Crash! Your eyes snap open as you are pitched violently from your bed
onto the cold metal floor of your cell. The ship is trembling and the air
is filled with the screams and shouts of the prisoners in the cells
around you. As you gather your senses, you quickly remember where
you really are. The Vortex Rikers. The rankest prison transport vessel
this side of the Milky Way, and the furthest thing in the universe from
the freedom in your dreams.
But somethings not right. Emergency lights are flashing on and off in
the walkway beyond your cell. A sulfurous, burning odor invades your
nostrils and stings your eyes. You pick yourself up off the ground,
holding onto the iron bed frame for balance as the floor shudders
beneath you. Looking through the plasma-gated entryway of your
cell, you see guards and officials running up and down the walkway
like frantic worker ants.
“Hey, what the hell’s going on!?” you shout.
But your voice is lost among the shouts of your fellow prisoners and
the wailing of the ship’s alert siren. The ants tripping over each other
in the walkway don’t even glance at you.