Firmament: Reversal Zone by Pennington J. Grace

Author:Pennington,J. Grace [Pennington,J. Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-10-06T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter XII

Tears stung my eyes, against my will. Going in circles? Hopelessness enveloped me like a thick blanket. “Then... how can we know where we're going?”

The Captain closed his eyes, and silence prevailed. I thought he might break down, but he didn't. Instead, he straightened, breathed, then spoke. “Mr. Guilders. I know things are difficult for you right now. It's hard for all of us. You too, August. But... I need you both right now. Please. Put your heads together and find me a way to navigate under the current circumstances.

He seemed more like himself every minute. Guilders and August, on the other hand, both seemed to be fighting down urges to talk back. They looked at each other. Then August said, “Give us an hour, Captain.”

“No longer,” the Captain said, then turned and strode out. I followed.

As soon as we were off the bridge, he stopped, leaned against the wall, put his hand to his forehead, and sighed. I stood just beside him, not sure what to do or what to say. Did he need a private moment, or should I encourage him? Where was his head right now? It must have taken incredible discipline to pull himself together as he had just then. Was he tired?

He didn't move or speak for a moment, then I reached out and touched his arm. He put his hand over mine, and turned to smile at me. “I have faith in them. Will you see if you can help your father and Whales... I'm very hungry and I don't need their drama right now, so I'm going to eat.”

“Yes sir.”

He let go of my hand and I pulled it back and left him.

I found the Doctor in outfitting, working with Lieutenant Bradshaw to find a protective suit for the technician to wear while gathering some of the cloud.

He smiled at me when I walked in, and though it wasn't his normal half-smile, it was an effort and I appreciated it. I walked over to him. “I was told to help you.”

“Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate it, though I imagine Whales could use more help than I could at the moment. He's in engineering.”

My heart sank. I wanted to help him.

He noticed and smiled again, this time a little more like his normal smile, and reached out to touch my hand. “Will you help Whales for me?”

I smiled back. “Okay.”

I normally wasn't supposed to go into engineering, because of the radialloy, but it shouldn't hurt me for awhile, and I figured the Doctor and the Captain were right when they said that Whales could use my help.

Whales and McMillan were working on the force field generator down in engineering, and I helped them find the parts and check the specifications. We needed to create a metal ring—McMillan suggested copper—with points along it at three-centimeter intervals to attach the generators. It was arduous and delicate work, and my arms grew tired from holding the ring for them to attach the pieces to. Beads of sweat gathered on my face under the bright lights they worked with.

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