Since GU was already scuffed and battered from his previous escapade with the runaway hydrogue derelict, the Analytical compy offered to be the first one inside the open alien sphere. GU considered himself a dedicated volunteer for the cause of science.
Kotto was itching to get inside and could barely contain his enthusiasm, but he knew it was wise to have one of the small robots take the initial risk. “All right, but be careful. And report whatever you see. Don’t touch anything, because I’ll be there myself as soon as you give it the thumbs-up.”
Like a trooper, GU cycled through the shuttle’s airlock. As Kotto watched him cross the short distance of open space, he wondered if he should have asked for one of Del Kellum’s reconditioned EDF Soldier compies instead. The military-style robots were better equipped to face possible hazards inside the enemy ship. But GU seemed to have acquired a sense of adventure, and he deserved the first shot after what he’d been through.
“I have entered the ship, Kotto Okiah,” the compy transmitted. “All the atmosphere appears to have vented. I see no additional sealed chambers. Everything is open.”
“Good to hear,” Kotto transmitted back. “I don’t want to open a door and get blasted with more high-pressure air.”
“That is no longer likely.”
Kotto was already pulling on his environment suit. As a Roamer, he had grown up slipping spacesuits on and off with the ease of habit, just as another man might pull on his socks. “In your assessment, GU, are there any obvious hazards that would prevent my immediate entry into the derelict?”
“No, Kotto Okiah.”
He sealed his helmet and clicked it shut. “I’m on my way.”
In the microgravity of space, Kotto was floating with giddiness. He said the first appropriate phrase that came into his mind. “Here I am, boldly going where no human has gone before.”
When his boot clomped down onto the transparent floor of the derelict, the sole did not adhere to the diamond. Normally, Roamer suits magnetically attached to their decks, but here there was no trace of iron impurities. Nevertheless, from long practice, Kotto was perfectly comfortable in weightless space.
GU’s compy voice carried an unusual undertone of excitement. “Please come here, Kotto Okiah. I have discovered something you will be interested in seeing.”
Kotto pushed himself along, using a tiny burst of propulsion gas when necessary. He stared at the curved bulkheads, geometrical protrusions, gemlike knobs, and patterned circuits. Deep inside, the battered compy was standing with his back to the engineer, looking at a puddle of what appeared to be loose quicksilver on the floor. It was amorphous, a blob of gelatinized metal that had lost all physical integrity.
Kotto drew a quick breath as he realized what it was, remembering images of the liquid-crystal emissary that had come to the Whisper Palace on Earth and killed King Frederick. “That’s a hydrogue, GU! A genuine dead alien.”
“I am not qualified to make such projections, Kotto Okiah, but it is a reasonable assumption.”
Kotto didn’t know what sort of information Roamer biologists would be able to glean from the shapeless puddle of hydrogue goo, but this was a monumental find. “Good work, GU.”
“Thank you, Kotto Okiah. However, I called you in order to draw your attention to this.” The compy gestured to the wall beside him, which contained a completely flat and transparent trapezoid surrounded by strange symbols. “I have compared it to my internal records of recent Hansa news releases about their colonization initiative. This technology and design appear remarkably similar to the Klikiss transportals.”
The Roamer engineer stared. “Hydrogues using Klikiss gates? That’s . . . impossible.”
“I defer to your expertise. I was merely making a comparison.”
Kotto spluttered. “Oh, I didn’t disagree, GU. In fact, I think you could be right. I’ve studied some of those records myself. But why would the Klikiss and the drogues use identical transportation technology? What possible connection could there be?”
“I cannot speculate, Kotto Okiah,” GU said.
“I didn’t ask you to. I was just talking to myself.”
“Out of politeness, should I cease to listen?”
“Don’t confuse me right now—I’m busy.” Kotto moved forward to study the transportal equivalent. The hydrogue gate wasn’t perfectly trapezoidal, as he’d seen in the commonly available images of Klikiss ruins. Its sides were skewed, and the coordinate symbols were completely different, indicating a language unrelated to the hieroglyphics in the insectoid alien structures. Still, the similarities in the superficial design were striking.
Unfortunately, Kotto had no detailed information about the technological workings of the alien transportal doorways. If times had been different, without such tremendous friction between Roamers and the Big Goose, Kotto would have offered to exchange data with Hansa scientists. Though he had never visited one of the Klikiss archaeological sites himself, as an engineer he had been fascinated by the various discoveries and had followed them all.
He had assumed all along that Earth researchers would love to get their hands on this intact derelict, and now there seemed to be even more reasons. Although they had fragments of wreckage scraped from the Theron forests, even the best Hansa engineers would get very little information from that burned flotsam.
This derelict, though, was a treasure trove. And he had it all to himself.
Kotto would have to start from scratch, but he was up to the task.