My Book by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LMBPN Publishing
Published: 2019-09-15T16:00:00+00:00

The collision alarm has been turned off and the red lights are gone but we sit, side by side, in the Green Zone. Our shoulders are touching. I’m experiencing a rare moment of stillness with my older daughter. I’m afraid if I move it will be gone, and we’ll never have a moment like this again.

The lush green of the kale and soybeans stretches out in neat rows in front of us and the aquaponic pump hums pleasantly behind us.

“The crops are growing well this year,” I say.

“Yes, they are.”

Occasionally one of the barramundi splashes noisily behind us and our small talk is glorious.

It’s only when we hear footsteps running towards us that we stand. My legs have cramped and I shake them one at a time to get the blood flowing. It’s Pete, and he’s evidently been searching for me.

“Commander,” Pete pants, catching his breath and struggling to keep his composure. I can tell he has bad news and my stomach clenches uncomfortably. “Ben told me you might be here. We’ve been looking for you.”

“I’m sorry, I wanted to find Ada. What’s happened?”

“It’s the second dining ring, Ring Thirty… it’s gone. The Menzies didn’t get out in time. They’re… gone.”

My heart stops cold in my chest.

“Has tech been to examine the damage? Are you sure?”

We are already jogging back to the control room. Ada runs beside me silently, listening.

“They have. We sent them out straight away. A massive piece of junk hit us, it went right through the titanium-aluminum shields, cracked every pane of glass. Loss of pressure was virtually instant. The air locks closed immediately.”

“Were the Menzies’ children with them?”

“Yes.”

Pete puts his hand on his mouth and wipes his lips.

“Tell me, Pete,” I say.

“Ring Thirty One was also hit. The destruction wasn’t total. But… the collision damaged the fuel stocks.”

“Damaged?”

“They are gone.”

We jog for a few moments in silence. The airlock ahead of us opens automatically as we approach.

“How does that place us?”

“We have just over a month. If we shut down all non-essential operations, we may have two months.”

There is more silence except for the slap, slap, slap of our six feet hitting the floor. I wonder briefly about the probability of our left feet hitting the ground in unison, and whether our sample size would make the exercise statistically significant. Was that always the problem? Was Project Renaissance too small to ever really be significant? I always assumed we were important to Washington.

“Shut it all down. We need to give ourselves the best chance.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“I will make the selection tonight,” I say, feeling momentarily lighter.

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