SIREN

Chapter Nine

Thousands upon thousands of jagged ancient rocks stretched out for miles around. The Eye had done a good job of showing us the Kuiper Belt, but seeing it in the flesh made me dizzy. Behind all the gargantuan asteroids, the sun beat down over everything, giving Sam and me a clear look at the minefield ahead.

I glanced over and saw that Sam had turned a very light shade of green. 'You all right?'

'Keep moving her out, Teabags,' he said, 'I'm just thinking about a few things, that's all.'

I carried on pushing until we were safely clear of the hangar. I clicked the two red buttons on top of the joysticks and felt the wings of the Eagle extend.

Through the corners of the windshield, I saw them reach out and slot together. The secondary engines switched on with a whoosh and I wobbled the Eagle to test them. 'Everything seems fine,' I said, 'let's start the flyover.'

'Eagle Two, you'll be clear to leave in just a second,' Sam said.

'Just hurry, will you?'

'Starting on five percent thrust...' I pressed a switch above my head and made the Eagle rise.

'Spin us,' Sam commanded, leaning over to tap a set of levers. 'Do a one eighty.'

'Yes, sir.' I shifted the Eagle to the right and the asteroids dissolved into a brown and black blur. The ship climbed and my body slammed into my seat.

'You might want to ease up, eh? It's not a race.'

'I'm just enjoying being back in the seat, that's all,' I laughed, righting the ship. However, my smile quickly faded as I saw the Pangaea.

The once sleek hull was now a crumpled mess with hundreds of dents and cuts. It was as if a giant shark had thrashed the ship around and left it for dead. Most of the thick plating had been bent and bashed off in such a forceful way that parts of the ship were now exposed to the cold vacuum of space. The brushed silver finish that once gleamed in the sun had been ruined by extensive scratch marks and at the end of the Pangaea, where there would usually be a thick bright blue flame pushing us into the unknown, there was now nothing at all. The Pangaea was totally, and utterly, wrecked.

Jaq's Eagle pulled up next to us. 'Olga wants me to fix this?'

'It could be worse,' Sam replied, sitting back in his chair. He put his hands behind his head and let out a titter.

'How could it be worse?' I asked, trying to make out where Olga and Doctor White would be.

'We could be dead.'

'I don't know what to do,' Jaq confessed, 'is it even worth fixing the engines?'

'Great attitude,' Sam closed his eyes. 'We'll get home before we know it with that kind of spirit.'

'Well, what do you want me to do? Lie? Look at the state of this thing! How long do you think it'll last? Do you think it'll hold together all the way back home? Remember, we have to go back through the Kuiper Belt if we want to get anywhere.'

I put an elbow on the armrest and put my head in my hand. 'Great.'

'Just forget it, Sam. We're done. Eagle Two calling the Captain, can you hear me?'

The Captain swore and then said, 'Jaq, tell me something that'll make me smile.'

'This should be good...' Sam mumbled.

'I'm not sure what I can do, Captain. The Pangaea has been battered. I can see a coolant leak, three cracked support beams, I think the server room has been damaged, but I'd have to get closer to confirm that. The A series pipeline is cracked, too and the plating on the south exhaust port is blocked. There's more, but in short, it's not good news.'

Captain Maximova let off another round of expletives and said. 'Fantastic. Well, just to add to this giant pile of bad things, the fires have started to get out of control, meaning our movement is limited. Sam, Fletcher, have you two done anything productive yet?'

'We're just making our way out, Captain. I'm sure Sam will clear a way out of here.'

'Not likely,' Sam said as he put his feet up on the dashboard.

'What was that? What did you say?' Captain Maximova fumed.

'I said, "not likely", and you know why it's not likely, Captain? Because we are next to... I mean it's...' He struggled for words and then flopped his arm down. 'Just look at it all! What can I do? I brought enough explosives to knock a few stones, but this is--!'

'How's Hoshi?' I asked, trying to steer the conversation.

'Doctor White is doing a good job. She's stable. He's doing his best to wake her up, but nothing's working.'

'And without Hoshi, I suppose there's no chance in sending a message home?'

'No,' the Captain admitted, 'I think we're on our own. For now.'

'Great,' I said, moving in my seat. I touched a screen next to me and opened up a menu. 'Captain, can you keep me updated with Hoshi, please?'

'I'll do what I can, but I'm going to be busy. There's a lot to look after here, Fletcher.'

'Understood.'

'Remember, we've still got a mission to complete. Don't let me down.'

'Yes, Captain,' I said, moving the Eagle closer to the Pangaea. I flipped on a range of spotlights and started to inspect what was left. 'I'm going to relay some images to you, Captain,' I said. My goggles hummed and the lenses span in their sockets.

'Thank you,' she said, 'keep working and we'll talk again soon. Maximova out.'