Zero G

by Dan Wells

  “Kratt!” said Mama, emerging from the bathroom with a weary expression. “You’re back.”

  “You shut up, too!” screamed Kratt. “He locked me out there, but you left me out there!”

  “Don’t you talk to me that way—”

  “I’ll talk to you any way I like!” yelled Kratt. He turned back toward the Drago, and pointed at Mama with fire in his eyes. “I’m coming for you next.”

  Kratt was only turned around for a second, but that gave Zero the time he needed to back up farther, regain his bearings, and come up with a plan. It wasn’t much of a plan—jump into the central column and get away—but it was all Zero had time for. He curled up his legs, getting ready to kick off the wall and leap across the open space, but the paint on his feet had dried now. It wasn’t slimy, and it wasn’t tacky, it was just hard and slick; when his foot hit the wall to jump away, he slipped, giving him just a bare minimum of momentum. He tumbled into the center of the column slowly, almost painfully slowly, turning slightly in the air. He remembered what Sancho had said about the ship: there’s no gravity, but there’s still air, and that means there’s air resistance. If you run out of momentum, you’ll stop, and if you don’t have anything to push off of, you’ll be stuck.

  “No no no no no!” said Zero, stretching frantically for anything he could reach, but it was no good. He slowed to a stop.

  Right in the center of the wide central column.

  “Well, well, well,” said Kratt, floating at the entrance to the cross-hall. “Who’s stuck now?”

  “I was only trying to defend my ship,” said Zero. “That’s all. You would have done the same thing.”

  “No, I wouldn’t have,” said Kratt, and whipped his makeshift chain weapon into the side of the bulkhead. The loud CLANG reverberated through the whole ship. “I would have killed you.” He drifted slightly closer. “No fuss, no muss, no shocking last-minute reappearance.” He dragged his thumb across his throat as he drifted slightly closer. “Just khhhhhht! Dead.”

  “But I didn’t hurt you,” said Zero.

  “What?”

  “I mean I didn’t physically harm you! I didn’t throw you into space or cut a hole in your suit or anything like that—I could have, but I didn’t. That’s got to be worth something, right?”

  “I’ll tell you what that’s worth,” said Kratt. “You tell me your name, and when I cook you and eat you I’ll name whatever dish I make after you. The . . . Frankie Feast. The Little Danny Dumpling.” Zero didn’t speak—his brain was too frightened to come up with words or sentences. Kratt roared and swung his chain. “What’s your name?”

  “Zero!” said Zero. “My name is Zero.”

  “That’s a very appropriate name for you,” said Kratt. He drifted even closer now—well within reach of the long, terrifying chain. “Because you’re a worthless, pointless, useless little lump. Killing you will bring me more joy than you’ve ever brought to anyone in your life.”

  Zero shrank back, trying to swim through the air, but he didn’t move an inch. He winced, expecting a blow from the chain at any moment, but over Kratt’s shoulder he saw Jim and Mama huddled around their control panel, whispering and arguing and—every couple of seconds—looking over their shoulders at him.

  No, not at him. At Kratt.

  “They’re going to lock you out,” said Zero.

  Kratt flashed an evil smile, indulging his prey before he pounced and killed it. “Out of what?”

  “Out of the Drago,” said Zero. “They’re going to vent the atmosphere, didn’t you hear? They’re going to seal their door shut and then open a bunch of airlocks. The Pathfinder will just be a giant empty can—no oxygen, no nothing.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Look at them!” said Zero. “They’re doing it right now!”

  Kratt studied Zero carefully, making sure this wasn’t some kind of a trick to let Zero escape when his back was turned, and then glanced over his shoulder. When he saw them working on the console, he grabbed the edge of bulkhead, turned himself around, and shouted:

  “You wouldn’t dare!”

  Mama looked up at him, her face a mixture of fear and fury, and then looked back down at the console.

  “They already said they’ll leave Nyx,” said Zero.

  “I heard them,” Kratt growled.

  “And you just threatened to kill them,” said Zero. “You think they won’t leave you, too?”

