by Travis Sande
"A crash landing is pretty optimistic. A crash might be a more apt descriptor." Yanna said. "I don't know how he can slow our descent in an atmosphere without any real rockets."
"Well with our mass so substantially reduced, and if I can keep us stable, a full burn of all thrusters opposite our direction of descent might limit the impact to something survivable." Derrick said. "I will have a little control, so if you see any natural pillow formations down there let me know."
"I will keep my eyes peeled." Yanna desperately reviewed the data on her interface.
"I will do my best to prepare Hank for a crash landing. Without my gear from the infirmary it's difficult to ascertain the extent of his injuries." Sian was still managing to remain calm, at least in her voice.
"W...what injuries?" Hank said quietly as he regained consciousness.
"Hank, you were knocked out by the explosion so just stay still." Sian yelled quickly.
"Yeah, my neck feels weird." Hank sounded groggy and somewhat out of it.
"Does it hurt?" Sian asked him, trying to get a more accurate diagnosis.
"Not really, just feels weird, I can't explain it." Hank said. "Sian... I can't move my arms."
"You may have sustained a broken neck, I will need to get my gear from the infirmary once we make it down to the planet surface." Sian was optimistic that Derrick would be able to land the ship. He hoped her optimism could invade his bleak outlook.
"Planet?" Hank asked, confused about what he was hearing.
"Yes, we are in a decaying orbit around a planet. It appears the explosion worked, and we are free from whatever was attached to the hull." Derrick did his best to fill Hank in while still struggling with the controls.
"Decaying, that doesn't sound good." Hank exhaled loudly as he finished his sentence. Derrick knew he was in rough shape.
"We are going to attempt a landing." Lorn stated.
"And that thing isn't chasing us?" Hank kept asking questions. It appeared he was very disoriented and trying to catch up on the situation.
"It looks like there's substantially more mass in our debris field than the ISO alone could account for.” Ben gave his best guess. “I believe we have destroyed it."
"I honestly can't believe we did it, and a planet was waiting for us? Has Eilik made calculations for how unlikely this was yet?" Hank’s humour seemed to survive the impact.
"He said the odds were astronomical, I believe." Derrick told him.
"Yes, astronomical." Eilik confirmed.
"Assuming we survive the crash, who is carrying me off the ship?" Hank asked.
Derrick didn’t have time to respond to Hank. "We are entering the atmosphere now, I would recommend everyone get secure and brace for impact." He said.
"There appears to be some liquid on the surface, a body of water possibly. I am routing the coordinates to you." Yanna was frantically surveying the planet.
"I see it, I will do my best to shoot for it." Derrick wasn’t sure if he could make it, but he was going to try.
"We need to try and stabilize Hank here. If his neck is broken, the forces of a crash could be fatal." Sian came back over comms.
"There's no time, Sian. Just go get secure. There's no sense risking yourself too." Hank tried to stop Sian’s efforts.
"Ben, any ideas?" Sian reached out.
Vibrations could be felt as the ship entered the atmosphere of the planet. Derrick was fighting against the forces, if he kept the ship facing directly into the entry they should be fine. If, for any reason they flipped, the entry force could rip through the bridge corridor and possibly tear the ship apart.
"Lower blast shields." Lorn requested.
"On it." Nik complied and lowered the shields.
The ship was thrown into darkness as the shields came down. The bridge lighting failed to return as the shields closed off the external light source of the planet and its surrounding solar system. Sian turned on her suit lights to reorient herself on the bridge. Her lights lit up the cockpit as they came on.
"I can't think of anything, Sian" Ben’s uncertainty only added to the stress.
"Go sit down, Sian, secure yourself." Hank attempted once again to force Sian away.
"Let me think!" Sian yelled at Hank’s dismissal. "Is there a way to fold these seats back? If we get him flat, we might be able to remove some of the forward impact."
"No, the seats are rigid for launch." Yanna informed her.
"Ok, Ben, get me some tape. I am just going to literally tape him to his chair." Sian said. "I can't think of any other way to limit movement in his neck from this position. Help me."
