Sedulity (Book One) Impact Read Online Free Page B

lift little Emily into
her arms.
    This balcony stateroom was on the starboard side of the ship
and the ominous glow of the asteroid strike lit the horizon beyond, but the
ship was already starting to turn. The deck tilted with the turn, and it felt
like she was running downhill as Amanda carried her daughter back out of the
stateroom.  The Lieutenant took a moment longer to retrieve a pair of
lifejackets from under the bed and join them in the corridor. While he was
doing so the emergency alarm klaxon sounded and the Captain’s voice erupted on
the ship-wide PA system, clearly set to maximum volume.
    “Attention all passengers. This is not a drill. Go
immediately to your lifeboat muster stations. Stay off the decks and away from
all windows. Evacuate all balcony staterooms and outside cabins immediately! If
you can’t get to the lifeboat stations immediately, find a spot away from any
windows and sit on the floor. Be prepared for violent movement of the ship.
This is not a drill.  Attention crew! All hands man Fire Alarm Stations,
Condition Epsilon. Repeat, Fire Stations, Condition Epsilon. This is not a
drill.”
    The Lieutenant turned to Amanda and said, “Okay, ma’am, let’s
get you two down to your lifeboat muster station.”
    “No,” Amanda replied firmly. “My husband told us to go to the
lobby by the stairs and wait for him there.”
    “But you heard the Captain,” Lt. Reiner protested.
    “The hell with that! Kevin is the one telling him what to
expect next, isn’t he? Emily and I are going to do just what he told us to.
That lobby is far from any windows and I want to be where he expects to find us
after this is over. It’s away from windows and we’ll sit on the floor. If the
Captain says to abandon ship, we’ll go to the lifeboats, but not a second
sooner.”
    Amanda’s argument seemed to convince the young officer, at
least enough not to compel her with physical force, which seemingly would have
been necessary. He accompanied them back to the stairwell and allowed Amanda to
sit down with her back to a bulkhead and her frightened daughter clutched in
her arms.
    Other passengers were streaming down the stairs, following
the instructions to head for muster stations on the Promenade Deck. Members of
the crew were rushing down the corridors, checking staterooms to make sure that
all the passengers were complying. The Lieutenant flagged down the chief
steward for that deck and said, “This woman and her daughter can wait here for
her husband. He’s assisting the Captain on the Bridge.”
    “If you say so, Sir,” the steward replied, glancing down at
Amanda and Emily.
    “And focus on clearing the outside cabins first,” Lt. Reiner
directed. “The inside ones are not in immediate danger.”
    “Yes, Sir,” the steward answered with a questioning look
before rushing off.
    Turning back to Amanda, Reiner said, “I should go check on
the muster stations to make sure everyone stays away from the windows. If
something goes terribly wrong, you must come down to the Promenade deck
immediately. Just follow the illuminated evacuation arrows on the stairs,
okay?”
    “Yes, Lieutenant, and thank you,” Amanda agreed before he
turned to dash downstairs. She stayed huddled against the wall, trying to calm
Emily, while worrying about Kevin.
    ****
    Armando was scared and confused. The fireball crossing the
sky had almost made him lose control of his bladder. He was close enough to
have heard Mr. Summers yell “Asteroid strike!” before the sonic boom.  Armando
wasn’t highly educated, but he had seen enough movies to know that asteroids
hitting the Earth were very bad news.  He was in the process of ducking behind
the bar when the sonic boom hit. He was shocked to see most of the glasses and
half the bottles of beer and alcohol shatter around him. 
    Armando stood there dumbfounded until the Captain started
giving orders, then it took a few more moments for him to make sense of them.
Each member of the