At supper, the two didn't speak much. Cherry shoved his food in his mouth and chewed mechanically while Josh picked at his. When he finished, Cherry said, "Josh, we're going to have to make some decisions. Things like what we plan to do to get out of here. What things do we concentrate on? It's been ten days now without a peep from anyone."
"I know. I've been hoping…"
He pushed his plate away. Waving at it, he said, "That's our limiting factor. We have spaceships, parts, water and from that we can make oxygen. Food is the biggest limit."
"That and fuel. We only have a finite amount of it. Running the sensors and detectors won't take much, but they will consume some. Once we start working on another ship, we'll have to burn a lot more."
"Why?"
"I've been over that wreck out there from stem to stern. It looks like it could fly, but I need to put some power to it to be sure."
Josh looked at him, "So? Take some of our fuel and put in it. Check it out."
"If I use some of the fuel and that bird won't fly, it could cut us short to survive until someone comes along."
Josh snorted, "So we use some fuel and take the chance we run out or we do nothing and risk running out of food. While we do nothing, we slowly go crazy. That seems like a no brainer decision."
"I'm just pointing out —"
"Yeah, all the negatives. What if you put fuel in and find out that spaceship will fire right up? How long would it take to put patches on and fly out of here?"
Cherry's eyes glazed as he calculated. After a few seconds, he said, "If everything were ready to go, it would take about a week – ah – maybe more with this arm and hand."
"Then I need to get into a spacesuit and help you. I don't think we can wait another week to start, do you?"
"No. I don't know about the spacesuit though. Your legs haven't completely healed. You might do more damage —"
"No food will do more than a little damage. It will stop the healing completely. I don't have a choice and neither do you."
Cherry looked him in the eye, "No, I guess we don't. We need to get something going to get you back into gravity. If you don't, you'll start to lose calcium out of your bones, which will weaken your skeleton even more."
"Then we need to get that spaceship out there powered up and ready to fly. What do we do first?"
"I need to put power to that ship. You need to finish checking this place out. What does that third cavern hold? What machinery is in here? You've told me about the hulks and parts, but are there any tools we can use?"
"I'll get going on it. What do you think this place is or was?"
"Some sort of repair depot. I don't understand the burn marks and holes, but maybe they were traders who ran into pirates."
Josh said, "Or goons from some planet who wanted more than their fair share of taxes."
"That's possible too. I'm going back out there. I'll take a portable power unit. I can use power from it to do some checking."
"I'll start on the third cavern – at least until I get too sleepy."
Josh set the sensor to follow Cherry, then turned to the other one. He flew it in the opening and turned to the left. The entrance to the third cavern was much smaller than the other two, but still large enough to fly fliters or other small aircraft into it.
When the sensor made it through the entrance, Josh saw the same inky darkness. Using the radar, he mapped as much as he could. This room stretched for twelve miles. The ceiling to the right extended a half mile above the floor and sloped down to three-eighths of a mile to the left. The right wall had holes which he assumed were doors and windows. He couldn't see the left wall because buildings obscured it.
Continuing inside, Josh flew lower. The image he got from the radar and ultraviolet made him think of an underground city. The route into the cavern looked like the main boulevard to a large town. The street had three lanes on each side of a wide barren space.
Josh turned on the lights as he drew closer. Jagged stumps of what looked like trees came into view. Benches sat forlornly in debris and dirt. Wide sidewalks made a border between the dirt and the plasticrete of the streets. Midway in the first block, a scalloped shaped fountain sat in the middle of colored plasticrete.
A little farther on, a side street came in from the left. Josh panned to the right to dimly see the solid front of some buildings. Turning right, he approached the structures. As he drew nearer, he could see that the facade only stood three stories high, but the rock above it had been decked out with windows.
Row upon row of windows continued almost to the ceiling. The rock around them looked different. Zooming closer, he saw that the material had been polished like high quality marble or agate. Brilliant colors adorned the wall around some of the windows. It looked like a pattern, but when he panned back, the light didn't show what it made.
Interspersed amongst the windows were larger openings which Josh finally figured out as doors. These openings, set back into the wall, resembled an open-sided foyer. Most appeared to be about ten by ten feet, although he did see some which were larger.
Josh muttered to himself, "Why would they need those? They're not big enough for balconies and they don't have any railings. I know some people who wouldn't get near the edge but others would. That's a long way to fall even in this gravity."
Moving the sensor up to a window, he tried to see inside, but all he saw was the lights from the sensor. Using other spectrums, he got either blackness or glare. He murmured, "I haven't got time for this. I need to find things to help us get off of this rock. Gotta get down to ground level and look in those stores."
Dropping the sensor back to street level, Josh studied the store fronts. Words on signs made no sense. The translator couldn't make heads nor tails of them. Some pictures helped. The one with ancient battle armor looked interesting so he tried to go in.
