After one last futile attempt to call them, he retraced his route back out of the Enigma. Back aboard the Vasily Korolev, he removed his helmet and reported sadly to Boris that he’d found no trace of their comrades. Boris turned to the comms panel, and hit the key for interplanetary communications. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. We have lost four crew members inside the object. We are requesting help to find them. Mayday, Mayday, Mayday…”

  “By the time the other ships get here, it will be too late,” Igor said sadly. “Their suits only had eight hours of oxygen.” Then his face took on an icy cold expression, and he looked Boris in the eye. “The Americans have a small ship docked to the object. I think they kidnapped or killed our crew to keep us from interfering in their commercial operations.”

  “What? Their craft is almost 3,000 feet away from our entry point. How would they have done that?”

  “They mapped the interior with drones, and likely used one of those tunnels along the object’s length to reach this area. That small ship is just cover, and they’re keeping the larger one away to deflect suspicion.”

  Boris shook his head. “With all due respect, General, they’d be mad to risk provoking us…”

  “I can’t think of any other explanation for Sergey’s team’s complete disappearance. The Yanks want to get to any alien technology before we do.”

  Boris’ mouth flapped, but no words came out. Igor opened the comms channel again. “Vasily Korolev to RSA Operations. We now have reason to believe we have been subject to an act of war. We surmise the crew of the American vessel has killed or captured our missing crew members.”

  ****

  “Houston to Sigma. We’ve got serious trouble brewing. Please see the attached video.”

  Drew, Chris, Achilles and Holly looked at each other, confused. The video rolled on a large display in the cockpit.

  “This is breaking news. Moscow is accusing America of killing or kidnapping four of their cosmonauts currently stationed on the Vasily Korolev, on station at the Enigma. The Korolev’s cosmonauts entered the object to explore its interior, but failed to return—a search and rescue mission has revealed no trace of them. Russian Prime Minister Alexei Lebedev has this to say:”

  An overweight, older man with thick, white sideburns took a podium with a picture of the Kremlin in the background. “It appears at this point that our cosmonauts are lost beyond rescue. All evidence points to the American astronauts’ involvement. We suspect their motive is retaliation for Russia’s sovereign claim on the object known as the Enigma. Upon further deliberation by the Russian Parliament and the Defense Ministry, we construe this an act of war against our nation. Military action will be undertaken in response.”

  The gathered press roared with questions as the picture returned to ashen-faced analysts in the news studio.

  The four crew members glanced at each other in stunned silence.

  “We haven’t been inside the Enigma in days,” Drew stammered. “How could they think it was us?”

  “Storm,” Achilles said, simply. “They see an allied ship docked there. They don’t know how many people are inside, or what they’ve been up to.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Chris said, burying his forehead in his palm. “How the hell did we get here? Are they insane?”

  “Possibly,” Molly replied.

  “What if they retaliate against us?” Chris asked.

  “More likely Storm,” Drew said. “We have to warn him.” He opened a channel. “Storm, we’re in serious trouble. The Russians think we attacked their crew inside the Enigma. They probably see you docked there as the evidence.”

  There was a long, agonizing silence.

  “Why the hell do they think I did anything?” Storm yelled at the top of his lungs.

  “They probably think there’s a bunch of us over there with you. They think their missing crew were kidnapped or murdered outright in the Enigma, and whoever’s in the crab’s the likely culprit.”

  “But… that’s ridiculous!”

  “Believe me, I know. Nobody’s even been in there since I went a few feet inside a few days ago.”

  “Well … I … might have gone in,” Storm admitted sheepishly.

  “What? By yourself?” Drew roared.

  “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. That it was still my claim.”

  “How far inside, Storm?”

  “Into the second layer of the substructure, which turned out to be a long tunnel.”

  “Oh, God.” Drew paused for a moment. “I take it you made it out alright?”

  “Yes. Though…”

  Drew looked anxiously at the others, and then back at the comms panel. “Did anything happen in there?”

  Storm sighed. “Yeah. It… spoke to me.”

  Drew raised an eyebrow. “What did it say?”

  “It asked if I would possess it.”

  The others looked at Drew, open-mouthed.

  “Damn voice in my head scared me so bad I got the hell out as fast as I could. Still scares the crap out of me, even in here,” Storm added.

  “How did you know to ask him that?” Chris asked Drew.

  He muted the channel. “Because something weird happened to me too. I saw a light and felt it probing my soul, just before my suit malfunctioned.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because I half wondered if I’m imagined it, and I didn’t want to sound crazy.”

  “You should have warned Storm.”

  Drew went red in the face.

  Holly looked like she’d had a eureka moment. “You wanted him to walk into the trap, didn’t you? That whole hatred between you and your brother.”

  Drew nodded and remained silent.

  “Good God!” Achilles said. “At least he survived. If his suit had gone wrong and not recovered, he’d be dead. I can’t believe you, Drew.”

  No more was said for a few moments.

  “Okay, let’s pull it together,” Chris said. “What do we do right now?”

