Mallory pulled himself to the wall so he could fold the cot shut, locking it against the wall. Then he pushed himself to the opposite wall as his cabin vibrated with the first shock of the bolts blowing free between the lifeboat and the rest of the ship. He unfolded the acceleration couch as the second shock hit.
A giant invisible fist slammed into his gut as the lifeboat’s engine kicked in, blowing him away from the
The too-long acceleration must have nearly played out the small disposable drive attached to the boat. Once it cut out and Mallory was able to free himself from the acceleration couch, the nav computer spoke over the PA. “Three hours until atmospheric insertion.”
All the lifeboats would have jettisoned, and the nav computers would attempt to put them down in a cluster close to population, if there were any obvious population centers. The computers would try to put the boats someplace survivable—no mountain ranges, deep oceans, desert, or tundra.
The operative word there was
If they were lucky, the beacons would be working and the survivors would be able to reach each other on foot. Mallory pulled out the emergency kit and found the comm beacon for his lifeboat. He pulled out the little handheld unit and scanned for the other lifeboats. The display showed six active beacons out there, but no sign which of them had survivors—no transmissions other than the standard emergency broadcasts.
“This is Fitz—This is Mallory, from the
He repeated himself a half dozen times before he heard a voice return, “Hello, hello, hello?”
It was coming from beacon number five.
“Yes, I can hear you.”
“—bzzt—ron Dorner. I’m with Dr. Pak and Dr. Brody. Dr. Brody’s injured.”
“What happened?”
“—bzzt—during acceleration. His wrist is broken—bzzt—unconscious.”
“Do you have the medkit out?”
“Yes.”
Mallory talked her through treating Brody. The doctor had a compound fracture and a head wound. Fortunately he was breathing okay and his pupils were responsive. Mallory spent a half hour talking Dr. Dorner through stabilizing the fracture and getting Brody strapped into one of the acceleration couches. If they were lucky, that would be enough to get him to ground safely.
“Stow everything you can for reentry.” Mallory told her. “It isn’t going to be pleasant.”
“Yes—”
“When you land, don’t leave the vicinity of the lifeboat unless you’re in immediate danger. These things will try to cluster their landings, and if you stay by the beacon, I can probably reach you before anyone else.”
He could hear the hesitation in her voice before she said, “Yes.”
The air went dead for a moment, then he heard another voice. “Mallory?”
He thought he recognized the voice. “Kugara?”
