Chapter Eighteen: Space Walk
I was running out of time.
That much became clear as the air inside my helmet thinned. It was getting harder to breathe by increments - and for the briefest of seconds, I wondered what, of all the current options, would kill me first.
I shut my eyes and saw my kids' faces, and was nearly overwhelmed with despair.
Stop it, Cooper, I urged myself, forcing my mind to remain in the present. You've got to find a way.
My eyes snapped open again, and I was determined to move. I'd gotten the message out to Willis that we needed aid. The rest was up to me.
As I rotated slowly, I put some effort into rolling harder to the side. After the initial breach I'd needed to stop my momentum to ensure I didn't end up too far from the ship - or get flung into any larger pieces of debris. For now, though, I needed to try to get to any lifeline I could to get back to the Stars.
I floated around, searching frantically for something, anything I could use. The other survivors around me seemed to be doing the same; I worried about them, too - especially Cal - but I realized pretty quickly that I could do nothing for my men if I wasn't alive myself. And in this position, there wasn't much I could instruct them to try, either, other than doing exactly what I was: attempting to reach the ship.
Still, I thought they should at least know that help was on the way.
"This is Cooper," I said, trying to keep the transmission as short as possible. I coughed from the lack of air, and the effort of moving in vacuum, but then took a small breath and went on. "Air support and rescue is on the way. Keep at efforts to reach the air locks. Don't know how long evac'll take. We've got ten."
That was as much as I could do. I cut the connection then, beginning to get lightheaded, and I knew I only had enough air for one-word answers from here on out. Those I'd have to save for our eventual rescue - if we got that far.
We will. Just have to keep trying.
Somehow in my awkward rotation, a wandering piece of metal bumped me forward - it was small enough that the impact didn't hurt, but large enough that it got me moving again. Not in the direction of the ship, but maybe something just as useful: a thick black cable swaying in front of me. I reached out to grab it, missed, then swiped my gloved hand out a second time.
I got it.
My heart swelled in momentary elation, but I found that the small victory wasn't going to last. In the next instant, I felt a wave of energy suddenly crash into me from behind, and I was sent flying again.
I managed to hold onto the large cable as I swung, but only barely. I gripped it tightly with both hands and willed myself to keep steady. My breathing was coming in gasps, not only from the diminishing air, but also from the cold stab of panic that hit me. I missed being able to hear my environment around me, something other than my own rapid intake of oxygen and the roar of my pulse in my ears. Without my hearing I had no idea what had caused the shuddering blast this time...until I turned around.
"Oh, shit!"
A pair of Seraphs had made it past Willis's lines and were gunning for us, just as I'd feared might happen. His pilots were good, of that I had no doubt, but it was impossible to maintain control of everything at all times - especially in space, where there were no chokepoints to utilize, no barricades, and no backup to keep the enemy at bay.
The sudden blast behind me? One of our own Broadswords, whose obliterated wreckage now also sped quickly our way.
"Watch out!"
I heard the warning cry over the radio - a male pilot my brain unconsciously registered as Willis's XO - but I had truly no idea what I could even do to try to evade. My only recourse in the moment was to curl myself up into a ball around the rope, making a smaller target, and hope to hell I didn't get hit.
Nothing ran into me, but something definitely impacted the cable. Hard. My heart rate spiked again as I was flung backward towards our ship. And now the cable was gone.
I shut my eyes tight and tried not to yell out. Rather than the ship being my salvation, I knew it was likely going to be my end. I'd be an ugly splatter on the side of the Stars, if I didn't act fast.
In the final moment, I made a last desperate grab with my hands...
...And suddenly, I stopped.
I wasn't sure what happened at first, until I looked down and saw the cable again. For a minute, I was downright astonished that my body was still intact.
After blinking a few times to make sure I was really here and mobile, I finally glanced up. In front of me was our ship. I let out a shaky breath and eased close enough to press my boots onto the metal, then reached down to engage the magnetic lock on the soles. For better or for worse, I was stuck now.
Emotion went through me as I struggled to take in air - this time because of the scare. Something like a relieved whimper escaped me.
"Natalie? Natalie!"
It was Willis. He sounded beside himself, and I didn't really blame him. I'd been sure I was a goner.
"Here," was all I said in response.
I held on tightly to the cable as I took in a steadying breath...and decided I'd never hated ships so much in my life.
There was no time to collect myself, even after the close call. We still had the problem of the Seraphs to deal with - along with the whole not-having-air thing.
Right now, my last remaining seven minutes of oxygen worried me less than the enemy aircraft blasting away at our pilots. And us.
There wasn't a whole lot I could do from my position, but I was a Marine, and we were a resourceful bunch. I couldn't hear the enemy rounds coming in, although I did see the brief flashes of light from the plasma emissions, but I decided not to let that deter me. There would be no warning if I got hit - and if I did, I'd be dead instantaneously. So I didn't see a reason to dwell on it, as terrifying as the idea was.
My hands still shook as I used a combination of the rifle on my back and my grip on the cable to maneuver forward. Overriding the lock on my boots required more effort than simply lifting my feet, and I had to be sure to choose my route carefully, as much as I was able. A quick but calculated step at a time, and using my rifle's sling to pull myself up on destroyed parts of the deck, I made my way back inside. Sort of.
"Inside" in this case was still a mostly-destroyed-and-barely-hanging-together part of the deck we'd been on, and still in vacuum. But even getting this close, and no longer being at the mercy of the vastness of space, was comforting.
So was the fact that other Marines had made it. I decided to risk one of my last remaining chances at speech, hoping a certain spook was among them.
"Cal?"
