Common Sense
an excerpt

2. UNS Queen Mary

It was midday, but with only the twinkling stars it was hard to really say what time it was. It didn't matter to Amanda, she was free of Earth, and she had all the time in the world. Yesterday she lounged all day under the artificial sun lamps by the poolside in the new bikini she bought in the ship's mall. Today she had found a brand new novel to read and decided to spend her afternoon sitting in the cafe overlooking the deck of the ship sipping lattes. She leaned against the rail and watched the people below. It was a long time since she had seen people at play. A father was teaching his children how to swim, the elderly were playing shuffleboard, and girls and boys walked side by side holding hands. If it were at all possible, even though she stood yards away and watched these people at peace, there was a part of her still alert and ready to flee or fight. Amanda figured, it just came with the territory. Would there ever be a time in her life where she wouldn't feel as if she were being watched or in danger?

The simple pleasures tha she wanted to partake in -- reading her trashy romance novel were made much more difficult. Instead people watching was just fine. There were plenty of stories happening all around her and sure, most of them were mudane, but Amanda wanted to live vicariously through their everyday lives until she could find her own again.

"May I join you?" Amanda glanced over. A handsome young man was ingratiating himself into her company. He was well dressed with a button down shirt and a light brown blazer and a nicely ironed pair of khakis. Amanda smiled to the portriat of life below her and rolled her eyes at the same time. Here we go again, she thought as she pulled her sunglasses off and tucked them into her blonde locks and faced her new companion.

"I'm Adrian Miller," he began.

"Michelle Lane," Amanda said in return. She raised her hand and let it hang loosely in front of him.

"It's a pleasure." He gently took hold of it and bowed to her.

Amanda smiled brightly at him and crossed her legs. "No, the pleasure's all mine," she replied with a giggle. She always wanted to say that, and now that she had freedom, money, and not a care in the world, she could pretend all that she wanted. She could be a southern belle or an english princess. She could act as she pleased.

"Where are you off too?"

"Why the Colonies, silly." Where else was the boat taking them?

"Yes, but which colony? You know that half of them have fallen to the rebels." He took a sip of his drink and sat back in the wicker chair. Amanda admired his wispy hair blowing through the artificial breeze created in the enclosed atmosphere. She laughed. Adrian's face flushed red.

"You're very beautiful. Do you model for Calvin Klein?"

He blinked.

"I could get you a contract with them. You could be the darling of the revolution." She winked at him and laughed harder.

Adrian's white skin turned even more red. He undid the top button of his shirt and shifted in his seat. Amanda sighed, and slipped her fingers through her hair and flipped the masses of curls behind her ear and leaned over the rail again.

"You work in fashion?" He took a sip of his drink.

"Oh yes. You know, Los Angeles, Vegas, Paris, Tokyo, Johannesburg."

"I didn't know Africa had an interest in fashion."

"It's a huge market. And the people, they're just dying for something to wear."

Adrian smiled and nodded. He must have thought she was insane. Amanda let the silence fill the space between them and made herself appeared bored of him.

"May I ask why you're going to Mars, Michelle. May I call you that?"

"You ask for a lot of permission." She tickled his shin with the tip of her high heel. Adrian jerked up in his chair. He sputtered out a few dead sentences and ended with a laugh. "Adrian, why are you going to Mars? Are you joining the Patroits to fight for independence?"

He smiled this time, an embarrassed little one. "No. I'm going because I was offered a job. My uncle's one of the executives with the Celestine Mining Consortium."

Amanda made her voice sound bored again. "How lovely. I'm sure the work will be dirty and such. Are you sure you're no model? Maybe a spy?"

Adrian chuckled. "No Miss Lane, my life's not that interesting. I have a background in business. I played some football in high school."

Amanda pouted. "Which boy hasn't."

"Are, are you doing anything later tonight, Michelle?"

