SIREN

Chapter Ten

As the Captain's voice faded away, I unclipped a piece of plastic from the rack above me and held it in my left hand. With my thumb scraping across the surface, I controlled the neon lights outside and studied the damage.

'Regarde son état...' Jaq whined. She moved her Eagle around below us and guided it towards the engines.

'J'ai confiance en toi.' I assured her. Even though my confidence in Jaq was high, the Pangaea wasn't going anywhere fast. I knew, deep down, that it would take at least a month to repair everything.

'She knows English. You can drop the French now.' Sam complained. He swivelled in his chair and drummed his fingers.

'You sound bored,' I said, craning my neck to get a better look out the windshield.

'That's because you're doing all the work! I'm sat here doing nothing.'

'Just make sure you've got your TNT ready. I'll do all the important things, okay?' My goggles let out a warble and my eyes were drawn to a highlighted asteroid. 'That's strange.'

'What is it?'

My HUD made the floating rock pulsate with a bright yellow aura and a tiny box in the corner showed the results of a thermal sweep. 'These asteroids are made of ice and rock, but they have a metal core. Like, a shaped metal core. It's almost as if—'

'Yeah, yeah, very interesting, big floating bits of ice with metal in them,' Sam drawled. 'Let's actually do what we came here for!'

Without warning, I was jostled around in my seat. My goggles slipped off my eyes and the straps wrapped around my neck. 'What do you think you're doing?' I gagged and clawed at my windpipe.

'We're here for a reason, remember. Olga told us to take a look around, so that's what I'm doing.'

I freed my throat and glared at Sam. He was now operating the Eagle by himself, using the dual joysticks and the screens to his advantage. The Eagle twisted around in a circle and then dived downwards, building speed as it shot alongside the Pangaea.

Some pebbles dinged off the Eagle and I gasped in fright. Sam was now pushing the ship to such a speed that it felt like hands were dragging my body into the chair. Sweat started to form on the back of my neck. 'That's enough, Sam, let me drive.'

He snorted. 'No way.'

The left wing groaned in protest. I prayed under my breath and checked the virtual dials on the screens. I recoiled at their readings. 'Sam, slow down.'

'We're fine, Teabags.'

I winced as Sam whirled the Eagle between two stupendous boulders and continued to spiral along for a little while after. The stars morphed into a bright smudge. 'Please...' I begged.

'Eagle One, what's going on?' Jaq's voice interrupted Sam's whooping.

I floundered around, gasping as I tried to seize my joysticks. 'Sam's driving.'

'Sam, reduce your speed! You're going to crash!'

'No, I'm not!'

'Putain!'

'We're fine!' Sam roared, tilting the Eagle. The left wing cut through a gathering of stones, causing them to scatter.

I shifted my shoulders and grasped one of my joysticks. I moved it around, but nothing responded. 'You've locked me out!'

'Teabags, how many times are we going to have an opportunity to have a little fun?'

The Eagle swooped and dived through the asteroids, missing every rock by mere inches. The vibration through my seat coursed through my whole body and I felt like I was about to eject my entire stomach. The seatbelts cut across my shoulders, making my arms tingle with the loss of blood.