“Oh, this is interesting,” she said, showing the screen to him. “There’s a huge amount of the same crystalline material all over here.” She focused back on her handheld. “Just a couple of adjustments… there. Let me upload this on the computer and let’s see where the highest concentration of this stuff is.”
Ari followed her back to her workstation where she sync’d her device to the mainframe.
“Aren’t you afraid the Ozevroc will see what you’re doing and accuse you of something?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I’ve got this baby protected, so no one knows what I’m looking at.” With a huff, she grinned. “Besides, they’re either too lazy or too arrogant to think anyone could hack their system.”
He snorted. “If you ask me, they’re both.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, look!” She gestured at the transparent screen. “Oh, lucky you. It seems like the highest concentration of that crystalline stuff is in one of your favorite places.”
Ari stiffened at the mischievous glint in her golden-green eyes.
“Time for you to go back to your favorite place. The stupendously wonderful… garbage chamber.”
Well…fruk.
Chapter Eight
Ariglancedaroundthedim corridor inside theNebula Viperthat led him to garbage heaven. Oh joy. Looking forward to once again bask in the delightful aroma of rotting shit… or whatever that stench was that blended nicely with the acrid smell of sharp, musty metal.
He couldn’t wait.
At least he wasn’t alone this time. Well… kinda sorta, since Morgan had synchronized his handheld with hers. She also created earbuds from the replicron so they didn’t have to rely on texting each other. Though she huffed at being left behind, she was smart enough to know if she stepped one foot out of the engine room without an Ozevroc, thenuteshsnare would blow her head clean off.
They decided it’d be best if he went out late into the sleep cycle to avoid any of those aliens. Too bad her replicron couldn’t create a weapon for him. He felt downright naked, with just his bare hands to defend himself.
“You’re almost there,” Morgan’s sweet voice whispered in his ear. “I’ll tell you when to stop. You’re looking for a faint seam in the wall.”
Ari’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the walls as he passed, searching for the faint seam she mentioned. The metal panels appeared flawless, blending into one another with no obvious entrance in sight.
“There!” Morgan’s voice rose. “It’s right there.”
If she hadn’t warned him, his hand would have moved right past it. It was a small, grimy panel that was practically invisible under layers of soot and grime. Stepping closer, he reached out, his gloved fingers tracing the edges of the panel. It felt solid, unremarkable.
“Okay, press on it in this sequence with only two fingers.” Her tone was excited. “And don’t you dare get creative, understand?”
He grinned. Yeah, the woman was in her bossy mode again. Shoving the tempting scenario of her being naked while she was in that mood out of his mind, he pressed down on the tile in the deliberate sequence she described. He kept his touch light and sure. For a moment, nothing happened and…there—a subtle shift in the wall.
A nearly imperceptible seam appeared, the metal barely parting to reveal a narrow gap.
Ari pressed a little harder, and the hidden door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a dimly lit passage beyond. The flickering light inside cast long, eerie shadows. All right, now who doesn’t want to explore a creepy hallway in a spaceship full of hostiles? His heart beat faster in anticipation. He stepped forward, leaving the semi-polished corridors of the ship behind, and entered the heart of the garbage chamber.
Instead of calling up his ball of fire, Ari turned on the light fixture of his handheld. Its narrow beam was just wide enough to see where to go.
“I’m in,” he told Morgan, keeping his voice low. The sharp nefarious stench burned the back of his throat. He sucked in a breath, which only made it worse. His eyes teared up. Thankfully, Morgan had given him a small device that hung inside his nostrils. Once in place, he took a breath of cool, clean air. Damn, he should’ve put that in before he stepped one foot inside this disgusting place.
He did his best to ignore the thick, viscous streams of dark sludge oozing down the walls he could see out of the corner of his eye. Probably a toxic cocktail of alien chemicals and decaying organic matter.
The muck glistened in the dim light, leaving a trail of iridescent residue that clung stubbornly to the corroded metal.
He took in a grateful, clean breath. Thank the goddess, he didn’t have to continue to breathe more of that nasty stuff.
A faint purplish light up ahead caught his attention. He frowned. Was that there before? To get a better look, he switched off the handheld light. The deeper he ventured into the darkness, the brighter the purple glow grew.
“I see a purple light ahead. Is there something that should do that?” he whispered.
“Purple light?” Confusion laced Morgan’s animated voice. “There is no way there should be a light like that there.” A pause.
