“Marked,” Benj noted. “Field strengths?”
Ship’s engineer Lexand Erin consulted his instruments. “Gravitational, oh point nine eight nine; electromagnetic seems to peak at oh point oh oh seven six Ångstroms with a strength of oh point three four three.”
The atmosphere was tight, with four people crowded into the small longboat: Sora to read positions, Erin to read field strengths, Benj to coordinate the two, and Katei to pilot them through the storm. They had oxygen tanks strapped to their backs, and each kept a helmet under his arm, but they had to be able to communicate between themselves, and radio communications could not be relied on within the Vortex, so they were still in an open air environment.
If there was any tension in the air, Benj’s aura of implacably cool logic kept it to
