The Assassin and the Crown of Stars

The Assassin and the Crown of Stars: Part Nine

Nova settled down, her feet propped up on the control board, to watch to rotation of Earth. The swirling clouds far below and her scanner counting off the minutes were the things hinting at the passage of time. The spacecraft remained dead silent as the minutes blurred together into hours. 

Nova wanted to feel guilty, wanted to feel sorry. But she just couldn't. Rose had made her choices and Nova had made hers. The mission was bigger than any of them. If that meant sacrificing a few lives, so be it. 

Nova picked at the dried blood on her face, her gaze dragged back out the window.  Something was glowing white outside the spacecraft,  growing brighter by the second. Nova lunged out of her chair, her heart in the throat. She screamed a warning a moment too late, the impact already ripping through the spacecraft. The spacecraft was flung off of its orbit, the noise louder than Nova had ever heard before. The spacecraft  spun through space, smoke streaming behind it. Nova could hear herself screaming as she curled up, trying desperately to protect her head. She heard the others screaming too but when she opened her eyes everything was a wash of light and spinning colors. She barely felt anything as she was slammed into the control board, hung weightless in the air for a single moment, and then hit against the opposite wall once.

It seemed a lifetime until the noise and spinning stopped.  Nova could barely lift her head, even as the stabilizers came back on and the internal gravity was returned to normal. She knew something was horribly wrong as soon as she refilled her lungs with air. The oxygen tasted bitter and old. Parker flung the cockpit door open, blood pouring down her face. Nova could tell Parker was yelling something, but the ringing in her ears washed everything else away. 

Finn appeared besides Parker, blood staining his light hair crimson. Mace pushed past them both and pulled Nova to her feet, yelling at them to do something. 

Nova shook her head, some sound returning to her ears. She looked past Finn and Parker into the common room beyond. The lights were out, only blood illuminated by the light from the cockpit was visible. 

Nova grit her teeth through the pain, even as despair buried itself in her bones. But she had to keep her head up for her team. So Nova pushed herself off Mace and stood on her own feet. 

"Finn, I want you to survey the damages. Make sure to check power and oxygen levels." Nova leveled a finger at Parker, "Have Mace check out your head and stay off your feet. I'm going to see if I can restore light to the common room."

Nova did not wait to see if they obeyed her before she flipped the night vision on her visor on and disappeared into the common room. Supplies had been strewn across the floor, containers broken and contents spilled. Rose's body was gone though, Nova couldn't bring herself to care what they'd done with it. 

Turning away, Nova wiped blood off the control panel on the wall. The screen was cracked and seemed to have no power. Nova reached for her pocket knife and pried open the panel to find the everything still in tact. Pushing the brightly colored wires aside, Nova shut off the power switch to the room. She tapped her foot, counting off a few seconds before restarting the power. Nothing happened. 

Cursing, Nova called out to Finn working in the cockpit. "Are you getting power? There's no visible damage over here  but still nothing." 

Finn came into view, his tone grim. "We've got more to worry about then some broken lights." 

Nova leaned against the wall, worry coiled in her stomach. "What's wrong now." 

"I checked the oxygen supply like you said and the Electrolysis tank was severely damaged by meteoroid impact." 

Nova bit her lip, the only sign she let show of her frustration. The Electrolysis tank recycled air, without it they'd last a day at best. "We're sure it was a meteoroid then?"