Shadows of Mars (Broken Stars Book 1) I.O. Adler (read people like a book TXT) 📖

Through it all, the bot still stood where the exit had been like a dormant guardian.

“Ask your sister what’s going to happen next. Will there be enough air? And how about water or food?”

“Jen, can you hear us? It feels like we’re slowing down. But we’re worried. We went pretty fast there. We need to know if we’re going to be able to breathe with whatever’s about to happen.”

The circles above and below appeared to align and shift. Then they moved as if rotating around them, revealing a dozen circles or more trailing behind in either direction. These too broke formation and began to crowd closer. A sense of sideways motion began that instantly made Carmen feel like she was going to fall over. She gripped the couch.

Agent Barrett placed a hand to steady himself. “We’re spinning.”

The other spheres were now a cluster. They soundlessly continued to maneuver as if toys guided by an unseen hand. No plumes of exhaust came from any of them. They began to arrange themselves in a massive ring while a lone sphere above kept getting closer. Soon it completely eclipsed the stars.

The interior of their sphere went opaque.

A heartbeat later, the head of the robot lit up. Jenna’s face appeared as the bot turned towards them.

“I did it. You’re here. We’re together.”

The Jenna bot lurched forward as if it was about to fall. Agent Barrett sprang up and moved out of the way. The bot took a moment as if regaining its balance.

“I’m okay. I’m okay. Hey, Car, is that me lying over there?”

Carmen looked at the limp form of her sister on the first couch. Her sister hadn’t moved. She could only hope that the couch had likewise protected her from the effects of acceleration and deceleration.

“It’s you. It looks like you’re figuring things out, but before you do anything else, check with us first.”

“I’ll try,” the Jenna bot said. “It’s so much to take in.”

“The other spheres…what are they?”

“They’re ships like the one we were on. Parts of a single ship, actually. And I brought them all together.”

“Is Mom on board one of them?”

“No. I can’t find her. She was inside like I was, but then when Peter destroyed her body, she went away. I’ve tried to look, but it’s confusing. I can look again. She was able to connect here from wherever she is. Maybe I can locate her and bring her here too.”

Agent Barrett eyed the bot warily. “Hold on. Don’t do anything. We’re going to take each step together and get us back safely. But let’s cover the basics. Are we going to be able to breathe?”

“I think so. The other sections are all under my control. I’m getting the hang of it. I can ‘see’ every part of the ship. It’s like a bunch of lights and I can ‘touch’ each and take a look inside.”

“Go slow. Don’t touch anything else without my say-so. And what do you mean by ‘I think so’?”

“She’s doing the best she can,” Carmen said. “Jen, we’re counting on you. But I need to know you can wake yourself up.”

The Jenna bot moved towards the couch where her body lay. “I can. Now I see that’s just another step away. But the ship is ready for you. Do you want to see it?”

Chapter Fifteen

During the first visit to the spaceship, the corridor had curved to the right or left. But now it sloped gradually upward. The walls and trim were now a gray color that reminded her of her sister’s condo complex, except they also had a smooth sheen that threw off enough light for them to see where they were going.

Carmen remained wobbly. All she wanted to do was lie down and close her eyes and regain her equilibrium. It felt like a lingering case of car sickness, like a drive along the curvy roads to Lake Tahoe during one of the few family vacations when they had all been together and stuffed inside the minivan.

The air tasted flat. She couldn’t put a finger on it. Not stale, not fresh, not quite outside air nor inside. It smelled of nothing. But at least it was breathable.

The Jenna bot led them to a nearby doorway that revealed what might pass as a bathroom. A toilet stood dead center along with a sink with a faucet but no handles. The water was flowing. Carmen hurried over and ran her fingers in the water.

“Be careful,” Barrett said, but he didn’t try to stop her. He had been quiet since they had stepped out of their sphere and into the ship. He appeared to be taking it all in, occasionally touching a wall or the floor or the robot giving them the grand tour.

The water felt cold and Carmen was parched. She drank a palmful. Tasted as plain as the air, but it was wet and soothed her throat. She gulped down more until she felt sated. She’d save the toilet test drive for later.

“You said you can find out where Mom is. How did she connect to the robot here?”

Jenna’s face on the screen blinked out for a split second. “She accessed a communication node. I can’t figure out where she is exactly. The computer’s not telling me. It’s where we’re heading but it will take a while to get there.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know. I’m checking, but there’s information I can’t access. It’s like there’s parts of the ship that aren’t here. It’s hard to explain.”

Barrett walked around the sink and toilet as if they were objects in a museum. “Can you show us where we are? How fast are we moving?”

“It’s fast but it could be faster. We’re also spinning so we have an up and down. The controls appear ready