PeterWatts_Blindsight

Peter Watts 296 Blindsight
"I saw something," I said. "Before ConSensus went out."
"Yeah."
"Was that—"
She paused at the hatch. "Yeah."
I'd seen scramblers. Hundreds of them, sailing naked through
the void, their arms spread wide.
Some of their arms, anyway. "They were carrying—"
Bates nodded. "Weapons." Her eyes flickered to some unseen
distance for a moment. "First wave headed for the front end.
Blister and forward lock, I think. Second wave's aft." She shook
her head. "Huh. I would have done it the other way around."
"How far?"
"Far?" Bates smiled faintly. "They're already on the hull, Siri.
We're engaging."
"What do I do? What do I do?"
Her eyes stared past me, and widened. She opened her mouth.
A hand clamped on my shoulder from behind and spun me
around.
Sarasti. His dead eyes stared from a skull split like a spiked
melon. Globules of coagulating blood clung to his hair and skin
like engorged ticks.
"Go with him," Bates said.
Sarasti grunted and clicked. There were no words.
"What—" I began.
"Now. That's an order." Bates turned back to the hatch. "We'll
cover you."
The shuttle. "You too."
"No."
"Why not? They can fight better without you, you said that
yourself! What's the point?"
"Can't leave yourself a back door, Keeton. Defeats the whole
purpose." She allowed herself a small, sad smile. "They've
breached. Go."
She was gone, fresh alarms rising in her wake. Far towards the
bow I heard the crinkle of emergency bulkheads snapping shut.
Sarasti's undead carcass gurgled and pushed me down the spine.
Four more grunts slid smoothly past and took up position behind