Chapter 29

Cora was astounded at the sheer colossal size of the hold. You could have fit a fleet of spaceships in one storeroom alone. They had been walking for half a flick and still hadn't come to the end of it.

The hold was filled with massive containers that needed a giant pulley system to move. The high-vaulted ceiling was a long way up and housed all the lifting gear and enormous gantries spanning from one side to the other.

At first, Cora had felt exposed walking through the racks of containers that filled the cargo bay, but she soon realized no one was around. Once the cargo was loaded the crew had very little reason to come down to this level.

"We should find somewhere to make camp. It looks like we're stuck in this can for a while," said Levi.

"Do you think they might have a smaller storeroom around the outside somewhere? I feel super exposed out here in the main hold," Cora asked.

"Probably. They must have smaller items on board, or other types of storage, like for the crew's effects or perishable food items. Let's go and explore," Levi said.

They had almost made it to the side wall when Cora suddenly felt the shift of the massive craft as it went into warp drive. It always made her feel a little queasy as the great engines warped time and space to travel swiftly across the galaxy. But her stomach soon settled. Where in the universe will we end up? she wondered.

They worked their way through the containers to the edge of the hold. Cora was right. They found several smaller storage rooms in this section and poked around in them until they found one with a hover cart stored in it.

"Hey, this looks like a fun place to hang out," said Cora, checking out the bucket seats and open space to lie down in the flatbed at the back.

"Perfect," said Levi, climbing in next to her.

Cora rummaged in the lockers. "This baby is expedition-equipped. Look at all this stuff." She pulled out blankets and ration packs, holding them up excitedly.

"That's fantastic!" Levi opened another locker and found a portable latrine and camping gear. "I want one of these back home," he said, laughing. "The buggy, not the latrine," he added hurriedly.

Cora smiled, imagining them going off on camping expeditions on faraway planets when all this was over. It sounded like fun.

"We'd better retrieve the stone, bring down the drug cartel, and get out of here so we can go off on a ‘real' adventure then," she said with a laugh.

Levi laughed, too. "Right you are," he said. "We'd better get moving. Do you think you can hack into the mainframe computer?"

"That's a good idea. Yes, I'm sure I could. All I need is an access point."

"They must have some kind of an office down here. Maybe near the cargo doors so they can check goods in and out," suggested Levi.

"Come on then. Let's find out," she said, eager to get started.

They worked their way around the edge of the massive store, staying quiet and hugging the wall. Occasionally locked doors led from the hold.

"Maybe the hold is sealed off from the crew when the ship's in flight," said Cora.

"Or maybe that's where they keep the illegal shipments," suggested Levi.

"Do you think the stone could be behind one of those locked doors?" she asked.

"No, I would imagine they would have the stone well-guarded somewhere."

"It could be tricky to get to if it's elsewhere on the ship. Do you think there's a way of moving around without being detected?" she asked, concern rising in her voice.

"These big ships normally have maintenance ducts running all over them. They carry all the wiring and pipework that feeds the ship and also act as a ventilation system." Levi had spent years listening to the exploits of his elder brothers in similar situations. He felt like he already knew what to expect.

"Hey, look, there's the office," she said pointing along a corridor between the shipping crates.

"Well spotted. We'd better be careful, though. It could be manned. Let's go to the next aisle and take a circuitous route."

They made their way around the crates and carefully headed down one of the tight spaces between the high sides of the containers. When they got to the other end, Levi carefully poked his head out. The area was bereft of anyone, as was everywhere else in the hold.

The office had a large viewing window looking onto the hold. Levi went on point and checked that the office was clear. He motioned to Cora that it was okay to come forward.

"It feels like a ghost ship," she whispered. She was feeling more uneasy that no one was around than if they'd had to duck and dive.

"I bet the crew isn't allowed access to the hold unless it's for maintenance when they're in flight," said Levi. "It makes sense. They really have no need to be here."

The office door, like all the doors they had come across, was locked. Cora ran her comm scanner across the access pad. Within moments she had the door open, and they crept inside.

A massive computer array stretched from one side of the office to the other. Cora smiled at Levi. "I'm going to have fun with this," she said, running her fingers over the console.

She sat down in one of the seats and typed in a few words. A holographic display sprang to life in front of her. "Okay, let's play," she said determinedly.

It didn't take her long to bypass the security codes. She was shocked at how easy it was to hack into such a large system although Levi wasn't. He knew how talented she was at codebreaking. "I bet I could take control of the entire ship from here," she told him. "Look—I've even got access to the main flight control."

"You're amazing," said Levi by her shoulder. "Can you locate the stone?"

"I'm working on that," she replied, typing frantically. "Right there, I think."

She had a holographic map of the ship in front of her. "That's the observation tower. Do you see the number of guards around its perimeter?"

Small blue dots represented the location of crew members scattered around the tower. "There is no reason to have that many guards in that location unless something very important is there," she concluded.

"Can you get maps like that of the entire ship, and the location of all the crew members?" asked Levi.

Cora smiled. "I can do not only that, but I can tell you their rank and even if they're asleep or awake. They're all outfitted with some kind of tracker. Look, there's the captain up on the bridge," she said, changing the focus of the map and pointing to the only purple dot on the screen.

"Now that could be very handy," said Levi. "We can keep an eye on their routines from here, before we even need to go up there."