//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: LC-4: A Space Rescue // by Kitsune_Kenshi //------------------------------// "Begin undocking procedure, secure the hatch," Bravewing said as he swiftly pulled out the control stick, activating the control system, while Scarab on the right side had the guidance engulfed in a green aura, while clicking the switches on the control panel, Atlantis on the other hoof, was slightly confused on what to do, Bravewing sees it, "Lettuce, just like in the simulation, open the hooks and latches." Atlantis gulped as she inhaled a big breath, then began the procedure, after about 20 seconds, her claw hovered over the undocking switch, "Serpent undocking from LC-4 in 3, 2, 1, mark." The entire spacecraft shook slightly as Bravewing pulled the stick backward a little. With a few hisses of jet propellant pushing the spacecraft, Serpent slowly drifts away from LC-4. Bravewing had his eyes fixed on the camera view the entire time, and Scarab still had that motionless expression on, Atlantis could feel her claws now getting a little wet, she stared at the camera view as the docking module drifted away. About five minutes later, 'Serpent' is now 25 yards from LC-4, Bravewing gave Atlantis a nod, "Acknowledged, turning craft onto reentry orbit." Atlantis quickly, yet stiffly typed the procedure on the control panel, a second later, the crew felt a slight push to the right as the 'Serpent' rotated slowly towards the rear-end side. Atlantis, now starting to get familiar with the control system, swiftly typed another procedure as the RCS stabled the 'Serpent' from overshot. Bravewing peaked over the window; the shape of the LCS is now barely recognizable, it's now the size of a pea. Gravity is doing its job well, now slowly dragging Serpent down toward itself. "Estimated reentry time in 30 minutes." Scarab reported, then looked at Atlantis, "Well done." Atlantis let out a relieved sigh, earning a laugh from Bravewing, "Jus like flying a drone." he said. "Jus like flying a drone..." Atlantis repeated. There was a moment of silence between them, then Atlantis broke the silence, "By the way Bravewing, what's your plan after retirement?" "Me? Eh... My brother owned a farm back in Towas, he had an instructor job at a private shooting yard there." Bravewing sighed, looking out to the enlarging shape of Equis, "But the moment I became a pilot, I knew I belong up here, not on the dirt..." Then there was another moment of silence, Bravewing coughed, again having to break the silence, "You got any plans for-" Suddenly, the radio started chattering, Scarab jumped to the panel, his face frowning as he checked the frequency, "Sir, you might want to see this..." Bravewing leaned over, "Emergency channel?" the old stallion's face darkened. "This is Mission Control, checking in on Serpent crew, report status." Came in mission control. "Mission control, Serpent status fine, what's the rush?" Bravewing asked. "Commander Bravewing, the mission has been updated, the undocking and manual deorbiting is a semi-success, however, according to SSN scans, your prior position was hit by a minor of space debris; which is, according to CIA, caused by the destruction of a malfunctioned satellite. It also impacted several other communication sats, our communication is expected to break in 5 minutes." "What about us?" Bravewing asked. "According to the normal schedule, you and your crew should be on the returning route now, however, we lost contact with LC-4 about 3 minutes ago, we spot an interception between LC-4's deorbiting orbit and the debris flight route, LC-4 is believed to be hit by the debris, and that must've been a heavy blow; LC-4's predicted orbit has been knocked off-course 47 degrees." "And I assume LC-4's not splashing down?" Bravewing asked, tension building up in his tone. "Usually, such life-risking operations are NOT allowed, but 'Serpent' is the closest manned craft to LC-4. Commander Bravewing, your new objective is to take your crew to rendezvous with LC-4, we sent you the data link. However, to acknowledge that LC-4 might be in an irregular spin, we don't know whether it's fast, be really cautious during the operation." "Copy, check oxygen and fuel level..." he looked at Scarab, who scrolled through the panel, then gave him an approving nod, "Control, craft status, oxygen, and fuel level is a go, proceeding onto operation, over." Just as he ended the conversation, the communication was cut off, now the chatter is all the crew can hear. "Atlantis, start up the engine, turn 'Serpent around, and move towards the designated area," Bravewing ordered. "Copy that." Atlantis is anxious, her claws shook a little as she quickly punched through the control panel, just before the craft entered the reentry parabola, SKD engines ignited, pushing the 'Serpent' towards LEO again. Bravewing had his eyes on the given data link, "Let's hope these tin-cans didn't knock LC-4 into MEO..." he muttered, he then turned toward Scarab, "How long can our fuel cell last at current speed?" "Estimated to last 2 hours, by the way, commander..."Scarab felt a lightbulb, "after docking with LC-4 we can consider using the remaining fuel onboard the station for refueling." "I don't know about that Scarab," Bravewing said, "the fuel up there is the 80s version, don't know if the improved SKD engines are gonna take it in." Before Scarab could continue, Atlantis's anxious voice, came in, "Commander, I've LC-4's visual... this is not good..." Bravewing leaned over to the camera, his frown deepened. "Sweet Celestia..." Bravewing muttered, "That's one helluva heavy blow..." In the camera, LC-4 can be seen as a small can, spinning horizontally and vertically, the route of the docking module is nearly impossible to predict; the solar panels had a few holes in them, and Bravewing could only imagine what happened to it. "How the hell are we supposed to dock with her.."