Ben unbuckled from his station and turned on his suit light. Running to one of the lockers on the bridge, he grabbed some sealant tape. He quickly moved down to meet Sian at Hank’s position.
"I am going secure his head by taping his helmet to the chair. Once his head is secure do a light wrap around his neck and chest." Sian said. “We have to limit as much of the movement as we possibly can.”
“Not too tight, I enjoy breathing." Hank fought through the tension with another joke.
After a few wraps, Hank was secured to the chair. It almost seemed like an exercise in futility as they backed away and saw him strapped in.
"How do I look?" Hank asked.
"Like a guy taped to a chair." Yanna said from across the bridge.
"I've heard worse." Hank laughed, then winced in pain. “Ouch, man, I guess no laughing.”
Derrick was now navigating from his panel alone. He could see the 3D readout of the ship and their orientation in regard to the source of gravity below them. The graphic was still a complete picture of the ISO, it didn’t reflect the damage they had sustained. It wasn’t exact, but it was capable of guiding his movements. The thrusters were weak, but Derrick was able to guide the ship into a stable entry. Sian and Ben rushed back to their seats, strapping in for the crash.
"We should be good for entry, we are stable now. I don't want to risk any adjustments until we have broken through. We will have limited time to adjust and make it to that body of water, Yanna." Derrick said. "It's going to be a bit of a long shot, I am not sure if these thrusters have enough force to make that distance."
The second the ISO broke through the atmosphere, Derrick began firing thrusters. "We don't have any aft thrust, I am limited to just the rear firing orientation of the side and top thrusters. The bottom will have to continue firing at full power in the opposite direction of our decent to limit the speed of our fall. It looks like we are going to end up just short." Derrick started panicking inside, searching for a way to push the ship forward. If they weren’t able to hit that body of water, he didn’t see how they would survive the impact.
Derrick’s search for an answer was interrupted by Yanna shouting. "High altitude air pressure!" She said.
"Ok, Yanna, what are you thinking?" Lorn wanted clarification on what Yanna had just blurted out.
"Open the bridge door, now!" Yanna yelled.
"Sir?" Nik confirmed.
"Do it." Lorn trusted Yanna enough to make the order based purely on her urgency.
Nik activated the door of the bridge and it slid open. A blast of depressurization hit all of them as the interior of the ship equalized with the high-altitude pressure of the planet. After a moment the pressure stabilized, and a calm was restored. The burst created by the pressure equalizing was enough to give the ISO a push from the rear.
"Reseal the bridge." Lorn ordered as soon as air pressure equalized.
Nik quickly closed the doors to the bridge and resealed it tightly. “Done.” She confirmed.
"Finally, some aft thrust. That may have pushed us just far enough. It's still going to be very close. I hope this lake has a steep fall off after shore." Derrick said. "I need more power, our rate of decent is still too high."
"Eilik reroute everything to thrusters. Life-support, everything." Lorn did his best to accommodate Derrick.
"Yes, sir." Eilik replied. "The add
itional power to the thrusters could cause them to fail, try to be cautious, Derrick."
"I will do my best." Derrick replied as he increased their output.
"You have them at maximum output for their listed specs." Eilik cautioned Derrick.
"They're always tested a little higher than the specs list and this impact is going to be rough enough as it is." Derrick adjusted the thrusters to one hundred and twenty-five percent of output.
"Impact in thirty-four seconds." Ben said as he monitored the spatial sensors.
"We are definitely hitting the body of water, everyone cross their fingers that it's deep enough." Derrick said.
"That's insensitive." Hank said. "Sian, can you come cross my fingers?"
A smile broke out on Derricks face as he couldn't believe Hank managed to have a sense of humor after everything that had happened and was still happening.
"Jesus, Hank, I am fully convinced nothing can cause you to take a situation seriously." Yanna chuckled under her breath as she spoke.
"You've never seen me play scrabble." Hank rebutted.
"You can read?" Yanna replied, shocked.
