Read Online The Long Night by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch - Free Book Online
Authors: Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
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laughing," Nog whispered.
"No one important," Jake clarified. He glanced down at Nog. "We're on the Promenade. I can see the shops. How many of these spy holes do you think there are?"
"A bunch," Nog said. "I wonder if we can see into my uncle's bar."
Jake grinned. "That would be great if we could. Then we'd know if all the work was done."
"And I wouldn't ever have to go back in the middle of a riot." Nog turned around.
So did Jake. Three more tunnels. Even though he had been smiling, this whole thing left him disquieted. Of all the things he had expected, this was the last. Part of him wanted to go back, but turning around meant turning his back on adventure.
Nog was already down the stairs. "Let's figure out which passage leads to my uncle's bar."
"All right," Jake said. He was committed. For the first time since he had entered the panel, he wondered if this was the right thing to do.
CHAPTER
6
AS HE GAVE the command to energize, Sisko closed his eyes. He didn't want the transition from the bright transporter room on the Defiant into the darkness of the crashed ship to be abrupt. He wanted a moment to feel the place before he saw it.
Dax's readings had shown that much of the ship was still intact. Only a few sections had been damaged by the crash. The news wasn't a complete surprise: for something as fragile as that statue to survive, the crash couldn't have been devastating. Sisko had Dax prepare the coordinates for beam down into the main section of the ship that still had rudimentary life-support systems. That alone had surprised Sisko, but O'Brien had assured him that ships from the beginning of space travel on were always designed so that the life-support systems had double and triple backups. On a ship the size of the Nibix, most of the outer shell would have to be destroyed before the life-support systems would quit entirely.
Still, Sisko thought it damned unusual on a ship this old. If, indeed, it was as old as he hoped.
As the beaming process ended, the first thing he noted was the cold. It went through the protective layers of his uniform. He had expected a chill-the asteroid had no atmosphere-but nothing as penetrating as this. He took a tentative breath-the air was cold but real-and sighed.
The life support did work.
He could also feel the antigravity units they were all wearing adjusting them to eight-tenths of Earth normal. The asteroid's gravity was actually less than half.
Then he opened his eyes, cringing slightly, expecting to be surrounded by bodies. Instead, he was in a dark, wide hallway. He tugged on his gloves, slipped the end of them beneath the wrists of his uniform so that the only skin he exposed was on his face. Dax already had her light on and was examining the wall panels. O'Brien switched his on after a moment and looked at the paneling as well.
"I thought we'd see more than this," O'Brien said.
"This ship is huge," Dax said. "This is just a corridor. A small one, judging from the readings I took on the Defiant."
Sisko switched on his light and glanced at the panels as well. The diagrams were clear, using an old spacer's code that had been outdated in this sector for centuries, but the words were in a language that looked only vaguely familiar. And he wasn't sure if the familiarity was because he hoped he would see something he recognized.
"Can you make out anything, Chief?"
"Nothing of use to us," O'Brien said. "We studied this type of system at the Academy. It could belong to any one of a hundred star systems that developed similar technology, long before humans had space flight."
"But it's familiar?" Sisko asked.
"Yes, of course. Familiar enough anyway." O'Brien's breath floated like a ghost in the darkness. Dax had her tricorder out, and its hum echoed in the silence.
"No life signs," she said. "But behind these walls are all sorts of storage areas."
"And there's equipment behind those," O'Brien said.
Sisko pulled out his tricorder as well but didn't use it. Not
"No one important," Jake clarified. He glanced down at Nog. "We're on the Promenade. I can see the shops. How many of these spy holes do you think there are?"
"A bunch," Nog said. "I wonder if we can see into my uncle's bar."
Jake grinned. "That would be great if we could. Then we'd know if all the work was done."
"And I wouldn't ever have to go back in the middle of a riot." Nog turned around.
So did Jake. Three more tunnels. Even though he had been smiling, this whole thing left him disquieted. Of all the things he had expected, this was the last. Part of him wanted to go back, but turning around meant turning his back on adventure.
Nog was already down the stairs. "Let's figure out which passage leads to my uncle's bar."
"All right," Jake said. He was committed. For the first time since he had entered the panel, he wondered if this was the right thing to do.
CHAPTER
6
AS HE GAVE the command to energize, Sisko closed his eyes. He didn't want the transition from the bright transporter room on the Defiant into the darkness of the crashed ship to be abrupt. He wanted a moment to feel the place before he saw it.
Dax's readings had shown that much of the ship was still intact. Only a few sections had been damaged by the crash. The news wasn't a complete surprise: for something as fragile as that statue to survive, the crash couldn't have been devastating. Sisko had Dax prepare the coordinates for beam down into the main section of the ship that still had rudimentary life-support systems. That alone had surprised Sisko, but O'Brien had assured him that ships from the beginning of space travel on were always designed so that the life-support systems had double and triple backups. On a ship the size of the Nibix, most of the outer shell would have to be destroyed before the life-support systems would quit entirely.
Still, Sisko thought it damned unusual on a ship this old. If, indeed, it was as old as he hoped.
As the beaming process ended, the first thing he noted was the cold. It went through the protective layers of his uniform. He had expected a chill-the asteroid had no atmosphere-but nothing as penetrating as this. He took a tentative breath-the air was cold but real-and sighed.
The life support did work.
He could also feel the antigravity units they were all wearing adjusting them to eight-tenths of Earth normal. The asteroid's gravity was actually less than half.
Then he opened his eyes, cringing slightly, expecting to be surrounded by bodies. Instead, he was in a dark, wide hallway. He tugged on his gloves, slipped the end of them beneath the wrists of his uniform so that the only skin he exposed was on his face. Dax already had her light on and was examining the wall panels. O'Brien switched his on after a moment and looked at the paneling as well.
"I thought we'd see more than this," O'Brien said.
"This ship is huge," Dax said. "This is just a corridor. A small one, judging from the readings I took on the Defiant."
Sisko switched on his light and glanced at the panels as well. The diagrams were clear, using an old spacer's code that had been outdated in this sector for centuries, but the words were in a language that looked only vaguely familiar. And he wasn't sure if the familiarity was because he hoped he would see something he recognized.
"Can you make out anything, Chief?"
"Nothing of use to us," O'Brien said. "We studied this type of system at the Academy. It could belong to any one of a hundred star systems that developed similar technology, long before humans had space flight."
"But it's familiar?" Sisko asked.
"Yes, of course. Familiar enough anyway." O'Brien's breath floated like a ghost in the darkness. Dax had her tricorder out, and its hum echoed in the silence.
"No life signs," she said. "But behind these walls are all sorts of storage areas."
"And there's equipment behind those," O'Brien said.
Sisko pulled out his tricorder as well but didn't use it. Not
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