When Every Second Counts

Chapter 7
Where Gravity Does Not Exist

Ryan grumbled as the computer made an aggravated tone. The same tone was made for every military access code he knew. That to which he wanted access to was no longer within his access. Neither his personal codes nor those that were assigned to the Deep Eyes worked. He gave up as the last password failed.

Unfastening himself from his seat, the sergeant surrendered to the weightlessness of space. Being weightless was harder to get used to than one would expect. He had been in space before. Ryan was almost used to it again, but he still had problems with inertia. The injury he bore on his side felt worse when he collided with a wall in the wrong way. He learned very quickly not to collide with walls in that way.

Ryan floated through the large ship. He Subconsciously learned to use the Black Boa's own movement to his advantage as he moved towards the laboratory. The facility could be used for various things, but for now it only served as an infirmary of sorts. The door opened just in time for the last of an exclamation to be heard halfway down the hall.

"What's funny?" Ryan asked. He glanced to Dr. Sid, who sat chuckling in a magnetic chair. Looking to Neil, he found his friend looking quite pale.

"Not funny," Neil said, "I said, 'not funny.'"

"Oh, then what's not funny?" Ryan asked, quite curious by now.

"He faked the scan," Neil replied angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Sid, "He said I had a Phantom in me,"

"Us old folks need our fun too," Sid replied, "And if you'd like we could always scan you again."

"No thank you, doc," Neil said, pushing off the table and moving out through the still open door, "I'd prefer to talk to the Phantom."

"He is all right, right?" Ryan asked when the door had closed.

"He'll be fine," Sid replied, "I just thought he needed something to take his mind away from all the stress we've been through recently."

"Some method," Ryan commented.

"I've got work to do," the elderly scientist said, "Do you need anything?"

"Uh, no, I was just gonna talk to Neil about something," Ryan said, moving back towards the door. He left the scientist alone and went to try to find Neil. He eventually found the tech in the same room he had left, working at the same computer.

"You talk to the captain yet?" Ryan asked, trying to make out the fast moving images on the screen.

"No," Neil mumbled, "I get the feeling he doesn't really want to be disturbed right now."

"Huh? Why not?" the sergeant caught one or two words that flashed by. Name lists, he realized, and reports. What he had been trying to access earlier.

"He's," Neil paused, trying to think of a polite way of saying it, "He's spending some quality time with Dr. Ross. Besides, he's not gonna let us go back anyway."

"You don't know that," Ryan said, "Wait, how come your access codes work? Mine didn't get a thing."

"Of course ours don't work," Neil scoffed, "I used Major Elliott's access codes, not ours."

"You did what?" Ryan asked, disbelieving, "How the hell did you get his access codes?"

"Well, I just sorta came across them ya know?" Neil said sheepishly, "No harm done to anyone, I swear!"

"Hmm, find anything?" the sergeant was unsure whether he wanted to know or not, "What do they say caused the barrier to fall?"

"No one seems to know," Neil said, "They don't think they'll be able to compile an accurate casualty listing for a while."

Ryan settled into a magnetic chair and watched from across the room as Neil worked on the computer. He tried to ignore the feeling of guilt by telling himself everything would end up well and happy. Somehow even he doubted his words to Neil earlier. The sick feeling they both shared was familiar, and Neil was not able to tell whether the burning sensation behind his eyes was the result of the terminal in front of him or from something else entirely.