Descending Road - SLAMMED AROUND by Dana W. Paxson

SLAMMED AROUND

0 NC, Day Minus 292

A horrific chorus of groans deeper than bass, and howls screeching soprano, assailed Miriam‘s ears as she bounced hard in her bunk. The ship’s long-aged steel, under the greatest stress of its voyage, cried out in its torment. The starship slammed through the upper atmosphere of the gas giant planet the astronomers had named Woti ngKila, slowing their entry to the Pué system, curling into a trajectory onward to a second, similar rendezvous with the even larger, multi-ringed planet Balo Ransa.

A mighty lurch, and again Miriam banged against the cushions she’d plastered on the forward bulkhead, cursing in pain, pinned there by the force of the ship’s deceleration. Crashes and rattles accompanied the shuddering change of speed and the metal protests; thousands of unsecured pieces of repair-droid wreckage careened forward through the ship’s longitudinal corridors to fetch up against various barriers and bulkheads. If the Balo Ransa encounter was going to be this bad, Miriam decided, she’d steal some extra webbing from the ship’s huge stores, cocoon herself in padding, and knock herself unconscious.

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	SLAMMED AROUND 0 NC, Day Minus 292 A horrific chorus of groans deeper than bass, and howls screeching soprano, assailed Miriam‘s ears as she bounced hard in her bunk. The ship’s long-aged steel, under the greatest stress of its voyage, cried out in its torment. The starship slammed through the upper atmosphere of the gas giant planet the astronomers had named Woti ngKila, slowing their entry to the Pué system, curling into a trajectory onward to a second, similar rendezvous with the even larger, multi-ringed planet Balo Ransa. A mighty lurch, and again Miriam banged against the cushions she’d plastered on the forward bulkhead, cursing in pain, pinned there by the force of the ship’s deceleration. Crashes and rattles accompanied the shuddering change of speed and the metal protests; thousands of unsecured pieces of repair-droid wreckage careened forward through the ship’s longitudinal corridors to fetch up against various barriers and bulkheads. If the Balo Ransa encounter was going to be this bad, Miriam decided, she’d steal some extra webbing from the ship’s huge stores, cocoon herself in padding, and knock herself unconscious.