So I doubled over upon arrival, gasping and choking. I almost puked. While teleporting a long ways, you felt like you needed to breathe, even though you really didn’t. The effect on your mind and body was similar to waterboarding, where a person felt like they were drowning.
When I arrived at last and got over my choking fit, I straightened up and looked around. The atmosphere here—wherever I was—didn’t seem to be poisonous. At least, it wasn’t killing me straight-away. There could always be something lurking though, like a high level of carbon monoxide, something that would kill me in the next ten minutes or so. I’d just have to wait that out and hope for the best.
Sure, I knew there was a good chance I’d permed myself. I’m not as big of a fool as most people think. But I’d been faced with a grim dilemma: I could have stayed on Earth and ate a few bullets, and hoped for a revive. That might have been long in coming, given that I’d have vanished like the previous half-dozen “inspectors”. Maybe the next guy to earn a shit-listed duty on the docks would do better than I did and figure out what was happening. Even then, however, I might have stayed permed for years—or maybe forever.
Not liking the thought of dying in the dark hold of the Sea Empress, I’d decided to grab the bull by the balls and port out. My method was risky, sure, but at least this way I was guaranteed to learn more about this crime ring before my luck ran out.
Looking around, I found I was in a building of some kind. The ceiling was high, and it curved at the top. Every square meter in the middle of the area where I’d landed had some kind of junk sitting on it. There were barrels of chemicals, crated instruments, tanks of oxygen and other gases—all kinds of random goods. If I had to guess, I’d say they were the kinds of things an industrial or scientific worksite might use. There wasn’t anything like clothing, food, or consumer goods to be seen.
No food… Hmm… that wasn’t so good. If this station—whatever it was—didn’t have humans working here, or anyone else that ate anything compatible with a human digestive system, well, my stay here was limited in scope.
The air was humid, and it tasted of the sea. At first, I figured the smell of the ocean might have been a lingering factor from Earth, but as I walked among the stacks of stuff, I began to get other ideas.
The air tasted wrong somehow. Familiar, but different. It was a bit metallic—like blood. One thing was for sure: this wasn’t the east coast of North America Sector. I was certain of that much.
To a starman like myself, this wasn’t very surprising. A lot of planets had large bodies of saltwater. The fact that it smelled weird was to be expected as well. Planets often had their own distinctive tastes and smells, and this place seemed to match that pattern.
As I poked around, hoping for a bigger weapon than my service pistol, a nagging idea grew in my brain: This smell wasn’t entirely unknown to me. It was familiar, somehow.
Unable to place it, I shrugged and found the nearest firm wall. Reaching out to touch it, I recoiled in disgust. The wall was wet, and it gave a little under my fingers. Was it made of flesh? Damn, I hoped not.
Making good time, I followed the wall around through the stacked junk until I found a door. The door itself wasn’t normal. It seemed like it was built of stone, and it had a knob that was way too big for a human to use. It was about the size of a man’s head.
Something about that doorknob… Had I seen the likes of it before? I wasn’t sure, but it did tickle my memory.
Shrugging, I grabbed it and twisted. That was like trying to twist the trunk of an oak tree. Not being a man who gave up easily, I applied both hands, then both full arms, wrapping myself around the thing and heaving for all I was worth.
The rough stone scratched my skin and blood welled up from my palms. I persisted, however. I didn’t want to stick around so close to my landing spot. The sailors might get brave and come after me. If not that, then whoever ran this place might come looking for the new delivery. Surely, some kind of warning buzzer had to have sounded when I arrived. It was only a matter of time before I was going to find myself with unwanted company.
Looking around, flexing my arms, I found a tarp of sorts. I wrapped this around the knob and gave it a mighty heave.
The knob shifted, and it creaked loudly. Then the door opened, swinging outward and away from me.
Damnation! That door was frigging huge. It had to be four meters high at least. Whoever these people were, they must be gigantic.
The doorway led out onto an open expanse of sand and rocks. I saw a green sea gushing and lapping over those worn stones. There were waves coming in to the shore, big ones.
Then I saw the sky above, and I knew the truth.
There were gray clouds, sure. There was a sun somewhere—I could sense it hiding behind those heavy clouds, silvering their edges.
But it wasn’t