"Just you." She smiled wide and cat-like at him. Her fingers undid the top button of her blouse. Adrian choked on his drink and spit it towards the plant aside him. Amanda laughed.

"How, how about we get some dinner first," he said.

"Dinner's such a long time away, don't you think?" She undid the next button on her blouse.

"Well, I suppose we could have some appetiziers." He leaned in close to her. They were hovering at kissing distance. Amanda closed her eyes and waited for him to take her. A gasp and small scream shot Amanda's eyes open. The lights on the ship deck were out and a growing murmur of people's voices filled the air.

"Christ," Amanda said. "Just when I was about to have some fun."

"Woah, your voice," Adrian said.

The entire starship began to sway. Amanda held onto the table, but found it unthethered to anything. She grabbed the rail instead. The swaying continued. A bright flash off to the port side of the ship caught her eye. A fireball blossom soundlessly into space and the ship quaked with ferver. "Oh my god," Amanda said.

The light of the fireball illuminated the deck and drew everyone's attention. Screams and cries pierced the dark deck from every direction. "We're under attack!" Someone yelled. The words created a cascade amongst the passengers. Silouhettes moved in big groups this way and that as people tried to evacuate the deck. Amanda winced as a large chunk of the starship struck the large canopy enclosin the interior of the open-air deck. A crack formed in the plexiglas.

Adrian grabbed Amanda's hand. "Michelle, come on we have to go."

"No."

"Michelle, we can't stay here!"

"Give it a couple of minutes. Let everyone else go first."

"Michelle, we don't have a couple of minutes, that glass is going to shatter we'll be sucked into space."

"Or we'll be trampled by everyone. Just stay here with me. One minute please." She held tightly to his hand and drew him closer. Amanda surveyed the damage from where she stood. The ship would definitely have to be abandoned. The engine room was back where the explosion happened. A ship this size ran on nuclear fusion and the reactor might be damaged.

A series of cries filled the darkness. Amanda found herself growing lighter. "Oh!"

"I got you."

"I got the railing." She held the rail. Adrian held her and they both floated together. The masses of people who were running now found themselves screaming and falling in every direction. Amanda could see bodies flailing as they blotted out the view through the windows. A bubble of water hit Amanda in the face. Without gravity the water in the pool was now floating everywhere.

The ship rattled and shook again. Another bright red and orange blossom of fire erupted from the depths of the ship. The PA system sputtered to life with a burst of static. "Please remain calm. We've just had two engine malfunctions..." static finished off whatever the captain was saying.

"Help me! Help me!" As the red emergency lights flickered on all over the deck, Amanda could see the people now illuminated in an erie red glow. Hovering over the deck was a huge bubble of water and people floating straight into it.

"Oh no." Amanda turned away. She saw the people trapped in the water bubble pushing and trying to swim and then getting lost in the darkness and their own confusion. Amanda was pretty sure she caught a glimpse of several bodies that had already stopped trying to fight back against the floating mass of water.

Screams punctuated the air every so often as people were thrown in ways they didn't expect and hurled toward things that pierced and hurt them. If it was bad here then there was no doubt that the corridors would be clogged with weightless, scared people pushing, swimming, and clawing towards their own death.

Amanda pulled her cellphone out of her purse and touched the screen to activate it. She brought up the map of the ship. Adrian breathed heavily into her ear and his arms wrapped around her tightly still. Amanda studied the map sliding it around with the flick of her thumb. "Okay, I know where to go. Follow me." She let go of the rail and adjusted the purse strap throwing it around her neck so it laid across her body. It was a little safer that way. She took Adrian's hand again and swam through the air with him using her cellphone screen as a flashlight.

Amanda headed towards one of the passenger corridors and shined the light inside. The way was clogged by a mass of bodies. Hands and feet wriggled and grabbed at the air. She could see heads peeking out at her the whole thing looked like a horrific creature come to life. Some bodies weren't moving at all, most likely suffocated under the pressure of the others.

