[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
atmosphere.
Chapter 4
The dim cargo bay seemed to groan all around Claire as deceleration strained
its structure. Buffeting, accompanied by a hissing whistle, vibrated through
the shuttle s metal skin.
What s wrong? gasped Claire. She released an anchoring hand upon the plastic
crate behind which they had hidden to double her grasp of Andy and hold him
closer. Are we sideswiping something? What s that funny noise?
Tony hurriedly licked a ringer and held it out. No draft to speak of. He
swallowed, testing his eustachican tubes. We re not depressurizing. Yet the
whistle was rising.
Two mechanical ka-chunks
, one after the other, that were nothing at all like the familiar thump and
click of a hatch seal seating itself properly, shot terror through Claire. The
deceleration went on and on, much too long, confused by a strange new vector
of thrust that seemed to emanate from the shuttle s ventral side. The side of
the cargo bay to which the crates were anchored seemed to push against her.
She nervously put her back to it, and cushioned Andy upon her belly.
The baby s eyes were round, his mouth an echoing of bewilderment.
o
No, please, don t start crying!
She dared not release the cry locked in her own throat; it would set him off
like a siren. Patty cake, patty cake, baker s man, Claire choked.
Microwave a cake as fast as you can... She tickled his cheek, flicking her
eyes at Tony in mute appeal.
Tony s face was white. Claire - I think this shuttle s going downside! I bet
those bangs were the airfoils deploying.
Oh, no! Can t be. Silver checked the schedule -
It looks like Silver made a big mistake.
I checked it too. This shuttle was supposed to be picking up a load of stuff
at the Transfer Station, then going downside.
Then you both made a big mistake. Tony s voice was harsh and shaking, anger
masking fear.
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Oh, help, don t yell at me - if I don t stay calm, neither will Andy - this
wasn t my idea
...
Tony rolled over on his stomach and levered his body away from the thrusting
surface of the - the floor, downsiders called the direction from which the
vector of gravitational force came - and crept to the nearest window, pulling
himself alongside it. The light that poured through it was taking on a strange
diffuse quality, diminishing. It s all white - Claire, I think we must be
entering a cloud!
Claire had watched clouds from orbit above for hours, as they slowly billowed
in the convection of Rodeo s atmosphere. They had always seemed massive as
moons. She longed to go look.
Andy was clutching her blue T-shirt. She rolled over, as Tony had, palms to
the surface, and pushed up. Andy, turning his head toward his father, reached
out with his upper hands and tried to shove off from Claire with his lowers.
The floor leaped up and smacked him.
For a moment he was too stunned to howl. Then his little mouth went from round
to square and poured out the vibrating scream of true pain. The sound knifed
through every nerve in Claire s body.
Tony too jerked at the noise, and scrambled down from the window and back
toward them. Why did you drop him? What do you think you re doing? Oh, make
him be quiet, quick!
Claire rolled onto her back again, pulling Andy onto the elastic softness of
her abdomen, and patted and kissed him frantically.
The timbre of his screams began to change from the frightening high-pitched
cry of pain to the less piercing bellows of indignation, but the volume was
just as loud.
They ll hear him all the way up in the pilot s compartment! Tony hissed in
anguish.
Do something!
I m trying
, Claire hissed back. Her hands shook. She tried to push Andy s head toward
her breast, standard comfort, but he turned his head away and screamed louder.
Fortunately, the sound of the atmosphere rushing over the shuttle s skin had
risen to a deafening thunder. By the time the noise peaked and faded, Andy s
cries had become whimpering hiccups. He rubbed his face, slimy with tears and
mucous, mournfully against Claire s T-shirt. His weight on Claire s stomach
and diaphragm half stopped her breath, but she dared not lay him down.
Another set of clunks reverberated through the shuttle. The engines
vibrations changed their pitch, and Claire was plucked this way and that by
changing acceleration vectors, none as strong as the one emanating from the
floor. She spared two hands from comforting Andy to brace herself against the
plastic crates. Tony lay beside them, biting his lips in helpless anxiety. We
must be coming down to land on the surface.
