Beyond the veil

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. What they don't tell you, is just how deafeningly, oppressively silent the vacuum of space really is.

Naomi took in the sights around her with a deep breath. The vast inky blackness of space surrounded her, the emptiness broken up by millions upon millions of pinpricks of light. Naomi had carried out dozens of spacewalks and jumps over the years but she never got used to that first step out of the ship and into space. She hoped she never did.

On this occasion, floating directly in front of her loomed a large shape that broke up the brilliant starscape. A Class C freighter that dwarfed her own rescue ship. Given it was Class C, Naomi knew the ship was at least 300 metres long though she estimated it to be on the larger side, closer to 400 metres, if she had to guess.The oblong body was a classic gunmetal grey with a mass of communications antennae and rods at the front of the ship. At the rear, she could make out what appeared to be the thrusters for the ship. At least four of them that she could discern from the edges, all of them dark and still. The hull was segmented along the whole length of the ship with the name Ranthari painted across two of the segments in huge 12 metre lettering. Floodlights along the hull lit up the name along with hundreds of other lights of varying colours and intensity. The windows and portholes were aglow with a bright incandescent light from within. Huh… They do seem to have power after all, Naomi thought to herself, observing the bright internal lights instead of the dull red emergency ones that usually accompanied distress calls and dead engines.

Naomi pressed a button on the wrist unit of her spacesuit and a bright orange holographic display flickered into life hovering slightly above her wrist. She swiped through the interface until she came to the first of two screens she was after.

** Signs of life detected.

** Unable to extract further internal data.

Naomi sighed. She had hoped they could have gleaned some new data at this closer range compared to when they had scanned the Ranthari during their initial approach. But alas, while they could always confirm the presence or absence of life on board a ship, in line with interstellar travel regulations, it was always a coin flip for any information beyond that for transport ships. The ICC - the Interstellar Council of Commerce - had lobbied long and hard against internal scanning, touting the perils or piracy and, perhaps more emphatically, against revealing the sensitivity of their cargo. And it seemed the Ranthari had something to hide.

** 3 entry points detected

** Closest entry point - Central airlock

** Distance to entry - 385 metres

The wrist unit beeped inside her helmet and was now displaying the second screen she was after. Naomi looked up from the screen and physically located the airlock the device had highlighted for her. With her target fixed, she gave a couple of good tugs to the tethers connected her ship to her space suit, once for safety and once for good luck. Then she launched herself into the void between the ships.

***

“So, what do we have today?” Naomi asked with an accompanying yawn, climbing up the short stairs onto the bridge still half-asleep and struggling to put the last sleeve of her jumpsuit on.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did we wake you up princess?, Reyes replied with mock concern. “People can be so inconsiderate. No regard whatsoever for the time when asking to be rescued.” The portly man in his early fifties was seated in his usual chair to the right of the captain’s, mug of coffee in one hand with eyes darting across his screen as it flooded with information. Naomi gave him a tired look though she wasn’t sure he even noticed.

Footsteps behind her announced the arrival of someone else on the bridge. Naomi turned around to see the captain, Jan, walk up the stairs. The captain was a giant of a woman with silver hair and cool blue eyes. She gave Naomi the briefest of nods in acknowledgement before she took her seat in the captain’s chair. “So, what do we have today?” she asked, sounding far more authoritative with her throaty rasp.

“Morning Jan. Looks like we’ve got a Class C freighter on our hands. Doesn’t seem to have any power or at least the engines aren’t running,” answered Reyes. “We’re about 20 clicks away but early scans suggest life on board but nothing else from this distance. It might be shielded. The distress call was brief but as absurd as it sounds it seems like something hit them during hyperspeed.”

Naomi stopped in her tracks just short of her seat. Jan raised an eyebrow.

“Something hit them… during hyperspeed?” she questioned.

“That’s what they claim.” replied Reyes.

“Wouldn’t that have pulverised the ship into pieces?,” asked Naomi sitting down at her console..

“You’d think so. Here, have a listen to the call.”

Reyes pressed a couple of keystrokes on his console to playback the distress call they had received. The room immediately filled with a panicked voice.

“This is a distress call from the Ranthari. We were in hyperspeed in the warp path near Sirius when there was a collision. We’ve been knocked out of the path and the engines are down as well. We’re trying to assess -” the distress call cut short.

A whistle came from behind and all three of them turned to see Max take his seat at the back near the navigation console. “What are the odds of a collision at hyperspeed? I thought avoiding that was the whole point of having designated warp paths..” he wondered aloud, putting into words exactly what Naomi was thinking.

“Have we tried hailing them since?” asked Jan.

“We have but there’s been no answer. Might be emergency power got knocked out as well. Hence the short distress call.” replied Reyes.

