Lifeline

The corridors were empty, echoing. Part of her feared encountering Orbitech 1 technicians, but the Americans had seemed interested in stealing only the sleepfreeze technology, and had left the command center alone.

But the command center was the only place they could radio back to their American colony; they would have to come here eventually. She knew they gathered every day to listen to the inane propaganda broadcasts from the other colonies, cheering for some kind of “spacecraft on a rope” being reeled in from Clavius Base to Orbitech 1; that and more talk of those sail-creatures.

She had to act while she had her privacy. Whatever the Americans were doing could wait. The weightless room stood empty now.

“Computer,” she said, feeling the alien English words roll off her tongue. “Verify my identity. Anna Tripolk.”

She waited a moment as the computer digitized her voice and compared it with the pattern it had stored.

“{{VERIFIED.}}”

“Did Commander Rurik leave any instructions concerning me? Did he designate me as commander?”

“{{YOU ARE COMMANDER OF THE KIBALCHICH.}}”

She felt her insides go watery at the affirmation. What Rurik had said was true. But what had he meant? “Computer, seal all access into the command center. I do not wish to be disturbed.”

The open door from the lift platform slid shut. She heard no bolt-locking mechanism on the other doors, but that didn’t matter. The computer would refuse to open them for anyone else. She floated, lost in her own confusion.

“Computer, the last order transmitted from Earth was received by Commander Rurik. Recall the file and play it for me.”

“{{COMMANDER RURIK DELETED THAT FILE.}}”

That didn’t surprise Anna. In consternation, she held onto one of the fixed chairs and let her legs drift out from under her. She set her mouth.

“Computer, did you store the content of that message—the substance, if not the exact words? Piece together peripheral files if you have to.”

“{{WORKING.}}” Then, “{{COMPLETE.}}”

“Summarize.”

“{{YOU HAVE INSUFFICIENT ACCESS AUTHORIZATION.}}”

“Computer, I command the Kibalchich. Authorize access.”

“{{WORKING … COMPLETE IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED. PLEASE PLACE YOUR HAND ON THE GENETICHECK.}}”

Anna searched out the geneticheck pad, then placed her hand on the device. Seconds later she felt a sharp prick as a minuscule sample of her skin was taken.

“{{IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED, ACCESS GRANTED: DETONATION SEQUENCE ALEXANDER. COMMANDER RURIK WAS ORDERED TO USE THE KIBALCHICH’S DIRECTED-ENERGY WEAPON TO DESTROY ORBITECH 1. VICE COMMANDER CAGARIN WAS TO ENSURE THAT THE ORDER WAS CARRIED OUT.}}”

“What directed-energy weapon?” Anna demanded. “The Kibalchich is a research station. We have no directed-energy weapons here.”

“{{THIS STATION WAS BUILT FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF BASING A DIRECTED-ENERGY WEAPON. ALL OTHER CONCERNS ARE SECONDARY.}}”

Appalled, Anna Tripolk pulled herself down into the chair and stared at the holotank in the center of the room.

“Explain. Display graphics. What weapon? How could that be?”

A diagram of the Kibalchich appeared in the center of the tank, etched in glowing green lines against a black background.

“{{A CACHE OF NUCLEAR DEVICES KEPT IN WATER STORAGE IS DESIGNED TO SLIDE DOWN TO THE END OF THE ROTATIONAL AXIS BENEATH THE SHIELD AND DETONATE, ONE DEVICE AT A TIME. X-RAY CONVERTERS EMBEDDED IN THE AXIS FOCUS THE ENERGY TO THE REFLECTING MIRROR ABOVE. THE MIRROR CAN BE TILTED TO DIRECT THE X-RAY LASER TO A SPECIFIED TARGET.}}”

On the image, a small doughnut-shaped disk slid down the central axis to its end. A slow-motion simulated explosion went off and a bright purple ray shot through the center, ricocheted off the overhead mirror, and stabbed out into space beyond the fringe of the holotank image.

“But those nuclear devices were supposed to be for thrust!” Anna whispered. “For thrust! The overhead mirror was going to be our primary solar collector!”

“{{THAT IS A POSSIBLE SECONDARY APPLICATION.}}”

“Secondary application!” Anna screamed, realizing that her emotion would be completely lost on the voice-recognition software. “It was supposed to be the only application! That’s what the Kibalchich was put up here for!”

The computer waited for her to ask a direct question, but she didn’t feel like speaking. Instead, sobbing, Anna let herself drift in the command center. Though her body was weightless, she felt as if a planet-sized brick had been hung around her neck.

Nightmare demons kept rearing up at her in her quarters, jerking her conscience back and forth. Her grief and dismay at Rurik’s death had changed into outrage at him and his betrayal. He had known all along that her work was only of secondary importance to the people who ran the Kibalchich—the ones who really ran it. Her work, her dreams, had been just a cover—something to distract everyone.