Green lights came on all over the console and they felt a gentle lurch as the ship
came loose of its moorings and started to drift into space. Dutch cut the video
feed and pointed Rose to her seat.
“Well, that was close,” said Dutch. “I didn’t think they
were going to do it.” She just didn’t even want to imagine what they would have
done if their bluff hadn’t worked. “Alright! Here we go.”
But that was easier said than done. Dutch took one look at
the control board and her heart sank. Nothing was recognizable. This ship was
the latest, state-of-the-art creation with an instrument panel that lent itself
more to style than function. There wasn’t a label to be seen; nothing that said
‘start’ or ‘boosters’ or ‘rotational thrusters’, just a few cryptic symbols
scattered here and there. Its design was basically ultra-modern minimalist chic
in delicate pastel shades of pink and blue. Shit. She was more used to a state-of-the-ark ore-transporter ship than this. It
was the difference between a donkey and a highly strung racehorse. Any idiot
could jump on a donkey and give it the stick. A racehorse will kick your ass
from here to next Sunday.
“Great. Anyone have any ideas?” asked Dutch facetiously,
waving at the control board.
“But this is your field,” said Officer Angelo. “I thought
you were a hotshot pilot?”
“Yes, but I’m used to piloting a ship, not a flying
boudoir,” she returned. “What about you Rose. Did they show you anything here
when you took the tour?”
“They explained some of the buttons to me,” said Rose.
“But I can’t remember anything. I didn’t understand much to start with,
anyway.”
“Can’t you remember anything at all? Look again.”
“No. I’m sorry,” she said.
“Shit.” Dutch knew
this was all her doing. So much for her well thought out scheme. Their lives
were in her hands, and she didn’t have a clue what to do. And to make matters
worse she saw the ship was beginning to slew around in a spin. She knew she had
to do something quickly. If the spin got out of hand there would be no way of
regaining control. Dutch looked frantically at the board in front of her and
took a wild chance. She pressed the large pink button in the middle of the
desk. She knew it was the wrong thing to do before her finger even touched it.
Immediately a computerised voice began speaking.
“Commencing countdown for automatic alignment and firing
sequence. Co-ordinates, fiver – zero – niner – six. Curve vector 307 degrees
increasing to 312ALM.
“Oh oh. This doesn’t sound too good.”
“Relative drag-coefficients within acceptable parameters,”
the mechanical voice intoned. “Trajectory confirmed – upper quadrant of
wormhole – course 258 degrees – dropping to centre at 48 GHT and compensating
for lateral drift.”
“Oh no oh no oh no oh no. We don’t want to go there at
all.” A litany of desperation poured from Dutch’s lips as she jabbed
frantically at every button she could find. “Oh dear god, how do I stop this?”
She stabbed at the big pink button again and again as if that would cancel the
horror. But all to no avail.
“We now have an affirmative for ignition in five seconds,”
intoned the voice relentlessly. “Pre-programmed launch sequence active. Firing
lateral thrusters in three…two…one.” The ship began to turn, its nose pointing
directly at the wormhole. “Firing main thrusters – power 255ZL in tandem.”
Dutch was thrown into her seat as all three engines fired
and the ship began to accelerate at an incredible velocity. Everyone stared at
the windscreen, hardly able to grasp the immensity of their fate. It wasn’t
just something you could take in with a blink of an eye. What can be, and what
can’t be, fought a wide eyed battle in the minds of that tiny crew. This was
more than most could comprehend.
“Can’t you do something? Switch it off?” shouted Officer
Angelo.
Dutch gave him a sarcastic glare. “Oh wow. Funny, why
didn’t I think of that? Duh.” She stuck her finger in her mouth like a moron.
“It’s on automatic pilot. It’ll take more than an
off-button to stop this baby.” Dutch swept her glance around the flight deck.
“A manual. We need an instruction manual,” she shouted to
no-one in particular.
“Should be one on the computer,” offered Officer Angelo.
“Yeah. You know how to work this computer?”
“No.”
“Well shut up and search for a manual. There must be a
hard copy lying about somewhere.”
N
In the observation tower Thedeus Darck watched in horror
as the ship bearing his mother and her hijackers headed for the seething maw of
the monstrous wormhole.
N
Sweet Mary looked at the wormhole with a heavy heart. She
felt very down at the moment. She didn’t care about the wormhole. She actually
had no real idea how dangerous or violent it was. She just felt depressed, and
lonely. Dutch hadn’t had much time for her ever since they were picked up by
that police cruiser, and that was months ago. Hardly said two words to her
really, and then they were snappy ones. She missed the old Dutch; missed being
with her in the cell. The sad fact was that those were the happiest times of
her life, and it was very hard coming to terms with the reality that it was
over. She felt like a piece of unwanted baggage now. She couldn’t help Dutch at
all, and always seemed to be getting in the way. She looked over at Righteous who was sitting quietly and patiently upright in his seat a few feet away from
her at the side of the Flight deck. He had been kind to her but he seemed
wrapped up in his own world. What would he want with a girl like her anyway?
Rose sat next to him, at some sort of weapons console. She too had been kind
but she was also tied up with her own problems. Anyway, Rose was nice to
everyone. Dutch was supposed to be her friend; to look after her. But she’d
forgotten she existed.
“Got it,” said Officer Angelo, waving a wire-bound booklet
in the air. Dutch grabbed it from his hands and eagerly started flicking
through the pages. After a little while though, her excitement fizzled out and
she slumped back into her chair.
“What’s the matter? It’s in English isn’t it?” asked
Officer Angelo.
“Yes, it’s in English.” She looked up at the ever widening
wormhole ahead of them, now filling most of their horizon. “But we’re not going
to make it.”
“What do you mean? Are we going to die?” asked Rose.
“No. Well, maybe, yes. But no, I meant we’re not going to
be able to escape the wormhole. It’s already too late. We’re in its gravity
field and the ship won’t let us change course. It’s too dangerous.”
Everyone stared ahead of them in dead silence.
“I need to go to the loo,” piped up Sweet Mary in a tiny tremulous
voice. Dutch swivelled angrily around in her seat.
“It’s too late now. Why do you always wait until the last
moment? You’ll have to go in your pants.”
“But I can’t.”
“It’s a bloody bio-suit. That’s what it’s designed for...”
Dutch bit her tongue. She could feel how awful she was being and tried to put
on the brakes of her irritation. “It’s like a built in toilet, recycles all
your waste. You won’t feel a thing.”
But Sweet Mary had long since stopped listening. Tears
were streaming down her face.
WILL OUR HEROIC LITTLE CREW MAKE IT THROUGH? DON'T MISS THE NEXT EXCITING EPISODE.
