The CHANGI BULLET

Chapter 44 - The Tunnel

Shiro's ears pricked up, and then he sat bolt upright in his chair. Charles and Toto were having breakfast. They looked at the cat.

'What's up, Shiro?' asked Toto.

The tone of the Izzati's engine changed. Usually, it was a mild hum that they hardly noticed, but a roar came from deep inside the ship.

'What is that?' asked Charles.

'Ari making course adjustments. I'd better join Farrah.'

Charles was left alone with his porridge. He felt the Izzati shift quite sharply to port. As it was not his field of expertise, he stroked Shiro, and tried not to feel too concerned.

Near the cabins, Cerys saw Ezra, and they both paused as the unusual engine noises began. Rizki popped his head out of his cabin, equally concerned.

'Is something wrong?' asked Rizki.

'I shouldn't think so,' answered Ezra. 'We'll go up and check, shall we, Cerys?'

The two of them walked to the cockpit. Ari and Inggrid were busy at the controls, with Ari manipulating the joystick in the centre console.

'Can you talk, Ari?' asked Ezra.

'We are being pulled off course. We don't know why yet.'

'Off course? Towards that mass of matter we talked about?'

'Along it. We are missing the planet, being drawn into the tunnel from where all the star's light comes from.'

The two pilots kept trying to counteract the effects being exerted on the ship. Ezra gestured for Cerys and himself to leave them to it.

Back in the Mess, everyone, apart from the two engineers, had gathered, concern growing.

'Stay calm,' advised Ezra. 'Ari and Inggrid are dealing with the issue.'

But then the Izzati shifted, as if hit by a wave, throwing the ship further to port. Chairs moved, pots crashed, and people staggered. There came a loud yawning sound throughout the ship, which a frightened Charles managed to imitate quite well.

Cerys and Medina instinctively moved together for support. Ezra and Ridhima looked at each other. Alarms sounded as the Izzati listed over at a disturbing angle. Shiro's chair slid into a bulkhead, so he departed the Mess at pace. Everyone held on to something. Roach swore.

'Hold on!' called Ezra.

Faster and faster, the Izzati slewed away off course. People had to squat on their haunches or sit down. Ridhima slid across the floor, where Ezra could take hold of her.

'Ezra, I'm so frightened.'

'Hold me. Don't get upset. We'll be okay.'

Further and further the Izzati arced away from the target planet. G-forced came into play, so people felt the urge to hold their ears.

'Ezra!' cried Ridhima.

The noise, the screeching, the g-forces, all tore at their minds. If they had been able to think, they would have visualized the Izzati breaking apart and their atoms drifting about at the end of the universe for eternity.

But, finally, Ari and Inggrid managed to check the catastrophic drift off course. The pressure dropped, the g-forces eased, the Izzati sounded less like a steam boiler about to explode. The speed slowed, and the engine noise returned to a normal level.

'They've corrected it,' said Roach.

'Yes,' added Dr Haller, lying beside the Australian. 'But where are we going now? We've clearly lost the targeting needed for the planet orbit.'