The Darwin Elevator

“First the Aura.”



“The Aura, yes. By the time you’ve reported back, Tania will have completed her analysis of the Japan and Hawaii data. I promise you, once I have more information, I’ll explain everything.”



Skyler picked up his drink and took another sip. It had a spicy but pleasant kick to it. “Assuming I can get my crew to go along, how do we get into this shaft below Nightcliff.”



“The primary entrance is in the basement of the climber port, but it’s been sealed permanently.”



“Primary …”



“Which implies a second, yes.”



Skyler stifled a laugh. Not always.



The old man turned and leaned against the glass. “You’re aware of my old family home within Nightcliff’s walls? Good. Wasted on long-term storage now, I’m told. There’s a secret access tunnel from the basement that leads into the silo. It’s well hidden, but I’ll give you access. Go in, snoop around, then report back to me. Your friend Prumble has a paired comm.”



“How do I get into Nightcliff itself?”



“You’re the resourceful one. Figure something out.”



A loud knock came from the door, and the woman named Kelly entered.



“I asked for no interruptions,” Neil said.



Her face looked flushed. “Something’s wrong down at the bar.”



Skyler stood up.



“Warthen’s men stormed the place,” Kelly said between breaths. “There was a fight, shooting,” she said, the words tumbling out.



“My crew,” Skyler said. He went for the exit.



“Wait!” Neil shouted. “Dammit. Kelly, go with him.”



“What should I do?” she asked.



“Keep him out of their hands. We’re not done—”



Skyler raced out the door, and Neil’s voice faded.



Chapter Twenty



Gateway Station



4.FEB.2283



Alarms wailed as Skyler rushed toward the commotion at Ten Backward.



He had no plan, no weapon.



The station’s usual dim blue lighting had been augmented with spinning red beacons at nearly every corner.



Sucking in breaths, his heart pounding from exertion, he reached the main hallway that spanned the entire torus of Section B and paused to gather his senses.



Beyond, just before the point where the hall curved out of view, was the tavern.



He could see a platoon of security guards splayed out in front, crouched behind whatever cover they could find. At least one body lay at the center of the floor inside the room. Skyler only saw the legs, and the clothing was unmistakable: the flight suit he and his crew wore.



One of the security guards glanced Skyler’s way. “The other one! Behind us!”



The frightened guard raised a weapon, a gun unlike any Skyler had seen before.



Someone grabbed Skyler from behind and pulled him through a doorway on his left.



Inside was a narrow passage lined with hundreds of pipes and utility panels. Kelly pressed him against the wall.



“Let me go,” Skyler said. “My crew is in there!”



“Your crew is captured,” she replied, “or worse.” Her fingers danced across a keypad on the wall. The door locked.



Outside, Skyler could hear the muffled sound of boots on the hard floor.



“Seal off this level,” someone said from the other side of the door, followed by a symphony of footfalls.



“Dammit,” Kelly said. “We need to get back to Section H. Platz has a shuttle—”



“I’m not going fucking anywhere. Let go!”



Her eyes darted back and forth, calculating the options. “What about your ship? Can you fly it?”



“Sod the damn ship. I’ve got to help them—”



Kelly gripped him by the chin. Her hand was rough and strong as a vise. “Forget your crew! They killed one of Warthen’s men. There’s nothing you can do—”



They both jumped as something slammed hard into the door from the other side. The guards, trying to break it down.



Kelly shifted her grip to his forearm. “Your choice. Stay here and end up dead or in jail, just like your crew. Your ship will be forfeit. Or flee with your craft and regroup. Fight another day. This is just the beginning, Skyler.”



Another smash, even louder. Skyler heard straining metal and knew the door wouldn’t last.



The logic in her plan increased with each passing second.



“Fine. Let’s go,” he said.



She wasted no time, sprinting along the utility tunnel that snaked through the station in a bizarre assortment of twists and turns. Skyler fought to keep his despair in the back of his mind, and did everything he could to keep up.



