minutes. Along the way, he considered calling Ariel to assist, should he need help getting the hatch open, but decided against it. Ariel and Cain were close friends, so involving her might not be the best idea.
Seth sent two officers to the other side of the tunnel, giving Cain nowhere to run. With Michael by his side, Seth could enter through the hatch in the population bay. Between the four of them, they’d have Cain completely trapped.
The bay was huge and filled with pods, each containing a future settler for the Eden’s eventual colony. Did Cain come here to sabotage them? Would dozens more be killed today? Or worse, thought Seth. Each population bay contained several hundred pods, all of which used nitrogen tanks for cooling. Nitrogen was much denser than oxygen, and displaced differently throughout the air. If someone knew which protocols to disable, they could wipe out an entire deck in less than a few hours. Cain wouldn’t need to set an explosive to kill them. If he wanted to, there were cleaner ways.
Dammit. He should have brought his armor—an oxygenated suit with reinforced padding. Oh well. No going back now.
He’d just have to be fast about this.
Michael found the hatch and readied his omni-tool. Seth gave him a nod to proceed, so he did, and in less than a minute he had the metal frame removed and resting on the floor. “You’ll have to squeeze in, but it opens up a few inches inside.”
“Got it. Thanks,” said Seth. He raised his foot and climbed into the hole, which was roughly the size of his chest. It was a tight fit, but with some awkward foot placement he was able to fit through.
He found the corridor a little snug and thin. He hardly had any room to move, and he had to walk sideways to fit. The walls twisted and curved, and seemed to grow darker the further he went. After about a dozen steps, he found it almost impossible to see ahead of himself.
Tapping his communicator, he brought the screen to life and filled the corridor with light. At last, he could now see ahead of himself…except now there was something blocking the path, something small and resting by the wall. Almost like a—
“Who’s there?” asked Cain, huddled on the floor. He had his forearm over his eyes, shielding them.
Seth doubled back at the sound of his brother’s voice. “Holy—Cain, is that you?”
“Seth?”
“Yeah, I came to get you. We need to talk about last night. I have to—”
“Take me to the brig, right?” finished Cain. His voice was quivering, like he’d been crying.
“I just want to ask you a few questions, alright?” asked Seth.
Cain took several quick breaths, tugging the side of his hair with his fingers. “They’ll kill me,” he said, whimpering. “Father and the others. They’ll send me through an airlock for what I did to Abel, even though it was an accident. Doesn’t matter, because Father hates me and Abel was his favorite. I can’t go.”
Seth’s heart raced as he listened to the words. A confession. The worst of his fears made real. “What did you do, Cain?”
“I didn’t mean to! It was an accident. I promise. I didn’t mean to hurt him.” He sniffled, wiping the snot from his nose.
Seth stood there, covered in sweat from the heat of this place, stunned into silence as the truth came tumbling freely out of his brother’s mouth. Cain had just confessed to murdering Abel, and all Seth could do was stand there.
“Please,” begged Cain. “You have to believe me.”
“O-Okay,” Seth finally managed to say. “Just…calm down…”
“What am I supposed to do?” his brother asked.
“You come with me. We’ll hear you out. I promise.”
Cain gripped his hair and tugged. “I’m dead. This is where it starts.”
“No, no…it’s okay. You can go on record. We’ll figure this mess out. Trust me, Cain. You still do, right? You still trust me?”
“Y-yeah,” he muttered. “I trust you.”
Seth reached to his side and unhooked a set of
Seth sent two officers to the other side of the tunnel, giving Cain nowhere to run. With Michael by his side, Seth could enter through the hatch in the population bay. Between the four of them, they’d have Cain completely trapped.
The bay was huge and filled with pods, each containing a future settler for the Eden’s eventual colony. Did Cain come here to sabotage them? Would dozens more be killed today? Or worse, thought Seth. Each population bay contained several hundred pods, all of which used nitrogen tanks for cooling. Nitrogen was much denser than oxygen, and displaced differently throughout the air. If someone knew which protocols to disable, they could wipe out an entire deck in less than a few hours. Cain wouldn’t need to set an explosive to kill them. If he wanted to, there were cleaner ways.
Dammit. He should have brought his armor—an oxygenated suit with reinforced padding. Oh well. No going back now.
He’d just have to be fast about this.
Michael found the hatch and readied his omni-tool. Seth gave him a nod to proceed, so he did, and in less than a minute he had the metal frame removed and resting on the floor. “You’ll have to squeeze in, but it opens up a few inches inside.”
“Got it. Thanks,” said Seth. He raised his foot and climbed into the hole, which was roughly the size of his chest. It was a tight fit, but with some awkward foot placement he was able to fit through.
He found the corridor a little snug and thin. He hardly had any room to move, and he had to walk sideways to fit. The walls twisted and curved, and seemed to grow darker the further he went. After about a dozen steps, he found it almost impossible to see ahead of himself.
Tapping his communicator, he brought the screen to life and filled the corridor with light. At last, he could now see ahead of himself…except now there was something blocking the path, something small and resting by the wall. Almost like a—
“Who’s there?” asked Cain, huddled on the floor. He had his forearm over his eyes, shielding them.
Seth doubled back at the sound of his brother’s voice. “Holy—Cain, is that you?”
“Seth?”
“Yeah, I came to get you. We need to talk about last night. I have to—”
“Take me to the brig, right?” finished Cain. His voice was quivering, like he’d been crying.
“I just want to ask you a few questions, alright?” asked Seth.
Cain took several quick breaths, tugging the side of his hair with his fingers. “They’ll kill me,” he said, whimpering. “Father and the others. They’ll send me through an airlock for what I did to Abel, even though it was an accident. Doesn’t matter, because Father hates me and Abel was his favorite. I can’t go.”
Seth’s heart raced as he listened to the words. A confession. The worst of his fears made real. “What did you do, Cain?”
“I didn’t mean to! It was an accident. I promise. I didn’t mean to hurt him.” He sniffled, wiping the snot from his nose.
Seth stood there, covered in sweat from the heat of this place, stunned into silence as the truth came tumbling freely out of his brother’s mouth. Cain had just confessed to murdering Abel, and all Seth could do was stand there.
“Please,” begged Cain. “You have to believe me.”
“O-Okay,” Seth finally managed to say. “Just…calm down…”
“What am I supposed to do?” his brother asked.
“You come with me. We’ll hear you out. I promise.”
Cain gripped his hair and tugged. “I’m dead. This is where it starts.”
“No, no…it’s okay. You can go on record. We’ll figure this mess out. Trust me, Cain. You still do, right? You still trust me?”
“Y-yeah,” he muttered. “I trust you.”
Seth reached to his side and unhooked a set of
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