  “Stop it,” said Kratt. Jim and Mama kept working, and he yelled louder. “Stop it!” He shook his head, and thought for a moment, then looked back at Zero and laughed. “They’re not going to hurt me, you idiot! They know I’m safe because I’m wearing a spacesu . . .” He trailed off, looking around. “Where’s my helmet?”

  “You took it off,” said Zero. “Back by the door, remember? It’s okay, though—it looks like Jim picked it up.” Zero pointed, and Kratt turned back to look, and Jim quickly hid the large helmet behind his back, looking guilty.

  “Raaahhhhh!” Kratt roared and launched himself at the docking Ring. Mama finished typing something and slammed her hand down on a button.

  The airlock doors began to close.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  THE LAST MINUTE

  KRATT WHIPPED OUT his chain as he flew, whipping the chunk of broken hull forward and lodging it right between the doors as they tried to slide together. The doors stalled, and Kratt slammed into them like a human missile.

  “Get away!” shouted Mama. She poked at him with a pole from the wall, shoving it through the gap in the doors, trying to push Kratt away. “Jim, get him away from the door!”

  “I’m trying,” said Jim, “I’m trying!” He didn’t have a pole, so he was pushing with his hands and feet. Kratt was pushing back, scrabbling at the door like a wild animal; he didn’t say anything at all, just shouted in incoherent rage.

  “This keeps getting worse,” Zero muttered. If they damaged the door, Zero might not ever be able to close it again—and that asteroid was still coming toward them. There were at least three different calamities trying to end his life right now, and he couldn’t do anything about any of them. He tried again to move from the center of the empty column, but he couldn’t go anywhere.

  “Krattison Oswald Hendricksiter!” yelled Mama. “You get away from this door this instant!”

  “Not this time!” roared Kratt, and slammed his fist against the half-closed door. “No more calling me an idiot!” He slammed his fist again. “No more ‘sorry, Mama!’” Jim tried to punch him, but Kratt grabbed his arm and pulled him forward, bonking Jim’s head into the inside of the door.

  “You’re going to break the ship!” Zero yelled.

  “It’s my ship now,” yelled Kratt, and wrenched the pole out of Mama’s hands. “I’m the new leader of this pirate crew, and I can do anything I want!”

  “You’re not even on the crew anymore!” said Mama. She grabbed one of his arms, and Jim grabbed another, and Kratt fought back like a caged wolf.

  “I’ve decided you’re right,” said Nyx. Zero spun around and saw her floating close behind him. “I’d rather ditch these losers and come with you to the colony.”

  “Nyx!” Zero tried to shout and whisper at the same time. “Quick, shove me over there!”

  “I’ll do better than that,” said Nyx, and held up a stun gun. “Turns out Spider had three of these.”

  Zero’s eyes went wide. “You’re the one who knocked her out?”

  “Of course it was me,” said Nyx. “Who’d you think it was, an alien?” She shoved him hard, sending herself toward the Drago and Zero away from it. He twisted in the air, hit the wall with his feet, and jumped as hard as he could to follow her. Still in midair, Nyx raised her stun gun, aimed it at the tangle of bodies, and fired. The little metal darts shot out, went right past Kratt, and hit Mama square in the shoulder. She froze in place, shaking slightly, and the current passed through her into Kratt, and through him into Jim, and all three of them were sh
ocked and vibrating. The three pirates fell to the floor, and Nyx and Zero landed next to them. They shoved them through the gap and into the Drago.

  “Ow,” said Kratt, apparently just conscious enough to speak in a low, slurred voice, but not conscious enough to resist. Zero and Nyx were able to maneuver his floating body through the gap and into the cluttered pirate ship.

  Zero tried to dislodge the piece of hull plating Kratt had jammed into the door, but it wouldn’t budge. The door was still trying to close, and the metal chunk was holding it open, and Zero couldn’t move either one.

  “Stand back,” said Nyx, and hit a button on the nearby console, and the door started to open instead of close. The chunk of metal drifted free.

  “Smart,” said Zero.

  “Thanks,” said Nyx.

