SF Drabble #401 "Rattle and Roll"

"She'll hold." He said it to no one in particular, over the roar of the atmosphere battering the heat shield and the whine of the air system trying to keep them from roasting in their crash webbing and the clattering of his own teeth. "Passing below forty kilometers!"

"I've never been to Earth, you know," Mintz shouted from the jump seat.

"I know. You told us before. A couple times."

"I'm just saying." Mintz shouted as the noise intensified. "It would be a shame to come all this way and burn up on re-entry."

"She'll hold!" He yelled. "Thirty-eight kilometers!"

10 comments:

  1. All that shaking is rattling my teeth.

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  2. I'm shaking right along with them! Great visuals and sense of the experience :)

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  3. I want to know where they are coming to us from - are they friendly - will they stay - what???? Enquiring mings. Great job, David

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    1. I'm thinking they're Oort Cloud miners. Definitely from a facility somewhere in the outer Solar system.

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  4. An intense, bone jarring story. I like Mintz' doubt you wove into the story and the confidence of the pilot.

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  5. It's great that the pilot, even in the midst of something as urgent as re-entry, is able to get annoyed with Mintz reminding him that this was her first trip to Earth.

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