The Dead Fleet (Juggernaut #3)

Ten

After another hundred meters of corridor, and still no sign of any crew, Malachi suggested they head for the middle of their current deck.

"Why can't they just put up signs?" said Ellie.

"Because this place is not for tourists," said Malachi. He stopped in front of a door and turned to face Ellie. "They're not going to helpfully label everything just in case we come wandering by."

"What does that door say, then?" said Ellie. She pointed behind Malachi. In the centre of the door, below a small window, was stencilled the words 'Solar Forge - Main Bridge'.

"Just the important things," said Malachi, course correcting on autopilot.

"Who's inside?" said Tila. She stepped closer and peered through the window.

The last major bridge Tila had been on was the Rising Star, on the day of its departure. For an eight-year old girl that had been an impressive sight. It would have been an impressive sight for anyone. There she had been dwarfed by huge consoles, giant display screens and at least fifty crew. The ship had been brand new, white and gleaming and sterile.

The bridge she saw through the dirty window was anything but sterile. In fact, it could have used a good scrub. Three big displays dominated one wall, and all were blank. A fracture clawed its way across the glass of the left-most screen.

Beneath the screens were islands of consoles arranged in a semicircle. A raised platform opposite the huge displays afforded the captain view of the entire bridge. Like all the other tech they had seen so far, the bridge stations were a jumble of operation and broken gear. It was obvious that some stations had been cannibalised for parts to keep other areas working.

Tila estimated a crew of ten would be all this bridge needed to run operations, but she saw no-one.

She pressed the control on the wall and the door smoothly slide aside to admit her. They entered on the left side of the bridge, beneath the raised command area.

"This place has seen better days," said Malachi as they spread out and explored the bridge.

"Some of it's still working," said Tila. She kicked a nearby console. The ancient ventilation grill in the side panel cracked where her toe connected. "Sort of."

Ellie climbed the stairs to the command area. More workstations lined the edge of the dais, overseen by a trio of central command consoles. From up here she could see every console display on the bridge. It was clear from accumulated dirt that most of them hadn't been used for some time. Screens which had been wiped clean were obviously the stations in regular use. She told Malachi as much and he gave her a thumbs up. That observation would save him some time. Then movement and colour caught her eye.

"That one over there is doing something," she called down and pointed.

The display was running through some kind of automated sequence, updating numbers and other values in four columns.

Malachi hurried to where she had pointed and sat down. Tila climbed the stairs to join Ellie, taking the steps one by one, taking in the room.

"What's it doing?" said Ellie.

Malachi leaned closer. "I don't know, but now I know why we haven't seen anyone else here."

Tila arrived on the dais and leaned over the guardrail "Why not?" she said.

"Look at that last column, that's a timestamp. Local time here is almost three AM. It's the middle of the night."

"So, everyone's asleep?" said Ellie. "That's good news!"