The northern pole was intact all around to about the tenth latitude in the east where damage began.
The western hemisphere extended almost to a tropic of Cancer in places but the southern pole cap had been totally blown away. As if something, incredibly mammoth, had taken a massive bite out of the Hive sphere, leaving pits, pith and intestines behind.
Finally the `Dinis judged it safe to approach: slowly but surely.
Their shuttle, the one from the Beijing, and one `Dini angled to starboard, closed on the wreck. The third human shuttle followed at a discreet distance. They passed around the outer skin of the wreck and immediately Thian was conscious – even inside the shuttle – of the stingpzzt effect of Hive metal on Talented perceptions. He ran his tongue around his mouth but the actinic taste was in the back of his mouth, far stronger than it had been when he was in direct contact with the Hive panel. Was it because this was a newer construction? Louder or more potent in its emanations? He wished he could contact his grandmother or grandfather right now.
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The captains had decided to wait until there were concrete details to report before publicizing this expedition: Thian had had to report that the discovery of the ship had caused wide panic on every inhabited world. So he was as glad not to have to add to it. Nor to say anything about his participation in further close investigations.
But should he report to Commander Vandermeer the intensity of the Hive aura? Captain Ashiant had known of it. Such information was not really of use, he thought, except that it verified the origin of the ship. As if there was much doubt about that.
The shuttle wended its way through immense shards of outer hulls, inner skins, deck levels, past structural members as thick as the Vadim. Big as that star-class ship was, she, and a hundred of her sister ships, could have docked in a quadrant of this one.
Everyone reacted as the shuttle’s exterior lights began to illuminate details of the innards they were traversing.
`Storage area?’ one of the engineers suggested, pointing to odd-shaped containers partially fused against bulkheads. They passed much smaller divisions the size of the Vadim’s adequately large shuttle bay. Bent tubing several metres across dangled pendulously into emptiness.
On the forward screen, they saw the `Dini shuttle veer to port, heading towards its appointed landing spot. Thian, being nearest the porthole, looked back as long as he could, to see the `Dini disembarking in their space gear.
Then all too soon their shuttle landed on its designated site.
Helmets clicking into place were the only sounds. Then they were on suit air.
`Set your watches, gentlemen,’ Commander Vandermeer said, her voice muffled on the intercom, `you have exactly three hours and twenty minutes’ oxygen.
`I thought we had four hours’ air, sir?’ AusterKiely said.
`We do, but for practical purposes we’ll all assemble back here in three hours and twenty minutes.
Clear?’ `Yes, sir.’ Someone in the group let out a snide bark of a laugh which Vandermeer instantly silenced.
`Enough of that! Let’s move out. Mertz, Jimenez, Kaldi, go as far up as you can in this segment, then work down. Sedallia, see if those mangled coils might be drive components. Kes, you go with Sedallia. All of you: call out if you spot something one of the specialists should examine. Take all the snaps you can but remember to light `em. It’s darker in here than the devil’s belly.’ She went on assigning search areas. `Remember to keep one hand for yourself and don’t drift off. We can’t waste time hauling you back in from outer space. Lyon, you stick on this level with Kiely. There seem to be undamaged compartments along this corridor. Let’s move it.
As soon as the others had dispersed in their appointed directions, Kiely pulled Thian close enough for them to touch helmets and Thian could see the furious expression on the lieutenant’s face. He resented being treated like a liability.
Thian grinned back at him, gesturing towards the dark interior and mentally trying to soothe the young man. He found that the stingpzzt dampened his Talent, muffled it, so he gave up trying to project.