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Evacuation Orders—
A chunk of debris hurtled toward the view shield, and on instinct I ducked, even though the shuttle would take the brunt of the force.
In Place Until—
Ice-covered rock shattered as it hit the cockpit’s viewing window.
Further Notice.
Then another notification panned across the screen.
No Entry Granted.
My heart raced as I twisted in a sharp arc to the left, redirecting the shuttle away from Tern. The trembling craft skimmed the atmospheric rim—strangely distorted and pink—much faster than it should have.
A spray of debris rained down on the left fin, tilting my family’s small shuttle onto its side. Blant! No entry? What in the goddess Sola’s name did that mean? It was just like D’iver to take shortcuts and skip the routine disembarkation plan. Bent at an awkward angle, I had just flicked the switch for the overhead coms on, attempting to make contact with Tern, when a huge meteoroid sucked the pleasure craft into its gravitational field.
Paralyzed, my mind raced through crash sequences, while my limbs lay stiff and useless under the massive force.
A helmet dropped from the overhead compartment, glancing off of my shoulder. The sudden movement kickstarted my senses, and I fought against gravity to jam it onto my head. I might have been young, but I wasn’t as dumb or useless as everyone thought. Oxygen from the helmet hissed in my ears before my head slammed into the headrest andthe leisure shuttle shook like a rattle. It was all I could do to dig my heels into the floor and brace to prevent my jaw from being launched into my brain.
In a flat spin, the shuttle hurtled through Tern’s atmosphere, dragged along in the meteoroid’s wake. With a busted nav system, I couldn’t outrun gravity’s sharp pull. It stretched my ligaments until every joint in my body elongated to the point of dislocation.
Please, I’m a good Boola. The best Boola. I promise I’ll be even better.
Every nerve fired and pain washed my face in tears. Through blurry eyes, I saw the orange caution light for the faulty nav system blink out altogether. My whole body juddered. Thruster one sputtered and stalled, but the force of the acceleration was still gluing my useless body to the seat. Sweat dripped down my face, making my eyes sting as I watched the temperature regulator hit its threshold and give up its fight.
All I wanted was to see my family again, to hold my niece and nephews in my arms and protect them.
A chunk broke off from the meteoroid, taking out the remaining thruster. The meteoroid shot ahead, launching the pleasure craft sideways, where it continued to roll through a pink dust storm.Blant, I’m never making it out of this alive.My stomach heaved and roiled until I couldn’t hold on to its contents any longer. Horrified, I moaned as the helmet’s mask filled with vomit.
Was this how it would end? Free-falling with no guidance system and no engines? The rancid odor of sour tinga fruit burned my nostrils, and my closed eyes stung from the stomach acid sloshing around in my mask. With nothing else to do, I prayed to the goddess Sola.
Please let me experience another sunrise and moonrise. And most of all, if you have any mercy…
Don’t let my time in this universe end before I’ve lost my virginity.
A stabbing pain in my leg and a mouthful of sour blood was all I remembered before the shuttle slammed into the ground and everything went black.
Blant, what in the Sola is that taste?I inhaled.And that awful smell?
I sat up, head spinning, and pulled the helmet off my head. Pink sand drifted through the wreckage surrounding me and filled the air with choking dust. I coughed and grabbed my aching head, every neck muscle screaming in complaint. But at least the horrid smell had lessened.
What a blanting mess. With trembling fingers, I took off my outer shirt and fumbled for the blade on my belt. Nerves shot, it took me much too long to cut off a section to wipe the filth from my stinging eyes and nose. My left leg screamed in agony as I twisted to wrap another scrap around my lower face to filter the dusty air.
Blood soaked my black pants, and a gash spanning the length of my palm had started to bleed again.Great. Just what I need. There’d better be a Boola at the research station willing to donate. The need for blood already had my mouth watering and fangs lengthening.
I scanned the surrounding area. The cockpit shield had remained whole and it mostly covered me where I sat, still harnessed in my seat. The fins were nowhere to be seen, and below the seat, the metal had curled back toexpose pink sand and glossy black rock. Strangely, plasmasteel joists and crossbeams rose above me, their edges warped and twisted until the pink dust swallowed them whole.
What the hellfire did that?
It felt like I’d landed in one of my favorite simulator worlds, hiding out in the remnants of a destroyed skyscraper after a post-apocalyptic rain. Only I didn’t have a sweet-ass weapon, a med kit or my big brother teamed up beside me.
I groaned as full sensation came back to my leg, the steady throb shooting hot fire to my toes. Keeping as still as possible, I stripped off my belt, bit down on the flat of my blade and cinched the strap of black webbing around my thigh.
“Sola, have mercy,” I cried, catching my knife before it fell into my lap.
I loosely covered the exposed area in a sloppy attempt to keep the sand out. The spare supplies were tucked inside the missing fins, and with no water, food or shelter, it was becoming clearer by the moment how perilous my situation was. But I wouldn’t give up on the second shot at life the goddess Sola had gifted me.