"Twenty-five seconds." Eilik interrupted.
"Everyone, brace for impact. The second we hit that water we are going to have a new set of problems. If you remain conscious, search for and retrieve any survivors. We should assume that the ship will be sinking, and we need to exit rapidly. The hull may be able to withstand a few atmospheres of pressure, but I don't know about that door." Lorn started laying out the urgent matters of their post-landing procedure.
"Make me the last priority." Hank said. "I am not in good shape as it is."
"Ten seconds." Eilik seemed to always volunteer himself as the countdown clock.
"Here we go." Lorn’s last words were an attempt to prepare everyone for impact.
The crew braced themselves for the inevitable crash into the lake below. Derrick was still doing everything in his power to limit the impact. At the last second, he fired thrusters up to one hundred and fifty percent of capacity. A small explosion occurred as one of the thrusters gave out. The remaining seven were able to handle the added power and slow them a little more. Derrick had to quickly compensate for the uneven thrust after losing one on the port side.
"Five, four, three, two, one." Eilik counted down the moments before impact. Just as he finished, the ship hit the water. Derrick felt the impact just before everything went black.
Chapter 14
Underway
The FYRA had just entered orbit as Torrin prepared to initiate RIP toward the ISO's last point of contact. The crew was secured and ready to go. Kris was receiving a direct message from the General, Melissa Lorn. The message simply encouraged the use of experimental speeds. Kris was unsure if anyone had approached Torrin with the idea of attempting it.
"Niri." Kris said in direct comms to Niri’s suit.
"Yes, Kris?" Niri responded.
"Have you approached Torrin about the potential use of experimental speed? The general just sent a message through to me about it." Kris relayed Melissa’s message to Niri.
"I did, and I briefed the crew on the possibility, but nothing was concrete." Niri sounded slightly frustrated in her response.
"Was Torrin willing?" Kris asked.
"He seemed apprehensive but open to the idea. The rest of the crew is ready if we decide to pursue that." Niri confirmed what Kris was hoping for.
"Even the commander?" Kris asked, trying to get a clear picture of the entire situation.
"The commander has discussed it with the general herself and was the first person to approach me after you." Niri highlighted a few facts that Kris was unaware of in her response.
Kris closed her eyes and noticed that Melissa’s message referenced commander Chris Ohtom by name. It was clear that the general was being very proactive in her attempts to get the vessel up to speed and beyond. Kris decided to relay the message to Ohtom in hopes he would order the maneuver from Torrin.
"Commander." Kris said over comms.
"Go ahead, Kris." Ohtom opened a channel.
"The general has a message for you regarding the RIP velocity." Kris attempted to remain slightly vague in her reference to the subject.
"Tell her it's under control." Ohtom replied.
Surprised by the commander’s confidence, Kris once again entered her mental rift and sent a message to the general. Melissa was quick to reply with a single message that simply stated, "Be safe". Kris returned the well wishes and once again opened her eyes to focus on the situation in front of her.
"We are go." Greg Yaste entered main comms, he was the pilot onboard the FYRA.
"Torrin, I trust you are prepared for what we discussed earlier?" Ohtom said in a cryptic fashion over open comms.
"Yes sir, RIP is cycled and ready to execute." Torrin confirmed.
"Any last words before we embark?" Ohtom said. After a short pause he continued. “Greg, take us to minimum safe distance for RIP ignition.”
“Yes, sir, achieving minimum safe distance.” Greg engaged main thrusters and began the maneuver into open space. After a moment, he said, “Ten seconds out.”.
“As soon as we achieve it, engage the RIP drive please, Torrin.” Commander Ohtom gave the order.
“Standing by for RIP engagement.” Torrin confirmed.
Everything seemed as if it was going as intended by the general. Without anything being overtly said in the open, Kris could feel that behind the scenes there was an understanding of what they were about to do.
“Good luck everyone, hopefully we make it there in once piece.” Pamela Rofe spoke up before they embarked. She was the on-board physician, specifically assigned for her comprehensive knowledge of Kris’ implant.
