Shadows of Mars (Broken Stars Book 1) by I.O. Adler (best inspirational books .TXT) 📕

and glass like the Dragomen? A sting-tailed bug with hundreds of teeth? Or a human with bad prosthetics on their ears and eyebrows?

She chuckled.

Barrett gave her a worried look. “I can do the talking. You got us this far.”

“Don’t even start.”

“This is delicate. I’ve taken a class on negotiating.”

“Remind me sometime to ask if you actually passed any of your training.”

The hatchway shushed open. The warm air hit like a musty blanket. A rank smell permeated it. It reminded Carmen of overripe fruit decomposing on the ground in the summer heat.

But no one was there to meet them.

The hall beyond the hatchway was dark metal. Unlike the harvester, seams ran down the walls and floor. The ceiling had ducts and conduits running along it. It felt less like a spaceship and more like a submarine. Were these the same people who had built the harvester?

She Who Waits wasn’t moving.

“Do we go inside or wait here?”

“Designate caretaker hasn’t responded. I have no further instructions.”

“Could they have missed our arrival?”

“Their computer is awake and facilitated my shuttle’s docking. We did not force access to their ship.”

Jenna craned her neck. “I wonder if they’re okay.”

“Could this be some kind of test?” Barrett asked. “They’re probably listening right now. Maybe they’re checking if we’re really going to give their ship back. Hello? We come in peace!”

“Don’t yell in my ear,” Carmen said. She touched She Who Waits. “Can you go and let them know we’re here?”

“No. I’ve informed them. Their ship will have alerted them to our presence.”

“You didn’t have a problem coming on board the harvester.”

“That was before I finished my assignment of relaying the Cordice message to you. I boarded to tell you in person what I could not over the radio.”

“So what are we supposed to do?”

Barrett sat back down on his chair. “That’s simple. We wait. Take a load off.”

Carmen hated that he was right. They waited. But after what felt like an hour, Carmen was up again and pacing about the shuttle’s cabin. Something was wrong. She and her sister had come a long way to bring back a spaceship they hadn’t taken. And her mom was close. She could feel it.

She stepped into the hallway of the Cordice vessel. Her head almost touched the ceiling. Something about being on board this new ship gave her instant vertigo. The floor felt like it was about to spin out from under her feet. She grabbed a smooth wall and waited for the sensation to subside.

“Get back in here!” Barrett said.

She ignored him and called out as if walking into a neighbor’s home uninvited. “I’m Carmen Vincent. I’ve come to return your harvester. Can anyone hear me?”

He entered the corridor as if to grab her but immediately fell to a knee. He used his good hand to steady himself. “Whoa.”

“We can’t wait any longer. We’re expected. Let’s go find them.”

Jenna had less problem with her balance as she joined them. “I don’t want to be left behind.”

She Who Waits didn’t follow. The diamond pattern filled her from top to bottom. “I’ve taken the liberty of interfacing with their network. But there’s confusion. The Cordice are there but now too many are trying to communicate at once.”

Carmen waited for more, but She Who Waits had nothing else to share.

Both directions of the corridor appeared the same: straight, with a closed hatch at either end of the hallway.

“We’re going to look around and see if we can talk to anyone. Be right back. You’ll wait for us, right?”

She Who Waits didn’t respond. If the diamonds meant she was busy, then she was very busy. The pattern was more intense than ever.

Carmen went towards the closest hatch. Whatever movement the home ship was undergoing afforded them more bounce and less simulated gravity. Walking gave the sensation of being inside a sealed bus on a windy road and trying to walk the aisle, all while coping with a low ceiling.

The portal before her slid open in the blink of an eye as she approached, revealing more corridor. They walked forward and the door snapped closed behind them.

“Watch your fingers in this place,” Carmen said.

Barrett looked back with concern. “No kidding.”

A small hatchway in the floor didn’t automatically open when she got close. Upon investigation she discovered a recessed circular button. She tapped it with her foot. The hatch opened instantly. If anyone had been standing on it they would have plummeted into the downward chute. There was no ladder, but the chute held a score of small handholds.

“Climb down or keep going?” Jenna asked.

Carmen wasn’t sure where along the ship they had docked but guessed it was next the center section. If anyone was living aboard the ship, it was on the dual spinning rings where there would be the best gravity, she reasoned. So down was where they needed to go. She sat and swung her legs into the chute.

“I can’t climb that with one hand,” Barrett said.

Jenna leaned in next to him. “You sure about this, Car?”

“We’re going to have to search this place. I’m hoping this could take us to the ring.”

The handholds afforded her enough of a purchase. But as she began to descend she felt herself grow heavier. The simulated gravity was increasing. The strain on her fingers in the tiny handholds made the climb uncomfortable. But even as she considered stopping, Jenna began heading her way. The bottom of the chute wasn’t far. Carmen tapped a button with her foot and the bottom hatch snapped open, revealing a hallway.

She dangled and dropped the last foot and landed in a crouch. Climbing up would require a hop and a pull-up. While she wasn’t in terrible shape, her exercise routine over the past couple of years