{"id":2347,"date":"2022-02-05T14:06:33","date_gmt":"2022-02-05T21:06:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2347"},"modified":"2022-02-05T14:06:33","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T21:06:33","slug":"the-demise-of-the-night-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/05\/the-demise-of-the-night-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"The Demise of the Night Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt:\u00a0End\u00a0your story with a character saying\u00a0\u201cThank you, God. Thanks an awful lot.\u201d (sarcastically or not).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyx tried again to jettison the cargo, no response. She tried to operate the manual override, but it was jammed. \u201cShit. I\u2019m stuck with this now.\u201d She returned to the pilot\u2019s chair and strapped in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyx checked the straps of her harness and made sure her helmet was secured to the side of the pilot\u2019s chair. There were more warning and error lights than systems showing normal. The artificial gravity was straining to overcome the effects of the ship\u2019s diagonal end-over-end tumble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMayday, mayday, mayday. MV Night Flight, engines down, steering thrusters down, unstable attitude, moving approximately fourteen-thousand kilometers per hour, last known position Oort Cloud jump gate. When grav shuts down I\u2019m not likely to retain consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She set the message to repeat every ten seconds with a new time stamp each call. The stars streaked by, and she put her mind to determining the shape of her tumble. By mentally tracing the path of the sun when it showed in her view, she determined that the Night Flight was doing about one-and-a-half rolls for every two off-kilter end-over-end flips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The radio crackled to life. \u201cMerchant vessel Night Flight, this is Federation vessel Maria Odobwe. We have your mayday and are scanning for you now. Hang in there, we\u2019re coming for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyx stopped the automated transmission and responded. \u201cFV Maria Odobwe, this is MV Night Flight. It\u2019s good to hear your voice. I can\u2019t tell whether the emergency beacon is working or not. Damn near every system is showing red across the board. A tanker entered the gate as I was exiting and my warp bubble stripped wrong, sent me ass over teakettle and fried my systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She waited for the response\u2026and waited\u2026and waited. Twenty-six minutes later it came back. \u201cRoger, MV Night Flight. We see your emergency beacon ping and are triangulating your location and speed now. We will be jumping soon. Expect to see you in ten minutes. Out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The artificial gravity cut out. The roll of the ship was like a demented carnival ride but not as severe as she\u2019d feared. Okay, Nyx<\/em>, she thought, you got this. Just ride this out for a few minutes until the cavalry gets here. As long as they don\u2019t look too close, I may still be fine<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this distance it was hard to tell, but Nyx was certain the sun was getting further away as she rolled and tumbled through space. If they didn\u2019t get here soon enough, she was in danger of finding some random piece of debris or ice from the Oort Cloud the hard way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She saw a flash of blue as she tumbled; the glow from a ship dropping from warp. \u201cOdobwe, this is Night Flight, was that you I just saw dropping from warp?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMV Night Flight, FV Maria Odobwe, affirmative. My name\u2019s Wen Banks, what\u2019s yours?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNyx Carlisle. Can you match rotation and pull me in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cListen, Nyx. You\u2019ve got a double rotation going along with your speed of 14,223 kilometers per hour. We\u2019ve got to stop one of those rotational motions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo engines, no steering thrusters, remember, Wen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember, Nyx. Does that ship have a front or rear docking port? If we only have to match a roll that\u2019s simple enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNegative. Sorry, Wen. The docking ports are starboard and port broadside. This ship isn\u2019t designed for loading in vacuum. She\u2019s a little rock hopper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRoger. We\u2019re working out a solution. Hang tight, Nyx. By the way, how\u2019s the gravity holding up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWent out before you got here. It\u2019s not as bad as I expected, but I\u2019m getting one hell of a headache.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minutes dragged by as Nyx watched the large military ship appear and disappear from her view. By watching the ship, she could get a mirror view of how her own was tumbling. Slowly, however, the tumbling turned into a wobble while she seemed to be spinning beside it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNyx, we\u2019ve been over your telemetry and ship specs, and we have a solution for you. Are you in a vac suit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAffirmative, Wen. Helmet close to hand as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s good. I\u2019m going to need you to put the helmet on and make sure of your levels before the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRoger. Just a minute while I helmet and seal.\u201d Nyx put on her helmet and verified the seal, then donned the gloves that hung from her wrists and checked the seals on those as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m all buttoned up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to learn a pattern now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRepeat after me: cabin four, three seconds, cabin six, nine seconds, cabin one, five seconds, bridge, one second, remaining cabins.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCabin four, three seconds, cabin six, nine seconds, cabin one, five seconds, bridge, one second, remaining cabins.\u201d Nyx took a deep breath. \u201cVenting atmosphere via the fire suppression system?