Ep.#9 - "Resistance" (10 page)

“Money talks,” Jessica told her as they made their way down the streets of outer Winnipeg, “or in this case, Jung credits.”

“Yeah, well, you might want to buy something so you can get a few less valuable chips. By the look of that gate keeper’s face, your bribe was considerably more than he expected. You keep flashing hundred-credit chips and someone’s going to try to take them from you.”

Jessica smiled at the thought. “Duly noted. Why is it this place is so infested with unsavory characters, anyway?” She wondered as she examined the type of people roaming the streets.

“Prison was hit by a stray bomb,” Synda said.

“Stray bomb?” Jessica snickered. “No such thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t
drop bombs
from orbit and hope they hit something important. That type of ordnance has its own precision targeting systems. Every one of those weapons had an assigned target before they left their rails.”

Synda looked at Jessica. “How would you know?”

“I heard a few things.”

“Like what?”

“Like there is some kind of underground resistance in this city.” Jessica looked at Synda. “Is that true?”

“Yeah, they hit the downtown shopping district last week. Seems like they hit it every week.”

“How do they
hit it
?” Jessica asked.

“From what I hear, about a dozen of them charge in and just start shooting anything and anyone in sight.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“From the news broadcasts on the net.”

“Yeah? Well, don’t believe everything you hear,” Jessica told her as she turned onto one of the main streets that led deeper into the heart of the city.

“Where are you going?”

“To the downtown shopping district.”

“Why? We can get everything we need in one of the closer districts,” Synda said, “preferably one that doesn’t get attacked on a weekly basis.”

“I like to go where the action is,” Jessica told her as her pace quickened.

“Well if you want to go downtown, you’d better get off the main roads.”

“Why?”

“Too many checkpoints,” Synda said. “They try to control the flow of people in and out of downtown, but it doesn’t work as well as they’d like, from what I hear. Best to travel back streets. It’ll take longer, but you can usually avoid the checkpoints and even the wandering patrols if you’re careful.”

Jessica slowed her pace a bit more, letting Synda catch up. “Lead the way, then.”

“Me?”

“I’m paying you, remember?” Jessica looked at Synda, who didn’t look very confident in her role as a guide. “You do know your way around, right?”

“Yes, it’s just that I’ve never actually been all the way downtown—at least, not since the invasion.”

“How far do you usually get?”

“We already passed it,” Synda answered sheepishly.

Jessica stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Synda, who also stopped. “Exactly how many times have you come into the city since the invasion?”

“Including today?” Synda looked at Jessica’s face. Her employer did not seem amused. “Three times.”

“And how far did you get each time?”

“The first time, that little market back there,” she said pointing over her shoulder.

“And the second?” Jessica asked.

“I didn’t get past the gatekeeper. I didn’t have any money, and I wasn’t willing to give him the alternate form of payment he’d suggested.”

“Great.” Jessica looked around, wishing she could have brought a personal navigation unit along with her. “But you do know how to get there, right? Downtown?”

“Sure, I used to work down there. I know it like the back of my hand.”

Jessica sighed. “Well, I guess that’s better than nothing.” She held out her left hand, pointing with her open palm down the street ahead of them. “Lead the way.”

Synda swallowed hard and started down the street. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she passed Jessica.

* * *

Luis wiped the perspiration from his brow as he initiated small bursts of the Celestia’s reverse thrusters to slightly increase the ship’s orbital speed and thereby decrease their closure rate on Metis.

“Two minutes to line-of-sight horizon,” Ensign Schenker reported.

Lieutenant Commander Kovacic stood to Luis’s right, watching over his shoulder. “Are you sweating, Delaveaga?”

“Hell, yes.”

“Well, don’t, Ensign. You’ve got this. Trust me.”

“I wish I could, sir,” Luis answered. “I just wish this thing had a landing guidance system like the training shuttles. I don’t even have a reference point to tell when I’m lined up over the center of the landing area.”

“I think I can help you with that one,” the lieutenant commander said as he moved over to Ensign Schenker on the port side of the bridge. “Schenker… our external cameras. Can you take some of the lateral cameras and point them straight down?”

“Sure. Which ones would you like?”