Claire nodded. At one of the shuttleports. There ll be people there -
downsiders - maybe we can tell them we got trapped aboard this shuttle by
accident. Maybe, she added hopefully, they ll send us right back up home.
Tony s right upper hand clenched. No! We can t give up now! We d never get
another chance!
But what else can we do?
We ll sneak off this ship and hide, until we can get on another one, one
that s going to the Transfer Station. His voice turned earnest with urgent
pleading as a puff of dismay escaped Claire s parted lips, We did it once, we
can do it again.
She shook her head doubtfully. Further argument was interrupted by a startling
series of thumps that I shook the whole ship and then blended into a low
continuous rumble. The light falling through the window shifted its beam
around the cargo bay as the shuttle landed, taxied, and turned. Then it winked
Page 27
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
out, the cargo bay dimmed, and the engines whined to an equally startling
silence.
Claire cautiously unbraced herself. Of all the acceleration vectors, only one
remained. Isolated, it became overwhelming.
Gravity.
Silent, implacable, it pressed against her back - she struggled with a nasty
illusion that it might suddenly cease, and the thrust it imparted slam her
into the ceiling above, smashing Andy between. In an accompanying optical
illusion, the whole cargo bay seemed to be chugging in a slow circle around
her. She closed her eyes in self-defense.
Tony s hand tightened warningly on her left lower wrist. She looked up and
froze as the outside cargo bay door at the forward end of the compartment slid
open.
A pair of downsiders wearing company maintenance coveralls entered. The access
door in the center of the shuttle s fuselage dilated, and Ti the shuttle
co-pilot stuck his head through.
Hi, guys. What s the big rush-rush?
We re supposed to have this bird turned around and reloaded in an hour,
that s what, replied the maintenance man. You have just time to pee and eat
lunch. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
atmosphere.
Chapter 4
The dim cargo bay seemed to groan all around Claire as deceleration strained
its structure. Buffeting, accompanied by a hissing whistle, vibrated through
the shuttle s metal skin.
What s wrong? gasped Claire. She released an anchoring hand upon the plastic
crate behind which they had hidden to double her grasp of Andy and hold him
closer. Are we sideswiping something? What s that funny noise?
Tony hurriedly licked a ringer and held it out. No draft to speak of. He
swallowed, testing his eustachican tubes. We re not depressurizing. Yet the
whistle was rising.
Two mechanical ka-chunks
, one after the other, that were nothing at all like the familiar thump and
click of a hatch seal seating itself properly, shot terror through Claire. The
deceleration went on and on, much too long, confused by a strange new vector
of thrust that seemed to emanate from the shuttle s ventral side. The side of
the cargo bay to which the crates were anchored seemed to push against her.
She nervously put her back to it, and cushioned Andy upon her belly.
The baby s eyes were round, his mouth an echoing of bewilderment.
o
No, please, don t start crying!
She dared not release the cry locked in her own throat; it would set him off
like a siren. Patty cake, patty cake, baker s man, Claire choked.
Microwave a cake as fast as you can... She tickled his cheek, flicking her
eyes at Tony in mute appeal.
Tony s face was white. Claire - I think this shuttle s going downside! I bet
those bangs were the airfoils deploying.
Oh, no! Can t be. Silver checked the schedule -
It looks like Silver made a big mistake.
I checked it too. This shuttle was supposed to be picking up a load of stuff
at the Transfer Station, then going downside.
Then you both made a big mistake. Tony s voice was harsh and shaking, anger
masking fear.
Page 26
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Oh, help, don t yell at me - if I don t stay calm, neither will Andy - this
wasn t my idea
...
