Trouble on the Horizon

The tortured hull shrieked as their opponent’s laser drilled it again.

“Where are those calculations?” shouted Alderson.

Miller’s hands shook as he tried feverishly to determine the correct destination coordinates. With the navcomputer a smoking wreck, his mathematical abilities were the crew’s only hope.

“Problem solved!” he cried, entering the numbers.

The hyperspace tunnel that wrapped the ship in its safe cocoon had never looked so glorious - but joy turned to dismay upon exiting. They stared, disbelieving, at the nightmare maw of a black hole.

A death sentence.

Alderson peered at Miller’s scribblings. “Is that a plus or a minus?”