printer whirred into action. “Whole ship sounded like it was falling apart.”
“Sir,” the attendant rushed in and hit the Cancel icon, ending his attempt at procuring his chocolaty treat. “Please. Your seat.”
“Fine!” he stomped to the passenger cabin, a large area with dozens of recliners, arranged loosely, all of which were empty. Nobody coming or going to this bleak corner of the galaxy.
Though he really didn’t feel like sitting, he did anyway, just in time for another big jolt. The ionic stream must have been fluctuating today.
He waved his hand to call up the hovering wireless display, fitted into every seat as a convenience to the riders. Shuttle trips were long, and passengers needed a lot of diversions to pass the time, so the entertainment/news/game interfaces were popular. He didn’t care about news or games or even space weather, and why the shuttle was experiencing a rough go of it. He wanted to think about one thing—how to erase the terrible memory of Cemetery Planet from his mind? Maybe he wouldn’t stay on Earth after all. Within the last hundred years, several exoplanets suitable for human life had been discovered and colonized. Maybe he’d find one of those.
With his eye movements, he cycled through the first of the settled worlds. Bradbury 7. Asimov Station. New New Orleans. None lit a fire in his gut, so he kept searching.
“Planning on making a move?”
The words came to him so clearly, and yet he thought they may have been in his head. Then he saw Lea’s image, superimposed lightly on the display, and almost broke into tears.
“Lea,” was all he managed to say. Another jolt to the shuttle, sudden and strong, made the floating display flicker then fizzle out altogether. A burst of alarms and red blinking lights. His seatbelts tightened against his chest. Instinct told him to look out the porthole. The shuttle had guidance fins along the flanks of the hull which aided in flight. It was these fins that Harvey watched disintegrate into cosmic dusk right before his eyes. A burning, glowing redness spread out, leaving behind only charred dust which fell away into the brilliant, chaotic colorful backdrop of the ionic stream.
“Hey! Hey! Miss!” he struggled with the seat restraints. His eyes flashed outside. The burning ember smoldered toward the fuselage. “Hey, Miss! Look!”
“Sir,” the flight attendant stood next to his chair as cool as could be. “Please remain calm.”
“Look, dammit!” he gestured with a glance out the portal, but the attendant had gone already, not at all concerned with what Harvey had to tell her. What he had to tell her was simply this—the shuttle was doomed. The hull was inches from being breeched. And, strapped in his seat, he could do nothing about it.
“Harvey!” the floating display flickered on. This time it was Lea’s face alone. “Harvey, what’s happening?”
“Something’s destroying the ship!” a series of violent shakes caused the ceiling to crack. “I’ve got to get out of here, but…” he glanced at the harnesses holding him in place. Lea took one look at them and lowered her head as if in deep thought, then the seatbelts loosened. Harvey was free!
“There’s a lifepod,” she said breathlessly. “To the left…hurry!”
He felt heat from the line of destruction that was turning the shuttle to ash. Not a moment to lose. A dash to the aisle and he saw the flight attendant, standing there with a dazed expression.
“Come on!” he went to clutch her arm. In the chaos, it came as a shock that his fingers went straight through her wrist. She cocked her head and her image fizzled. A cheap hologram. He should have known.
The lifepod only really had enough room for one, though there were a dozen seats on the shuttle. Cheap DeepSix bastards. At least the pod’s propulsion worked. His back pressed into the seat as it launched him away from the
“Sir,” the attendant rushed in and hit the Cancel icon, ending his attempt at procuring his chocolaty treat. “Please. Your seat.”
“Fine!” he stomped to the passenger cabin, a large area with dozens of recliners, arranged loosely, all of which were empty. Nobody coming or going to this bleak corner of the galaxy.
Though he really didn’t feel like sitting, he did anyway, just in time for another big jolt. The ionic stream must have been fluctuating today.
He waved his hand to call up the hovering wireless display, fitted into every seat as a convenience to the riders. Shuttle trips were long, and passengers needed a lot of diversions to pass the time, so the entertainment/news/game interfaces were popular. He didn’t care about news or games or even space weather, and why the shuttle was experiencing a rough go of it. He wanted to think about one thing—how to erase the terrible memory of Cemetery Planet from his mind? Maybe he wouldn’t stay on Earth after all. Within the last hundred years, several exoplanets suitable for human life had been discovered and colonized. Maybe he’d find one of those.
With his eye movements, he cycled through the first of the settled worlds. Bradbury 7. Asimov Station. New New Orleans. None lit a fire in his gut, so he kept searching.
“Planning on making a move?”
The words came to him so clearly, and yet he thought they may have been in his head. Then he saw Lea’s image, superimposed lightly on the display, and almost broke into tears.
“Lea,” was all he managed to say. Another jolt to the shuttle, sudden and strong, made the floating display flicker then fizzle out altogether. A burst of alarms and red blinking lights. His seatbelts tightened against his chest. Instinct told him to look out the porthole. The shuttle had guidance fins along the flanks of the hull which aided in flight. It was these fins that Harvey watched disintegrate into cosmic dusk right before his eyes. A burning, glowing redness spread out, leaving behind only charred dust which fell away into the brilliant, chaotic colorful backdrop of the ionic stream.
“Hey! Hey! Miss!” he struggled with the seat restraints. His eyes flashed outside. The burning ember smoldered toward the fuselage. “Hey, Miss! Look!”
“Sir,” the flight attendant stood next to his chair as cool as could be. “Please remain calm.”
“Look, dammit!” he gestured with a glance out the portal, but the attendant had gone already, not at all concerned with what Harvey had to tell her. What he had to tell her was simply this—the shuttle was doomed. The hull was inches from being breeched. And, strapped in his seat, he could do nothing about it.
“Harvey!” the floating display flickered on. This time it was Lea’s face alone. “Harvey, what’s happening?”
“Something’s destroying the ship!” a series of violent shakes caused the ceiling to crack. “I’ve got to get out of here, but…” he glanced at the harnesses holding him in place. Lea took one look at them and lowered her head as if in deep thought, then the seatbelts loosened. Harvey was free!
“There’s a lifepod,” she said breathlessly. “To the left…hurry!”
He felt heat from the line of destruction that was turning the shuttle to ash. Not a moment to lose. A dash to the aisle and he saw the flight attendant, standing there with a dazed expression.
“Come on!” he went to clutch her arm. In the chaos, it came as a shock that his fingers went straight through her wrist. She cocked her head and her image fizzled. A cheap hologram. He should have known.
The lifepod only really had enough room for one, though there were a dozen seats on the shuttle. Cheap DeepSix bastards. At least the pod’s propulsion worked. His back pressed into the seat as it launched him away from the
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