Андреа Хёст - The Starfighter Invitation

We pushed on, trying to increase our speed without completely sacrificing stealth, all too aware of the progress of two rival teams, which Amelia reported as ignoring each other in favour of searching out airlocks of their own. We were no longer alone in the central sphere.

" If this comes down to whoever was lucky enough to open the closest airlock, I shall be very sad ," I told Dio.

[[An element of chance is always present,]] Dio replied. [[Are you enjoying yourself?]]

I hesitated, wondering if being honest would disqualify me from the Starfighter Invitation I wasn’t sure I believed in or even wanted.

" I’d enjoy exploring an abandoned space station more if there weren’t things leaping out at us. And if we were working with the other teams, not worried they’ll gank us. I like the idea of winning, but not the danger, and I don’t really enjoy the concept of Renba. Can they even open airlocks? How do they get us out of The Wreck? "

[[In this particular case, we would assist them. System Challenges are meant to involve risk, but we try not to make them unfair.]]

Not entirely reassured, I turned my attention back to the path ahead as a distinctive door came into view around the curve: solidly built, but with a small window. Another airlock.

" I think there’s a hatch above it ," Nina said, relief clear in her voice. " The faintest square outline, do you see? "

" Possibly. I’m trying not to be obvious. " Silent swam up to the door and paused, rotating gently. " When we go through it, we alert the other teams. And one of them’s right near their airlock. "

" But we can’t hang about here indefinitely ." I considered the sled I was toting, and added: " How’s everyone’s oxygen levels? "

We killed some time, making a small performance out of swapping out oxygen packs while debating making our entry into the hatch a frantic rush, or a casual move that would make it seem less important. This would likely be the final sprint, and we all knew it.

" I do not think this is an airlock ," Imoenne said, her helmet pressed closed to the small window of the door. " That is not the outer hatch ."

" Have a look while I float around the ceiling here, trying to find a way to open this ," Silent suggested.

Although the door was as heavy-duty as the airlock hatches, Imoenne was immediately proved correct when the inner door opened without any cycling. Beyond was a small room with a number of seats all facing in one direction, separated by an aisle down the centre. Nina studied the control panel before the front-most seats, then said: " Either some kind of more elaborate transport than the lifts, or… "

" Life pod? Escape shuttle? " Arlen attempted to sit down in the absence of gravity, but then sprang up, and caught himself before he hit the ceiling. " But, no, it is in, not out that we need. Have we found a way to open our hidden door? "

" I see a probable latch ," Silent answered. " Gather out here and I’ll trigger it and we’ll try for a casual exit, stage left. Then, well, speed as seems advisable. "

A rogue giggle tried to escape me as I attempted to casually manoeuvre the sled through a hatch in the ceiling. I was following on Silent’s heels, and tucked myself immediately out of the way, and then caught my breath. We had found our open space.

It looked like a good third of the circular ship was one vast chamber, cut about with odd crystalline structures, both jagged yet organic, vanishing into gloom. Around the base of the ragged shafts were lumps of glistening goo, like partially melted ice cream. The whole thing brought to mind melting ice caverns, or old spider web. I shivered.

" The core might actually be up here ," Silent said, sounding tense. " With the sled, we could go all-out straight to it . Though we might hit some of this stuff on the way. "

" It’s not clear that the core’s on this level, or the one below ," Nina replied. " Let’s avoid touching anything until we have a better understanding of the place ."

Nina and I took a handle of the sled each, and Imoenne and Arlen clasped midway along the central shaft, with Silent snagging the end, and we started off at a gentle impulse: an awkward clump, but moving without the need to bound off surfaces. But avoiding touching made it impossible to sprint.

" Creepy as fuck ," I muttered, surveying the moist-looking crystal. " But at least it doesn’t look like it’s reacting to us ."

" Not yet ," Nina said.

" Sci-fi horror movie rules, guys ," Silent said. " No splitting up, no sticking fingers into interesting goo piles, no leaning over fascinating examples of alien fauna. "

" Avoid eggs ," I added, then said: " I swear that nearest pillar-spike-thing is getting brighter ."

" Another team incoming ," Silent said, tersely.

I could hear them, faintly: a thump, echoing through the dome, then hints of voices. Sound seemed to reflect off the goop, making it hard to guess direction.

" Increasing speed ," Nina said. " Stay compact ."

We shifted from the equivalent of a slow walk to a jog, steering toward the clearest spaces, even though that wasn’t the most direct route. The other team, to our left, let out an excited shout—not because they’d found the core, but because they’d spotted us.

" Incoming ," Silent said.

" Perhaps if the bulk of us hold them here, and one slips away to find the core? " Arlen suggested, as Nina decided on a push forward, slipping between two narrow sections of jutting crystal-ice.

" Horror movie rules ," Silent reminded us. " Get down toward that patch of floor, quick as we can. "

We angled sharply to the nearest relatively clear section of metal, and anchored ourselves to the floor with our boots. As Nina and Arlen put up a double layer of shields, I caught sight of two sleds heading toward us.

Our lead was officially lost.

"Pin them here, while we go get the core," one of the two sled drivers said, and started off at an angle.

"No problem," one of the three on the other sled said.

" Nova smash ," Silent said, though only over our channel, so the departing players had no warning when their sled slammed downward, distinctly crumpled along the central shaft. Dislodged oxygen canisters whirled away. The driver spun off sideways while her passenger bounced off the nearest spire.

Arlen gasped as the second group began pounding our shields, but they just as quickly stopped, thrown into a spiral toward the dome ceiling by their use of lan. Instead of bouncing, they sensibly anchored themselves to a broad swathe of bare metal.

" I do not like to hit them directly, " Arlen said. " Perhaps if we destroy their sled? "

" Good —"

Nina’s response was lost to arcs of white. Lightning? No, it was less defined, more diffuse. As if an aurora had come to ground. The driver of the wrecked sled shrieked, and went limp, while the second frantically shielded. My team instinctively added layers to our own shield bubble until it was five strong, and still we had to wince. Beneath the layers of suit, my skin felt like it had gone entirely to goose flesh.

The brightness lasted not much longer than thirty seconds—definitely less than a minute—and faded to flickers around the pillars. I could see that the group stuck to the ceiling—and outside the main area of the light display—had managed their own little dome in time, and one of their other team members was still moving, though sluggishly.