“Remain positive, Pam.” Ken Howel replied, asserting his role as the psychologist.
After a moment, Greg spoke up. “We are clear for RIP ignition.”
Commander Ohtom briefly surveyed the room, preparing to undertake their journey. Bringing his attention back to the main viewer, he said, “Torrin, take us away.”.
Torrin engaged the drive and entered the FYRA into a stable RIP bubble. After a few seconds, he reported the situation. “RIP bubble has been established and we are on route to the ISO’s last known point of contact.”
“Torrin, fire round two.” Ohtom issued an order outside of the normal practiced procedure. Kris knew this must have been it, they were about to attempt experimental RIP speeds.
The ship immediately began vibrating as Torrin started implementing his experimental speed increase. “six times light achieved, everything is stable, continuing increase.” Torrin said over comms as he pushed the FYRA up another twenty-five percent. “Everything appears stable.”
“I want us as close to twenty times light as possible, you believe that’s within our capabilities, correct?” Ohtom provided Torrin with some expectations for their pioneering journey.
Kris began receiving multiple transmissions from control back on Mars and Earth. The commander had obviously noticed her closed eyes and pre-emptively spoke to her about it.
“Ignore any transmissions from home, Kris. This mission officially starts now. As you are all aware we will be considered a rogue crew and subject to punishment upon our return.” Ohtom openly addressed the issue hanging over everyone’s heads. “We will confirm our intentions to uphold the mission but disregard any opposition to the use of experimental speed.”
The crew unanimously agreed to the commander’s words, they had all chosen to take part. It was going to be a stressful journey even at these increased speeds. The fate of the ISO was entirely unknown, and any delay was excruciating. Their colleagues were potentially stranded, or worse. Every single member of the FYRA adamantly supported expediting the course by any means.
“They need us now, the sooner we arrive, the sooner we can help.” Angela said, she was their recon and stellar recovery specialist.
“I have faith in you, Torrin, just don
’t push it too far.” Greg went on. “I am glad we are going too fast for conventional comms to reach us, I feel sorry for you Kris.”
“I will not jeopardize the ship, do not worry, Mr. Yaste.” Torrin said. "We have surpassed seven times light.”
Kris’ mind was being overrun with messages regarding their speed. She was doing her best to filter through them, but the clutter was beginning to cause problems. “Sir, the messages are becoming overwhelming. An answer of some kind could satiate them.” She said, in hopes of getting the go ahead to communicate back. Perhaps sending a few messages would slow the frequency of their return, she thought.
“Inform them of our intent to save our friends. Tell them that we act alone and with the cooperation of the Vryl, Torrin.” Ohtom said. “Are you ok with that, Torrin?”
“I am proud to be part of this operation. I will take full responsibility for my actions, yes.” Torrin agreed without hesitation.
“Go ahead Kris.” Ohtom gave her the go ahead.
Kris took the time to fashion a statement on behalf of the crew. Wording it as carefully as she could in an attempt to elicit some empathy. They understood the consequences and felt that this was still necessary given the potential severity of the ISO’s fate. Almost immediately following her statement, incoming message frequency slowed. Kris’ mind was free of clutter, finally able to think clearly. “They have temporarily paused their flood of messages, I can almost think straight.” Kris was relieved to be free from the barrage. “Thank you, sir.” She said, appreciative of the commander’s acceptance of her suggestion.
“You can’t turn that off?” Michael Dace chimed in, the head of security.
“The best I can do is ignore it, but I will always see any new message that arrives. It’s difficult at times but necessary as a rift conduit.” Kris explained. The sensation was unsettling but necessary. She was acting as the primary communications center for the mission. Her ability to receive any emergency transmissions was paramount to their success.
“We are approaching ten times light.” Torrin spoke up again.
Ten times light was beyond imagining to Kris. She just couldn’t believe what Torrin could do with the technology on the FYRA. The vibrations being felt were no worse than anything felt during a typical launch. Kris was astonished with each passing report of their speed.