Chapter 7
"Start the simulation, simulate the ship's escape routes!" said Nash, looking at the vortex Einar pointed out on the screen. It looked like a small black vortex, slightly different from the surrounding ones, much darker than the others as if it were a gateway to the unknown.
Beep!
[Einar: Simulation started.]
Beep!
[Einar: Simulation 1. Status: Failure. Cause: Engine malfunction.]
Beep!
[Einar: Simulation 2. Status: Failure. Cause: Ship torn apart by the force of the vortex.]
Beep!
[Einar: Simulation 3...]
Einar, the advanced AI, immediately began simulating multiple ways to approach and successfully enter the vortex. It was a bit of a gamble, a huge risk that could cost them their lives, but it seemed like their only hope of escaping the yellow belt that threatened to swallow them whole.
Beep!
[Einar: Simulation 48 successful.]
Beep!
[Einar: Movement plan sent.]
---
Einar immediately sent the movement plan to Nash's mind, forming a three-dimensional map in his consciousness.
"Good!" Nash looked at the path that appeared in front of him and immediately began to apply it to the control panel.
The path displayed looked like an explanatory diagram of complex circular movements and trajectories. Nash had to move from the center and start moving in a circle to compensate for the thrust of the malfunctioning engine, rising with each rotation, and then using the momentum to rush into the vortex.
It seemed like a huge risk, a dangerous and extremely difficult maneuver, but Nash bravely accepted the challenge.
Nash skillfully dodged the rock coming toward him, while increasing his speed and moving to the left, circling around a single central point in an attempt to generate the necessary momentum.
"What are you doing? Why are you turning around?!" Zara shouted, his confusion and anger increasing when he saw what Nash was doing, but Nash paid no attention to him.
"Cut off all external communication with the ship's crew," Nash muttered, returning his full attention to piloting the ship, ignoring all outside voices.
Beep!
[EEinar: External communication with the ship's crew has been cut off.
Nash turned the control unit to turn the ship, focusing intently on the rapidly changing numbers in front of his eyes.
[76]
[85]
[97]
Einar displayed various data for Nash to follow, each number representing a percentage of the ideal speed or angle.
"A little more!" Nash muttered, his hands sweating from the intense concentration and tension.
He moved upward until he was close to the straight line he had to follow to rush toward the vortex when he reached maximum speed.
[ 74 ]
[ 79 ]
[ 84 ]
[ 86 ]
[ 90 ]
[ 96 ]
The ship got closer and closer to reaching 100%, with Nash advancing smoothly and with astonishing precision, but at that moment...
Boom!
Suddenly, a huge rock struck the stern of the ship with tremendous force. Although it only grazed the ship and did not collide with it directly, it greatly affected its balance, causing the ship to spin wildly as it headed toward the whirlpool.
Beep!
[Einar: Warning!]
Beep!
[Einar: Warning!]
Beep!
[Octavia: Warning!]
Beep!
[Einar: Warning!]
The ship spun around like a circular disc, while Nash tried with all his strength and experience to keep it flying in a straight line toward the whirlpool, using all his skills.
Whoosh!
The ship approached the vortex and encountered extremely high pressure, perhaps due to its rotation or its low speed, but it resisted and moved forward, fighting against the enormous forces of attraction that threatened to tear it apart.
Beep!
[Einar: Warning!]
Beep!
[Einar: Warning!]
Beep!
[Octavia: Warning!]
Beep!
[Einar: Warning!]
--
"Damn it! Stop spinning!" Nash cursed loudly, his words piercing the noise of the oscillating engines and the faint alarm sirens that had just begun to sound.
His grip tightened on the control stick, his knuckles turning white with concentration, while his mind raced, analyzing the complex situation. There was no time for panic; he had to turn this wild spin, which was tearing his ship apart, into a tool for his own advantage. With supreme skill, he pushed the control stick to the right, with a precise sense of the violent spin, then began to ease it back, turning with the ship in a harmonious motion, until the craft stopped spinning completely and settled into its course with great difficulty, as if breathing a sigh of relief after a deadly struggle.
Boom!
As soon as the ship regained its balance, it shot forward with tremendous force toward the lurking black vortex, which swallowed them in an instant. Nash managed to adjust its course with astonishing precision, using all his experience to avoid colliding with anything that might lurk in this void.
The seconds passed like minutes, and the minutes like hours in this endless, pitch-black darkness. He saw no glimmer of light, no stars, no planets, only utter blackness surrounding them on all sides, pressing down on his senses. But after two full minutes, which seemed like an eternity, he glimpsed a shooting star emerging from the vortex on the other side. It was a faint glimmer of hope, but it was enough to ignite a flame of hope in his heart, proof that there was a way out of this cosmic hell.
Nash immediately rushed toward the streak, heading toward the moving rock at breakneck speed, as if it were his only gateway to salvation. He knew that his ship could not withstand any more shocks; it had exceeded its limits and was on the verge of complete collapse. Every part of it groaned and screamed, its hull cracking and its instruments flashing red, signaling the end was near. He had to get out of there as quickly as possible before the ship turned into scattered debris in space.
Beep!
[Einar: Warning! Life support systems in danger!]
Beep!
[Octavia: Warning! External hull integrity at 85%!]
Beep!
[Einar: Out of the danger zone. Danger averted.]
Beep!
[Einar: Location unknown. No navigation data.]