“The bow, one on either side of the widest point of our forward section, another two on either side of our drive section, one just aft of the deceleration thrusters, and one on our stern.” The lieutenant commander watched as Ensign Schenker opened separate windows on his main console display, each showing a separate camera view. “Great. Now adjust the angles so you can see straight down beneath us and at least as far outboard as the edges of the landing area.”

“I see what you’re doing,” Ensign Schenker said.

“Great. Once you’ve got them dialed in, throw them up on the main view screen, and spread them out in roughly the same shape as the cameras are positioned.”

“I’m going to need at least one forward facing camera, sir,” Luis said. “Maybe at a forty-five degree angle.”

“That’s no problem,” Ensign Schenker told him.

“Put that one dead center above the others,” the lieutenant commander instructed.

A few moments later, all eight windows were up on the main view screen.

“What the… How the hell is that supposed to help me?” Luis asked.

“Don’t you see?” the lieutenant commander said. “The centermost edges of each of those windows represent points along the outline of our hull. All you have to do is try to get the spacing between the inside edges and the outer edges of the landing area all equal.” The lieutenant commander looked at Luis, seeing the confused look on his face. “It will make more sense once we get over the landing site,” he assured him.

“Can’t we just use the docking sensors?” Luis asked.

“Won’t work,” Ensign Schenker said. “They’re designed to range against a hard target, not water ice and dust. Best I can do is call out your estimated range as you descend.”

“Estimated?” the lieutenant commander asked.

“Based on our known speed and velocity changes since our last accurate range reading to Metis. Even our short-range sensors weren’t meant for such close-range readings, sir.”

“That’s better than nothing, I guess,” Luis said. “I just wish I had a visual range reference of some sort.”

“You can’t tell how far we are from the surface by the camera views?”

“Not really, sir,” Luis told him. “Not without a visual reference on the ground of a known size.”

“Remind me to talk to Fleet about this little oversight when we get back,” Lieutenant Commander Kovacic said.

“With pleasure, sir.”

“I have an idea,” Ensign Schenker said.

“What?”

“Give me a minute.”

“We don’t have a minute, Gus,” Luis said.

A ninth window appeared on the main view screen, this one situated in the middle and filling up most of the space between all of the other camera views.

“What are you doing, Schenker?” the lieutenant commander asked.

They watched as, one by one, four tight circles of light appeared along the four edges of the window in the middle of the main view screen. The balls began to swing, one after the other, across the surface of Metis as it passed slowly below them until each light had reached the opposite side of the window.

“That’s really pretty, Ensign,” the lieutenant commander said as Ensign Schenker added two bright green perpendicular lines across the window. “Really, it is, but…”

“As we descend, the ovals of light cast on the surface will come closer together. When they reach the center, we should be approximately five meters above the surface of Metis. That’s the best I can do with these angles.”

“No, no, that helps!” Luis said. “It will also help me keep the ship level in relation to the moon’s surface!” Luis turned his head away from his console for the first time since they had finished their hard burn. “Gustav, you’re a genius!”

“You can thank me later,” Ensign Schenker replied. “Just put us down safely for now.”

Luis readjusted himself in his seat behind the helm console, feeling more confident than before. “Sir, you know the layout of these consoles, right?” Luis asked.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I know how to use them,” the lieutenant commander admitted.

“I just need someone to call out changes in our rate of descent and our closure rate,” Luis said. “That way, I can keep my focus on the flight controls and the displays on the main view screen.”

“I think I can handle that much,” Lieutenant Commander Kovacic said as he sat in the navigator’s chair to Luis’s left.

“Schenker, if you can keep calling out our distance to target as well as our time to line-of-sight horizon with Earth, that would help as well.”

“Got it. By the way,
now
you have one minute to line of sight.”

“Funny.”

“Okay, so you want me to read what now?” the lieutenant commander asked, looking over the navigation console.

“Rate of descent and closure rate,” Luis repeated, leaning over to point the readings out to him. “The closer we get, the more often you need to call them out. Call them out as descent something and closure something.”

“Right.” He looked at the readouts. “Descent ten. Closure fifteen. Do I need to say meters per second?”

“No, that part doesn’t change.”

“Fifty seconds to line of sight,” Ensign Schenker reported. “Range to center of target is five hundred meters. Don’t forget; that range is from our forward sensor array, which is at least two hundred meters back from our bow and a good five hundred meters forward of our midship line.”

