"Stranded" is the first part in our five part finale for this season of Station Keeping, we'll be posting a new part of this story every day for this week. I hope you enjoy, and `stay tuned <http://tychoish.com/hanm/>`_ for the rest of the week. As always we `encourage your participation <http://tychoish.com/partcipate/>`_, and stay tuned to `TealArt <http://tychoish.com>`_ for news of the second season of Station Keeping (in a month or so) and all the other great TealArt content. Cheers--tycho
Eli Banner was standing patiently waiting for the lift outside of his quarters. He was perhaps more groggy than he would have liked, but he thought that it would be an easy matter to get Sian to run out ands get caff--
In the next instant he was thrown, face first, onto the deck. He would have sworn, but the fall had knocked the wind out of him. He found himself rolled in a fetal position. He thought, "Guess I didn't break anything," when he realized that he had moved all his extremities. He didn't think that he had lost consciousness, he was pretty sure at any rate, but everything hurt.
With the woman upright leaning on the wall, and only a bit dazed, Eli walked over to a communications boxed and keyed in the channel for the command deck.
"This is Banner, What the hell just happened? Is everything alright up there? I'm outside the lift near my quarters." He looked over at the lift, which didn't give any indication of being powered. Blast. "It looks like the lift is out."
"Sir, it looks like... most of the lifts are out." Joshua Sian's distracted voice hissed from the voice box. "Commander Garn just sent crews to the access tubes, so you're cut off." Sian didn't cut the line, so a faint static poured into the corridor.
"Care to tell me what happened?" Eli said after a moment.
"Not sure yet. Will have a report when you arrive, we hope. Sian out."
"Damnit" Eli deactivated the communication box. Well at least Talia Garn was in the command center, but that was little solace. His station was in crisis, and he was trapped with minimal report and nothing to do. Great.
"Stranded" was written by, `tycho <http://tychoish.com/tycho>`_, the creator of `TealArt <http://tychoish.com>`_ and [Station Keeping](http://tychoish.com/hanm"). He is a student and knitter by day and a science fiction writer by night, you can read his work elsewhere on `TealArt <http://tychoish.com>`_ and at `~/tychoish <http://tychoish.com>`_.