  Zero kicked the metal and the floating chain through the door, and Nyx hit the button to close it again. A small screen showed an image of the other side of the door, and he watched as the Drago’s airlock closed tight, sealing the pirates inside. A green sign lit up, showing two words: Airlock Secure.

  “Golden,” said Zero.

  “I’m glad it sealed their side,” said Nyx. “I didn’t want to kill them, you know?”

  “Yeah,” said Zero. “They’re awful, but me neither.” He pushed the button to disengage the docking clamps, and watched through the camera as the Drago drifted away from the Pathfinder.

  “Okay,” said Nyx. “If I’m counting right, we have half an hour to reboot Sancho before my mom’s new flight plan takes us to Tacita.”

  Zero looked at her in surprise. “How do you know about rebooting Sancho?”

  “I wanted to see what you’d been doing in that empty hangar, so I found a space suit and went out to look. I found your little viewscreen with the reboot instructions,” said Nyx. “Pretty clever to hide it out there.”

  “Have I kept any secrets from you so far?”

  “Not really.”

  “But you never sold me out to your family.”

  “They’re not much of a family,” said Nyx. “It still took me a while to choose a side, though. Sorry I waited so long.”

  “As far as I’m concerned, you’re the hero of the day,” said Zero. “Can you reboot Sancho?”

  “I think so. What are you going to do?”

  “If I’m counting correctly,” said Zero, “I have a little less than half an hour to get back upstairs and shoot an asteroid out of our way.” He tried to smile, but it only looked pained and sour. “Or everyone on this ship is going to die.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  BEDTIME

  ZERO AND NYX pushed themselves into the central column, and then jumped toward the fore of the ship as hard as they could. They were relatively close, so it only took a couple of jumps; Zero had spent so long crawling through the maintenance tubes, he’d forgotten how fast it was to move through the center. He didn’t have time to enjoy it, though: he had to move as fast as he could.

  “Do you know how to shoot down an asteroid?” asked Nyx.

  “I did it once before,” said Zero. “I think I can probably do it again.”

  “You think you can probably do it again?”

  “I had Sancho’s help the last time,” said Zero, feeling defensive. “Can you get him turned on?”

  “Say what you will about my awful family,” said Nyx, grabbing a metal strut and kicking off it, launching herself toward the next one. “Spider was a technical genius, and I learned everything I could from her. I’m pretty sure I can reboot a computer.” She caught the last strut and aimed herself at the door to the computer room. “Good luck.”

  “Good luck,” said Zero. He held out his hand, and she grabbed it firmly, staring at him.

  “Nice body paint, by the way,” said Nyx. “You’re going to start a trend.”

  “Thanks,” said Zero. “And—I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad I’m not alone.”

  Nyx grinned. “Me too.”

  They let go and jumped toward their final destinations. She disappeared into the dark door of the computer room, and he sailed into the pilot’s office. The viewscreen on the desk was going crazy now, with red lights flashing and sirens blaring and bright, glowing words lighting up the walls: Asteroid Collision Imminent! Emergency Action Required!

  “I’m here!” Zero said, grabbing the pilot’s chair and strapping himself in.

  “Asteroid collision imminent,” said a voice.

  “Sancho, is that you?”

  “Asteroid collision imminent.”

  Just a recorded warning, then, thought Zero. I think I can remember how this works.

  He stared at the desk, trying to remember the procedure. He started by tapping every viewscreen he could reach, trying to wake them up; most of them turned into holographic displays of the ship and the Kuiper Belt, but some just kept flashing their alarm signs. The biggest display was on the desk itself, which lit up with a large, detailed hologram. Zero saw the Pathfinder, and a line showing its course, and a bright pink X marked “Engage New Flight Plan.” The line beyond the X curved, veering sharply to the left—or as sharply as anything can veer when it’s traveling at four million kilometers per hour.