The door had been smashed and lay halfway off of its hinges. Inside trash and pieces of battle armor lay scattered about the floor. Racks had been turned over and mangled. Backing out, he flew to the next store. The entrance to this one remained intact, so he passed it by.
Josh found clothing, shoe, and more armor stores as well as other weapons related shops. The ones he could get in had been trashed, but he couldn't tell about the others. At last he went back to the cross-street and traveled down it. He passed twelve blocks with wide barren dirt patches between them.
These blocks had a few stores but appeared to be mostly offices or residences. Retreating, Josh turned parallel to the main boulevard. A quick reconnaissance revealed the same sight he had been seeing.
Flying higher, he spotted a door which looked open. Edging closer, he maneuvered through it to a room with nine-foot ceilings. Looking down, he saw a boot jammed under the edge of the door. To his left, Josh spotted couches, chairs and other furniture. Most of it looked like it would be too tall to be comfortable for him.
Cautiously flying deeper into the apartment, he found a tall table but no chairs. The sensor's measurements showed the table to be five feet off the floor. Cabinets, counters and strange appliances gave the appearance of a kitchen.
Noticing a hallway, he flew toward it. Doorways along it were all closed. Clothes and trash littered the entire length. Josh withdrew to the entrance. Under his breath he said, "This place looks like everyone took off in a hurry. I think the stores were looted. I don't know how much this is going to help us get off this rock. Some of this might be interesting if we weren't under so much pressure. Oh well, back to checking it out."
Steering the sensor out the door, he continued deeper into the underground city. Stepping up the speed, he flew to the end of the street. Nothing stood out, but he continued to make a video record of his flight.
The monotony of seeing the same thing soon had his eyelids drooping. Josh stopped the sensor and put it in a low power mode. Settling back on his bed, he drifted off to sleep.
When
Josh woke, he realized that no dreams had interrupted his sleep during the night. As he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, an itch started on his left leg. He tried to find something to slide down into the cast to scratch it. Finding nothing, he pulled himself to a shower.
After he dressed, he headed to the galley to get something to eat, trying to ignore the feeling from his left leg. Floating through the door, he saw Cherry sitting there. Josh said, "Hey, how's it going? Are we ready to dump fuel in that bird and be on our way?"
"Not yet, but maybe soon. Most of the computer works, so I'm using it to check the other systems. What have you found?"
Josh moved over to get something to eat before he answered. Setting his plate on the table he said, "My left leg is driving me crazy. It itches."
"After we eat, I'll get the healing unit and check you out. Now, what did you find?"
"I found out the beings left here in a hurry. Some of them did a little looting on the way out."
Cherry gave Josh a strange look. He asked, "What do you mean?"
"I found a city in the other cavern. It has businesses, offices and residences. I think they had parks, too. I found places with the furniture still there and businesses that were trashed. Some of them have a coating over the glass so I can't see in."
Cherry's skin changed colors and the little lights under it blinked brighter. He asked, "How many did you look at? One or two?"
"Naw, I looked at dozens."
"How many places are there?"
"I'd say enough to hold between two and five million. I barely scratched the surface in there when I got too sleepy to stay awake."
"Sleepy! How could you get sleepy looking at something like that? Is there anything that could help —"
"That's part of the problem. I didn't see anything that could help. Cherry, I think this might have been a pirate – ah – meeting point for lack of a better word. There are lots of shops in there with, or used to have anyway, weapons, battle armor and parts for spaceships. This rock definitely was more than a repair station."
"Wow, Josh, this could be worth as much as the rare earth minerals. Did you see any trace of the people who were here?"
"None. I think it's been a long time since they left. I think something bad happened here."
Cherry stared, "What do you mean bad?"
"The parks or open spaces had some sort of trees and bushes. The only thing left is the main trunk and it's just a splintered remnant. If there were flowers and grass, there's nothing left, just barren dirt."
"Show me."
Josh called on the computer to bring up some of the video that Josh recorded from the day before. Cherry directed it to show at ten times normal speed. After the place where Josh had entered the stores and apartment, he moved the speed even faster.
When the video stopped, Cherry and Josh sat in silence for several minutes. Cherry finally said, "Josh, some of those pictures of the body armor looks like ancient stuff. Are you sure that it's not some sort of shop for collectors?"
"Ha, you're asking the wrong person. Check the database – oh, that's right. We don't have a usable database. See why I feel like something bad happened here? And a long time ago."
"Yes, I can feel that. All I can say is keep looking. Maybe you'll find something helpful to us. In the meantime, I'll try to get that spaceship ready to fly. Are you finished?"
"Yeah."
"Give me your plate. I'll take care of them, then go get the healer unit."
Cherry dumped the plates and walked out of the galley. In a few minutes he came back with the healer unit. Attaching it to Josh, he set it to scan. Within minutes, it beeped. Cherry studied the screen for a few seconds.
He said, "Your leg is healing. I'd take the casts off, but knowing you, you'd try to walk on them. Even in this light gravity that would be a mistake. Somehow, we're going to have to get you in gravity and get you to training. Your bone density is dropping faster than it should."
