throttle open to maximum, and glanced at the small navigation panel. He was less than a third of the way back to the rendezvous point. Breathing in the hot air, he twisted the steering control as a gust of gas hurled the pod sideways.
“Flightsuit failure in five minutes.”
The heat was intense now, the river of sweat pouring into John’s eyes almost blinding. Gasping hot lungfuls of air, he blinked, searching through the swirling mist for the shining-red Talios, even though he knew he was still too far away. Hang in there, John , he told himself. Only a few minutes to go . And then you’ll be flying back to Hyperspace High with the microbes that will cure Kaal and Emmie.
“Flightsuit failure in one minute.”
By now, the suit’s systems were functioning at a bare minimum, and John knew he would soon be roasted alive by the heat radiating from the nebula. He tightened his grip on the throttle and steered the nebula-diver away from the core.
“Please be there, Mordant. Please be there,” John repeated over and over to himself as he wrestled the tiny pod against external forces, bringing it closer and closer to the point he was to meet the half-Gargon. He glanced at the time. The swirling gases were thinning now. John peered ahead, shaking his head to try and clear his sight. The navigation panel flashed. He had made it to the rendezvous point.
A groan escaped John’s mouth. The Talios 720 was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 16
“Mordant. Come in, Mordant. Can you hear me?” John yelled into the microphone next to his head. The only response was the crackle of static. Through clouds of gas, John could see stars blinking, but no sign of the Talios 720. Firing jets to spin the craft, he looked in every direction. Nothing. He was alone.
John tried the communications once more, an edge of desperation in his voice now. “Come on, answer for crying out loud. Stop this, Mordant. You can’t just leave me here.”
A steady hiss was all he heard.
John smashed a fist into the control panel. “I guess I was right about you after all,” he spat. “I should have listened to my instincts.”
“Flightsuit system failure,” said the electronic voice. John sucked in a lungful of hot air. Already the heat was almost unbearable, and he had no extra protection now. Soon radiation from the nebula’s core would overwhelm the pod. At the same time, its gravity would pull the pod back towards it. Long before any rescuers arrived – supposing any even did – the pod would be utterly destroyed and John along with it.
The microbes will never make it back to Hyperspace High , he thought to himself. Kaal will die. Maybe Emmie, too. And hundreds of others.
Knowing it was useless, he jabbed a finger at the communications system again, switching to all the emergency channels Sergeant Jegger had taught him. “Distress call level one. Repeat: distress call level one. All ships. Nebula-diver stranded at the core of the Zaleta Nebula. Coordinates two-two-six-three-seven. Distress call level one.” At the same time, he twisted the throttle again, surging the pod forward. Blinking sweat out of his eyes, John powered away from the glowing core. There wasn’t enough fuel in the pod to get back to Hyperspace High, or even to escape the nebula, but if he could get further from the core, at least it would take longer to be sucked back in. Further away it would be slightly cooler, too. Maybe the extra time it gave him might be long enough for a passing ship to hear his message and rescue him.
Yeah, right, John told himself, shaking his head sadly. The chances of a ship close enough to even hear his message were minute.
As the pod moved through the nebula on wings of roaring gas, John felt unexpectedly calm, as if his mind had become detached from the heat and the thirst and the terror. Instead, he looked around him, marvelling afresh at the sight of the Zaleta Nebula. Whatever fate awaited him, he was light years from Earth, seeing
“Flightsuit failure in five minutes.”
The heat was intense now, the river of sweat pouring into John’s eyes almost blinding. Gasping hot lungfuls of air, he blinked, searching through the swirling mist for the shining-red Talios, even though he knew he was still too far away. Hang in there, John , he told himself. Only a few minutes to go . And then you’ll be flying back to Hyperspace High with the microbes that will cure Kaal and Emmie.
“Flightsuit failure in one minute.”
By now, the suit’s systems were functioning at a bare minimum, and John knew he would soon be roasted alive by the heat radiating from the nebula. He tightened his grip on the throttle and steered the nebula-diver away from the core.
“Please be there, Mordant. Please be there,” John repeated over and over to himself as he wrestled the tiny pod against external forces, bringing it closer and closer to the point he was to meet the half-Gargon. He glanced at the time. The swirling gases were thinning now. John peered ahead, shaking his head to try and clear his sight. The navigation panel flashed. He had made it to the rendezvous point.
A groan escaped John’s mouth. The Talios 720 was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 16
“Mordant. Come in, Mordant. Can you hear me?” John yelled into the microphone next to his head. The only response was the crackle of static. Through clouds of gas, John could see stars blinking, but no sign of the Talios 720. Firing jets to spin the craft, he looked in every direction. Nothing. He was alone.
John tried the communications once more, an edge of desperation in his voice now. “Come on, answer for crying out loud. Stop this, Mordant. You can’t just leave me here.”
A steady hiss was all he heard.
John smashed a fist into the control panel. “I guess I was right about you after all,” he spat. “I should have listened to my instincts.”
“Flightsuit system failure,” said the electronic voice. John sucked in a lungful of hot air. Already the heat was almost unbearable, and he had no extra protection now. Soon radiation from the nebula’s core would overwhelm the pod. At the same time, its gravity would pull the pod back towards it. Long before any rescuers arrived – supposing any even did – the pod would be utterly destroyed and John along with it.
The microbes will never make it back to Hyperspace High , he thought to himself. Kaal will die. Maybe Emmie, too. And hundreds of others.
Knowing it was useless, he jabbed a finger at the communications system again, switching to all the emergency channels Sergeant Jegger had taught him. “Distress call level one. Repeat: distress call level one. All ships. Nebula-diver stranded at the core of the Zaleta Nebula. Coordinates two-two-six-three-seven. Distress call level one.” At the same time, he twisted the throttle again, surging the pod forward. Blinking sweat out of his eyes, John powered away from the glowing core. There wasn’t enough fuel in the pod to get back to Hyperspace High, or even to escape the nebula, but if he could get further from the core, at least it would take longer to be sucked back in. Further away it would be slightly cooler, too. Maybe the extra time it gave him might be long enough for a passing ship to hear his message and rescue him.
Yeah, right, John told himself, shaking his head sadly. The chances of a ship close enough to even hear his message were minute.
As the pod moved through the nebula on wings of roaring gas, John felt unexpectedly calm, as if his mind had become detached from the heat and the thirst and the terror. Instead, he looked around him, marvelling afresh at the sight of the Zaleta Nebula. Whatever fate awaited him, he was light years from Earth, seeing
Similar Books