"We should help them," Adrian said.

"Nonono!" Amanda pulled him back and used his momentum to drift away from the mess of passengers cogged together.

"They'll die!"

"This way." She grabbed a free ledge with her hand and slingshotted herself down an empty corridor. Bottles, trays, trash from a trash can litered the space. Amanda grabbed a silver platter and gently wafted it through the debris and cleared a hole for her to swim through. "Adrian you're still behind me?"
"Yes."

"Stay with me please, I'm scared. Just do what I say, and we'll be alright."

The corridor led to the entrace of a restaurant. Inside knives, forks, spoons spun and twisted freely without gravity. It was too risky. Amanda moved beyond the door using the platter to deflect things in her path.

"What're we looking for?" Adrian asked.

"A service door. The corridors will be larger so if there's other people we can still get through. The lifepods are located on the outer shell of the ship, we want to take the service corridors there and get a lifepod and get off this ship."

Amanda found a door marked "employees only" and she swung it open. The ship swayed again and klaxons sounded behind her.

"What is that?"

"Keep moving." Amanda swam faster. "Atmospheric dome breeched," a computerized voice stated. "Please leave the main deck. Bulkheads closing in thirty-seconds." What a stupid message, Amanda thought, everyone would already be pulled into space. Down the service corridor they continued. Here the traffic was a lot less, but as they floated along they could see more people swimming by in single file. Employees from the various service venues guding the people along. "Single file! Don't push, shove, or rush, and we'll all get out fine!" An older balding man said as he guided people through the passage way. "Single file!"

Amanda floated next to the man. He shined his flashlight at her. The metal whined and creeked all around them as a blast far down in the bowels of the ship roared upwards.

"Single file! Single file!" The balding man cried.

The orderly line of floating people turned into a mess as the rush began. Amanda grabbed Adrian and pushed her way into the stream. She didn't push anymore and allowed the mob to accelerate them through. The entire time the bald man was shoving back and trying to maintain what order was left. He yelled and struggled but six degrees of freedom people tumbled over him, crashed into walls and bounced off each other. A roar was growing behind them. People who were floating frantically towards them were pulled away with horrible screams. Amanda could see wisps of her hair pulled straight and feel the wind picking up. The hull breech was sucking them out of the corridor. Why weren't the bulkhead doors coming down?

As Amanda was jostled and pushed, she tried to minimize her own movements. She faced Adrian and gripped him around the waist. "Don't let go," she whispered to him. Amanda put her forehead to his and thought. With her free hands she studied the map. She found the service corridor they were currently being pushed down. The wind was picking up behind them sucking them back to the main outdoor deck. "Here." She tapped on the map. "Okay, follow me."

"She pushed against the wall and curled herself into a ball just to ensure that no one else was trying to grope and latch onto her. Once she was free she made sure Adrian was as well and they continued together and separated from the rest of the passengers. As she peered back, she could see a few of them following after her. She didn't bother to wait and kept swimming down another empty hallway.

"Where's mommy!?" The child's voice froze Amanda, but her interia kept
her going forward.

"Susan!" A man's voice behind her called. "Susan! Hurry!"

"Mommy!"

Many screams arose from where she and Adrian had come from. "Don't look back," Amanda ordered. The screams ended as abruptly as they began. She was sure the bulkhead doors were closed trapping those people to their doom.

"Susan!" The man cried one final time.

"Why doesn't the door let mommy through?" The child was frantic.

"Come on, we gotta go, Hey! Hey! Slow up!" The man was calling to Amanda.

"Speed up!" Amanda yelled back. She turned at another corridor.

"We should wait for them," Adrian chimed in.

"Then you wait for them."

"Who the hell are you?"

"This way!" Amanda turned around another corridor and found herself blocked by another bulkhead door. Beyond it she could hear the atmosphere gushing away. Behind her Adrian, the man and his child caught up.

"Great," Adrian said.