At a junction, she stopped and checked all directions. Behind them, somewhere, they heard shouting, and boots on the hard floor.



Kelly removed a small, sleek device from her belt. On top it had a single button and two metal prongs protruding from it. “Take this,” she said, handing it to Skyler. “Good for one use only, I’m afraid.”



He didn’t complain, and accepted the offered weapon. “What about you?”



She ignored him and kept moving. They took a right turn, continuing at her blistering pace.



Skyler almost ran into her when she stopped in the middle of the hall. She opened a bright yellow box mounted to the wall, revealing an assortment of emergency tools. She removed two pipe wrenches and a small utility blade.



One wrench she handed to Skyler. It was nearly half as long as his arm, and satisfyingly heavy.



“Beggars can’t be choosers,” she said.



“Agreed.” He slipped the small stun gun into his belt.



Extending the utility razor, Kelly went to work cutting a bundle of wire along the wall.



“How do you know all this?” Skyler asked.



She kept working on the wires. “I used to lurk here. Four years, off and on, back when things were a little less organized. Keeping an eye on things for Neil.”



Skyler grunted his approval. “He’s got quite a diverse operation.”



“Grab my belt,” she said as the bundle started to give.



“What?”



“My belt. Quick!”



Skyler took hold of the leather belt just as the cable snapped.



The tunnel plunged into absolute darkness.



“Don’t let go,” she said, already moving again.



She slowed her pace, for which Skyler felt grateful.



“Do you know why Neil brought us up here?” Skyler asked.



“Vaguely. He took a big risk, that’s for sure.”



Skyler bumped his head against a low pipe on the ceiling. He winced at the pain and crouched lower. He couldn’t see anything in the absolute darkness.



“Neil may have inherited his empire, Skyler,” she said as they ran through the darkness, “but he can judge people. Usually instantly, and always accurately.”



Skyler thought back to the meeting. Platz may have withheld the larger details, but he had said a lot. It hadn’t occurred to Skyler the level of trust that must have taken.



“Quiet now, we’re here,” Kelly said.



A thin vertical line of light appeared in front of them, and it grew wider as she opened a doorway. Beyond was another area of the station, seemingly deserted. She led him across the wide hallway and into an alcove.



Skyler realized there was no ceiling when Kelly began to climb a ladder bolted right into the wall.



“We can’t use the lift. It’ll trigger an alert,” she said.



Skyler shoved the large wrench through his own belt and began to follow her toward the inner hub. He grew less comfortable as gravity began to diminish, the higher they went.



At the top, they moved as if on the moon. Kelly opened the door in front of them and peered through.



“It’s clear,” she said. “Quickly now.”



In the low gravity she moved much faster, with a grace and confidence that came from years of experience. Skyler struggled to keep up. The inner ring consisted of a wide hallway, arching steeply up and away.



Kelly stopped at another door, which Skyler recognized; they’d come through it when they were brought off the Melville.



“Ready?”



Skyler nodded.



“Stay behind me, and act casual.” She removed her wrench and turned it over in one hand, familiarizing herself with the balance of it.



Skyler did the same. “I’ll try.”



She opened the door and entered with a remarkable air of confidence.



Drifting in behind her, Skyler focused on keeping his motions slow and loose. Over her shoulder, he saw his ship. It waited exactly where they had left it. He felt his pulse quicken at the sight of a group of guards crowded around it.



The guards were focused on two handcuffed engineers.



Kelly wasted no time. She launched herself forward and crashed into the nearest guard, sending him tumbling. Before the others could react, she swung her wrench. It hit the next guard square in the face with a sickening crunch, blood exploding wildly in the reduced gravity.



Skyler tried to mimic the way she had jutted forward, but he pushed his legs too hard and at the wrong angle. He ended up in a high, arcing jump. Sailing over the heads of the guards, he latched his feet around the neck of one and pinched his legs together for purchase. The surprised man flailed his arms, trying desperately to remove Skyler’s feet.



