Deeper Into the Void Read Free

pocket blindly, and retrieves a single smooth glass marble. She presses the marbles through the openings between her fingers and rolls it around in her palm.
    Ghent can’t seem to shut his eyes, afraid that he will miss the rare experience that he is about to have. The sound from the outside of the ship intensifies as the ship enters the thin atmosphere.
    The growing sound of chuckling slowly begins to overtake the deafening sound of the metal hull as it rushes through the upper atmosphere. Doctor Zachary Long has broken down into pure hysteria as he laughs uncontrollably.
    Fortunately for everyone else, the rushing sound from outside the ship is almost enough to drown out his maniacal laughter. His laughter is interrupted completely by the other crew as they raise their voices to overwhelm the sound from outside.
     
Lawrence:

You know people pay extra at theme parks for this sort of thing. Then again, most rides in theme parks don’t spontaneously combust under the intense friction that we will have here in a minute.

Cardiff:

That’s comforting. Here’s a thought: why don’t you keep our angle of approach in line so we don’t need to worry about that, eh?

Long:

Honestly, I somehow don’t see him getting us through this…

Cardiff:

Don’t be so dramatic Dr. Long.

Mendez:

This might be a bad time, but none of you are helping the situation at all.

Lawrence:

Oh, well if it makes anyone feel better the chances are fairly remote that I will screw this up. So don’t worry. If I do, then the anti-matter detonation upon impact will add a new feature to the face of Mars, it will be over quick, sort of a win-win scenario. Plus, as an added bonus, we will have left our mark on Mars, just like we came here to do.

Cardiff:

You are a sick man, you know that. Ready the forward retro thrusters.

Lawrence:

Aye Captain, go for retro.

Cardiff:

On my mark… three… two… one… mark!
    Mendez holds on to her harness tightly, her thumbs under the shoulder straps with her fingers clenching along the top of them. Her long dark hair flings abruptly in front of her face in the rapid deceleration, which feels more like whiplash than any kind of planned procedure. Droplets of fluid run along each hair toward the tips, which are projected straight forward now. The fluid seems to launch off of the ends of her hair in droplets toward the front of the cabin.
    The loud roar of the thrusters overwhelms the shriek that Mendez permits to leave her parted lips under the intense G-force. Long has resumed his laughing, although no one can tell in the tumult. Ghent is simply trying to hold his breath, hoping to outlast the intense force. This, of course, is fool-hardy as entry takes longer than one could possibly hold their breath for and live.
    The captain has her blonde hair tied back, her green eyes wide open and her fingers on the control panel. The expression on her face is indicative of the fact that this is not her first “rodeo”. Lawrence has no hair to get in his way as he quickly moves his fingers along the glass controls. He has even got a smile on his face; the noise from behind him is amusing to him, given his experience in these high-g situations.
     
Cardiff:

Fifteen thousand knots… Fourteen… Thirteen… Nose up.
Lawrence:

Fix on landing grid… three minutes out. Boards out.

Cardiff:

Verify ETA.

Lawrence:

Verified. Angle of approach is optimal, speed of approach at one zero thousand knots.
    As the freighter booms through the thin atmosphere, the superheated gases around the nose, wings and underside of the craft begin to light up under the intense heat. Trails of plasma, lighting up the air behind the ship dissipates as it disappears into the distance. The ship jolts left and right, up and down, the motion is easy to see as each crew member moves with the sudden jerks.
     
Lawrence:

Two minutes out.
    The horizon outside the ship cannot be easily seen from inside the cabin as the ship is pointed slightly