Chapter 21

                                    

                                          
They were down to two sleds now. Lena was back on the bridge while Xavier slept since Emily was back in the lab, beginning her examination of the three bodies that had been brought back on the previous trip. Because nobody else was qualified to pilot, though Brody insisted he could, they just rode on two sleds. Pepper made sure that they took off as soon as Vanessa was behind her, to make sure that Brody went with Miles and Anton though. She didn't want his hands on Nessa.
               "Can we try something today?" Pepper asked through the earpiece.
               "I like the sound of that you naughty girl! One of Lena's toys?" Vanessa asked in a husky whisper.
               "No! I mean on the spaceship!" Pepper laughed. "But now that you mention it, we may need to look through that box some day."
               "Okay, first, let's not discuss the box while we're working or we'll never get anything done," Vanessa stated. "But second, what is your idea?"
               Pepper slowed the sled as they approached the huge hole that had ruined the larger ship, pulling forward so they could look along its length. "So, every one of the ships we've found, from the small ones to this one, have had a single hole through it. Now, the smaller ones went right through the cockpits, so the enemy obviously knew where the pilots were sitting. Using that logic, shouldn't this hole have gone through the bridge of this ship too?"
               Vanessa considered that theory and couldn't find any fault in it. Once again, she was impressed with the intellect of her lover, and pulled her closer to her, wishing there weren't space suits in the way. "I think that is a great deduction Honey! It also makes sense with what you said about them having an enemy. I bet this wasn't the first time they had a battle. The enemy knew how to knock out their ships."
               "Right. And they had the weapons to do it." Pepper agreed.
               "So, you think if we follow the hole all the way to the top, we'll find the bridge?" 
               "I do. There might not be much left there, but it is worth a look." 
               Vanessa switched her suit's comms back on and sent out a quick message. "Guys, Pepper and I are going to go check something out. We'll let you know if we find anything."
               "Keep in touch, we'll continue where we were yesterday," came her father's reply.
               "Hang on tight Nessa!" Pepper whispered, then angled the sled upwards into the hole and made sure the search light was on before heading into the ship. 
               As before, the ride up through the hole was spooky, the empty rooms and corridors they passed extending lifelessly off the main tunnel. Pepper piloted the sled slowly, not wanting to run into anything, should debris have drifted in from the other chambers. There were a lot of interesting things to see, and corridors to go explore. Just seeing the amount of space left to cover in their exploration made the pair realize that the six-month plan for exploration could easily be used on this ship alone. 
               "So, if your theory is correct, that larger piece of a ship was from the enemy," Vanessa asked.
               "Yeah, I just didn't want to say that near your father and Brody, they'd want to go see that immediately hoping to find the weapon that made this hole," Pepper muttered. "
               "And they were most likely the aggressors?"
               "I would think so. When you're travelling with kids, I don't think you go looking to pick a fight," Pepper reasoned. "I mean, it might not be accurate, but it makes sense."