out. When the image returned, she could only see outside. There seemed to be no cabin at all. Looking down, she saw no hands nor feet nor jump seat, only the vast darkness of space, the stars scattered infinitely in sharp points of burning light in whites and faintly tinted reds, blues and greens. As they passed under the huge turning section of the base, she saw a white lab coat snagged on a jagged arm of metal.
“X,” Marco said, “I didn’t get the angle I wanted. We’re passing a lot closer than we planned, so I’ll have to burn sooner and harder after we secure the airlock. We’re vectored too close to the moon. No more time. Dark now.”
Stacy’s vision went black. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw the inside of the cabin. The side window, rear window and cockpit passage glowed with the hard light reflecting from Europa. Silence. Nothing.
X’s seat shifted left, twitched, subtle adjustments. A thump came from the Warthog’s belly. The cable spool howled. After a moment, the howl slowed with the soft whine of the spool brake.
He’s got it.
She stilled her mind as she listened for the faint hints telling the story of their progress. The cable brake came on harder, the whine increasing bit by bit to a scream. She imagined the airlock, caught in the webbed net, accelerating hard. The cable slowed more and more, paying out less and less. A loud thump jerked the Warthog.
He ran out of cable.
That last moment would have been rough, but as long as the airlock’s frame hadn’t been damaged, the people inside might be okay as they would have already shifted to the far end with the initial acceleration.
Out the side window, Europa crowded in on them, the cracks in the ice blurring. Marco’s shift in trajectory had put them on a collision course. There would be no time to orbit around to the dark side now.
“Horace and Adanna, be ready. I’m guessing we’re gonna have company,” she shouted into the dead air of her helmet. Powered down, they might not hear her, but Horace turned and gave her a thumbs up. Adanna appeared to be messing with her seat harness. Her left shoulder strap went loose, tight, and loose again.
What the hell’s going on?
The lights flickered on, and the cabin went crystalline in Stacy’s visor as Marco fired up the systems. The moon now ran as a wall of blurring ice.
Marco said, “Hang tight folks. I have to hit the throttle pretty hard here.”
Adanna said, a hint of panic in her tone, “Wait, there’s something wrong with my harness.”
“There’s nothing I can do, Adanna,” Marco said. “I either hit it now, or we crash. Hold on as best you can.”
“Okay,” she said.
When the ship lurched, the straps on Stacy’s shoulders and hips hauled on her. She felt as though she were strapped to a ceiling. As Marco accelerated harder, the G’s felt as though they were trying to rip her from her seat. Marco must have been approaching ten G’s, which meant Stacy would have the equivalent of 630 kilos hauling on her harness. Fortunately, her armor distributed the pressure evenly across her torso.
Adanna’s arms went wide as her harness gave way. She fell, slamming into the back wall, where she lay motionless in a C shape. At ten G’s, those twenty feet would be equivalent to falling two hundred on Earth. Stacy could only hope Adanna’s armor had protected her enough from the impact.
“Marco,” Stacy said, growling with the effort of holding her head up enough to see Adanna, “I need you to let off for a moment so I can secure Adanna and take over the gunnery seat.”
“What’s going on with Adanna?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t let the throttle off all the way.”
“I’ll take you down to half a G in twenty seconds. But get strapped in fast, we have company.”
Stacy could see nothing in the darkness beside the blurring surface of Europa. She looked to Horace, who had his focus fully on Adanna.
“Horace,” Stacy said.
He didn’t
“X,” Marco said, “I didn’t get the angle I wanted. We’re passing a lot closer than we planned, so I’ll have to burn sooner and harder after we secure the airlock. We’re vectored too close to the moon. No more time. Dark now.”
Stacy’s vision went black. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she saw the inside of the cabin. The side window, rear window and cockpit passage glowed with the hard light reflecting from Europa. Silence. Nothing.
X’s seat shifted left, twitched, subtle adjustments. A thump came from the Warthog’s belly. The cable spool howled. After a moment, the howl slowed with the soft whine of the spool brake.
He’s got it.
She stilled her mind as she listened for the faint hints telling the story of their progress. The cable brake came on harder, the whine increasing bit by bit to a scream. She imagined the airlock, caught in the webbed net, accelerating hard. The cable slowed more and more, paying out less and less. A loud thump jerked the Warthog.
He ran out of cable.
That last moment would have been rough, but as long as the airlock’s frame hadn’t been damaged, the people inside might be okay as they would have already shifted to the far end with the initial acceleration.
Out the side window, Europa crowded in on them, the cracks in the ice blurring. Marco’s shift in trajectory had put them on a collision course. There would be no time to orbit around to the dark side now.
“Horace and Adanna, be ready. I’m guessing we’re gonna have company,” she shouted into the dead air of her helmet. Powered down, they might not hear her, but Horace turned and gave her a thumbs up. Adanna appeared to be messing with her seat harness. Her left shoulder strap went loose, tight, and loose again.
What the hell’s going on?
The lights flickered on, and the cabin went crystalline in Stacy’s visor as Marco fired up the systems. The moon now ran as a wall of blurring ice.
Marco said, “Hang tight folks. I have to hit the throttle pretty hard here.”
Adanna said, a hint of panic in her tone, “Wait, there’s something wrong with my harness.”
“There’s nothing I can do, Adanna,” Marco said. “I either hit it now, or we crash. Hold on as best you can.”
“Okay,” she said.
When the ship lurched, the straps on Stacy’s shoulders and hips hauled on her. She felt as though she were strapped to a ceiling. As Marco accelerated harder, the G’s felt as though they were trying to rip her from her seat. Marco must have been approaching ten G’s, which meant Stacy would have the equivalent of 630 kilos hauling on her harness. Fortunately, her armor distributed the pressure evenly across her torso.
Adanna’s arms went wide as her harness gave way. She fell, slamming into the back wall, where she lay motionless in a C shape. At ten G’s, those twenty feet would be equivalent to falling two hundred on Earth. Stacy could only hope Adanna’s armor had protected her enough from the impact.
“Marco,” Stacy said, growling with the effort of holding her head up enough to see Adanna, “I need you to let off for a moment so I can secure Adanna and take over the gunnery seat.”
“What’s going on with Adanna?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t let the throttle off all the way.”
“I’ll take you down to half a G in twenty seconds. But get strapped in fast, we have company.”
Stacy could see nothing in the darkness beside the blurring surface of Europa. She looked to Horace, who had his focus fully on Adanna.
“Horace,” Stacy said.
He didn’t
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