six

"Finch! Answer me, damn it!"

Kat fought panic, horror and anger, all in equal measures, the portion of each enough to tip her over the edge of sanity and into madness. She'd seen bad stuff. Some of her dust dreams had left her questioning the purpose of the universe. But nothing compared to actually being in a ship that seemed intent on ripping itself a part, and being caught in a bubble of weirdness at the same time.

Behind her, electricity arced away from the panel, white blue in the hazy atmosphere. She couldn't hear the crackle of it over shrieking tear of metal, ominous groan of struts bending, the entire superstructure of the ship twisting, and the snap of plastic sheeting as wall after wall cracked. She was aware of the small rotation of the ship as well. The corridor had begun to move around her. Beyond the gaping fissure—now set into the roof—electronics and ductwork popped and fizzed, raining sparks and spewing vapour. The entire frigate shook as if a giant toddler had picked it up and decided to play war.

She didn't want to be caught in the Bataille as it came apart; she didn't want to trust in the freaky little bubble to protect her. Kat reached out to batter at the invisible barrier again and howled until her head spun. Then she sucked in a breath and attempted rational thought. Maybe Finch had been captured by a bubble, too. This piece of shit ship had some new-fangled atmosphere containment protocol or something.

"Goddamn it, Finch. Answer me."

The connection hissed in her ear, the one that didn't itch, and then a thin voice answered. "Here."

"Why do you sound like you're two systems away?"

He couldn't bug out, could he? The escape pods weren't online. Nothing was supposed to be online! Kat shook her head. Finch wouldn't leave without her. They were friends and fuck buddies. That meant something in the world of mercenary engineering.

"I'm…the…looking at Rocky."

"What? Finch?"

Rocky was their name for the asteroid the Bataille was attached to, or hidden behind. Ironically, parking the hulk near a mapped object made it easier to find, even while it remained out of view. Mostly.

Wait, if he was looking at— "You're outside the ship?"

"S'cool, Sunshine. I'm hanging on."

The Bataille lurched and shuddered again. Over the continual creak and grind, the new sensation jarred. Kat rolled sideways and then flinched as the inner wall buckled and a panel she had yet to touch popped out of its socket and flew into the invisible barrier protecting her.

"Are you in a bubble, Finch? A pocket inside some invisible shield-thing?"

"What?"

"I'm in a fucking bubble. That invisible barrier. It's all around me."

"That might be good."

The ship rumbled and jerked again and Kat fell against the barrier. Instead of bouncing her back the other way, the substance of it seemed to absorb her momentum. Freaky, freaky shit. A tremble caught her lips and fingers. Her legs shook as well. Her stomach rolled, just because it hadn't done that for a while.

Fuck, fuck.

In the midst of chaos, Kat found it difficult to summon logical thought. For a second, she imagined the weird barrier might protect her while the ship fell apart. But then she imagined being stuck in the bubble after, floating through debris, and knew she would die anyway. Without a tank, her scrubber could only recycle the air trapped in there with her for a limited time. Maybe two hours. Three? Seemed stupid to survive the wreck only to die after.

A fit caught her, limbs thrashing out, gloved fists sinking into the inertia of the barrier, heels mired in the mud of substance at her feet. Kat struggled, rage burning through her veins. "Let me GO!" Useless, her words were useless, but the scrape against her already abused throat felt like something.

"Kat?" Finch's voice punched through the fuzz of harsh breath and whining blood.

"God, Finch. I'm trapped. I'm stuck in here. I can't get out. I can't even move to try and shut something off, even if I knew what to kill. This is worse than my worst nightmare."

"You'll be all right, Kat. You'll be fine." Finch's voice rumbled quietly in her ear, soft and distant, but closer than the muffled death of the ship buckling and tearing apart around her.

"You still hanging on?"

A not silent hiss answered her.

"Finch?"

"I got shook off, Kat. I'm drifting."

"Do you have a tank?"

"Yeah."

A sob rose in her throat. Swallowing it made her ears pop. "How long?"

"A while."

Kat launched herself at the barrier again. "I'm going to try and get out of here, come get you."

"You do that, Kat and we'll watch the sun rise over Rocky together."