Tyger Burning by T. C. McCarthy

Author:T. C. McCarthy [McCarthy, T. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Alien Contact, General
ISBN: 9781481484107
Google: z6vUvAEACAAJ
Amazon: 1481484109
Publisher: Baen
Published: 2019-07-02T04:00:00+00:00

Maung motioned for Than to hide. The corridor was long and identical to the white ones they’d seen in their initial exploration when Maung first arrived, and the dead covered every inch of it. These ones died from microbots, he realized. Most of their flesh was gone so that partially eaten corpses lay frozen in poses of agony, their hands clawing at themselves in attempts to scrape the bots away. But this wasn’t what frightened Maung. Ahead of them, at least a hundred meters away, the corridor’s lighting system was active, casting a brilliant blue glow that reflected off the white walls. He and Than squeezed into doorways on opposite sides of the corridor.

“This section is active,” Maung said.

“It can’t be,” said Than, “none of the port is active, none of it except where we’re conducting demolition. We would notice a power drain coming from this area, and there’s nothing on my screens; check for yourself.”

Maung punched on his forearm computer and waited for the fine web of green data to appear on his faceplate. It took a minute for him to figure out the patterns but Than was right; the dark side’s power distribution grid didn’t run to this area. He cursed himself for not being able to think clearly and wished he could numb the pain in his neck. It throbbed with each heartbeat, making him dizzy.

“Then it must have its own power.”

“Yeah,” said Than, “but why? Who is stationed here and what are they doing?”

Maung was about to answer when Nam cut into their frequency. “Get the hell out of that area, you two. Now.”

“But what do we know about this area?” Than asked. “We tracked one of our drifters here.”

“I told you to get out. It’s none of your business what that place is and I don’t care about another drifter; we’ll hit our quota somehow. Return to your section, now.”

Maung cut Nam’s frequency off and switched to another to ping Than. “I’m not going until I find out what this place is.”

“You’re crazy. Nam will have us ejected—back to Earth—and what happens to you then, Pa? Think about it.”

“I have thought about it; we’re already drifters. There’s no difference between us and them except that we get to carry a gun.”

Than was silent for a moment, but then Maung heard him sigh. “Screw it,” he said, waving his barrel down the corridor. “After you, Pa. But be careful; I’m surprised we haven’t been caught yet by motion or shape sensors, given that this place has to be some kind of secret site. Nam’s message said it all.”

“You think he knows what this place is?” Maung asked. He moved into the corridor cautiously, trying to keep his footing among the frozen bodies.

“I think he knows that it’s off limits and that it exists; someone told him as much. But I doubt he knows why it’s off limits.”

A red light flashed on Maung’s heads-up and he knew it was Nam—signaling on the frequency they’d just cut. He ignored it.

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