Read Online Search for the Phoenix: Phoenix Series Book 2 by Jim Proctor - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jim Proctor
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anyway.”
“Good man. I’m going to open the outer door. Turn to your right and face the rear wall. Step out sideways. That will put your back jets pointing in the direction of travel so you won’t waste any time turning around to begin braking. Remember, that suit is heavy, so you’ll need longer to brake than you might be used to. I’ve done this a few times, lad. When you step out, count to three, and then fire the rear jets on high. You may think I’m putting you out early, but trust me. By the time you scrub your speed, you’ll be floating well within range of your ship. Wait too long to brake, and you’ll sail right past her. Like I said earlier, I’m not coming after you. Traffic control will be monitoring me, and I’m going to continue around in orbit like none of this happened.”
“Look, all this talk is making me nervous. How long now?”
“Two minutes,” the captain said.
Nolan turned to face the rear wall as the door opened. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. What he was about to do was dangerous. The best he could hope for was to reach the Independence and get inside safely. The worst… he’d miss the target, run out of fuel, and either fall back to Caldon, burning up in the atmosphere, or fly off into space where he would suffocate when the air tanks ran empty. He wondered if SACOM might have changed the access codes for the Independence’s airlocks. If they had, the joke would be on them. Nolan had written all the control code on the ship. He had ways to open the airlock that SACOM knew nothing about.
“One minute, lad.”
Nolan’s heart was racing, pounding in his chest and thumping in his ears. In less than one minute, he had to make a choice to step out, or abandon any hope of finding Carl and reaching him. Then, suddenly, he thought of Megan. She should be about a third of the way to Zebulon by now. He knew his uncle would understand his absence, and would take good care of her. She’d be treated like family.
“Fifteen seconds, lad.”
Nolan stepped sideways to the edge of the deck. He wanted to turn and look for the Independence, but feared that it would be a lot farther away than he expected, and he’d be too scared to step out.
“Five seconds.”
In a rush of panic, he realized he was trusting his life to a complete stranger.
“Three… two… one.”
Nolan stepped out. His stomach heaved and adrenaline dumped into his bloodstream. The sudden transition from the half-G of the ship’s gravgen to micro-gravity was sending his entire body panic signals: you are falling! He remembered the last time he stepped out of the Independence five years ago. He had to return to the ship to clean the vomit from inside his pressure suit. In fact, now that he thought about it, it was the suit he was wearing now.
He was flying in a free orbit, which meant he was in his own inertial reference frame. In spite of his velocity, he felt as though he were floating, stationary in space. A new wave of panic engulfed him as he suddenly remembered the captain’s instructions. Count to three and fire the rear jets. How long had it been since he stepped out? Without another moment’s hesitation, he fired the rear jets. His mind screamed at him to turn off the jets. He knew the main jets were decelerating him, but every part of his body was telling him that he was accelerating away from the Independence. He let go of the throttle momentarily before his rational mind regained control and he slammed the throttle wide open again. He wished he could close his eyes and wait for it all to be over, but he needed to watch the inertial guidance display to shut down the jets should he go spinning wildly out of control. This old suit relied on a combination of gyroscopes to help stabilize him and a crude thrust control system that varied the power to each jet as needed to maintain stability, and that was entirely manual.
He wondered where the Independence was, and when he might reach it. With no fixed
“Good man. I’m going to open the outer door. Turn to your right and face the rear wall. Step out sideways. That will put your back jets pointing in the direction of travel so you won’t waste any time turning around to begin braking. Remember, that suit is heavy, so you’ll need longer to brake than you might be used to. I’ve done this a few times, lad. When you step out, count to three, and then fire the rear jets on high. You may think I’m putting you out early, but trust me. By the time you scrub your speed, you’ll be floating well within range of your ship. Wait too long to brake, and you’ll sail right past her. Like I said earlier, I’m not coming after you. Traffic control will be monitoring me, and I’m going to continue around in orbit like none of this happened.”
“Look, all this talk is making me nervous. How long now?”
“Two minutes,” the captain said.
Nolan turned to face the rear wall as the door opened. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. What he was about to do was dangerous. The best he could hope for was to reach the Independence and get inside safely. The worst… he’d miss the target, run out of fuel, and either fall back to Caldon, burning up in the atmosphere, or fly off into space where he would suffocate when the air tanks ran empty. He wondered if SACOM might have changed the access codes for the Independence’s airlocks. If they had, the joke would be on them. Nolan had written all the control code on the ship. He had ways to open the airlock that SACOM knew nothing about.
“One minute, lad.”
Nolan’s heart was racing, pounding in his chest and thumping in his ears. In less than one minute, he had to make a choice to step out, or abandon any hope of finding Carl and reaching him. Then, suddenly, he thought of Megan. She should be about a third of the way to Zebulon by now. He knew his uncle would understand his absence, and would take good care of her. She’d be treated like family.
“Fifteen seconds, lad.”
Nolan stepped sideways to the edge of the deck. He wanted to turn and look for the Independence, but feared that it would be a lot farther away than he expected, and he’d be too scared to step out.
“Five seconds.”
In a rush of panic, he realized he was trusting his life to a complete stranger.
“Three… two… one.”
Nolan stepped out. His stomach heaved and adrenaline dumped into his bloodstream. The sudden transition from the half-G of the ship’s gravgen to micro-gravity was sending his entire body panic signals: you are falling! He remembered the last time he stepped out of the Independence five years ago. He had to return to the ship to clean the vomit from inside his pressure suit. In fact, now that he thought about it, it was the suit he was wearing now.
He was flying in a free orbit, which meant he was in his own inertial reference frame. In spite of his velocity, he felt as though he were floating, stationary in space. A new wave of panic engulfed him as he suddenly remembered the captain’s instructions. Count to three and fire the rear jets. How long had it been since he stepped out? Without another moment’s hesitation, he fired the rear jets. His mind screamed at him to turn off the jets. He knew the main jets were decelerating him, but every part of his body was telling him that he was accelerating away from the Independence. He let go of the throttle momentarily before his rational mind regained control and he slammed the throttle wide open again. He wished he could close his eyes and wait for it all to be over, but he needed to watch the inertial guidance display to shut down the jets should he go spinning wildly out of control. This old suit relied on a combination of gyroscopes to help stabilize him and a crude thrust control system that varied the power to each jet as needed to maintain stability, and that was entirely manual.
He wondered where the Independence was, and when he might reach it. With no fixed
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