Skyler swung the wrench downward with all the strength he could muster. The thick metal end impacted the poor man on the top of his forehead. Skyler heard the crack of bone, and the man went limp beneath him, tumbling with the force of the blow.



An unfortunate result, as Skyler was perched on the man’s head. The dead guard’s motion whipped him toward the floor. He released his feet from the now-limp neck with only an instant to put his hands in front of his face. He met the floor with a painful thud. The impact sent his wrench bouncing away, out of reach.



Skyler rolled over as another guard leapt on top of him. The guard had a small weapon in one hand, a stun gun by the look of it. Skyler managed to slap it away with the back of his hand. The guard took the loss in stride and began to throw punches. One arm raised for defense, Skyler used his other hand in a frantic search for the small stun gun Kelly had given him.



Pain exploded into Skyler’s mind as the guard on top of him landed a vicious blow, just above his right eye. Everything blurred, then turned to double images.



Nearby, he could hear Kelly scuffling with the other guards. The handcuffed workers were both shouting, even screaming. Skyler could hear someone else, across the room, shouting for help.



His hand finally brushed across the small device. He grasped it, pulled it from his belt, and punched the two prongs into the stomach of the guard on top of him. A rapid clicking sound came from the weapon.



The guard’s entire body heaved, an involuntary jump almost a meter high in the microgravity. The man’s mouth and eyes stretched open, wider than Skyler knew possible. His arms and legs jerked violently.



It lasted only a few seconds. Released from the coursing electricity, the man drifted back down and slumped over Skyler, emitting a horrible deep groan.



Skyler kicked as hard as he could, sending the limp guard spiraling across the room. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up from the floor in time to see Kelly land a fatal blow on another guard. Her wrench, hands, and forearms were splattered with blood.



“Get the engines started! I’ll figure out the airlock!”



Her tone left no room for argument. Skyler bounced toward the Melville’s open door. He was finally starting to move with some agility, but his head throbbed with every step.



The cockpit door had not been tampered with, and for that he was grateful. He climbed over the navigator’s seat, making a clumsy landing in the pilot’s chair.



Running through the bare minimum of a preflight check, Skyler spun up the engines. To his right he saw Kelly enter a control room and seal the door behind her. He watched her through a window as she began to examine the control panel.



Then she ducked. A series of holes appeared across the glass, a web of cracks spidering out from each. The cavalry must have arrived. They were behind him, out of his field of view. Likely swarming toward the ship or the control room. Or both.



He made a snap decision and gunned the ship’s engines. It was a level normally not enough to achieve liftoff in Earth’s gravity, but here the ship lurched up off its landing skids and began to hover.



Skyler hoped the sudden rush of air from the engines would knock any nearby guards off their feet. He couldn’t see them, but the sound of bullets bouncing off the Melville’s hull said he at least had their attention.



He took a glance at Kelly. She seemed dismayed, frantically scanning the array of controls in the small room.



Pulling back on the flight stick, Skyler moved the big craft rapidly to the left, then the right. He turned in place, a full circle, to survey the room. Most of the guards had taken cover behind an equipment cart. A few lay on the ground, clutching at smoldering clothes. Skyler grinned with satisfaction.



Red beacon lights on the walls began to blink and rotate. A loud horn could be heard, even through the cockpit window.



The guards bolted for the door.



Blinding light flooded the cavernous room from above. The ceiling, which served as the airlock door, began to recess to one side. The pressure differential between the room and the vacuum of space caused anything not bolted down to flush outside, limp bodies chief among the flotsam.



Skyler felt the Melville drifting upward as well. He took one last look at Kelly. She stood at the window, pointing above the ship, urgently.



“I’m going,” Skyler said aloud, mouthing the words clearly for her to read from his lips. “Thank you.”



He punched the engines: once, twice, and then again. Each burst increased the ship’s speed, and in seconds it cleared the station.