Bootstraps: a story in the Cochrane-Lile Galaxy

A pulsating alarm stabbed into Jim’s ears, and he flung his hands up to the side of his head.

“Turn that thing off!”

Silence replaced the electronic screeches, a deep silence that only comes when noise ceases in an instant. And then the lights went out — the overhead lights, the console lights, even the red light next to his helm controls that had blinked…