by Jude Watson
“That’s good!” Threepio cried.
“It’s just not slowing us down enough,” Forbee-X continued.
“Oh,” Threepio said. “That sounds bad.”
“One reason we aren’t slowed further is the pod’s shape,” Forbee-X explained. “It’s designed to slip through the air with as little drag as possible. Such a shape is called aerodynamic.”
“Can you see what I mean?” Forbee-X asked. “We need to add resistance. More drag, in other words.”
“But how?” Threepio asked.
Forbee-X clicked, and her screen went back to blue. “I’m not sure,” she said. “But I suggest we search the pod. Perhaps we could find what we need.”
Threepio bent over Artoo. “I’m sorry I said it was your fault. I’m sure you can come up with a solution, Artoo. Wake up!”
“Forget it, Threepio,” Stuart said, opening a supply cabinet. “There’s no time to tend to Artoo. We have to think. How can we find drag? I wish this pod wasn’t so basic.”
Threepio’s gaze traveled upward from Artoo toward the emergency cabinet. “Wait a moment, Master Stuart. Maybe what we need is the basics!”
Stuart looked on curiously as Threepio opened a control panel in the emergency cabinet.
“We have reached inner atmosphere of the planet,” Forbee-X announced hurriedly. Her screen flashed.
“Here it is!” Threepio cried. “A lever for a parachute! It’s for emergency use, if the thrusters fail. Hang on!”
Threepio tugged on the lever. It didn’t budge. “Oh, no! All that bouncing must have damaged it. Help me, Master Stuart!”
Stuart vaulted over the gee-couch and placed his hands on the lever next to Threepio’s. “One, two, three!” he said, yanking down on the lever. It didn’t move.
“Let me try,” Forbee-X suggested. “We don’t have much time.” Forbee-X placed her fingers over Stuart’s and Threepio’s. “One, two, three!” she called.
The three simultaneously yanked on the lever. They pulled so hard that they pulled it out of the socket.
“Oh, no!” Threepio exclaimed. “Now we’re truly doomed!”
Suddenly, the pod gave a great lurch upward.
“Wait,” Forbee-X said. “We may have broken the lever, but I think we succeeded.”
Threepio peered out the viewport. By tilting his head back, he could see the great silver parachute that was now above them, slowing their descent. It glowed red in the atmosphere.
“Look,” he said, pointing it out to Stuart. “It’s made of spun carbon filaments. It’s strong, and it won’t catch on fire. There’s our resistance!”
“Hypergalactic!” Stuart beamed.
“We’re saved! I saved us, Artoo!” Threepio crowed.
“Well, actually ...” Forbee-X began.
Stuart and Threepio exchanged a frustrated glance. Slowly, they turned to the droid. Formulas flew across Forbee-X’s red screen. Finally, the numbers stopped.
“Okay, Forbee,” Stuart said. “What’s the bad news this time?”
“We are in hypergalactic big trouble,” Forbee-X announced.
“Perhaps you’d better explain further,” Threepio said.
“The parachute will slow the craft down,” Forbee-X explained. “That’s good. But the pod must still be piloted to a safe landing. If not, it will crash.”
“That’s bad,” Threepio moaned.
“And we won’t have enough fuel for the thrusters, I guess,” Stuart said, discouraged.
“Affirmative,” Forbee-X agreed. “The emergency fuel has finished loading. But inner atmosphere flight is different from spaceflight. We need wings to pilot safely.”
“Wait! I saw a lever for wings in the emergency control box,” Threepio said. He scrambled over to the cabinet. “Here!” He pulled back the lever. There was a whirring noise, then a bump.
Stuart peered out the viewport. “Wings! Now we’re getting somewhere!”
Numbers flew across Forbee-X’s screen. “My calculations show that we’re still dropping too fast,” she said urgently. “We need to do something. Any ideas?”
“I’ve got it,” Stuart said confidently. “We just need to fire the undership thruster for some upward force.”
He pressed the button. There was a flat buzzing sound, and a flashing red light appeared.
