Jupiter's Halo Book Two: The Fall

Chapter 26

Progress was faster with four of them. Especially now Doctor Ardley only had to carry his own weight.

The man seemed to have retreated into his thoughts; his demeanour quiet as he allowed himself to be guided along by Diagno and Elba. Dalton found the silence a welcome change from the previous non-stop grumbling, but it led his mind to dwell on this other, terrible threat the Doctor was so frightened of.

Asking the others had proved fruitless. If anything, they knew less than he did about the entire situation. The only one of their number who would likely have known what was happening on the station was Finsa. Now she was missing and silent on the comms. He had to presume that meant dead.

The first part of the link-stair was long, covering the empty space between the Primary and Secondary sections of the station. Dalton found himself picturing the vacuum outside, just a few metres away, nothing but steel and fibreglass keeping its icy fingers from reaching in to squeeze the life from him. He felt exposed. No armour, no weapon. It was unsettling.

Ahead Diagno took point, signalling with hand gestures in place of using the comm-links they were all so used to. Elba followed, keeping close to Doctor Ardley while Dalton brought up the rear. Both his teammates were armed with full tactical gear. They’d been on duty when all this had started. Dalton envied them the comfort their weapons brought.

>“Blist, we’re nearly with you,”“Bloody good thing too,”“Hornwood’s getting extra weird down here. Keeps talking about why things happen and what’s meant to be.”“Any sign of party-crashers?”“No,”“I sealed the access tunnel to keep out any chancers, but there’s plenty of noise. That voice on the intercom really s**t everyone up.”“Keep them out. Using force is going to be messy and I’ve got enough from today I never want to think about already.”“You and me both.”“And Blist? Have any of the scientists there mentioned anything… bad?”“They’re all tight-lipped down here. You still got nothing from yours?”“Whatever it is, I’m starting to get the feeling I don’t want to know.”“Me too. Now get down here so we can get off this bucket.”<

She signed off, the link closing in his mind. Dalton wondered for a moment about his decision not to tell her he’d intercepted Elba and Diagno. He trusted Blist utterly, but if she knew what was coming she might inadvertently tip Hornwood off. They needed to know for sure if he was still on-side before they played their hand and he couldn’t risk anything changing that.

“Hold up.”

Diagno raised a clenched fist as he whispered the words. Their little convoy came to a stop and Dalton saw they’d reached the exit onto Secondary-one.

“You’re sure about this?” Elba asked and Dalton nodded.

His implant had started to thrum again as they grew closer. He knew the last member of the research team was on this level and it used that knowledge to force his decision.

“You two carry on down. Blist’s closed off the access to the evac bay, so you’ll have to find somewhere close to wait. I won’t be long.”

Elba nodded and stepped close to transfer the sleeping form of Doctor Bramley. She hefted him up, easily taking his slight weight, then reached out to tug at Ardley’s sleeve.

“Come on,” she said, heading away down the next flight after the already disappearing form of Diagno.

Dalton took a moment to remind himself of the layout within this level of the station; the exit from the stair led out into yet another circular corridor, with the rest and leisure facilities dead ahead. Going left would take him on a wide path to reach the entrance to the living quarters and right would see him stepping into Medical.

His mind burned with the need to head straight for Jutteridge, but there were other considerations. He was ineffective without his gear. The quickest route would be to skirt the leisure section, dive into the living quarters and get Jutteridge to the trans-terminal before Tiny showed up again.

But that would still leave him incapable of properly defending the woman. If he took the other route and headed through Medical to the secured area he and the others stored their arsenal, he could be armed and armoured and heading round to find her, with only a two-minute detour.

Presenting the logic of the situation to himself felt daft and unnecessary, but doing so allowed his implant to register the options and weigh them for probability of success.

It worked.

His desire to rush left waned and he felt the need to retrieve his armour increase substantially. Dalton opened the door, surveyed the corridor with a glance and headed right at a dead run.

The area was empty of souls. The crew here must either be taking refuge in their cramped quarters or already gone, spurred by the chilling announcement to head down to the next level and the evac bays it held. There would be a crush to face when they got down too, but that was just another justification for his preparations. Even terrified people moved more easily when they were looking down the barrel of a gun.

Dalton raced through Medical, scattering delicate trolleys and their shining implements as he went, vaulting the beds that stood empty between him and his objective.

He reached the locked door to their storage, keyed in his code and wrenched it open with a hiss of straining hydraulics. Inside his armour waited, pristine and ready. To his left, the weapons rack gleamed with polished instruments of death.

It took Dalton a minute to dress and retrieve his full assortment of tactical gear. There was only one thing left. Behind his armour stand, set high on the wall, was a short-sided cabinet. The front held a single shining square, three centimetres across. Dalton pinched his right thumb and forefinger together, signalling to his armour that he needed to provide DNA. He pressed his digit against the square and waited the half-second it took to read him through his glove.

A gentle beep sounded and the cabinet clicked open. Inside was a small collection of personal effects. He ignored them all, reaching in to place his fingers on the ornate black and silver handle resting in a small cradle in the centre.

“Come to daddy,” he muttered as he drew out the mem-sword.

His implant reasserted its need for him to continue and his feet moved almost without conscious effort. Ardley had said the last doctor's quarters were near Medical but hadn't managed to be any more specific. It was less than ideal. Every room he searched without finding her would eat into what little time they had. Every minute that passed would make the next steps more difficult. It meant he had no time to lose.

Leaving the armoury open, his few remaining belongings forgotten, Dalton set off to finish his mission.