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExactly. The order is critical, and the closer the timing the better we remove the roll and the yaw.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOkay, Wen, let me check that I can access fire control.\u201d Nyx checked the fire suppression system and verified that it was operational. \u201cI\u2019d really like to practice this a time or twelve, but I\u2019m worried that if I disconnect fire control, I won\u2019t get it back. Sealing all bulkheads now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can do this, Nyx, and I\u2019ll be right here with you every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, Wen. You keep track of the timing, and I\u2019ll track the order. It takes a couple strokes at least to vent a section. Four, six, one, bridge, other cabins, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReady to vent cabin four. On your mark.\u201d Nyx held her gloved hand above the console.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyx tapped the console and felt the ship\u2019s rotation change while she keyed in the command to vent cabin six.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026one, vent!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She stabbed at the console. She\u2019d missed the first part of the countdown, so she listened closely while Wen counted down from nine as she prepped to vent cabin one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026four, three, two, one, vent!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another tap on the console followed by a shift in the feel of the ship\u2019s tumbling and the three taps it took to prepare to vent the bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026two, one, vent!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyx tapped the console and put in the command to vent all the cabins as fast as her fingers allowed, but she was still nearly a second behind Wen\u2019s call of \u201cVent!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry, Wen,\u201d she said, \u201cthat was the fastest I could do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all good, Nyx. You\u2019ve got less than two degrees yaw. We can dock. Look out your starboard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To her right, the large military ship slowly moved closer, wobbling only a slight bit. The stars in the view seemed to be moving consistent with a steady end-over-end tumble without the roll or off-axis tilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the docking clamps locked on, the larger ship stopped the tumble and Nyx felt the weightlessness of free-fall. \u201cI\u2019m still here,\u201d she said, \u201cand ready for whatever maneuvers you have planned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNegative, Nyx. You need to come aboard. We\u2019ve got some high-gee maneuvers we have to make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRoger that, Wen. On my way.\u201d She released her straps and pushed off against the console to the starboard airlock. I just hope they don\u2019t want to check the cargo<\/em>, she thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she made her way onto the Maria Odobwe, a guard led her down a corridor to a waiting room. From the uniform she knew this wasn\u2019t a combat ship; it was a police ship. The sound of boots outside the room, heading toward the airlock was the only thing she could hear, then silence for several minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The door opened and an officer entered. \u201cNyx Carlisle? I\u2019m Lieutenant Colonel Graves, Fourteenth Police. Good news, and bad news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Nyx said. She looked at the stocky woman in her dress uniform standing just inside the door. She was waiting to hear that she was under arrest. It was the only logical thing that could happen now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBad news: the docking clamps wouldn\u2019t hold up to the maneuvers we needed to make to avoid splattering ourselves on something in the Oort Cloud, so we had to cut your ship loose. It\u2019s a total loss.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd what\u2019s the good news?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSensors show that you were transporting explosives. Your license doesn\u2019t allow that, and your flight plan doesn\u2019t include any licensed dealers. Unfortunately, we didn\u2019t have time to break into your cargo hold and get the physical evidence, so it looks like you walk from this one\u2026unless you want to turn yourself in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyx groaned and laid her head on the table. \u201cAll I\u2019ll say about the cargo is it was a privately contracted job. I would\u2019ve paid my ship off. Failure to deliver puts me in a bad position. Not only do I still owe credits on the ship, but that\u2019s half a million credits of cargo gone\u2026along with my entire life. That ship was my home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou should be thanking whatever god you believe in that we got here when we did,\u201d Graves said. \u201cAny later, and you\u2019d be dead, any earlier, and you\u2019d likely be facing a long sentence. Now, at least, you\u2019re alive and at most we\u2019ll put you on a suspected smugglers list for a while. Show us you can keep your nose clean, and we\u2019ll leave you alone soon enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI should be thanking god? For my wondrous<\/em> luck? Hey, my life\u2019s ruined, my home and livelihood are destroyed but I\u2019m still alive to be hunted down by my last client! Sure. Thank you, God. Thanks an awful lot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt:\u00a0End\u00a0your story with a character saying\u00a0\u201cThank you, God. Thanks an awful lot.\u201d (sarcastically or not). available at Reedsy Nyx tried again to jettison the cargo, no response. She tried to operate the manual override, but …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[213,210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-federation","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pxT7i-BR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2347"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2348,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347\/revisions\/2348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}