You, Me, We Are All Mistakes

27. BETTER TOGETHER

CHAPTER 27
BETTER TOGETHER

The cold planet choked the immense augmented-reality screen. Its swirling grey clouds and icy white land masses now clearly visible, and the calculated wind-speeds were excessive.

"External hull temperature critical and still rising," reported Taroooc.

"Activate the Kolidium hull coolant system," barked Sennai.

"Already active, Captain," replied Taroooc.

"No!"

"The requested deviation is now complete Captain. We are now able to initiate new manoeuvres," advised Walta.

"Firstly, I did not request a seventy-degree deviation. And secondly, obviously, to borrow your phrase, I want a one-hundred-and-twenty-degree..." Sennai's speech was deliberately laboured as he spoke this number, "...turn, away from the planet".

"Affirmative."

Walta rotated the notched dial and clicked. The ship lurched immediately, shuddering violently as it responded to two opposing forces: unstoppable gravity dragging it towards the planet, and immense subluminal engines trying to heave it away. Yet gravity was winning as more terrain filled the main screen.

"The ship isn't responding," Walta cried.

"She has to," called Sennai. "Engage Krystaltachyon drive."

"Sir! We're way too close to the planet for superluminal speed. Engaging now will cause mass destruction and take us with it."

"What are we going to do!" screamed the First and Second Cadets in perfect unison.

"External hull temperature beyond critical," said Taroooc.

"Supercomputer. Can you help!" demanded Sennai.

The computer remained silent.

"We're burning up," reported Taroooc.

"Computer! Help. Please!" pleaded Sennai.

Silence.

"I'm sorry everyone. The end is out there now..." exhaled Sennai quietly, and they plunged forever downwards.

***

"No it's not," squeaked Supercomputer.

A glow surged from Supercomputer's main screen as a flashing cursor blinked in its top left. In the midst of his heavy tears Sennai was the first to respond. He knew it for the truth that he was still alive.

"Do something!" he screamed.

"I already have," replied Computer.

"What could you have done?"

"Well, I understand all your predicament, what are you guys like, and I have instructed a twenty-eight point five degree turn back towards the planet."

There was an ear-numbing silence.

"Back... towards... the planet," finally roared Sennai in incredulity.

"That is correct. And did you know... you can't manage anything without me, not even a routine undertaking like this."

"Supercomputer!" exclaimed Sennai.

"Yes?"

"What the hell are you doing?" He swallowed hard and choked back his frenzy. "Do you understand the situation! This is not a routine to blaze ourselves through fiery glory and into nonexistence. We are being dragged to death by gravity, to be carbonized by this planet's atmosphere!"

"I understand fully," said Supercomputer indignantly, "Just wait and see."

The change in course stopped the ship's violent convulsions, as gravity and its engines joined to complement each other.

"Kolidium hull temperature reported as having passed critical," announced Taroooc. "They have moved beyond drastic and now registering as completely awful. Clearly our programmers ran out of adjectives. We could disintegrate at any second."

No one spoke. All eyes fixed on the main AR-screen showing hazy cold terrain interspersed with swirling, red gases and a myriad of exotic weather-system numbers.

Instantly it displayed blackness.

Silence.

Yet not total blackness. Tiny pinpoints of light were spread randomly throughout.

Then a giant collective euphoria as realization dawned on the bridge, they were staring into outer space again with its glorious, permanent, twinkling stars.

Cheers and roars went up. Just two crew members forewent the exhilaration. The First and Second Officers remained crouching low on the floor in a foetal position, hands clamped over their ears and eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"There you are," said Supercomputer. "Simple."

"What... did you do?" asked Sennai.

"I used the planet's gravitational pull in conjunction with the Subtachyon engines to drive us rapidly through the very tip of its mesosphere – allowing less time to heat up."

"Brilliant," praised Sennai.

"I know," said Supercomputer.

Relief on the bridge turned from smiles to kisses and affection flowed in abundance. Warm respect gushed towards Supercomputer, as Sennai felt compelled to add:

"But surely, the faster we ploughed through the atmosphere, the quicker we would heat up?"

"Well, you know... hmm, oh yes," said Supercomputer, "I didn't think of that angle."

"Better together," Sennai murmured quietly. "Better together."

He was trying to convince himself it was still true.

>

Though the ship had careered unchecked into outer space, the self-healing Kolidium hull quickly cooled without deformation, and it was a minor task getting her back on course given Supercomputer and the navigational processors were now working together once again. Calm was restored, and the outer skin normalised.

On the bridge Sennai slumped in his chair contemplating his falling blood pressure and current condition.

"By the way," chattered Supercomputer, "I discovered what imminent danger the Prognosticator Circuits were referring to."

"Huh? Okay, what was it?" demanded Sennai. He took no comfort from another potential disaster.

"They were about to warn you... not to attempt a planetary orbit manoeuvre, without my help."

"Supercomputer," shouted Sennai, "get us into orbit... and then shut up!"