Brightly Burning(20)

I screamed from my helmet, “Stop! Do not get out!” Then I realized there was no way they could hear me, and I couldn’t take off my gear so that they could hear me—?I’d choke and suffocate as quickly as I could shout. “Rori!” I yelled. “Can you connect me to that ship’s comms? We have to warn them.”

“His network comms are turned off, Stella. I can announce the issue once he steps off the spacecraft.”

“He’ll be gasping for air before he hears you,” I said, trying to think of a secondary solution. If I couldn’t stop the passenger from getting off the ship, then I had to save him. I moved to the other side of the craft just as the doors slung open and a lanky figure stepped out. Not wearing protective gear, as I feared. I had only a few seconds. I darted a glance at the door connecting us to the outer bay and the passenger, and cast another down at my heavy suit, which made me slow. I would have to push with all my might and hope for the best.

Each step was like sinking through a stew. I counted the seconds in my head. Five, six, seven—?he’d surely tried breathing by now. He could; he would even think everything was completely normal, until his lungs burned and everything went black.

Ten, eleven, twelve—?I rounded the corner of the craft and found him on his side, still as death. My suit was like lead, weighing my limbs and slowing my steps. I grabbed him by both arms and dragged him to the door. It took all of fifteen, twenty seconds but felt like five minutes, me drag-shuffling him, throwing my left shoulder against the hatch button, waiting for it to open. And then it didn’t.

Frex! The stupid override command via the tab. There was no time for it! “Rori! Let us in!” And bless her, Rori ignored every single protocol there was and did it. I dragged the man’s heavy, near-lifeless body into the next room, the door sliding shut behind us. “How are the oxygen levels in here?” I asked.

“Oxygen is good, Stella,” Rori said, as calm as ever.

I wrenched off my helmet and zipped out of the cumbersome suit so I could attend to the man, who was barely breathing. I started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation—?which thankfully they’d taught all the teachers aboard the Stalwart—?forcing oxygen back into his lungs.

“Please don’t be dead. . . .”

I breathed into his mouth, pumped his chest, repeated. I checked his pulse—?it was thready but present. Then, suddenly, he gasped. Coughed.

He sat up, searching my face, blinking at the unfamiliarity. I found myself taken aback, really looking at him now that the panic had dissipated. He was young, close to my age, with strong features you might call handsome.

“Buy me a drink first, at least.” He wiped the back of his hand against his mouth, as if I’d just bestowed upon him an unwanted kiss.

“Excuse me?” I stammered, heat from my cheeks spreading like wildfire throughout my body. “I was trying to resuscitate you. You nearly died.”

He squinted at me. “And who exactly are you?”

“I’m Stella Ainsley, sir,” I answered. “The new governess.”

“And why is the new governess bouncing around the ship bay in a spacesuit, trying to kill me? Or save me? I’m a bit unclear.”

“I’m the auxiliary engineer to Lieutenant Poole, who was indisposed,” I continued shakily. He wouldn’t stop staring at me. “Someone tampered with the oxygen, so I was trying to fix it. I turned off the warning sirens—?they were very loud. But I didn’t try to kill you.”

“Did you say tampered with?” he asked, insistent, grabbing my wrist with such enthusiasm, it hurt.

“Yes, but I’m not certain. It was probably just an accident,” I fibbed. Something told me that suggesting a sabotage conspiracy, along with tall tales of human laughs in the corridor at night, might cause the captain and Officer Xiao alike to think me unhinged and send me away.

The captain seemed unfazed. He nodded solemnly, released my wrist, and moved on. “I’m going to have to ask you to help me up.”

“Of course,” I said with more composure than I felt as I assisted him and he swung an arm over my shoulder. I’d never touched a boy for so long. Where was I supposed to put my hands? Hip? Back? Oh, no, that was way too close to his—?

I forced myself to concentrate on the task at hand. I supported him to the outer door, into the corridor, the heft of his weight against mine making me slow. I calculated how long it would take us to get to the bridge at this rate—?twenty minutes at least. Torture.

But the captain stopped only a minute later, outside the aft elevator. “That should do it,” he said, breaking away from me to lean against the wall. “I’d advise you to go fix the oxygen, and I’ll make my way back on my own.” His tone was resolute; the look he threw me was cool. Like I wasn’t very good at my job, now, was I?

I nodded, willing my racing heart to calm so I could go finish my job. It was a challenge, adrenaline and fear coursing through my veins like fire as I turned, watching the captain retreat, and I headed back in the opposite direction. Once I was strapped back into my spacesuit, tools at the ready, an overwhelming sense of dread replaced my earlier panic. I’d just almost killed the captain of the ship. I was definitely getting fired.


Chapter Eight


Two more hours of trial and error, aided by supplementary materials kindly provided by Rori, and the oxygen issue was fixed. Relief and triumph took a backseat to my sense of dread as I returned to my quarters and changed out of my now-sweat-drenched clothes and into my best dress, the better to be dismissed in. I marched back to the bridge with my head held high, however, determined to face my sanctions like an adult, a professional. But when I reached the bridge, neither the captain nor Xiao was there. Perhaps the former was in the medical bay, finally putting it to good use. But I had expected Xiao to be here, ready to deal with me.