Derek backed away and Wally began slicing into the metal. He held the cutter in place for about three minutes. “Got it,” he said finally. Then: “I’ve taken out the lock but the hatch still won’t move. It’s frozen. This is going to take a while.”

Well, Hutch thought, it wasn’t as if they were going anywhere. Eventually, Wally got through the hatch, pulled it clear, and let it drift into the void.

“I hope,” said Beth, “there’s not anyone in there.” She meant it as a joke but nobody laughed.

“There was some air pressure,” Wally said. “Not much, though.” He pointed his commlink down a long, dark corridor that extended along the hull in both directions. A second passageway intersected the corridor.

Wally aimed his lamp at the overhead. It was low enough for him to reach up and touch. The bulkhead was marked with a pair of symbols. One was a circle with a stroke across it, the other a curved line that looked somewhat like a coiled snake. “Probably numbers,” he said. “Marking the area so occupants wouldn’t get lost. They don’t look anything like the Monument Makers’ stuff.”

Doors and intersecting passageways lined both sides of both corridors. They entered the passageway that led into the vehicle, walking slowly in zero gravity.

They stopped at the first door. It had a latch, which wouldn’t turn. There was a small panel beside it. But that did nothing either. Wally tugged at it without result. Derek tried a door on the other side of the corridor, which was also frozen shut. “I don’t think we’re going to have much luck,” he said.

They continued along the corridor, deeper into the ship, trying each door as they passed. Finally, Wally lost patience, turned the cutter on one, and sliced through.

It opened into a small cubicle. Two large cots, with tucked-in blankets, were fastened to the deck. There was a bureau with two drawers, neither of which would open. They broke into them, but the drawers were empty, except for a piece of frozen cloth that would not come apart. “Could be a shirt,” said Derek, “or anything.”

The room had a closet. They had to cut through that as well. A bar was installed across the top for hanging clothes. It had a couple of hangers.

They went back out into the corridor and continued on their way, pushing more doors without result. Eventually, they forced their way into another room and found identical accommodations. Then they reached another cross passageway. More symbols were on the walls, different from the first set. They stood, aiming their lamps in both directions until the light faded.

Eventually, they came across a large compartment with no doors, filled with rows of tables and chairs. “A cafeteria, I guess,” said Wally.

The chairs were locked in place, of course. “I wonder if there’s a menu here somewhere,” Derek said.