Coswarr's hands could feel the cold metal of the rails on the viewing deck. His fingers wrapped tightly, as if the interplanetary ship was rattling under turbulence. But there isn't any turbulence on space-ships, anyhow. Even if there was, his mind was far away, guided by his eyes, which could finally see the destination's rings and colors -- for the first time in this long journey -- with the naked eye.
"It's been a long time coming," said Nila, his companion of 7 years, "I hope the rest of the journey will be eventless."
They stared silently into the deep, dark space. Their gaze set upon towards that faint, unwavering light of their promised land: Saturn. The moment was significant, and Coswarr did not want to sour the magic of the moment by airing his skepticism. He, along-side all 20,000 migrants on this tub, had seen their fair share of disruptions, in what was sold to them as the journey of a life-time to a land of opportunity.
"Sure, honey," he lied in optimism, "I hope so too. May the rest of the journey be joyful and peacef. . ."
BOOM! The floor shook as if the ship had scraped an undersea mountain, except it was in space and there are no invisible undersea mountains. There was a long screaching noise of metal being torn apart.
'Hull Breach, Please Locate The Nearest Emergency Shelter', announced a calm voice, over and over again. This was bad.
Nila spotted the nearest shelter, and it was getting filled up fast with other passengers. Since thousands had gathered to participate in the sighting, a stampede was imminent. Coswarr was secretly relieved that their two boys were safe -- far away, on the every rock they were staring upon.
Thinking fast, Nila grabbed Coswarr's arm and lead him in a direction away from the shelter. "I spotted another one on the way here. It's at the end of the shopping promenade. The closest one will be full before we can get to it."
There was a loud zapping sound, and the lights went out. The emergency lamps kicked in. Colwarr could feel his organs starting to push against his rib cage, gently. His feet were leaving the floor.
"Gravity systems are out," Nila stated the obvious, "We're gonna have to swim to the shelter."
'Or die trying...', thought Colwarr, as he propelled himself in Nila's wake, while the floor was still within kicking distance.
To be continued...
"It's been a long time coming," said Nila, his companion of 7 years, "I hope the rest of the journey will be eventless."
They stared silently into the deep, dark space. Their gaze set upon towards that faint, unwavering light of their promised land: Saturn. The moment was significant, and Coswarr did not want to sour the magic of the moment by airing his skepticism. He, along-side all 20,000 migrants on this tub, had seen their fair share of disruptions, in what was sold to them as the journey of a life-time to a land of opportunity.
"Sure, honey," he lied in optimism, "I hope so too. May the rest of the journey be joyful and peacef. . ."
BOOM! The floor shook as if the ship had scraped an undersea mountain, except it was in space and there are no invisible undersea mountains. There was a long screaching noise of metal being torn apart.
'Hull Breach, Please Locate The Nearest Emergency Shelter', announced a calm voice, over and over again. This was bad.
Nila spotted the nearest shelter, and it was getting filled up fast with other passengers. Since thousands had gathered to participate in the sighting, a stampede was imminent. Coswarr was secretly relieved that their two boys were safe -- far away, on the every rock they were staring upon.
Thinking fast, Nila grabbed Coswarr's arm and lead him in a direction away from the shelter. "I spotted another one on the way here. It's at the end of the shopping promenade. The closest one will be full before we can get to it."
There was a loud zapping sound, and the lights went out. The emergency lamps kicked in. Colwarr could feel his organs starting to push against his rib cage, gently. His feet were leaving the floor.
"Gravity systems are out," Nila stated the obvious, "We're gonna have to swim to the shelter."
'Or die trying...', thought Colwarr, as he propelled himself in Nila's wake, while the floor was still within kicking distance.
To be continued...
