“Begin!” said Miranda, pulling up her staff and stepping away from the armor-clad warriors.
Circling each other, the two knights readied their shields.
“I'm waiting, pansy,” taunted Kwazar.
“I’ll impale your helmet into the wall.” Wildwind laughed a sinister chuckle, “Bwa-ha-ha-ha!”
Opportunity at hand, Kwazar swung his bamboo weapon in an arc toward Wildwind’s head. Wildwind quickly blocked the blow with his aluminum shield and swung for Kwazar’s thigh, only to have his attack also blocked with a shield. Kwazar recovered his sword and swung fast, smashing the bamboo against Wildwind’s shield, fracturing the precious weapon.
Both knights fell, toppling Miranda. Surprised by the knights’ collapse, she gasped.
Annwn’s chair shuddered, much too strongly to have been from their fall. “What’s happening?” she demanded. Only a nearby shuttle launch would have produced such shaking— and none of the local shuttles were fully prepared for descent.
The voice of Teacher filled the room, “There’s an emergency. Strap in. You’re going for a flight.”
Confused, Miranda and the two knights slowly made their way to vacant chairs.
“What’s happening?” Annwn asked again as she buckled herself into the seat.
“Barnard’s Star has produced an unusually strong flare, threatening Atlantica. Fortunately we’re close to Bode.”
Close? she,thought. That’s right, Teacher said—
Miranda, surprised by Teacher’s words, said, “But Barnard’s Star is not a flare star!”
“Yes, astronomers have not detected any strong flare activity on Barnard’s Star. Until now.”
“But isn’t the Atlantica shielded?”
“The magnetic shielding for interstellar flight was shut down to allow passage for a number of emissary shuttles launched some hours ago. Restarting the field in time to protect the crew from the large dose of incoming radiation is not possible, as parts of it have been dismantled for maintenance. You are better off on the surface of Bode, where there's a strong planetary magnetic field and a deep atmosphere to protect you.”
The shuttle access door closed with the thunk of magna-locks.
Cut off from her parents, Annwn felt a surge of fear. “No!” she cried, “What about Mom and Dad? What’s happening with them?”
The shuttle engines fired full, producing a body-shuddering roar. Through the open bridge door, she could see out a hemispherical window up front. Silently, the outer bay doors split apart, unveiling a widening tapestry of bright stars. Her jaw dropped. They were going for a ride, and it was for real, not a sim.
High gravity pressed Annwn firmly into her chair as the craft erupted from the bay and into the black void. Harnesses pulled forcefully down on her chest, restricting her nervous breathing, and she grew dizzy as the acceleration pinned every extremity into place. Bright, blinding flashes seared through the windows, causing the panes to temporarily darken. A loud clang followed, and the shuttle cartwheeled, making Annwn’s stomach turn. The interior lights blacked out. Brightly lit consoles flickered. The drives continued firing, and she saw a sharp crescent swing into view, blue-white and glowing, almost friendly.
Annwn stared out the window, watching the world below. Bode’s curved edge expanded rapidly, showing spiraling storms hugging a deep blue ocean. Quickly outgrowing the window frame, the planet’s rim became lost and she could only see clouds, flickering with lightning where the foam-like bands streaked across the terminator.
Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her friends, all, like her, sitting stiffly in their seats. She felt a little sorry for the two in the heavy armor— wearing those bulky metal plates got painful after awhile.
The windows darkened, and the vehicle shuddered. A vast force pushed her into the chair, one that steadily increased until she could bear her own weight no longer….
“Shit,” Wildwind said, “we’re really in a fix now. ”
“Hush,” replied Miranda, “cursing will get us nowhere.” She added fearfully, “What are we going to do?”
“Wait here, 1 guess,” he replied. “What else is there to do?”
“I… I don’t know. I don’t like being stuck here.” Miranda sounded worried.
“Well, neither do I! But we’re here, so we may as well get used to it. Until the rescue arrives, that is.”
“I hope they get here soon.”
“Look,” said Kwazar, gazing in Annwn’s direction, “Annwn is awake. We can ask her opinion of our situation now.”
Everyone carefully walked over to her, crossing a tilted and buckled floor. Wildwind stayed in the rear.
Annwn rubbed her eyes, remembering, with a start, the events that led to her being strapped into one of the shuttle’s chairs. “What’s the story?” she asked, tiredly.
“Crash landed,” added Kwazar.
“What?!” His answer finished the waking process.
“Yep,” said Wildwind, “the shuttle is as dead as any dinosaur. The beacon to signal our location even seems to have bought the big one.”
“Where do you get those phrases?” replied Kwazar, smiling a little.
Wildwind grinned and winked, but said nothing.
Miranda seemed frightened by Wildwind’s harsh appraisal of the situation. Annwn said, “Look, Wildwind, this is serious.”
He glared at her. “So?”
She sighed. “We need to prepare for this situation, not frighten people!”
“Hey, I’m just facing facts!”
“Face them in a nicer manner!” Wildwind, about to retort, was cut off by Kwazar’s prudent interjection, “So we’re lost, right?”
Annwn paused. Wildwind looked away, arms crossed.
“Yes, thanks Kwazar.” Fears welled up. What happened to Atlantica? Where are her folks? Could they be… ? No, she didn’t want to think about that. Not ever.
Apparently having thoughts similar to hers, her three companions remained quiet. She looked around, noticing that the boys had taken off their armor and were now wearing their backup gray tunics, capes and sweats. Behind the standing figures, she could see that the shuttle’s bay door had broken open, letting sunlight stream into the dark interior.
She didn’t like the fears lingering in her mind. Releasing her straps, she stood up and swayed as blood rushed from her head. Her neck hurt, probably from being held at an angle so long while she—what? Slept? Fainted?
Miranda said quietly, “Our situation doesn’t seem very good, does it?” For the first time Annwn saw Miranda on the verge of crying. But, then, the problem they now faced was different. Real. Not Elara sims.
Annwn, unwilling to lie to Miranda, said, “No, it’s not good. I think we only have one choice in the matter.” She grabbed Miranda’s hand to help assure her. “But it does not mean things will remain bad.”
“What’s that choice?” asked Wildwind, in acid tones suggesting he had anticipated her answer.
Here we go again, thought Annwn. Out of the SCA and back to his old self. Why?
She looked into Wildwind’s eye. “We’re going to have to hike to the colony. ”
“Wait a minute, there,” he replied, “Tattler even told us that if we ever became lost, we should stay put.”
“Her name is ‘Teacher'!”
Glaring at her, he said, “1 say it’s ‘Tattler.’”
She glared back. Not wanting to constantly argue over trivialities, she said, “Anyway, I agree with your assessment.”
Wildwind smiled. “Well, good.”
Enjoying her trick, she finally added, “Except, ex-cept,” she emphasized the two syllables, savoring Wildwind’s worsening frown, “in our current situation. It’s different.”