Five-Minute fiction - 00:35-00:40
Thirty seconds! the voice called out over the internal speakers. The digital H.U.D. on his helmet visor showed Thrope the ticking clock, the numbers quickly cycling down toward zero.
He felt the hand land on his shoulder and he spared it only a glance before moving forward toward the rear of the shuttle. The floor of the cargo bay shuddered and he felt the air around him change. Sensors registered the loss of gravity, they were in free fall.
A blast of air stirred the refuse as the cargo-bay doors began to slide open. Twenty-seconds! the voice called again.
Thrope strode forward, the magnets in his boots clicking as they engaged and disengaged. Below him the yawning expanse of endless night stretched out before him. The sun, only a distant image was fading quickly, falling back below the horizon as night came on in its stead. Lights, tiny, insignificant
Thirty seconds! the voice called out over the internal speakers. The digital H.U.D. on his helmet visor showed Thrope the ticking clock, the numbers quickly cycling down toward zero.
He felt the hand land on his shoulder and he spared it only a glance before moving forward toward the rear of the shuttle. The floor of the cargo bay shuddered and he felt the air around him change. Sensors registered the loss of gravity, they were in free fall.
A blast of air stirred the refuse as the cargo-bay doors began to slide open. Twenty-seconds! the voice called again.
Thrope strode forward, the magnets in his boots clicking as they engaged and disengaged. Below him the yawning expanse of endless night stretched out before him. The sun, only a distant image was fading quickly, falling back below the horizon as night came on in its stead. Lights, tiny, insignificant