Two wide catwalks led toward the back of the ship, flanking the FTL drive. Ladders linked to catwalks above and below this main level, allowing all parts of the drive to be accessed. Mostly self-contained, FTL drives had very few parts that could be swapped while in space. But if something did go wrong, the whole damn thing had to be taken apart, so the walkways were a necessary evil.
Another wide tunnel led off to the main engine. Used to power the ship’s life-support systems as well as the traditional propulsion, it, too, was a highly contained, redundantly backed-up system. Engine troubles were rare unless you got in a pissing contest with someone who shot holes in your hull. And then you generally had bigger problems.
So if I was going to hide a secret material needed for the FTL drive, where would I hide it? I spun around slowly, looking at all of the cabinets. The problem was that I had no idea how big a hundred units was, since the units weren’t specified. It could be a spoonful or a roomful.
I decided to look for where it interfaced with the drive, because that would give me an idea of its size. “Polaris, show me the manual entry for alcubium replacement.”
The technical document showed up on my glasses, complete with detailed diagrams. I tilted my head, trying to decipher what it was showing me.
“What are you doing?” Loch asked from behind me.
“Ah!” I spun and pressed a hand to my heart. I hadn’t heard him at all, even on the metal floors, and he’d scared the bejeezus out of me. I breathed through the adrenaline spike. “I’m looking for the secret FTL drive,” I said when I was sure my voice would be steady. “Did you need something?”
He looked the same, like we hadn’t just stomped all over each other’s feelings. He didn’t even look any worse for wear, the bastard.
He shrugged. “Saw you come down here. Since we haven’t jumped yet, I figured I’d see if the drive was damaged.”
I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to see past my hurt and judge him fairly. He’d come this far. Maybe he would betray me the second the opportunity presented itself, but he deserved the truth, or at least part of it. “The drive seems to use a specific resource. Supposedly there are a hundred units stashed somewhere on board. I’m reading the manual, trying to find where it is, because we only have one fast jump left. That’s why we haven’t jumped, I’m waiting out a standard FTL cooldown.”
“You want to be able to jump out of Rockhurst space quickly,” he said.
I nodded and went back to the document. It seemed to be showing the right side of the FTL. I started down the catwalk, looking for anything that resembled the diagram. I found it about a quarter of the way down: a small, round hatch marked alc with an inset handle. To access the hatch, the diagram indicated rotating the handle ninety degrees left and then pulling out a cylindrical container.
I read the rest of the instructions. The drive needed to be put in standby before the hatch would open and allow access to the alcubium. When I returned to the control panel in the workshop, Loch still lounged against the wall of the tunnel leading to the main part of the ship.
He didn’t look threatening exactly, but there was something off about his stance. I still had both blasters and my necklace and cuff, so I pushed away the fear. If he tried to take me, he’d come out sorry.
I put the FTL drive in manual standby then returned to the alcubium hatch. I reread the instructions, then turned the hatch handle ninety degrees and pulled. An illuminated plastech cylinder a little less than a meter long slid from the hole. Nestled inside was a smaller cylinder filled less than a quarter with a glowing, viscous pink fluid.
That seemed . . . bad.
“Polaris, is this stuff radioactive?”
“Minimal levels of radiation detected. Levels remain well below the safety threshold for humans.”
Well, that was a relief. My nanobots could probably handle some radiation damage, as long as it wasn’t extreme, but I didn’t relish the thought of testing their capability.
I slid the alcubium container back into place and locked it in, then returned the FTL drive to active. Now I just had to find a meter-long tube of glowing pink liquid. No problem.
It took another consultation of the manual, but I finally found the locked cabinet where the spare containers were stored, in the wall across the catwalk from the hatch. It had room for ten cylinders, but currently held only one faintly glowing pink tube.
This setup, more than anything else I’d seen so far, indicated that this was a prototype ship. In a fully functional production model, the entire process would be automated. Either this was an early model and they’d moved to automation in newer models, or they were not as far along in production as I feared.
One thing was clear: if alcubium tubes were being manufactured on XAD Six or Seven, I had a duty to my House to try to secure as many as possible. Of course, if I got blown up in the process, that would be counterproductive, so I’d have to weigh the risks once I saw what sort of defense they had.
When I returned to the workshop, Loch still hadn’t moved. I’d have to squeeze by him to return to the passenger section of the ship. “Did you need something else?” I asked from across the room. “Or did Rhys talk to you, tell you what he told me? I wasn’t planning to ask you about it, if that’s what has you worried.”
He straightened and narrowed his eyes. “What did he say?”
“He said a lot of things, actually. He is still speaking to me.” It was a mistake to expose the wound, but I couldn’t help myself. “He was meddling, trying to use my curiosity against me.” I waved a negligent hand. “He knows me too well.”
That barb struck home. I watched Loch’s expression turn furious before being wiped clean. “That fucker needs to keep his mouth shut and stay out of my business,” he growled.
I sighed, abruptly bone-weary with the whole thing. “Look, I’m sorry about the things I said, and I’m sorry Rhys is meddling. If you want to talk about your past, I’m here. If not, that’s fine, too. In a few more days we can each go our own way and that’ll be that. Can we at least try to be civil until then?”
Loch’s expression was inscrutable, but finally he nodded once.
“Thanks,” I said. “Now I need to get back to the flight deck and see if this heap has any offensive ability before I decide to do something potentially stupid.” I slid past him, careful not to touch. Loch followed me back to the passenger area, silent as a ghost.
It did not escape my notice that he had not apologized.
Chapter 19
The deeper I dug into Polaris’s systems, the more I fell in love. House Rockhurst had spared no expense. Not only did it have the offensive and defensive prowess of a small corvette-class warship, but it also had exceptional stealth and cloaking ability.
I knew House von Hasenberg had ships that could match it—at least, if you took out the alcubium FTL drive—but I’d never captained one. It would be hard to turn Polaris over and let our scientists dismantle it. During negotiations, I would have to ensure that I received the ship back in perfect working order—or that I received an early prototype to match it. Father would love that.
I catnapped as I waited for the FTL drive to cool down. It was strange how quickly I’d gotten accustomed to fast jumps and how waiting six hours—a very short wait by conventional standards—was agony. It was no wonder House Rockhurst was willing to go to war to corner this market. They’d make enough money to buy the rest of the Houses.
Once the drive was nearly ready, I sent an announcement over the intercom. “We’re getting ready to jump into Rockhurst space. We’re going in cloaked, but things may get rocky. You have fifteen minutes to secure loose objects and yourself. I’ll sound a warning at one minute. Let me know if you need more time.”