Page 15 of Mutant Mine

“Nothing is wrong with the Hades,” he states. “Whatever stopped the ship has caused no lasting damage. I can chart a course towards inhabited space, and there find a planet for us all to go free.”

The prisoners murmur among themselves, perhaps disbelieving. Roth looks down at them with steady, absolute confidence.

“If you follow me, we will all live. If you do not, you will die.” His voice rises to a roar. “WHO WANTS TOLIVE?”

There’s a beat of silence — then the prisoners go wild.They’re cheering, howling, and stamping their boots.

I think he just won their loyalty for life.

“Long live the king,” I whisper. The words taste bitter in my mouth.

I should be relieved that someone can still pilot the ship, too. Instead, I’m more afraid than ever. I assumed that we would all die here, frozen, adrift in space. After all the screaming, that didn’t seem like the worst possible way for this to end.

But now… where is Roth going to take us and set these killers loose? Will I end up stranded on some godforsaken planet — with him?

10

Roth

AS Ianticipated, it was not difficult to take control. All the men’s wildness has burned out. They want a master.

Only a small display of force was necessary. One man. An acceptable loss, to save the rest of these lives.

I told them that I have plotted a new course, towards a zone with habitable planets, to see whether there is somewhere we can take shelter. This is not strictly untrue. It is exactly what I will do, once a little more time has passed. For now, I have ensured that we will not stray too far from the location where the engines failed.

If there is a chance that my brothers sabotaged the ship and stopped it there intentionally, then that region is where they will come to look for me. We must not move on too hastily — not until my brothers have had a reasonable chance to make their presence known.

For now, the order of the day is to keep the ship running smoothly. I must maintain the vital life support systems, so we do not freeze or suffocate. Violence must be minimized amongst my fellow inmates, who now roam loose like dogs. Food must be distributed. We must make sure that we do not tear ourselves apart before we can be saved.

These things can be managed. Like anyone, these men wish to survive. For the most part, they can see that anarchy will not serve them now.

In the background of my awareness is the little bird. I know she is alive, somewhere. I can feel her still, humming in my chest — that new, unfamiliar feeling which I have no language for.

When I think of her, I picture a small flame burning in the dark.

I would go looking for her, but for now, I suspect that she is safer wherever she is holed away.

She will not be safe forever, though. Eventually, I will need to find her.

11

Rory

IT’S NOWbeen around thirty-six hours since the lights went down. Around twenty-four hours since Roth became the de facto captain of the Hades.

I have to admit that I’m impressed by how well he’s managed to organize the prisoners. They quickly figured out how to rehydrate and heat the food, and have distributed two rounds so far; a pretty similar schedule to the one we were running. The biggest bullies are eating more than their fair share, and those who can’t fend for themselves are going hungry — but it’s still more of a system than I expected.

Just as Roth suggested, some of the guards have been shoved into the maximum security cells. He’s right: if the law does catch up to us, it will look better if the escapees haven’t slaughteredallthe crew.

There’s a vent at the top end of the corridor, which I’ve crawled down here to look through. The vent isn’t at a great angle for seeing into the cells, but I can see enough to fill me with relief.

Tommy is in there. And Ellis. I don’t see Carl… He may not have made it. Lots of people didn’t. But Tommy and Ellis did. They’re right there, and they’re suffering, and they’re my friends.

So I’m going to get them out.

There’s no guarantee that it will work, but I really thinkit’s possible. If they can make it into the crawlways with me… If we can steal a tiny bit of food while the prisoners are sleeping… Maybe we can all stay alive, just long enough to be rescued.

Sooner or later, Chronus or the Earth authorities must realize that the Hades has gone off course and not arrived at its destination. They’ll send a proper military starship and easily overwhelm the prisoners — most of whom are unarmed, except for a few stun-guns stolen from the crew. All we need to do is outlast the bastards.

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