Reentry

Auger watched the moon diminish on his right, Liez busy concentrating on the Planet looming on their left.

It reminded him of the first time he saw the dark, barren rock he’d call home.

Escaping the same people, fleeing Contura for somewhere less conspicuous…

That boring little dirtball had seemed inviting, promising a safe harbor.

And here he was, watching that same safe haven fall away, corrupted.

“It’s gonna be rough, ya sure your okay with the plan?” Liez said, breaking Auger’s reverie.

“If I didn’t know better I’d say you were trying to chicken out, this is the second time you’ve said that.” The Human said, grinning slyly.

Liez blinked a few times. “Pfft, you’d like that wouldn’t ya?”

Auger made what could, on the ground, be a shrug. Even though they could no longer feel the effect of gravity from the IM or even the stronger gravity of Hekshano, the engine provided 2 G’s of continual thrust, which made conditions inside uncomfortable.

Hekshano now filled half the sky, Yellowing continents contrasting against its deep blue oceans and dreary mine-clouds.

Auger caught himself clicking his joints nervously now that the full impact of the situation hit home.

“How long until we make atmosphere?” he asked, trying not to think about the scorching heat that would soon envelop them.

“A minute or two, hold tight.” Liez replied, staring at a small numerical display inset into the slight control column.

It didn’t take long for the first signs of atmospheric reentry to take effect, the small craft shaking violently as the planet below tried its hardest to reject them.

This wasn’t helped by the way the center of gravity shifted sickeningly every few seconds as the Bubble rolled to find the best heat-resistant surface.

“When was the last time you did this!?” Auger shouted over the noise of the vibrations.

It took what seemed like hours for Liez to respond; by which time Auger realized his fingers were hurting, he was digging them into the chair so hard.

“A few years ago, this’ll be lucky number Four!!” The Chuian shouted back enthusiastically.

Auger’s heart jumped immediately into his throat, that’s why it was shaking so much, Liez hasn’t done this in years…And not many times either! Could that be why he was so nervous?

All he knew now was that he was by far the more nervous of the two with that insight, mentally tallying up the probability of his survival.

Then came the flames, snaking up the windows slowly at first, and then rushing over them in a torrent of vengeful hellfire. The Bubble now shook enough to make the seat restraints hurts with each jerk and twist of course correction.

After several minutes, the flames receded and the Bubble’s shaking faded away, leaving an eerie calm to settle as the Bubble’s velocity slowed in the atmosphere.

Auger ceased his death-grip and relaxed considerably, wiping the sweat from his brow. Liez took a breath and allowed his short arms to fall to his sides, watching their altitude.

The engine kept up a dull hum as they held their speed & altitude above the kill-zone. Above them the sky was dark and star-specked, and below them waited the turbulent layer of ‘Yellowjacket’ Mines.

There are many types of Space-Mine in use by the Rulerist Military, ranging from Stealth-Mines designed to cripple regular shipping, to the Smart mine known as Yellowjackets, whose function was to seek & destroy using a Plane’s fuel trail to hone in on the target.

The only way to avoid becoming a cloud of burning debris was to dodge and outrun the mines before they could get within detonation range.

Liez turned in his seat, allowing the Bubble to fly idly above the sheet of mines and addressed Auger “Okay. When I say, go use the emergency hatch release…I’ll slow the Bubble down for you to bail out, and let the Bubble speed up to hit the mines, right?”

“And when will you get out?” Auger asked, sensing something wrong.

“Right after I set the speed. It’ll take a few seconds to kick in, plenty of time to take a running jump out of the hatch.” The Chuian said, trying to convince himself before he went beyond the point of no return.

Auger however, was unconvinced. But decided that Liez’s seeming unfamiliarity with reentry was far more worrying.

The next part was going to be the most dangerous, after all. Mimicking what the mine racers did every week, they would weave through the minefield and head for North Tek before reaching the area of their ‘accident’.

Liez returned his attention to the controls. “You ready?”

Auger decided to be as blunt & honest as he could. “No”

The bubble ditched sharply, losing altitude rapidly into the seething cloud of mines.

It seemed like they were flying at an impossible speed, Auger able to see individual mines close enough to pick out their surface details,

Close enough to obliterate the thin metal framework of the Bubble and everything within.

Without thinking, Auger’s hands clasped the restraint hard,

His eyes shut tight and he began to recite words he hadn’t bothered to remember since childhood.

“O Ruler who guides me on my journey and gives strength to my actions…”

The Bubble jerked hard towards an opening in the mines,

knocking the air out of his lungs, though he kept whispering to himself.

Liez caught a glance of the praying Human, knowing neither of them were the religious type.

“Cut it out! I’m trying to concentrate!” he said, quickly switching his gaze back from Auger to the deadly gauntlet.

Auger’s mumbling stopped, though he held onto the restraint as hard as before, staring out at the mechanical sentries.

A few white-knuckle minutes passed, Liez deftly navigating a safe path through the mines.

Soon the Bubble was cruising underneath the minefield, surveying the landmass beneath and deadly sky above.

“Auger, you okay?” Liez asked, when he was sure the Bubble was clear of the mines.

Auger’s grip on the seat restraints loosened, realizing they weren’t moving very fast, and there was no imminent danger of fiery death.

“Y-yeah, that was…Different.” He said, regaining his composure.

Liez, however seemed lost in thought.

“Good, we’re about 50 feet from the bottom of the minefield. Go and use the hatch release, then when I say, throw yourself out.”

Auger heard the words, but they failed to hit home for several seconds.

Then, without a word, he un-strapped himself from the seat and made his way to the back of the small cabin, where he braced himself on either side of the hatch.

Then, hesitating for a moment, Auger reached into a small depression covered indentation and pulled down the emergency hatch release.

For one blissful moment, nothing happened. Then all of a sudden the hatch was gone, and the air within the Bubble erupted through this new opening, trying to take Auger with it.

Though they were well within Hekshano’s atmosphere, the Bubble was still at a high altitude and as such the air pressure & temperature was drastically lower.

Thankful for having braced himself earlier, Auger shouted above the deafening roar of air rushing past the hatch as the Bubble flew.

“Okay! It’s Done!” He shouted, making exaggerated movements to get his meaning across to his Chuian counterpart.

Liez seemed to have heard, because he had released his restraints and the rushing noise subsided slightly as the Bubble’s speed decreased. He turned from the controls for a moment, giving Auger a thumbs up. The signal to jump.

Barely thinking, Auger grinned widely and threw himself out of the hatch.