In The Darkest Of Nights 03

I turned and walked back to the platform. "There's a long tunnel, I don't know how far it goes but it runs into the centre of this thing. It may take me a while to find the end so don't worry if I seem to take a long time."

"Okay," she replied hesitantly.

I stepped back in as she wished me good luck, thinking that she had the hardest part of waiting. At least I was getting to do something and go somewhere. I travelled down the tunnel, bounding along in the near zero gravity. In ten minutes I could see the gleam of another metal doorway filling the tunnel.

As I got to it I saw that it looked smooth with a single orange button set to the edge. I pressed it and the door dilated. At the same time a strange voice gurgled and wheezed out a message that I wished I understood.

Through the door was a wide flat concourse framed by the rectangle of a false doorframe. Lights were flickering on as I stepped through and a glance behind showed another orange button inset next to the closing door.

I walked forward and tried the other doors that led off along the other walls. Two of them looked like engineering workshops while a third and fourth had labs concealed behind them. The others were store cupboards of some sort.

The last doors on both sides were wider and dilated at my touch. Inside was a cavernous room with five lighted buttons set into the near wall. The door at the opposite end opened into a short corridor at the end of which was a smaller door, one that I barely fit through with my suit on.

Another three steps and I was onto a platform that made me shiver with the view. There was a circular world, trees, grass, houses and roads. I stood still and followed the arc around. I could see no movement, it looked totally deserted.

The platform was bounded but four great wires stretched across to the other side. At what was presumably the centre hung a ball of light and heat, so bright as to bring my auto-dimming into action.

I turned and walked back, scurrying up the tunnel as fast as I could to share the exciting news with Diggie. Their civilization looked comparable to ours. Judging by the final doorway they were smaller. The greenery suggested oxygen breathers with an atmosphere conducive to us.

I burst out of the final door. "Diggie, it's all there. There's a world inside with plants and trees and roads and houses. I can't see any movement but it looks habitable."

"Any lithium?" was her first question.

"I don't know yet," I said, a little annoyed by her lack of shared excitement.

"Well, what do we do now?"

"First off, I'm coming back aboard. My suit needs servicing. I'll tell you more when I get there."

I launched myself into the empty space between us, guiding myself back to the airlock. Once back onboard I let Diggie help me strip the suit and connect it up to recharge it. It was likely to be a long trip if I was going to find my way to the bottom and do a little exploring down there.

As it was connected I spoke to the air. "Beth, access the video recorder and do an analysis."

"Working," she acknowledged.

"Come on," I said, turning to Diggie. "Let's show you what I found."

We went up to the bridge and I had Beth bring up the video I'd shot from the point I entered the concourse. I let Diggie view it in full without comment. She gasped at the first view of the inner world, holding my arm as she stood by my seat.

"It's beautiful. I wonder if they have birds and animals there as well?" she said when it was finished.

"Ask me that again tomorrow," I said. "It's a pity there's no way to get you down there for a look."

There was one possible way I had in mind, using the hibernation capsule to get her down. I hadn't thought it through and needed to talk with Beth first but it seemed feasible if she wanted to go inside.

"It looks a nice place to live," she said.

"We'll find that out tomorrow. It'll be nice if it's got a breathable atmosphere."

"These would be worth a fortune in orbit about a decent planet," she mused.

"This one on its own is worth a scientific fortune. These are proof of intelligence other than our own. If the others are the same it'll prove a treasure trove for a whole host of scientists."

"There should be a reward."

"I doubt that but I'm going to set foot on all six before we leave, stake my claim on behalf of the navy."

I turned back to the screen. "Beth, any analysis of the machine rooms or the labs?"

"No, you'll need to make more detailed shots before I can make any meaningful interpolations."

"Okay, we'll see about that next time. Any thoughts on the cylinder world?"

"Not enough information for that yet either," she replied.

"Okay, thanks." I turned back to Diggie. "Let's get a coffee."

She walked with me to the rec room.

"So how long till we can go home?" she asked as we stepped out of the tube.

"That's still an unknown. It might take days or weeks down there till I find some."

I turned to the galley as she went and sat down, bringing the coffee back to join her.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Not yet," she said, flashing a smile at me. "But I am getting tired of all this waiting around, wondering what's happening while you're away exploring."

"I'm sorry. I'd love to take you with me, but...." I spread my hands.

"I know. There's only one space suit."

At least she said it with a smile on her face. The trouble was my explorations were only going to be longer as I probed further inside. There were another two chambers that might take days to reach on foot.

The scale of the engineering was also impressive. Hollowing out the habitat would have taken years. Even more wondrous was the prospect of a further five habitats. It was puzzling that this one seemed uninhabited, all this work for nothing.