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Authors: Paul B Kohler
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an hour. He knew that the likelihood of any lingering ships in the vicinity was still possible, but slim at best. Chances were they’d all returned to moon base or Taloo Station, respectively.
Marginally confident that any navigational maneuvering he’d do now would go undetected, Jaxon promptly entered Luna City as his destination and hit execute.
Beep, beep, beep.
Jaxon pressed execute again but received the same warning alarm. Looking deeper, he found that the warning was telling him that he’d entered a destination further away than he had enough fuel for.
“Shit,” Jaxon mumbled.
He flipped the display back to close range sensors and pivoted the display to the surface of the moon. As he scanned for a secondary port, suitable to receive the escape pod, additional warnings began to blare.
“Give me just a minute, dammit,” he yelled.
The new series of warnings told Jaxon that immediate action was necessary to avoid an unrecoverable decline to the surface of the moon.
Tapping his fingers much more quickly, he found his best option to land was not terribly far from his current position. It appeared to be some sort of surface mining facility that had a small clearing which he hoped was suitable for a dust off and landing.
He checked and double checked the coordinates before entering them into the computer. As soon as he hit execute, he began to feel a pit of uneasiness build up. He hoped that whoever it was that occupied the facility was of the non-confrontational variety because he was really tired of all the killing.
Seconds after the computer accepted the destination, the slow tumble of the escape pod ceased as miniature thrusters leveled out its trajectory. Then, the rear engines fired, jettisoning him toward the mining farm.
As the escape pod bounded toward the moon’s surface, Jaxon became increasingly concerned with his approach speed. Having years of piloting experience under his belt, he knew that unless he reduced the thrust of the engine, he’d be coming in far too fast to make a clean landing. He cycled through several screens on his display but found no manual override. He flipped back to the main radar screen, and the surface of the moon continued to increase in size exponentially. ETA flashed ninety seconds, in crimson numerals.
Jaxon gave up on searching for an override and grabbed his satchel. He pulled out his mask and helmet shield and quickly slipped them on. He knew that a rough landing was imminent, and there was no telling how the escape pod would perform.
With the last of his environmental suit connected and secured, he braced for impact. The digital readout on the display counted down as the surface of the moon neared. He did one last check of his safety harness before gripping the side walls for support.
Eight, seven, six, five …
Suddenly, the rear thrusters cut out and the bow thrusters kicked in. The escape pod pivoted around ninety degrees, before gently setting down on the moon’s surface.
The landing took Jaxon by complete surprise, as it was one of the smoothest automated landings that he’d experienced in all his years in space. He smiled as he powered down the computers. Lastly, he released the locking mechanism on the escape hatch and unfastened his safety harness.
“Honey, I’m home,” Jaxon mused as he climbed up and out of the escape pod.
13
Jaxon stood on the surface of the moon, taking in the vast expanse of nothingness. As he walked around the escape pod, his eyes remained fixed on the horizon until the image of Earth dissected the sky beyond. Despite having frequented the moon many times throughout his career, seeing the spectacle was awe-inspiring. He wondered if there would ever be a day when he’d be able to return to the planet, or if he was destined to live a life on the run. The last several hours certainly did not bode well for him.
After several minutes of analyzing his immediate surroundings, Jaxon rolled up his coat
Marginally confident that any navigational maneuvering he’d do now would go undetected, Jaxon promptly entered Luna City as his destination and hit execute.
Beep, beep, beep.
Jaxon pressed execute again but received the same warning alarm. Looking deeper, he found that the warning was telling him that he’d entered a destination further away than he had enough fuel for.
“Shit,” Jaxon mumbled.
He flipped the display back to close range sensors and pivoted the display to the surface of the moon. As he scanned for a secondary port, suitable to receive the escape pod, additional warnings began to blare.
“Give me just a minute, dammit,” he yelled.
The new series of warnings told Jaxon that immediate action was necessary to avoid an unrecoverable decline to the surface of the moon.
Tapping his fingers much more quickly, he found his best option to land was not terribly far from his current position. It appeared to be some sort of surface mining facility that had a small clearing which he hoped was suitable for a dust off and landing.
He checked and double checked the coordinates before entering them into the computer. As soon as he hit execute, he began to feel a pit of uneasiness build up. He hoped that whoever it was that occupied the facility was of the non-confrontational variety because he was really tired of all the killing.
Seconds after the computer accepted the destination, the slow tumble of the escape pod ceased as miniature thrusters leveled out its trajectory. Then, the rear engines fired, jettisoning him toward the mining farm.
As the escape pod bounded toward the moon’s surface, Jaxon became increasingly concerned with his approach speed. Having years of piloting experience under his belt, he knew that unless he reduced the thrust of the engine, he’d be coming in far too fast to make a clean landing. He cycled through several screens on his display but found no manual override. He flipped back to the main radar screen, and the surface of the moon continued to increase in size exponentially. ETA flashed ninety seconds, in crimson numerals.
Jaxon gave up on searching for an override and grabbed his satchel. He pulled out his mask and helmet shield and quickly slipped them on. He knew that a rough landing was imminent, and there was no telling how the escape pod would perform.
With the last of his environmental suit connected and secured, he braced for impact. The digital readout on the display counted down as the surface of the moon neared. He did one last check of his safety harness before gripping the side walls for support.
Eight, seven, six, five …
Suddenly, the rear thrusters cut out and the bow thrusters kicked in. The escape pod pivoted around ninety degrees, before gently setting down on the moon’s surface.
The landing took Jaxon by complete surprise, as it was one of the smoothest automated landings that he’d experienced in all his years in space. He smiled as he powered down the computers. Lastly, he released the locking mechanism on the escape hatch and unfastened his safety harness.
“Honey, I’m home,” Jaxon mused as he climbed up and out of the escape pod.
13
Jaxon stood on the surface of the moon, taking in the vast expanse of nothingness. As he walked around the escape pod, his eyes remained fixed on the horizon until the image of Earth dissected the sky beyond. Despite having frequented the moon many times throughout his career, seeing the spectacle was awe-inspiring. He wondered if there would ever be a day when he’d be able to return to the planet, or if he was destined to live a life on the run. The last several hours certainly did not bode well for him.
After several minutes of analyzing his immediate surroundings, Jaxon rolled up his coat
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