Finish Line by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-06-26T00:00:00+00:00

Back aboard Drone, time had dragged by with agonizing slowness. The ship faced the Vortex, and the women took turns keeping Queen under telescopic observation at all times. Like Bred, they could only judge the lifeboat’s position by the fact that it would be blocking out the background stars. The hole itself, only a kilometer or so in diameter, was barely visible as a fuzzy spot of indistinct nothingness. Nezla and Luuj took turns at the telescope watching Bred’s lifeboat. Occasionally they could see it minutely change its course, but those few moments were the only spots of interest in an otherwise dreary duty.

“I wish there were some way of contacting them while they’re in there,” Luuj said as she watched.

“It’s impossible. We might just be able to send a radio beam, but there’s too much interference for their equipment to receive it. And, of course, they’d never be able to send anythin’ out.” Nezla eyed the chronometer at the wrist of her suit. “They’ll have to be comin’ out soon, though. Their air supply’ll be startin’ to run low.”

A few minutes later, Luuj exclaimed, “They’re coming out. The boat is accelerating faster than it has before. But do you suppose that means they’ve found what they were after or just that they’re coming back for more oxygen?”

“We’ll find out when they get here,” Nezla said. “This is the danger time, so keep an eye on them very carefully.”

More silence, as the captain tracked the lifeboat. Then she said, “I think something’s gone wrong.”

“How can you tell?”

“I’m not sure. I saw a flash just for an instant, and the ship doesn’t seem to be accelerating any more, just holding the same course. And… and it’s spinning, I think. It’s blotting out the stars in a funny pattern.”

“Let me see.” Nezla took over the position at the telescope. After a moment, she found the dark spot in the field of view and watched it. “You’re right, they are spinnin’. I wonder if they hit somethin’; there couldn’t be any other reason for it.”

Luuj did not need further encouragement. Drone crept silently into the Vortex to meet its disabled mate. With all the external sensors disconnected, she, like Johnathan, was flying blind in this cosmic storm. But she knew the direction to take and would be able to intersect Queen’s course closely enough for Nezla to reach it with a line. Neither woman spoke as they headed for the damaged lifeboat.

As they pulled to within 20 meters of Queen, Luuj nodded to Nezla. The engineer took a line that was attached to Drone’s side and started out. Once in space, her target was easily seen as it blocked out a large section of the sky. She pushed herself off from Drone and floated to the other boat. The blackness of space did not bother her; she thought only about the three trapped inside the other lifeboat. Behind her, Luuj watched her progress through the telescope.

When Nezla reached Queen, she breathed considerably easier. A hole was apparent in the front of the boat, but it was not terribly large.

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