James Axler – Parallax Red Parallax Red

They did as he directed, leaving the control room and walking along the deceptively down-sloping corridor.

“Can you see us?” Brigid asked at one point.

“Alas, no,” answered Sindri. “I never got around to repairing the video security network on your part of the station. However, I presume you retrieved your weapons.”

“Neighborly of you to leave them for us,” Grant said snidely.

“Such an impulse was furthermost from my mind. I had only a little time to pull myself together, grab what I needed and hie my fair young ass hence to the mat-trans chamber.”

Sindri paused, then said, “I left David behind to cover my back in case you came calling. If you didn’t show, I ordered him to jump to the station with your equipment. Since you’re here instead of him, I deduce he failed me.”

“If it’s any consolation,” said Kane, “he did his best.”

They reached the accessway, entered it and climbed down a metal-runged ladder. The temperature suddenly rose, and Kane guessed that this lower tier of the station was now facing the reflected sunlight from the Moon.

At the bottom of the shaft, they saw a labyrinth of pipes and wheel valves crisscrossing in all directions. Dismantled pieces of machinery lay scattered on the floor.

“We’re here, Sindri,” Brigid announced.

“Excellent. Look around you. Do you see a pipe painted yellow? Ahead and to your right a bit.”

They searched, spotted the pipe and Brigid – said, “Yes.”

“Follow it, no matter where it leads.”

The outlanders moved out, stumbling through the metal maze, bumping their helmets on low-hanging pipes and barking their shins. Grant swore and Sindri laughed.

“Find it a little cramped, do you? Funny, I never have trouble getting around.”

Following the yellow pipe, they navigated around a mass of machinery that had once kept Parallax Red aliveheat, light, water, air and cooling systems, as well as huge storage bins.

The longer they walked, the more they noticed how light their bodies began to feel. Jumping over a length of tubing in his path, Kane sailed upward, helmet banging into an overhead elbow joint. He cursed.

Sindri’s voice purred with amusement. “Oh, I forgot to mention that the closer you come to the axis, the less the influence of gravity. I suppose you found that out, though.”

The pipe suddenly bent downward at a ninety-degree angle, disappearing into a thick iron collar bolted to the deck. They faced a blank and rust-streaked bulkhead.

“Now what?” Grant demanded.

“Turn to your left. Go about ten paces. You’ll find another maintenance accessway. It’s open.” Sindri’s tone no longer held a mocking note. “I have faith you’ll figure it out from there.”

The accessway was a straight chute. They had to stoop over to negotiate it. They exited on the sweeping curve of a corridor. Almost directly opposite them, they saw a narrow ramp slanting upward at a forty-five-degree angle.

They climbed its smooth surface quickly, aided by the light gravity. As they did, a steady deep throb, like the beat of a giant heart, entered their helmets. Near the top of it, Kane set down the harp. Brigid and Grant saw him do it, but they didn’t question him. They stepped forward and saw more or less what they expected to see.

Sindri stood in the blister-shaped pocket, leaning indolently against the railing running the length of the raised platform. He twirled his walking stickor an exact duplicate of itbetween the thumb and forefinger of his gloved right hand.

He wore a drab gray environmental suit much like theirs. Only the helmet encasing his head was markedly different. The faceplate was far more rounded and tinted with an amber hue. He watched them walk into the chamber with only mild interest in his eyes. All of them looked around for transadapts, but they saw no one but Sindri.

The domed hollow enclosing the GRASER cannon was transparent, and naked starlight winked from its glossy, elongated barrel. Beneath the platform, lights flashed purposefully on the control consoles. The steady, rhythmic throb emanated from the row of dynamos.

As they approached the base of the platform, Sindri casually reached behind him with his left hand. When he withdrew it, a palm-sized remote-control unit nestled in it. He pressed a button.