Some fifty meters or so ahead of me, hanging upside down from an exposed beam, I saw two rapid flashes of light. Relief washed over me.
I wanted to ask him about the others when another harsh wave of energy hit. I braced myself against the cable but it nearly blew me into the ship, and the strain on my locked-in ankles was immense. Pain quickly radiated up my body, and made reacting fast hard.
I saw that the energy source was a Phantom, boosting past us. I figured the two Seraphs from earlier must've been its escorts to get behind our lines. That wasn't good.
The Covenant were dropping troops on us now, too.
"Weapons up!"
The two words were all I could manage as I quickly reached for my gun and fired into the newly arrived cluster of zero-gee Elites. Certainly there were more of them than us, but right now I couldn't afford to get lost in that. My first trio of bullets landed on target but hit the alien's shields, making them flicker, and I noticed he'd ducked out of the way with the jetpack on its back, making one end of it flare.
Dammit. Not only were we outnumbered, but they had full maneuverability out here as well.
As if the Seraphs and being in vacuum weren't enough.
"Need assist!" I broadcast on the general channel, hoping to get the attention of both Willis and Dakhati back on the ship, but I couldn't say more than that without compromising my air. Movement was taking up all my extra oxygen, and the meter in my HUD read just four minutes left.
Making sure to hold on tight to my gun, I wound part of the cable around my middle, not wanting to send myself flying back out into the blackness again, and decided that unfortunately in this case, I'd have to take the trade-off of being a stationary target. When I was done I brought the same Elite back in my sights, fired again, and was rewarded with the sight of several large clumps of dark purple blood erupting into the starry background.
Other Marines joined me, and we did our best to stem the tide of zero-gee fighters. I raised my rifle again and aimed for another Elite's back, pulling the trigger three times. His jetpack finally burst, sending pieces of equipment and alien rushing into a third bastard like projectiles and killing both. I couldn't say I wasn't excited about my two-for-one, but there were plenty more descending on us now, and we were taking casualties.
Just below Cal I watched a Marine get pegged by a plasma shot, ripping through his shoulder. He let out a scream over the COM, and although it wouldn't have been a fatal hit aboard ship, out here, he was as good as dead. I saw Caleb try to dart down to grab him, to patch the breach in his suit before his oxygen ran out, but it was no use. The Marine was shot a second time in the chest, and that ended any slim chances of saving him.
Inside my helmet I cursed. I wanted to tell Cal to watch it, to not compromise his own precarious position, but at this point I could do little except hope everyone looked out for themselves to some degree.
A short script started flashing at the top of my HUD then. Two minutes.
Come on, I thought, gritting my teeth as I brought my rifle to bear once more. Come on...
Suddenly everything happened at once. An Elite close by fired three shots in quick succession, burning black stains into the Stars' broken hull just to the side of me. I quickly returned fire, bringing the son of a bitch down before he could get me, then risked disengaging the lock on my boots to avoid more incoming fire from yet another source. I slung my rifle behind my back, needing both hands to grip the cable so I wasn't lost again, and rapidly reached down for my sidearm.
I was able to grab it, but overcompensated to keep steady. The rotation sent me spiraling head over feet away from the Stars, and my hold on my lifeline slipped.
No, I panicked. No, no, no -
The cable was gone again. I was in space without a backup. I needed to -
A pair of strong arms pulled me up from the back of my torso armor then. The panicked feeling intensified, as I thought it was an Elite, and I suddenly envisioned my neck being forcibly separated from my body.
I flailed.
Next thing I knew my ass was hitting a hard deck. I stopped and sat there a moment, very confused.
"Welcome aboard, Colonel," a Navy crewman said to me. "UNSC Pelican 304, at your service."
The back hatch into the troop bay closed, and I gasped as the sailor helped me take off my helmet.
"Ma'am, I'll give you a sec so you can orient yourself, but you're going to need this back on in a minute," he said to me. "Got several more pick-ups to go."
I blinked and then breathed in deep in the pressurized environment, not quite digesting the fact that I was saved yet. And that I could finally hear my surroundings again.
"What's - how - ?"
"We always keep a rescue squadron in reserve, ma'am," the pilot answered from the intercom. I didn't recognize her voice, but I was sure as hell grateful to her. "As of now, we've got six Pelicans out to get your men."
But... "The Seraphs? Elites?"
The crewman in front of me winked. "Don't worry, ma'am. We got 'em." He handed me my helmet back. "Now, please get this back on, Colonel. Trust me, you'll need that last minute of oh-two you've got left."
I did as he said and pulled it on, hating the fact that I needed it to breathe again.
There was a sharp thunk on the deck, and I turned to face the crewman, back in his helmet like me.
"Mag lock engaged? You might want to tether up, too."
I quickly did so, and yet I still wasn't prepared for the rush of vacuum and its enormous pull when the hatch opened once more. I saw the crewman all but jump out to grab another Marine as the craft passed, and he managed, but only barely. The dropship rocked beneath us, and my subordinate was thrown sideways into the bench seats.
The crewman regained his footing and reached out. "My apologies, sir. We're still taking evasive maneuvers."
Our latest arrival sat up, then held up a hand. "No need, Petty Officer. Thanks for the save."
A corner of my lips curved fast at the sound of his voice. "Cal!"
"Yes, ma'am," he confirmed, releasing a tense breath I was sure each of us felt by now. He pulled off his helmet and gloves after strapping in, then ran a tired - and trembling - hand through his short, dark brown hair. It was his left one, and I saw the light briefly reflect off his wedding ring. "I never, ever want to do that again."
"Me, either, buddy," I replied, feeling just as drained as I sunk back against the deck, legs half-sprawled before me. "Me either."