Neptune Crossing
Page 63
*
They were eight days inbound from Neptune when Bandicut felt a sudden trembling in the air, a coiling in his gut, a shiver.
/What the hell was that?/
/// We’ve got a fluctuation in the
threading field.
We’ve got to shut down. ///
Bandicut felt a leaden weight of anxiety, then weightlessness as he floated up out of his seat. /What’s wrong?/
/// I think we’ve damaged your
number four fusion chamber. ///
Bandicut studied the monitors, and saw nothing. He switched to the neurolink for a closer look. /Seems fine to me. Normal wear and tear./
/// If we were using it as a fusion rocket,
it would be fine.
But the wear is causing a separation in the
threading field. ///
He didn’t like the sound of that. /Which means what?/
/// We’ve got to remove the translator-stone
and move it to another fusion chamber. ///
Bandicut said nothing. The last thing he felt like doing right now was going EVA on a solo flight across the solar system. If anything went wrong . . .
/// We can send Napoleon out to do it.
No need to risk yourself. ///
Bandicut nodded, frowning. Of course. Napoleon could do the job just fine. But it gave him another idea. /Listen, Charlie—as long as we’re stopped—/
/// Okay, ///
said the quarx, without waiting for him to finish.
/// I guess I owe you that much. ///