Page 6 of On a Barbarian World

Her mind raced. Turn around to the convoy or head for B1?

She looked up and saw the planet was getting close. She’d never make it back to the Sky Nomad.

B1 was her best chance.

She adjusted course, then frantically set to work, trying to fix her failing systems. “Come on, sweetheart.” Nothing worked. She kicked the bottom of the console and winced.

Get to the planet. Set off her emergency beacon and let Dare and the others know where she was. “Sky Nomad, this is the Ariel. I have a problem⁠—”

“Communication systems are not functioning.” The computer again.

“Dammit!” She slammed a fist against the console.

“Environmental systems are down to fifty percent. Engine power has been compromised.”

Great. She swallowed, trying to stay calm. At fifty percent enviro, she could still breathe. And even if she had to limp along at a slow speed, she could still make it to the planet. Landing might be a bit rough, but she’d make it.

A chime. “Shields are now offline.”

Aurina froze. No shields was not good. She eyed the distance to the planet again. Still, it wasn’t far and while her ship might get a bit battered on landing, it should be fine.

Suddenly, something whizzed past the viewscreen. Her muscles tensed, and she leaned forward. Another object whizzed by, headed for the planet.

Dread curdled in her gut.

Two more objects streamed past.

Oh, God. The meteor shower.

With her systems down, she hadn’t detected it, and now, with her shields down, she was in real danger.

She touched her controls, her hands moving in a frantic dance. “Come on, baby. Just a little bit more speed. Let’s get out of here.”

But the Ariel didn’t respond.

Aurina sat back in her seat and checked that her harness was tight. The planet loomed ahead, filling the viewscreen.

More meteors whizzed past, turning into a dangerous rainstorm of rock. She could barely breathe from the tension.

There was a loud crash and alarms shrieked in a chaotic chorus.

“Impact,” the computer said. “A foreign object has impacted the ship.”

“Wow, I would never have guessed,” she muttered. There was another crash and her fingers dug into her armrest.

“Environmental systems are failing, and engines have been damaged.”

The Ariel hit the atmosphere, flames flaring up over the ship. Aurina heard metal tear and groan. The ship was tossed sideways, and she was thrown against her harness.

She was going to die.

She dragged air into her tight lungs. She’d always thought death would be peaceful. A calm acceptance of what was coming, and being thankful for the life she’d had.

But dammit, she didn’t want to die.

She wanted to live.

She wanted…more.