Alliance Unbound by C. J. Cherryh & Jane S. Fancher

Author:C. J. Cherryh & Jane S. Fancher [Cherryh, C. J. & Fancher, Jane S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780756415983
Publisher: DAW Books
Published: 2024-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Book IV Section iii

The ship ran. And ran. And ran that course that carried them away from the star and the station—a closer brush with both, in Ross’s estimation, than he liked, but that was what Senior Captain wanted, and it was where Helm had them, shielded, vanes folded, and traveling like the proverbial bat. It was Nav’s job to set up for Third-shift, running the exit sim and running it, a mundane operation attending a course that skated the rim of sanity. Kate was sure of their course. Bucklin was sure of it. Ty and Jim wore worried expressions and Ross just tried not to imagine failure.

They tested the calculations in the computer’s reality. It was Third-shift that got to verify and tell Helm they were accurately aimed at Groombridge 34, which was the second stomach-wrenching prospect.

Time had a perverse way of standing still when the brain kept spinning through possibilities and checks and doubts, and it was a challenge to focus and focus and focus and not scatter. It was sim and sim and sim in an increasingly textured model, and Kate allowed no distractions in the process. If they failed the button-push by seconds, they’d blow the schedule by days and do a tamer exit, but doing it the way Senior Captain intended was their job, mad as it was.

Do you know, sir? Do you feel it yourself? You’re a damned fool if you’re doing this blind. I can feel it. I think it’s right. But I’m not sure.

God, I don’t like where we’re going.

Are you sure, sir? You can’t like it, either.

“That’s it,” Kate said. Wound-tight nerves and an upset stomach said there was a resolution, eighth time same result. Sweat was running down Ross’s neck despite the chill normal in ops.

God, let us go . . . let us just go. Let us do this …

But their calc was prep. Third-shift got to re-run it. Not the top of Nav. Not Kate. Kate’s calc would be hours back.

But truth was truth and physics was physics unless their destination itself wobbled. And it had no external reason to wobble. It was the best they could do.

“We will go with it,” Senior Captain said. “Thank you, First-shift. Take care of yourselves, now. You’ll have a full shift plus half an hour to prepare for jump.”

Shower was not quite the first thing on Ross’s mind, but it was close. He locked down his board, unclipped, and levered himself up and out.

He wasn’t the only one to head straight through to the showers. Ian came behind him, tossed him a cold pack of juice. And breathing in a deluge of hot fog, while sucking down an icy tart limeade, was a fair head-clearer. He was shaking. Muscles twitched without his willing them.

They’d make it, he told himself. They’d done things with this ship they’d never contemplate with Galway. Kate didn’t miss. Bucklin didn’t. And Senior Captain wasn’t going to pop this ship into the sun. They were waiting for a solid fix on Groombridge 34, as of about four hours ago.

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