Turn of the Pipes (A Redpoint One Romance) Read Free Page B

course."
    Tish's smile returned. "That's okay,
then."
    Rachel's bot squealed, the pitch rising the
longer it went. The instant after it started, Tish's bots joined
in. Multiple robot arms and hands erupted from openings in the
backs of the bots, reaching out towards them.
    Before Rachel could get her bearings and
figure out the cause, the hands pulled her legs out from under her.
The next moment she was sliding along the floor along with Tish, a
swarm of bots all around them, speeding out of the area. The sound
of a thundering crack echoed through the corridor just before a
funnel of water shot out from one wall to slam into the wall on the
other side of the corridor.
    Right where Tish and Rachel had just been
standing.
    A bulkhead slid closed at their feet, blocking
the water from view as it surged across the floor. The bots stopped
their mad escape, chirping and beeping at each other nervously.
Tish's bots clustered around her, while Rachel's bot ducked its
eye-stalks and peered up in her face.
    "I'm fine," Rachel said, her voice
shaky.
    "What happened?" Tish demanded, hugging her
middle and not even trying to stand up.
    "A main broke. But, the valve was fine!" Then
she realized the spot. "No, it wasn't the valve. The break came
from further to the left."
    Rachel used the cart to help herself get to
her feet which some robot had grabbed and dragged out with them.
She held a hand down to help Tish.
    "A new break? I didn't sense a problem when I
came into that area. I should have." Tish took in a shuddering
breath as she used Rachel's helping hand to get to her feet. "The
stream of water could have cut us in half."
    "Or slammed us into the other side of the
corridor. Either way, it would have hurt." Rachel stared at the
bulkhead. "Get the feeling the place is falling apart?"
    "I've had that feeling since I arrived.
However, this is the first time I've felt threatened by the
station."
    Rachel glanced up towards the ceiling. She
didn't sense any animosity from the station. Nothing seemed out of
normal from that quarter.
    Tish shook her head. "No, not that way. I
mean, well." She stopped, her features screwing up into an
expression of frustration. "I'm not sure what I mean. Okay, what
now? How do we fix this?"
    "I fix it. I'll shut off the sector, drain the
corridor, see about finding the problem." Which would most likely
take all day. So much for the big long list of repairs she wanted
to finish today. "Don't you have an EVA to get ready
for?"
    Tish started, glancing down at her ID band.
"Goodness, the time. You're right. I'm repairing one of the
self-defense modules. No pirates are going to get a chance at us
again."
    Rachel smiled. Tish held a personal vendetta
against the pirates now. She had to admit she felt more secure
knowing Redpoint now had someone watching out for those systems
full-time, along with the computer systems controlling them. Now to
make the internal systems as intact as Tish was making the
outside.
    She reminded herself again of her department's
importance in the day to day running of the station as calls
started coming in. Then came a call from Arthur to check the
progress. Sector representatives and then Director Stemski himself,
all wanting to know when the water would flow again.
    They should consider themselves lucky to have
water back the same day.
    Rachel didn't know how it happened, but the
pipe failure occurred between the valves and joints. The solid
lengths were supposed to be the strongest parts of the system. How
did metal so thick suddenly give way with so much corrosion lining
the inside of the pipe without anyone, including the repair bots,
knowing?
    The horrifying thought of massive metal
fatigue or corrosion prompted another call to Arthur.
    "I've seen no evidence of similar damage,"
Arthur said as soon as she expressed her fear.
    In the background she heard Tish's voice.
Rachel rested against the pipes, rolling her tired shoulders. "Are
you on the EVA?"
    "Yes. I'll ask Damien to inspect