Free Far From Home: The Complete Second Series (Far From Home 13-15) by Tony Healey Page B

world in a barrel.
    Moments after entering the habitat we've dubbed C-1, it was as if someone flicked a switch. Almost certainly an autonomous action – unless there really is something, or someone, watching. The lights came on. They protrude from a series of rods at the far end of this centrifuge, and give the equivalent of sunlight. The temperature rose from below freezing to a comfortable level within an hour. Considering the fact the Enigma has been dormant for a thousand years, it's quite incredible.
    As for C-1 itself? Well, there is no plant life for a start. It was definitely intended as a living area, and could probably have a hundred thousand people living in it at any one time. So far, we've not spotted any sign of current habitation. There is a kind of rough, stone-like material on the deck. And what can only be described as houses, constructed from thin sheets of metal. They seem intended to house no more than two people at a time, and given the number of them I'd say that's probably about right. There are narrow roads running through them, and we noted several areas that seem to be intended as supply sites – these structures are much larger than the others.
    Doctor Gentry suggested they could be religious sites, too.
    Who knows?
    I've ordered Team Two to remain here in C-1 and monitor any changes they find. The weather system in here could become significantly more active as the temperature continues to rise. I've also left a standing order that one of them remain armed at all times. Even if their weapon isn't out the whole time, someone on each team needs a gun handy. We can't be sure the Enigma is completely devoid of occupants. There are the other sections of the ship to explore yet. And you never know. Maybe I'm just an optimist, but a Namarian might just pop his or her head out at any time to say hello.
    Surely, in the annals of space exploration, far stranger things have happened . . .
     

 
    28.
     
    Jessica did not relish the thought of a twenty kilometre stroll across C-1's bare, monochromatic landscape. Nor were Gary Belcher, Dana Oriz, Olivia Rayne or Selena Walker.
    Lieutenant Jackson, on the other hand, seemed to relish the thought of some good physical exercise.
    I'm doing well on these new meds, Jessica thought. But Christ, I don't want to push it .
    A hike across the whole length of C-1 was not a bucket list objective for her, not yet. Sure, that kind of activity would hopefully be a drop in the ocean for her soon enough, but for now it was out of the question. Her legs wouldn't take it, and the others knew that to be the case. Her medical situation was no secret to the crew of the Defiant .
    Luckily they were all spared a long walk – much to Jackson's disappointment. It just so happened that the Enigma not only had elevators to carry passengers from the airlocks to the cylinder surface, but also a kind of tram system. There were four of them, spaced around the circumference of C-1, and each seemed to head in the same direction, a kind of tunnel that, apparently, led into C-2 and beyond.
    The trams were cylinders themselves, though the way you mounted and dismounted from them very much reminded Jessica of the trams she'd seen in old San Francisco years before. Though those restored antiques couldn't have held a torch against these svelte creations. They were attached to the Enigma by an impossibly thin track, and they had a short series of steps leading from the platform to the cylinder itself. Apart from their base, they were entirely constructed of tinted glass.
    "An elegant design," Dr. Oriz noted as she climbed aboard. She helped Olivia Rayne up.
    "More than you'd expect from a race of conquerors," Belcher said. "I'm impressed."
    "Shall we?" Jessica asked. She eyed the few controls at the front of the craft. A series of three buttons, and below them a kind of touch pad. She pressed the pad first, and the doors to the tram whispered shut. "Thought so."
    She then pressed the middle