Coming Undone

Chapter 5: Aiming Skyward

"I didn't think you'd show up, Runt." He said, nodding at him once. He returned his attention to the screens, analyzing the student's performance. "Coffee's over there, vodka is in the fridge next to it." He said, motioning with his left hand.

Runt looked over his shoulder to where the professor was pointing. Coffee sounded good. Liquid stress relief.

He needed some of that.

As he turned towards the coffee, preparing his palate, he let his mind wander.

Hope professor has a recommendation about that ship. Run thought.

Hope he doesn't ask too many questions...

He grimaced.

That'd be a fun little caveat to explain to the professor if he caught Runt.

He stopped at the coffee pot, imagining the conversation...

"Oh, sorry professor. I'm just trying to get me and my only friend, who happens to work for the MLA, off world without getting killed by terrorists."

He bit his lip.

Very believable.

Runt picked up the coffeepot on his right and smiled. It was cold.

Probably brewed for him.

He poured a cup, and started over to the fridge to spike it with vodka. Not exactly vodka, as humans knew it. But a potent alcohol mixture that was a little easier to come by than native corathol, but still easily processed by Springers. 'Vodka' was just easier to say that a fifteen syllable technical name.

"Hey, Runt?"

He peered over his shoulder.

One of the other students.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could give me a pointer here."

Runt peeled open the fridge door and started to nod. "If I can. What's the matter?"

The student, a human, plodded up to Runt and held out a paper rife with equations and formulas.

"I'm trying to figure this out, on paper at least, so I can plug it into a nav computer. Let's say I'm in a three-axis spin, with these angles..."

Runt looked over the paper briefly, taking in the information.

"What should I do? Every time I plug this into a flight computer, it tells me the computer can't safely calculate a correction course."

Runt thought, picturing the scenario in his mind.

"Well... first problem is the spin angles. You probably haven't got thrusters that correspond to those angles, so the computer's telling you you'll only spin yourself faster. Which is true."

"Ok, so what do I do?"

Runt chewed his lip.

"Ok, see this input here?" He asked, putting his finger over an equation. "Erase it. In fact, give the computer a system override, and tell it there is no three-axis spin. Let's pretend you're in a two-axis spin."

The human nodded, a light coming on in the back of his eyes.

"Wait, so trick the computer into reducing you from a two angle spin, then take the controls back and self-correct from there?"

Runt nodded.

"That's what I'd do. Of course, cancel the data out on the slowest spin, since the computer will probably accidentally increase that spin speed. But that's what I'd do."