My Sweet Satan by Peter Cawdron

Author:Peter Cawdron [Cawdron, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 23299689
Publisher: Peter Cawdron on KDP
Published: 2014-10-07T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 08: Ana

In a panic, Jasmine struck out with her legs, propelling herself through the air toward the flight seats. She reached out and grabbed at a headrest as her torso and legs whipped past her arms, having a mind of their own and not wanting to lose their suddenly imparted momentum. With her legs sticking up into the air, she grabbed at the seat cushion, pulling her head down so she could see beneath the chair.

“Hurry!”

Velcro straps held a small red canister and mask in place. The mask didn’t look like a full face gas mask, more like something she’d wear snorkeling, only the rubber nose seal extended down to cover the chin. Still upside down and drifting to one side, she pulled the rubber straps over her head, fitting the mask over her eyes, nose and mouth. A half twist of the handle on the cylinder caused oxygen to begin flowing and Jasmine breathed deeply, more scared and alarmed at the way Jason had spoken to her than at any threat of fire. Fire didn’t seem possible in space.

“The voices—”

Jason replied briskly, cutting her off. “It’s a core system alarm. English, Chinese, Russian and Hindi.”

As she maneuvered herself out of the foot well between the seats, she saw smoke hanging in the air. Unlike on Earth, the thin dark mist didn’t dissipate or drift to the ceiling, instead it extended slowly out into the domed area of the bridge like a tentacle. The thin dark tendril looked almost alive.

“What’s happening?”

“I’m still trying to figure that out,” Jason replied. “Normally, fires burn themselves out. There’s no convection in zero-gee, and the vents shut automatically so there’s no movement of air, suffocating any flames. Any localized fire would have oxygen only for a minute or two at most before snuffing itself out.”

“Location?” came the cry over the speakers. Chuck’s voice was impossible to mistake.

“Sensors are going haywire,” Jason replied. “Trying to isolate the source. Getting all kinds of false alarms.”

“Engineering is sealed,” Chuck cried. “I can’t get the override to work.”

“On it,” Jason said in a voice that sounded more panicked than Jasmine would have liked to hear from a seemingly omniscient computer. How could he not know where the fire was? How could he not have seen the flames building?

“Why the hell is suppression offline?” Chuck asked over the intercom.

“It—It shouldn’t be,” Jason replied, stuttering in response. “We’ve lost two of the four guidance and control systems. Trying to reboot now.”

“Ana? Mei?” Chuck cried. “Sound off.”

There was no reply.

“Jazz?”

“Here,” Jasmine replied quickly. Her voice sounded dull and muted from beneath her mask. She yelled, “I’m on the bridge,” but her words were indistinct.

“Ana? Mei?” Chuck repeated. “Report in.”

Jason said, “I’ve got master alarms in Medical and Science.”

“It’s not Medical,” Chuck replied, coughing. “I’m in there now. Smoke’s bad, but there’s no visible source, just a haze.”

“Auxiliary modules are sealed. If the smoke’s not getting worse, the fire must be contained in one of the modules.”

“Can you fire up the extractors?”

“Negative,” Jason replied.

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