Page 146 of Homebound
Returning to the front, she checked the screen from behind Simon’s shoulder. Even her eyes felt gritty and tired.
“Is it just me or do they seem closer?” She pointed to the blurry trapezoid shape that their computer assigned to the enemy ship. The shape blinked steadily as it crawled across the screen, getting too close to the center for comfort.
“They’re faster than us.”
It was another upsetting piece of news to add to their bucket of demoralizing facts. Gemma didn’t understand much of what was required to successfully fly a ship, but even she figured that Simon must be a truly exceptional pilot to keep them alive so far. That, or he was a whiz at computer gaming. They must be on level ten by now.
But it wasn’t a game. And despite Simon’s expertise, their ship's limitations were catching up to them.
“What if we turned and went back? You said pirates don’t venture too far into the dead space,” she suggested.
“I’m trying to stay near the route. Coming across another ship is our best bet. A friendly ship,” he clarified without turning to look at her.
“How often do ships travel through?”
“There’s no schedule. And the ‘route’ is an approximate coordinate. Ships can pass each other undetected if they are far enough apart, and still be within the route. It could be another day before we see one. It could be a year.”
Gemma fell silent, thinking about how sending out a distress signal would serve no purpose without a target to catch it. The bottom line, space was just too vast. Their ship was a speck, smaller than a molecule in the body of an elephant. Insignificant didn’t even begin to cover their existence.
Yet, ironically, there was no hiding place in all this vastness, and no shelter to shield them from the attack.
She caught sight of Simon frowning, clicking buttons and turning knobs.
“Are they shooting again?” She didn’t want to look at the monitor and see for herself. It wasn’t that she no longer cared, but every emotion seemed dulled, and she felt fatigued and headachy.
“No, they haven’t shot yet. There’s a dark patch. I think it might be an asteroid cluster. We’re heading that way.”
“Aren’t asteroids dangerous?”
“Only if you hit one. I don’t plan on doing that. I am looking for cover.”
Gemma took another sip of water hoping to relieve nausea that was suddenly hitting her harder than usual. How many sips did that make? She frowned. She couldn't take any more. Water was precious. Water was life. Life was… temporary.
She took a deep breath that failed to fill her lungs with enough air. Surprised, she looked over at Simon. His nostrils were fluttering, and he also seemed to be struggling to breathe.
“Simon?”
“I know. We’re leaking oxygen.”
She would have slumped in her chair if she weren’t floating. “How is it possible? Have we been hit without my noticing?”
“The boosters have been working non-stop. The vibration must’ve loosened the old plating and opened up a leak.”
He didn’t have to tell Gemma how screwed they were.
She floated to the crystal-covered back window looking for the asteroids. In all their sojourn, they’d never come close to any cosmic object. She squinted into the deep echoing darkness, looking for her first glimpse of the space rocks.
At first, nothing caught her eye, but she kept searching the bottomless pit of darkness, zooming her eyes in and out. And at one point, the optical illusion slammed into focus, and she was able to distinguish a shape. Once detected, she could see it well now.
“I’ve never known asteroids could take the form of a turtle,” she observed from her position by the window.
“What did you say?” Simon asked in a funny voice. He must be also affected by the thin air more than her.
“Yeah, weird, this asteroid.”
To Gemma’s surprise, she heard Simon’s chair squeak as he rotated it getting out. Did he abandon his commander post despite the pirate cruiser riding their ass? Yes, he did, and he pushed himself off with unusual clumsiness, almost slamming into the wall next to Gemma. Had he never seen an asteroid before?
“I don’t see anything.” His Rix eyes, dulled by their ordeal, were glued to the view outside.
