“A mechanical chewer, basically a small bot. It wouldn’t be able to get through any of the alloys the Sharf use for the critical systems, but the secondary cooling unit uses flexible hoses, and something has been at them.”
“Can you fix it?”
“Sure, but the damn chewer will just be at it again as soon as I replace the access panel, and I only carry enough refrigerant for one full recharge.” Larry squirmed back into open space and sat up. “Did anybody give you a package to deliver to a friend or anything like that?”
“What? No. And even if somebody had smuggled a thing like that on board, how would it get down there?”
“A chewer is small enough to fit through the vents. Maybe it got mixed in with the cargo somehow,” he added. “I do trade for household goods, and it’s not like I have enemies lined up around the galaxy waiting for a chance to do me in.”
“Somebody could be trying to stop me from writing about Colony One.”
“Have you been going around announcing that you think it’s a scam?”
“I’m not that stupid. So what are we going to do?”
“Genie,” Larry called for the cargo handling bot.
Georgia turned to watch as the Sharf bot emerged from its charging bay and floated over to where Larry was still sitting in the opening to the technical deck.
“You’re going to set a bot to catch a bot?”
“First we’ve got to find it,” Larry said. “Genie, there’s an invasive bot onboard that’s already damaged the secondary cooling system. Can you detect any motion?”
The boxy alien bot turned slowly through three hundred and sixty degrees. “There is an unidentified power source moving beneath the deck plating behind the primary thruster. Correction. The device is identified as a maintenance chewer for residential drain cleaning. Corrective action should be taken immediately.”
“I want you to continually track the chewer’s location starting now, so if it shuts down to hide, we’ll know it’s still at the last location you detected,” Larry instructed. He turned to his passenger. “Were you serious about not being claustrophobic?”
“Yes. I was always hiding in small spaces and reading books my parents didn’t approve of when I was a child.”
“I can’t work my way under the deck to where the chewer is without disassembling half of the ductwork. If need be, we can shift the cargo and start removing more access panels, but if the chewer keeps moving, I’ll end up having to take half of the hold apart.”
“So you’re asking me if I can go under there and catch it?”
“Only if you’re completely comfortable,” Larry said. “If there’s any chance you’re going to freak out and get stuck, it’s better not to try.”
“No, I’ll do it, but what about the chewer? Is it dangerous?”
“Chewers are pretty common on worlds where aggressive roots grow out of the sewer system and work their way into household drains. They’re small enough that you can put them down the sink, and they’ll chew their way until the drain is clear, or they start running out of juice and have to return. I suppose it makes sense that it went after the hoses.”
“So it’s, like, smaller than my fist?”
“Much smaller, and it doesn’t have a mouth, just a rotating bit like you’d see on a rig for drilling wells, only miniature. Picture a metal cockroach with three tiny rotating spiky balls for a head.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Georgia said. “Can I have your flashlight?”
“Sure.” Larry detached the reel from his belt and passed the whole unit to her, then moved to one end of the opening. “I’ll stay down here so I can watch you, and if there’s any problem at all, you—”
“Don’t worry, I’m not the heroic type,” she told him, clipping the reel to her sleeve and pulling herself into the opening. “Which way?”
“Do you see that little funnel cloud of black dust?”
“What is it?”
“Ground up hose that hasn’t dispersed because there’s limited air movement down here.”
“Why is it shaped that way?”
“Probably has to do with the way the refrigerant gas leaked out. Anyway, you want to go around the other side of the coils, not through the dust, and then it’s a straight shot to the main thrusters. I’ll give you an update when you get there.”
“Got it,” the reporter said, and began to work her way through the cramped space by gently pulling her way forward on whatever she could reach. “I’d hate to have to do this if I weighed something.”
“You’ve taken to Zero-G like a duck to water,” Larry encouraged her. “Genie, any update on the chewer location?”
“The maintenance chewer is still moving behind the primary thruster, heading towards the primary cooling exchanger.”
“You’re going to cut it off at the pass,” Larry called to the girl. “You know, I don’t think it could be an accident after all. The chewer couldn’t be moving around in Zero-G unless somebody intentionally magnetized the legs. I’ll bet it’s programmed to move really slowly to avoid losing contact with whatever surface it’s sticking to.”
“So you’re saying if I pick it up like a lobster, it will be helpless.”
“If it’s anything like the size of a lobster, I want you to get out of there.” He changed his position in an attempt to be able to follow Georgia’s progress. “Looks like you’re almost there.”
“I think I see the inside of the hull right in front of me. I’m checking both directions and—gross!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just that it really does look like a cockroach. We always got them in the commune kitchen because everybody wanted to cook and not clean.”
“It’s just a little dumb bot.”
“I know.” There was a moment of silence, and then a distinctive crunching sound was heard.
“Are you all right?”
“I
