coming out.
Ibu slid out smoothly, catching hold of a handhold on the EVA hangar’s wall. ‘What’s happening?’ he asked, and his voice was still weird, as if there was fluid in his
throat.
‘You tell me,’ she barked. ‘What is that thing?’
‘Who knows? We brought it here to study.’ He was bending his knees, swinging round slightly so his feet were pressed against the exopod’s hull.
Ready to pounce
, Laura thought.
Rojas glided easily out of the hatch.
‘Get out of here!’ Joey’s mental voice shouted. He began scrambling along the bulkhead, hauling himself towards the hatch into the silo compartment. Shaking arms made him miss
the second handhold.
Ibu kicked off, flashing along the middle of the EVA hangar like a human missile. Rojas followed.
Laura screamed and jumped for the hatch. Her foot caught Joey’s shoulder and the collision
Rojas?’
‘What the hell else can they be?’ Ayanna asked. ‘Oh, fuck, what is happening?’ Her mental shielding was cracking open, flooding the EVA hangar with raw fright.
Laura found herself in the centre of swirling shadows. They were growing fangs and teeth, turning from phantom grey spectres to solid black figures. Thousands of people shrieking somewhere far
away were growing closer. She raised her hands in reflex to ward them off, worried that perhaps Ayanna’s telekinesis would give substance to her imagination. ‘Ayanna! For fuck’s
sake get a grip.’
‘I don’t want them in the shuttle,’ Ayanna wailed.
‘Nobody does! We can’t stop the bastards, now. We’ll just have to manage them when they do get in.’
Ayanna looked just as panicked as before, but the outpouring of emotion reduced slightly.
Joey spun round to face the other way. ‘Can we lock the hatch to the silo compartment?’
‘If we can lock it, Rojas can sure as shit unlock it,’ Laura said.
‘Then we break it,’ Joey said. ‘Use telekinesis, wreck the circuits behind the bulkhead.’
Laura glanced at the hatchway herself. It was incredibly tempting. The lights above the exopod airlock turned from purple to green. The malmetal door started to peel open.
‘Oh bollocks,’ Laura muttered. The hatchway to the silo compartment was barely four metres away. She was sure she could get through in a couple of seconds if she powerdived for it
– assuming she aimed right, no guarantee of that given her free-fall skill level. Her ESP started to pry around the bulkhead, reducing it to a translucent blue sheet in her mind. It was
threaded with dozens of cable conduits.
Which ones control the hatch?
The docking cradle trundled into the EVA hangar and placed the exopod on its lockdown clamps. All Laura could do was stare at the alien globe the electromuscle tentacles were clutching. Her ESP
revealed nothing; it was a blank zone inside her perceptive field. And yet . . . She smiled, knowing now that there was no reason to worry. Whatever it contained was absorbing Ayanna’s
malicious phantoms. A temperate sense of relief filled the EVA hangar. And her heart was racing away inside her chest.
‘Fight it!’ Joey’s mental voice told her, a jarring discord to the tranquillity Laura was feeling.
‘Oh no!’ Laura groaned. ‘No no no!’ Her own dread at the realization of what was happening was enough to damp down the emotional balm the alien globe was giving off. She
saw Ayanna had started to move towards the globe, and grabbed her arm. ‘Stop! Ayanna, for crap’s sake! It’s like a narcomeme.’
Ayanna’s head twisted back to stare at Laura, and now she really looked frightened.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ Joey said.
Laura swung round on the handholds, and prepared to push off against the bulkhead. She heard the exopod’s hatch open. There was a brief hiss of pressure equalization. And even though she
knew it was stupid, she paused to glance at what was coming out.
Ibu slid out smoothly, catching hold of a handhold on the EVA hangar’s wall. ‘What’s happening?’ he asked, and his voice was still weird, as if there was fluid in his
throat.
‘You tell me,’ she barked. ‘What is that thing?’
‘Who knows? We brought it here to study.’ He was bending his knees, swinging round slightly so his feet were pressed against the exopod’s hull.
Ready to pounce
, Laura thought.
Rojas glided easily out of the hatch.
‘Get out of here!’ Joey’s mental voice shouted. He began scrambling along the bulkhead, hauling himself towards the hatch into the silo compartment. Shaking arms made him miss
the second handhold.
Ibu kicked off, flashing along the middle of the EVA hangar like a human missile. Rojas followed.
Laura screamed and jumped for the hatch. Her foot caught Joey’s shoulder and the collision
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