Supernova Page #2

Final countdown. Ten, nine,

eight, seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one.

Plasma acceleration.

Oh, I had you!

I definitely had you that time.

Oh, God, no.

Don't touch anything!

His skin's fused with polyglass.

Danika! Nanoscan kit, number three|laser scalpel, vascular cauteriser, stat!

He's still alive!

What's happening?

- Sweetie?|- Debris strike. Fuel reservoirbreached.

- Hold him still!|- Benjamin! Bridge, now!

Ship has entered high-gravity field.

Severe fuel loss.

Gravity increasing.

Laser scalpel!

Cauteriser!

Status?

Controls active. Systems up.

- Prime main engine.|- Severe engine damage.

Extreme fuel loss.

Christ.

Blue giant.

That's gonna be ten times|the gravity of our sun.

We've jumped into a high-grav field right|in the path of that moon's debris cloud!

I can't isolate these veins|unless you keep this hatch shut!

Warning. Lunarimpact in 57 seconds.

- Rate of descent?|- 98 metres persecond.

Time to impact?

49 seconds.

- Recommend alternatives?|- Assessment...

Sweetie, get us out of here!

- The hatch is gonna open!|- The controls aren't responding!

- Alternatives, Sweetie!|- Unacceptable risk factor on all options.

- It's opening!|- Cut the power!

Now, dammit!

- It's not working!|- Close the hatch!

- Engage docking thrusters.|- Thrusters insufficient to escape...

Overriding computer. Going manual.

No! We need Sweetie!|What are you doing?

Buying us some time!|Firing docking thrusters.

Kill me.

Please.

- How d'you know how much fuel to use?|- I'm guessing.

- I can't keep it shut much longer.|- Don't kill him!

Please.

Don't kill him.

Oh, God.

Clean this place up.

- Sweetie.|- Do you need me back now, Nick?

- What's our status?|- Fuel loss: 82%.

The dimension drive must recharge|in order to escape high solargravity field.

- Time to recharge?|- 17 hours,

one minute.

- Flashpoint time based on fuel reserve?|- Solarincineration

in 17 hours, 12 minutes.

That leaves you|an 11-minute window, Nick.

Maintain orbit, six-second thrusts,|15-minute intervals.

l will maintain orbit.

Start broadcasting ID and position,|all coordinates.

See if you can contact the Titan.

This is Trans Soma rescue vessel|Nightingale 229 hailing TSMO Titan 37.

Captain Marley?

This is Trans Soma|medical rescue vessel Nightingale 229

hailing Trans Soma|mining operation Titan 37.

Repeat:
this is Trans Soma|medical rescue vessel

Nightingale 229 hailing Trans Soma|mining operation Titan 37.

Oh. Did I wake you?

I thought you might be reading or...

Anyway, I managed to bring on board|a fairly good bottle of pear brandy,

and I thought,

in the spirit of friendship,|maybe we could share a glass.

It's...

- It's all right. We'll...|- Lemme see the bottle.

How do you think they get that in there?

They put the bottles on the branches|so that the buds are inside

and the pears grow right in them.

Then, when they're ripe,

they pick the bottles,|pour in the brandy and...

Of course, the real question is|how the hell you get it out.

Rook to E7.

Congratulations, Benjamin.

Your strategy was|both subtle and forceful.

You can play with me wheneveryou want.

Permission to have a child?

I've been trying to get it ever since|you told me you wanted a kid.

What if they only approve one of us?

Two fine, non-genetically engineered|specimens like us? Are you kidding?

We're gonna get approved.

And then we're gonna make us a baby.

- Bridge.|- Check.

Nick, I think there's something|you oughta see.

Then there's this.

- DSU four. The vents weren't modulating.|- That's what killed Marley.

- A warning was going before we jumped.|- You mean he saw that too?

- He had to.|- So he took my DSU.

- Why didn't he cancel the jump?|- He thought it was an acceptable risk.

He should have transferred|the call to another vessel.

Then Marley would be alive|and you'd be playing chess with Sweetie.

And what if they never crucified Christ?|But they did.

And Marley's gone and here we are|and that's how it is.

We've got what we've got.

All crew, repor to bridge.

Now that you've all had some rest,|here's what we've got.

We were hit in our main tank when|we jumped into this high-gravity field.

We lost most of our fuel.

The good news is we've got enough left|for our docking thrusters.

They'll stop us incinerating|till the dimension drive recharges.

Then we can dimension-jump home -|but we'll be cutting it close.

How close?

1 1 minutes.

Are you telling us that we can't jump|until 1 1 minutes before we burn?

I'm telling you we have 1 1 minutes.

It's enough.

I've gotten out of worse situations before.

This ship is going to be fine.

- We have no margin for error!|- Then we won't make any.

Attention.

L-class transpor ship deparing|Titan lunarmining operation.

They must be evacuating.

Sweetie, track that.

Attention. Transpor ship has locked on|to our communication signal.

Prepare for intercept.

Suit up.

No response from pilot.|Transpor ship is on automatic approach.

You OK?

Sure.

When you said you'd been in worse|situations, were you telling the truth?

Sure. When the ship was falling|and the engines cut out, that was worse.

We'll be fine.

Warning. Fire on board approaching|vessel. lt must dock immediately.

Approaching vessel,|engage docking thrusters.

Repeat, please engage docking thrusters.

Can't spare the fuel for a hover.|We'll catch her on a roll.

Speed still increasing.|Excessive rate ofapproach.

Sterilisation bay?

- Check.|- We're taking a little hit when it docks.

Thanks for letting us know.

15 seconds to impact.

- Still no reply from approaching ship.|- He's running silent.

Or unconscious.

- Watch out!|- Clear!

We got a fire!

Get his helmet off! Check his vital signs.

This is your worst nightmare?

It's not Karl.

Bridge. One patient, male, early 20s,|traumatised, unconscious but stable.

And this isn'tthe person|who sent the call.

Run that by me one more time.

This isn't Karl Larson.

Meet me on the bridge when you can.

Benjamin, start a full|systems check on the ship.

Right, sir.

There's some kind of

growth on his bone structure.

These matrices. It looks almost as if|his bones are strengthening themselves.

Radiation explosion.

No, much too normal for that.

Note it as a minor anomaly.

Most scanners wouldn't even detect it.

Doctor.

No indication for treatment at this time.

He's as healthy as a horse.

Keep him under observation.

- Why didn't you tell me before?|- It was personal.

- Nothing that affects safety is personal.|- So I know a man who calls Trans Soma.

He didn't call Trans Soma. He called|the Nightingale. It was a direct call.

- Tell me what's going on.|- I can't.

I can't because I don't know.

I know a Karl James Larson,|but this isn't him.

He had a son. I saw a photoscan of him.

There's a strong resemblance.|I'd guess it's him, but I can't say for sure.

I haven't seen Karl for five years.

When he and I were finished,|I couldn't have children.

I joined Trans Soma|to get away from him.

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