“Well, looks like we have a job to do. Where’s Chrissy?” demanded Jan as she got up from her seat to walk over to the navigation console with Max.

“Still sleeping off whatever she’s had the past couple of days.” answered Naomi. “I’m happy to take this one.”

“You sure? You just did a jump yesterday to fix that cruiser near LV-420.”

“I’m sure. It’s probably a bunch of corporate types that wouldn’t know an electrical panel if it was right in front of them.”

“Alright then. Go suit up.” and Jan gave her a stern look. “And wait for my call.”

***

“Did you jump again without Jan’s clearance?” the speakers within Naomi’s helmet crackled into life with Reyes’ voice.

“I did all the safety checks and there was good alignment with an entry point.” she protested. “Plus, I was getting bored out here.”

She heard Reyes sigh over the comms. “Well good luck and stay safe. Let us know what you find.”

“Roger that! Naomi out.” she signed off as the speakers quieted.

Naomi looked ahead at the freighter in front as it rapidly grew in size obstructing her whole field of view. She fixed her gaze on the airlock as she had previously identified and turned on the small thrusters on the back of her suit. Using her wrist controls she deftly crossed the remaining gap and landed next to the airlock. With another press of a button the mag-lock connections in her shoes and knee pads kicked in to stick her to the hull of the ship and freed up her hands to work.

She pulled out a hefty mag-lock anchor from her pack and anchored it next to the airlock and took one of the tethers off of her suit and onto the anchor.

Naomi felt around the hull for the console that would access the airlock from the outside. Bingo, she thought, as her fingers found the grooves signifying a hidden compartment. She removed the cover carefully with a screwdriver to expose the interface behind it. Within a few minutes she had connected her wrist unit to the airlock interface with a few cables here and there and was running the Interstellar Rescue Agency's manual override software to unlock the door. As much as the ICC had fought for privacy and security, even they had conceded the importance of rescuers to be able to force entry to a ship in need of emergency support.

The little cogwheel graphic on her display turned a couple more times then both the airlock interface and her wrist unit flashed green with a successful beep.

Naomi felt the hull surrounding the airlock rumble as the machinery came alive to open the heavy doors. She banged on the doors a few times rhythmically as a courtesy knock that she always did. Then she pulled back and held on to the now anchored tether, relying on both the tether and her suit's mag-locks to keep her from being blown back out into space by the explosive decompression of air exiting the room immediately inside the airlock.

Once things settled down, she stepped onto the ledge and disconnected her second tether, latching it on to the first. Then she closed the airlock door from within and initiated the pressurisation process.

Naomi was surprised and disappointed to see that a welcome party had not gathered for her arrival as they usually did. You'd think people would be more keen to be rescued, she thought, missing the applause and cheers that always made her feel like a hero.

Once the room re-pressurised and her wrist unit confirmed it was safe to do so, Naomi lowered the faceshield of her helmet and took in a deep breath before calling out.

"Hello! Anybody home?"

There was no response. A sense of unease crept over her and she quickly patted the left side pocket. The familiar shape and weight of her firearm comforted her. In her five years on the job she had never had cause to take it out, let alone use it. But she always brought it along with her as there was a first time for everything and she'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Naomi paused, gave it some consideration, and decided any crew alive were most likely on the bridge trying to assess the status of the ship. She turned left and began making her way towards the front.

The interior of the freighter was pristine. Not a container or piece of furniture looked out of place. Looking at the Ranthari from outside she had just assumed whatever collision had taken place and had happened on the other side of the ship. But now, looking from within, there was no indication of anything so much as a sharp turn let alone a collision hard enough to knock them out of hyperspeed.

"Hello?" Naomi called out again. There was still no response.

On her way to the bridge she passed through the living quarters with the crew's beds and dressing rooms. She noticed that the sleeping pods for hyperspeed travel were all open. They must have woken up out of hyperspeed in a hurry and forgotten to close it. At least that lined up with their story.

Something else struck her as strange as she exited the room. She turned back and gave the room another look, cocking her head to a side in thought. Then she realised what was amiss.

The living quarters were entirely devoid of any personal effects. Her own room back on the rescue ship was plastered with posters and various knick knacks she had collected on her travels crowded her bedside table. Her colleagues had books, photos of loved ones and miscellaneous other trinkets and tokens that indicated that people lived there. However, on this freighter there was nothing. All blank walls and bare tabletops.

Weird, she thought as she turned back and continued making her way forward to the bridge. Maybe these corporate types have no life outside of work? Or maybe the ship is manned by androids? She shook her head. No, we definitely recorded signs of life on the scans. Someone living is aboard this ship.

