A Simple Delivery Chapter 1

So comfortable. So very comfortable. Wow, really really comfortable. Had something happened to her bed? Did it magically get better? Overnight? Did she find the right position? Was that all it took? Strange. Better not waste it, she thought, not moving an inch. Then, her back felt a little cold. Why was the bed cold? That’s really unusual. Why would her bed be cold? She twisted around to find her blanket. Still twisting. Still twisting. Still twisting. Or is it turning? She had stopped twisting but she was still turning. Opening her eyes was an admission of defeat. Nothing is wrong. It’s fine. It couldn’t be anything other than her imagination. No. She’s still spinning, for sure. Fine, the final step has arrived. It’s time to wake up.

Wall. Floor. Wall. Ceiling. Floor. Wall. Floor.

Her eyes closed again. That’s too much, too early in the morning. The gravity wasn’t working. She knew this was a fact. It didn’t make it one she liked. Everything is fine. It’ll come back on if she counts to ten. One number for every rotation. She gets to 5 and stops. Would it be that great for the gravity to suddenly kick back in right now? She knew at that moment, it was time to get to work. She opened her eyes and placed her hand on the ceiling to stop her rotating. Luckily, She had tidied up before bed. Just this once. The only other loose object was her sheet. Pearly white beauty billowing under the cool white light of an LED panel. Such clinical beauty was breathtaking but there are problems to solve.

She reaches down to grasp the slick white panel that houses her repair kit. The little, black fabric pouch jangled with pieces of metal as she moved her leg through the strap. Tightened, it hugged onto her bare right thigh. She knew she should be wearing protective equipment to check diagnostics but speed can overtake safety, she told herself. There could be no time for formalities. Maybe. Probably. Time is certainly of the essence. She pushed against the ceiling and glided out of her doorway, the strengthened glass gliding out of her way politely. The corridor was dark, emergency lighting only. An ominous red glow filled the ship. Her eyes slowly adjusted to this stark difference as she slowly floated through the tunnel-like corridors. The gentle curve of this passage meant she couldn’t see all that far ahead of her. There was a green light approaching. A service Shaft. She reaches out in front of her and grasps one of the four handles surrounding the square hole. Green lights filled this tighter space with ladders seemingly carved into all sides. With one gentle push, she shoots up the tube into the stem of the ship. She immediately begins taking deep breaths through her nose. A very slight warm, dusty smell. The kind you’d find in an old computer that needed fans. She reaches for a panel on the wall and twists a handle. The panel slides away revealing rows upon rows of fuses. Each flickering with indicator LEDs. She scans the rows slowly, methodically until her eyes rest on one fuse near the bottom of the panel. She waits a few seconds. No lights. Something had happened before the fuse. She takes a closer look. The fuse reads ‘G-P55w-e’ on its plastic cover. “Command.” She growls through a soft vocal fry. “Index search fuse gee pee fifty five double-u ee.” Her voice clearer this time.

A second passes.

Then another.

“55 watt capacity breaker used for gravity sensor module three.” A synthetic voice states.

“Troubleshoot gravity sensors one through three.” She growls once again.

“No signal received sensors one, two, three.” The voice blurts. Instantly this time. She pauses for a moment, pretending to think. She was actually still in the process of waking up so her brain was working very little on the problem at hand. “Recommended action.” she states. No response. She sighs. “Command. Recommended action.” she says with disdain.

“No gravitational bodies detected, default rpm viable for artificial gravity.” The voice quickly states. “Initiate default gravity spin.” She grumbles. No reply. “Permission to initiate default gravity spin given by commanding officer Wolfe Hancock.” She says, eyes rolling. She shuts the panel and twists the handle back with a satisfying clunk. She rolls backwards over herself as the electronics around her begin to stir with life. She grabs the handles either side of the shaft she previously floated through and carefully lowers herself through it, feet first.