In The Lair of the Draca (Book 2)

In the Lair of the Draca (Book) 2--- Chapter 2: Chaos

General Ames sat petrified in his navigation chair, hands gripping the armrests until the knuckles whitened. Ten of his US Army course-navigators, most of them officers, stood clustered at his knees and wrung their hands. All stared at the Navigation Panel with bugged eyes, though they tried valiantly to keep faces of stone.

"It-- it doesn't look good, does it, General Ames?" Captain Luisa Barbel could not hide the tremor in her voice.

General Ames' eyes narrowed. "Get to your station," he snapped. "Emergency counter-measures haven't all been implemented, and I intend to do so before we die kicking and screaming. I've a granddaughter to think about. Lieutenants Tatsuko and Morris! The state of our navigation thrusters- now!"

His underlings leapt into action and tapped on Thruster Control Gauges with trembling fingers.

"I-- I don't understand it. What's gone wrong?" Tatsuko looked up at Morris with pursed lips.

"There's no explanation. The U.S.S.F. Celestial only has six thrusters--"

"Six?" Ames reddened. "What the hell was Corporate thinking? These ships cost more than twenty billion dollars apiece!"

"--and apparently, only two of them are working. The other four..." Morris shook his head gravely. "They must have burned out during the tremor that rocked the civilian wing of the ship."

"Impossible!" Barbel squeaked. "The Celestial wouldn't be able to maintain its course with even five working thrusters! But this--"

"Can they be repaired?" Ames boomed.

Petrified officers exchanged reluctant looks. Sending competent repairmen outside of the ship at a moment's notice to try to repair thrusters whose problem they hadn't even deciphered would be a worthless exercise, good for placating civilians only. They would never retrieve their service-men back alive, and the rest of them-- well, they were all going to die. Most of them knew it.

General Ames leaned forward, pinpointing Lieutenant Tatsuko. "I said, can they be--"

"Yes!" Lt. Tatsuko yelped. "In theory, yes, they can be. But it's extremely unlikely at our current speed, which we are powerless to slow. The service-men would be on suicide missions. We just don't have time for the necessary fixtures to be made before this vessel begins its descent toward--" Tatsuko squinted and scrutinized the panel. "What sort of body is that? Barbel, any information?"

Anxious eyes fixed themselves onto the approaching rock that loomed from the Navigation Panel. Leveling her gaze, Barbel punched some coordinates into her system analyzer. "A planet of sorts, with what appear to be twin moons. Size-- that, I can't fully determine, although it must be nearly twice the size of home."

"And by home, you mean Earth?"

"Yes." More taps into the analyzer, which was close to malfunctioning. "I can't-- can't get a clear picture!" Barbel was weeping now.

"Get hold of yourself, woman! We have a ship to save!" General Ames practically flew across his chair and snatched the frightened Barbel by the arm, dragging her back to her systems analyzer. Teeth gritted with determination, he shook the hand-held device in his arms and eventually hurled it across the room. "Damn!" The flight hull had begun to tremor and shake. "Survivability rate? Anyone?"

Tatsuko closed his eyes; Morris had taken to the nearest corner, cowering in a fit of tears.

"Tw- twenty eight percent." Barbel's fluttering hands flew to her mouth to hold back a retch; she was unsuccessful. A projectile of that afternoon's salad and diet drink spewed across the room, creating a slimy trail on the floor that several officers slipped in and tumbled. A few snapped ankles or wrists and shrieked. None of them bothered to get back up.