"Get that other ship working and we can transfer fuel, air and water to it. It must have a gravity differentiator. It is a faster-than-light ship, isn't it?"
"I haven't got that far yet. If not, it'll get us to that planet where we can catch a ride."
Cherry stood, then walked to the door. He turned, "I've got to get to work on that ship. Do what you can from here and I'll talk to you later."
Josh picked up the healer unit and looked at his bone density readings. Shaking his head, he muttered, "I've got to get into gravity. I don't want to be a cripple and I'm not ready for bionic legs just yet."
Putting the healing unit back on his leg, he quickly set it to relieve the itching. No sooner had it finished than his other leg started itching. Adjusting the machine, he almost immediately felt relief. Grabbing the unit, he headed for his quarters.
Settling into his comfortable chair, he propped his legs up. As he wiggled a little to make his nest, he brought the computer to attention. "Computer, fire up the sensor. I need to get more of this city explored."
As the sensor woke, images appeared on his view screen. He looked at the map to see where he had stopped. The sensor appeared at the opposite end of the city from the entrance. Josh sent it back to the main boulevard. A shop there caught his interest.
Moving closer, he saw advertisements for robots. The closed door on this shop made it impossible to get inside, but he could see a few robots in the store. After several minutes of staring at them, Josh moved the sensor.
A little farther down the block, he spotted a store showing a machine turning out food. He didn't recognize any of the food but could see what looked like fruits, vegetables and other items sliding out of the machine. Josh yelled out loud, "Cherry! I have to tell Cherry. This could be the thing that saves us. Wait. How do I know it works? Maybe it needs something we don't have. Keep exploring."
Looking closer at the shops on this end, Josh came to the conclusion that they hadn't been looted. Items looked like they were still stacked on shelves and racks. Flying the sensor on down the street, Josh looked at more stores seemingly filled with goods.
When he came to a cross-street, he turned the sensor to the right and crossed the boulevard. Marveling at the variety of businesses as the sensor flew down the boulevard toward the opening, Josh almost missed it.
A small place, sandwiched between bigger, more elaborate establishments, had a small window with a painting on it. The image showed a being with a small device in its hand/paw. Facing the alien were five other beings. These five creatures were as different as night and day. They were clearly from five different planets. Josh knew they were talking to each other using the device.
He said, "A translator. Maybe that would help us translate the signs on the windows and the radio traffic we've heard. If I had one of those, maybe I could find city hall and find out what happened. Time to call Cherry. No, wait. He needs to keep working on that ship. I can go get that."
Josh swung his legs off the table they had been propped on. When his foot bumped the floor, he grimaced. When the pain subsided enough to function, he moved toward the cockpit. Once there, he found the spacesuit Cherry had brought in after they woke.
Stretching it out on the deck, Josh maneuvered around to slide into it. As his feet slipped in, he had to force the fabric out a little. His legs felt like they were back under the crushed wall. He stopped for a few moments, then gritted his teeth and pushed again. When his feet popped into the boots on the spacesuit, he had to lay there for a bit.
The next agony came as he twisted to get his arms and shoulders in. He could feel each move in his pelvis and both legs. He panted as he waited for the pain to diminish. At last he zipped up the front. Luckily the low gravity allowed him to roll over on the deck without too much more pain.
When his breathing returned to normal, he reached for his helmet. Putting it on, he turned the suit on and checked his oxygen supply. The gauge showe
d eight hours' worth. After going over the other gauges, he pushed himself up.
The spacesuit made it harder for him to maneuver. Clenching his jaw, he forced himself down the passageway. He made his way back to his quarters where he picked up his blaster and belt. Adding a vibroblade, he put them on. Looking at his blaster rifle, he decided against carrying it. Floating out the door, he turned to the rear of the ship.
As he came to the shield Cherry had set, he pushed through it. Stopping to catch his breath and check gauges, he muttered, "Now what? I'm in my spacesuit, I'm armed but I have to go twelve miles to the other end of that city. I can't pull myself along. I only have eight hours of oxygen. Come on, Josh, think."
His eyes roved over the damage to his spaceship. Near the back, he spotted his grav-cycle he used for transportation on planets. The two-seater vehicle floated on a gravity repelling cushion instead of using wheels. Highly maneuverable and fast, it had saved him from several sticky situations. A grin crossed his face. He muttered, "I don't need legs to jockey that. I can get down there, explore a little and be back before supper. If I take a few straps, I can bring back some goodies, too."
Getting the grav-cycle unstrapped and moved to the airlock proved to be tougher than he had expected. Frustrated, he finally climbed aboard and drove it out the open airlock. As he approached the opening to the city, he thought about telling Cherry, but decided he didn't want to argue with him about going to the shops.
He muttered, "When I show him the goodies, he'll yell but be glad to forgive me."
Chapter 6