Playing God(108)

The interior hatches slammed shut. Until the pressure stabilized, the hatches would not open again. They were trapped. Marjorie leapt for the patch locker.

“Two-by-two!” shouted someone.

Marjorie scanned the red labels on the patch frames and hauled out the two-meter-by-two-meter polymer patch. Hands grabbed the handles on the far side of the transparent patch. She looked up. Harry Dale. Together, they angled the patch into the wind. Through the new hole, the pogos looked up at them. They had packs strapped to their backs, and guns strapped to their sides. They slapped brackets onto their sheet metal to hook them together until the welders could get to them.

Marjorie's hands gripped the patch handles until her knuckles turned white.

“Let it go!” shouted Harry to be heard over the wind.

Marjorie let both handles go. The wind pushed the patch over the hole, and died away.

Through the transparent polymer, Marjorie saw the lead Dedelphi receive two more sheets of metal and set each up in turn until her colleague could bracket them in place.

“What in the shadow of sanity are they doing?” asked Harry.

Marjorie heard the distinctive snickt of the hatchways loosening again.

“One at a time, people,” said Uncle Teige. He pulled the command word out of its slot.

Marjorie turned to join the line for the hatch. Behind her, something thick began to rip.

Calm vanished and took order with it. The air was filled with screams and shouts and everybody trying to cram themselves through the hatchways.

“Stop!” called a Dedelphi voice. “You will not be hurt if you stop right now!”

Without thinking, Marjorie looked for her uncle. He dropped the command key to the deck. A Dedelphi leapt forward and tackled him just as he brought his foot down to smash it. Another snatched the key off the deck.

Marjorie launched herself at the Dedelphi and seized the Dedelphi's wrist, grappling for the key. The startled pogo's eyes widened and despite its helmet, its nostrils slapped shut. Marjorie snatched at the word, but hands grabbed her around the waist and hauled her off.

As she was swung around she saw pogos in the middle of the crowd of Humans, dragging them out of the way and tossing them aside, ignoring the blows that some tried to fight back with. Two of them held Uncle Teige's hands.

Then she saw two more holding a polymer bag. She kicked out, connecting with leathery flesh. Something smashed into the side of her head, and she saw stars. Before she could regain control, her captors shoved her into a fetal position and stuffed her into the bag. She heard a zip and a snap, and they dropped her onto the deck.

She scrambled onto her knees. Her hands pushed at transparent polymer and her lungs heaved hard as she imagined her air being cut off. After a long, terrified minute she was able to identify what had happened.

They'd shoved her into a rescue bad. She'd been in one before. They all had training in the things before they got space duty. It was a very cheap, very compact escape capsule. When the thing hit vacuum, its micropores would seal and its autopressure would activate. She'd find herself in a thick-skinned bubble, with minimal directional control, and about six hours of air.

Where'd they get them all? Oh, right, the emergency lockers are stuffed full of the things. There should be one for everybody.

As her head cleared, her hands reached immediately for the zipper seals, and didn't find them. She blinked away the last of the stars and looked more closely at the opening. The inside tabs had been cut clean off.

“Bastards!” she breathed as she scrabbled at the seals, trying to find any kind of purchase to get them open. Nothing. She reached for her tool belt. It was gone.

Four other crew members lay similarly bagged on the deck. Harry, Toshi, Liv, Anjai. She couldn't see Uncle Teige. She squirmed around. He was on the other side of her. More bodies in more rescue balls were tossed next to them. She twisted toward the entrance hole. The tunnel was finished. Pogos swarmed up the ladders in an unbroken stream to meet their compatriots and receive their orders. A whole crowd of them barreled through the hatchways and into the ship. Another gang opened the deck hatches and swarmed down the ladders.

Five minutes, Marjorie crawled backward as far as her ball would let her. Five minutes and they got us.

“Marjie?” said Uncle Teige.

She turned around, shoving polymer out of her way as she did. “Hey, Unc,” she said weakly.

“You're okay?”

“Yeah.” She crossed her legs and tried to ignore the polymer pressing against her head like a tent falling down on its occupant. “What now?”

He cast a worried glance at the pogos taking over his command. She knew he must be seeing how every one of them carried a gun, and how there were no Humans left free. From the look on his face, he was also kicking himself for losing the command word.