CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One ∞ 3: A Shard Of Code

102 ∞ Flying Blind

Day 00011 Mission Nilex


The G-forces from the lurch ended as quickly as they'd started, leaving inertia in their wake. It had little hold over Gareth in zero-G as he pulled Lina down to the table. Releasing her to secure her grip on the table's edge, he switched handholds to snag a chair rebounding at them. It struck his shoulder before he could stabilize it—the dancing projector beam providing the only light—and pull it feet first to the floor so the magnets could take hold.

The red emergency lights blinked on.

He scanned the situation. Chairs, china, liquids, and people were rebounding from their impact with the ceiling. Tahsin pushed off with his legs before it was out of reach, with Nura wrapped in his arms. Ayla was safe, gripping the tabletop between her knees as she twisted to receive the projector sailing toward her. Ahmid tumbled in the air, having timed the toss in her direction. Globular droplets of blood floated around him as he pressed the sleeve of his robe to his mouth.

Despite the situation, they were all responding as spacers familiar with zero-G. Which was fortunate, because Gareth had much bigger worries on his mind.

Canaisis had called his name in the middle of their conversation and told him to brace for impact. Then the alarm went off, and within seconds, the impact. That was when Canaisis' presence ceased. Other than that, he had no information.

No, that wasn't true. He did know one thing: whatever it was, it had been swift in coming.

Canaisis wasn't answering his hails, and that scared him more than he cared to admit. He could feel her absence. His ship needed him. Right now, his priority was to get to the Bridge.

He stretched across the table to snag another chair from the air. The dishes could wait. At least, they looked intact, as Canaisis had assured him they'd be, after having reinforced them on the molecular level.

"What's happening?" asked Ahmid. He was too far from any surface to stop his tumbling and push himself back to the floor.

Tahsin and Nura landed next to the table—Nura, with arms spread wide, pulling down two chairs. Tahsin released her to frog-leap to the other side of the table and grab hold of it with his feet. Lina sailed over to him and used him as a climbing pole to reach Ahmid.

"You alright, Ahmid?" asked Gareth.

"I bit my lip. I'll be fine." Ahmid caught Lina's hand. Stabilized, he used his feet to hook the chair tumbling beside him, and nodded at Lina. She tugged at him and scrambled out of the way as he came down, grabbed the last chair, and anchored both to the floor.

Gareth launched himself across the table toward the double doors, ignoring the globular droplets of tea and water he hit on the way. "I've got to get to the Bridge."

"We can be of assistance, Captain," said Ahmid.

Using both hands to stop himself from rebounding, Gareth gripped the lip of a bookshelf beside the doors and turned to look back. Ahmid and Lina flew toward him to land on his left. They caught the bookshelf and turned toward Ayla, who came floating next with the projector wrapped in one arm. Ahmid and Lina caught her with experienced efficiency, as Tahsin and Nura landed on the opposite side of the doors.

Gareth's original intention had been to tell them to stay in the Stateroom. But then, he didn't know how bad things were, or whether they would get worse. There were no suits or food in here. If this lasted for an extended time, it would be better for them to be in their own facility, or with him on the Bridge. At least, they wouldn't need hand-holding to navigate zero-G.

"Alright. Do exactly what I say and keep up."

Gareth turned to the nearest door and pushed the tiny slider button aside. No whistle came. That meant normal atmosphere on the other side.