The Betrayal Chapter 9 snippet 2

“Sir!” Malone said with fear in his voice. “The forward fusion reactors are going critical.”

“Eject!”

“The mechanisms are damaged, sir!”

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Down in the forward fusion reactor control room, Jordan Frye knew he was dead. The weapons that had struck them, it was weapons he was sure about that at least, had taken out the compartments fore and aft of his. A resulting rain of splinters had torn through his compartment, killing the Lieutenant in charge, and leaving him bleeding from a gash in his side.

However, the damage caused by the splinters had been even worse to the reactor. Having cut every safety and cooling line to the reactor, it was starting to go critical, and there was no way for the bridge to eject it-or his compartment. The only way the ship was going to survive was if he managed to do something about it, wounded or not.

Grasping the control panel in a blood soaked hand, Frye drug himself up to a standing position. A cry of pain escaped his lips as he felt damaged internal organs moving around inside him. There were only seconds to move, he mused, both for the ship and for himself.

Spotting the red emergency eject button, he reached for it with the remainder of his strength. It was certain death; however, he wasn’t doing to fool himself into thinking he had a chance to survive. No, he would’ve died whether or not he it the button or not…Fate had decided that for him.

However, he thought with pride. I did see combat and I’ve managed to save my ship, and my captain…my captain! How cool is that for a seventeen-year-old kid to do?

Depressing the button, he collapsed to the deck, the sound of the explosive charges ejecting his compartment into space echoing in his ears. Fry closed his eyes to everything, and knew nothing anymore.