Chapter Twenty-Four

Destination Moon

The Pantheon and the Patrol ship linked now only by the umbilical portal were in standard orbit fifty-five kilometers above the moon surface. Half the Pantheon’s crew already transported to the moons surface via the Pantheons two shuttle craft, which were free to take off and land; the storm on the surface of the moon having now abated.

Jake Carter and Wesley Smith were in the Pantheons ready room discussing the difficulties of maneuvering the Pantheon through the fifteen kilometer atmospheric barrier. The logistics of pulling the Pantheon through the atmosphere at the correct angle was a technical minefield. Too fast and the Pantheons already weakened superstructure would fail; too slow and the atmospheric weight of the Pantheon could pull the Patrol ship into a spiral, sending both ships plunging towards the surface out of control.

“The approach angle must be trimmed by two degrees and the cut-off timed perfectly; two kilometers beyond the atmospheric belt. Then you need to gain sufficient momentum to pull back up. I guess you need to be straight too. It will require a hell of a piece of flying. What experience do you have of piloting a Patrol ship in heavy atmosphere?”

“None…but I have no problem with this as long as we get the plan right. I think we should stick to the current approach angle. That way both ships come through the heat unscathed. It will just require greater adjustment once we are free. Don’t forget the Pantheon is going to be in free fall, the moment we release the bubble. The angles here are critical to preserve the Pantheon.”

“If the old man see’s what you are planning, he will never sanction it.”

“We haven’t come this far, only to ditch the Pantheon into the mountains at the last minute. Wesley this was always going to be the difficult stage. We get everybody off both ships and onto the moon surface and then we go for it. Chadwick knows you have the final say.”

“Yes, arguably he is complicit in agreeing to this by not countermanding your orders. We have come this far. We need to speak to him now though.”

“I agree. I will ask him to join us.”

* * * *

Less than thirty crew members remained aboard the Pantheon and all were limited to the top deck, where the air supply from the patrol ship was able to create breathable conditions. The engineering team had completed work on the thrusters, which would soon become critical to the survival of the ship. Wesley Smith and Jake Carter were joined by Lieutenant Chadwick.

“I guess you are going to try to sell this to me now?”

Smith knew he would probably have to pull rank to get Chadwick to agree, but he wanted broad approval and he needed the Patrol ships CO to see that all angles were considered.

“You’ve seen the figures Bill. Both of us have issues and there is no pretending there are no inherent dangers for both ships; but we have mitigated them to the best of our abilities.”

“At best the chances of survival for both ships is less than fifty percent. I still feel the sensible option would be to leave the Pantheon in orbit. We can get a ship here from Earth if necessary and a larger ship would be able to tow her down to the moon surface, where repairs can still be carried out. You have done a great job getting the Pantheon here Jake. The crew are safely on the ground; let’s cut our losses. Some battles are not meant to be won.”

This time it was Jake who responded.

“The orbit will decay relatively quickly—especially if they have a repeat of the atmospherics the moon was experiencing a few weeks ago. We have double checked all our figures. Our chances of success are much higher than fifty percent.”

“Jake. You have not even seen how the Patrol ship will cope in the heavy atmosphere. How can you possibly say that you have covered everything? I am sorry, but I am not going to allow this.”

There was silence as the three officers contemplated their next move. Wesley Smith decided it was time to force the issue.

“Bill…we cannot leave this ship in orbit and the best chance for our survival is to get this ship on the planet surface in one piece. We have come this far and we are not going to leave this now. I am afraid the operation will go ahead.”

“Is that an order?”

“Yes, Lieutenant Chadwick.”

“Okay, but I want it on record that I have not agreed to this. I want all the crew other than Jake on the surface and a chasing Jump Ship should be in situ to follow both ships down.”

“A sensible precaution. We will use two Jump Ships, one for each ship. Are you suggesting you are going to leave the ship in Jake’s charge?”

“Yes. I see no reason to put myself at risk. Jake you will assume complete control of this operation. Its success or failure will rest on your shoulders.”

