Page 79 of Fallen from the Stars

“One would think you’ve never been in this place before, as long as it took you,” said Kane.

“Can you make it stop talking?” asked Dracchus.

“Kane has a mind of his own,” Theo replied.

“I thought if you saytentacular penetrationhe turns off?” Vasil asked.

Theo grinned, looking at Vasil from the corner of her eye. “No, Vasil, that’s only when we’re having sex.”

Maroon pulsed over Vasil’s skin, there and gone in a flash.

Dracchus seemed to notice the color change; he eyed Vasil for a few moments before grunting, shaking his head, and turning his attention to Theo. “Why did you ask us to come?”

“Because I ran a series of diagnostic tests on this facility’s systems,” Kane said. The console’s projected screen expanded to a three-dimensional hologram — a model of the facility. Its walls were displayed as transparent with faint outlines, revealing a myriad of internal components within. “Considering this place has received no maintenance for hundreds of years, much of it is in surprisingly good shape. That likely has a lot to do with the reactor.”

The image zoomed in to display the reactor deep in the bowels of the main building; though might’ve guessed its purpose based on its appearance, many of its parts were unlike anything she’d seen — both during and before her time with the IDC.

“This place is powered by halorium,” Kane continued, “and there is insufficient data to predict how long it can be run on the halorium stores currently within the reactor. Hundreds more years, it would seem.”

Theo turned to face the two kraken. “It’s no wonder the IDC wanted the stuff. Unlimited power source.”

Vasil leaned closer, studying the display. “We knew about the halorium core already.”

“Sorry, I was excited and digressed from the point,” said Kane. The hologram’s focus moved down nearby maintenance corridors to another room filled with machinery — just the sort of places where Theo had spent most of her life. A huge machine lit up orange. “This is the air reclamation and filtration unit. It is what keeps breathable air circulating in this facility. And it has a component on the brink of failure, relatively speaking.”

“What does that mean?” Dracchus asked.

“It means,” Theo swept her fingers outward from the center of the hologram, zooming in on the small piece Kane had highlighted in red, “once this part fails, the air in this place is going to become poisonous.”

Wearing matching frowns, Vasil and Dracchus exchanged a concerned look.

“How long before that happens?” Dracchus asked.

“Impossible to say for certain,” replied Kane. “But it is going to happen soon. I would estimate another year, perhaps three at best.”

“Or it could happen tomorrow,” Theo said.

“It would trigger automated alarms. An evacuation alert. There’d be some time before things got dangerous, but this place would become uninhabitable,” said Kane.

Vasil met Theo’s gaze. A glimmer of fear shone in his silver eyes. “What do we do, Theodora?”

“There’s a parts storage room on the lower level of this building. I need you to take me to it so I can see what’s there to work with.” She expanded the image further, displaying the part at its actual size.

Vasil moved to stand beside her. “That is the piece?” He lifted a hand and cupped his palm beneath the part. “It is so small. What is it?”

“It’s a sensor control valve,” she replied. “The tank that sits over it fills with water containing all the toxins and impurities filtered out of whatever comes through the interior and exterior intakes, and this valve is supposed to detect that load and open to dump the contaminants before they exceed a certain amount. It’s on a sensor so it can maintain proper system pressure the majority of the time.”

She manipulated the holo to show more of the filtration system. “But if that valve doesn’t purge the tank when it’s supposed to, the bad water will overflow to here.” Theo pointed at the top of the tank, where the cleaned air flowed into the next component. “And it will contaminate that air and compromise the system. Once that happens, it’s game over for this place.”

Vasil lowered his hand and leaned forward, studying the valve, as Dracchus drew closer.

“That tiny thing determines our survival here?” Dracchus asked.

Theo nodded. “Sometimes the smallest things are the most important.”

He grunted; it was an oddly thoughtful sound. She hadn’t realized grunts could be so nuanced before meeting Dracchus. They were a language unto themselves coming from him.

“And if there is a replacement part, you can fix it,” Vasil said.

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