The Constant Star (31)

THE STORY SO FAR

She sighs and puts it on her head.

“Hey there stranger. How’s it going?”

“I just…I just…”

“You made a decision and followed through.”

“But I left them.”

“Not all decisions are easy, Siff. But they have to be made. And here you are. Are you ready?”

“What took so long with the elevator?” Siff starts to bring herself back together, but is still wiping tears and snot from her face.

“Hey, running a battle-plan and controlling systems throughout the ship isn’t as easy as I make it look y’know. Besides, it’s not just about being able to get you up here. It’s also about timing.”

“Timing?”

“Yeah Siff. See, there’s a number of factors in play right now and getting you into the Tube is relying on a few of them. The first is this: The AI systems in the Tube are completely cut off from those on the rest of Janus. I have zero control over the Needle or anything to do with the Chosen Ones. That’s a big reason why the brainers were able to infiltrate from up here. Second, there are security protocols blocking anyone from entering the Needle without the Council’s authority. Where you’re headed is no different; though it’s a rarely used route, it’s no less secure.”

“But how-“

“How in the hell am I gonna get you in? Glad you asked. I happen to know that in a few minutes the upper-level techs are going to reboot the entire system in order to regain control from me. Not gonna work…But! When that happens everything will shut down outside of life-support and you’ll have a few seconds to get through the doors before it all comes online again.”

“But-“

“Don’t worry, I’ll guide you through everything. The reason I waited with the elevator was because your route had to be clear. And with the brainers preoccupied with infiltration, the only thing you have to worry about is getting through the doors when they get shut down. Like I said, timing. Yes, I know. I’m a genius. But it is nice to be told every once in a while.”

Siff can hear Macy’s grin on the other side of the comm, “Okay, you’re coming up to your stop. Bring your helmet but keep the headset on and I’ll draw out a path for you.”

The doors slide open to a well lit and empty corridor. Bare and polished paneling let Siff know she is back on the upper-levels. The path is laid out for her as a visual overlay and she follows it down several eerily quiet hallways until she reaches a locked door, “This is it. Wait here. It shouldn’t be long.”

Siff listens to her own breathing. It is fast-paced and anxious. She spends a few seconds focusing on slowing her heart-rate before Macy speaks up again, “Okay, ready? Here it comes.”

The hallway goes dark and all sounds of the ship disappear; sounds she had never noticed before are now eerily absent, “Go!”

Siff sees the scenery through her headset and grabs the door-handle. She pulls with all her strength, the heavy steel slowly moving sideways, “Come on Siff! You have to move faster than this if you want to make it. Push!”

Siff squeezes herself through the first doorway and sees her path lead into the distance. She sprints down the hallway and finds a second door. She doesn’t wait for Macy’s instructions before heaving it to the side, “Damn these are heavy!”

“Less talk, more push. There’s one more after this and you’re running out of time. Systems are already starting to come back online.”

“Shit!” Siff sprints again through the partially opened doorway and finds the final door only a short distance around the corner. She begins pulling on it as she hears the familiar background noises come back online, “Shitshitshitshit!”

“You got this girl! Push!”

She lets out a cry as the door slides open and she dives through. It closes immediately behind her, “Nice job Siff! How’s the view?”

“Holy shit where am I?”

“In a maintenance elevator between the grav module and the Tube.”

Siff looks out the viewing window at the walls of steel she is between. Behemoth distances all around with open space visible between distant grav-modules. The mighty Needle above her acting as the connection hub for all these moving parts. It is a majestic and powerful piece of engineering, “It’s terrifying. And beautiful. Get me out of here.”

“Just one minute, Siff. The reboot should kick in the reset protocol any second. Then you’ll be on your way.”

“On my way where?”

There is a sudden jolt as the elevator separates from the grav module and begins to violently slow in empty space. Siff falls into the wall from the deceleration and grits her teeth. Macy’s voice is cheery and encouraging, “There might not be any artificial gravity in the reset, but you’re only slowing down about 200 kilometers an hour, so it shouldn’t feel that bad.”

“Fuuuuuu…”

It is a few seconds of extreme discomfort before Siff gradually becomes weightless from reaching a steady velocity. She clambers back to stare out the window as the elevator approaches an opening and passes into the wall of the Tube before accelerating once again, “Fuuuuuuuu…!”

A few more seconds and the elevator finally comes to a halt and the doors slide open for her, “…ck.” Siff crawls out on her hands and knees before unsteadily getting to her feet. She leans against the open doorway and takes a moment to orient herself.

Siff stands on a platform against the wall on the inside of the Tube. The Needle above her, the holographic forcefield below her, and many kilometers below that, the ground. Macy wastes no time, “Okay, so you’ll notice that you’re rotating and the Needle isn’t. That’s because you’re attached to the Tube, and the Tube rotates once every twenty-four hours around the Needle. The grav modules on the outside rotate way faster than

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