The Inner Ring (gxg)

Chapter 18

As the three sleds grew closer to the hole in the alien craft, they slowed as the pilots took in the sight. It was as if the hole was some giant mouth, ready to swallow them whole if they ventured inside it. Now that they were closer, it was much easier to confirm their thought that it wasn't a part of the ship design. Angling the sleds up into the hull, they shone their searchlights upward, revealing the damage to the interior. Whatever had made the hole had sliced through every deck of the ship, immediately exposing them to the vacuum of space. If there were people on the ship in those areas, they were either killed by the weapon, or by the cold and lack of air. If there were connected rooms, the vacuum would have affected them as well. An attack like this could kill almost an entire vessel if they didn't have airtight hatches already in place.

It was a scary thought that such a weapon could exist. Something like that could take out any ship in the world in an instant. Well, any ship on Earth anyway, Pepper thought. Obviously, there were ships on other worlds, and now they all knew they had ferocious weapons. Quickly, she brought out a laser measuring tool and held it inside the hole while Vanessa grabbed her hips to keep her from slipping off. "14.3 feet across," she said through the comms to everyone else.

"It looks consistent through the entire ship," Brody added as they looked up through the hull, seeing more of the rings through the other side.

"We're not going to find much along the weapon path," Miles stated. "We're going to have to find sealed passages where things might still be stored. Anything portable along the weapon path is already either destroyed by the weapon or out mixed in with the debris of the ring."

"I was expecting to see a lot of melting along the ship, like a laser through metal," Anton said wonderingly.

"This isn't metal," Pepper stated confidently. "It looks more like a high-tech ceramic, or at least an alien version of it."

"Are you sure?" Brody asked skeptically.

"Absolutely. Did you not notice that the three smaller ships weren't magnetic? If you rap on them with a fist, they sound much different too. It may not be exactly a ceramic, but it sure isn't metallic," Pepper stated, ignoring the attitude. She felt Nessa's hands grip her a little tighter in support and smiled to herself.

"That is quite a construction process." Anton was looking up into the ship, trying to determine how everything was put together.

"As evolved as this ship is, they must have construction in space. Not just a modular set up like we do, but actual fabrication set ups," Pepper guessed.

"We have a lot to learn," Miles said wryly. "If these ships can teach us a tenth of what they know, it will boost our knowledge immeasurably."

The teams slowly brought their sleds into the hole, one at a time. Lena led, and Pepper brought up the rear. The first compartment was large, possibly a cargo hold, and there was a secured hatch on the far wall. "You guys want to try here first?" Lena called out. "Plenty of room to secure the sleds, and we can try to see what is beyond the hatchway."

"I think this is a good place to start," Miles chimed in. "I can drill a small hole through the door to see if we're dealing with pressure differences, and then go from there."

They secured the sleds together, and then tied one off with a cable to a pipe that was passing through the space before gathering near the hatchway. "Wait, everyone back up while I make the hole," Miles cautioned. "I won't want any liquids or gases to catch you."

"What about you?" Lena asked, with worry evident in her voice.

"This is my job hon," he assured her. "I got this."

Lena grabbed a tether from one of the sleds and wrapped it around him. "Fine, you got this, I got you. Anything happens and I'm pulling you out."

Vanessa and Pepper shared a look at Lena's protectiveness. They had seen the interactions between the two, and it was obvious to them that this was more than just a casual sex type of relationship.

After ensuring that everyone had retreated to the sleds, Miles pulled out a drill set that clamped to the bulkhead and started it on a slow speed. He chose a diamond tipped bit, because he agreed with Pepper's assessment of the material, and wanted to make sure he could cut through without shattering it.

It took twenty minutes and one drill bit extension, but Miles had successfully drilled the hole. To everyone's relief there was no visible leaking gas or liquid either. Once the drill had been removed, Miles slid a small camera and light through the hole and displayed the feed on a small tablet for everyone to see. The entire team sucked their breaths in together. Vanessa thought that it could be some sort of a bunk room, similar to what they slept in every day on their own ship. But throughout the room, floated bodies, small in size like the pilots they had seen in the other ships.

"I wasn't expecting that, why aren't they skeletons?" Brody wondered.

"They would only decompose as long as there was oxygen," Lena explained. "With the giant hole, as well as the other smaller ones we've seen around the hull, most of this ship probably suffered from a very quick decompression, so there wouldn't be any."

"We should bring all of those bodies over to Emily," Anton suggested. "She can get to work on finding out more about them."

"Father, no. That isn't a good idea," countered Vanessa. "If we can find out where these beings are from, and travel there ourselves someday, we could gain a lot of goodwill by treating the remains with respect. We'd be better trying to strap them to their bunks to keep their remains safe, and then only taking a few to Emily."

"The scientists on Earth won't like that," her father pointed out.

"They're not out here, we are. If our bodies were found in space, wouldn't you want to be treated with respect?" she retorted.

"That seems like a good point," Pepper agreed, while Lena nodded in support.

"How long will it take to get the hatchway open?" Anton asked Miles, changing the subject.

"I don't see any hinges, so it probably slides," Miles stated, looking over the door. "I could cut a hole to fit through, but it will take a few hours."

"Get started, we'll keep looking around," Anton snapped.

Everyone but Miles started heading for the sleds, though Pepper saw Lena leaning her helmet against Miles before she left. The suits had a contact mic that allowed something similar to a whisper, but you had to be close to the other user. Pepper was once more thankful for the earpiece that Nessa had given her those years ago that allowed them to talk whenever they wished. The suits also allowed the users to set up little group comms, which made it so people in different areas weren't talking over each other, but it took a few minutes to set up.

"Looks like they're getting closer," She whispered to Vanessa.

"I hope they're as happy as we are," Vanessa whispered back, wrapping her arms around Pepper on the sled.

"I think they are. He seems like the guy to finally settle Lena down. They're both smiling all the time," Pepper commented.

"Well then, they really are just like us!" Nessa chuckled.

Vanessa flinched as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. "Sorry! I lost my ride!" Brody said, nodding over at Lena, who now had Anton on her sled instead of Brody. Since Miles was the only other qualified pilot, they had to triple up on one of the sleds.

"Keep your hands to yourself then," Vanessa told him coldly.

"Hey, I'm just hanging on here," Brody whined.

"Keep it that way."

Lena pulled her sled out, and the two sleds headed back to the central hole, leaving Miles back cutting the hole. Vanessa kept looking around in awe at the different chambers that they were passing. They were all devoid of any life, or anything just laying about, but there were several places that had equipment that was connected to the decks and could still be salvageable. Anton was almost giddy with happiness as he saw them.

They were almost halfway through the ship when Miles cut in on the comms. "I'm through the hatch if you want to come look." They immediately turned the sleds around to go investigate the chamber he had cut into.