“The undership thruster is off-line!” Threepio exclaimed in dismay. “Oh, what else can go wrong?”
“Let me scan my data banks,” Forbee-X said, her circuits clicking. “Ah, here’s the problem. An inner-atmosphere navigation system doesn’t use the undership thruster — or the overship thruster. In fact, it only uses the rear thruster and the small rotational thrusters.”
“So we can only go forward or around and around?” Stuart asked in disbelief. “Great. We’re the universe’s biggest beamdrill!”
“Not exactly, Stuart. This is actually not bad news,” Forbee-X said cheerfully.
“At last,” Threepio breathed.
“According to my data bank, we don’t need the other thrusters,” Forbee-X continued. “The wings have movable flaps on them. The navigation system uses wing flaps to steer — with a little help from the rotational thrusters. That is the difference between inner- and outer-space navigation.”
Stuart slid into the pilot’s seat. He put his hands on the controls. “Okay. Before I begin, is there anything else I should know?”
“You control the rear thruster directly,” Forbee-X informed him. “That is important because we must keep moving forward. It is the only practical way to keep air rushing by us. And it is that rushing air that is holding us up. Take a look at this diagram before you begin. It might help.”
“Okay, I’ve got it,” Stuart said. “I think.”
“I hope,” Threepio murmured.
Stuart fired the rear thruster. Immediately, they felt the pod slow. He pushed the joystick, and the pod moved to the right.
“I have control!” he said.
“Excellent,” Forbee-X approved. “Now, concentrate on flying, Stuart. But if you need more help, look at this.”
Stuart nodded as he stole glances at the diagram. “I understand, Forbee. It’s really not that complicated.”
“I’m so glad you said that, Master Stuart,” Threepio said. “Do you think you can land safely?”
“Sure,” Stuart said. But perspiration beaded on his forehead. His hand gripped the joystick tightly. “I guess.”
“Please don’t guess,” Threepio begged.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded in the cabin. The emergency fuel light flashed. “We do not have much fuel left,” Forbee-X warned.
“Forbee, is there anything else on board we could use for fuel?” Stuart asked.
“Hang on. Let me read my data banks...” Forbee-X began clicking and whirring. “The pod’s fuel consists of two liquids that explode when mixed. Like this.”
“Unfortunately, we do not have more of those two liquids,” Forbee continued.
“A simple ‘no’ would have done it.” Stuart sighed.
“I suggest that we make visual contact with a landing site,” Forbee-X said. “And I suggest we do it fast.”
All three of them peered through the viewport. “We don’t want to land in water,” Threepio said. “I’m not certain the pod will float, or for how long. And we’ll want to refuel and take off again. If we can find help.”
“Is that a city in the distance?” Stuart asked, squinting. “Where are the macrobinoculars, Threepio?”
“I don’t know,” Threepio said, looking around the cabin. “All the emergency equipment fell out during your asteroid joyride.”
“He doesn’t have time to find them,” Forbee-X said crisply. “We’re losing altitude fast. Not to mention fuel.”
“But if there’s a city —” Stuart started.
“We should avoid it,” Threepio interrupted. “We could be captured!”
“We’ll have to explore after we land,” Forbee agreed. “Look, Stuart — to you
r left. After that hill and those trees, there’s a flat plain that might do the trick.”
“I see it,” Stuart said.
“If we follow scientific principles, we should succeed,” Forbee-X said. “The main thing is to stay calm.”
The hill loomed toward them. “You’re coming in too fast! ” Threepio shrieked, waving his arms.
“Slow speed,” Forbee-X directed.
“You’re too low! We’re going to hit!” Threepio yelped.
“Hard right,” Forbee-X shouted.
The pod skimmed the edge of the hill, barely missing it.
“Don’t yell at me!” Stuart exclaimed. He let go of the joystick to wipe sweat from his forehead. The pod skimmed the tops of some trees. They heard a loud crack as branches snapped off.
“Please land this thing before we’re all killed, Master Stuart,” Threepio begged.
