“And what if it wasn’t an accident?” Arthur asked, folding his thick arms. “What if this whole thing has been a trap?”
Francis straightened in his seat. “That thing lured us into its orbit and then unleashed a burst of energy that nearly destroyed my ship and nearly killed my crew,” he reminded the security chief. “Perhaps it was an accident, a misunderstanding. Perhaps it was intentional. We don’t know. But as far as I’m concerned, the tower is liable to provide any aid it can in our recovery.”
From the seat next to Carter’s, the reedy voice of Phobos interjected. “I would advise treading lightly,” he said.
“You would,” Ed mumbled. “God forbid that we should get our hands on advanced technology that you didn’t develop.”
“That’s not the point, Ed,” Amila objected. “The point is that there is an ethical component to this situation. If what happened was accidental, then yes, we do need to do what’s necessary to take care of our ship and our crew. But two wrongs don’t make a right.”
“And what if it wasn’t an accident?” Arthur asked, folding his thick arms. “What if this whole thing has been a trap?”
Phobos lifted a long finger instructively, as was his habit when making a point. “Then it is difficult for us to say at what point we have stopped playing into its hands.”
There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence around the table as the senior crew exchanged looks among each other.
Finally, Captain Carter steepled his fingers and leaned forward, drawing a deep breath of the still thin air. “We’re all tired,” he admitted. “But we all want the same thing: to bring our people home and resume our mission. To that end, we should use every reasonable tool at our disposal. Let’s content ourselves to focus on just the next expedition. Tomorrow has enough trouble of its own.”
“Wise words,” agreed Santana, nodding with grudging appreciation. “Lamont, you’ll check on the status of the camp, make a note of any developments that should be brought to our attention. There will also be some crew members switching places. Ed, you should have one team focused on solving the problem of communication, and one team examining the vehicles on the tower to see if any might be adapted for our use.” She looked at him pointedly. “Just fact-finding for now,” she emphasized.
Ed spread his hands, pipe stem lodged between his teeth, as if to say that he had never intended anything else.
“If there’s time,” Lamont suggested, “I’d like to take the lift down to a lower level and see what I find. There’s still a lot we don’t know about the tower, and anything we learn might be useful.”
“If you do,” Francis reminded him, “See to it that you don’t go alone. Unless we find some method of reliable communication…”
He trailed off, but Lamont finished it in his head. We would have no way of knowing what happened to you.
Author’s Note: Page of Pulp will be taking a week’s hiatus as I’ll be traveling and unable to write. Regular publication will resume on October 23. In the meantime, why not go back and refresh yourself on the story so far? Be seeing you! -ETT
You should probably not go alone even if you have communications!
I hope your travels are at least some fun!