Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis

Author:Beth Revis [Revis, Beth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: subject
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Published: 2024-08-06T00:00:00+00:00

10

Before Magnusson and I leave the broken remains of the bridge, Rian’s voice fills the comm unit. “Yadav, Magnusson, carry on with your mission. And if you find the recorder box, grab that, too.”

The recorder box transcribes all the data of a flight mission, a digital record of everything that happens. It could tell them why the ship crashed in the first place. If they find it, and if it’s not too damaged. The box is supposed to be on the bridge, near the captain’s console, but it’s not there now, so it may already be burned up by now. Anything could have happened to it.

“I’m switching Lamarr to a private channel so your chatter doesn’t distract her,” Rian continues.

“Before you go private,” Magnusson starts, but I can’t hear him because Saraswati speaks at the same time, their voices clattering together.

Rian cuts through. “One at a time.”

“Yadav, you go,” Magnusson says. He gestures for me to start climbing down out of the ship. We go slowly around the ragged metal, then reach the twisted steps we took to get up to this level.

“I said before—this job isn’t worth risking your life over,” Saraswati says. I can see her below, on the ground, her helmet tilted up to us. Worry leaks into her voice, crackling through the communication channel.

“Actually, you said the job isn’t worth your life,” I say. “Mine, on the other hand?” I jump down out of the ship, landing on the slick obsidian rocks below, my boots skidding. I manage to remain upright, even as Saraswati rushes over to help me. At least Rian isn’t here to see that less-than-graceful descent. Magnusson takes his time climbing out of the rubble, and even though he doesn’t say anything, I can feel his aggravation at me radiating over comm.

“No one’s going to die,” Rian interrupts. “Switch channels.” There’s a slight hiss in my ear, and then it’s just Rian. “Hey, Ada.”

Oh, it’s Ada now, not Lamarr. And don’t think I missed that “mission” bit from before everyone got all squeamish about death—the other two are now searching for the second “item” they’ve been sent to find. Never waste a moment. Well, I can’t blame them. The nose of this ship is going to fall into the rift any minute—if they think something else they need is hidden in the rubble, best find it before the whole bridge flops into the lava river.

“Yadav is right,” Rian continues, “you don’t have to try for this.”

“So, you don’t think the box is worth it either?” I quip.

Rian’s silent for a beat too long. And in that space, I know: He does think this is life-or-death. “You don’t have to do it,” he says finally, which is not an answer to my question.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” I say. “You guys are all extremely dramatic; has anyone told you that? It’s a box. I can handle a box.” I check my jetpack levels, analyzing how much thrust I’m going to need, inputting the variable heat radiance I’m expecting when I go down.

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