With a lurch, the pod dipped. The plain rose before them. The pod seemed to be going entirely too fast, in Threepio’s opinion. He was sure they were going to crash.
The engine began to sputter. “I’m losing control!” Stuart yelled.
“Land it!” Forbee-X cried. She had never sounded so emotional before, and her screen was a fiery red. That made Threepio even more panicky. He fell next to Artoo and held onto the storage rack. There was no time to strap himself into a seat.
The pod skimmed just a few feet off the ground. Stuart pushed the joystick, and the pod slammed against the planet’s surface. Metal squealed and groaned as the skin of the craft was battered by the surface. It skipped once in the air, then came down harder.
“We’re doomed!” Threepio shrieked.
“I can’t stop it!” Stuart shouted.
A shower of dirt and rocks hit the pod as it scraped along the surface. It rose in the air again and tilted on its side. From his position, Threepio could see out the viewscreen. They were speeding ahead toward a large boulder.
“Do something, Master Stuart!” Threepio called.
“I don’t have control,” Stuart said, his eyes on the boulder as the pod bounced down again. Pieces of equipment flew around the cabin, and Forbee was thrown back against the couch.
“Everyone in crash position!” Forbee-X ordered.
A hard bounce almost sent Stuart flying out of the pilot’s chair. He gripped the console.
“Here it comes!” he shouted.
With a horrible groaning sound, the pod scraped over pebbles and dirt. But inches away from the boulder, the pod suddenly settled into a patch of soft sand.
Silence settled over them.
“Thank goodness for friction. Is everyone still in one piece?” Forbee-X asked, her screen wavering between gray and red.
“I think so,” Threepio said, checking an elbow joint. “A few loose connections, but not too bad, considering that landing.”
“Whew,” Stuart said. “That was a close one.”
“Closer than I’d like,” Threepio said fervently.
Stuart grinned shakily. “I hate to admit it, but I’m with you, Threepio.” He sprang up and started toward the hatch. “Now let’s check out this jerkwater planet.”
“Wait!” Forbee-X ordered. “Let me do some scanning first. I’ll interface with the pod’s outside environmental sensors.”
Stuart grimaced, but he stayed inside the pod. Threepio peered out the viewport nervously. He expected to see Imperial stormtroopers at any moment.
“Ooh, watch out, Threepio,” Stuart teased. “Your scaredy-cat sensors look like they’re in overdrive.”
“Droids have courage,” Threepio answered huffily. “But we are also programmed for reasonable caution.”
Just then, a weak beep sounded through the cabin.
“Artoo! You’re back!” Threepio hurried to his friend. Artoo emitted a series of slow beeps, and one light flashed weakly. But then the beeps got faster, and all his lights began to flash.
“The landing must have knocked your connections back into working order! What luck!” Threepio exclaimed.
Artoo chirped quickly. Threepio told him what had happened.
“This is strange,” Forbee-X mused. “Very strange indeed. I am receiving all sorts of contradictory readings. But temperature and air readings support human life, so we can exit the pod.”
Stuart pressed the lever for the escape hatch. It slid open, and the ramp slid downward, extending to the surface.
The droids and Stuart stepped out. “Not much humidity,” Threepio noted. “I won’t rust, thank goodness.”
Everyone gazed around at the strange planet. The soil was dusty, but there was plenty of vegetation. The branches of a nearby grove of trees were full of small green leaves. A blue lake glinted in the distance.
Forbee-X extended her shiny metallic legs and began to explore, lifting one leg gracefully, then the other. Two sensor antennae rose from her oval head. “Strange,” she said. “I cannot compute these readings ... maybe my data bank was damaged in the crash.”
“Forbee-X, can we get the pod moving again?” Threepio asked. There was something about the planet that made his sensors tickle. He had a feeling something bad was going to happen. “Can’t we just point the pod straight up and use what little bit of fuel we have left to launch ourselves into space? Eventually, we would run across a ship that could refuel us.”