  “Get Storm out of there,” Holly said. She reopened the comms channel. “Storm, the Russian crew is probably dead. You need to get out of there right now.”

  “What is the Korolev up to?” Chris asked.

  “Give me a minute and I’ll find out,” Achilles said. He floated up to the telescope control panel and pointed the instrument, panning along the Enigma’s length. “It’s gone!”

  “What?”

  “It’s disappeared. Must have warped out of here.”

  “Then we need to leave, too. As soon as we rescue Storm.”

  “Your hold isn’t big enough to carry the crab back,” Storm said.

  “Screw the crab—your life’s in danger!” Drew shouted. “Jesus, man. You’ve got to get out of there ASAP. We’ll come over and you can enter our airlock.”

  “Damn it. Fine. Let me get suited up first.”

  “We also need to warn the Theta,” Holly said. She turned to face the comms panel. “Sigma to Theta. Do you copy?”

  “Loud and clear, Sigma. Our ETA at the Enigma is one hour and fifty-five minutes. We got the news too. Are you guys leaving?”

  “We are, just as soon as we pick up a stranded prospector.”

  “We’ll stick around until then.”

  “I’d advise against that,” Holly said. “The Korolev’s warped out of here. We don’t know if or when they’ll be back, but I don’t have a good feeling about it given Moscow’s all but declared war on us.”

  “Roger that. We’ve already discussed it, and we’re going to stick around until all US and allied ships have left.”

  “That’s a mighty fine gesture, guys. And appreciated. We may end up needing your help.”

  ****

  Storm stabbed at the yellow button, to no avail. “What the…? Come on, work you stupid pile of junk!” He pressed the red reset button, and then the yellow open hatch button again. Still nothing. His visor was starting to get fogged up from the sweat and heavy breathing.

  “Guys, my outer airlock door won’t open. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Crap,” Holly said. The Sigma was hovering 200 yards away. “Just keep trying,” she said into the radio. Then turned to her fellow crew members. “Any ideas for ways to get him out?”

  Chris stroked his chin, thinking hard.

  “What if one of us went EVA and tried the manual emergency handle?” Drew offered.

  “Storm, do you have an emergency handle on the outside?” Holly asked.

  “Sure, but one of you guys would have to physically come over here.”

  “I’ll do it,” Drew said without hesitation.

  “You will?”

  “Yes. It’ll take me a little while to get over there though.”

  “I’d sure be glad of the help. I’ll keep trying from inside in the meantime.”

  Drew muted the comms. “Of course this happens when we’re trying to rescue him. Why wouldn’t it?” He shook his head.

  “Murphy’s Law at its finest,” Achilles said.

  “I’ll go suit up,” Drew grumbled.

  A chime sounded from the cockpit. Holly turned around, and read the words: ‘Unknown object. Distance: 300,000 miles.’ She frowned, and opened the comms channel. “USS Sigma to unidentified ship 300,000 miles sunward of our position, please identify.”

  There was only silence in response.

  “USS Sigma to the new ship 300,000 miles sunward to of us. Please identify.”

  She frowned at the others.

  “Is it accelerating?” Chris asked.

  Holly turned back to the display. “No, it’s not. If it was going to match the Enigma’s velocity, they’d really have to step on the gas to do it from 300,000 miles.” A tense silence followed, during which Holly, Chris and Achilles watched the display. The other ship wasn’t moving at all. Then it disappeared completely.

  “What the hell?” Holly said. “It warped pretty close to here, and then left again.”

  “What’s that faint radar reflection?” Chris asked. “It appears they left something behind.”

  “Whatever it is, we’re going to encounter it in around forty-nine minutes.”

  Achilles shook his head slowly. “I don’t like the looks of that at all. If it was a probe to investigate the Enigma it would be accelerating, and it isn’t.” An atmosphere of cold dread pervaded the cockpit.

  “I think the Russians left us a little present.” Chris said. “I think it’s a bomb.”

  “Oh God,” Holly said, turning a sickly shade of green.

  “It makes sense from their point of view,” Achilles said. “They can get rid of us and the Enigma in one fell swoop, and nobody would ever know what happened. Everyone would just assume the Enigma had blown up or something.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Chris said. “They’d really just sacrifice whatever tech and resources the Enigma’s carrying just to wipe us out? There’s probably only forty-eight minutes till it reaches us, whatever it is. We have to get Storm and get out of here. Holly, warn the Theta too.”

  “On it. Theta, this is Sigma. If you haven’t already seen it, an unknown ship left an object in our path. Looks like the Enigma will pass within a mile of it.”

  “Roger that. We were wondering what it was too, and why it isn’t accelerating. We’re pretty sure it’s nothing good.”

  “Our thinking too. Most likely a nuclear weapon.”

  “You can’t be serious?”

  “We don’t know for certain and we can’t get a look at it because of our angle and speed of approach, but if that ship was Russian…”

  “Then we’d better get out of here now.”

  “We’ve got one person to rescue, then we’re doing exactly that. I repeat my advice to you guys: leave while you can.”

