10
Raisa reached forward to stop the door from closing, but Jackson pulled her against his chest and wrapped a protective arm around her waist. He lifted his free hand and looked around, ready for anything that might come at them. The holographic image showed Dev pounding his fist against the outside wall, but sound didn’t pass through the barrier.
“What is this place?” Jackson’s chest rose and fell against her back. His breathing had quickened, but he didn’t appear scared, and she found she wasn’t as frightened with him next to her.
“I don’t know. Some kind of laboratory.” She shone the light on the wall. The barrier had opened up once more to reveal the woman in hypersleep. “There. She looks alive, but it’s hard to tell.”
Jackson placed his hand against the transparent wall before knocking a few times. She wasn’t sure if he tried get the woman’s attention or tested the strength of the barrier.
When nothing happened, she shone the light to the other side. “And there. This one is dead.” She slid the light against the wall until the bones of the floating skeleton could be seen.
“What were you saying about a white room?” Jackson asked.
“Should we try to let Dev in first?” She motioned to where the others were studying the wall as Dev tried to swipe his blood across the door. It didn’t open but did flash a warning symbol over the whole hologram.
“What language is that?” Jackson touched the holographic image of his friends.
“I have no idea,” Raisa said, “and I’ve traveled extensively for work. I’ve seen a lot of writing.”
“I can’t believe these two have been in here the entire time we’ve been on this ship.” Jackson looked at the blue woman, as if he could find a clue as to who she was.
“What about Dev?” Raisa lifted her hand but the button that would open the door to let them out had stopped blinking. “Blast it, I forgot. I don’t think it will open unless no one is in the hall outside. It’s a safety thing. I tried to escape but it wouldn’t let me while you were running past.”
“Great. If I know Dev, he won’t leave the corridor unattended until we come back out.” Jackson felt around in the dark. “How do we get to the white room?”
“This way.” Raisa went to the wall opposite the image of Dev. It opened when she touched the door. She stepped into the darkness, letting her steps sound loudly. The lights activated. The chair in the middle of the room was gone and all the panels were turned off.
Jackson tried to cross the center of the room toward the vials. As the floor vibrated lightly beneath her feet, she grabbed his arm. When he glanced at her, she nodded to where the floor opened, and the surgical chair rose into place. She then pointed upward where the holographic screen would appear from the ceiling. Seconds later, it did.
“It’s the same language as the door.” She gestured to the screen. “I didn’t touch it.”
“Probably a good call until we can figure out what this place is.”
“I did touch a drawer. It won’t open but it pulls up an inventory list.” She pressed her finger against one to show him. “But don’t select anything. I think it injects the woman with it.”
Jackson nodded. His expression gave none of his thoughts away as he looked around.
“I know one thing for sure. This system takes a lot of power to keep running. Do you notice the lights don’t flicker in here? I think this is wired as a priority power system, with probably a reserve hold. The fact that no one knew it was here means it’s on its own grid and not in the ship’s mainframe. But it’s drawing power from the main supply. That’s why the electrical system malfunctioned. This room probably ran a command function, which caused the other overloaded grid to blow. The gas pocket igniting was an unfortunate consequence. With these doors and chair lifts, if we tore apart the walls, we might find something to rig the propulsion system until you found the right part, and the easiest way to repair the ship’s electrical systems will be to shut down this room, but all the data in these systems might be lost.”
“The woman in hypersleep,” Jackson said. “It could kill her. We can’t do that. There’s a chance she is alive.”
“It could wake her up,” Raisa countered. Though she agreed he had a point. She didn’t want to kill anyone.
“She could be dangerous, or diseased, or the nicest person to fly though the deep black,” Jackson said. “We need more information.”
A hissing sound started behind the wall and Jackson moved to place himself in front of Raisa. A drawer closer to the ceiling lit up. It sounded as if medicine was being taken from one of the vials.
“I will bring Alexis back and see if she can find the meaning of these words,” Jackson decided. “Show me how you gave the room your blood sample so I can do the same.”
“I tried to vocally activate the computer and it sent out a ball to investigate.”
“Computer, take my sample so I may enter this room,” Jackson commanded.
A series of beeps sounded, and then the low tone she’d heard before. The orb did not come.
“Computer?” Raisa tried.
The low tone repeated. The orb came from the wall. It did a quick scan of Raisa, only to dismiss her. Jackson lifted his chin, unafraid as it came toward him and began shining its light on him. He tilted his head one way and then the other, before walking around it. The orb turned with him, as if watching him.
“It seemed to recognize our use of the Old Star Language when you called it. The military had these. They’re scanning orbs used in security facilities.” He watched it carefully. “What is it waiting for?”
“Lift your hand.” Raisa flinched when he lifted his hand, only to be zapped by the orb. Jackson didn’t so much as blink at the prick. The orb retracted. “That’s it.”
“I’ve seen enough. Let’s get out of here.”
“Dev has to leave the door,” she said.
“Where is the access panel?”
“Under that table. But it’s too small for you to fit through.” She knelt on the floor to look at the hatch. “I can try to make my way back out and tell the others to leave the corridor. Touch the inner door to open it. There is a blinking button on the outer door. Push it when everyone is gone.”
He nodded. “Be careful.”
Raisa placed her hand on the panel and pushed. It didn’t move. She focused her gift to make it open. It resisted. She frowned and pushed harder. “It came out before.”
Jackson leaned over to watch as she slapped her hand against it. “Let me try.”
She crawled out. He stood on a knee, lifted his other leg, and kicked. It didn’t budge. He tried several more times.
“I think it’s jammed in there,” she said. “I guess this means we wait together by the door. How long can those guys stay out there watching the wall? They’ll have to leave at some point.”