Disclaimer: See 'Disclaimer' of chapter one.
Back in Time
Chapter 3 The Landing
There was an unusual silence on the bridge of the Horizin2. Kina had one hand on her forehead, thinking hard, and Talon was checking the statistics of the ship after their last T-jump.
Finally, Talon broke the silence by burping. Kina looked up, smiled at him and shook her head.
"You know, despite the seriousness of this mission, I can't help but think that you consider it all a joke sometimes."
"Sorry about that, commander." Talon replied, hitting his hand against his chest.
"No worries." Kina joked, "I know how hard it must be for you to resist being a guy sometimes."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Stats?"
Talon proceeded through a list of figures describing the ship's status.
"Main power down to 40%. Clip 3 at 24% power. Shall I transfer it to the main power supply?"
"Not at the moment, we may need it for later."
Talon continued. Kina nodded her head slowly as she listened. When he had finished Kina sat up straight and gave her orders.
"Right, we're going to land on the planet. Talon, be ready to transfer the remaining power from Clip 3 to the Main supply if we need it. We'll head for the plains outside Esthar, OK?"
"Got it. Ready when you are, Kina."
"Let's go!"
The small fighter turned to face the glowing blue planet which loomed up in front of them, a small oasis in the dark depths of space. Slowly, using what remaining power it had left, the Horizon prepared itself to enter the planet's atmosphere.
The ship shook as they passed into the atmosphere of the planet. A warning light flashed on as the shaking grew more violent and Talon described the condition of the engines to Kina.
"The rear engine is holding up fine but the left secondary-engine is on very low power. something's not right. It's stopped working. Kina..."
"I'll keep her steady, you transfer half of the power from Clip 3 to the left secondary- engine."
Talon was quiet for a moment. The warning light flickered off but the ship shook more violently.
"30 seconds to visual, how's it holding out?" Kina asked Talon as she readied the landing gear.
"It will last for another 180 seconds, then it will need more power."
"Right...SHIT!!!"
As the clouds broke apart a wide blue ocean spread itself underneath the ship for as far as they could see. Kina hammered at the controls and the ship pulled up sharply, skimming the surface of the water and rising into the air.
"Transfer all remaining power to main engine." Kina commanded. She brought a map with their location up onto her screen. They were close to land but were they close enough?
Lights flashed on all over her control panel and the panel next to hers.
"100 seconds before main power is at 0%" Talon yelled from next to her. Kina switched the controls to manual and a panel slid back next to her revealing a joystick and several other levers. "I hope you know what you're doing." Talon said.
Kina pulled back on the joystick as hard as she could but the Horizon2 only hovered a few meters higher over the ocean. They were approaching land.
"40 seconds left."
"Preparing to deploy safety wings. We'll have to coast this one out."
"You're crazy." Talon cried.
"I'd rather be crazy than dead." Kina retorted.
As the ship dropped closer and closer to the sea, Kina flicked a switch and huge yellow tubes dropped under the ships wings and inflated. They touched the surface of the water and dipped under the weight of the aircraft.
Land was approaching them fast. Suddenly waves of water sprayed out at either side of the ship as the main power supply cut out and the full weight of the ship was applied to the inflated wings. Their speed dropped dramatically.
Inside, Kina and Talon felt a jolt as the ship hit land and continued to coast up the bank on it's yellow wings. They coasted onto stony grasslands and jerked to a stop.
Kina heard loud breathing and the soft whirr of the engines cooling.
"Stats?" She panted after a while.
A loud explosion echoed inside her ears and she felt the ship tilt to the right as the wing crashed on the ground.
Talon chuckled. "There goes one of our life rafts!"
Kina jumped again as the other inflated wing burst and the ship levelled itself on the ground.
"There goes the other one." Kina sighed, "Lowering landing gear."
The ship hummed and then rose steadily off the ground. Talon stood up and stretched. Kina did the same and together they exited their ship to survey the damages and find out where they had landed.