Tony rolled over on his stomach and levered his body away from the thrusting
surface of the - the floor, downsiders called the direction from which the
vector of gravitational force came - and crept to the nearest window, pulling
himself alongside it. The light that poured through it was taking on a strange
diffuse quality, diminishing. It s all white - Claire, I think we must be
entering a cloud!
Claire had watched clouds from orbit above for hours, as they slowly billowed
in the convection of Rodeo s atmosphere. They had always seemed massive as
moons. She longed to go look.
Andy was clutching her blue T-shirt. She rolled over, as Tony had, palms to
the surface, and pushed up. Andy, turning his head toward his father, reached
out with his upper hands and tried to shove off from Claire with his lowers.
The floor leaped up and smacked him.
For a moment he was too stunned to howl. Then his little mouth went from round
to square and poured out the vibrating scream of true pain. The sound knifed
through every nerve in Claire s body.
Tony too jerked at the noise, and scrambled down from the window and back
toward them. Why did you drop him? What do you think you re doing? Oh, make
him be quiet, quick!
Claire rolled onto her back again, pulling Andy onto the elastic softness of
her abdomen, and patted and kissed him frantically.
The timbre of his screams began to change from the frightening high-pitched
cry of pain to the less piercing bellows of indignation, but the volume was
just as loud.
They ll hear him all the way up in the pilot s compartment! Tony hissed in
anguish.
Do something!
I m trying
, Claire hissed back. Her hands shook. She tried to push Andy s head toward
her breast, standard comfort, but he turned his head away and screamed louder.
Fortunately, the sound of the atmosphere rushing over the shuttle s skin had
risen to a deafening thunder. By the time the noise peaked and faded, Andy s
cries had become whimpering hiccups. He rubbed his face, slimy with tears and
mucous, mournfully against Claire s T-shirt. His weight on Claire s stomach
and diaphragm half stopped her breath, but she dared not lay him down.
Another set of clunks reverberated through the shuttle. The engines
vibrations changed their pitch, and Claire was plucked this way and that by
changing acceleration vectors, none as strong as the one emanating from the
floor. She spared two hands from comforting Andy to brace herself against the
plastic crates. Tony lay beside them, biting his lips in helpless anxiety. We
must be coming down to land on the surface.
Claire nodded. At one of the shuttleports. There ll be people there -
downsiders - maybe we can tell them we got trapped aboard this shuttle by
accident. Maybe, she added hopefully, they ll send us right back up home.
Tony s right upper hand clenched. No! We can t give up now! We d never get
another chance!
But what else can we do?
We ll sneak off this ship and hide, until we can get on another one, one
that s going to the Transfer Station. His voice turned earnest with urgent
pleading as a puff of dismay escaped Claire s parted lips, We did it once, we
can do it again.
She shook her head doubtfully. Further argument was interrupted by a startling
series of thumps that I shook the whole ship and then blended into a low
continuous rumble. The light falling through the window shifted its beam
around the cargo bay as the shuttle landed, taxied, and turned. Then it winked
Page 27
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
out, the cargo bay dimmed, and the engines whined to an equally startling
silence.
Claire cautiously unbraced herself. Of all the acceleration vectors, only one
remained. Isolated, it became overwhelming.
Gravity.
Silent, implacable, it pressed against her back - she struggled with a nasty
illusion that it might suddenly cease, and the thrust it imparted slam her
into the ceiling above, smashing Andy between. In an accompanying optical
illusion, the whole cargo bay seemed to be chugging in a slow circle around
her. She closed her eyes in self-defense.
Tony s hand tightened warningly on her left lower wrist. She looked up and
froze as the outside cargo bay door at the forward end of the compartment slid
open.
A pair of downsiders wearing company maintenance coveralls entered. The access
door in the center of the shuttle s fuselage dilated, and Ti the shuttle
co-pilot stuck his head through.
Hi, guys. What s the big rush-rush?
We re supposed to have this bird turned around and reloaded in an hour,
that s what, replied the maintenance man. You have just time to pee and eat
lunch. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]