Page 41 of My Alien Jewel
D’Aakh hangs his head. “Cai? Tell them our location.”
“We’re currently flying through a system designated as K4OR64.” Even the AI sounds worried as she says the words. “The nearest star went supernova a millennia ago and has now collapsed into a neutron star. In approximately four hours, we will enter its magnetosphere.”
“What happens then?” Nala asks. She’s holding Ellen now, clutching the girl so close to her chest I’m surprised Ellen isn’t complaining. She’s probably just as frightened as her mother.
“Neutron stars are among the most dangerous objects in the universe,” Zarkan explains. “Everyone knows to avoid them. They’re a source of massive radiation and unpredictable magnetic and gravitational forces. Nothing survives being near them.”
Oh. Great. “So, we need to not be flying past it then. Is there a way to turn the ship even just a little? I’m clearly no expert but I saw a movie where they used a fire extinguisher to propel themselves in space. Can’t we like…blow some air out of one side of the ship to make us turn away from this neutral star?”
“Neutron star,” D’Aakh corrects me, sighing. “It’s a good idea. One I’ve already put in motion. That’s why we have four hours and not thirty-seven minutes. Unfortunately, venting more air or water would destabilize life support. We’d be flying away from the neutron star, but we’d suffocate.”
Nala puts her hand over Ellen’s ear and scowls at D’Aakh. “So what can we do, then? Are we just going to sit here and wait for the radiation to fry us?”
“No, we’re not!” D’Aakh snaps at her. “Cai and I have spent every second trying to come up with a solution while the rest ofyou rested. Or fucked,” he adds, scowling between Z’Ree and me. “We have a solution but you might not like it.”
“We appreciate your efforts, D’Aakh,” Zarkan says calmly. “Yours too, Cai. Will you familiarize us with your plan?”
D’Aakh deflates. “It’s not a good plan. It’s a terrible fucking plan because it means someone has to die. But I can’t fucking come up with anything else. I tried! I fucking tried, but nothing else will work.”
“D’Aakh, breathe.” Zarkan squeezes D’Aakh’s shoulder. “Tell us what needs to be done.”
“Fine.” D’Aakh sucks in a shaky breath. “I can rewire the engines. The capacitors are the problem but I have a workaround for that. The inner part of the ship is shielded and I can reroute the power to the corridors so that they’ll work as temporary conduits.”
Tareq frowns. “Wait, won’t that kill us all?”
“We’ll hide in the ready room here on the bridge. The room is designed to withstand almost anything. The electricity coursing through the corridors won’t penetrate the shielding. All of this will let us keep the engines operational for one short jump. We should be able to reach the nearest station and get proper repairs then.”
“You said someone would die,” Faelin reminds D’Aakh solemnly.
D’Aakh nods, despair etched into his features. “Someone will have to go outside of the ship and manually rewire the controls there.”
“So? We go outside all of the time. What’s the big problem?”
“The fucking neutron star is the problem,” D’Aakh replies. “The radiation outside is already excessively strong. It will cause irreversible damage to whoever leaves the protective shell of the ship. They might not die right away, but—”
“I’ll go,” Zarkan interrupts. “Get everything ready, D’Aakh. That’s an order.”
The others stare at him in disbelief. “Like hell you will!” Lyriana exclaims. “You’re not sacrificing yourself for us!”
“Yes, I am. I’m the oldest here. The rest of you have your whole lives before you. I’ve already lived through most of mine.”
“Bullshit,” Faelin spits out. “You could easily live decades longer. I’m not letting you do this.”
Zarkan smiles warmly. “You have a family now, Faelin. You’re not eligible to volunteer for a suicide mission.”
“Well, I don’t have a fucking family and I’m volunteering,” Lyriana says. “You don’t get to just choose yourself!”
“Yes, I do. You wanted me to be the captain, so I’m the one making the decisions around here.”
“Like hell you are!”
A strangled voice interrupts their argument. “I’ll do it.”
Startled, I turn to face Z’Ree, seeing that she’s moved into the center of the room. The crew stares at her like they’ve completely forgotten her existence. My mate squares her shoulders and looks Zarkan straight in the eyes. “I’ll do it,” she repeats. “I’ll go outside.”
Chapter 22
Z’Ree