Page 91 of Fallen from the Stars

An indicator in her retinal display turned her attention back toward the front of the sub. The overlay indicated another room ten meters away, this one filled primarily with electronic components.

“What do we need in there?” she asked.

“It’s not something weneed, but… I am compelled to mention it due to IDC coding.” He highlighted a part inside the other room and expanded its image.

Theo’s heart skipped a beat when she scanned the part’s readout. “No way.”

“Yes way,” Kane replied. “That’s a class A transmitter, capable of sending deep-space communications. It just needs an antenna.”

“And we could totally build one. We just need the material.”

“Which seems to be laying around this world in abundance.”

Theo picked up her toolbox and returned to the maintenance tunnel, following it until she reached the entrance to the electronics room. She removed the transmitter with the same care she’d taken with the valve, though it was a bit more difficult — she had to stand on her toolbox to reach it, and it was a bit larger and heavier. She carefully rearranged her tools and settled the transmitter amongst them on the toolbox’s top tray.

Before she closed the toolbox, she paused and looked at the part. While she was removing it, she hadn’t even paused to think of the ramifications it could have, hadn’t considered what she could lose if she built an antenna and managed to transmit a message. Her working mind had taken over — the part of her that recognized a challenge and was eager to tackle it. The inability to communicate with the IDC had been the first major problem she’d faced upon waking on Halora, and the thought of finally solving it had swept everything else away.

She’d not allowed her heart to weigh in on the matter. Frowning, she closed and latched the toolbox’s lid.

Just in case, she thought.

When she returned to the open hatch, she looked up to find Vasil there, his eyes fixing on her immediately.

“Got it,” she said, smiling and lifting the toolbox up to him.

The box seemed even heavier than the two parts she’d taken should’ve made it — the weight of her guilt, perhaps. None of the kraken would know what the transmitter was, what it was used for, but Theo knew. That felt like a betrayal of both Vasil and his people.

He took the toolbox and turned away, clearing the hatch for a moment before reappearing with his hands free. He watched intently as she climbed the ladder, offering a hand as she neared the top. Once she cleared the opening, he pulled her into his arms, coiling a tentacle around her leg.

“You’d think you missed me or something,” she said, burying her face against his chest.

“Only a little,” he said, his smile evident in his tone. His hold on her tightened. “I do not like the feel of this place.”

Theo gently pulled away from him and met his gaze. “Yeah, it doesn’t have the best vibes, does it?” She scooped her pack off the floor and slung it over her shoulders. “We’re operating on borrowed time now, so we’d best help Larkin and Dracchus gather the remains and take them out to sea.”

The concept wasn’t as strange to her as it might once have been; for a long time, the IDC had held to the tradition ofburyingthe dead in space; they’d launch the fallen into the stars to drift forever. It was kind of…peaceful.

Vasil nodded, picked up the toolbox, and placed it inside the waterproof container. A twinge of guilt shot through Theo’s chest; he wouldn’t think twice about the difference in the toolbox’s weight, but she knew.

He sealed the container and lifted into his arms, extending a tentacle to pass Theo her diving mask. “I will follow your lead.”

Though he was only talking about following her out of this place, she sensed deeper meaning to his words — they were rich withtrust.

And she couldn’t help but wonder if she was breaking it.

Chapter 18

Theo replaced the air filtration unit’s cover plate and fastened its bolts. “Done!”

“They’re going to love you at The Watch,” Larkin said. She stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest and red hair hanging over her shoulder in a single braid. Her blue jumpsuit and thick belt — upon which were clipped a pistol and a knife — spoke of a woman ready to handle business.

Over the past few days, Theo had grown close to Larkin — it hadn’t been hard to do. There were only so many places to go in the Facility, and the place was quiet and lonely when the males were out hunting, as they were now. Though Larkin usually went with the others to hunt, she’d chosen to stay behind and keep Theo company. She’d even proven to be a reliable and competent assistant, helping Theo manually seal the lines and ducts leading into the flooded portions of the Facility to prevent the possibility of further leakage into the air system. It had been two days of hard work — much of it under water — but the sense of accomplishment now that it was all done was worth the effort.

“It’ll be nice to have a place,” Theo said, returning her tools to the toolbox and shutting the lid.

Larkin had explained that everyone in the Watch had a job, a purpose, and they performed those jobs to keep their community afloat. Theo’s jaw had nearly hit the floor when she realized there was no currency there — hell, Larkin hadn’t even known the wordmoneyuntil Theo told her about it. The universe Theo knew revolved around the spending and accumulation of money.

The way Halora worked was more alien to Theo than the kraken. The idea that hard work and cooperation were enough to guarantee a place to live, food, clothing, all the necessities, might’ve been laughed at anywhere else. But here…so long as you did your part, so long as you supported your neighbors, you didn’t have to worry about the dwindling credits in your account or whether your landlord would evict you for not paying rent.

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