She finally reached the bridge and opened the door. Inside she saw seven figures sprawled on the floor, not moving.

She quickly ran to them, turning her radio on along the way.

"This is Naomi. I've found the crew. We're on the bridge at the front of the ship."

Her speakers sparked into life, "This is Reyes, hearing you loud and clear. How many do we have? What's their status?"

Naomi looked at the bodies more closely. She could see all of their chests moving as they took in shallow breaths.

"All unconscious but alive and breathing." Naomi reported back. "There's seven of them. Can you send down seven of the zipline tracks along the tether? I'll prep them for transport."

"Roger that. I'll send Max down your way to help you out." Reyes confirmed.

Naomi made her way around the figures, scanning and feeling around for any injuries that might complicate moving them. Luckily, they all seemed to be in good condition physically. She started work hunting down space suits for the crew and preparing them for transport. Thankful for the reduced gravity she picked up the first of them and started making her way back to the airlock.

There were seven of them. Three men and four women. She had picked up one of the women, deciding to leave the heavier men for Max to handle.

Naomi ran into Max halfway along the trip to the airlock and paused to give him directions to the deck before moving on. At the airlock she noticed the tether now had seven zipline attachments. She hooked up the first crew member to the furthest attachment and pressed a button on the top. A gentle thruster turned on with a blue glow and the device and woman quietly sped off towards the rescue ship where her crew were waiting.

Over the next hour, Naomi and Max managed to get the whole crew transported. As she helped Max get the last crew member, a giant of a man that required both of their efforts, she had a thought.

"You go on ahead. I want to have a look at the engine and the rest of the ship." she told Max. "See if there is anyone else on board and if we can salvage this ship yet and get the folks on their merry way without crowding ours."

"We're likely not detecting any other life aboard. But I see that look in your eyes. Don't be long. Jan will only be distracted by the new patients for so long." Max replied as he hooked up his own zipline to the tether.

Naomi nodded with a smile and made her way back into the interior of the ship. This time she made her way towards the back where the engine room was likely to be.

Along the way she kept an eye out for any signs of a collision or impact but found none. That is until she found the engine room.

The door to the engine room was bent and misshapen, as if someone had forced themselves into the room. She gently pushed against the normally sliding door which groaned and refused to budge. She inspected the door a bit further and decided the gap was just large enough for her to squeeze in without her suit.

Naomi wedged herself through the gap in the doorframe and made her way into the engine room itself and took in her surroundings.

The room had definitely taken the brunt of whatever had happened here. Unknown liquid, most likely coolant, was seeping from cracks and gashes in the piping. The console for the engine was smashed beyond repair and the engine itself was damaged in a hundred different places. There was definitely no salvaging this.

Just as she was about to head back out of the room something gave her pause. She looked around the room and cursed herself for not noticing it before.

Naomi looked at the walls of the room again. There was not a dent or ding anywhere. The engine room had not sustained any external damage from a collision or impact. There was no way the engine itself would be damaged to this extent without any deformation of the surrounding walls. It was impossible.

She took another closer look at the damage done to the engine and its console and pipes. Another realisation dawned on her with some horror.

All of the damage she had observed was within reach of her or just slightly beyond. The wiring and pipes higher up along the walls and hanging along the roof were untouched.

Someone did this… she realised. Upon closer inspection the cracks and dents could easily be attributed to being struck by a hard tool.

Someone did this… on purpose?

She quickly exited the room and put her suit back on. She started running towards the airlock as she radioed back to Reyes.

"Reyes are you there? Come in!"

"I'm here. What's wrong?" He asked, detecting the worry and urgency in her voice.

"Are any of the crew awake? We might have a big problem."

"None of them are awake yet. Jan and Chrissy are looking into them. What's wrong?" Reyes was beginning to sound worried as well.

"Restrain them before waking them up. There's been sabotage. Maybe something more." She answered.

"Oh fuck. I'll let Jan know. Reyes out." He signed off.

As Naomi reached the airlock another thought occurred to her. One that had been at the back of her mind since she found the crew on the bridge but she hadn't had the time to give it much consideration to.

Instead of getting off the ship at the airlock she made her way back to the living quarters and looked around. She needed to be sure.

Six beds…

They had found and rescued seven crew members.

She had encountered ships before that didn't have a bed for every crew member as they would often take shifts. She walked further into the room looking for what she was hoping she miscounted.

Six sleeping pods for hyperspeed travel…

Her breath caught in her throat. Regular beds were one thing but everyone needed sleeping pods for any hyperspeed travel. It was suicide otherwise. Your body would be torn to pieces by the forces involved. And yet this ship was engaged in hyperspeed travel when they encountered problems.

Who is the seventh person then? How did they survive the trip?

***