Astramina
Back in Time
Chapter 3 The Landing
There was an unusual silence on the bridge of the Horizin2. Kina had one hand on her forehead, thinking hard, and Talon was checking the statistics of the ship after their last T-jump.
Finally, Talon broke the silence by burping. Kina looked up, smiled at him and shook her head.
"You know, despite the seriousness of this mission, I can't help but think that you consider it all a joke sometimes."
"Sorry about that, commander." Talon replied, hitting his hand against his chest.
"No worries." Kina joked, "I know how hard it must be for you to resist being a guy sometimes."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Stats?"
Talon proceeded through a list of figures describing the ship's status.
"Main power down to 40%. Clip 3 at 24% power. Shall I transfer it to the main power supply?"
"Not at the moment, we may need it for later."
Talon continued. Kina nodded her head slowly as she listened. When he had finished Kina sat up straight and gave her orders.
"Right, we're going to land on the planet. Talon, be ready to transfer the remaining power from Clip 3 to the Main supply if we need it. We'll head for the plains outside Esthar, OK?"
"Got it. Ready when you are, Kina."
"Let's go!"
The small fighter turned to face the glowing blue planet which loomed up in front of them, a small oasis in the dark depths of space. Slowly, using what remaining power it had left, the Horizon prepared itself to enter the planet's atmosphere.
The ship shook as they passed into the atmosphere of the planet. A warning light flashed on as the shaking grew more violent and Talon described the condition of the engines to Kina.
"The rear engine is holding up fine but the left secondary-engine is on very low power. something's not right. It's stopped working. Kina..."
"I'll keep her steady, you transfer half of the power from Clip 3 to the left secondary- engine."
Talon was quiet for a moment. The warning light flickered off but the ship shook more violently.
"30 seconds to visual, how's it holding out?" Kina asked Talon as she readied the landing gear.
"It will last for another 180 seconds, then it will need more power."
"Right...SHIT!!!"
As the clouds broke apart a wide blue ocean spread itself underneath the ship for as far as they could see. Kina hammered at the controls and the ship pulled up sharply, skimming the surface of the water and rising into the air.
"Transfer all remaining power to main engine." Kina commanded. She brought a map with their location up onto her screen. They were close to land but were they close enough?
Lights flashed on all over her control panel and the panel next to hers.
"100 seconds before main power is at 0%" Talon yelled from next to her. Kina switched the controls to manual and a panel slid back next to her revealing a joystick and several other levers. "I hope you know what you're doing." Talon said.
Kina pulled back on the joystick as hard as she could but the Horizon2 only hovered a few meters higher over the ocean. They were approaching land.
"40 seconds left."
"Preparing to deploy safety wings. We'll have to coast this one out."
"You're crazy." Talon cried.
"I'd rather be crazy than dead." Kina retorted.
As the ship dropped closer and closer to the sea, Kina flicked a switch and huge yellow tubes dropped under the ships wings and inflated. They touched the surface of the water and dipped under the weight of the aircraft.
Land was approaching them fast. Suddenly waves of water sprayed out at either side of the ship as the main power supply cut out and the full weight of the ship was applied to the inflated wings. Their speed dropped dramatically.
Inside, Kina and Talon felt a jolt as the ship hit land and continued to coast up the bank on it's yellow wings. They coasted onto stony grasslands and jerked to a stop.
Kina heard loud breathing and the soft whirr of the engines cooling.
"Stats?" She panted after a while.
A loud explosion echoed inside her ears and she felt the ship tilt to the right as the wing crashed on the ground.
Talon chuckled. "There goes one of our life rafts!"
Kina jumped again as the other inflated wing burst and the ship levelled itself on the ground.
"There goes the other one." Kina sighed, "Lowering landing gear."
The ship hummed and then rose steadily off the ground. Talon stood up and stretched. Kina did the same and together they exited their ship to survey the damages and find out where they had landed.
Astramina