The Boy with No Name (Part 1 of 'A Tale of People and Apples' Trilogy)

Chapter 9: A New Home

Mayla knew their best shot at the Ring system working, and at their subsequent survival, was if the Ring landed as squarely as possible on the land mass below, and couldn't risk the Ring veering off into the ocean that surrounded the land mass. They could now feel the heat from the windows and the atmosphere burning around them.

"89 degrees."

The flight deck held their breath, the flames licking the sides of the windows now red hot and tinting everyone's skin in an unhealthy orange glow.

Right as the scientist uttered his next word, Mayla pressed her monitor with a slam of her fist. From the periphery of the ship, a giant black circle of metal erupted off the ship towards the land mass below, spreading out like a giant halo. It was like they had hit another atmosphere, with the excess mass gone and the backwards thrusters still fighting the force of gravity, the change in speed made it seem like the ship stopped completely.

This time officers were thrown over their monitors and crashed into the front window of the flight deck. Despite the backward jets kicking in, Nighthawk continued its hasty descent into the land mass below. The officers watched on anxiously after they regained their balance, praying that the Ring would slam into land. They waited for Mayla's indication, who was nervously scanning her monitor.

"Successful hit," Mayla said, the officers sighing in relief. A new panel came on her monitor. "Walls are up. Purification inside the ring complete – no possibility of pathogens."

"Now we have to land in it. That's impossible from this far away and with a ship this big," one of the officers said, fear in his voice, spreading through the cabin like a virus.

Samuel scowled at him. "We haven't made it this far to crash into the dirt. Level off and start spiraling towards the Ring. Take some images of the land mass while we're up here. Mayla, make sure our speed is survivable. Let's skip off the ground like a stone." Officers and Mayla nodded at him, pulling on levers and typing on their keyboards.

Nighthawk started leveling off, spinning towards the Ring system, reducing its deathly fast speed ever so slightly. The blackness of space was now completely removed from the window, only the planet now in view as they approached.

"Speed is optimal, Samuel, but our angle is too shallow now," an officer said to him.

"Get me an angle that can get us into the Ring, but not too steep that we smash to pieces. We'll need to skip along the ground. Mayla, you and your team run your numbers and calculate the best possible parameters. Intercom the citizens, tell them to brace for impact."

Mayla and her team were typing vigorously, writing on their tablets and swiping on their screens. They all appeared to come up with the same solution, giving each other a thumbs up. "Everyone hold on," Mayla said, as the ship selected an appropriate angle and speed. An officer relayed Samuel's message to the intercom and the people as calmly as he could.
Samuel could now see mountain ranges and forests, and then mere moments after, tiny specks of individual trees within the forests. The great walls of the Ring system now coming into view as the ship aimed for the middle of it. Mayla's hand was now hovering over her monitor, waiting for the exact moment of impact to redirect thrusters.

The Ring turned from a giant distant dot to a hollow sphere in an instant. Nighthawk penetrated through the walls, moments from impact.

"Brace!"

Mayla slammed her hand down. Nighthawk leveled off ever so slightly, and then smashed into the ground. The front window filled with dirt and soil and grass, metal screeching as it skipped along the ground, pieces of Nighthawk shattering and spraying outwards. Some officers burst away from their buckled chairs, the impact bucking them like a crazed bull. The ship stopped skipping and was now sliding, sparks and dirt flying into the air.