Against All Odds || A SpaceX Story

~ Chapter 13 ~

Laura Thompson's POV (Present Year: 2023)

"We're coming in too fast! We have to abort!" A distant, feminine voice from beside me exclaims, her tone laced with horror.

I risk a glance from the device strapped to my upper thigh to the large window in front of me.

Flames licking either side of transparent section, a reddish blackish void in between.

The heat shield is doing it's job for now... But for how much longer?

A knot of fear begins to swell within me, my hands itching towards the manual override.

"Just a few more seconds, Laura." Another, this time, distinctly male voice softly urges from much closer beside me, his tone dampening my sudden panic.

My gaze is solid on the small display above my knee, the readings clearly reaching the red zone.

And fast.

"We can't withstand much more heat! Either we do something now or burn to death!" A much younger sounding male voice argues, his tone matching the woman's from earlier.

What do we do?

What do I do?

"Your spacecraft."

"Manual override initiated." The monotone voice of the computer barks out, accompanying the words I had just heard.

"My spacecraft." I reply automatically, my grasp instantly on the manual controls.

Start by getting us back on the right path...

I attempt to right our course.

Nothing happens.

"Something's not right!" I exclaim, my fear rushing back to meet me, full force. "I-I-I have no manual control!"

Almost as if the universe was answering my panic-stricken confusion, an obnoxiously loud clang sounds from outside.

Alarmed, my eyes dart to the window in front of me once more.

The sight in front of me causes me to gasp in disbelief, a lump forming in my throat.

Bits of stainless steel are rushing past us, some small, some large.

"That... That would explain the issue." I murmur softly, my thoughts instantly slowing.

This is how this ends.

"Oh hey, those are our tail fins..."

Suddenly, a rather heavy pressure resonates in my left gloved hand, startling me slightly.

I turn, tears beginning to slowly roll down my cheeks, parts of the drops of water floating up against my visor.