Firmament: Radialloy by J. Grace Pennington

Author:J. Grace Pennington [Pennington, J. Grace]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-06-06T04:00:00+00:00

XV

We just stared for a moment, then I whispered, “I’m sorry, Doctor.”

He let go of me abruptly, just as the Captain’s voice answered. “If you’re sure, Andi. I’ve sent security. Let me know the details later.”

He trusted me. I’d just told him that his best friend was unfit for his lifelong work, and he believed me without question. I felt dazed, and helpless. This was a nightmare.

The Doctor just dropped to the cot opposite me and stared, his eyes still wide, but saying nothing. I tried to speak, failed, and then jumped up, turned, and fled.

At first I didn’t know where I was running, but before long I found that my legs were taking me to engineering, a place I’d been only twice, both times when the ship was in spacedock. I had to talk with my father. I had no one to turn to right now, no one knew what had been happening except him, and I couldn’t tell anyone else. These problems were my own, the Captain, Guilders, and Almira, the only people I would have trusted enough to talk to about it, were all too busy. They had to worry about the ship, not my personal family struggles.

When I was safe inside the elevator, I dared to breathe, gasping in a lungful of oxygen before saying, “E-Deck,” and letting myself be carried down.

I took deep breaths as I moved down the ship, focusing intently on the indicator lights all around the tiny room.

God... oh God! I tried to pray, but had no words. What’s happening? The Doctor... my father... the radialloy... what are You doing? I’d always been told that He knew what He was doing, that He had a plan. That all things would work together for good. How can anything ever be good again? Had He made a mistake?

The elevator doors opened out onto E-Deck, and I hesitated before stepping out. It was highly unlikely that the radiation would do anything to my knee. I wouldn’t stay long.

I put my boot forward and placed it onto the smooth metal floor in front of me, then began walking resolutely forward.

The large, octagonal room was empty. I looked around at each station, but no one occupied them. The giant reactor in the middle glowed faintly, and I saw a makeshift aluminum plate covering an area that I assumed was the hole.

I frowned at the silence, but walked forward, my boots ticking on the floor with each cautious step. Once again, something just wasn’t right. True, I’d never visited engineering when it was in operation, but I’d heard the Captain call down there from the bridge. Every time, there had been sounds of talking and general working in the background. Now, it was too quiet.

I stopped about a yard from the reactor, hesitating to approach it. As I stood, unsure what to do, I heard a faint voice from somewhere ahead. It was low and gravelly.

My heart rose in my throat, but I sidestepped the reactor and tip-toed in the direction of the voice.

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