Page 22 of Sky Song
“Yes.” Kim pivoted in her direction. “And this is the present they left us with: a complete and utter blackout. A timed bomb.”
“It’s a conjecture at this point.”
“Conjecture,” Kim sneered. “Big words won’t save you. Shady forces are at work, the result of the actions of those who are stupid enough to meddle into alien business. And the rest of us will reap the consequences. No more words! It’s time for action.”
Cricket couldn't stand another second of it. “Excuse me.” Squeezing by Kim, she went to dispose of a trash bag full of used containers.
As she took the bag to the bio waste room and deposited it into a receptacle, unease nagged at her. Kim’s vague words implied she might know something. But then again, she might not. It would be just like Kim to manufacture danger to validate her baseless hatred of all things alien. And if anybody needed watching, it would be Kim. She had gotten so strung out she wasliable to self-combust. The alien delegation, followed by Lyle’s appearance at their lab, was sending the paranoid woman over the edge.
Lyle.
Her heart pinched, forlorn.
No matter. Lyle had left, and life went on.
She returned to the lab to find Yanet there, an excited flush coloring her smooth cheeks. “I’m all over this place,” Yanet was saying. “Up and down, up and down. Whew!” She pulled the tablet from under her arm and vigorously fanned herself with it.
“Why?” asked Terrance, furtively checking Yanet’s jiggling cleavage revealed by her unbuttoned nurse’s overcoat.
“They tasked me with staying on top of supplies since the tracking system glitched after the power surge.”
“My, aren’t you important today,” Salty commented.
“Any word on when the power might be back on?” Cricket asked. Yanet orbited in the upper chambers of the hospital with access to useful information that she loved to overshare.
“No idea. That’s all they’re talking about, of course. Rumor has it…” she paused for effect, and all of them, including Cricket, leaned in with unabashed interest. “Rumor has it,” Yanet continued in a lower voice, “it’s a cyber attack.”
Salty gasped.
“I knew it!” Kim sounded triumphant. “Sabotage!”
“I also heard there’s a ransom demand.” Yanet’s voice dropped to a stage whisper. Terrance all but pressed his ear to Yanet’s chest the better to hear what she whispered in a rush, as if she was violating stern orders not to spread rumors. Which, Cricket was positive, she had been given. “A hacker who goes by Meatball jammed the power grid. The backup, the emergency flows - all of it. Very smart of him - those are Dr. Ragberg’swords, I swear. This person - or a group of people, they think it might be - left nothing to chance.”
“What do they want?”
Yanet’s face blanked out. This part she must’ve not been able to overhear. “I’m not sure. Something to do with a cargo ship that’s docked at the space depot.”
“They demand access to it?”
“I guess.”
“Aliens, mark my words.” Kim slammed an open palm against the wall. “Who else would want to fly away from Meeus?”
All of it sounded too far-fetched to Cricket’s ears. If it were Earth, she wouldn’t be surprised. But Meeus, with no dissent or serious crime, and especially their placid Shadush city-continent with its arts and academia-inclined citizenry? Definitely far-fetched.
“I better go. I am to report back at four about the supplies.” Yanet had to push Terrance out of the way to get to the door on the other side of the lab.
Kim frowned. “Why do you need to go there?”
“It’s where the extra equipment is stored. Dr. Ragberg wants to make sure everything is in order in case there’s a blowup with injuries.” Yanet gave them a breezy wave with manicured fingers and touched a card to the latch, disappearing inside. The door hissed shut after her.
Kim frowned, observing the door with speculation. What was going through Kim’s mind, Cricket refused to contemplate.
The rest of the day went as most days did, processing samples, cleaning workstations, and listening to Salty trade insults with Terrance. Nothing felt different except for a hot meal that was graciously provided for every hospital employee at the cafeteria.
The news took a better shape on the cafeteria floor as people got together and shared what was known. An official account confirmed a cyber attack for ransom of a large freighter that had been filled with unspecified cargo and ready to take on passengers as well as the goods. The government was negotiating with the hackers, the process was dragging, and by the time Cricket’s shift ended, there was no change in the situation.
It was strange walking home in the darkness, with only the pale light of two small moons filtering through a thin layer of clouds. Here and there, lights flickered in buildings where portable devices supplied electricity, but they were rare - Meeus citizens had had no need to be prepared for a blackout.