Amanda studied her schematics of the ship.

"How do you have all those?" Adrian asked.

"I downloaded them from the ship's computer."

"Why?"

"Why? Hello." She gestured around them. "That's why."

"Where can we go?" The man asked her.

"Down. We can go down. The service corridors are networked together.
They go to the cargo bays and from there we can reach another set of lifepods and get out of here. There's an elevator just up the corridor we were going down." She pushed off and swam ahead of them and made a left turn at the T-junction and continued down. A clambering of hands pushing off against walls told her that the three were following behind her. Amanda found the elevator shaft. She pushed the buttons but the doors were closed tight.

"Holy shit, holy shit, the man with the child said. "Which way is up?"

"Adrian, help them, please," Amanda said. These doors are jammed shut. There's a stairwell." Amanda pushed opened the door and looked up and down with her cellphone as a lamp light. "Okay down is clear. Let's go."

She held the door open and Adrian guided the man and his kid through. The four of them made their way clumsily down the stair well by holding onto the railing and going around in spirals heading to the lower levels. They went six decks down, and Amanda was certain that it was safer to try and navigate the deck. She opened the door and peered out into the pitch blackness. The emergency lights were failing all over the ship. It was really being tore into bits and pieces.

"Who's there?" A light shined on them.

Amanda gripped tightly to her phone and pressed herself against the wall. "Same question."

"Okay, cool, you're just regular people." The owner of the voice shined the lamp light on his own face. He was a handsome looking, dark skinned boy. He looked from Amanda to Adrian.

"regular people?" Amanda asked.

"I'm Jacob. I saw some soldiers come through here."

"Soldiers?" The man with the kid said. "This is a civilian ship."

"Not quite," Jacob said. "I think there's something fishy going on with this ship."

"Jacob," Amanda said. "We're trying to get to the lifepods."

Jacob shook his head and kept his light shined upwards to illuminate his face as if he were telling a scary story at camp. "The way's cut off. Bulkheads all came down."

"We're stuck here?" Adrian said.

"Not quite. I think there's another ship we can take. It's in the cargo bay."

"Where is it? I have map." Amanda wrapped her arm around Jacob to steady herself to him and she put the phone flat between them.

"Oh nice, this is one of the newer Apple phones."

"Focus."

"Sorry," Jacob put his fingers on the touch screen and manipulated the three dimensional map trying to get a better view of things. "Okay, we're here. We need to get here. It's another five decks down."

Amanda let Jacob go and pushed her way through their small party back to the stairwell door. She peered downward. "Okay let's go. Same thing. Grab hold of the rail and keep going."

"We gotta be careful though," Jacob said. "The soldiers might cut us off."

"We'll deal with them when we see them," Amanda said. Down another five decks they went and carefully Amanda peeked through the door. She hadn't seen any soldiers during the weeks she was onboard the ship, but that didn't mean there weren't any. She remembered reading about the Lusitania and the secret cache of weapons that luxury liner was shipping to Mars for the UN ground troops. It made sense that any ship going to Mars would be carrying weapons.

A few decks above them the door opened. Bursts of gunfire ran through along with the sound of screams. Amanda lunged for the kid and put her hand over the child's mouth and held her tight. The other three were thankfully grown up enough to keep their mouths shut on their own. "Go, go." She kicked her way through the door and they shut it as gently as they could.

"Are they insane?" The father said taking his child back.

"Where's that ship?" Amanda asked.

