Time Heist: A Paradox of Time Prequel Novella by Mara Amberly

Author:Mara Amberly [Amberly, Mara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-29T22:00:00+00:00

Eric felt uneasy leaving through the airlock because he wasn’t sure what he was dealing with. It helped to visualise that treasure just waiting to be salvaged… or liberated, even though he wasn’t a greedy man. It wasn’t the primary reason he was doing this, though he liked a financial reward as much as the next person.

Rich was slightly ahead of him and activated his gravity boots when he reached the ground.

They latched on, and Eric glanced at his surroundings before activating his own and switching on his helmet lights.

He already knew both space suits were chronyon-shielded, just as the ship was. No changes to the timeline would remove them from it, and he found that reassuring, at least.

Eric could see now that there were symbols carved into the grey rock; possibly words written in the supposedly dead language of the Lethians. He retrieved a scanner from the pocket of his vest, but it didn’t provide answers. He was registering the stone walls, and a steel and orethanium alloy further along the tunnel, but very little else. The aliens must have shielded the environment against sensor and scanning technologies.

Eric wondered what the symbols said. ‘Vault this way?’ ‘Beware, traps ahead?’ ‘No smoking?’ It could have been anything. He knew there were other tunnels too. He wasn’t clear why Viktor had chosen this one, except for the fact the Equinox fit in the entrance with room to spare. The former admiral didn’t appear concerned about any risks that might pose, though Viktor would probably re-engage the ship’s shields when he and Rich were further away.

Eric followed Rich up the rough-hewn stairs, his boots coming in contact with around every third step as they moved up the tunnel.

“The video feed has dropped out,” Opal replied over the comms.

“It must be something in the composition of the asteroid,” Rich said. “We’re continuing inside.”

There were deeper indentations in the walls here, though Eric wasn’t sure what purpose they served. The scanner shed no light on it.

“Rich, hold on,” Eric said, gesturing to the wall. “You don’t think these could release projectiles, do you?”

“I have no idea,” he replied. “We could disable the grav lock on our boots and avoid using the steps?”

“Maybe we should,” Eric replied.

That’s what they did. After they pushed off, it was necessary to touch the walls in places to correct their direction. He idly wondered why there were steps in the first place, when they were on an asteroid in space. There was almost no gravity, and it made little sense unless there was an artificial gravity environment the aliens could have engaged. That or the asteroid had originated somewhere else and had been moved there with a purpose in mind—to serve as the Lethians’ vault, Eric supposed. There weren’t any planets close by, so how could it have gotten there? Had it been brought by ship? It seemed more likely it had been there all along.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Rich remarked, as he came to a sealed door at the end of the tunnel.

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