  “If it is that, then you’ll need all the help you can get. But we’ll back off to a safe—well, safer—distance in case you’re right.”

  “Roger that. Just make sure your windows are facing away from the Enigma. Don’t want you to be blinded.”

  ****

  “Dammit, even the emergency handle’s busted!” Drew said, looking at Storm through the porthole as he tried to twist the wheel.

  “Sorry,” Storm said.

  “Not your fault. Meanwhile I’m sweating buckets inside this suit.”

  “I bet.”

  “We have eight minutes ’till we reach the unknown object,” Holly said, rising panic in her voice.

  “I’m working as hard as I can,” Drew snapped. “I’m burning through my oxygen from all this exercise.”

  Drew smashed into the airlock like a rag doll, cracking his helmet and stunning him as a massive blow from behind pushed the crab forward.

  Storm was smashed into the inner airlock door. He felt like he’d been hit with a baseball bat as his back slammed into the inner airlock door handle. A thousand kinds of panic flooded his mind. “Drew!” he yelled. Both men were stuck in place, pinned there by acceleration.

  Drew wasn’t sure if the whirling stars he saw were because of the blow to his head, but he pulled himself together enough to unpin his head from the hatch. The horizon, where the side of the Enigma met the stars, was now much closer. Stars were moving slowly relative to the edge of whatever the crab was still attached to, and he deduced that the structure was spinning slowly.

  Holly, Chris, and Achilles were transfixed. Seams of light spread out in grid-like lines at regular intervals from one end of the Enigma to the other, dividing its surface into enormous square panels, each around the size of two football fields.

  “Drew! Storm!” Holly yelled. “Something’s happening to the Enigma! You have to get out of there now!” There was no answer.

  The crab was located near the center of one of the panels which, like the others, was pushed free of the Enigma and drifting away slowly. They could only watch with shock and awe as the superstructure of a massive spaceship was slowly revealed. It appeared to be a chain of vast, blocky modules, built from metal panels.

  “So that’s what was inside!” Holly said.

  “We have to get them off that thing right now!” Chris said. “That section of the Enigma’s body is floating off into space like the others.”

  “On it,” Holly said, taking manual control of the ship. One of the panels was heading towards them rapidly. “Strap into your seats!” She applied a jolt of forward thrust that pushed them towards the crab, dipping out of the way of the piece that threatened them. The chunk of hull to which the crab was still fastened turned slowly in space, such that the crab was now facing in the direction of the Enigma’s travel.

  “Drew! Storm! Are you guys okay?” Chris yelled.

  “Still here,” Drew replied in a panic-stricken voice. “What the hell’s going on?”

  “The whole thing split apart. There’s a massive spaceship inside! It’s like it shed its cocoon—just poor luck you were attached to it at the time.”

  “I can’t see a damn thing from in here,” Storm complained. “What does it look like?”

  “I can’t really describe it, you’ll just have to see it for yourself.”

  The Sigma now hovered roughly a hundred yards from the newly liberated section of the Enigma’s hull, keeping pace with it as it floated slowly away from the ship it had protected across untold miles and ages.

  “Sigma to Theta. Are you seeing this?” Holly managed, breathlessly.

  “Yes, the telescope image is breathtaking. Are you able to get your guys out of there?”

  “I’m gonna detach the crab from this thing,” Storm said. “But to do that I have to get at the controls, and I can’t do that until I re-pressurize this damn airlock and get back into the cabin, which is gonna take twenty minutes. Please advise next course of action, Sigma.”

  A translucent blue oval shield suddenly appeared around the vast spaceship.

  Holly gasped. “What the hell?”

  “Haven’t the faintest clue what that could be!” Achilles said.

  “It looks like how they show a force field in the movies,” Chris said. “I’m still trying to convince myself that this is real…”

  The far side of the five-storey thick section of the Enigma’s hull melted and fried like an egg from the heat of a blinding fireball. The field around the alien ship glowed white as it fended off the savage blast of a nuclear detonation. The cockpit of the Sigma went dark and the constant low background hum of the ventilation fan fell into an eerie silence.

  “Holy shit! I think a nuke just went off and we got hit by its EMP,” Chris said, his face a mask of terror.

  “Drew! Storm! Do you copy?” Holly said, even though she already knew it was futile. Every system on the ship was probably dead.

  Achilles was closest to the windows that lined the sides of the crew compartment. He could see the edges of the giant square of black material still glowing white from the dying heat of the massive fireball. “They actually did it,” he said, his voice faltering. “They actually tried to nuke us and the Enigma.”

  “We’re dead in the water, Chris said. “I don’t think anything on board the ship is hardened against an EMP. Holly, check all systems. See if anything still works.”

  “On it.”

  “Looks like it was sheer dumb luck that saved us,” Achilles said. “We happened to be on the other side of this hull section, and it shielded us from the heat and radiation effects. But of course an EMP will travel through anything. That also means Drew’s suit’s dead, and Storm’s stuck in his airlock. We’re completely screwed, and so are they.”

  Is there any hope for Drew, Storm and the crew of the Sigma?

  This is where you’ll find out:

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