Catastrophe 19 (Patreon)

A little more for now.

Catastrophe 1
Catastrophe 2
Catastrophe 3
Catastrophe 4
Catastrophe 5
Catastrophe 6
Catastrophe 7
Catastrophe 8
Catastrophe 9
Catastrophe 10
Catastrophe 11
Catastrophe 12
Kai'to Sketch
Vaagai (Catastrophe)
Catastrophe 7 (rev 2)
Catastrophe 13
Catastrophe 14
Catastrophe 15
Catastrophe 16
Catastrophe 17
Catastrophe 18

———

With a deep frown, Captain Ishe watched the display on his strand. One by one, the invaders took up defensive positions outside Airlock 9A until their squad numbered twenty—and they were a fierce looking bunch! Each carried a rifle of some sort, armor that covered their chests and thighs, belts that held more weapons and pouches. Several even wore backpacks stuffed with who-knows-what. Explosives? Hacking gear? There was no guessing.

Despite the low gravity, each soldier moved naturally—with the sort of grace only learned from hundreds of hours of zero-g practice.

One of the lio consulted flexible display that unrolled from the armor on back of his forearm. The captain presumed it was a map, because after rolling it back up, he gestured starboard, toward Trinity Control.

Without taking her eyes from the scene, Ishe picked up the radio. “Operation black hole, is a go,” she said. “I repeat, go black hole.”

A moment later, the lio squad straightened—a few even cheered—as the gravity levels increased. But their elation was short-lived. One member of the team cried out, pointing urgently to the debris stacked precariously along the far wall. They all rushed away—most falling out of the camera’s view. And not a moment too soon! As the gravity increased, the stacks tumbled to the deck with a deafening crash.

Ishe stared at the display. It was hard to say for certain, but she was fairly certain that the debris blocked the airlock. She grinned wide. So long as they could keep the gravity generators going, no one was coming or going through Airlock 9A.

A couple of the lio must have noticed that piles of metal scrap now blocked their exit, and they dove upon the debris, trying to clear it away, but soon the artificial gravity had increased to 1g, 2g, 2.5 … to the point where the soldiers were kneeling in corridor, then all all-fours, then lying on the backs or sides.

With much shouting, the team stripped off their weapons and armor, reducing down to only the barest essentials. This one carried a belt with only a single knife. That one a holstered pistol with no extra ammo. A radio. Another pulled most of her backpack’s contents out on the deck, lightening her load so she could haul just what she had to have.

Ever so slowly, the team crawled toward the starboard side, leaving most of their armor, weapons, and gear behind. Ishe returned to the radio, “Trinity Control? How are we doing?”

“We’re getting there, Captain!” said the voice on the far end. “Still need a few more hours.”

Ugh. They were cutting it close. A few more hours would be all they had—and only if they could keep the lio contained until then!

The captain watched and waited as the long minutes dragged by. Eventually, the soldiers returned, this time crawling from starboard to port. They already looked tired—wet with sweat and panting hard.

Captain Ishe turned to Kai’to. “They know we’ve blocked the main corridor to Trinity Control. They’re headed toward the main corridor to try another route.”

Kai’to nodded and picked up her radio. “Commissioner? We’ve bought you as much time as we could. They’re headed your way now—twenty targets, very lightly armed.” She bit her lip. “How are you holding up, sir?”

“My stomach hurts,” groaned Commissioner Taigen over the radio.

Kai’to winced. “I want to thank you again for doing this … for all of us,” she said, quieter now. “For me and for the families of those killed especially.”

“Oh, stop,” grumbled the krakun.

# # #

Commissioner Taigen floated weightlessly in the corridor—his head pressed gently against the ceiling and three of his claws against the deck. The geroo had welded a single chain across the corridor behind him, so the krakun rested his rump lightly against it. All the lights were off where he floated, but ahead of him, they were on.

He waited in the dark—not precisely squeezed into the krakun-sized hallway, but leaving only a few meters of space on either side.

One-by-one, dark forms slipped into the corridor ahead—some leaping with joy from wall to wall, happy to be out of the high gravity zone and excited to be back in zero-g. When he was pretty certain he’d seen all twenty silhouettes, Taigen licked his lips.

Into his radio, he whispered, “Operation hangry krakun is a go. I repeat, go hangry krakun.”

It was a dumb name, and Taigen almost refused Kai’to’s suggestion, but it was growing on him now. A dull, metallic thud reverberated down the corridor, then another, and another as various vents were cranked shut or open. More and more exhaust fans kicked on, and air in the corridor began to move. At first, just a tickle, then a breeze, then a steady wind.

The commissioner blinked repeatedly at the air blowing directly into his face, but he worked to keep his eyes open as much as possible. The chain behind his rump pulled tight, keeping the massive creature from blowing into the ship’s central ramp.

The geroo had done all they could to funnel air into this corridor. It was no gale wind, no hurricane, but he hoped it would be enough. Even a slight breeze impacted someone floating in zero-g, and this was no breeze.

Had there been a normal gravity, the wind would be merely an annoyance. But floating freely? There was no good way to make progress without a rope. Such a shame the soldiers had to leave all their gear behind!

But now the big question… Would they go back the way they came, into the high gravity to fetch more supplies, or would they reroute a second time, drifting toward his dark end of the corridor instead of away from it? He opened his jaws wide, stretched out the talons on both of his foreclaws just as far as they would go … waiting … ready.

Taigen’s stomach gurgled and groaned in anticipation, but with the air moving as quickly as it was, he doubted that any of the inky shapes clinging to doorways and light fixtures could have heard it.

# # #

“Captain, you there?” asked the commissioner.

“Go ahead, Commissioner,” said Ishe.

But Kai’to keyed her mic before the krakun could reply, “Are you okay, sir? Did they injure you?”

“I’m fine,” he huffed, “just disappointed. Without the long guns, they didn’t stick around for a fight. Much more slippery than I anticipated. We have fourteen units still on the move—headed down the central ramp.”

Kai’to swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted to ask, but then again, didn’t. “Feel better, sir?”

Silence over the radio, then a krakun voice, “In some way, yes,” he said. “In others … not so great.”

“Well, I suppose we all do what we must,” she conceded.

“Yes, I suppose we do, welder,” said Commissioner Taigen. “I suppose we do.”

———

Reviewer's link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AfMA0rwdvfuAouvvIBUlMXVUKdYq6h0izcOLu5I_8Kc/edit?usp=sharing

Thoughts?