The Line of the Sol Empress

Chapter 2.4

[Moon]

In a flurry of motion, Celeste fastened the chair harness around her and leaned her head back against the tall headrest. Reaching down, she pulled the bag containing her precious cargo into her lap, holding it securely in her arms. She closed her eyes and took two deep, slow breaths.

As Moon fastened his harness the ship vibrated, gently at first, then increasing in intensity, until bits of grit and dust danced on the floor.

Sai's voice come from above. "Quantum drive shutdown in ten seconds. Thrusters on standby. Proceed, sir?"

"Make it happen, Sai."

The ship jerked as the drive went offline. Celeste let out a yelp as she wrenched forward in her seat, restrained by the harness and tightened her grip on the bag in her lap.

Moon reached for the control board in front of him, but because of the shaking, found it difficult to touch the icon he wanted. Once he did, an image dominated by the red star appeared before the front wall. He turned away from the blinding intensity for the brief instant it took for the display to compensate for the brightness. Turbulent eddies of bright white plasma churned on the surface. Blazing claws reached out to snatch at them, only to turn back into the hellish maelstrom from which they originated.

Moon pointed at the display. "Enjoy the view, Priestess. Few ever get up this close to a star."

Wide-eyed, she replied, "For good reason, I think."

"Quantum drive shutdown successful. Fusion thrusters will engage in fifteen seconds." Sai's voice intonation carried none of the tension Moon felt, as if this was an everyday occurrence. He found it strangely comforting.

He turned to Celeste. "Hold on. We are going to pull some serious gee's, more than the inertial compensation system can handle."

The ship shook again. When the thrusters ramped up to full power, an invisible force pressed them back into their chairs, as if piling bricks on their chests. His cheeks pulled back from the acceleration and he struggled to take a full breath. Celeste let out an airy whimper laced with fear and pain.

Moon spoke in a gentle voice, but loud enough over the droning noise. "Don't fight it, Celeste. As best you can, relax and take slow breaths. We'll get through this."

Celeste closed her eyes and replied faintly, "Okay."

He wrinkled his forehead as the icon depicting the torpedo disappeared from the holographic star chart. "Sai, are you reading that torpedo?"

"Unable to do so, sir. The ionizing radiation from the star is interfering with our sensors."

He tried to smile. "Good. That means it can't track us either."

Sai said, "Reducing thrusters output to seventy-two percent now."

Moon blew out a breath as the acceleration forces abated and the vibrations ceased. He lifted his hand to rub the back of his neck as he turned toward Celeste. She leaned back into the headrest with her eyes closed, taking deep breaths. He said, "You okay, Priestess?"

She opened her eyes and turned toward him. "Yes, thank you. That was intense. Did we evade the torpedo?"

He shrugged. "We won't know until we emerge from the corona, hopefully on the other side of the star from it. Sai, how long?"

"Approximately twenty-eight point two minutes, sir."

"Alright, Sai. When we do, go dark. Cut all power except for internal environmental and essential systems."

"Should I cut my power, sir?"

Moon smiled. "No, Sai. I consider you an essential system, my friend."