Stuart spoke up before Forbee-X could reply. “You’d better fire up those circuits again, Threepio. No way, no how. Gravity brought us down here, remember? In order to escape gravity’s downward force, we’d have to fight it with a greater upward force. That would take way more fuel than we have, I’d bet. Right, Forbee-X?”
“You think like a science droid, Stuart,” Forbee-X noted approvingly. “That was a very logical conclusion. And absolutely correct.”
“So we’re stuck here,” Threepio said, discouraged.
Artoo clicked and chirped.
“Look on the bright side?” Threepio asked. “I can’t imagine what that could be.”
“Let’s do some exploring,” Stuart suggested. “I’ll climb that ridge and see if I can spot anything. We need to send a distress signal — and get my father some help!”
“Don’t go too far!” Threepio called as Stuart ran off.
“I suggest we follow Stuart’s example, just to get our bearings,” Forbee-X said. “We can make wider and wider circles to explore the terrain.”
Artoo began to roll away, and Threepio followed him. Artoo chirped and beeped.
“Yes, it does seem deserted,” Threepio said. “I don’t know what frightens me more — running across life-forms, or finding nobody at all.”
But after a long, dusty walk, Artoo and Threepio still hadn’t found any trace of intelligent life-forms. Discouraged, they trudged back to the pod, where they found Forbee-X waiting.
“Where’s Stuart?” Forbee-X asked worriedly. “It will be getting dark soon.”
“We didn’t see Master Stuart,” Threepio replied. “I hope he isn’t lost.”
But a moment later, Stuart ran up to them, out of breath. “I’ve been climbing the ridge,” he said, pointing in the distance. “I thought I’d be able to see that city.”
“That wasn’t a city,” Threepio said, shaking his head.
“But I forgot to take the macrobinoculars,” Stuart finished. “I’ll go see if I can find them.”
“But you don’t have time to go back to the ridge!” Forbee-X called after him. “We’d better talk him out of it,” she said to Threepio and Artoo. “Darkness is falling too rapidly.”
They all hurried back to the pod. When they climbed inside, they found Stuart rooting through the equipment that had fallen on the floor during the landing.
“What’s this?” he asked, holding up a small black box.
“It’s a data recorder, I believe,” Threepio said.
Stuart pushed a button. Suddenly, Princess Leia’s voice filled the cabin.
“Greetings, Governor Zissu. If you are listening to this, it means our plan
was successful. You have abandoned the Timespan and are on your way to Romm to hook up with the Rebel faction. You know the coordinates of the site. It won't be an easy journey, but I know that you will succeed.
“If we are right, the Imperials will assume that the Timespan malfunctioned and you left for the nearest planet, Benon. That should buy you time.
“As for Stuart, he —”
Suddenly, static took over the transmission. Stuart tried several buttons, then tried shaking the recorder, but the rest of the transmission was lost.
“How extraordinary,” Threepio said. “We were supposed to leave the Timespan. But apparently, the Imperials boarded us before we got the chance.” Artoo whirred and clicked.
“Yes, that’s most likely why Captain Solo made sure the pod had special features,” Threepio agreed. “But the plan certainly went awry.”
“I wonder what Princess Leia was going to say about me,” Stuart said.
“There must be an Imperial spy on Yavin 4,” Forbee-X said. “Obviously, the Imperials knew exactly where we’d be. And if they sabotaged the pod, they knew what the plan was. Just in case they weren’t able to capture Governor Zissu, they made sure he would have trouble reaching Romm. That’s the only logical conclusion.”
Artoo beeped, and Threepio nodded.
“Artoo thinks that the Rebels on Romm must be in danger, too,” he explained. “But the princess was careful not to give the coordinates of their position.”
Stuart suddenly turned pale. “That’s why they captured Father! They need those coordinates!”
Threepio sank down on the gee-couch. “This is getting terribly serious. We have to find a way off this planet. We must tell Princess Leia about the spy!”
“Artoo, can you try to fix the comm transceiver again?” Forbee-X suggested. One arm extended and plucked a small container from the pile of debris on the floor. “Look, a repair kit spilled out with the emergency supplies. Maybe something in here could help.”