The Black Hole by Alan Dean Foster Read Free Book Online

lines running through the lab reacted to the abrupt cessation of spin and the corresponding shift in the ship's artificial gravity by releasing their pent-up force. Compressed air hissed into the room. The Palomino was tumbling again, less severely now and in the opposite direction.
    McCrae shouted toward the pickup. "Dan, we've got a line break back here too!"
    Durant was hastily examining the requisite gauges. "Readout shows primary and secondary carry lines ruptured. We'll be breathing soup pretty soon, and that for only a little while if we don't get them fixed."
    "Then get on it," was Holland's reply. "We've stabilized enough for you to move around, but watch yourselves. I'm not promising anything." Including living out the day , he told himself grimly.
    McCrae was first out of her chair. She hurried to help Booth unlock his restraints. Their problem now was not a lack of air but a surplus of it. If the pressure in the system dropped too low, the regenerators would fail. Emergency supplies would reprime the regenerators, but more than likely they were breathing some emergency atmosphere already.
    When that supply was gone, they would have only the old air circulating loosely through the ship to breathe. That would turn stale, then unbreathable, all too quickly. Before too long they would suffocate.
    All the regular crew had some training in ship maintenance, except Harry Booth. Such diversified expertise was necessary with so small a complement. Kate struggled to recall the schematics of the ship's atmosphere systemology, knowing their lives depended on it. On that, and on Dan and Charlie and Vincent halting their plunge.
    No use worrying about that possibility , she told herself firmly. If they failed to stop their fall, and soon, she would be flattened before she knew what was happening to her. Concentrate on the regeneration system and let the others worry about keeping us alive long enough to enjoy my repairs .
    Pizer adjusted the thrusters yet again, muttered, "Never rains . . ." The rest was not audible.
    "We're doing better, Charlie. But not enough better. Full power on attitude Quads A and B . We're going in at an angle now, but we're still going in."
    The first officer switched his own instrumentation over to manual control. "Mark . . . five, four, three, two, one . . ."
    Again the first officer activated selected external adjusters. Again the Palomino reacted. Not as violently this time, and with greater precision.
    "If we can just bring her around," Holland murmured nervously, "we'll have a fighting chance." He knew it had to be finished soon. If they fell much further into the grip of that unrelenting gravity, they would forever lose all chance of breaking free.
    Vincent's cautionary remark about the durability of the thrusters under such strain came back to him, but he pushed it from his mind. Either the units would continue to function or they would fail. He had to assume the former because it was fatal to consider the latter.
    For a few seconds he toyed with the idea of slamming on the supralight drive, which should be sufficient to pull them clear. Yeah , he thought. In pieces .
    He would leave that for a last resort and pray if he had to do it that the equations were all wrong. The supralight drive operated with wonderful efficiency in a massless environment. Around much mass it displayed a disconcerting tendency to push against the ship instead of against nothing. Under such circumstances it could push a ship apart—also the contents of said ship, which included any crew. Hence the need for powerful sublight engines to shove a starship out into the void, where it could function properly and harmlessly.
    A new warning light came on. Again it was Vincent who noticed it first. "Hull-breach indication, Captain."
    "Serious?"
    "Not immediately. The number four hatch cover just blew outward. The section has been sealed."
    "What's in number four bay?"
    A pause while the robot checked inventory, then,