  “So that’s where Spider’s program kicks in to take us to Tacita,” said Zero. A small holographic readout next to the X showed their estimated time of arrival: fourteen minutes and fifty-two seconds. Fifty-one seconds. Fifty. Forty-nine. Zero tore his eyes away from the countdown to look at the other display, even more terrifying than the first: a thin, purple line labeled “Asteroid 54987,” intercepting their path on a perfect collision course. The intercept point was marked with a purple X, just in front of the pink X, and the countdown was sooner: six minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Twenty-six. Twenty-five.

  “Come on, Zero, focus.” He shook his head, trying to remember how the force cannons worked. He had to touch the display, right? He reached out and tapped the hologram of the asteroid—and the ship responded with another automated warning:

  “Do you wish to calculate a new route to the designated destination?”

  “What?” asked Zero. “No, no! Don’t fly to the asteroid, you dumb spaceship. Shoot it!” He canceled the request. He had to do something else—not just tap it, but . . . slap it? He tried slapping it, swatting his hand through the hologram like he was swatting a fly. Nothing. He tried to push it back. He tried to pull it to the side. He tried flicking it away like a crumb on a napkin, but nothing worked. Finally, he simply reached out and grabbed the hologram, too frustrated to come up with anything better, and the desk responded again:

  “Do you wish to fire force cannons at the designated target?”

  “Yes! Shoot it!” said Zero. But it wasn’t voice activated. He had to tap something to make it work, but he couldn’t remember what or how. He let go, thinking that might do it, but all the message did was disappear.

  “Asteroid Collision Imminent,” said the warning, and the timer continued counting down: three minutes and two seconds. Three minutes and one second. Three minutes. Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds.

  Zero grabbed the holographic asteroid again, and the message reappeared: Did he want to fire the force cannons? Sancho had told him the ship couldn’t fire on its own; a human had to give the order. How had he done it last time? He’d moved it or twisted it or—

  “Twist!” shouted Zero, and twisted his hand to the right.

  “Target confirmed,” said the message on the desk. “Firing force cannons.” Zero waited, watching as a new line flew out from the front of the Pathfinder, slicing through space toward the asteroid. It hit, and the asteroid changed course, and Zero screamed in triumph.

  “Yes!”

  The desktop screen lit up with a friendly, yellow circle. “Hello,” said the computer voice. “I am the Pathfinder’s navigational artificial intelligence. You may call me Sancho.”

  “Sancho!” screamed Zero, still too excited from his victory to quiet down. “Are you back?”

  �
��I think so,” said Nyx, floating into the room behind him. “I followed the procedure exactly, and all the right lights lit up.” She looked at the hologram display. “I heard you shout ‘yes’ super loud, so I assume you stopped the asteroid?”

  “Got it,” said Zero. “Hey Sancho, can you hear me?”

  “I can detect two voices through the microphones in the pilot’s office,” said Sancho. “Neither of you are wearing locator chips, so I must assume that you are not supposed to be here. Are you the pirates who attacked this vessel?”

  “Sort of,” said Nyx.

  “It’s me, Sancho,” said Zero, “it’s Zero! Don’t you remember?”

  “I am a navigational computer,” said Sancho. “I do not have the capacity to differentiate one human voice from another. Are you Mr. Huang?”

  Nyx frowned. “Is he always like this?”

  “Always,” said Zero. “Sancho, yes, I’m Su-Shu Huang. It’s good to have you back. The pirates are gone, except for one, but she’s good and she’s coming with us. When they turned you off they programmed a new route into the guidance computer, trying to take us to a secret planet called Tacita. The Pathfinder is automated to change course as soon as we cross the Kuiper Cliff, in . . .” He looked at the timer display. “Ten minutes. Can you turn that off and put us back on the original route?”

  “I will attempt to do so,” said Sancho.

  Zero looked at Nyx. “This might take him a while—”

  “I have successfully returned us to the original route,” said Sancho.

  “Not bad,” said Nyx. “Kind of crappy at voice recognition but, let’s be fair, honestly a super-good navigational computer.”

  “Thank you,” said Sancho. “Now: may I ask which one of you is going to use the pilot’s stasis pod?”

  And then Zero remembered, and the whole world seemed to stand still. “There’s only one,” he said. He looked at Nyx, his eyes wide in shock. “There’s only one stasis pod.”