Sinking Ship

DATE: Year 308-B, Sol 525

LOCATION: The Great Red Spot (Depth: 500km)

Phoenix was pinned to the ceiling of the cockpit.

The Mighty Sparrow was tumbling end-over-end. The artificial gravity had failed, leaving him at the mercy of the spin.

The alarms sounded distant.

-Engine restart failure, the computer droned. Fuel line severed. Hull pressure critical.

Phoenix reached for the manual stabilizer lever.

Outside the viewport, the Great Red Spot, thick. And red.

He was falling into the largest storm in the solar system in a ship held together by duct tape and prayer.

-Come on, old girl, Phoenix grunted. He managed to grab the lever. He yanked it down.

The maneuvering thrusters fired. The spin slowed, then stopped.

Phoenix slammed back into the pilot’s seat.

He gasped, grabbing the yoke.

-Stabilized, he whispered.

Then a shockwave hit the ship.

Phoenix looked at the rear monitor.

The Company Man was right on his tail. The MTC transport was diving with him.

Doremus’s voice cut in on the open channel.

-Nowhere to go, Pilot. No moon to hide behind. Just you and the pressure.

Phoenix watched the proximity alert. Doremus was lining up a shot. One shell to the cockpit glass and Jupiter would do the rest.

Phoenix checked his altitude.

DEPTH: 600 KM. PRESSURE: 400 ATM.

A rivet popped somewhere in the cargo hold, sounding like a gunshot.

-You can't shoot me down here, Doremus! Phoenix yelled into the comms. The recoil will stall your descent! You’ll never pull up!

-I don't need to pull up, Doremus laughed. I just need to watch you pop.

On the screen, the Company Man’s turret swiveled. The barrel glowed.

Phoenix closed his eyes. He tapped his wrist. Three times.

A streak of light tore through the clouds.

It slammed into the Company Man from above, not with a weapon, but with mass.

The Stardust.

It extended a glowing blue tether, a high-output tractor beam designed for towing courier pods.

The beam latched onto the Company Man’s hull.

-What the hell? Doremus screamed over the comms. Get off me!

In the Stardust cockpit, Himalaya locked his hands into the manual interface. He felt the vibration of the engines.

-Going down, he whispered.

He shoved the controls forward.

The silver ship accelerated. It dragged the heavy MTC transport with it, pulling it deeper into the storm.

DEPTH: 800 KM.

Phoenix watched on his scope. -Kid! Pull up! That’s crush depth for MTC alloys!

-Not for HAK, Himalaya replied. His voice was strained by the G-force.

DEPTH: 1000 KM.

Clinton grabbed the co-pilot’s armrest.

-We’re too deep! The structural integrity is failing!

-Shoot him! Doremus roared, fighting the stick. Shoot the tow cable!

He fired the turret blindly. Into the clouds.

DEPTH: 1200 KM.

Himalaya watched his display. The Company Man was glowing red on the thermal scan. Its reactor containment was warping.

-Release, Himalaya ordered the computer.

The blue tether vanished.

The Stardust banked hard, its inertial dampeners screaming as it pulled out of the dive.

The Company Man couldn't pull out. It was heavy, un-aerodynamic, and moving too fast.

Phoenix saw it happen on the rear monitor.

The MTC ship hit a dense layer of metallic hydrogen and just crumpled under the pressure. The hull folded inward like a crushed submersible. In a millisecond, it was gone, consumed by the planet.

Phoenix sat in the silence, listening to his own heart.

Then, a silver wing appeared in his viewport.

The Stardust pulled alongside him. Untouched by the storm.

-Stardust to Mighty Sparrow, Himalaya’s voice said. He sounded tired. I’m establishing tow lock. Don't fight the ascent.

Phoenix let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding since Mercury.

-Copy that, Stardust. Take us back.