“Can you just convert it for me before you call it out?” Luis begged. “Just add the five hundred meters each time.”

“As you wish, but it’s an estimate either way.”

“Gus, come on!”

“Just give him what he wants, Schenker,” Lieutenant Commander Kovacic ordered.

“Forty seconds to line of sight. Eight hundred fifty meters to center of target.”

“Thank you,” Luis said as he adjusted his maneuvering thrusters and fired a small burst.

“Altitude is thirty meters and falling,” Ensign Schenker added.

“Descent still at ten. Closure at fifteen.” The lieutenant commander looked up at the windows on the main view screen. “You’re drifting right, Luis.”

“I got it,” Luis answered as he fired the starboard maneuvering thrusters.

“You’re yawing left now,” the lieutenant commander said.

“Damn it,” Luis said. “With most of our forward decks missing, our center of gravity is off. Our back end mass is out of proportion to our designed CG.”

“Line of sight in thirty,” Ensign Schenker reported. “Seven hundred out. Twenty up.”

“Just use less thrust on the forward maneuvering pods,” the lieutenant commander said.

Luis glanced at him. “You have been reading the manuals, haven’t you?”

“Ain’t much else to do around here,” he mumbled. “Still descending at ten and closing at fifteen.”

“Killing the yaw and easing her back to starboard,” Luis said. He watched the main view screen as the spacing in the windows decreased on the right and increased on the left in relation to the shifting outlines of the landing area on the surface of Metis as it passed under them.

“That should do it,” Lieutenant Commander Kovacic said as he, too, watched the windows on the main view screen.

“Line of sight in twenty,” Ensign Schenker called out. “Five fifty out. Ten up.”

“Slowing our descent,” Luis announced as he fired the bottom-side thrusters.

“Descending at five. Closing at fifteen,” the lieutenant commander reported. “Descending at two.”

Luis cut the thrusters.

“Descent rate at zero,” the lieutenant commander reported. “Still closing at fifteen.”

“Ten seconds to line of sight,” Ensign Schenker reported. “Four hundred out. Altitude holding at five meters.”

“We’re not going to get down before we pass the horizon,” Luis moaned.

“Don’t worry about it,” the lieutenant commander said. “We’re five meters above the surface of Metis. That can’t make that much difference.”

“We’re going to kick up some dust when we set down,” Luis warned.

“Line of sight in five seconds.”

Luis watched the main view screen. The four ovals of light from their spotlights were practically touching one another and forming a cross on the surface below them. It was like targeting crosshairs on a hunting rifle.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Ensign Souza said from the comm station.

“Crossing line-of-sight horizon,” Ensign Schenker announced. “Two fifty out. Holding at five meters.”

“Firing forward docking thrusters,” Luis announced.

“Zero descent. Closure dropping,” the lieutenant commander reported. “Closure at twelve……eleven……”

“Two hundred out,” Ensign Schenker reported.

“Ten……”

“Our aft end has crossed into the landing zone,” he added. “You’re clear on all sides to set down.”

“Eight……”

“As soon as I get her to come to a stop,” Luis said.

“Closure down to five,” the lieutenant commander said as Luis continued to burn the forward docking thrusters.

“Just a bit more,” Luis mumbled.

“Three meters. Two. One…”

Luis pressed a button on his console, killing the forward docking thrusters.

“Zero… almost,” the lieutenant commander said.

Luis quickly switched scales. “We’re still drifting forward at about half a meter per second.”

“Close enough,” the lieutenant commander said. “I’m sure we dock up at greater speed than that.”

“Yeah, but docking arms give a little when you make contact,” Luis said. “Moons don’t.”

“Just put us down already,” Ensign Souza exclaimed.

Luis punched in more commands. “Setting up two docking thruster burns: one to push us down toward the surface and another to stop our descent.” Luis turned to Ensign Schenker. “How close do we need to be for Metis to grab us?”

Ensign Schenker shrugged his shoulders. “I’m surprised it hasn’t already.”

“Well, here we go,” Luis announced as he activated the first burn.

The Celestia hovered five meters above the tip of Metis, nearly centered over the space they had chosen as their landing site. Jupiter loomed large over them, nearly filling the entire sky above their heads.