Genellan: Planetfall

"I hear it, Mac," Chastain gulped. "A big one, ain't it?" "Oh, yeah," MacArthur said.

They paddled desperately, splashing and gasping, but the noise encompassed them, dominating all other sounds. The river flowed firmly and smoothly, the current a living thing, a flexing muscle. The noise increased to a full-fledged, bellowing din, rivaling the sound of a rocket engine at full power. The pain in MacArthur's shoulder was eclipsed by panic.

The river fell from under them. Raft and crew soared into a black void. MacArthur screamed at the top of his lungs and separated from the raft. It was a short drop, but in the blackness it lasted an eternity. A maelstrom rose to meet them, and into it they were swallowed, jerking end over end, helpless, for eternal seconds. And as suddenly as they had been swallowed, they were ejected, flushed to the surface of the turbulence. MacArthur felt yielding contact; it was not a rock. A bull-strong fist grabbed him by the back of his coat and hauled him bodily to the raft. Half-drowned, spewing water, MacArthur grabbed onto the smooth wood with both hands and pulled his chest onboard. He felt Chastain' s great arm across his back, holding him against the bucking forces. Water washed over them. They struck hard, jolting and careening in circles, spi

The raft was no longer rigid; the bindings had loosened. A massive rock loomed from the darkness. The hapless craft struck solidly and held fast to the sheer upstream face of the monolith, pinched mightily by the overwhelming weight of an iron current. Magnificent pressure crushed them, pi

Chapter 11. Last Landing

"Commander, this sorry excuse for an orbit ain't going to last," Rhodes reported from engineering. Holding his breath, Qui

"Hang on, Virgil," Qui

The EPL was no longer a point of light in the distance; it had shape and color. Red, white, and blue strobe lights flashed with irritating brilliance. Qui

"Coming up on you, Sharl," Qui

"Roger, Commander. Best approach I've ever seen," she answered.

Qui

"Piece of cake," Qui

"Too easy," Qui

"Roger that," Rhodes responded from the lander bay. "Should be quick, the bay has repressurized. Okay, the hatch is opening. She's back."

Qui

"Thanks for picking me up. Sorry about the short orbit," she said.

"Welcome back. Let's just say we appreciate your effort," Qui

She floated to her station, replaced her helmet, and plugged her umbilicals into the console. "Where are you?"

Qui

"Phew, I thought it looked bad before!" Buccari said, checking the instruments. "This power plant is really chewed up. Virgil, whatever did you do to these engines?"

"Begging the lieutenant's pardon, but we used 'em to come get you," Rhodes came back over the intercom.

"Well, I guess they look fine then," Buccari replied.

Qui

"Okay, stand by for boost. Twenty seconds at two gees," Qui

"Ready here," Buccari said.

"Engineering, aye," Rhodes reported.

"Two lousy gees, baby. You can do it," Qui

The engines exploded into life—

— and stopped! Fuel pumps and compression turbines normally masked by engine tumult wound down with plaintive screams. A resounding thump resonated through the ship, more metallic banging, and then silence. Warning lights glared and flickered obscenely.

Buccari and Qui

"Rhodes, start pumping fuel into the apple!" Qui

Buccari was unstrapped before Qui

"We're losing it!" Qui

Buccari noted the fuel gages registering, but only a minuscule increase. She did a mental calculation and checked their position relative to the desired landing site.

"We have three considerations," she responded. "One is just getting out of orbit without burning up or ru

"I got the picture! How much time?" Qui

"At least ten minutes to get fuel for a controlled deorbit. I don't know where we'll crash, but at least we'll leave orbit without ru

"Roger, Lieutenant. Close enough for me," Rhodes replied.

Qui