Darkest Hour by John Walker

Author:John Walker [Walker, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-01-23T22:00:00+00:00

***

Avania crawled into the tiny pilot section of the shuttle and had to take several deep breaths to remain calm. She hated tight spaces, especially when she could barely move. Thought slight, she still had to wiggle to turn. The cockpit, if indeed the cramped area could be called that, was only for emergency use.

They counted on remotely controlling them. If only I had a tablet, I wouldn’t have had to crawl around in here. She popped a panel off to her right, catching her bearings in the electric system. Several modules were plugged into a main board. One of them provided remote access to the shuttle but she couldn’t recall which.

And I have no way to scan through these. Avania frowned, looking about for inspiration when her eyes fell on the back of the panel. Someone attached a diagram to it, showing the purpose of each module. Smart … convenient for me, but smart. I doubt anyone could remember what all of these things do.

As she examined the chart, violence erupted behind her. Muffled buzzes barely made it to her but she knew what was happening. The collectors launched their assault and if she didn’t hurry, they just might win the fight. And I’ll be back in that cell. She found the module she needed but had a hard time figuring out which was which, mostly due to two empty spaces.

Please don’t tell me we picked one that happened to be in maintenance mode. The thought made her heart sink. Wait. I think it’s this one. Avania gripped it firmly and started wiggling. The thing was securely in place and as she pulled, her sweat soaked fingers slipped, making her nearly smack herself in the face.

Wiping her hand on her pants, she tried again, pinching so hard her fingers ached and went numb. Shaking from exertion, she felt the tiniest amount of give. It was coming loose! Another couple gentle motions left and right and it came free with a tiny pop. A spark made her wince and she held her hand in front of her face, waiting to see if it might happen again.

Avania turned to the controls and clicked a red button to her left. The engines came online and the whole craft began to rumble. Turning in her seat, she shouted at the person behind her. “Tell them we’re ready to go! They should get on board now! We can leave in less than twenty seconds!”

“Got it!” The voice replied. Avania took the moment to familiarize herself with the setup. She hadn’t flown such a vehicle in years but hoped it would come back to her. There wasn’t much to it, at least until they broke atmosphere. At that point, she’d need to remember how to land but hopefully, it had some pre-programmed maneuvers.

Of course, it wasn’t meant to set down on the surface of planets so there was that small problem …

All this pessimism is going to drive me insane. Avania shook her head. Hurry up, humans.

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