Adventures of the Starship Satori 4: No Plan Survives Contact by Kevin McLaughlin

have that in her code.
    "She is unconscious. You will need to go to her."
    "Shit." So much for closing the ramp and being snug inside the Satori. He should have expected as much. He released his grip on the rail he was using to pull himself upward and slid back down the ramp toward space.
    He caught himself on the outer lip of the ramp. Below him the planet drifted, a dirty dun color that seemed somehow unhealthy. He wondered what it might have looked like before the Naga came. Had it really been like Earth?
    The cable connecting the Satori to the station was clamped on nearby. He worked his way carefully toward it, moving from one handhold to the next. His legs dangled useless behind him as he pulled himself along.
    Something glinted in the distance. Dan squinted, not sure what he was seeing at first. It was barely visible, something moving across the horizon of the planet. Just the flash of sunlight on something... There! Another ray of light connected and he had a clearer picture of what he was looking at. He'd seen one before, after all - up close and personal.
    It was the Naga battleship, closing on the Satori's position. Dan didn't know how long he had before it arrived, but it couldn't be more than a few minutes. If the ship was still powered down when it got there, they were all toast.
    "Majel, that ship..." he said into the radio.
    "Is on my scans. It will arrive in two hundred and forty four seconds."
    "Shit."
    He didn't have time to pull himself down the rest of the cable to the airlock. Not if he was going to get Charline back to the ship in time. There was only one way he was going to be able to bridge the gap in time, and he was shaking just thinking about it.
    It wouldn't be the first time he had jumped out into open space. But there was always another astronaut around in a thruster pack when he'd done it before. There was no safety net this time. If he screwed up the leap no one was going to be able to save him. Even the Naga might not notice him before his oxygen ran out.
    And the last time he tried this stunt he had been able to move his legs.
    Dan shook his head to clear his thoughts. He could only work with the tools he had. That would have to be enough.
    Dan pushed off hard from the Satori's hull. He jetted across the void, flying through open space. His breaths were coming faster. The satellite's metal plating was growing larger with a speed that made him dizzy. If he missed. If he glanced off. If he couldn't brake his motion just right...
    He twisted around, instinct guiding him to stick his legs in front of him again. But they were broken. Dan didn't know how bad the injuries were. Since he hadn't bled to death yet he assumed they could be a lot worse though, and another impact might be enough to cause more significant damage. He flipped his body to bring his arms ahead of his legs again. He was going to have to come in head on.
    The impact wasn't as bad as he'd feared it would be. He was only moving with the energy of his own push, after all. It wasn't hard to stop himself. He did almost bounce away from the satellite, which would have been disastrous. His fingers slipped over the metal, looking for anything that they could grip, scratching and clawing at the smooth plates until they hooked over a groove. That slowed his movement down enough that he could find a better handhold.
    He was panting with exertion. But he'd made it. The airlock was in sight.
    "Majel, I'm here. Can you get her out?"
    "Stand by."
    Dan moved right outside the airlock door. He could see Charline inside, spread out across the floor. From his vantage point he couldn't even tell for certain if she were breathing or not. Damn it, Majel needed to hurry. How much time remained before the Naga warship was on top of them? It couldn't be long.
    His first warning of Majel's success was seeing Charline's body begin floating above the floor. That had to mean the gravity was off. Then the outer airlock door snapped open. Dan wasted no time.