* * * *

Timing was critical. The Patrol Ship was in total silence; all the crew, other than Jake, were on the moons surface. The Pantheon was ready with just ten people on board, including the ships commander Wesley Smith. Jake was ready to commence the descent.

“Jake. We are committed and ready. Take us down when you are ready.”

Jake clicked the comm.link twice in acknowledgement. He took a few moments longer to compose himself and then engaged the thrusters.

The Patrol ship moved slowly forward as the ion drive kicked in. Jake brought the velocity up to twenty-two hundred kilometers an hour and set his angle of descent to thirty-eight degrees. In forty-five seconds the joined ships would enter the moons atmosphere.

There was no going back now. If he pulled up, the Pantheon would be dragged down into the planet. He was committed. The Patrol ship hit the atmospheric belt moments later and both ships decelerated quickly. At first there was no change, the handling was smooth and Jake felt no pulling on the controls. He remained composed as the ships cleared the first atmospheric layer.

Then it all changed. The gravitational pull from the moons surface began to pull the Pantheon down. Her mass increased ten-fold in a matter of seconds and the Pantheon was in free fall with the Patrol ship still connected to it.

Jake did not panic. This had all been anticipated and he pulled up hard on the controls and increased the thruster’s ion drive ratios” to compensate. They were clear of the atmospheric belt and Jake managed to keep the descent angle and velocity to within the agreed parameters. It was going okay, so far.

The next step was to disengage. The virtual tow needed to be switched off, but the Pantheon needed to be ready.

* * * *

Jake gave the agreed signal and then released the secure field surrounding the docking clamps. The two ships separated with the umbilical cord providing brief resistance before snapping in two. The Patrol ship was plunging downwards forced into a steep decline by the change in the flight dynamics. The gravitational pull was very strong and Jake pushed down hard to wrestle control and prevent the patrol ship from spinning and plunging vertically into the planet surface below.

* * * *

The Pantheon meanwhile was in free fall. Her thrusters had engaged, but it was taking longer than anticipated for the ship to level out. The massive weight of the battle cruiser was plunging the Pantheon towards the surface.

“Pull us up. Pull us up.”

The moon’s surface was less than five kilometers away.

“If we carry on like this, the ship will break up. There is no strength. Adjust the thruster’s angle to ninety-eight degrees.”

Still there was no response. Wesley Smith looked at his chief engineer in despair. The chief nodded in acknowledgement and then shrugged. There was nothing now that he could do.

* * * *

The Pantheon was less than three thousand kilometers from the moon’s rocky surface. The guiding Jump Ship was trying to keep up. The pilot could now see what the problem was

“Pantheon. Part of the bulkhead has worked its way loose to port. You will need to compensate. Change your thruster’s angle down by ten percent.”

The Pantheon pilot responded without word from Wesley Smith. They had no time.

* * * *

Jake Carter was having his own problems. The angle of descent was still too steep and the ship swung violently as she started to spin. This was it. She was going down, unless he could correct. Then, as if a cloud had suddenly cleared revealing a bright blue sky; Jake realized he did not have to do anything. The patrol ship was echoing the favored maneuver of his now lost friend Steve Costello. The flat spin would force the ship to correct itself by sheer momentum. It was a gamble, but he had no option. He allowed the spin to continue. Gradually, it was working the spiral turning slowly into a more predictable flatter spin. She was straightening up now and Jake seized control of the Patrol ship. He was just two thousand meters from the moon’s surface. He breathed a sigh of relief as he allowed the ship to assume control.

Where is the Pantheon?

The answer was alarming. She was right on top of him, out of control and falling to the surface with the Patrol ship underneath.

Jake took evasive action and engaged his ion drive to shunt the patrol ship clear of the Pantheon. He was safe, but the Pantheon continued her plunge towards the planet surface. All he could do was watch.

Then suddenly, she regained control. The thrusters gave her momentum horizontally and the steep decline started to improve. She was still going down fast; but the pilot could now hold her off and prevent her from crashing. With less than five hundred meters to the moon’s surface, the pilot finally had control.

All Jake could do was stare in disbelief. Both ships averted disaster, but mostly because of the skills of their respective pilots. He would put this one down to experience.