Polaris Read Online Free Page B

find the Polaris. Now he didn’t sleep well because he was bored and annoyed. He’d mention it to Maddy next time he saw her.
    He finally dropped off at about 0200 hours. And Sebastian woke him ten minutes later. “Miguel, I can see the Polaris. ”
    It was substantially off course, moving at about forty degrees off its original heading. And angled down, out of the plane of what used to be the planetary system. It was running at a lower velocity than he’d been led to expect. He sent off a transmission to Indigo, then woke Shawn.
    The specialist looked relieved. “At least we know where they are,” he said.
    But why are they here? There was no simple explanation that didn’tinvolve either catastrophe or an unlikely breakdown of both comms and propulsion. There was a possibility he’d pushed to the back of his mind: They might have been punctured by debris, by rocks blown away from the dying sun. Or maybe a burst of radiation had penetrated the shielding.
    â€œRange, Sebastian?”
    â€œSix point six million kilometers.”
    â€œOpen a channel.”
    â€œChannel open.”
    â€œ Polaris, this is Peronovski. Madeleine, is everything okay?” Miguel took a deep breath and settled down to wait. Round-trip for the signal would be almost a minute, plus whatever time Maddy needed to respond.
    â€œPower signature is normal,” said Sebastian. An image of the Polaris appeared on the shuttle screen. It was running without lights.
    He counted off a minute. Then two.
    â€œMaddy, please answer up.”
    Shawn wiped the back of his hand against his mouth. “What do you think?” he asked.
    â€œDon’t know. Madeleine, are you there?”
    Silence filled the bridge.
    â€œSebastian,” he said, “can you contact the AI?”
    â€œNegative, Miguel. There is no response.”
    â€œOkay,” he said. “Shawn, let’s go have a look.”
    The Polaris was small and showy. It was silver and black, with a flared rear end and teardrop pods along its flanks and a swept-back fuselage and a wraparound bridge over the prow. None of these features was necessary, of course. The only things a starship needs are symmetry and engines. Beyond those, appearance doesn’t matter much. But the Polaris had been intended to impress VIPs, so Survey had spent money.
    They went over in the shuttle, and he inspected the hull. There was no sign of damage. And no indication of movement on the bridge. “Depressurize the cabin, Sebastian. And take us directly alongside the main airlock.”
    The AI complied. Miguel and Walker checked each other’s pressuresuits, and, when the lamps turned green, left the shuttle and jumped to the Polaris.
    The outer hatch responded to the control panel and swung open. They entered the airlock, the hatch closed behind them, and the air pressure started to rise. When it reached normal, the inner door opened.
    The artificial gravity was on, but the interior was dark. Temperature was within normal range. They switched on wrist lights and removed their helmets. “Kage,” he said addressing the AI, “hello. Answer up, please. What’s going on?”
    Shawn flashed his lamp around at a table and chairs. They were in the common room. And other than the fact the lights were off, and nobody was there, everything looked normal.
    â€œKage?”
    He would not have been able to give instructions to the AI, but she should respond to him.
    Shawn tried his luck and shook his head. “She’s not functioning,” he said.
    Miguel looked on the bridge. Nobody there. And no visible damage.
    â€œAre they dead?” asked Shawn.
    â€œDon’t know.”
    â€œAny way that could happen?”
    â€œNot without leaving a hole in the hull.”
    â€œHow about a madman? Maybe somebody went berserk.”
    â€œSomebody running amok with an ax?” Ridiculous. Especially among this crowd. Every one of them had