About half an hour after realizing there was no other way off the bridge of the dark metal ship, Ilika and most of his crew were floating about, trying to think of a solution to their problem, when suddenly the entire room shook violently.
Mati
smiled.
Ilika glanced around to make sure everyone was okay. “Rini, we just experienced a severe jolt. Any idea what caused it?”
“Uh huh. And there’s gonna be another one in a moment. You said I couldn’t leave the ship. I’m bringing the ship to you.”
Mati
grinned.
Boro nodded as he imagined exactly what Rini was doing.
Kibi and Sata both clapped their space-suited hands.
“The door to the bridge has a vertical seam,” Ilika explained. “Give us warning so we can get behind things.”
“Will do. We’re at the second door. I have to talk to my crew. Get ready.”
Ilika raised his eyebrows at Rini’s mention of his crew, then looked around at the real crew. “Everyone floating?”
They all nodded, and continued smiling with pride, knowing that Rini was coming to their rescue.
The ship lurched again, more violently than the first time.
“There’s one more horizontal door like that one,” Ilika said.
“Manessa sees it. Now I understand why Boro loves his space thruster
NEBADOR Book Seven: The Local Universe 41
fuel.”
Boro laughed. “Good stuff, but use it wisely!”
“Yes,
Master.”
Boro laughed again.
Soon the room shook for the third time, so violently that a few loose pieces of metal started floating around.
“Look out!” Kibi yelled. “Junk coming your way, Sata.”
The navigator twisted to the side.
“Everyone okay?” Rini asked.
“Yes,” Ilika said, “but give us a minute to secure some junk before you do the last door. We took the room apart looking for a way out.”
They all re-attached or wedged the loose items as best they could, then got behind the consoles again.
“Ready,” Ilika declared. “You have about five meters of clear space inside the door before you’ll hit a console.”
“Okay. We might have to use a little thrust to stop.”
“We’re
clear.”
A moment later the room shook like a wild beast, and some of the wedged junk came loose. A golden spike pierced the door, both halves crumpled like foil, and the body of the little ship lurched into the room. A burst of blue flame brought it to a sudden stop, and completely incinerated the console in its path.
Mati and Boro both had to duck or twist to avoid floating debris.
A moment later everything came to rest, and the golden ship changed into a ball about two meters across. It rotated, and the airlock hatch appeared and opened.
“Anyone want a ride?” Rini’s voice asked.
“Yes, please!” Mati declared.
Sata nodded. “We are done with this place!
After space suits were stowed and sample containers secured in the utility room, Ilika and Kibi shared the lift. When they stepped onto the upper deck, they beheld two Ti’ias at the steward’s station, a bandaged spider at engineering, another pair of Ti’ias at the watch station, a large beetle at
NEBADOR Book Seven: The Local Universe 42
navigation, and Timorazonia with her little hands on a tiny flight control at the helm.
Rini spun around in the command chair. “Like my crew?”