"This way." Jacob lead them through the narrow corridors. As they moved Amanda kept her eyes open for supplies they might be able to take with them on the ship. Who knows if and when they would be rescued, or how big this ship was, or how long they might have to live on it, or if it could even get them anywhere -- the moon or Mars, anywhere except Earth. Jacob lead them through the twisting and turning corridors toward a large set of doors labeled "Cargo Hold 1" "Dammit," Jacob said. "Doors are locked." He examined the keycard unit at the door and felt around the panel below it. It was screwed shut. "Wait, I saw some tools back there. I'll be right back." He swam away from them and returned holding a hammer, screwdriver, and a pair of pliers. Amanda took the flashlight as he worked on the panel. Jacob had the screws off and the door open in a jiffy and he leaned down and hunched over studying the wires. "More light," he demanded. Amanda manuvered the flashlight she was holding so Jacob could see the innards of the keycard better. "Here goes." Jacob used the screwdriver and stabbed it into the mess of wires. The doors hissed but didn't part. "Okay try 'em now."

Jacob tapped Adrian on the shoulder. "Come on, champ." He put his fingernails between the door and began to pry them apart. Adrian followed his lead. Amanda beckoned the father to let go of his child and help and wordlessly he joined the other two men. Amanda put her arm around the girl. Further away from them the sound of gunfire rattled.

"I can't believe they're shooting guns in here."

"They're coming this way too," Amanda said.

"I'm scared."

"What's your name?"

"Dawn."

"It'll be alright, Dawn."

"Is my mommy going to be alright."

"It'll be okay." Amanda rubbed the little girl's shoulder. The gunshots were coming closer but the three men managed to open the doors enough for Jacob to wedge himself between them. He used his feet and arms and jacked the doors open and floated in. Adrian guided the father through, then Amanda and Dawn.

"Freeze! Stop right there!" Amanda turned and caught sight of a pair of green lights looking back at her. She reached through the door and grabbed Adrian and pulled him towards her. Thank god for weightlessness. The pair of green lights aimed a red laser guided gun toward them. The soldier fired at the cargo doors. Amanda ducked to one side and pulled Adrian through.

"Go! Get them to the ship!" Amanda called.

A gloved hand poked through the crack of the door. Amanda grabbed it and shoved her heel into the helmet casing. A cry came from the soldier. Her cellphone floated away from her but as it did she could see the sheen of the officer's gun. Amanda grabbed at the handle of the machine gun and pulled it away from him.

"Fuck! Get off!" The officer called.

Amanda snatched the machine gun. Behind this one she could hear others coming. She aimed and fired a burst of bullets through the man's head. He went limp. Amanda pulled his body in and shoved it between the doors. On his vest were two grenades. She pulled one off and hurled it back down the corridor where the voices were coming from. She searched the dead man and collected his sidearm, a k-bar, and the satchel he was carrying. All useful stuff, she was sure.

"Oh shit!" Amanda was certain that was another one of the soldiers coming towards them. Behind her a large pop resonated through the hallway. Amanda used the machine gun and aimed it behind her and fired it in bursts sending her forward until she reached several of the crates floating in a mess around her. She pawed her way over them and found Jacob's light shining towards her. As she swam the entire cargo bay rumbled. The ship was beginning to tear itself to pieces. They must have been hundreds of yards away from the engines, but she could hear a large whining noise coming from that direction.

"Where's the ship?" Amanda asked as she came closer.

"This way!" Jacob called. "That sounds like the power turbines, they're
moving way to fast. The whole engine room is resonating now."

"Is everyone alright?"

"Your boyfriend's bleeding," Jacob said. "But he's still alive."

"Get us on that ship. I thought you said it was in the cargo hold."

Jacob swam through the rows of stacked crates. Whatever was in all of these she was sure they weren't meant for anything good. Distant explosions rocked the ship this way and that. They weren't affected being in microgravity but crates and cargo near the walls bounced when they hit and bounced into other boxes creating chain reactions. One of the crates slammed Amanda from behind. She shrieked, but Jacob snatched her hand and pulled her close and kept moving.

"I'm fine," Amanda said.

Jacob let them float towards a box. He latched onto it and used his torque to rotate it so that they were upside-down. He pushed off. Amanda shined the flashlight in her hand down. A circular airlock was their destination. A tube lead into an open room.

"It's like a DSRV."

"DSRV?" Amanda asked.

