First Flight by Claremont Chris

Author:Claremont, Chris [Claremont, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780441235841
Amazon: 0441235840
Publisher: Ace
Published: 1987-12-02T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

For the next week, much of their work was basic housekeeping and spacecraft maintenance, as they fleshed out the rough, preliminary survey carried out in those first, desperate hours. Most of their primary organic stores had been lost when debris had ruptured the hull, either destroyed outright or contaminated by radiation, but they had sufficient emergency rations to last them for the foreseeable future. Hana's improvised wiring set-up proved to be as good as she said it was and, over the days that followed, more and more systems were brought back on-line.

As soon as the shuttle bay was fully operational, Ciari went EVA with one of their two Science Modules for a starscan. The results didn't cheer anyone.

"We've come a pretty fair piece from Wolfe's Asteroid," he told them. "We were developing full emergency thrust on the mains when that rock blew, remember, and when the fuel elements in the engines themselves detonated, they added considerably to our Delta-Vee. At the moment, we seem to be in a 'Kirkwood Gap,' a sector of the Belt where there are no asteroids. We're also moving through the outer fringes of the Belt, about three astronomical units from Earth's orbit. Since Earth herself is on the far side of the sun, the distance home is a lot farther. I doubt we could be more remote if we tried."

"What about our own orbit?" Nicole asked.

Ciari shrugged. "Too soon to tell, but I wouldn't hope for much. We're moving up from the plane of the ecliptic, and away from the System. None of the Outer Planets are near enough to do any good, which leaves only one significant gravity source which can affect our trajectory—the Sun itself, six hundred million kilometers, thataway." He pointed across the Carousel.

"We're very small," he continued, "and in relation to our mass, moving very fast. If we're in a Solar orbit, it's bound to be shallow; I'd lay fair odds we won't be back in this neighborhood for quite a while."

"If ever," Nicole finished. Ciari nodded.

"Well," she said, "not the end, by any means. Not even close. We play for time, drift as far from where we were ambushed as possible—as far OutSystem—and then we start yelling. True, the raiders may hear us. True, they may arrive before sublight rescue. But a starship... "

"A triangle run," Ciari asked, "out half a light from DaVinci, and then back to us? If there's minimal risk of any collision, that's... feasible."

"Assuming anyone hears us," Hana countered. "It'll take our signal better man two hours to reach Earth; even pushing it with every spare erg of power, it'll be barely a whisper when it arrives. The disaster beacon's omni-directional, as well; there's no way to focus its transmission. So who's to say it'll be noticed?"

"No guarantees, but we've nothing else. All it requires is that we keep ourselves and this bucket functional for a couple or three months. Is that feasible?"

"Maybe," Hana said slowly. "The longer we wait, the greater the risk."

"We know the obvious, Hana," Nicole told her and the other woman's eyes flashed.

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