One in Twelve Thousandth Percent

Chapter 33:

So, one of the issues with using the FTL Drive was that we weren't 100% certain where it was going to drop us once we got out on the other side. We were just lucky that the misjump just flopped us into normal space as well as within our Galactic Cluster, Sol.

This time, we weren't so lucky.

"Okay, finalizing jump coordinates... now." Belle hits another set of buttons and we see the Plasma Conductors start to slow down. As the Plasma Conductors are returning to their blue color, we hear over the comms. "Crew, brace for impact!" Misaki and I look at each other.

SLAM. Sparks come from various consoles and people are thrown around again. This is what I was afraid of. I get slammed into the drive and Misaki is thrown on top of a console. Belle is tossed up to the balcony this time.

SLAM. Now we're all thrown in different directions. More sparks off of consoles. SLAM. A third impact piles several of us on top of each other in a corner of the room. SLAM. A fourth sends us careening all over again. This slam is followed by a series of rumbles, almost like an earthquake. Then, it stops. Or at least it seemed to stop. Several of us were knocked out.

I'm woken by Misaki. "Hon, hey. Welcome back." I sit up. "What happened?" Her face drops. "Well, it seems as if we collided with... something. But we can't contact the bridge right now." I roll my eyes. "Yes, you were right, Kay. Live it up." I shake my head. "Nope, don't plan to brag or boast or say 'I told you so' to anyone." With her help, I stand up. "I plan to keep moving forward." I look around. "How is everyone?"

"I'm a little bruised up. Now I know how you felt when you were tossed up here." Belle says from the balcony. I go over to a console and hit some buttons. "Okay, it looks like one of the Plasma Jets is gone. This ship's not going anywhere for a long time, if at all. And part of the front of the ship is gone too. Craft to Bridge." Silence. "Okay, I'm gonna go up there. Babe, can you check on the Engine room?" She nods and we head out.

Luckily there's still power in the ship for the lift. I get up to the bridge and it's a mess. Consoles are either strewn about everywhere or they basically exploded. The main screen is cracked and people are in piles. I see Kazumi first, so I run to her. "Oh, hey girrrrl. What happened?" I shake my head. "That's what I came to find out." I help her up and we go around helping others up. She's got a sprained ankle, but Kazumi is otherwise in good shape.

Once Ilirora is up, she immediately gets onto a working console and starts to scan our location. Meira sits on the floor nursing a bruised rib. "Status report." Ilirora looks back. "Captain, it's bad." "What the hell did we crash into?" "Sensors show that we collided with the side of a mountain when we came out of the jump. We've crash landed on a planet of some sort. The coordinates of the jump dropped us not only inside the atmosphere of a planet, but on a collision course with a mountain, where it looks like we bounced several times across the ground, then skidded to a stop at the base of another mountain."

"Damn, that is bad. What about the ship?" I shake my head. "We lost a Plasma Jet and part of the front of the ship is just gone." "Yeah, I've already sealed off the exposed areas. We'll get the crew redirected as soon as we can." Ilirora says. I shrug. "This ship isn't going anywhere anytime soon, if at all." "Thanks for the report. Get back down there and make sure that everyone else is fine. Bray, go with her." Kazumi hobbles over to me and we get on the lift.

"How's sis?" "She's a bit bruised, but okay." "Good. Oh, nice promotion." Sigh. "I was hoping no one would notice that." "I just saw it. Don' worry, I ain't gonna tell a soul." We head to the Engineering level. Kaz goes to check on her sister while I go into the Engine Room. "Status?" Misaki looks over from a console that fell down. "The Flux Engine and the Light Speed Drive are both fine. But with that missing Jet, trying to go anywhere could result in core implosion." I nod. "Yeah. Once we make sure that everyone is fine, that'll be our next job."