"Deep Sea Rescue Vehicle."

Jacob's aim was right on the money. He pulled Amanda closer and told her to keep her legs straight. Amanda pushed the machine gun against her leg to keep her skirt from fluttering. When they were as straight as possible Jacob buffered their descent with his hand -- he was like Superman -- and they entered the short tunnel and landed inside of the DSRV.

"We're safe," Jacob said. "I'm shutting the airlock." He swam back up the tube. Amanda could hear the click and hiss as they were sealed in tightly.

"Adrian! Dawn!" She called.

A girl's scream filled the air. "Jacob can you get the gravity working?"

"Yeah, I sure can."

"Then get this ship away from the Queen Anne."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Jacob moved off in the opposite direction as Amanda. Amanda navigated the corridors. They were narrow and dimly lit. Pipes were exposed along side of the walls. Flat panels showing the ship were every couple of sections apart but for some reason all of them were upside down. They looked like interface terminals. The image of the screen she passed looked like a whale. Amanda rounded the corner. In front of her floated several bodies, men in blue jumper uniforms. There was no sign of struggle or blood on their uniforms. They were just dead.

"Heads up everyone!" Jacob's voice broke over the PA system. "Gravity's back in 4, 3, 2...1!"

Amanda held one of the pipes. To her surprise she fell upward. Screaming, Amanda's fingers slipped from the pipe and she landed on the deck of the ship and fell onto the steel floor.

"Oh shit, sorry, the floor's the ceiling, and the ceiling's the floor. My bad."

Amanda rubbed her side and slung the machine gun over her shoulder. "Thanks, Jacob." She limped her way down the hallway towards the last time she heard Dawn scream. Her ankle shot pain up her leg every time she landed on it. Sprained, wonderful, she thought. "Dawn! Dawn! Where are you?"

"Over here, Michelle!" Adrian said.

Amanda entered the room to find Adrian on a sofa and the father tending to his gunshot wound. Amanda hadn't had a chance to get a close look at him, but he was an older man with a comb-over. His hand was pressed against Adrian's wound. A first aid kit was opened, the contents spilled everywhere, probably because they had opened it before gravity returned. Further away from the -- in the direction Dawn was staring -- were two dead men dressed in dark blue jumpers. They must have been the real sailors of this starship. Did Gregory take them out? Were they taken out before hand? Amanda helped pick up the medicines and bandages that fell out. "I didn't catch your name before."

"Gregory," the man said. "Thanks, Michelle."

Amanda looked between Adrian and Gregory. "It's actually, Amanda."

Adrian's eyes popped wide for a moment. "Wait..."

"Sorry Adrian." Amanda shrugged. "I was just messing with you." She arranged everything in the first aid kit and crashed down next to Adrian on the bench. She grabbed the bottle of ibprofen and popped two in her mouth and swallowed. Before Adrian could speak, Amanda interjected, "But, I wasn't kidding about you being pretty." She patted him on his shoulder.

"Oh." He nodded his head. "Right."

The entire ship shook again. "Dammit, Jacob what are you doing? Jacob!" She didn't get a response back. He must have been far off. "How do I..." She looked from Gregory to Jacob. "You guys don't know."

"Just unclamped us from the Queen Anne. Hang on," Jacob boomed over the PA speakers. "Everyone brace yourself, this is not going to be good!"

"Daddy, I'm scared," Dawn said. Gregory held tightly to his daughter.

Amanda grabbed Adrian's hand. He squeezed back. "I got the rail this time." His other hand was on a pipe running along the wall.

The explosion was the strangest that Amanda had ever been through. There was no sound just the sudden vibration of the shockwave striking them. Everything shook with violence. The first aid kit Amanda had put together fell to the floor. The machine gun Amanda propped against the wall rattled and slid to the floor with a clatter. The sudden rush of being pulled in one direction told Amanda that the blast was moving them away. The quaking stopped a moment later.