A Space Oddessey 2061 Book 3 Chapter 30: Galaxy Down PART III: EUROPAN ROULETTE

A Space Oddessey 2061 Book 3 Chapter 30: Galaxy Down PART III: EUROPAN ROULETTE

In the wardroom, the sudden surge of full thrust came like a stay of execution. The horrified officers had seen the collapse of the chosen landing site, and knew that there was only one way of escape. Now that Chang had taken it, they once more permitted themselves the luxury of breath. But how long they could continue to enjoy that experience, no-one could guess. Only Chang knew whether the ship had enough propellant to reach a stable orbit; and even if it did, Captain Laplace thought gloomily, the lunatic with the gun might order him down again. Though he did not for a minute believe that she really was a lunatic; she knew exactly what she was doing. Suddenly, there was a change in thrust. 'Number Four motor's just cut,' said an engineering officer. 'I'm not surprised - probably overheated. Not rated for so long at this level.' There was, of course, no sense of any directional change - the reduced thrust was still along the ship's axis - but the views on the monito…