The canned meat was not going to wait for me. I accepted this on the way back up the spiral stairs and moved faster, the red lights tracking my ascent the same way they had tracked my descent, patient and indifferent to how long I had been gone.
By the time I reached the cone room the sounds from above had returned, muffled through the hatch but present, someone laughing. Coco probably.
I moved the small lever back. The lower cone shifted on its mechanism, sliding into position, and the gap between the two tips returned to its original distance. The movement of the cone created a loud, metallic sound.
"Something turned on." I heard from above, then Coco's voice carried down through the hatch. "Allaran… Are you there?"
"Yes." I called up, raising my voice just enough for it to be heard.
